Back to Fan FictionAll the characters involved in this story are the property of Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson.
(An Alternative Ending)
by
Debi
(roarrrr35@hotmail.com)
"You told me that you loved me, well I want a man that will shout it from the roof tops," Fran said to Max extremely exasperated.
"I told you I loved you, but then I took it back" he shouted at her.
"You shouted the wrong part. That’s it, I quit, I am not going to wake up some day and have to fight your family for that picture of you in a dog collar,"she said and she ran out of his office.
"Misssss Fineeeee!!!!!" Max yelled at her as he chased her out.
***
Fran had been gone all day and evening, and Max was starting to get extremely worried. She was never going to let him forget that he had taken back his declaration of love to her. "Why on earth did I ever tell her I loved her," he thought to himself. "Because you do, you idiot!" he answered himself out loud, being extremely aggravated with himself. Max kept going over and over in his mind her words, "That’s it, I quit."
"Did she really mean it?" he said out loud. Max sat down and starting thinking about what his family would be like without her. A wave of loneliness came over him. He knew he and his family could not go on without her.
It had been a long and emotional day. His grandmother had come to visit and she was getting on everyone’s nerves. The house was quiet now and everyone had gone to bed. He left his office, walked to the front door and looked out. He wondered whether he should call her mother and see if she was tucked safely in bed at her house. He walked over to the TV, turned it on to Letterman, and started watching some late night TV. He would stay up a little while longer, perhaps she would creep in late. He really needed to talk to her and discuss their argument. He leaned his head back on the back of the couch and fell asleep.
Max woke to the door closing loudly. He woke up immediately and saw Fran taking her coat off and putting it in the closet. He stood up and looked at her, and the minute she saw him, she started crying and ran to him for consolation.
Max held her in his arms and let her cry for a few seconds. Then he opened his mouth to say he was sorry for fighting with her, but before anything came out, she said, "Oh Mr. Sheffield, he told me he loved me," she cried, and she pulled herself back to look at him.
Max thought to himself, "He told me he loved me?" and he looked at her a little confused.
"Derek," she answered him. "You know I followed him to Paris. We had a wonderful time there. It was so romantic and he was so good to me. On the way back, we had terrible turbulence in the plane and everyone thought for sure the plane was going to crash. We kissed and then he turned to me and told me he loved me." Fran started crying harder. "Then just now, when he brought me home, he took it back." She buried herself in his chest and cried even harder. She pulled back again and said between sobs, "How can someone do that? Tell someone they know who is desperately in love with them that they love them, and then take it back?"
By this time, Max was totally confused. "Who the hell is Derek?" he thought to himself. He knew she was much too upset to be playing a joke on him. He was so tired himself, he could hardly think straight. "Miss Fine, you are really distraught. I think you need to get some rest and we can have a long talk in the morning. You know I am always here for you."
Max still could feel an extreme headache coming on. The day’s events with his grandmother and Miss Fine’s argument had wreaked havoc on his body and mind and apparently from this conversation, he knew he needed some sleep.
"Maybe you’re right Mr. Sheffield. But I don’t think I’m going to get any sleep tonight." She hugged him again and said, "Thanks Mr. Sheffield, thank you for being such a good friend."
"A good friend," Max thought, as his heart sank to his stomach. She was saying he was just a good friend. Max was confused. He had no idea what was going on. He needed some rest.
"Miss Fine, I’m sure tomorrow will be a better day. Get some rest and we’ll talk tomorrow."
"Ok, Good night Mr. Sheffield," and she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
Max went to his room and he was extremely confused. "What is going on here?" he thought to himself. But before his mind could ask any more questions, he fell on his bed and fell asleep.
***
The next morning when Fran came to the breakfast table, it was apparent that she had cried all through the night. Even though she had her makeup on, her eyes were bloodshot and extremely swollen. The children looked at her and then looked at their dad. The breakfast table was extremely uncomfortable without her usual bubbly personality to greet the new day. She didn’t say a word, she just picked at her food and didn’t eat more than two bites.
