DISCLAIMER: Eulogy and its characters are the property of Lions Gate Entertainment and Myriad Pictures.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Blackout
By Angie
The creaking of the door, roused Judy out of a light sleep. She stood, rubbing her eyes and walked into the hallway to see Alice and Lucy taking off their jackets. They both looked tired and drawn. Lucy caught Judy's eye and immediately moved into her arms, glad of the warm comfort her embrace provided. Judy held her close.
"Hey, how is she?"
Lucy shrugged, tightening her hold around Judy's waist.
"She's stable, physically anyway. Mentally…who knows? The woman just downed a bottle of pills in front of her entire family."
Alice rolled her eyes.
"She's fine. She was just a little confused. After all, her husband just died. She's grieving. Sam says she'll be fine."
Lucy turned to face Alice. "Oh yeah, she's completely fine, she must be if Sam says so."
Alice sighed.
"Don't start with me, Lucy. I've had a long day, and I'm really not in the mood for your shit tonight."
She started walking towards the stairs.
"My shit? Uh, hello? I've put up with your shit for years!" Lucy yelled.
Alice merely held up her middle finger over her shoulder. Lucy started to head after her sister but was held back by Judy.
"Leave it, don't rise to it."
Lucy once again found herself wrapped up in Judy's strong, reassuring arms. She sighed deeply.
"I really wish she didn't get to me so much. I hate her."
"No you don't," Judy said, kissing Lucy's forehead.
"OK I don't. But I really, really want to."
Judy smiled and squeezed Lucy tighter before releasing her and taking her hand.
"C'mon, let's go to bed."
Lucy grinned, a tired but naughty grin.
"I thought you'd never ask."
Lucy sat on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chin, watching Judy get changed into her pyjamas.
"They seemed to take it quite well, huh?"
Judy looked up from buttoning her top.
"Who took what well?"
"My family, they seemed to take the news about the wedding pretty well. Besides Alice, of course. And apart from when my mother took an overdose…" Lucy's eyes widened. "Oh my God…you don't think…"
"No. I don't think that had anything to do with us getting married. At all. It's true what Alice said earlier, she just lost her husband, she's got a lot to deal with."
Lucy nodded uncertainly. She settled down again to watch as Judy finished getting ready for bed.
"I'm sorry about earlier…ya know, at dinner…I didn't mean to embarrass you like that."
Judy looked over at her, an indulgent smile on her face.
"Forget it. When I think about some of the stuff that's happened since we got here, a little light groping in public seems tame in comparison."
Lucy snorted.
"In my family, we could've had full-on sex on the dinner table and it still wouldn't be the weirdest occurrence of the day."
"Yeah, but I think Alice might've had apoplexy."
Lucy's face brightened.
"Let's do it tomorrow then!"
Judy laughed as she brushed her hair, shaking her head at Lucy in the mirror. Their eyes met and Lucy's smile faltered slightly.
"So…you sure you still wanna marry me?" her voice was light, but the underlying tone was serious.
Judy turned to face her.
"Honey, all the weird relatives in the world wouldn't stop me from marrying you, OK?"
Lucy nodded. Judy climbed onto the bottom of the bed and started crawling up towards Lucy. Lucy was, as ever, mesmerized by the movement of long, supple limbs and the deep chocolate brown of her lover's eyes. She lay back on the bed, allowing Judy to settle comfortably on top of her.
"However…we will need to discuss just how often we plan to visit."
"Strictly weddings and funerals. I promise."
Judy leaned down and kissed Lucy gently. Lucy giggled. Judy leaned up on her elbows, looking down at Lucy in puzzlement.
"And you're laughing why, exactly?"
"I'm sorry, it's just…being in this room…it so takes me back to being a teenager, sneaking girls up here under the pretext of a 'sleepover' and then making out with them, terrified the whole time that my mom would walk in."
Judy smiled.
"Well, you're not a teenager, your mom isn't in the house, and we're engaged to be married. I think we can dispense with the guilt-trip, don't you?"
"Yeah, but not till we do something."
"What?"
"We have to brush our teeth. My mouth tastes like lobster and hospital vending machine coffee."
Judy leaned in for another kiss. She pulled away, feigning disgust.
