DISCLAIMER: I'd The Facts of Life and its characters are the property of Columbia Pictures Television and Sony Pictures Television, no infringement intended.
CHALLENGE: Written as part of the 1001 Nights Challenge - kissing in the tree.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Childish Rhymes
By Ann
Sitting on the love seat, Jo and Blair scooted closer to each other as they watched television. It was the first time in days that the two had found time to be alone.
Tootie was in bed with a touch of the flu, and Natalie was forced to sleep on the floor in the other girl's room, keeping them apart from each other for the past couple of days.
Looking left and right to be certain Natalie wasn't spying on them; Jo gave her girlfriend a peck on the lips. Blair smiled and whispered, "That was nice. I've missed you."
Grinning, Jo put her arm around the blonde and replied, "Me too, Princess."
Blair responded by snuggling into the brunette, and Jo pulled the blonde tightly against her side; however, their brief moment of happiness quickly came to an abrupt halt when Natalie walked into the room.
"Hey, you're not going to strangle Blair, are you Jo? I'm sure she didn't mean whatever it is she said that caused you to get mad enough to try to put her in a headlock," Natalie babbled as Jo quickly jumped to the other side of the small sofa.
"It's okay, Natalie. She really wasn't going to strangle me," Blair assured their friend who took it upon herself to ensure that Jo behaved by wedging herself between the two supposedly bickering pair.
Yet another day went by with Natalie shadowing her two friends. With Tootie temporarily sidelined, Jo and Blair became Natalie's new running buddies. Problem was that Jo and Blair's tempers were on edge; and, instead of taking their frustration out on the third member of their group, they took it out on each other.
"I don't want to go to the mall, Blair. You always take hours finding a dress when it should only take thirty minutes. You ask me what I think; I tell you which one I like, and then you proceed to try them all on again. And you know what? You always pick the one I told you to buy in the first place," Jo growled, clearly unhappy with the prospect of going to the mall period, much less having Natalie tag along with them.
Crossing her arms over her ample chest, Blair replied, "Fine. You can stay here, and Natalie can go with me."
Jo matched her girlfriend's stance and maturely answered, "Fine. Just go."
The brunette watched from the downstairs window as Blair and Natalie drove away from the house, and it took a couple of minutes before Jo realized she'd just made a huge mistake. She'd rather spend time with both Blair and Natalie than spend time alone. Frustrated, she headed to her bedroom to take a nap.
Several hours later, Jo experienced a most wonderful sensation. Someone was lightly kissing her lips, and it had better be Blair and not Tootie or Natalie, or worse, the dog from next door.
Slowly opening her eyes, she caught sight of her girlfriend's blonde hair just as she caught a whiff of Blair's perfume. Smiling into the kiss, she lifted her head to become a more willing participant.
Both girls were totally involved in the kiss, but each froze when the door to the bedroom flung open, and their shocked visitor uttered, "Oh, my."
Turning towards the door, the two found a seemingly recuperated Tootie, and the trio stared at each other for what seemed like forever before Tootie finally broke into a smile.
Grinning broadly, she began her sing-song rhyme. "Jo and Blair, sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage. Then comes Blair with a baby carriage!"
Very calmly, almost too calmly, Jo asked, "Tootie, are you all better now?"
Her chuckling friend confirmed, "Yes."
"Well, then you better run, because when I catch you, you'll be sorry."
A wide-eyed Tootie turned and ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time as Jo rose to begin her pursuit.
Grabbing the brunette's arm, an upset Blair begged, "Wait Jo."
Stopping to comfort her girlfriend, Jo had to shake her head in disbelief when Blair seriously asked, "Why am I the one with the baby carriage?"
The End