Title: Sweets for the sweet
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG
From a suggestion by Sally, but most probably not at all what she had in mind.

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" I'm going out of my mind!"

Betty paused as she stretched up to reach for the berry dangling just beyond her finger tips.

" What is it this time, Val. Fitzhugh not pulling his weight, or Mark ignoring you again ?"

Valerie poked a tongue out at her friends back, her expression mutinous.

" As if I care what Mr. Mechanical Genius thinks, I only suggested it might be better is he had some company on one of his fishing trips, he didn't have to be so rude," she huffed.

Betty plucked the elusive berry off the branch and placed it carefully in the basket on her hip. Turning to face Valerie, Betty caught a look of vulnerability on the girls face.

" Don't take it to heart, he rejected both Steve and Dan as well."

" I didn't know they'd said anything ?" Valerie said, surprised.

" I think they're as concerned as you about Mark taking off on his own, but you know how he is."

" Yeah, I guess so. But that wasn't what I was complaining about anyway."

Betty worked her way around the bush, avoiding the sharp thorns that continually threatened to rip her uniform if she wasn't careful.

" Well if its not Mark, and its not Fitz, what is driving you out of your mind ?"

" Chocolate."

" Your kidding, why ?"

" Oh come on Betty, even you have to admit an occasional craving for it," said Valerie, her eyes unfocused, a dreamy expression on her face.

" Well yes, I suppose so, but it's not as if we can do anything about it, is there ?"

" Of all the things I miss about not being on the Earth, chocolate has to be fairly high on my list,"

Betty looked over and cast an appraising look over Valerie svelte figure.

" I wouldn't have thought that chocolate was a major part of your diet, not given the number of times you appeared on magazine covers," said Betty, reaching for another ripe fruit.

Valerie continued to gaze off into the distance, her basket half full, her mind elsewhere.

" I used to find ways of indulging, but since we crashed here its become almost an obsession. Do you think the Giants have anything like chocolate on their planet ?"

" Is that a rhetorical question ?" asked Betty, with some amusement.

Valerie shrugged and gave a deep sigh, her attention once more on her immediate surroundings.

" I guess it will have to be."

" Come on, we have to get these back to camp before Fitzhugh dies of starvation,"

Valerie laughed out loud and turned once more to continue the harvest of the berry bush, her hands, if not her mind, back on the job.

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The two girls were half way back to camp carrying the now full baskets when Valerie stopped dead in her tracks, Betty almost bumping into her.

" Do you smell that ?" Valerie asked in wonder, her face turned upwards, sniffing loudly.

" Smell what ?"

" Tell me I'm not imagining that heavenly smell, Betty ?"

Betty sniffed cautiously, then again as if not believing her own nose.

" Oh my god, its...its...."

" Chocolate !" Announced Valerie, her head turning to try and find the direction of the sweet smell wafting among the undergrowth.

" Where are we Betty, what's around here that could produce that ?"

" I'm not sure, we're pretty close to the edge of the woods here, maybe its that house that was empty, they might've got new tenants,"

" I can't stand it, lets go take a look, maybe we'll find out something useful at the same time,"

" Val, we should be getting back, Steve said no later than four,"

" Oh pooh on Steve, I've gotta find out what's making that smell,"

" But Val..."

" Here, take my basket, you go back to camp, I'll catch you up," said Valerie, thrusting her basket impatiently into Betty's arms so that she nearly dropped the lot.

" Oh for heavens sake, alright, we'll leave the baskets here, wait while I mark the spot," Betty shook out a piece of rag from her pocket and tied it to a branch where it fluttered in the slight breeze.

Valerie sniffed the air again, her eyes closed in ecstasy, then, finding the strongest scent, she started off at right angles to the path they'd been following. Betty, her expression rueful, followed closely behind.

A short tramp brought them to the outskirts of a fenced garden. In front of them stretched an expanse of lawn, recently mown, evidence that the house now had occupants.

