Thanks to Anna for asking me to write it.Mischief
is accepted in all its forms.Thanks
also to my betas, TAE and Anna.Mischief
is better when it's somewhat understandable.Last
but not least in any way, thanks to Ronnee for hosting my stuff.Mischief
is best when shared.
Standard Disclaimer.I
don't own The Sentinel (the show, the commercial, or the flea control).The
Sentinel show is owned by Pet Fly and whoever they gave rights to at the
present.I make no money, just comments
from my fellow fans. (hint hint hint)
This is intended strictly for fun and has absolutely
no meaning at all.It is not an attempt
to make any sort of coherent commentary.
Feedback is always welcomed and craved.
This is the sequel to Commercial Break, so you might
want to read it first.
Commercial Break II
Simon's Reaction
By: Lila Kulp
Simon sank into his easy chair.It
had been another one of those days.Hell,
it had been another one of those weeks!It
had been the kind of week where he expected at any moment to get a call,
one saying that either the criminal they were after was in custody, or
one of his people was in the hospital.Thankfully
nobody was in the hospital.This
time.
Not that Ellison and Sandburg hadn't done their usual
demolition routine.In fact, Simon
was suspicious that they were trying to add to the act.Jim
had not only wrecked another of the department cars, but he did it by ramming
the car he was chasing.To make matters
worse, Sandburg had been the one driving the other car while the suspect
held a gun on him.
At least there hadn't been any cows involved this
week.
Simon suddenly flinched and almost jumped clear out
of his chair as popping sounds started coming from the kitchen.Thankfully
he remembered that it was only Daryl making popcorn for the tonight's Friday
night movie.Joan would not appreciate
it if he had pulled his gun thinking that it was gunfire.
Daryl came out of the kitchen carrying two cans of
soda.Simon really would have liked
to have a beer, but since Daryl wasn't old enough yet he'd drink pop like
his son."Whoa, Dad, you look majorly
tense.What's up?"
Simon relaxed and smiled, the sound of his son's happy
voice relaxing him more than any beer ever could have."Nothing.Just
a long week at work."Simon got up
and headed for the kitchen."You
find us something to watch and I'll get that popcorn."
"Sure thing, Dad," Daryl replied as he sat down and
began flipping through the channels.
Soon both son and father were relaxing in front of
the warm glow of the television set, listening to the soothing sounds of
Riggs and Murtaugh insulting each other.The
Captain of Major Crimes was actually beginning to forget about his troublesome
Sentinel and Guide, and the past week's adventures.
When the first commercial come on Simon reached out
and grabbed his drink.Only half-paying
attention to the TV, he let his mind wander.
On the television, a small dog was shown rolling on
the furniture, and the narrator began to speak. "Most spot-on-flea-controls
contain pesticides that can rub off in your home."
As Simon began to drink his cola, an image of Jim's reaction to the herbicide he encountered in a bed of roses last month flashed through his mind.He grimaced at the memory.That was an experience he never wanted to repeat.
Then the narrator continued, "But there's no pesticide
residue with Sentinel."
Simon's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he spat out
his soda. "What the --?"
He just barely managed to edit his comment, remembering
that Daryl was in the room.
"Dad, what's wrong?" came Daryl's concerned voice.His
dad was normally not one to spray the living room with diet cola.
Simon waved his son quiet, then listened to the narrator
with all his attention.
"Only Sentinel protects dogs…"
Simon watched the rest of the commercial in stunned
silence.With his luck, this could
only mean trouble.His mind created
numerous scenarios of government agents, media frenzies, love struck fans,
Sentinel wanna-be's, and endless meetings with the Chief.
Simon's mind continued to run wild as he raced for
the phone and quickly dialed a number from memory.After
the second ring he started to get worried, "Come on, pick up the phone!"
Finally the phone was answered on the fourth ring
with a strained, "Ellison."
"Jim, it's Simon.You'll
never guess what I just saw on television."Simon
wasn't sure, but he thought he heard the sound of laughter coming from
the other end of the phone.
"<gasp> Hee hee hee <gasp>, oh wait, let me
guess."Jim's words were interspersed
with chuckles and fits of laughter."It
was a commercial for, *snerk*, Sentinel Flea Control."He
was barely able to get the words out before he burst out laughing again.
"Jim!JIM!Damn
it, Ellison.Put Sandburg on the
phone," Simon growled, it was a growl designed to make people snap to.
It seemed to work because Simon heard Jim take a deep
breath, and his subordinate was decidedly more calm.A
small smile crept onto the captain's face, knowing that he could have such
an affect even over the phone.
"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea Simon,"
it was evident in Ellison's voice that he still had a huge smile on his
face, and it was only due to his military training and self discipline
that he didn't crack up again. "He's currently rolling on the floor trying
to laugh."
The mirth from the other end of the phone was contagious.The
small smile that had crept to Simon's face had grown, and was now a grin."Trying
to laugh?"
"Yeah,<snerk> <deep breath> hee hee hee, he
ran out of air right after you called."Ellison
began chuckling again."He's going
through the motions, but no sound is coming out."
The image of Blair, on the floor, laughing but with no sound coming out was too much for Simon.A chuckle escaped his lips.
"Dad?"
Simon turned at the sound of his son's concerned voice."Dad,
is something wrong?"
Seeing his son standing there, dishtowel in his hand
and a seriously concerned look on his face, would normally have cause the
captain alarm.However, when said
son is concerned about the phone call that involves a Sentinel who can't
string a whole sentence together without laughing and a Guide who currently
is laughing so hard he can't breathe, the result is something entirely
different.
Simon suddenly burst into riotous laughter.Jim
and Blair obviously weren't concerned, so he wasn't going to worry, either.
"Hehehe Simon, do you think Blair and I should get
a dog so we could get Sentinel for him?"Once
again the Sentinel was having difficulty completing his words without laughing.
Simon doubled over laughing as a thought came to mind."Wait,
I have a better idea! <gasp> <pant>How
about we just get the K-9 units to use it?"
Daryl watched in astonishment as his father dissolved
into hysterical laughter.After a
few moments he just shook his head and finished cleaning the soda mess,
glad that his father was able to relax after his hard week at work.
Note:The thing with the cows is a reference to Anna Rennie-Clark's story, Captain Get Your Kevlar (if she ever gets it done J )