SERIES: Woman 'Cross The River
PART: 4 of ??
RATING: PG (Adult thematic material, language, adult
content)
PAIRING(s): L/L
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CATEGORY: Drama
FEEDBACK: PLEASE?!
SETTING IN TIMELINE: Includes canon up to "The
Cruise" - roughly six years later.
This fic is set in 1965.
SPOILLER/SUMMARY: Laverne meets an unforgiving ghost on her
summer vacation.
***
The peacefulness of the day seemed to go on and on to
Laverne, a complete contrast to the riot in her mind. The shock of seeing Shirley after six years
had made every bite of hot dog feel like a steak of acid falling down her
throat. Squiggy took the kids indoors at
Laverne's insistence, instructing him to ply them with TV for an hour so that
they wouldn't cramp up while swimming.
Lenny seemed to sense that it was an excuse - she wanted to be alone
with him.
"What's up?" he asked directly.
The bright sunlight made her hair transparent - like a halo. "Nothing," she lied.
"I know you better, Vernie."
She sighed. "I
bumped into Shirl."
"That's great!
Did you say your sorries?"
"I ain't never gonna tell her I'm sorry!" Laverne
said with such vehemence that Lenny was taken aback.
"Woah - where's this coming
from?"
"I'm gonna have to tell you the truth," Laverne
admitted. "I don't know why I
didn't tell you years ago - it's stupid.
You even know most of it..."
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his
chest. "Okay," he urged.
"Remember when we were on the cruise? It was just after you left to get me
dinner..."
***
1959
Two queens again.
Laverne re-shuffled
the deck of playing cards, trying to get a better hand going. She had always found card games boring, but
Lenny could be entertained for hours on end by them. She hoped he might like playing with her when
he got back.
The cabin door began
to open. She froze.
"Who is it?"
she made her voice as gruff as possible, knowing that if she had to defend
herself she would do so with just as much might as before.
"Laverne?"
Shirley peered into the cabin, took one look at the disarray of her mattress
and the blood on the floor, and went into shriek-mode. "What happened?"
"One of the
sailors tried to rape me," Laverne said flatly. The accusation made Shirley's face go
white. "He said everyone in the
hold thinks I'm putting out, and he was the only one I didn't give it to."
"We have to tell
Mark!"
"Mark?"
"Ensign Benson,"
Shirley sighed swoonily. "The past twenty-four hours have been an
absolute dream, Laverne. I think I
really might be falling for him..."
Laverne couldn't help
her own resentment. "Yeah, it's
been a real barrel of laughs for me," she replied.
"I'm so sorry - I
don't mean to be insensitive...gracious, what happened to your face? Did he punch you? This is inexcusable! I have to find Mark immediately! Oh no - he told me he was heading to bed when
I left him. But he'll be up for the
morning watch at eleven - we'll see him then."
Laverne's hands were
wrapped around Shirley's. "I dunno. I'm scared, Shirl. Rick said
it's all over the crew's quarters that I'm easy. What if Ensign Benson thinks I asked for
it?"
"Laverne! No one with any sort of heart could possibly
think you asked for something like this to happen! "
The door opened. Shirley shrieked, causing Lenny to nearly
upset the tray he'd been carrying. She
was on her feet and scolding him. "Leonard! Why don't you knock?"
"I woulda, Shirl, but my hands're full."
Laverne sat closer to
the edge of the bed. "Mmm, that looks good..."
Lenny put the tray
down. "I got a little bit of
everything. Fried chicken, rolls,
pasta...they were goin' all out. The ladies from the community swimming league
say hello..." Lenny noticed Shirley's drooling over their meal. "D'you eat with the Ensign, Shirl?"
She gulped. "We were too busy to eat - but I'm not
hungry," Shirley sat down at the pillow end of her bed, watching Laverne
and Lenny divide up the gathered food and eat with abandon. After a long while, she asked, "Did
either of you think of going to the sick bay?"
Laverne shook her
head. "All I got is a busted lip
and a swelling jaw. Nothin'
I can't fix with ice," she winced as she took a particularly large
bite.
"But you need
evidence!"
"I'm not hurt too
bad. Besides, I don't like gettin' poked at by doctors." They all knew that doctors reminded Laverne
of her mother's death, and she avoided all stripe of their breed. "If Ensign Benson says I should get an
exam, I will - on shore. Who knows which
one of those guys started that rumor? I
don't wanna be alone with anyone I don't trust."
"All
right. We'll see Mark first thing tomorrow
morning," Shirley went to her wardrobe, then
withdrew a nightgown from it.
"Leonard, do you have something to sleep in?"
"Nah, but I'll
just wear my chinos."
"If
you're comfortable. Take the spare blanket. We all need to go to bed bright and early if
we want to catch the Ensign before two bells."
Laverne frowned at
Shirley's retreating back. "Spoilsport. I
wanted to play cards with you!"
"Which
game?" Lenny asked as he started arranging the spare pillows and blankets
on the floor.
"Gin
rummy!"
"Spoilsport!" Lenny agreed. He knelt on the floor and pulled the blanket
over his knees. "Hey, Laverne, I
know I'm kinda slow..."
"Nahh..."
"No, you don't gotta lie to me - I know I'm slow. But I think I missed the part where you told Shirl I got back on the boat."
"I told her
during the dance," Laverne shrugged.
"She wasn't
mad?"
"Nope. But
she was happy Squig started swimmin' for the shore."
"Yeah - I hope he
made it..."
"I'm sure he
did," Laverne crawled under the blanket.
"Squig's like a seagull. He knows how to follow the garbage til he finds land."
The bathroom door
opened, and there was Shirley Feeney in her curlers and mudpack. It was so reminiscent from the way Squiggy
usually made an entrance that Laverne and Lenny began laughing. "Is my mask cracking?" she gingerly
touched the white cover with her fingertips.
"Nahh," Laverne chortled.
"I think your
whole body's cracking!" Lenny catcalled.
"How hilarious,"
Shirley remarked, climbing into bed beside Laverne. She noticed Lenny watching them avidly and
sighed. "We're going to sleep in
the same bed. NOTHING ELSE, get
it?"
"Awww," Lenny complained, but reclined on his spot on
the floor.
Laverne watched Lenny
in the darkness for hours. She felt
strangely comforted, sandwiched between her two close friends. That was her last thought before she fell
asleep.
***
He grinned. "Aww, that's real nice!
And way before you said you loved me..."
"Well," she grinned, "they say love stays
hidden for a real long time. I might
have felt that way since we were little and never told."
He blew a raspberry.
"Well, that ain't fair, lettin' me
suffer. But," he winced to even
return her mind to that place. "you didn't tell me why you're mad at Shirl."
Her features hardened.
"It started the morning after..."