Fill-In-The-Blank Game!

[Doctor.Sphinx]

'Doctor Sphinx?' whimpered Sam91, respectfully and somewhat fearfully.

'What is it?' asked the brave and understanding Doctor.

'I feel I am becoming somewhat double-minded,' responded she. 'One moment, I'm totally understanding the rightness and natural order of chauvinism, the next moment, I'm wanting to brandish LaSorcia's hedgetrimmers and trim away any deadwood that blocks progress along the path of feminism.'

'Probably it's just the heat,' explained the Doctor. 'You've had a long day, and suffered grave injustice when that cowboy fellow grabbed your hand without provocation.'

'Doctor, I fear it's worse than that,' explained Sam91.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows as if to indicate he was being attentive, but in reality, was searching through his newly created database for something more interesting.

'Doctor,' cried Sam91, a little pathetically if one holds to the tenets of feminism, but totally in alignment with the nature of things, if one understands the theory of chauvism, 'I fear that you were right about these parasites. I feel I may have been infected with an RMO!'

The fearful four - well, three, as no-one in their right mind could deny the Doctor's bravery when he punched the clearly-womanising-and-desperately-cruel-though-still-pretty-boy-faced-cowboy Mr H twice on the nose - stopped short in their tracks.

The Doctor, not wanting panic to set in amongst the group of adventurers, 'though fearing Sam91 may very well be onto something irrespective of her single weakness due to circumstance of birth, put on a false bravado and stated 'Nonsense, my dear Sam91. Don't you know these RMOs only affect bulls, and only male bulls, at that? And you are neither.'

Inwardly, however...

 

[mama2one]

heat? more like cold......
and little did they know a snow shower was headed their way soon, day after Christmas in fact, and all the kids were preparing

anyone out and about were sure to get it but the Cf crew were unaware since they hadn't been watching/listening to any news whatsoever as they were so busy with all their busyness

so they had no idea what was coming to Severance and how the kids had their pent up energy all ready to explode the day after Christmas and now it was all legal thanks to a 9 yr old:

"The town previously had a ban on snowball fights that was repealed in 2018 after 9-year old advocated for the repeal."

@Doctor.Sphinx would surely be a good target with his head the way it is and all

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

Said a mysterious voice from the trees.

'See!' exclaimed Sam91 worriedly. 'Now I'm even hearing voices!' Putting her hands to her face, the poor ex-taxidermist started to cry.

His role of chaperone in conflict with common decency, poor Doctor Sphinx couldn't help immediately, but instead quickly summoned LaSorcia (delicately taking her hedgetrimmers from her snip-itchy fingers, and placing the tool aside for a moment), enabling LaSorcia to give Sam91 a hug.

'I hope these RMO things aren't contagious', whispered Doctor Sphinx to Mr H, 'or LaSorcia might come down with them too'.

No sooner had he said this, than Christine40 came forth from behind the trees.

'Hooray!' exclaimed the fearful three and Doctor Sphinx, when they saw the well-known avatar of their friend and fellow adventurer.

'But I thought we'd dropped you off at home?' asked Mr H, who was probably as slow-to-catch-on-to-recent-developments as he was pretty-boy faced.

Christine40 laughed. 'Well', she explained, 'hubby said we needed more money for Christmas presents. He wants to buy a small plane this year, you see? And what better way to earn money than making a guest appearance on CF in the Fill-in-the-blank-Game, just before its Christmas-themed special episode in Severance, that will make everyone feel good cheer and squeamish at the same time?'

 

[mama2one]

"and well plus" Christine continued "the helicopter ride reminded me how much I missed you all"

"but mostly been needing to get some fresh Colorado air and see the mountains again but why you all in this sparsely populated town of Severance and not up in the beautiful Rocky Mountains?"

Christine noticed everyone glancing at the cowboy and realized it must be his doing, bringing them to this tiny town.....


"or you all here to be on the news?
the 9 yr old was all over the news, you know
so surely the news crews will be filming the town's first snowball fights"

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

'Well said, Christine40, well said,' exclaimed Doctor Sphinx, who would be out of this town full of hicks at a moments notice, if he could just convince Sam91 to do the same.

It wasn't so much that he doubted Sam91's abilities to deal with the yokels in Severance, but moreso he worried about the nefarious schemes Mr H might employ to invalidate the suitability of his favourite potential heir. Sam91 had previously mentioned a marriage proposal, and if there is anything that invalidates the suitability of a potential female heir, it would be marriage.

'I think we've seen more than enough of this sad place called Severance that any in their right mind would ever want to see. Now let's make like the geese on that warning, and head up to the beautiful Rocky Mountains,' stated Doctor Sphinx, hopefully, but with minimal expectation.