" How are we going to get across that open area without being spotted," hissed Betty. Valerie chewed her bottom lip as she viewed the obstacle.

" Let's wait and see if there is any movement, Giant or animal, I don't want to risk getting caught in the open by either," said Valerie.

" I still think this is foolhardy, can't we come back another time, maybe with the guys ?"

" I've told you, I'm going in, you can stay here if you want to, but I'm going. That smell is driving me wild, isn't it doing that to you ?"

Betty shook her head, knowing that nothing she could say would deter Valerie once her mind was made up.

They waited for half an hour, but saw no movement in the garden or the house. Valerie gave Betty a look of triumph and moved out, climbing under the wooden fence. After giving a quick look around, she started to sprint across the green lawn. Betty, still unsure of the wisdom of the idea, hung back. She watched Valerie as she reached roughly the half way mark, her red hair streaming behind her as she covered the ground at a steady pace. Betty was about to start her own run when a shadow at the corner of the house caused her to check. To Betty's horror a Giant child appeared around the corner, her arms full of clothes, a peg bad dangling from her arm, and proceeded to walk directly into Valerie's path. Betty saw Valerie skid to a halt then dart off to the side to avoid the child's feet that came down just where Valerie had been previously standing. With her hand on her mouth to still a scream, Betty watched as Valerie reached a concrete path that edged the grass, up against the side of the house. The Giant child had walked on oblivious, over to a washing line strung from a tree without seeing either Betty or Valerie. There she started to peg out the clothes she'd been carrying, her back to where Valerie crouched against the lip of the concrete path. Betty had difficulty seeing where Valerie was, only the flash of her vibrant hair an indicator of the girls whereabouts. Betty watched as Valerie climbed onto the path and reached the wall of the house, she was still dangerously exposed but atleast closer to cover than out on the lawn. The Giant child continued to peg out the clothes, unaware of the drama being played out on the ground.

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Valerie put a hand on her chest to still her heaving lungs. She had narrowly avoided getting stepped on by the Giant, her sidestep enough to carry her to the rough edge of the path and relative safety. She was now flattened against the outside wall of the house and the Giant had it's back to her for the time being. She tried to spot the area where she'd left Betty but the fence shielded her friend too well for Valerie to see her. She hoped that Betty would see her position and use her common sense to go back to camp and get help. She tried to wave at the spot where she thought Betty was, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a answering wave from behind the fence. One last frantic wave and then Valerie was off and running to the corner of the house. She needed to get out of sight and the wall facing the Giant was too thin on cover. Rounding the corner she paused and waved once more at the spot she'd last seen Betty. No answering wave convinced her that Betty had gone for help. For the time being, Valerie was on her own.

Looking along the wall, which was now in shadow, she spotted a grating at ground level. Thanking her lucky stars, Valerie jogged to the grate and peered in. It was dark and wreathed in spiders webs, causing her to check before climbing inside, but the sound of footsteps and a slight vibration under her feet spurred her to action and she dived through the square opening into the relative safety of the vent. She turned around and saw a Giant foot come down outside the grill then pass by. Heaving a sigh of relief Valerie went back to the opening and stuck her head out. The Giant child was making it's way to a back door further along the wall. Valerie watched the child open the door and go inside, leaving Valerie to slump against the grimy wall of the vent and consider her options.

" Another fine mess you've got yourself into," she muttered to herself, brushing at the clinging webs and pushing her hair out of her eyes. She considered just staying where she was, but the prospect of Giant spiders moving in the inky blackness of the vent spurred her to think of another idea. She briefly considered running back over the grass and making her way back to camp but now the smell of chocolate was almost overpowering and she was almost intoxicated with the enticing aroma.