"Yeah, you're right."
Lucy swatted her shoulder as she stood up, pulling Lucy with her.
"OK, c'mon then, let's clean our teeth like good little girls."
They brushed their teeth at the sink, side by side, taking turns to spit foam. Judy took a mouthful of water, swirled it around and spat it out before handing the glass to Lucy, watching her do the same.
"OK, wait, I have to test something."
Lucy turned around, confused. Judy placed her hands on Lucy's hips, pulling her into her body and bringing their lips together. Lucy's eyes drifted closed as she relaxed fully for the first time that day, allowing herself to be swept up in Judy's familiar kiss. When their lips parted, Lucy's eyes remained closed, not wanting to come back to any sort of reality.
"Mmmmm, toothpastey."
Lucy grinned into Judy's shoulder before pulling back so she could look up at her.
And then everything went black.
"Uh, the lights just went out."
"Thanks Luce, I would've been completely stumped if you hadn't been here."
"Shut up." Lucy poked Judy in the general vicinity of her ribs. "Give me your hand."
"Yes mommy."
Lucy opened the door and headed out into the pitch-black hallway, pulling Judy behind her.
"Be careful."
"Don't worry, I know this hallway like the back of my hand, every piece of furniture, every creaky floorboa-"
Lucy came to an abrupt halt, with a rather loud bang.
"Son of a bitch!"
"You were saying?"
"Yeah, well…that wasn't there when I was younger."
"Oh, so your knowledge of the hallway comes from your days of sneaking in late, huh?"
"Pretty much. Actually, I don't think I've ever done this sober."
"Just be careful. I can't see a thing. Alice's kids could be peppered up and down this room and we'd be none the wiser…I don't want to step on one."
They made it back to Lucy's bedroom without further incident. In the total darkness, Lucy's hands found their way to Judy's waist. She ran her fingers up underneath Judy's pyjama top, eliciting an intake of breath from her lover. Judy's arms wound around Lucy's torso, bringing them closer together. Lucy kissed her way up Judy's neck, unbuttoning her top as she did so, pushing it back off her shoulders. Judy pulled Lucy's old sweatshirt up and over her head, throwing it to the side before moving to capture Lucy's lips in a searing kiss.
Lucy moaned deeply as she felt Judy's hand move to her breast, kneading gently, the touch blissfully painful on her hardened nipple. She whimpered as Judy's movements ceased. A slender finger touched her lips.
"Shhh!"
Lucy looked around, pointlessly.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"I think I heard something moving in the closet."
Lucy clung to Judy's arm.
"Like a burglar?"
"Something tells me it's not a burglar."
Judy bent down and managed to locate their discarded clothing. She pulled her own top on and handed Lucy's over.
"Put this on."
"Whoever it is, unless they've got night-goggles, they're not gonna see anything." Lucy pulled her sweatshirt on anyway.
"Somehow, I wouldn't rule that out."
Judy walked to the closer, with Lucy hanging onto the back of her pyjamas. She opened the door.
"Skip, is that you?"
Silence. Then –
"No."
"What the fuck?" Lucy let go of Judy and moved to get her brother but Judy held her back. Again.
"Get out of here, Skip." Judy's voice was stern.
"Oh…oh, you mean this is your room?" Skip attempted to sound surprised. "I thought my bedroom seemed smaller than I remembered."
"Skip." Judy's tone now held a clear warning.
A disappointed sigh came out of the closet.
"OK, guys, c'mon, back to bed."
"Awww, dad! She didn't tell us to leave, just you!" Fred and Ted were appalled at their father ratting them out. "You just didn't want us to hear the good stuff if you didn't get to. That's not fair!"
"For fuck's sake, Skip, you brought your kids in here?" Lucy's disbelief and fury were evident in her disembodied voice.
"All of you, get out, now!" Judy yelled, completely disturbed on many, many levels.
Skip hustled his boys out of the closet, earning a punch on the back from Lucy as he passed by. Judy closed the door after they had left. And locked it.
"Your brother has severe problems."
"Tell me about it. No, in fact, don't tell me about it."
She felt Judy approach and reached out to grab hold of her, pulling her in for a kiss, pushing off the still unbuttoned top.
"Now, where were we?"
The End