What Lies Beneath
Original Idea by: Annick
Written by: ocdwithlhg (Maddy)

Authors Note:Hey everybody! Here is the absolute first chapter of What Lies Beneath. This story has been a long time coming. The plot was originated by Annick, I just offered to write it, yet the ideas through out the story belong to us both. Though we know this may not happen on the show, it's purposes are for pure entertainment. Anyways, here's the first chapter...we hope you enjoy it! Please review...let us know what you think! Thank's for reading!!

Disclaimer: Gilmore girls belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino& The WB.

------------------

Chapter 1: For the Diners Sake?

Every morning as she walks from her car to the front door of the diner, she watches him scrub the counter in the content way that he always does it. She pulls open the door and as the bells jingle above the door, he looks up and as soon as he sees her, he smiles. She plasters on a large smile and approaches him at the counter. As if there's no where else to look, everybody in the diner watches them because they are happy. And well, hey-everybody loves seeing a smiling Luke. And that's what she makes him do. Smile.

"Hey." She leans over the counter and kisses him good morning.

"Hey back." He says returning the kiss, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. He turns around and pours her a huge cup of coffee. Depending upon the mood, bickering varies. "I'll be right back." He goes into the storage room, mumbling something to himself. Occasionally he'll 'accidentally' kick a box or push a can off the shelf. Whoops. He'll come back out just as she's putting her money on the counter.

"I'm going to go now. I'll see you later?" She asks flirtatiously, battering her eyelashes.

"Yep."

She leans in and gives him another small kiss goodbye. "Bye."

"Bye, Lorelai."

Most always, she'll go to work, be in a bad mood, and yell at Michel for something he probably didn't do, or at least mean to do. She stops by the diner on her way home to fulfill her daily dosages on coffee and well...Luke. Then she'll go home and either vent to Rory over the phone though Rory has her own problems, or she'll just fall asleep. Early. Earlier than normal.

She wakes up and it's cold. Sometimes she's in her clothes from the night before because she actually did fall asleep early. But the first thing she notices, no matter how many layers she's wearing is that it's cold. She's cold. The option of cuddling close to him no longer stands. But just to make sure her nightmare really is reality, she hits the other side of the bed, the right side, where he used to sleep…just to double check that is. Finally, she stops the incessant buzzing that woke her up in the first place by hitting the snooze button. Cause 10 extra minutes gives her said time to forget about how lonely the morning is for her. Sadly but true, it's not just the mornings. It's afternoons, evenings, and everything in between too.

When the alarm goes off for the second time, she grudgingly gets out of bed and goes into the shower. With every passing day, the water seems to get colder. After getting ready for work, she gets in the car and drives to the diner, where her daily pattern begins, yet again. The watching, observing, smiling, kissing, talking, and all at the same time, the lying beneath it all.

That's how it goes that day, and every day. Every day for the past 3 weeks at least. Boy repetition could be a real pain in the ass.

They wouldn't be in this position in the first place, but unexpected things do happen and the way they are dealing with it, is the way it's going to work. After all, it doesn't matter how they feel right? As long as the town believes the whole thing…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the second week of September. Surprising how time flies, really. It'd probably only be a few more weeks till the first signs of snow but believe it or not, that wasn't on her mind. What was on her mind was the fact that the air was much thicker and colder…especially today…of all days. The leaves on the trees were starting to fall off and change colors, but it just didn't look as pretty as normal. Probably just cause everything was changing out of her control and though change can be good, that doesn't mean it always is.

She walked into the diner quietly, avoiding all eye contact possible. It was just last night thathe hadbroken up with her and here she was already in the diner less than 24 hours later. Unusual you could say. With a break up, it's hard to imagine Lorelai within 100 feet of Luke, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes, she used to avoid the diner for days after he insulted the amount of food she could consume within one sitting, so to think that now, after months of spending practically everyday together which has now ended, that she'd actually be in the diner was surprising--to say the least. But she walked in there, not happily, or even willingly, but she did and that's all that counts.

She walked up to Luke at the counter and looked at him sadly. His stare was so cold and empty that it actually hurt her to look at him. It's amazing how one day somebody could look at you with so much love and happiness and then only a few hours later, the look suddenly turns to emptiness and hate. Okay, so maybe hates a little harsh but still.

