Dorotea entered the library with a grin on her face. "I'm back!" She called.

There was a moment of silence followed by a coffin lid banging open. A man with long, dark hair sat up. "Welcome back. How was your...trip?" Xanatos asked, slightly puzzled expression on his face.

Dorotea glared. "You didn't notice I was gone, did you?"

Xanatos shrugged noncommittally. The man lying next to him in the coffin sat up. "I noticed you were gone, m'lady. Your friend, the Nurse, was nice enough to visit while you were away."

"WHAT?" Dorotea exclaimed. "Nice enough to visit, I'll just bet she was nice enough to..."

Xanatos climbed out of the coffin and sauntered over to the Librarian. He kissed her on the cheek. "I missed you, it's just not the same watching The Matrix without you."

Dorotea smiled sweetly at the rogue. "How long was I gone?"

"Time; what meaning does it really have..." Xanatos mused.

Dorotea rolled her eyes as LP approached, peering at her face. "What happened to your skin, m'lady? It, it..."

"Has color." Xanatos completed the thought for LP. "And spots."

"Those are freckles; I went out into the sunlight. Don't try it- you two would burn. Since I am obviously not needed here, I'm going to go look for the General. I haven't fed him grapes in ages."

"But, Dorotea, my true love, I need you," Xanatos purred, tracing the freckles on librarian's face.

Dorotea rolled her eyes, still sulking. "Call the Nurse. Maybe she'll visit again. Bye," Dorotea said throwing an angry pout at LP and Xani as she left.

*******************

Dorotea walked up to DebLei's desk, where the padawan secretary was tugging at her catsuit and watching her screensaver with great interest. "I need an appointment. Well, I don't really need an appointment, but I want to see the General, now."

Deb arched a brow. "He's gone."

"What?"

"Gone."

"Gone, where?"

"Don't know."

"When will he be back?"

"Don't know."

"He's not in the nut house again, is he?" Dorotea asked in an urgent whisper.

"If he were," Deb said smugly "it would probably be because, other than Emmy, none of his staff seem to have time for him. Caeryn is always at hockey practice. Shana has taken up cooking with wine. The Nurse is obsessed with the new 'doctor'. Die, well..."

"Emmy went with the General?"

"Yes."

"That witch!" Dorotea exclaimed.

"Who has pentagrams drawn on the floor?" Deb asked.

"I didn't mean witch literally, I meant witch as in BITCH. She probably took him just for revenge. She has him so whipped...he'd do anything she said." Dorotea paused for a moment. "Well, you have respect her for that, but still, that BITCH, just kidnapping the General like that, without even a good-bye. She can't get away with taking the man I love away. I will find them. And then there will be trouble. I know hexes that can..."

Deb sighed and interrupted the ranting Librarian. "Maybe you should just let them be, considering how you express your love for the General with so many EA's not even the Nurse can keep track...."

Dorotea turned and stomped out of the office before the padawan Secretary could finish her sentence. Deb just shook her head. She just didn't understand how some Ho's could be such...well, ho's.

*********************

Dorotea banged on the door of the clinic for several minutes, greeted only with silence. She was sure somehow, this had to all be Darry's fault. Everything was Darry's fault as far as Dorotea was concerned. Finally a man in blue scrubs answered. "We're not open yet," he said.

Dorotea arched a brow and pushed the soft-spoken 'doctor' out of her way, barging in. The Nurse was setting up a video camera at two new holes in the wall. "This sequel is going to make us a fortune."

"Where is the General?" Dorotea asked the Nurse, not even noticing the what the Nurse was doing.

"Who?" The Nurse asked, pressing buttons on the camera. "Time for a close-up, wow, Dor, do you know what you're missing?"

"YES! The General! Where is he?"

The Nurse turned and looked at the distraught Librarian. "General Kenobi?"

"Yes, General Kenobi. Jael wouldn't let General Max get away. I'm not sure if she even lets him out of his tent anymore."

