Subj: A Dark Shadows It's a Wonderful Life
Date: 1/2/00 11:45:38 AM Central Standard Time
From: Melissa

A Dark Shadows It's a Wonderful Life

Chapter Two

Angelique watched the scene that began to unfold before her eyes. There was a little boy who was skating around the pond. He was with too young women with him, one a blond and the other a brunette.

"Who's that?" she asked pointing to the boy.

"Who do you think?" Thomas asked annoyed.

"He said I'd be helping a man, that does not look like a man to me," Angelique shot back.

"That is David when he was a child," Clarence said.

Angelique stuck her tongue out at Thomas behind Clarence back.

"Come on Carolyn," David was saying, "Betcha I can get to that sign before you."

"Oh yeah," Carolyn said getting up from the bench leaving the other woman alone, "We'll see about that."

"Miss Winters can you be the judge?" David asked.

"Okay," she said, she waited until they were ready and then said, "On your marks, get set, GO!"

The two sped off down the ice, Carolyn was ahead, but then David managed to get ahead of her and touched the sign.

"Your too fast David," Carolyn said. When they got back to Victoria they saw a limo pull up, and a man step out.

"What's he doing here," David asked Carolyn.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Hello Vicki, hello Carolyn," the man said.

"Hello Mr. Devlin," Carolyn said, "Come on David."

"Vicki can I see you for a moment?" he asked.

"Yes, of course Burke," she said and followed him into the limo. Carolyn looked at the limo for a while wondering what Burke Devlin wanted with Vicki.

"Want to go farther this time?" she asked.

"Sure," David said looking away from the limo. Carolyn was far ahead of David, she past the sign, and looked back, suddenly she fell through a hole in the ice. David threw himself to the ice, it had been made by a fisherman, he guess, he wondered why he hadn't seen before. He grabbed on to Carolyn's arms and began to pull. Somehow he managed to get her out.

"Oh my God. What happened?" Vicki cried out running to them.

"She fell through the hole," David said out of breath.

"David saved his cousin, Carolyn's life that day," Clarence told Angelique as the scene changed once again. "David's Aunt Elizabeth thought that David would appreciate what he had and what his responsibilities would be. So he got a job at the Collinsport Diner," Clarence explained as David walked into the diner. David was older than he had been, somehow he reminded Anqelique of Barnabas.

"David," Maggie said angrily, "Your last. Just because you're a Collins doesn't mean that you can stroll into work whenever you want."

"I'm sorry Maggie," David said surprised at her anger. He grabbed his apron and went behind the counter.

A young girl with dark hair, about his age was sitting there reading the menu.

The bell above the door rang, David looked up and saw another girl, about the same age, she had long red hair, when she saw David she smiled, but when she saw the other girl a frown took its place.

"Hi David," she said sweetly, then rather reluctantly "Hi Rachel."

"Hi Amy," Rachel said feigning boredom.

"What can I get you?" David asked.

"She was here first," Amy said.

"She can go first, I don't know what I want yet," Rachel said studying the menu intently.

"Red Vines?" David asked.

"Yes please," she said, when he left she looked at Rachel and said, "He's so cute."

"That's what you always say."

"So what's wrong with that?" she replied.

David returned with the bag, he took Amy's money after handing her the bag. "Do you think that you could walk me home?"

David just shook his head in amazement and went to the cash register.

"Do you know what you want yet?"

"I'd like a chocolate shake, please." Once David turned to make the shake she lent forward and whispered, "I love you David Collins, I'll love you till the day I die."

"Did you say something?" David asked handing her the shake.

"No," she said quickly, taking a sip of the shake, "This is really good."

"Thanks."

"David you don't have time to socialize, there's people waiting," Maggie said crossly.

"Maggie what's wrong?" David asked going over to Maggie. She didn't say anything, but his eye caught a piece of paper that had fallen to the floor. He picked it up; it was a telegram to Maggie. It said that Joe Haskell, her fiance's, boat was missing.

"Maggie can I help you?" he asked.

"No," she muttered. David realized that Maggie was drunk. He had never seen her that way before. He didn't think she even drank.

David followed Maggie into the kitchen. She was getting a pie ready to be delivered. She reached up for the powdered sugar, but instead she grabbed the bottle that contained rat poison*. She sprinkled it on to the pie, then put the pie into the box; she turned and faced David.

"Take this to Mr. Wells, it's for his wife's birthday," she said handing him the box.

He took the box and left the diner, he didn't know what to do, he couldn't take it to Mr. Wells, but if he didn't deliver it he would get in trouble with Maggie. David just walked around, when he saw that he was in front of the Collins Cannery offices, maybe his dad could help him. His father had changed since he had married Miss Winters; he was closer to his
father.

"Hi David," his Uncle Quentin said from behind the desk, "Your dad's in a meeting I don't think you should go in there now."

"I gotta see him," David said going into the office quickly.

"I'm going to own everything in your stupid town sooner or later, you should just sell out now," Burke was saying.

"So you can take jobs away from all the people here in Collinsport? I don't think so," Roger said angrily.

"Dad?"

"Not now David."

"But Dad you can't. . . "

"Don't worry David I can handle this." Before David could say anything else his uncle took him out and sent him on his way. When he walked back into the diner he realized he still had the pie, and he hadn't asked anyone.

"You didn't deliver the pie!" Maggie cried out, she pulled him back into the kitchen. Rachel, who was still sitting at the counter, watched what was happening.

"What happened? Mr. Wells needed that for his wife, why didn't you deliver it?"

David couldn't say anything.

"Did you hear me?" she yelled. David nodded; Maggie must not have seen that because she hit him.

Rachel saw this and turned away, she was shocked at Maggie's behavior. She saw her mother at the door, she turn back a moment, then ran out of the diner.

"You think that just because you're a Collins that you don't have any responsibilities."

"Maggie, I know what's wrong, your worried about Joe, and you don't know what you put on that pie," David moved past her and handed her the can.

Maggie seemed to sober up quickly when she read it. She reached for David and held him close to her and sobbed.
David let her cry, she cried for Joe and she cried for what might have happened.

"What happened to Joe?" Angelique asked.

"His boat was missing because of a storm, a few days later he came home. He and Maggie were married a few months later," Clarence told her.

* I don't know if rat poison looks like powdered sugar, but in this story it will.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.