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Disclaimer: This is first in the five-part series, "Kiss Me." I don't own "The Pretender" or any of its characters, so thanx for not suing. Enjoy! ~Oriana
[Editor’s note: This author has been deemed ‘lost’, for more information please see the FAQ and profile.]
Kiss Me
Seventh Time Had Better Be A Charm 1/1
Oriana Lemke
She gave a deep sigh, rubbed the bridge of her nose and plunked down onto the nearest park bench. A few moments later, she looked up as a man appeared, stating in an irritated voice everything he was writing on the clipboard in his hand: "Romantic music and candles, check. Doors jammed, power outage from storm, wood for a fire--check, check, check."
"We did everything but push their lips together with our own hands. What is it going to take with those two?"
"Well, if divine intervention were an option, I'd choose that. However, considering that's us, let's face it--we're screwed." He plopped down on the bench next to the woman. "We did everything right. How could it possibly go wrong?"
She gave him a knowing look. "The moment the Centre entered the picture, I knew this was going to be a difficult attempt. Lately, where ever those two went, trouble followed."
He looked down to the ground, and said in a low voice, "I can't believe they're dead."
"I know." Her voice was equally sad. "And I hate to tell ya, but it doesn't get easier each time. If anything, it gets harder."
"Oh, you're a great relief," he replied sarcastically.
"Well, look at their track record: double quinine poisoning, one eaten by a lion and the other by a shark, car wrecks on opposite ends of Greece, and now, shot by sweepers in a cabin. And those are just the easier deaths. Apparently dying of old age in their sleep just isn't interesting enough for those two." He grimaced at the images. "They didn't even admit their feelings for each other—usually they get at least that far." She sighed again. "Let's face it--the term 'star-crossed lovers' is not a challenge."
"Still, from what you told me, they made it farther than usual. How many times have they died before they hit 20?" The man groaned, and rubbed his face. "And we'll get absolutely nothing out of this--they obviously won't remember anything, and we can't tell them, or we get kicked out of reality--"
"Like I was. I tried too bluntly to change their future, and Destiny had me shot. Real nice of her, making me live the rest of that life out as a ghost."
He shook his head. "If they only knew..."
"What? That I only played her mother because it made it easier to keep an eye on things, or that you, his brother, became a guardian angel after your death, with them as your first assignment?" She snorted. "Yeah, that'd go over real well. Let's see, how could we explain it? '130 years ago, I was assigned as your guardian angel when you were both killed in a fire set by a jealous lover. You've been my hardest case, considering you've gone through six lives, and still haven't managed to do things right. He and I can't move on to our next assignments until you two live happily ever after together.' " She laughed. "It sounds like the script for a really bad soap opera."
He grinned. "Tell me about. So, now what?"
"Now, we wait."
"For what?"
"The next life description. A little packet will just appear out of nowhere, describing how they'll start out in their next lives. Then we'll be pushed forward in time to their births. Then it starts all over again. This time you'll get to see it from the beginning." True to her words, a thin manila envelope appeared at their feet a few minutes later. Picking it up, Catherine read it, then gawked in disbelief. "This has to be a joke."
"What?" he asked suspiciously.
"Good news first, or bad?"
"Might as well give me the bad first."
"Mr. Parker's her father, again. And Lyle's back as the brother."
"You've got to be kidding!"
"On the bright side, Mr. Parker's working in corporate takeovers this time. He's as evil as ever, but at least he doesn't have the power of a place like the Centre behind him. And Lyle will remain with the family, meaning no abusive foster father, meaning no development of psychopathic instincts."
"Well, that's not too bad."
"Who said I was finished?"
He gave her a withering look. "There's more?"
"Isn't there always? Jarod doesn't have any siblings this time around--"
"What about Emily?" he demanded. He would've been notified if she'd been sent straight to heaven. Besides, she was far better fit for this guardian stuff than him.
"Her soul will return, but not as Jarod's brother. Instead, she's been chosen as a friend of Parker's and..." She glanced down at the paper one more time to be sure, gulped, then hesitantly finished, "...and eventually, Lyle's wife."
"What?!"