"Have you tried his office?" The Nurse asked as her 'doctor' began massaging her shoulders, kissing her neck softly.

"I've tried everywhere. I think Emmy has Generalnapped him! I tried calling her, but she has her phone turned off, obviously she is up to no good."

The Nurse shrugged. "Let her have him."

Dorotea's mouth fell open. "NO WAY!"

"Why not?" Darry asked, becoming increasingly distracted by the 'doctor'. "Let him take a vacation, Xani needs you, he said so himself."

"Well, one, on the principle that she has no right to take him away. Second, I hate letting her win. Third, I love him! Fourth, I want to feed him grapes, he should be here. Fifth, I need him to clean all this red clay of my boots." Dorotea lifted her clay encrusted boot to show the Nurse how urgent the situation was. "Lastly, you shouldn't eavesdrop and Xani was lying."

The Nurse sighed. "How do you know Xani was lying?"

Dorotea arched a brow. "His lips were moving."

Darry shrugged, she couldn't argue with logic like that. "Ah, forget it, go play with the coffin boys, Emmy will bring him back. She probably just wants to punish us."

"EXACTLY!" Dorotea shrieked. "And I'm not going to let her get away with it!"

Cicero startled. "Is she quite okay?" He asked his Nurse as the Librarian turned and stormed out of the clinic, slamming the door behind her.

Darry turned and peered through one of the holes in the walls. "I'll take care of it," she said to Cicero as she knocked on the wall. "Xani," she called through the wall.

Xani padded over to the hole in the wall. "Yes, my beautiful healer?"

"Dorotea is freaking out, again. Can you and LP distract her, exhaust her, something?"

Xani arched a brow and grinned. "Most certainly. We will unvex her."

"Good," the Nurse said as she heard Dorotea storm into the library, ranting and raving. The Nurse grabbed Cic's hand. "Let's go try out the new 'medical' supplies we got in yesterday."

Cic smiled. "Yes," he said picking up the box labeled The Pink Banana and opening it. "I've never seen medical supplies like this before."

Darry laughed, peeling off her Donna Karan suit jacket.

***********************

Mumbling curses under her breath Dorotea picked up her cell phone. She sat down on one of the coffins and hit #2 on her phone.

"Hello," a lyrical voice answered.

"Dande, it's Dorotea."

"Dorotea," the Wench's voice hardened a bit. "Do you know what your boy toy has done now?"

Dorotea looked at the two men who were removing her muddy Docs. "Which boy toy?" She asked.

"The Fallen One, not the dead one or the crazy RB."

"He's not DEAD! And you can't talk. But, Xani, my angel, did something wrong?" Dorotea asked dryly as Xani continued undressing her, while LP brushed and pulled her hair back in a black scrunchie.

The Wench hurumphed. "Yes! Your 'angel' sent my Mast-Hippie a video of the Matrix, and now he thinks he needs to find Neo, because he is the Chosen One. He actually left me in my delicate condition to look for him."

Despite her mood, Dorotea snickered. She slapped her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh. After she choked back the laugh she whispered, "Good one, Xani," holding her hand over the mouthpiece.

"Have you seen the General?" Dorotea asked, remembering why she had called.

"No. What would he be doing here?"

"Emmy has Generalnapped him to punish the staff for having EA's."

Dande giggled.

Dorotea frowned. "I don't think it is funny."

"Well, if you were monogamous, you know, faithful, maybe you wouldn't have to worry about your man skipping town with another woman."

Dorotea seethed silently for a moment, then smiled cruelly, arousing Xani immensely. "Dande?"

"Yes," the wench answered.

"Where is your man?"

"Well, he would be here, if it weren't for your..."

Dorotea suddenly yelped and then started laughing.

Dande frowned at the phone. "I don't think it is funny..."

Dorotea laughed again. "I'm sorry about that, when your Mast-hippie comes back for a grape feeding or a massage, have him call me, I'll explain---oh my, God, Xani, I'll explain it to him...I have to go now, LP and Xani are playing connect the freckles on me."

