Daniel & Adrienne Halloween Story

“Please just no fangs ok Ad, no fangs,” Daniel pleaded as he watched his lovely assistant, his beautiful girlfriend type feverishly at the computer. 

“But what if I want to be Sookie and Eric, are you just going to be Eric the fang-less Viking vampire?” Adrienne asked, not deviating her eyes from the screen for a moment as she continued to click away. 

“Didn’t you already have that fantasy? Didn’t you inform me that looking back it wasn’t as pleasant as you had imagined,” he questioned, remembering distinctly how he had liked the taste of human blood, her blood, much to her disgust and later his. That must have gotten her attention as she jerked her head around, an evil grin on her face. 

“That was season three Eric. I want season four,” she smiled, raising her eyebrows at him hoping he would catch on. 

“Season four?” he inquired, not having braved a single True Blood night since they had gotten together. Not that he hadn’t wanted to spend the time with Adrienne, he relished their moments alone together, but they were never alone for True Blood. Vala was always there and always waiting to ask the two of them if whichever sexual position they were seeing on the screen was something they had tried. Ergo, Daniel had developed a sudden taste for Sunday Night football at Cam’s house. 

“Google it,” she responded, returning her gaze back to the screen. Curious, Daniel opened a new page in his browser and carefully typed: 

Sookie & Eric Season 4 

Seeing nothing but video link after video link, he clicked on images.....

his eyes widening at what appeared. Cutting his eyes at her, knowing she was setting him up, he decided to respond in the like. 

“I don’t need a Halloween party for that,” he answered, trying to keep his expression straight as possible, but she was prepared, as a nerf dart hit him square in the face.  

“Cute Daniel, very cute. I should cut you off just for that remark,” she teased right back, finally looking away from the screen. 

“Seriously though Indy, I really want to do a couple’s costume. I never actually have had someone to do a couple’s costume with,” Adrienne stated, honestly, remembering Joshua scoffing at the idea, his preferred costume something skimpy for Adrienne and nothing for him. 

“No, that’s fine, I’m just teasing you. If you want me to be that stupid blonde viking that you would leave me for that’s fine, but I was kind of hoping for something, more, us,” he replied, rolling the dart around his fingers.

“Like....” she led, running the list of every TV couple she could through her mind, trying to come up with a match. 

“I don’t know, I’m not the expert on pop culture that you are,” he replied, frustrating her more.  While he was the most amazing man she had ever met, he was just that, a man, and at times it seemed as if his entire goal in life was to drive her completely and totally insane. 

“Fine, well, we’re throwing the party and I...” Adrienne started but Daniel interrupted her, throwing the neon orange dart across the room. 

“Correction, YOU are throwing the party, I’m just stuck by default since we’re together,” he joked, returning his screen. 

“Embrasse moi tchew,” she spat back laughing, “I’ll just call Dex.” 

“And I’ll take the birthday girl,” he answered without missing a beat. 

“I hate you,” she resigned this round quickly, knowing he had won. 

“I know,” he answered quickly, returning back to their earlier battle, “How about Anthony and Cleopatra?” This time, Adrienne made a face.

“Ick, B.C. ear Snooki and her two time asshole lover, no,” Adrienne replied, offering her suggestion before he had a chance to speak, “Adonis and Aphrodite?” 

“Aphrodite was married to Hephaestean, not Adonis,” Daniel responded, peeking down his glasses at her as she was already scowling at him. 

“For real, did you just correct a classics professa?” she asked, her accent starting to appear in her last words. 

“Ok, ok. Well, I’m not running around half naked, I don’t want to hear anything from certain people. Sonny and Cher?” he now offered, having given up completely on his work for the day; Adrienne was not going to let up until this entire event was planned down to the tee. 

“I’m not old, Harry and Hermione?” she countered, smiling.

“I’m not 12 if you are talking about that wizard boy,” Daniel answered.  

“They flashed forward like twenty years, but you fell asleep by that part,” Adrienne replied and Daniel shrugged. 

“No children’s book figures. Hmmm... Lucy and Ricky?” he tried again, knowing she did enjoy that show. 

