Well, here it is. The final chapter... it's short and sweet. Thanks to everyone for the lurrvly reviews.
enjoy!
Holly sat, tears streaming down her face. This was so uncharacteristic of her! Holly Short NEVER cried. She hugged her knees to her chest.
"How could he? How could he?" She whispered. Wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her hooded jumper, she placed a piece of chocolate in her mouth.
"He's an arrogant arsehole, forget about him. Marry the lawyer you silly girl!" Holly shouted through a mouthful of chocolate, waving her hands in the direction of the television. Juliet had recommended a few 'mudman' films to Holly while they had been spending time together, and Holly thought she would see if any of these films were any good.
"Generally, I'm not a fan of the genre, but everyone needs a good chick-flick now-and-then." was what Juliet had said, handing her copies of '10 things I hate about you', 'Notting Hill' and 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. Holly had been watching the latter. She found the films strangely comforting, though much less thought provoking than the fairy films shown in Haven.
If nothing else, these films had taught Holly some mudman 'slang'. Arsehole was quickly becoming her favourite word. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Sighing deeply, Holly hit 'pause' on the remote and ran to answer it. Trouble was standing in the doorway.
"Bad time?" He asked, grinning at the sight of Holly's face. Holly flushed deep scarlet and rubbed her tearstained cheeks with her sleeve, cursing his dreadful timing.
"Sad film." She mumbled. "Come in."
Trouble walked though the door, taking off his coat and leaving it on the sofa. He turned to Holly who was shocked to see that the smile had left his face, to be replaced by a look of grim determination.
"Major Short, I have come here on serious business."
Holly gulped. The formal tone did not bode well.
"Trouble, I…"
"Do not interrupt your commanding officer!" barked Kelp. Holly was shocked, but at the same time, pleasantly reminded of Commander Root. She inwardly smiled, while keeping a calm exterior.
"Have you seen today's paper Major Short?"
"No sir." Replied Holly, mystified. Trouble unrolled a newspaper a held it in front of Holly's face. Holly gasped. On the front page was the headline "New Commander in 'trouble' already?" accompanied by a photo of Kelp, one arm shielding half his face from the cameras, the other wrapped tightly around the waist of a young elf. An elf with a spiky auburn crew cut and mismatched eyes.
"Oh." Was all Holly could say.
"'Oh' is right Major Short. How do you think this looks? On his first day in office, no, his first 10 minutes in office, the new commander is caught…canoodling… in a closet! I have an image to maintain Major! I cannot be seen making out with every pretty girl in the force."
Holly looked at her feet and shuffled uncomfortably.
"Which is why I have come to a decision." Commander Kelp looked Holly in the eye. She expected the worst. What was she thinking, luring Trouble into a closet like that? This was the last thing he needed. She was ready to accept whatever punishment he gave her.
"Major Short, I'm promoting you. To my girlfriend."
Holly wasn't sure if she heard him right. She looked at him, but his face was void of emotion, unreadable. Suddenly, she burst into laughter.
"Trouble Kelp, that is the most un-romantic way of asking someone out I have ever come across!"
Trouble began to laugh too. He moved closer to Holly, speaking softly. "What do you say Holly? Will you give me a shot? We can make it work, I'm sure we could. And I promise that if you let me take you out to dinner this evening, I'll try to be more romantic."
Holly moved forward and kissed him gently, stroking his hair with slender fingers. As she pulled away she looked round guiltily at all the empty chocolate wrappers on the sofa.
"I'm afraid I'm not all that hungry Commander." She said with a familiar mischievous glint in her eye. "Why don't we skip dinner?" And kissing him again, she wound her elfin fingers through his belt loops and pulled him gently, towards the bedroom.
The End!
wow... i'm kinda sad its over. But i hope it was worth it. I'm toying with the idea of a sequel maybe. thoughts and comments?? I would love to hear what you thought of the story in general, and whether a sequel would be a good/bad idea? Thanks to all reviewers for keeping me motivated throughout.
rose. xx