 

[mama2one]

ha, ha, ha someone laughed and they all joined in laughing as they remembered so long ago their adventures with the Yeti
when @jameseb and @joyshirley were part of the CF adventures

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

'Yes!' laughed Doctor Sphinx, somewhat insincerely. 'If only...'

'Hey! Wait! What's that up there!?' The good Doctor pointed to the highest of the Rocky Mountains.

Everyone squinted to see what he was pointing at, but no one could see what he meant.

'The yeti!' exclaimed Doctor Sphinx, feigning excitement, in hopes of diverting the group from the yokel-town of Severance. 'I think I spotted the yeti!'

 

[mama2one]

hey, if you really want to see a bunch of Yeti's, go see "Smallfoot" movie, there's a bunch of them in it and it'll give you a few laughs .....


but Christine realized they weren't listening plus most of them were "too old" to get the humor anyway especially @Doctor.Sphinx who was so old that there was no way he'd be able to ski or even ride a lift without falling off

Christine just thought "oops maybe I shouldn't be thinking bad thoughts so close to Christmas"
and decided to behave herself and find out what's going on with @LaSorcia and the running with sharp objects

and also find out why @Doctor.Sphinx seemed so perturbed with the cowboy

"think there's been a lot going on with this crew" she murmured under her breath and thought @Sam91 was the one to consult with as she'd always seemed to be in the know

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

said Christine40. The good Doctor wondered whether the framers of the famous CF star's contract had neglected to include the clause about not referring fans to other media which may be in competition with the exciting and bizarre adventures of the CF crew.

 

[Sam91]

Sam91 would have laughed at the Sphinx's hypocrisy but she was too concerned about his ailments.

She took hold of laSorcia's hedgetrimmers and tried to lop of his head.

However, his neck was too stiff and her female arms too feeble...

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

'Yikes, Sam91!' said Doctor Sphinx, clearly upset by the bizarre behaviour of his favourite-potential-but-still-quite-female heir.

'I am just grateful that nature is as chauvinistic as I am, and your aesthetically-pleasing-but-otherwise-feeble female arms were unable to lop my handsome head from my stranglely stiff neck,' he chided condescendingly, as he patted his potential heir affectionately on the head, and rubbed his neck with his other hand.

 

[Sam91]

She accidentally (?) impaled him with the hedgetrimmers instead.

The Sphinx incorrectly quoted his favourite battle cry

'A scratch, a scratch, but t'is enough, t'will serve.' He pointed at Sam 91 and Mr H 'a plague on both your houses' staggering about melodramatically with the hedgetrimmers still attached to his thigh...

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

He did have to admit, at least to himself, that this did hurt more than had Sam91 just said something nice to Mr H. He hoped someone might be able to give him a ride to the hospital, as he was starting to feel quite poorly.

Aloud, he mentioned 'Sam91, you should always use the right tool for the job. Hedge trimmers are for trimming, not impaling.'

He decided it was much more comfortable to lie down than continue the bravado of appearing macho, and did so, before realising that there were other issues in life so much more important than feminism or chauvinism. As his eyes clouded into darkness, he felt much more contented that this fate had at least saved him from Mr H's schemes around those RMO parasites, and perhaps, minus her chaperone, Sam91 might even be saved from them herself...

 

[mama2one]

with the sight of blood, Christine started to panic but also knew they needed to head to Greeley for an acute care hospital unless
@Sam91 was to perform the needed care....

and did she even still have her bag of yamukes, yaks, or whatever they were called?

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

'No!' gasped Doctor Sphinx, waking up at the thought. 'Sam91... infected... RMOs... Must... not... operate...'

'And they're called yarmulkes,' he whispered to Christine40.

With that, he laid his head back down again, and had quite a pleasant sleep, which may, or may not, have been his last.

 

[Sam91]

Sam91 took the wait and see approach.

The blood started coagulating and the doc started snoring.

@christine40 tried to not feel embarassed at panicking but @LaSorcia reassured her that it was all the Sphinx's fault due to his flair for very amateur dramatics.

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

'Ah, it's good to be so cared for,' exclaimed the Doctor, as he awoke from his pleasant slumber to find Christine40, LaSorcia, Sam91, and the ever-intolerable Mr-H standing over him anxiously. He noted with satisfaction that Sam91 seemed to be the most anxious of all.

'That's almost as good as an apology,' he thought to himself smugly.

As he stretched, he noticed that the hedge-trimmer was still imbedded in his thigh, so he withdrew it, much to the pained expressions of the others, and gave a few demonstative snips, much to the concern of most of the others and the disgust of LaSorcia.

'See?' explained Doctor Sphinx, not seeming to have properly learned from his recent escapade. 'This is why women should never be allowed to carry sharp objects... At least, not outside the safe confines of their kitchens,' he added thoughtfully.