“Your Spanish makes me cringe, Mal and Inara?” she tried. 

“Who?” Daniel asked, confused. 

“From Firefly, remember Hot Starship captain?” Adrienne explained, hoping to jog his memory but Daniel was already frowning at the word Firefly. 

“Nothing we have lived in some strange off world ancient technology fueled fantasy. Luke and Leia?” he shot back quickly and Adrienne made a face. 

“They are brother and sister Daniel; that is GROSS!!” Adrienne shouted, quickly adding, “Sometimes I wonder how we are actually dating.” 

“Because I’m the only man in the galaxy that can put up with you,” he joked, tossing up his hands just in case there was foam retaliation headed his way.  Instead he heard a gasp. 

“Oh no,” he said, worried now at her reaction, as she was glancing over at him, a grin from ear to ear. 

“I’ve got it. It’s perfect,” she explained and Daniel didn’t respond, just waved his hands searching for her answer. 

“Do you trust me?” she asked. 

“Is that a rhetorical question?” he joked and she made a face at him. 

“I’m being serious,” she said sternly. 

“Yes Ad, I said I would be your vampire law enforcement official,” Daniel replied honestly. He didn’t care, really, he was looking forward to doing this with her, something he had never done before. 

“Trust me shug, it’s perfect,” Adrienne smiled, returning to her screen.  

Daniel had to admit he was just the tiniest bit apprehensive about the entire thing. For starters, dressing up as fictional characters was never something he had imagined doing, not that he was against it, but there was this unspoken pressure as to how perfect a selection he and Adrienne would make. Even Sam had taken to asking him, suggesting everything from famous Greek couples, for Adrienne’s benefit he was certain, to a pair of cartoon characters that came from some Walt Disney version of Atlantis.  This was supposed to be Vala’s birthday, the birthday Adrienne had given her, when it seemed to have turned into the Daniel and Adrienne event of the year. If this was the attention paid to the birthday party, he couldn’t imagine what their wedding might be like, a wedding he had daydreamed about but would never tell Adrienne, not just yet, for fear of her lecturing him on the role of women in a modern society and on the confines of legal marriage. Still, a man could dream, couldn’t he? 

Meanwhile, as he worried about what Adrienne was going to dress him in, a part of him still expecting a baggie of fangs to appear on his dresser, his New Orleans born and bred girlfriend was planning a party so huge, so over the top, that he was starting to fear how Adrienne was going to afford her bills the next month. Sam had given her permission to use the commissary for the party, so due to security reasons Adrienne was not allowed to use a caterer. Daniel thought that would stop the madness right there since Adrienne claimed to have no talent whatsoever in the cooking department, but alas no. Jack had jumped on the opportunity to grill, even though it meant having to following some dirty recipe card that Adrienne’s Aunt Barbara had mailed from the Bayou, complete with a cute little hello greeting to Cam.  Sam volunteered to make King Cake, which judging by a google search was NOT what Daniel had been taught King Cake was and even John Sheppard and Jennifer Keller from Atlantis had gotten roped into making some other dishes. Dancing herself around the SGC like a cruise director, Adrienne secured decorations and personnel to hang them, Cam to act as DJ, and even came up with a selection of party games to rival any child’s birthday party. It was so grandiose in fact, those wedding daydreams that he was starting to have were quickly turning into nightmares of a cajun bridezilla.  He kept to his work, letting her dart in and out of the lab for two weeks, knowing that she was dealing with the party by day and doing her work by night, her side of the bed sadly cold and vacant. He wanted this whole fiasco over with as soon as possible if not for any other reason than to actually be able to spend time with her again or curl up at night with her in his arms. 

So when the big day arrived Daniel was only half surprised that Adrienne was at work on time because she really wasn’t in the lab to work, she was merely there to find her tunes before beginning the festivities. 

“Sha, you seen my iPod?” she asked, digging around her desk, cajun swear words flying past her lips. Glancing up from his own desk, noting that it was 8:55, noting that she was early, noting that she hadn’t been in bed when he woke up, he rolled his eyes, knowing the damn thing was probably right where she left it but in her temporary insanity that was the last place she was going to look. 