"Uh, I have to talk to you." She spoke just above a whisper.

He didn't look directly at her. "You think it can wait?" He said reaching towards the counter between the kitchen doors to get a plate of food. He slid it down to the man sitting a few seats down the counter from them. "I'm sorta busy." Truth of the matter was, it wasn't busy. There were 3 people. Some strange man intensely reading the newspaper, Kirk, and a man of around 90 who could very easily be blind or deaf. Who ever knows?

She mumbled something under her breath and looked back up at him. "Actually it's sort of important."

I swear, if this is another, 'I'm sorry.' He rolled his eyes and locked eyes with her. "Go upstairs; I'll meet you up there in a few minutes. Let me just tell Caesar I'm stepping out for a minute."

She nodded her head and skeptically walked up the stairs to his apartment door. She stayed in the hall for a few moments before working up the nerve to walk in. She opened the door and hesitated before walking around the apartment before Luke made his way up there to…grace her with his oh-so-charming presence.

She walked over to the bed and lightly grazed her hand against the pillow that she used to sleep on. She had actually named it, too. Then again, she named lots of things…in his apartment and out. Immaturity...it could have those effects on you.

She walked over to the kitchen and examined the worn out looking coffee machine. Well, that's assuming that inanimate objects could look worn out. In Lorelai's eyes, it was damn well worn out.

Then she made her way to the bathroom and her eyes first went to the toothbrush holder. The first time she was actually in Luke's bathroom, she laughed that he even had a toothbrush holder. After all, she didn't even have one at her house because honestly, what's the point of having a toothbrush holder that holds 4 toothbrushes when you know very well that you only have one. But she put the toothbrush holder to good use--at least she used to. She realized that her toothbrush was no longer next to his. Instantly, she opened up the cabinet above the sink and realized that none of her stuff was there anymore. She glanced around the room and saw a box under the sink with her things filled in it. Clever…very clever, Luke.

She thought she heard footsteps coming up the stairs so she walked back to the kitchen and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. She glanced at the sink which had piles of dirty dishes sitting in it. One of the dishes she noticed in the sink was her pink coffee cup that she used just about every morning. Unusual…Luke always does his dishes. Must have been occupied last night. The thoughts ran through her mind.

Luke opened the door and walked to the table, taking a seat across from her. He took off his hat and adjusted his hair before placing it back on. "I only have about 10 minutes."

Lorelai swallowed hard and nodded her head with understanding. "Oh okay…so, sleep okay?"

"Slept fine." He said dryly.

"Really?" She said trying not to sound too surprised because God knows she got probably 10 minutes of sleep last night. "That's good. I hardly got any sleep and I only had one cup of coffee this morning and--"

"Lorelai…what's this about?" He asked referring to the conversation he knew they were supposed to be having.

She hesitated before opening her mouth again. "The town, Luke." She said simply.

He looked confused. "What about the town?"

"What are they going to do?"

Confused again. How very unordinary. "About?"

"About us breaking up."

Of all things to possibly be thinking about. He thought. "I don't know and truthfully, I really don't care."

"Luke…you said you'd close the diner. And Taylor's selectman again…"

"Ah, jeez…well…"

"Damn democracy…I'm telling you." Maybe joking would lighten up the mood again.

Or maybe it wouldn't. He didn't seem too thrilled by her lame attempt of a joke.

"And…" she began, "Taylor's a man of word. Or, in this case your word."

"Well, looks like I've gotta close up." Gosh he makes it sound so simple.

"No." She said quicker than intended.

"No?"

"You don't have to close up." A moment of silence chimed in. "I've got an idea."

Never encouraging words coming from her mouth. Last time she had 'an idea' she thought it would be cute for them to climb out her bedroom window during one of the Friday Night Dinners he accompanied her at.

"What?" He asked.

"Well, they don't have to know."

"Know what?"

"That we broke up."

"I think it'll be sort of obvious, Lorelai."

"Not if we pretend we're still dating."

What in the…"Lorelai, just wait-" Before this gets even stupider, he thought.