"Well, if you will all excuse me, I have a lot of errands to run today," Fran said. "You kids have a great day in school today."
Gracie could see how upset she was, even though nothing was mentioned at the table. She looked at her dad to say something and when he didn’t, she jumped up from the table and ran over to Fran. She gave her the biggest hug and said, "I love you Fran, have a great day!"
"Thank you sweetie!" she said with a little smile, and then she could feel tears coming to her eyes and she ran to her bedroom.
"How could he do that to her Dad?" Maggie said, looking at her father.
"What do you mean Margaret?"
"Derek, he told her that he loved her and then he took it back. How could someone do that?" she asked him again.
"You know about that?" he asked her looking a little surprised.
"Well, yeah. I went to her room this morning to ask her something and she was crying. We had a talk and she told me what happened.
"Well, perhaps there are a lot of things going on between them or in Derek’s life that we don’t know about," Max expressed to his daughter.
"Well, I can’t imagine what could be going on that would give him the right to express his love to her and then take it back. And not only that, he expects her to act as if it never happened and then has the nerve to ask her if they can be friends because he needs more time." Maggie looked at her father’s pensive face. "Dad, how would you feel if someone you were madly in love with had finally expressed her love to you after you had waited for her for years. Then she immediately changes her mind, for God knows whatever reasons, and takes it back, and asks to be just friends with you to give her more time to commit?" she asked her father, looking him directly in his eyes.
"Well, yes, I suppose I would be very upset," he said, realizing for the first time Fran’s position from another point of view. Max looked at his daughter and realized what a mature and wise young woman she had grown up to be.
"Well, I don’t understand it," she said. If it were me, I don’t think I could ever forgive him. If it were me, I’d be seriously thinking about dumping him and getting on with my life."
Max looked at her in disbelief. He thought it ironic that Fran had raised Margaret during her formative years as a young woman, and now Margaret was telling her father what kind of advice she would give her. In Max’s mind, she was giving Fran advice to dump her father and get on with her life.
"What?" Maggie said looking at her father’s reaction to her. "Ok, I realize I’m only seventeen...well, almost eighteen. I realize I don’t have a lot of experience with love yet, but I’m just expressing my opinion.
Max looked at his other children and they were nodding their heads agreeing with her.
Max went back to his office and went over everything that Maggie had said. "What is going on here, he thought to himself. Am I going crazy? Who is Derek and where did he come from? Am I in some sort of parallel universe? Then it immediately hit him as if someone had hit him over the head with a baseball bat, Fran was not in love with him. She was desperately in love with someone else. She thought of him only as her boss and a good friend. Max had a pen in his hand and his hand started shaking so bad he let loose of it and it fell to his desk. "This can’t be, I love her more than life itself. How can I survive without her? Max could feel tears falling on his cheeks.
***
That afternoon, Fran popped her head in Max’s office. She was wearing black tight pants and a pink fuzzy sweater that showed every curve of her upper body. Just the sight of her made Max smile and he felt himself getting a little aroused as she came into his office.
"Hi, Mr. Sheffield, I brought you some tea," she said, as she put the tray down.
"Miss Fine, why don’t you join me for some tea and we can talk."
Max looked at her and noticed the swelling around her eyes had subsided.
"Thanks Mr. Sheffield, " she said, as she sat on the loveseat in his office.
Max came around his desk and sat next to her. He could smell her perfume and the minute the scent hit his nostrils, his heart starting pounding a little faster. "So, are you feeling better about things this afternoon," he asked.
"I guess so, I mean there’s nothing I can really do about it. If he’s not ready to commit, I can’t make him," she said, almost resolved to the fact that this was the way things would be.
"Well, perhaps he has a lot of feelings suppressed within him that he hasn’t resolved yet," Max said to her.
"Oh, you’re taking about his dead wife aren’t you?"
Max looked at her surprised and thought to himself, " Derek has a dead wife too?"