"With a pen?" The wench asked, puzzled.

"No, their tongues...ooh, I didn't even know I had freckles there...if you see the General, um, tell him...um, ooh, wow, um, nevermind. I'll find him and his little Diva, ooh, that tickles, later though...much later --"

The connection went dead and the Wench just shook her head. Would that Dorotea ever come to her senses?

***************

Laure led the RB toward the library. "Hopefully Dorotea still has some Merlot stashed around the library somewhere. I know I saw a bottle when I was....um, checking out a book over the weekend," the lace and leather clad Mediator said.

"Do you think she will feed me grapes? I love it when she feeds me grapes. I am the Emperor, after all."

Laure shuddered, the idea of feeding men grapes- yuck. The Librarian might have good taste in men, but she really needed to learn how to treat them. "Sure, maybe if you ask nicely. She'd probably love to hear about that dream you had about your sister last night too," Laure said to the brooding RB, then muttered under her breath, "It's not like the Nurse can say anything about counting EA's."

Laure and the RB walked into the library to a tangled trio laughing and rolling around in a coffin. They tilted their heads trying to discern who was where. "Um, Dorotea?" Laure, finally asked.

Dorotea's head popped up. "I'm kinda busy, we're playing connect the freckles."

"Ah," said Laure. "Do you have any Merlot? We're out and the RB is getting vexed. Cooking wine just doesn't have the same effect, if you know what I mean."

"Terribly vexed," RB said. "And I had this dream last night-"

"Will you guys move! You're blocking the shot!" An irate Nurse called from the clinic.

Laure turned and walked to the wall. "Darry?" she asked, examining the holes. "What are you doing?"

"Moonlighting a bit in the erotic film industry. Would you like a momento from your EA-less visit to Xani? We have the camera hooked up to start whenever there is motion."

Laure cleared her throat. "Destroy that tape or else..." she threatened the Nurse.

"Excuse me," Dorotea said loudly. "We're busy. There are couple of bottles of Merlot by the computer. Take them and leave. Oh, and lock the door on your way out please."

"We'll discuss this later, Nurse," Laure said through the hole in the wall, before turning and picking up the bottle of Merlot. Maybe she would go to the rugby pitch and see if Ky's EA needed Cicero for anything.

RB turned his brooding eyes and needy expression on Dorotea. "You don't want to feed me grapes and hear about the dream I had about my sister?"

Dorotea appeared thoughtful for a moment, then Xani began tracing the freckles on her arm while kissing her neck. "Later," she said patting the moody Emperor's arm.

Laure handed RB a bottle of Merlot and he brightened considerably. "Yes, later. I'm sure Shana will listen while I feed her pasta."

Laure smiled. "Yes, good idea, some of us actually have work to do," she said, throwing a glare at Dorotea.

Dorotea missed the glare, her head being buried in LP's neck, while Xani pulled them back into the coffin.

Laure and RB were almost out the door when Dorotea remembered something, she sat up. "Laure, have you seen the General?"

Laure furrowed her brows. "No, come to think of it, I haven't seen him for a couple of days."

"I think Emmy Generalnapped him to punish us for neglecting him for our EA's."

Laure sighed. She knew what this was going to mean. More work for her. Lots and lots of mediating.

"I'm going to hunt the witch down and find the General, don't worry," Dorotea called as she was being pulled back into the coffin.

Laure let out a heavy breath. "Darry said this would be an easy job. Fun campus, hot General. No problems at all. I should have known not to trust her- her lips were moving."

There was a loud laugh followed by a coffin lid falling down.

"Hey, open the lid!" A voice called from the Clinic.

Laure shook her head, walking out the door. She locked the library door behind her. "Oh, Quintas," she called.

RB pulled a wine glass from somewhere and poured a glass of Merlot as he wandered off in search of Shana. It was so nice to have women almost as wonderful as his sister.

****************

End