"Just, listen. You know if they find out, Taylor will bring the 'issue' up. In fact, I can almost guarantee that he'd hold a town meeting, in your honor for us all to say our farewells." She paused. "Tell me I'm right."

He took the moment to remain silent. She just rolled her eyes and continued.

"And Luke…" Her voice suddenly got quieter. "I'm not going to lie. I don't want you to leave. I don't want any of this stuff to have happened with us. But…it did, and…I just don't want everything to change and well…leave." So that's part of the whole scheme, huh? Holding on to things that were most certainly not hers anymore.

"But maybe with…" He gestured his hands back and forth between the two of them, "…it would just be easier that way."

Unconvinced that things would actually be easier; she just lied her way through it. "Maybe. But…"

"Listen. If I could afford leaving, I would consider it, but I can't. I just don't know how good of an idea your 'pretending' thing will go. Not to mention, I don't like playing games."

"I know you practically made me cry when you wouldn't play twister with me." He just made a face. "Listen, if they think everything's okay with us, then they won't suspect. If they don't suspect, then they won't ask, and if they don't ask, we don't have to answer."

He thought everything over in his head. "So, you're saying we act like a couple to keep the diner open."

"Yes."

"I don't know. That's stupid. Lorelai, we just broke up. And it wasn't because you drink too much coffee. We broke up cause--well, it was big, that's all. I don't know if I'm up to acting right about now."

"Fine." She said getting up to leave. "I just thought it'd help you in the long run." She said with her back turned to him. She stopped before opening the door and turned around to face him. "And who knows…maybe even with you and me."

She began opening the door, looking back one last time to see if he'd reconsider. They locked eyes and he began to get up, going to the sink and starting washing the dishes.

"See you around, Luke." She said before closing the door.

"Yeah, see you around…"

A Few Hours Later…

"Mom, we're going to be late."

"Your point?"

"Taylor hates when we're late."

"Taylor hates everything I do."

"Exactly. And one of those things is being late for town meetings."

"Sweetie, nobody said good punctuality was a must. Now, go in before Daddy yells at us."

The girls opened the doors to the dance studio and scanned the room for 2 open seats. The only seats open were in the back-which drove Lorelai nuts-and next to Luke. Lorelai sat next to him, as Rory settled in the seat beside Lorelai.

"Hi." Lorelai said quietly to Luke while sitting down.

"You're late."

"So?"

"Taylor hates when you're late."

"Has that ever stopped me bef--"

Taylor hit the gravel against the podium. "Lorelai, first you come in late, which you know I hate, and then you insist on interrupting us."

"Oh no Taylor, I don't insist…"

"It's a must with her." Luke butted in.

"Well, now that I'm town select man again," he said glancing towards Jackson's direction, "I'm going to put things in order. And first thing is, no talking during the meetings unless given permission by theleader of the meeting, which, in this case…happens to be me. Now Lorelai, do you have permission to be talking?"

Rory laughed and patted her mom's leg sympathetically. "No Taylor, I don't." She said with a serious face, trying to hold back the laughter.

"Alright then. Problem solved. But while we are talking right now, I guess this would be a perfect time to bring up you and Luke's…relationship. I'm guessing everything's still okay, right? I haven't seen any life or death drops in the economy surrounding the two establishments. So…things are good, right?"

Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled, patting him on the leg slightly. "The economy aint suffering a bit, Taylor." Well, it's the truth right? Probably…And it's not like she made it clear they were still dating. All she did was say it's not suffering. But ideas and schemes like that confuse Taylor, and the rest of the insane town…

"Aren't the adorable?" Babette called out.

…They still thought they were dating.

For the rest of the meeting, Lorelai focused on talking to Rory, purposely trying to annoy Taylor. She'd steal a few glances at Luke, who at this point looked like he was about to pass out from being so bored. Little did she know, he was thinking about the crazy idea that Lorelai mentioned earlier that day in his apartment. The whole, 'pretending' shin-dig. It's not like the economy actually is suffering, is it? But unfortunately, if Taylor did find out they had broken up, he'd still insist that Luke gave in to his side of the deal and leave. Because risks with the economy sure aren't worth taking, are they Taylor? Nope.