"Well, yes I guess I am," he finally responded to her.
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield, I totally understand that he’s afraid to commit. He loved his wife so much. They were soul mates. But I’m not asking to take her place. I know I could never do that. I would never want to do that. I just love him so much and I want the chance to make him happy again, make him whole again like he’s made me. After Danny dumped me, I never thought I would ever love again. I went around for the longest time with a hole in my heart. Looking back now, I can see that I was probably never really in love with Danny, well not like I am with Derek. I guess that’s the problem. I know for a fact that Derek is my soul mate. I know he loves me, but he just can’t seem to leave the past behind and get on with the future. Fran paused and tears came to her eyes. "How long do I have to wait before he realizes I’m his soul mate? And, if he never does, I don’t think I’ll ever find anyone like him again. It took me my whole life to find him."
Max looked at her and could feel jealousy, pure and simple, that she felt this way for another man. He thought to himself, "I know you are my soul mate Fran, don’t you realize that?"
"We’ve talked a lot about this. When his wife died, a lot of him died with her. He’s had a really hard time getting over her death. Now that he’s beginning to get his life in order again, he has this dumb idea that if he doesn’t commit, then he’ll never be hurt again. But the funny thing is he’s hurting himself and me by not committing, in effect, so he won’t ever be hurt again. Does that make any sense?
Max looked at her and shook his head. He was starting to get a very interesting perspective of this whole situation. He was starting to see just how bad his logic was. He could see how saddened and broken hearted she was by what "Derek" had done.
Fran stood up and said, "Well, I know you’ve got a lot of work to do Mr. Sheffield. I won’t take any more of your time up talking about my love life, or lack of it I guess," she said and smiled at him.
Max’s stomach had butterflies when she smiled at him and he thought, "Oh, how I love that smile." He wanted so much to kiss her. He wondered what she’d do if he did. It would probably ruin their "friendship" and she would move out and then he wouldn’t be able to see her again, even if it was only as friends. Max didn’t know how long his heart could take this.
She looked him in the eyes and Max could feel her melt his heart. "Thanks Mr. Sheffield for being such a good friend." She reached up and gave him a big hug and Max wanted so desperately to keep her in his arms and kiss her and tell her he loved her, and say he would never deny or take it back again.
She left his office and he slumped back down in his chair. He asked himself, "Is this some sort of nightmare I’m having? If so, someone please wake me up!"
***
Max’s day was a complete disaster. He could not keep his mind on work He just kept thinking about Fran and the fact that she was in love with someone else. He desperately needed to talk with her. He had no idea what about, he just needed to be near her. Was this how it was going to be for the rest of his life, pining away over someone he could not have?
He knocked softly on her bedroom door and no one answered. He slowly opened the door and entered. He looked around and she was not in the bedroom. Then he could see her bathroom door ajar and he could see her in the tub having a bubble bath. She had all her hair pulled up and the bubbles covered her almost completely, except to give a slight glimpse of her upper breasts. She had her head leaned back with her eyes closed, and she looked absolutely breathtaking. He just stood there and watched her for a few moments, praying that she would not open her eyes and see him. He stepped back a little, enough to insure that she would not be able to see him, but he could still see her. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. Was it all a dream that she once loved him or was it some fantasy on his part that he was finally realizing was only a fantasy? How did this terrible reality come to be that she no longer loved him, but loved someone else? Max could feel tears forming in his eyes. Then he saw her stand up and reach for the towel and his heart raced so fast, he thought he was going to pass out. He took two more steps back, turned around, opened the door and quickly moved out of her bedroom. On the other side of the door, he leaned against the wall to get his breathing back to normal. "Oh God, she is so beautiful. I love her so much. How can I live without her?"
That evening, Fran came walking down the stairs all ready for her date with Derek. She had on a white short evening dress. It was extremely low cut and then hugged her body. Her hair was done loose and full and Max took one look at her and thought an angel was floating down the stairs. "How could anyone take back saying he loved her," he thought, as she descended the stairs. And then he realized what he had just said.
