Scene 1:
"Care to sit with us?" Renee stood up and pointed to some extra chairs near their table.
"Oh, Renee honey! You look positively glowing. You've got a little bun warming in the oven, don't you?' Twanky bellowed.
"How does she do that?" Ted looked at Renee who shrugged her shoulders.
"Uh, yeah...but I mean, how.." Renee started as she turned to face the widow.
"I'm trained to notice such things dear. I used to be a nurse you know." Twanky interrupted her and sat down in an empty chair. Chris and Ryan jumped up and brought two chairs from a nearby table and arranged them around the already full table.
"Care to sit next to me?" Chris offered his to Nicole, but before she could say a word, Shannon sat down in the chair instead.
"Thanks. I really needed to sit down. I'm tired from all that unpacking we did today." Shannon said with her eyes on Chris.
Nicole glared at Shannon, but Shannon dutifully ignored it.
"Uh, well then, would you care to sit here?' Ryan broke the awkward silence as he pointed Nicole to the chair next to him.
"Thank you." Nicole smiled as she sat down but gave Shannon a stern look, "It is nice to sit down. We've had a long day."
"Which house did you two move into?" Ted asked.
"Old Sal's place on Gosling Road, God rest his dear soul." Interrupted Twanky.
"Sal was our uncle. When he died, he left the place to my parents. They didn't want to move all the way out here, so they let us move here instead. The house has been in our family for generations and they couldn't bear the thought of selling it."
"Hey, that's right near our apartment, we could stop by tomorrow and help if you'd like." Chris looked at Nicole.
"That would be great." Shannon smiled and kept her eyes on Chris.
"Okay, we'll be there about 2 o'clock."
"Well, we hate to eat and run, but Renee and I want to go shopping. We've got so much to think about now that we are going to have a baby." Ted gave Renee's hand a little squeeze.
"Okay. We'll catch you two kids later." Chris said as Ted and Renee stood up and left the table.
"Don't you go and overexert yourself! Put your feet up and don't let him do the work for a change!" Twanky called after him and then turned back to the table, "It's all his fault, after all."
"Yeah, we've got to get going to. We were going to catch a movie downtown, would you ladies care to join us?" Ryan asked.
"Sure, we'd love..." Shannon started but got a kick from Nicole under the table.
"Actually, the widow has already graciously offered to take us shopping. But we will see you tomorrow at 2 two, right?" Nicole interrupted.
"Okay, yeah, see you then." Chris sounded disappointed as he and Ryan stood up and walked out the door.
Scene 2:
Click for sound.
A fierce looking man sat in a black arm chair, in his mansion. He was Kevin Dimera a.k.a. The Phoenix, which he liked to call himself because he could rise above anything...and anyone.
Kevin stared at the chessboard. Thousands of possible moves flowed through his head, but he wanted to make the right move even though he was playing alone. Opera music, Puccini to be exact, played in the background.
A man entered the room. "Mr. Dimera I have some news for you."
"What is it?" He asked in a harsh voice. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a game?"
"Yes, and I'm sorry Sir, but this is something you'll want to hear."
"What is it then? Answer me damnit!" He responded roughly.
"Nicole and Shannon Conrad have moved into their Uncle's house."
Kevin Dimera pounded his fist on the table. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"What would you like me to do Mr. Dimera, Sir?" The man said, quite frightened.
"Keep an eye on them. Don't let them out of your sight. Do you understand me!?" Kevin replied with a clenched fist.
"Yes, Sir, I will do as you ask, Sir." The man said, and left.
Kevin Dimera looked at his chess board and picked up the Queen. "Oh my Queen of the Night..." His eyes got darker and his face grimaced. "Ohhh yes...yes indeed. I have plans for you...very definite plans. And by the time I'm through, the good people of Corinth will never recover..."
Scene 3:
Wally and Willard were on the road, back from moving Nicole and Shannon's things into their house. Wally kept trying to talk to Willard, but it seemed as though Willard didn't hear a word he said.
"What's wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since we left that house?" Wally asked.
Willard looked dazed. Suddenly he snapped out of it. "Stop here!"
"What?" Wally said confused.
"Stop here!" Willard replied once more.
"Ooooh ok I get it! There's a bush over there." Wally covered his eyes.
"No not that you idiot!" Willard hit Wally over the head. "The flowers!"
Wally looked out and saw a patch of flowers. "What do you want those for?"
Willard got the dazed look again. "For my beloved...Twanky." He said and sighed. He smiled at the thought of his "Twanky", and his front gold tooth glistened in his mouth of missing teeth.
"Oh no Will, you know what love does to people! Nah we're better off by ourselves."
Willard was in his own world. "That hair...those eyes...those lips! Twanky..."
Wally rolled his eyes.
"The most perfect creature I've ever seen." Willard continued.
"Are you gonna pick your stupid flowers or what?" Wally asked annoyed. "We're gonna miss WWF."