As the meeting ended, the girls walked out of the studio. Rory saw Lane across the street and told Lorelai she'd be back in a few minutes. Lorelai noticed Luke walking back towards the diner so she quickly walked up to him and hit him playfully on the arm.

"I told ya so."

"What?" He said gruffly, obviously still upset about the breakup. After all, it's not like he wanted to do it.

"Taylor's going to butt in."

"He already did his crime. It's over. It's done. Final. We're safe."

"But he probably thinks were still dating. I showed no signs that we had broken up…"

"Yeah, and you showed no signs that we were together either."

"I patted your leg, dear." She said in mock-tone.

"Ah, you patted my leg. Let's bring out the relationship experts and see what they think of that."

All she did was roll her eyes. "Whatever, forget it, let them know we broke up, I don't care. I'm just going to say it one more time though; it would help you out a lot Luke. Just…for the diners sake, remember?" It was almost as if she was begging.

He stopped walking and looked down at his shoes thinking that there's got to be more to this idea than keeping it open for the diner. "Yeah, I remember."

There was silence for a few moments so Lorelai spoke up. "Alright, I see you're still not up to it. We'll let reality take its own turn."

She began walking in the opposite direction, towards Rory.

"Hey Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" She said quickly turning back to Luke.

"You'd really do this to keep the diner open?"

She nodded her head. "And to help out a friend."

He just stared at her not saying anything. "Thanks."

She bit her lip and looked at him curiously. "So…you in?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

The night of their first date flashed through her mind. When he told her that…he was all in. It brought happy memories to her mind, when things used to be good, but they quickly faded away when she realized Luke was staring at her awkwardly.

"Good. I'm glad. And Luke…you know I'm s--"

"I know." He said cutting her off.

"Bye Luke."

"Yeah, bye."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever since then, that's how things went…acting as if they were a couple. There was no talk about conditions, about do's and don'ts, about anything. They both figured it'd be easier that way. That way there'd be no risks of stupid questions asked, or any potential ideas or plans to make it more realistic turned down. And the truth of it all was that acting like a couple was easier because they are least had contact with each other and that's what they needed most cause still, their feelings haven't changed.

It was around 6 when Lorelai got off Wednesday night. Work had been overpowering her, with it being the center of her life, and all. She got in the car and immediately took her shoes off, adjusting herself for the quick drive to the diner to 'pretend' to be with Luke. It was a crazy idea, really. But, it was working. Never were there questions asked within their distance. Over time, Lorelai admitted to herself that just about 99 sure that the reason she came up with the idea in the first place was because she knew it was her last chance & way to hold on to Luke without actually claiming him as hers. And Luke wasn't stupid. He knew very well her idea was because of them, staying together. Part of the reason he figured that out was because that was exactly how he felt too. Funny how similar they think.

It's not like either of them wanted to break up. Nothing lasts forever though. Not even this pretending game, but for the meantime it was working, saving the diner by a leap and that's all that matters. Sort of.

As she walked into the diner, she scanned the room and noticed only a few people were scattered through out the place eating and talking. He walked out of the kitchen as she walked in and smiled while she approached him. She returned the smile, sat at the counter and threw her head down, sighing loudly.

"So…tired…must…have…coffee…now."

Without resistance, he poured her a cup. "Here ya go." He said, settling in down in front of her.

"Thanks." She said, taking a sip. "So, how was your day?"

"Oh you know. Kirk came in. Kirk annoyed me. Kirk left. Kirk came back in. Kirk annoyed me again. And as you can see, Kirk has yet to leave for the second time."

She turned her head and watched Kirk poke his food & talk to himself. How normal.

"Got it." She said nodding her head.

"And yours?" He asked.

"Michel bothered me. Michel yelled at me. Michel broke the computer…again. Michel broke the stool…again. And most importantly, Michel broke Drake." She frowned.

He picked up his towel and started scrubbing the counter. "Who the hell is Drake?"

"Uhm, hello. Drake the Dragonfly. Only the best mascot we've ever, and will ever have."

Like he was supposed to know…"Oh, gotcha."

"His funeral's tomorrow."

"Heart breaking." He said sarcastically.

"It really is. Hey can you throw this in a to-go cup for me? I've gotta run."

"Yeah sure."

