Language: We're potty mouths, all of us.
Sex Disclaimer: subtext, innuendo, a nudge and a wink, but nothing graphic.
Location: Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. Some places are real, some (sadly) are now closed, some are made up.
Part 2
I unwrapped the towel and began to dry my hair. "So," said Gabrielle, "Any ideas for what to put Dana in tonight?"
Draping the towel over my shoulders, I walked over to the closet. "Do you have anything that's maybe a little…more?"
Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "More? More what?"
"Just…more. I don't think Scully's too thrilled with the idea of showing a lot of skin," I said.
"I think you're right about that. Let's see here," reaching to the very back of the closet, Gabrielle considered and discarded several garments before pulling out a long, slim black skirt.
I nodded approvingly. "Definitely Scully."
"And I have just the thing to go with it, too." Gabrielle pulled out a soft knit tank top and matching cardigan. "How do you think she looks in gray?"
"Are you kidding? She probably looks good in anything," I said.
Gabrielle raised her eyebrows and nodded. "No doubt." She put the clothing down on the bed and turned her attention back to the closet. "Now what about shoes?"
"Probably best to let her choose," I rustled around in my bag, looking for my comb. "What are you going to wear?"
"I haven't decided yet. Depends on how I feel after a shower," she replied. "It's been a long day, so probably something comfortable."
I nodded and tried to run my fingers through my damp, tangled hair. A friendly voice behind me made me jump. "Here, let me do that." Gabrielle took the comb from my hand and began to run it gently through my hair. "My roommate has long hair, too, and sometimes I help her with the tangles."
"She coming out with us tonight?" I asked.
"No, she's working."
"Oh, that's too bad," I said.
Gabrielle shrugged and finished combing out my hair. "Blow dryer's in the bathroom. I'll bring it out so you can dry your hair in here while I'm in the shower."
"Sounds good," I said. I put my duffle on the bed and pulled out a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, and my makeup bag.
Gabrielle laughed. "You certainly come prepared!"
"Yeah, well, when you're in charge of the network you can never be sure you'll make it home every night."
"Network?"
"Yeah, network. You know, computers?" My fingers typed on an imaginary keyboard.
"I know what they are," she said with a mock glare. "I didn't realize that's what you did."
"Yup. What do you do besides teaching people how to kick butts?"
"I work for the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Outreach, mostly."
I looked over at her, startled. "Wow."
She nodded and looked down. "It can be hard sometimes. Seeing those kids."
"But it's good to see someone who cares enough to try to help them," I said gently.
Gabrielle looked up at me. "Thanks, I needed to hear that."
"Any time," I said. "Now, what do I get to wear?" I sat down on the bed next to Scully's outfit and watched Gabrielle expectantly.
"What am I, the fashion coordinator?"
"It's your closet. I don't know what's in there." Giving her a wicked smile, I massaged some gel into my hair.
"You have one leather skirt and people think you're kinky."
"I counted four," I said helpfully.
Before she could answer, the bathroom door opened and Scully emerged, wearing a gorgeous blue silk robe. "It's all yours," she said to Gabrielle as she began towelling her hair.
"We need music," I decided. "Where's your stereo?" I looked around the room and, spotting a portable CD player on a bookshelf, walked over and began browsing through the CDs. "Hey, Bri, where's your going out music?"
She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again and said, "Try Xena's CDs, in her room. And 'Bri" was one of Charlie's Angels."
"Ah." I nodded to her. "Come on, Scully. Let's go find some tunes."
We walked across the hall, and I pushed open the door of the apartment's second bedroom. Though the curtains were pulled back, the room was filled with an almost-purple, dusky light, unlike Gabrielle's sun-filled corner of the apartment.
"She must be an early riser," mused Scully. "Looks like this room gets the morning sun." She flipped on the ceiling light and we looked around the sparsely furnished room.
"Wow." Scully stood next to a bookcase, looking intently at the contents of one of its shelves.
"Ya find the CDs?" I asked her.
"Among other things," she said.