"Chill, he won't be a serial killer, so all is well. In fact, these records suggest a rather tolerable guy, nice, athletic, a real family man. Besides, nothing we can do--it's one of the few things about these people that's set in stone."
He folded his arms and closed his eyes. Dead or not, he'd give anything for a couple of aspirin. "Anything else I should know?"
"They aren't even going to be in the same town until they're 18."
He shot up. "We have to wait 18 years before we even have a shot?!"
"Unfortunately."
"So, what's the good news?"
"We don't have to bother with the rules of reality." Her nose wrinkled. "You know, can't walk through walls, can't levitate stuff. All the perks of being guardian angels. Mrs. Parker's her own woman this time around, and you're home free since Jarod's an only child, so..."
"Yeah, yeah." He looked around expectantly. "When do we go?" Even as he spoke, the park around them began to grow fuzzy.
"Right now."
Seconds later, they were standing in front of a window, looking happily at a little baby tucked under a blue blanket. A nurse paused, and stuck a name tag on his crib: Jarod Russell.
"Wow."
"Isn't it great?" she smiled. "To think, soon we'll be cursing them once again, for being too dense to figure out their feelings for each other."
"Yeah, just like old times."
She laughed, then snapped her fingers, and they appeared at another hospital half way across the country, where another newborn was just being placed into her crib, with a name tag already signed. But the nurse was in the way, and all he could see of the name tag was the last name.
"'Parker' ?" he read out loud. "This is a joke, right?" He had never learned her first name in the last life.
"Sorry, but rules are rules. Even 130 years ago, her name was precious to her--something prized by a soul is never just given out. You weren't meant to know, not yet. But look at the bright side--these two are meant to eventually be guardian angels too. Working as a couple, of course--entwined souls always do. Then, when she learns of how long you've watched out over her and Jarod, I don't doubt that she'll tell you. Until then, you'll just have to wait."
"I suppose," he sighed. "Well, ready to get to work?"
"Of course," she smiled. "After all, we've got a lot to do, and only 18 years."
"Unless things get mucked up again," he pointed. "At this rate, we may have an eternity to get it right."
"Quiet, you." Catherine and Kyle laughed.
[Editor’s note: This author has been deemed ‘lost’, for more information please see the FAQ and profile.]
Seventh Time Had Better Be A Charm 1/1
Oriana Lemke
She gave a deep sigh, rubbed the bridge of her nose and plunked down onto the nearest park bench. A few moments later, she looked up as a man appeared, stating in an irritated voice everything he was writing on the clipboard in his hand: "Romantic music and candles, check. Doors jammed, power outage from storm, wood for a fire--check, check, check."
"We did everything but push their lips together with our own hands. What is it going to take with those two?"
"Well, if divine intervention were an option, I'd choose that. However, considering that's us, let's face it--we're screwed." He plopped down on the bench next to the woman. "We did everything right. How could it possibly go wrong?"
She gave him a knowing look. "The moment the Centre entered the picture, I knew this was going to be a difficult attempt. Lately, where ever those two went, trouble followed."
He looked down to the ground, and said in a low voice, "I can't believe they're dead."
"I know." Her voice was equally sad. "And I hate to tell ya, but it doesn't get easier each time. If anything, it gets harder."
"Oh, you're a great relief," he replied sarcastically.
"Well, look at their track record: double quinine poisoning, one eaten by a lion and the other by a shark, car wrecks on opposite ends of Greece, and now, shot by sweepers in a cabin. And those are just the easier deaths. Apparently dying of old age in their sleep just isn't interesting enough for those two." He grimaced at the images. "They didn't even admit their feelings for each other—usually they get at least that far." She sighed again. "Let's face it--the term 'star-crossed lovers' is not a challenge."
"Still, from what you told me, they made it farther than usual. How many times have they died before they hit 20?" The man groaned, and rubbed his face. "And we'll get absolutely nothing out of this--they obviously won't remember anything, and we can't tell them, or we get kicked out of reality--"
"Like I was. I tried too bluntly to change their future, and Destiny had me shot. Real nice of her, making me live the rest of that life out as a ghost."