'I do make an exception for you, LaSorcia,' he announced generously, 'as he noted the famed author's narrowing eyebrows. But do try to think what might have happened if this incident had involved anyone other than me. None of us would ever have heard the end of it, and you, dear Sam91, would be straight to the brig once we returned to our ship. David Firth does not suffer a woman to impale - especially not with hedgetrimmers.'

Sam91 seemed about to respond, but was silenced by a waggling of the Doctor's finger, as he arose from his resting place. She was a little disappointed that he didn't even seem to be hobbling.

 

[Sam91]

'Ah, it's good to be so cared for,' exclaimed the Doctor, as he awoke from his pleasant slumber to find Christine40, LaSorcia, Sam91, and the ever-intolerable Mr-H standing over him anxiously. He noted with satisfaction that Sam91 seemed to be the most anxious of all.

'That's almost as good as an apology,' he thought to himself smugly.

As he stretched, he noticed that the hedge-trimmer was still imbedded in his thigh, so he withdrew it, much to the pained expressions of the others, and gave a few demonstative snips, much to the concern of most of the others and the disgust of LaSorcia.

'See?' explained Doctor Sphinx, not seeming to have properly learned from his recent escapade. 'This is why women should never be allowed to carry sharp objects... At least, not outside the safe confines of their kitchens,' he added thoughtfully.

'I do make an exception for you, LaSorcia,' he announced generously, 'as he noted the famed author's narrowing eyebrows. But do try to think what might have happened if this incident had involved anyone other than me. None of us would ever have heard the end of it, and you, dear Sam91, would be straight to the brig once we returned to our ship. David Firth does not suffer a woman to impale - especially not with hedgetrimmers.'

Sam91 seemed about to respond, but was silenced by a waggling of the Doctor's finger, as he arose from his resting place. She was a little disappointed that he didn't even seem to be hobbling.

What the Sphinx took to be anxiety was actually dread that he was wakening. She thought he was just as insufferable as the intolerable Mr H today and had been enjoying the rest.

 

[Doctor.Sphinx]

For some time, nobody said a word. Then the Sphinx noticed the look of dread on Sam91's face. 'My dear Sam91', said he, 'I must apologise for being an insufferable, intolerable...'

He searched for an appropriate word to describe his conduct.

'Chauvinist?' asked Sam91.

The Sphinx nodded. 'I had no idea I could ever be so wrong, but since your errr... treatment, I've had time to consider the error... or errors, of my ways.'

Sam91 nodded. The Sphinx was certainly not a stranger to errors. In fact, she thought that if he could just write down all his thoughts on paper, then do the exact opposite, he might actually never make a mistake.

LaSorcia started to make a comment, but the Sphinx interrupted her.

'Electrical work, flooring, building furniture, concreting, child care, washing machines...' he said admiringly. 'Giving birth,' he continued, staring directly first at Sam91's tummy, then LaSorcia's, then Christine40's, before frowning when he got to Mr H's. 'You women can do everything.'

The fearful three and Christine40 exchanged awkward glances.

On the Sphinx's awakening, Sam91 had originally thought that perhaps her aim had been out, but with the recent developments, she was wondering if her treatment had just taken a little longer than expected to take effect. The only problem was, the Sphinx seemed to be even more weird than normal. She shrugged. There were cures for weirdness, just as there were cures for chauvinism, and answered graciously, 'Oh, well, Doctor Sphinx. We do what we can. But it's nice to get acknowledgement from time to time.'

'Yes,' replied the Doctor. 'Now what was it you wanted to do? Horse-riding? Bull-fighting? Dancing? Eating? Do come on Mr H, these women are waiting!'

'So, you're not concerned about catching any errr... parasites or diseases in this place, anymore, Doctor?' asked LaSorcia cautiously.

The Doctor laughed. 'With a lady like Sam91 in charge of medicine, what could possibly go wrong? And not to mention yourself and Christine40 to provide support. No, I think the biggest risk to our expedition is Mr H, but I'm sure he's nothing you ladies can't handle between yourselves.'

And with that, the group continued to make their way toward...

 

[Sam91]

The cabin. The-not-so-pretty-faced Mr H opened the door. It was actually very spacious and homely. Everyone went to investigate their rooms while Mr H went into the garage for the decorations.

The fearless group sang carols while making the cabin festive. Mr H informed them that in the morning they would visit the ranch and in the evening they would go to Severence's annual Christmas eve ball after carols in the quaint, local church.

They had a great supper of succulent steaks and retired to bed very happy.

On the way Sam91 wanted to apologise to the good doc but didn't know how. He graciously gave her a small nod to acknowledge her remorse.

The next morning...