“Try the speaker ja-wer,” he answered sweetly, trying not to mock her despite the overwhelming urge to do so. He’d been a little cranky when he woke up this morning, shivering in the bed alone, their bedroom window cracked for fresh air letting the cold October breeze seep in, chilling his bones. Even under the blankets, with sweatpants and a t-shirt, he was still chilly and had rolled over, reaching out to pull her into arms, to share warmth with her, to find her body pillow in her place a note on the nightstand. 

Busy day. Meet you back here for dinner to get ready. 

Love you forever. 

Ad

Snapping her fingers, Adrienne dashed over to the cabinets, standing on her toes to reach for the speaker, which, as Daniel suggested, was housing the missing MP3 player. She snatched it from the stand and slipped it into her jeans pocket, racing now over to her locker to dig around her gym bag. Resigning himself to the fact that the entire day was going to be this way, Daniel stopped watching her run around the room like a mad woman, redirecting his attention to the file folder he’d been reading.  He was just about to stand and walk to the center table and spread his photos out to examine, see if that planet was worth visiting, when he felt arms wrapped around him and lips at his neck. Finally, he thought, letting himself sink back into her arms, attention. 

“Tonight, I promise....” Adrienne whispered sweetly, giving him ideas that he needed not to have given the amount of work to be accomplished before tonight’s affair. 

“I was starting to think that you’d forgotten you were seeing anyone,” he teased, turning his desk chair around and pulling her into his lap. She giggled as she fell forward, crawling onto him and bringing their lips together, kissing him long and slow. He should be stopping himself, he knew, but he just didn’t care, they hadn’t been, well, intimate in at least a week and he longed for her touch. Letting himself get carried away he pushed her shirt up her back, pulling her by her now bare waist closer into his lap directing her to grind into him, which she started to do instinctually. 

“Get a fuckin’ room. It’s my damn birthday and I don’t want to see the two of you fucking, grant me that one wish,” Vala demanded from the doorway, making Adrienne leap up, adjusting her clothes quickly, her cheeks rose with embarrassment. Turning his desk chair, lest Vala see and have anything else to harass him about, Daniel cleared his throat and pushed his glasses back up his face. 

“What do you ladies have planned for today?” he asked, wanting to desperately change the topic and his thoughts. So close, a part of him cursed, so very close. Adrienne smiled, grabbing her backpack from the rear of her own desk chair, tossing it lightly over her shoulder. 

“Massages Indy, deep tissue massages,” Adrienne replied smiling brightly, Vala overjoyed. Shaking his head, imagining the two of them in a spa all day talking about god knew what, just hopefully not him, Daniel started to tell them to enjoy themselves when a thought popped into his head. 

“Ad, what am I going as tonight?” Daniel asked, wondering why there wasn’t a rental pressed and ready to go sitting at their kitchen table, but Adrienne was already shaking her head as if she anticipated the question.

“Nice try; you’ll find out at dinner,” she replied, dashing out the door before he could try again. 

“It’s gonna be fangs, I know,” he said outloud, standing and adjusting himself before laying out the photos. 

About 11:30 he received a text from Adrienne, a photo, of Vala passed out asleep, her face covered in black mud, cucumbers on her eyes, her mouth open appearing as if she were snoring with a message reading. 

Print this and I will love you till the end of time

Laughing, but already sending the message to his email, the potential for harassment too good to pass up, he shot a text message of his own back to his girlfriend. 

I thought you’d already promised to do that. 

Her response was quick, making him smile. 

Didn’t we go over my love being conditional provided you choose to remain my manservant sha? 

God he loved her, for things just like that. Picture secured in his email, he almost just sent her a reply telling her that everything was taken care of when a second thought popped into his head. 

What are we going as? 

He typed quickly and carefully into the phone. There was no answer, nothing, and for at least 10 full minutes the gadget didn’t so much as flicker to life with a news alert. 

