AU meme: Zoe / Isobel

[john_amend_all]

No-one asked me for a Zoë / Isobel drabble set, but I wrote one for my own amusement.

1. Wild West

"You're very quiet, Zoë," Jamie said, as the train rattled its way out of Toby's Gulch.

Zoë looked up from her book. "I think I'm missing Isobel," she said. "I knew we wouldn't stay, once we'd dealt with Mr Vaughn and his gang of Klansmen. But it's a pity we couldn't."

"Well, you'll not soon forget her."

Zoë returned to her book, and let her eyes rest on the photograph that Isobel had pressed into her hand at their parting. Her own image, and Isobel's, looked back at her, wearing nothing but cheerful smiles.

No danger of that, she decided.

2. Coffee Shop

I've sort of done this already: Jamie's Angels in: Wake Up And Smell The Coffee. But here's a snippet anyway:

"What's up?" Isobel asked.

Blinking back tears, Zoë held out a letter. "My PhD application's been accepted."

"But that's good news, isn't it?"

"It means I'll have to go to Cambridge. I won't be able to work in the coffee shop any more. I'll miss you so much..."

Isobel pulled her into what, she told herself firmly, was a purely friendly hug. "I know, I'll miss you too," she began.

And then they were kissing in a manner that certainly wasn't pure or just friendly.

"Oh, lord," Isobel moaned, as she unbuttoned Zoë's blouse. Things were about to get complicated.

3. Shapeshifters

"Have you had boyfriends?" Isobel asked. "I'm open minded, I won't be upset if you say yes."

"Sort of," Zoë replied. "He was an alien, really. A Boux called Altmar."

"Boux?"

"They can shapeshift. Imagine going to bed with some actor you've always fantasised about. The problem is they tend to lose the shape they're holding at the worst possible moment."

"Sounds like every boyfriend I've ever had," Isobel said. "Why did you stay with him, then?"

"Well, I liked the way he played the banjo."

"OK," Isobel said. "I know I said I'm open minded, but there are limits."

4. Fantasy/Fairy Tale

The palace librarian looked up in surprise. "Your Highness!"

"Got it in one." Princess Isobel tapped her foot impatiently. "These ice zombies to the north. Do any of these scrolls say what kills them?"

"I know where to start looking."

"Then start."

"But, your Highness—"

"My uncle says if some meatheaded prince saunters up and kills them he gets half the kingdom and my hand in marriage. I don't see why I shouldn't have a go myself."

"I'll look under 098, forbidden knowledge." The librarian suddenly smiled. "If I help you, do I get to marry you?"

Isobel nodded. "Definitely."

5. . . . In SPACE!!

Yawning, Zoë struggled out of nightmares to realise she'd fallen asleep at her desk in the stardome. And someone had put their hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?"

The voice was familiar, but not one she could recall hearing in waking life.

"Hey, it's me!" The hands were withdrawn, her chair was spun round, and she was looking up at Isobel. "Surprise!"

"You... you can't be real." Zoë pinched herself, to no avail. "You're a dream."

Isobel pulled Zoë out of her chair. "Real enough for you?"

"But I've never..."

"Don't worry." Isobel kissed her. "You can start right now."

6. Apocalypse

"We're not going to get out of this, are we?" Isobel said, looking at the descending cloud of volcanic ash.

Zoë shook her head. "I know we're not. I was at a museum in the future, and there were plaster casts of people buried in the ash." She unzipped her catsuit. "The info panel called us 'The Lovers.' You can guess the pose."

"Now that's a way to go," Isobel said. "Live fast, die young, leave a couple of good looking corpses." She flung her blouse to one side. "Might be a bit awkward explaining at the Pearly Gates, though."

7. Schoolfic

Isobel crawled into the tent, glad enough to get out of the rain and wind that she didn't even care she was sharing with the class swot.

"My best jeans," she moaned, struggling out of the muddy, waterlogged denim.

"Don't you remember Mr Benton said jeans were a bad idea?" the swot reminded her.

"Don't start that again." Isobel shivered. "I'm soaking wet and frozen stiff."

"We could zip our sleeping bags together and share body heat," Zoë suggested.

Isobel stared at Zoë, struggling with the mental images that those words had provoked.

"I... I'd like that," she said, eventually.

8. Police/Firefighters/Medical/any other emergency service I can think of

"Oh, hello." Zoë looked up from her workbench as Isobel breezed into the lab. "If you're asking about that body hauled out of the canal, I'm still writing up my report on the stomach contents. But unofficially, it was probably strychnine."

Isobel shook her head. "When was the last time you went to a party?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Thought so. You're overdue to go to one, I've got an invite for two to Georgie's engagement bash, and as of five minutes ago we're both off duty." She took Zoë by the hand. "That report will just have to wait."

9. Supernatural

"I can feel it again," Isobel said, looking nervously around the foyer of the abandoned cinema. "Like goose pimples."

Zoë shook her head. "I can't feel anything." She looked down at the collection of electronic devices they'd assembled. "And there's nothing on any of the instruments."

"You said the instruments were so primitive they couldn't even tell what day it was."

"Well, they can't." Zoë gave the tape recorder a defiant poke. "And I don't believe in ghosts, anyway."

"I can feel the ghosts coming." Isobel shivered again. "Any moment now you can ask them if they believe in you."

10. Regency

"Are you at all interested in private theatricals, Miss Heriot?" Miss Watkins asked, the two having left the gentlemen and retired to the withdrawing room. "I love them."

Zoë's face lit up. "They sound like fun." Her smile faded. "But if I am to be a governess, I could never participate in one. My reputation would never stand it."

"Nonsense! Nobody will care in the slightest." Isobel leaned forward eagerly. "I am to be in Lovers' Vows this very month. If you can help me learn my lines, I shall be forever in your debt."

"Then how can I refuse?"

Comments

[pedanther]

I was also amused.

[john_amend_all]

Excellent!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, fun! I liked the fantasy one particularly.

[john_amend_all]

Thanks!