The doorbell rang and Fran answered it. A tall man about 6'3", with thick blonde hair was standing at the door. He came in and immediately took Fran in his arms and kissed her passionately. Fran pulled back from him and Max could see such love radiating from her face for him. His heart ached so much, he had to turn his head away.
"Good night Mr. Sheffield," Fran said, as Derek helped her put her coat on.
"Good Night Miss Fine, have a nice evening," he said, and he saw a big smile on Derek’s face.
Max needed a drink and he needed it fast. He poured himself the biggest scotch he could and sat on the couch determined to get drunk. He turned the TV on and watched whatever was on, praying that he could stop thinking of them together.
***
Max woke up to the front door closing. He stood up immediately and saw Fran coming in the door. She had a red suit on. He was confused because she had gone out on her date with Derek in a white evening dress.
Fran looked at him and saw his confused look, and said, "What? Mr. Sheffield, what is wrong?"
Max kept looking at her and said, "I’m just a little confused because I saw you go out the door this evening with Derek in a white evening dress."
Fran gave him a very strange look and walked toward him a few steps. "Mr. Sheffield, are you alright?" she asked. "I’m not sure what you are talking about. Who is Derek?"
Max’s mind was still fuzzy from waking up. He suddenly looked over at the TV and realized he had just woke up.
"Derek, you know the man you are in love with?"
Fran was really starting to get worried and she took a few steps closer to get a better look at Max to see if he had any indications that he was sick.
"Mr. Sheffield, I’m not sure who you are talking about, but I’m not in love with anyone called Derek, I’m in love with......" And she stopped herself from saying "you".
Max looked at her still a little confused, and then he looked back at the couch and the TV glaring with Letterman. He looked at the coffee table and there was no glass on the table. He had poured himself a scotch, but there was no empty glass on the table.
Fran was really starting to get worried. She had been out all day and night trying to calm herself down from getting so angry with him that day. She saw him looking at the couch and she finally took the last few steps toward him and said, "Mr. Sheffield, I’m really sorry we argued today, but I think we really need to sit down and have a talk."
Max finally realized what was going on. It had been a dream. Well not a dream, it had been the worst nightmare of his life. But the nightmare was over and reality was here again. And then he realized that the reality now was that Fran loved him, not Derek, not anyone else. She loved him, and she was waiting for him to return that love.
Fran looked at him. He had this odd look on his face and she knew he hadn’t heard a word of what she said. "Mr. Sheffield, I can see you’re very tired, I am too. Let’s both go to bed and we can talk in the morning." Then she started heading for the stairs.
Max finally got himself together. His nightmare was over. He was awake now and everything was clear. He saw her heading up the steps and he knew he had to say something fast. "I am madly and desperately in love with you Fran Fine," he said, as she was on the second step of the staircase. " I love you more than I can ever express to you, and I promise I will never deny or take it back ever again."
Fran’s head flew around and she just stared at him for the next few seconds and then she flew into his arms.
"I am so sorry for putting you through what you have been through," Max said, as he started kissing her mouth and face and neck. They were both crying by this time and Max held her for the longest time and said, "You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this."
Fran looked at him a little confused and crying, and said, "I don’t understand, what happened today?"
Max smiled at her and said, "Well let me just say I had a dream, well a nightmare that put everything into perspective."
Fran gave him a somewhat amused look and said, "Well, mister, that must have been some dream," she teasingly said to him. "You’ll have to tell me all about it."
"I will," Max said as he looked at her with such love. "But first I want to take you upstairs and show you just how much I love you."
Fran looked at him dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe that they had argued this morning about him saying he loved her and taking it back, and tonight he was professing his undying love for her and was about to take her to his bedroom to make love to her.
"I love you so much Max, and nothing would make me more happy," she said, as she hugged him. Then he picked her up and started carrying her up the stairs.
The End
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