I couldn't let Helen, Mags, and Susannah's little stories go by without at least adding my take to today's "Scenes that will never happen." theme. Blame them. :-) --DBK ***** Scenes That Almost Happened A This Time Round: To Die For quick fic. ***** Somehow, he'd done it. He'd gotten through The Day. OK, she'd killed him twice, but all things considered that was better than he had expected. Besides... her lips felt delicious, even if they did taste like burnt almonds. He could get used to it, he told himself. Hell, he could get used to a lot of things, just so long as they in some way involved her... He smiled to himself. Because after The Day, of course, came The Night. He probably won't last the whole time, he surmised. She'll probably pull a Black Widow or a Xenia Onatop on him at some point. But still, it would be worth it. He would finally get the chance he'd always wanted, he'd always dreamed. And this time it wouldn't involve number games or quadratic equations. They were alone, now. Finally. No pesky fans, no overly inquisitive companions, no meddling Doctors. Just the two of them. She was in a nightgown. A small, beautifully embroidered "N" lay slightly folded between her breasts. The fabric was thin and left little to his imagination. A small, slim stiletto was held in place on her shapely leg by a garter. They stood looking at each other. Then, with the barest of hesitation, they each leaned forward. Their arms reached for one another, to draw each other closer. He smiled, and she finally smiled back. Their lips drew closer, their eyes telling each other all they needed to know. Adric felt his heart leap. They were close, getting closer, trembling with anticipation for what was to come. He felt the first brush of her lips on his... The rough squeeze on his shoulder jolted him. "WHAAA... WHAAA...?" he shouted, startled. His head rocketed up from the table, an elbow knocking over a mostly empty glass as he did so. Fog. Mist? No, that was just his eyes adjusting. Where was he...? A vague outline solidified in front of him. The lips were moving, but the voice sounded incredibly distant. "Waaaaakkkkkeeeee uuuuupppp, Aaaaaaadddddrrrrrriiiiiccccc." they were saying, excruciatingly slow. Suddenly, everything slammed into focus, reving up to normalcy with a speed that gave him whiplash and a distinctly annoyed buzz. He blinked once, twice, shook his head, and blinked again. The 'Round, he thought. The welcoming party for Compassion. He vaguely recalled asking for a Black and Tan. He remembered the glass. Glasses. Wasn't she caught trying to spike one? Wait a minute, wasn't she... didn't she...? He blinked again, still disoriented. "Come on, Adric." Turlough told him, his voice suddenly tracking. He was waving his arm at the disaster area that had once been a pub. "We've got to start cleaning up this place." Adric looked up at Turlough, blinked once more, looked down at the table, then back up at Turlough. Realization suddenly dawned. ***** The 4th Doctor looked up from his poker hand at the commotion in one corner. "Say," he asked, "does anyone know why Adric is trying to choke Turlough to death?" --DBK 1 September 1999