" I have to find out what's making that smell," she told herself. Easing herself outside once more she edged along the wall to the towering back door. Sliding under the bottom edge Valerie found herself in a small lobby leading into a gaily coloured kitchen. There was no sight or sound of any Giants so Valerie crept further into the room, keeping close to the wall. Inside the house it was almost as if the air was made of chocolate, the smell was so strong. Looking up at the kitchen benches way above her head, she saw what looked like baking racks made of wire mesh, some of them overlapping the edge of the bench. Creeping along under the overhang of the cabinet doors, Valerie saw a narrow gap between the bench and the stove. She squeezed herself in and rested. From her dusty hiding place she could see all the kitchen, and part of a dining room as well. She had only just got the place mapped in her head when voices heralded the arrival of the Giant occupants of the house, one the child from the garden, the other an adult, possibly the mother. Valerie pushed herself further back and listened.

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" Is there anything else you need me to do ?"

" No Amy, I can manage now, you go out and play if you like,"

" Are you sure you don't need any help packing those comforts into boxes, I'd be happy to help," offered the child.

" Oh no, I think I'd better do that, I wouldn't want to put temptation in your way, we need every one of those chocolates to find their way into the boxes," her mother laughed, shooing the girl away with a mock frown on her face.

" Aaawww please, just one....to try, you haven't tested them...please" wheedled Amy.

" Oh, alright, just one, then you go out and play," said her mother, turning to pick up something off the wire drying racks. Valerie could see the mother give the child what looked like a square of chocolate which Amy consumed in an instant. Then the mother swatted Amy on the backside and shooed her out of the kitchen. Laughing, Amy pulled open the door and left, leaving the mother surveying the remaining sweets with a satisfied smile on her face.

" Once I get you lot all packed up, we'll finally get this business started,"

Valerie inched forward to get a better view and watched as the mother pottered around the kitchen, gathering boxes and placing them on the dining table, together with several of the wire racks containing the sweets. Sitting herself at the table the Giant woman started to select from the wire racks and place the chocolates into the cardboard boxes. As each box was filled she packed them with thin strips of decorative paper, then closed the lid. Valerie watched from her vantage point as the women completed a dozen boxes before getting up to fetch another wire rack and more sweetmeats. As the woman turned back to the table a dark object fell off one of the tilted racks. Valerie watched as mana rained from heaven and a large chocolate landed almost directly outside her hiding place. The woman appeared not to notice and carried on with her packing.

" Just wait until I return to camp with this, even Steve won't be so quick to tell me off for this adventure!"

Easing herself out of the gap, Valerie scuttled over to the tasty morsel and tried to pick it up. She might as well have tried to move the stove as lift the chocolate. Frustrated, she looked around for inspiration and saw a length of thread a little way across the floor from where she was standing. Giving the Giant women a quick glance to make sure she was occupied, Valerie raced over and grabbed the thread then just as quickly returned to her prize and looped the thread around the sweet and started to drag it towards the door. It was slow going but she managed to make it to the end of the bench before the women once more got up to get more supplies. Valerie flattened herself against the end of the bench, praying that the Giant child wouldn't choose that moment to come back inside. She peeped around the end of the cupboard and saw the women back at the table once more, leaving Valerie free to continue her quest. Dragging the chocolate to the door she heaved and tugged until it disappeared under the door and dropped to the ground on the other side. Puffing, Valerie crawled under the door and sat for a moment catching her breath.

" Wow, a Little Person, wait til I show you to Mum," a loud piping voice preceded the Giant hand of Amy as she reached down to pluck Valerie off the doorstep and swing her up high for a closer inspection.

Without a chance to run or scream Valerie lay in the girls grasp and gaped in horror at the Giant girl who now held her captive. Amy held Valerie up close to her face, so close that Valerie could see herself mirrored in the child's pupils.

" Please, let me go, put me down," Valerie shouted, flinging her arms up to hide the sight of the Giants face so close that the breath from Amy's nose blew Valerie's hair so it streamed out behind her. Gasping Valerie turned as far as she could in the child's grasp and tried to make herself as small as possible.