Intrigued, I turned and went over to the bookcase, which, as it turned out, contained very few books. Instead, the shelves were filled with CDs, an assortment of what appeared to be tools and parts for bicycles, and a very large sword.
"I don't suppose that's fake," I said to Scully.
"Depends on what you mean by fake," she replied. "It's definitely metal, but as to its age..." She stopped and moved closer to the shelf. "I wonder what that is?"
"What?" I asked, leaning in.
"That metal…ring. I've never seen anything like it, have you?"
I looked closely at the item in question. It was beautiful; highly polished silver with a design inlaid in gold. The edges looked as though they had been honed to a razor-sharp edge.
"Is that a weapon?" I asked, surprised.
Scully gave the object an appraising look. "That's a thought. It's definitely sharp enough…maybe it's like those throwing stars…"
"Aren't those illegal?"
She raised an eyebrow at me.
I gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged my shoulders. "So what do you feel like listening to?" I started looking through the eclectic collection of CDs. "She's got a little bit of everything here," I said, then pulled out a collection of David Bowie songs. "This oughtta do it."
Returning to the other bedroom, I noticed a small blow dryer on the dresser, presumably left there by Gabrielle.
"Oh, good," Scully said. "I was afraid my hair would dry this way." She shook her head and gave her damp auburn waves one last swipe with the towel, then looked at me questioningly.
"Oh, go ahead. I just use a dryer to get the water out. My hair will end up straight no matter what," I said with a laugh. "I always wanted curly hair, or at least waves."
Scully nodded as she picked up a round brush.
"Can't you-" I began.
She quirked an eyebrow at me.
"It's just, well, you look nice with curly hair. Couldn't you just leave it that way tonight?"
"Leave what what way?" Gabrielle asked from the doorway.
I didn't even try to control my giggles when I saw Gabrielle. She was drowning in deep blue terrycloth; the sleeves had obviously been rolled up several times, the belt was loosely tied around her hips, and at least five inches of fabric pooled at her feet. I tried to catch my breath to answer her question, but only succeeded in snorting before I began to laugh even harder.
"At least *I* can go on the good rides at Disney World," she said blithely, unwrapping her hair and throwing the towel on a chair.
Scully snickered. I turned back to her. "You keep out of this," I said.
Scully and Gabrielle looked at each other and burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, Staesh," Scully wheezed, "It's just so good to see someone else on the receiving end of a short joke."
"Glad to be of service," I muttered.
"Did you decide what you're going to wear?" Gabrielle asked me, still chuckling.
"No, not yet."
"The shorter skirts are in the middle of the closet," she said. "We wouldn't want you to trip over your hem or anything."
I have to give Scully credit; she tried to hold it in. Her attempt lasted all of 30 seconds, but at least she tried. Thankfully, she only laughed for a couple of minutes this time. Gabrielle was still making small giggling noises every so often as she combed out her hair, but it looked like I was finally out of the line of fire.
Scully grabbed a comb and ran it through her still-damp waves as she walked over to the closet and began looking through its contents.
"Whatcha doin'?" I asked her. "We already chose your outfit."
She turned to face me. "Pardon me?"
I walked over to the bed and sat down, bouncing slightly. "Yeah. Gabrielle and I picked it out while you were in the shower."
Scully's blue eyes looked from me to Gabrielle and back to me.
"It's ok, really. No leather, no animal prints…."
"You chose my clothes for me?"
"Well, Gabby's closet is a little scary, and-"
"What Stacia is trying to say is that we were looking for something for her to wear, and we found something that we thought you might like," said Gabrielle. "And," looking at me, "Gabby was Roy Rogers' cook."
"Ah." I said as I picked up my toothbrush and toothpaste and headed toward the bathroom.
I returned a few minutes later with clean, gingermint breath. Gabrielle was working some gel into her short strawberry-blonde hair while Scully stood in front of the mirror, scrunching her hair into loose waves. Gabrielle gave me a quick wink before heading into the bathroom with the blow dryer. "Good call on Dana's hair," she whispered, on her way out the door.