Weeds Between Graves
Part Seven
By Missy

SERIES: Weeds Between Graves
PART: 7 of 10
RATING: PG-13 (Adult themes, language and materials)
PAIRING(s): Lenny/Laverne; Squiggy/Shirley
DISTRIBUTION: To LW, Kai, Myself and FG so far; any other archives are welcome to ask, but disclaimers must be included, my email left intact. send a URL, and provide full disclaimers as well as credit me fully. Please inform me if you are going to submit my work to any sort of search engine. Please do not submit my work to a search engine that picks out random sets of words and uses them as key words, such as "Google"

Please contact me in order for this story to be placed on an archive, or if you want know of a friend who would enjoy my works, please email me their address and I will mail them the stories, expressly for the purpose of link trading. MiSTiers are welcomed! Please do inform me that you'd like to do the MiSTing, however, and send me a copy of the finished product. I'd also love to archive any MiSTings that are made of my work!
CATEGORY: Drama
FEEDBACK: PLEASE?!
SETTING IN TIMELINE: Milwaukee cannon, late-season five.
SPOILLER/SUMMARY: Lenny and Laverne find themselves tools of the Big Good, though they're not entirely comfortable with their mission...
NOTES: In which I steal myth arch from "Joan of Arcadia" and "One Life To Live". Don't worry, I only sort of joke ;-).

Yes, there will be an explanation for Carmine's behavior. It's not that he's a "jerk"; no, there's character motivation here.

***

"I don't believe this, Len." Laverne muttered, yanking on Boo-Boo Kitty's tail. "What kinda mission is this supposed ta be?"

"Gee, Laverne, I woulda asked, but she keeps poofin' into thin air."

She frowned sourly at him. "You and Squig usedta be able to do this real easy."

"So?"

"So grab the business end an' pull!"

Lenny grunted, grabbing the tail and with a quick show of force yanked it from the cat's body.

Sadness flashed over Laverne's featured. "Aww...remember the Chinese tailor?"

Lenny smiled. "Yeah, he did a pretty good job."

"Boo Boo Kitty's butt's still heavy 'cause of him..." She frowned. "I'm talkin' to it like I'm Shirl. Go put that upstairs."

Lenny shrugged. "Yeah, you stay here." Before he could step toward the door, however, the mere wish of wanting to move upstairs transported him into his old apartment.

"That's new." Laverne noted. It certainly broke up the mendacity of what was turning out to be an unusually dull afterlife.

Her feelings were quickly shoved aside as the front door opened. Shirley walked through it, accompanied by Frank.

"Sure you don't want me to stay?"

Shirley nodded, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead. Similarly, Frank couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the windows.

"If you're sure. Okay, remember, come by the Pizza Bowl in the morning. I'll take you to church."

"I'm Protestant. We're not in the same denomination." Her words were almost in a dreamy tone.

"So? That doesn't mean we can't pray together. You and me're family."

Shirley managed a smile. "I know. Thank you."

He smiled, affectionately, though she didn't meet his eyes. "Call me, I'll come."

She nodded, and he withdrew from the apartment before he surrendered to the tears welling in her eyes.

Laverne watched her best friend. Shirley sat on the couch, eyes dull, listless, her hands knotting and unknotting in her lap.

"Shirl...look at Boo Boo Kitty, Shirl. Go to Squiggy."

But Shirley wouldn't look up.

"Don't make me do the floating trick, Shirl. That'd probably freak ya out."

Shirley did nothing.

Lenny materialized behind the couch. "How'd I do that?"

"I dunno. Ask the kid when ya see her. I can't get Shirl to do anything."

"Lemme try something..." He grabbed Boo Boo Kitty by the collar and placed it on the shelf.

Shirley stirred from wakefulness. "Why do I feel a breeze?" She looked around her seated self. "Boo Boo Kitty?" She frowned, looking around the apartment for her stuffed animal. "There you are!" She walked over to the shelf and plucked her from the midst of Madame Alexander dolls. Her hands crossed over the cat's rump, holding it in a comforting hug.

Her hands froze. "Boo Boo Kitty, what happened to your tail?" Her eyes darkened. "Squiggy!"

**

She found him slumped over a mug of beer.

"What did you do to my cat?!"

He frowned. "You ain't got a cat, Shirl."

"What do you call this?" She rammed Boo-Boo Kitty against the bridge of his nose. To her shock, he grabbed the stuffed animal and hurled it across the room. "Leave me alone, Shirley Feeney!"

"I'm Shirley Feeney again? You were so nice to me when I was lying in the hospital..."

"Yeah, well, times arrange, Shirl! Leave me 'lone!"

"No! You have Boo Boo Kitty's tail! I know you do! You're hiding it, just like -"

"Just like what?"

"Just like Laverne and Lenny used to do when we were little!" The words brought Shirley's release; tears overflowed their banks and she slumped against the doorframe.

"Aww, geez." He reached for her, but resisted his impulse. "Ya wanna make me cry, Shirley? Ya wanna see me cry?"

"YES! They're all treating me like glass. I want someone to feel as awful as I do!"

But Squiggy couldn't. His body was consumed by an anger that was almost visible. "Shit," he muttered, and then reached out for her.

She collapsed into his open embrace willingly, but he made no comforting words.




TBC

To Chapter 6
To Chapter 8