He took her cup and tossed it in the back, filling a to-go cup with fresh, new coffee. He placed the lid on it and handed it to her. She took a few dollars out of her purse and placed it on the counter.

"See you later?"

"Yeah."

She leaned over the counter and gave him a quick kiss goodbye. He sighed as he watched her walk out the door and went back to cleaning the counter.

As she walked outside, her eyes averted down to the sidewalk taking in every step she made. 'Pretending…huh?' She thought to herself. 'Harder than it looks.' She rolled her eyes and got into the car, a frown appearing across her face.

"Harder than it looks." She said out loud. "Maybe things would have just been easier…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"…look sweets, it's no big deal." Lorelai said nonchalantly, flipping through a magazine.

"What do you mean it's no big deal mom?" Rory asked, obviously confused by her mothers reaction to such a thing. "Things were good with you two, you had it working, you were happy…"

"Look Rory, yesterday I had a boyfriend before, today I don't. Remember when you broke up with Dean the first time? I think that's exactly what you said." She said, thinking about the incident. "Actually, you might have said I don't have a boyfriend anymore, that's all. Or something similar to that but I'm not su--"

Her attempt to change the subject failed. "Mom, I just…I don't understand."

"Aw, that's too bad…"

"So then make me understand."

"Rory," she took on a strict tone, "there's nothing to understand. If you can't understand that 'it's over', then, I guess you're not that brilliant Yale chick I thought you were."

She just rolled her eyes. "Mom?"

"What now Rory?"

"Wallow."

"What?"

"Wallow. Tonight. You've got nothing else planned."

"Not true!" She said, pointing to an ad in the magazine. "I've got to, uh, go buy these shoes. Want me to see if they have them in your size too?"

Rory glanced over at the ad. "To summer-y."

"Well, that's too bad because they really are cu--"

"Mom, just wallow."

"Rory, I'm not going to wallow, alright? I don't need too. E.O.S."

"What?"

"End. Of. Story."

Stubborn, stubborn, woman she is.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

When she walked in the house, she checked the messages to see if there were any 'important' things she needed to take care of.

Lorelai pressed play and sat in the chair beside the desk.

"It's Lorelai. I'm lazy; you're annoying, talk, and maybe I'll listen. Beep."

"I swear to God Lorelai, you change that damn thing every day. So you're obviously less lazy than you think, which then again, proves you're a drama queen, but we'll talk about that later. I need you to call me because I've got important things to discuss with you. You know my friend Rose, right? Well her husband passed away not to long ago and I invited her for dinner on Friday. Therefore I wanted to confirm the fo--"

Beep! The answering machine cut her off, leaving Lorelai in laughter. It had been a while since she heard her own laugh. It was almost discomforting how unfamiliar it sounded.

"Your stupid machine cut me off. So I'll make this quick. Call me back. Bye."

"Stupid, stupid, lady. Got nothing better to do than talk to a machine." Lorelai said out loud while waiting for the next message to play.

"Hey mom. I'm walking to my teacher's office to turn in a paper. It's a long walk and I'm bored, so I thought you might be around to talk. Call me, k? Love you."

As the messages came to an end, Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed Rory's cell phone.

After the fourth ring, she finally answered. "Hello?"

"Hey you."

"Oh hey mom. How are you?"

"Ya know…you?"

"I'm good. Just walking back to my dorm."

"Where's your car tonight?"

"Oh, Paris took it."

"Why didn't she take her own car?"

"Her car is making a noise and she's afraid it might break down on her so she insisted on driving mine to her class tonight."

"How thoughtful of her."

"My thoughts exactly."

"So hey, pick a color. Black or dark purple."

"Black. Why?"

"I'm trying to decide was color dress to wear to the dance marathon. It's either between the short, slinky, black one, or the short, slinky, dark purple one."

"My God, the competition."

"Well, you never know. The wrong color can ruin the whole night."

"If you say so."

"So…black?"

"Black."

"So, who are you going with again?" Rory asked after a quick moment of silence.

"Josh. I already told you this."

"And now who is Josh?"

"Rory, you know who he is. You've met him several times."

"Really? Refresh my memory, will ya?"

"Tight jeans, pink shirts…"

"Gay?"

"Rory…"

"I'm sorry; you're not giving me much to base my thoughts on."