Willard again came back to reality. "Oh yes...the flowers for my flower..." He jumped out of the car and danced around picking flowers, as he hummed the tune "You Are My Sunshine".
Wally hit his head back and forth on the steering wheel.
Scene 4:
Ted and Renee walked into Baby's Bungalow, the shop just for babies!
A salesperson walked up and offered assistance. "Hello and welcome to Baby's Bungalow. May I help you find anything special?"
"We're looking for baby stuff!" Ted answered with excitement.
The salesperson wanted to laugh but attempted to hold it in. After all, the store only had baby stuff! "How about I show you some of the latest items we've received?"
"That sounds great." Renee replied. "We just found out about my pregnancy though, so we have awhile before the baby is born."
"Congratulations!" The salesperson said as she walked to a corner of the store. "Here is a wicker bassinet. As you can see it has-"
"We'll take it!" Ted interrupted.
"Ted let's look around some more first before we decide on anything ok?" Renee said.
"Oh ok yes good idea." Ted answered.
The salesperson walked to another section of the store and showed them some cribs. "Here is our cribs section. Depending on what you're looking for, we have-"
"We'll take 2!" Ted interrupted again.
Renee wanted to laugh, but covered her mouth with her hand.
"Maybe I should show you something else, uh like bibs!" She walked to that area of the store, and Ted and Renee followed. "Here are our bibs. We have every color you can imagine and-"
"We'll take them!" Ted exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Ted, honey, um we can't buy everything." Renee laughed as Ted started to drift around the store.
Renee smiled at the salesperson and said, "He's so excited."
"Sweetheart!" Ted came running up from the back of the store. "How about this, do you think little Ted would like this?" He had a huge smile on his face and held up a Joxer the Mighty mobile.
Renee's eyes got big and she got a strange look on her face. "Um Ted, do you really want *this* hanging over our child's crib?"
"Yes!" Ted exclaimed. "It's perfect! What child wouldn't want this!"
Renee sat the mobile down and took Ted by the arm. "I know you're excited honey, but we just found out about the baby today. We have more than enough time to shop and--" She suddenly stopped and thought. "Did I just hear you call our child little Ted?"
"Yes, little Ted." Ted answered.
"Ted dear, we don't know if the baby is a he. It could be a little girl!"
"LITTLE RENEE!" Ted shouted. "Oh how cute! Well Joxer the Mighty is a perfect role model for any child, boy or girl!"
Renee took Ted by the hand and started to lead him out of the store. "Thank you!" She called back to the salesperson. "I think we've had enough baby shopping for one day." She said to Ted.
"Oh ok honey, but you know I forgot...I think I left something at the cafe. Why don't you go on home, and I'll meet you there?" Ted answered.
"Left something? Are you sure? Well alright if you say so, but hurry home, remember we have celebrating to do." She smiled and kissed him goodbye. "I love you!"
"I love you too!" Ted said back. He watched her leave then ran back into the store. He picked up the Joxer the Mighty mobile and went up to the cashier. "I'll take this!"
Scene 5:
"Come along now girls. Fashion waits for no one!" Twanky declared as Nicole and Shannon fell in step behind her in the parking lot of the Corinth mall. It wasn't a huge mall, but it did have a nice variety of shops for people to browse through.
" We'd better hurry up, we don't want to keep Ms. Bustle Britches waiting." Shannon scowled and Nicole elbowed her in the side, "Ouch!"
"Keep your voice down. Do you always have to be so rude?" Nicole responded, "What is your problem today anyway?"
"My problem is that if it weren't for you we would be at the movies right now with Chris and Ryan." She responded rubbing her side, "But no, here we are shopping with this....this crazy woman."
"It was very generous of the Widow to offer to take us shopping. We can't be rude to people just because you can't keep your hormones under control."
"My hormones?!" Shannon started indignantly.
"Yes, with the way you were drooling over Chris I thought we were going to have to build an ark!"
"Oh, you're just jealous because he was looking at me." Shannon replied.
"Then I better call for an appointment tomorrow."
"Appointment?" Shannon questioned.
"Yeah, to get your eyes checked. You're obviously nearsighted."
Shannon's face turned red as she stopped and turned towards Nicole. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could get the words out of her mouth the Widow spoke, "Oh girls! Do keep up. We mustn't keep the shops waiting!"
"Oh brother!" Shannon rolled her eyes and Nicole elbowed her in the side again, "Ouch!"
"Coming Twanky." Nicole smiled and joined Twanky who had entered a department store. A few moments later Shannon followed her with the unsaid comment still hot on her lips.
Twanky led them through racks of clothing and finally stopped. She picked up a slinky blue dress and held it up to Nicole's neck, "What do think of this one, dear?"
"Well, uh, it's nice, but I don't think I would be very comfortable in something so fancy." Nicole pushed the dress away another rack of clothing, "What's wrong with those over there?"