Nice try. Order Thai for dinner. XO

“One day Ad, one day I will get you back so good for everything....” Daniel again spoke aloud to no one, returning, yet again, to his task. 

He didn’t hear from her for the rest of the day, not one peep, and shut down the lab at five, taking the subway back to their townhouse. He ordered Thai as requested, the delivery guy arriving only moments before Adrienne danced through their front door, her hands full of bags, her face glowing from the treatments it had endured all day. It’s a damn shame we have to go to this stupid party, Daniel thought, noting the way she looked post massage and spa, so spectacularly beautiful that he was tempted to disregard dinner and everything, pick her up and take her to their bed. Tossing the pile of bags, he guessed he was going to be losing even more closet space, Adrienne skipped over to him, sitting in his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“I feel amazing,” she declared, breathing in deeply and arching backward, the same way she acted after yoga practice. 

“I take it you ladies had fun?” he asked, trying to hold onto her while she stretched once more, wondering why she didn’t just choose to do such things in the floor. 

“Yes, I think we need to do it again for Christmas, or better yet, Thanksgiving,” she joked, Daniel already shaking his head at her as she stood, reaching for the bags. 

“What did you buy?” he asked, standing, peering over her shoulder, genuinely curious as to what else she could possibly need to add to her wardrobe. 

“Our costumes,” she answered simply, scooping up the bags and heading for the bedroom. Frowning, Daniel followed, thinking that she intended to show him back there but she paused at the doorway, stopping him with her full hands. 

“Not until time to go,” she teased, pushing him away.

“You said dinner,” he retorted, reaching for the bags. 

“I lied,” she answered, kissing him softly, turning, donkey kicking him lightly in the chest and using the same foot to shut the door behind her.  

“I ate everything,” he lied from the other side of the door, trying not to laugh. 

“If there isn’t any Drunken Chicken left I’m going with Cam,” she shot back.  

“Don’t think I forget these threats ja-wer, I’m like a human encyclopedia,” he answered as he started back down the hall, Adrienne laughing from the other side. 

She came and joined him for dinner in the living room, picking Thai food straight from the carton, Adrienne regaling him on the magic hands of her masseuse from today. Daniel had to admit he was slightly jealous, he’d tried to give her a massage, but that was just something he discovered he wasn’t quite good at, either too soft or too rough. He threw in a few hints here and there, hoping she’d give away the costume, but she just smiled, beamed really, continuing with her dinner. Choking down one more piece of chicken, Adrienne stood, gathering their trash and tossing it away, quickly turning to dash into the bedroom, the door slamming behind her.  He followed, making it to the wooden impediment only to discover that she’d locked him out. 

“Adrienne really?” he asked, growing very concerned as he glanced back at the clock, noting that there was only an hour before they needed to arrive and he knew she would want to get their early to bark a few more orders. She didn’t respond however, so he stood at the door, his arms crossed in frustration, waiting. Finally there was a click, not a loud click, but one he recognized and he reached out for the knob, turning it and entering a room that was supposed to be half his. 

And there she was, beaming, in red linen pants, a high belt and a white linen shirt with red flowers, her hair parted down the middle. In her hand was a hat, a fedora, a real fedora to match the cargo pants, tan shirt  that had been laid out on the bed. Oh course she went with that, why would he have expected anything else and it was perfect, she was exactly right. 

“Ya know Indy,” she said as she walked over, popping the hat onto his head and wrapping her arms around his neck, “There must have been plenty of women for you over the years.” He felt his cheeks flush; they had just watched the movie, finally, a few weeks ago and he remembered that she had squealed like it was a romance film right at this very part. 

“There were a few,” Daniel responded, “but they all had the same problem,” and Adrienne choked up, knowing at that exact instant he remembered. 

“Yeah? What's that?” she led, hoping, would he, did he? 

“They weren't you, ja-wer,” he replied, changing the last word, anxious to see her reaction. 

“The hell they weren’t. Now get dressed Indy. We have a party to throw,” she kissed him quickly, pointing to the bed when he saw the final detail. 

Because only Adrienne would have found a whip.