"Gosh Josh."

"Oooooh." Rory said finally realizing who her mom was talking about. "The guy you went to high school with who used to wear tight jeans and pink shirts, and all the stupid, ditzy girls would call him 'Gosh Josh' cause he was 'oh-so-dreamy.'"

"You put two and two together so well my friend."

"Yale has that effect on you."

"Well, yes. Anyways that's who I'm going with. Remember I said I have seen him a few times in Hartford recently."

"Not really. All you said was you guys bumped into each other at the market."

"Yeah well about a week after that, I bumped into him at the pharmacy, and then after that at a coffee shop near your Grandparents."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, and we met up for coffee once or twice after that at the same little place."

"And you came upon asking him to the dance marathon…how?"

"Well, I was trying to find the number to the guy who used to work at Doose's a while ago. Remember, his name rhymed with Tim? He loved to dance."

"Jim?"

"No, no. That's not it. I don't know, and I saw Josh's number, and I just thought it'd be nice to ask to him since we've been having these little get togethers lately."

"Well that was very considerate of you…"

"I thought so."

"Uh, mom…"

"Yeah?"

"What is the town going to think about you and Josh going to the marathon together? I mean, wouldn't they assume that Luke would go with you, since you guys are supposed to still be dating and all…"

"Luke never dances though. Why would he this time?"

"I don't know. I just thought maybe if you guys were actually dating, he would, therefore you'd have to pretend, but if you don't think he would…then, he wouldn't. I was just wondering."

"Oh, alright."

"Yeah, so anyways…"

"Hey babe listen, I've got to go call Sookie and see if she's all set for the party tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh, okay…"

"But I'll talk to you later, k babe?"

"Alright, bye mom. Love ya."

"You too, kid."

After work the next day, Lorelai went straight to the town meeting that was being held extra-early on account of Taylor's meeting later that night. As she got closer to Ms. Patty's, she noticed Luke waiting outside for her like they originally planned.

"Hey." She said, walking up to him.

"Hey. Ready to go in?"

"I'm all set."

He held the door open for her and they took two seats in the back, drawing as little attention as possible to them…as if that was possible. Murmurs ran through the studio as they settled in their seats.

"Alright, alright." Taylor said, hitting the gravel. "Okay everybody, the meeting's going to start now. As we all know, this is going to have to be quick because I've got to be in Hartford in about…oh one hour, therefore let's get things going. First things first. The annual dance marathon is this Saturday. We expect you all to be their promptly on time and ready. If you're even one minute late, well, I'm sorry but that's the end of it for you."

"Yeah, the end of it for you! You all have to be there on time, and ready to dance!" Kirk threw in.

"Enough Kirk."

"Sorry Taylor. I think I'll be quiet. After all, I've got to save my voice for all the cheering I'll be doing when I win for…what is it…the 4th or 5th year in a row?"

"You're not winning this year Kirk!" Lorelai called from the back.

"Aw yeah, Kirk. Lorelai's got Luke this year. They'll kick your butt, sweetie." Babette said.

"Uh, I'm not going to the stupid dance marathon. I never have and I never will. I don't dance." Luke said forwardly.

"So then who are you bringing, doll?" Babette asked.

"Uh, just a friend. That's all. You'll just have to wait and see when we win!"

A few whispers passed through the studio as eyes focused on Luke and Lorelai.

"So Taylor, what do you have…a good 20 minutes before you need to leave?" Lorelai asked.

And with that, all eyes averted back to Taylor.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. I'm counting on you. 24 hours babe. You, me, and the music. It's going to be a long night."

Josh laughed. "Yeah, I'm…looking forward to it."

"Good." She smiled into the phone. "So, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning?"

"I'll be there, no doubts."

"Good. Thanks for coming with me by the way."

"It's my pleasure."

"I hope you'll still be saying that after 24 hours pass by…"

"Don't worry, I will." He said, reassuring her.

"Alright, well I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Josh."

"Night, Lorelai."

She hung up the phone, slightly smiling, and went to bed, attempting to get a good rest before waking up in only a matter of hours.

-----
TBC
-----

Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter...and, this is a JavaJunkie fic, scouts honor. Please review! :)