Twanky looked over to where Nicole pointed and her face went pale. She put her hand to her chest and leaned on the clothing rack, "Jeans? Oh goodness, no. You're a woman and you should let it be known as thus. You won't find yourself a husband walking around like a farmer."
"But they are on sale."
"Sale?" Twanky whispered as she closed her eyes and looked up towards the ceiling in what looked like a silent prayer. Finally, she looked back at Nicole, "Well, if there is one thing that I do possess, it's patience. Don't worry dear, I'll have you whipped into shape in no time at all."
"You know what?" Shannon broke in, "I think I'll leave you two here to try and work on the fashion disaster that I call my big sister. I saw some really pretty lingerie over there that I would like to look at." She gave Nicole a wicked grin, "You never know when I'll have occasion to wear it."
Shannon turned around and found it hard to suppress her laughter. As she walked away she could hear Twanky's voice above the crowd in the store, "Now repeat after me: I am a woman, hear me roar!"
Scene 6:
"Wow. What a woman!" Chris exclaimed as he and Ryan stood in line to buy tickets for Mortal Kombat 2: Annihilation.
"No kidding. She was beautiful, wasn't she?" Ryan sighed melodramatically, "Once I saw her I lost my appetite completely..."
"I was wondering why you didn't finish your plate of Wonder Weenies." Chris snickered.
"I could no longer sleep..." Ryan continued.
"Good, you snore anyway." Chris retorted.
"I knew then that I could die a happy man because I had once gazed upon so fair and beauteous a creature." A huge smile had crept across Ryan's face as he looked over at Chris to see his reaction.
"If you don't cut out the melodramatics, I'll grant that last wish of yours." Chris cut in.
Ryan started laughing, "Seriously though, I thought she had the most awesome, blue eyes."
"You mean brown eyes." Chris said.
"No, I distinctly remember that they were blue."
"Are you completely colorblind? Nicole's eyes are definitely brown."
"Oh, you were talking about Nicole? I was talking about Shannon." Ryan laughed.
"Boy, that's a relief. I thought I was going to have to drop kick you to keep you away from her." Chris answered.
"Is violence the only answer to your problems?" Ryan started to smile, "Can't we just all get along?"
"Why do I even bother." Chris rolled his eyes.
"Hey look. Isn't that Dean over there?" Ryan pointed to the curly, blond man standing near the front of the theater.
"Yeah it is." Chris waved in Dean's direction, "Hey Dean! Over here!"
Dean turned around and slowly walked over to where Ryan and Chris stood, "Do you two losers have to follow me everywhere? My mom does let me cross the street all by myself now. I certainly don't need any chaperones."
"We're not here to chaperone you, we're here to warn your date that you are the one her mother warned her about."
"Speaking of which, where is this mystery date of yours?" Ryan scanned the area where Dean had been standing.
"She's in the bathroom, do you mind?"
"Yeah, sure." Chris looked at Ryan, "We've heard that one before."
"We're your friends, remember. You don't have to go around making up imaginary women just to impress us." Ryan started to laugh.
"Spoken like true Neanderthals." Dean said sarcastically, "Now if you don't mind there's my date. See you two clowns later."
Ryan and Chris were shocked to see a stunning, dark-haired woman emerge from the bathroom and wave at Dean.
"That's your date?" Chris asked.
"Yeah. Her name is Lucy. Isn't she's great?" Dean waved back at her.
"That depends, how much did you have to pay her?" Ryan asked.
"Ha, ha, very funny." Dean replied, "She told me that she has many skills, so don't wait up for me...chumps." Dean walked away and joined Lucy, leaving Chris and Ryan staring at them in disbelief.
Suddenly, Chris noticed they were next in line. '"Now Ryan, are you sure that you want to see this movie?"
"Yeah, why not?" Ryan answered.
"The best character dies at the beginning of the film. What a waste of talent!" Chris shook his head in disgust.
"You mean Johnny Cage? Good, that guy always bugged me anyway."
Scene 7:
"You can stop laughing now." Nicole said to Shannon as they stumbled through their front door loaded with shopping bags.
"I am woman, hear me roar?!" Shannon just made herself laugh harder.
"Turn on the lights, will ya? I can't see a thing."
"With some of those clothes Twanky bought you, that's probably a good thing." Shannon started giggling again as she tried the light switch, "That's funny, the light isn't working. I thought you put a new bulb in today. Oh well, I'll go turn on the hall light instead."
"Thanks." Nicole said as she managed to find her way through the living room and put her bags on the couch, and then sat down to take off her shoes, "I can't wait to get to bed tonight. I'm so tired that I could just...."
Nicole wasn't able to finish her sentence because she was interrupted by a blood curdling scream coming from the hallway that Shannon had just disappeared down. Nicole shot up out of her seat and ran to find Shannon.