He shook his head. "If they only knew..."
"What? That I only played her mother because it made it easier to keep an eye on things, or that you, his brother, became a guardian angel after your death, with them as your first assignment?" She snorted. "Yeah, that'd go over real well. Let's see, how could we explain it? '130 years ago, I was assigned as your guardian angel when you were both killed in a fire set by a jealous lover. You've been my hardest case, considering you've gone through six lives, and still haven't managed to do things right. He and I can't move on to our next assignments until you two live happily ever after together.' " She laughed. "It sounds like the script for a really bad soap opera."
He grinned. "Tell me about. So, now what?"
"Now, we wait."
"For what?"
"The next life description. A little packet will just appear out of nowhere, describing how they'll start out in their next lives. Then we'll be pushed forward in time to their births. Then it starts all over again. This time you'll get to see it from the beginning." True to her words, a thin manila envelope appeared at their feet a few minutes later. Picking it up, Catherine read it, then gawked in disbelief. "This has to be a joke."
"What?" he asked suspiciously.
"Good news first, or bad?"
"Might as well give me the bad first."
"Mr. Parker's her father, again. And Lyle's back as the brother."
"You've got to be kidding!"
"On the bright side, Mr. Parker's working in corporate takeovers this time. He's as evil as ever, but at least he doesn't have the power of a place like the Centre behind him. And Lyle will remain with the family, meaning no abusive foster father, meaning no development of psychopathic instincts."
"Well, that's not too bad."
"Who said I was finished?"
He gave her a withering look. "There's more?"
"Isn't there always? Jarod doesn't have any siblings this time around--"
"What about Emily?" he demanded. He would've been notified if she'd been sent straight to heaven. Besides, she was far better fit for this guardian stuff than him.
"Her soul will return, but not as Jarod's brother. Instead, she's been chosen as a friend of Parker's and..." She glanced down at the paper one more time to be sure, gulped, then hesitantly finished, "...and eventually, Lyle's wife."
"What?!"
"Chill, he won't be a serial killer, so all is well. In fact, these records suggest a rather tolerable guy, nice, athletic, a real family man. Besides, nothing we can do--it's one of the few things about these people that's set in stone."
He folded his arms and closed his eyes. Dead or not, he'd give anything for a couple of aspirin. "Anything else I should know?"
"They aren't even going to be in the same town until they're 18."
He shot up. "We have to wait 18 years before we even have a shot?!"
"Unfortunately."
"So, what's the good news?"
"We don't have to bother with the rules of reality." Her nose wrinkled. "You know, can't walk through walls, can't levitate stuff. All the perks of being guardian angels. Mrs. Parker's her own woman this time around, and you're home free since Jarod's an only child, so..."
"Yeah, yeah." He looked around expectantly. "When do we go?" Even as he spoke, the park around them began to grow fuzzy.
"Right now."
Seconds later, they were standing in front of a window, looking happily at a little baby tucked under a blue blanket. A nurse paused, and stuck a name tag on his crib: Jarod Russell.
"Wow."
"Isn't it great?" she smiled. "To think, soon we'll be cursing them once again, for being too dense to figure out their feelings for each other."
"Yeah, just like old times."
She laughed, then snapped her fingers, and they appeared at another hospital half way across the country, where another newborn was just being placed into her crib, with a name tag already signed. But the nurse was in the way, and all he could see of the name tag was the last name.
"'Parker' ?" he read out loud. "This is a joke, right?" He had never learned her first name in the last life.
"Sorry, but rules are rules. Even 130 years ago, her name was precious to her--something prized by a soul is never just given out. You weren't meant to know, not yet. But look at the bright side--these two are meant to eventually be guardian angels too. Working as a couple, of course--entwined souls always do. Then, when she learns of how long you've watched out over her and Jarod, I don't doubt that she'll tell you. Until then, you'll just have to wait."
"I suppose," he sighed. "Well, ready to get to work?"
"Of course," she smiled. "After all, we've got a lot to do, and only 18 years."
"Unless things get mucked up again," he pointed. "At this rate, we may have an eternity to get it right."
"Quiet, you." Catherine and Kyle laughed.
