'No, no, no!' exclaimed the good Doctor Sphinx vexatedly. 'You can't just write off the parts of our story that you don't like with the phrase "And it was all a dream." Didn't your English teacher instruct you on this already?' he scolded
@Lost4words. 'There shall be no bone for you!'
'Why not?' asked
@Sam91. 'You did it with the kissing of the squirrel.'
'I did not!' exclaimed Doctor Sphinx indignantly. 'I admitted to the kissing of the giant squirrel with pretty eyes... because I was asleep, and I thought it was a dream'.
'Well, that's kind of the same thing, isn't it?' asked Lost4words. 'You mentioned "dream", and your problems just went away'.
'They didn't just go away,' retorted the doctor irritably. 'I nearly contracted rabies from that squirrel. You don't nearly contract rabies from "it was all a dream"'.
'And my lips are just perfect,' interrupted Sam91, with another one of her smiles. 'See?' she asked, looking at herself again in the mirror. 'It must have been a dream'.
'She is right,' commented
@CtC appreciatively. 'She does have a wonderful smile.'
The doctor growled something incoherent, and then produced an elaborate looking tool from his pocket. If mechanical contraptions could reproduce, this particular one might have been mistaken for the offspring of a guillotine and a muzzle, with some other odd extras even the doctor couldn't explain. The initials EPLCV1.8 were inscribed on the front face of the device. 'If "it was all a dream", then what is this?' he asked triumphantly.
Sam91 squinted at the tool for a few moments, before a look of recognition crossed her face. 'Wow! I dreamed about that very tool. Is it a cure-all for warts and skin-tags?' she asked, excited at the prospect that perhaps her dreams were finally becoming reality. 'I think in my dream, I made a lot of money out of an earlier version of this very tool...', she began, 'but it might have also have served another purpose...', she hesitated, 'and probably the less said about that, the better,' she hastily concluded, as she remembered.
The doctor, seeing the brief period of time he could enjoy the admiration of Sam91 for the curing of her lips fast drawing to a close, tried the pursuit of a different avenue.
'Uhhh... This dream, Sam91...' he began. 'Did I perhaps feature in it?' he asked, feigning ignorance and innocence simultaneously.
'Oh yes. You were certainly there,' the other commented.
'And was I... was I... particularly handsome in this dream?', he asked, as casually as he could whilst trying not to appear conceited, 'even if somewhat ruggedly so?', he quickly added, when he saw she was struggling to answer honestly, whilst still being kind.
'Well, yes and no doctor', Sam91 replied, and although the doctor's shoulders did slump somewhat at her use of the word 'no', the CF crew could see he was still interested to find out what the 'yes' part meant.
@DavidFirth started to ready himself for another return of the Grandly-Inflated-Ego.
'You see Doctor, in the dream, you had some sort of terrible mouth disease which caused a speech impediment. I thought perhaps this might just have been wrinkles from old age...'
The doctor frowned at this, and Sam went on to explain 'Well, 6000 plus years on Earth is a long time for anyone, even a Sphinx, or -' she went on further 'I thought perhaps you had been drinking a particularly strong acid', as she glanced at the Doctor.
The Doctor quickly but surreptitiously repositioned his hand to cover his mouth. 'Ah. Quite.' he answered disappointedly. 'Well, ah, yes, but looks aren't everything. I'm sure I did something particularly noble and brave in the dream, which more than makes up for... well... causing crew mates to avert their eyes to maintain their visual faculties when I speak with them?' he suggested hopefully.
'Oh, if only it were so, Doctor,' Sam answered truthfully. 'But this time, you seemed quite the villain. I think you wanted to perform some barbaric act, and your behaviour was like that of a madman. I think I might have even fainted'.
'Ah, well' explained the Doctor wisely. 'Sometimes dreams are the exact opposite of real life. For example, the villain in the dream is actually the hero in real life.'
'And sometimes, dreams are spot on,' commented the Captain, noticing that the Doctor had, that very moment, started wearing a bandanna pulled up to his nose .
The doctor, finally accepting that the brief period of time he could enjoy the admiration of Sam91 had now concluded, decided to redirect his efforts toward obtaining justice for his new nemesis, Lost4words.
'So, Captain Firth. The latest crime of this here, scoundrel, Lost4words,' he syllabolised the name of his nemesis, 'is violence toward a lady, and not just any lady, mind you, but a friend and crew member...' the Doctor began.
'I'm well able to take care of myself, thank you Doctor, and I forgive Lost4words for his aforementioned assault,' explained Sam91 firmly. 'If that wasn't also part of the dream' she added, as a disclaimer.
'I'm sorry Doctor, I'll need something concrete if we are to duly punish this miscreant for his wicked deeds,' explained Captain DavidFirth.
'Then let us compel him to wear Sam91's yarmulke of truth, and admit to his atrocities!' demanded the Doctor, quite ignoring the wishes of the yarmulke-owner and fellow crew member.
'Doctor, even if you have not the care to respect my wishes, this yarmulke would not fit atop Lost4words unsuitably sized head' Sam91 explained, to the ever-erring Sphinx.
The doctor nodded his head in agreement. Sam91 was right - once again. Lost4words' head was more a shape one expected to observe whilst digging in the garden for potatoes in order to prepare for a long Winter, than a shape one expected to view aboard a CF Houseboat.
'Let me see those charges', DavidFirth asked, as he snatched the long list of charges from the Doctor's hand.
'Aha!' explained the clever Captain. 'This looks to me like a case of mistaken identity...'
The Doctor inwardly groaned, but outwardly feigned surprise. 'Oh?' he asked, surprisedly.
'Yes, Doctor,' explained the Captain. 'These charges are against a pirate by the name of "Last Forwards", and our dear new crew member here, obviously, is named "Lost4words". You have misread the "A"s in the document as "O"s.'
'Oh, have I?' asked the Doctor, disappointed.
'Not to mention mistaken the word "For" for the number "4", and skipped over a space', added the Captain.
'Well, that's a relief,' said Doctor Sphinx, not looking very relieved at all. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a further reason to incriminate Lost4words, at least, not at such short notice.
Lost4words breathed a sigh of relief, as Sam91 looked suspiciously at the Doctor. 'If Lost4words is not the pilferer', she asked, 'then who has taken my yarmulkes and various sharp implements from my handbag?'