" Oh no, I don't want to put you down now......MUM.....MUM LOOK WHAT I'VE FOUND!"

Valerie clapped her hands over her ears to lessen the sound of the child's voice as it swept over her, nearly deafening her in the process.

" Please don't shout...please, it hurts," Valerie whimpered, her head ringing.

Amy ignored Valerie's pleas, too excited to think of anything but showing her off to her mother. Yanking open the door, Amy crashed into the kitchen, causing her mother to swing around in her chair and give her a sharp rebuke for slamming the door.

" But Mother, look what I found on our doorstep," Amy thrust her hand under her mothers nose, opening her fingers so that Valerie almost rolled off the sticky palm onto the table twenty feet below her.

" Oh goodness, is that....that one of the Little People ?" whispered Amy's mother, her hand coming up to poke gently at the sprawled figure on her daughter's outstretched hand.

" It sure is, I saw a poster at school telling us all about them, isn't she neat,"

The mother continued to regard Valerie as if she was a interesting garden insect that Amy had brought for her inspection.

" What shall we do with it ?"

" Can I keep her, please Mum, say yes, I so want to keep her, pleeeease," Amy lowered her hand and deposited Valerie on the table top where they watched as she struggled to her feet and then stood regarding the two Giants looming over her.

" What are you going to do with me ?" Valerie asked.

" We really should hand you over to the authorities, I guess," the mother started to say, but Amy immediately interrupted.

" We can't, they'll only dissect her or something, and I so want to show her off to my friends,"

" Please let me go, I'm not a pet, please just let me go,"

" What were you doing here anyway ?" asked the mother, rubbing her chin absently.

" I smelt the chocolate and wanted to see for myself, I didn't mean any harm,"

" She was taking one of your comforts, I saw, it's outside right now," said Amy.

" We have chocolate on our planet too, but I haven't tasted it since we crashed on your planet,"

" What is this chocolate you refer too ?" asked the mother, her expression perplexed, " do you mean, this ?" and she pointed to the wire trays still holding the sweets.

" Yes I do, what do you call it ?" asked Valerie.

" We call it talocoche, its a delicacy on our world,"

" Well it certainly smells like our chocolate, can I taste it ?" asked Valerie, deciding to go out on a limb.

After a moments hesitation, the mother reached over and got a small knife. Choosing a sweet, she sliced off a tiny corner and pushed over to where Valerie stood. Picking up the morsel Valerie put it up to her lips and took a cautious lick. With a rapped expression she crammed the slice into her mouth and munched contentedly. When her mouth was finally empty she turned an expectant face up to the Giant's watching her closely.

" That was wonderful, and as close to what we know as chocolate as anything I've ever tasted," said Valerie, licking the remaining remnants off her fingers.

" Amy, go find a box to put our tiny friend into, there should be one on the sideboard."

" Does that mean you're not going to set me free ?" Valerie asked apprehensively.

" How can I imprison someone who appreciates talocoche as much as you do, no I asked Amy to get the box to make it safer for her to carry you," replied the mother, " I think you'd prefer that to being clutched in Amy's sticky hands again,"

Valerie grinned broadly and nodded her head in agreement.

" I have to admit a preference to travelling in a box, hands tend to squeeze a bit, despite their best intentions,"

" Would you like to take some of our delicacy's with you ?"

The Giant women's unexpected kindness almost brought a lump to Valerie's throat.

" Would I just, yes please," said Valerie, " Won't Amy be disappointed you're letting me go ?"

" One of the reasons we moved to this isolated place was to get out of the city and avoid the excessive tendency of the Authorities to rule people's lives," said the mother, wiping her hands on a towel, " I brought Amy here so we could start again and build up my talocoche making business, make a new life for ourselves. I am no supporter of the SID and its heavy handed tactics. I have never believed all the hype and hysteria broadcast about the Little People, and now that I've met one of you, it only reinforces those views."

" You are a truly remarkable Giant, and I'm thankful for that,"

" Will this do ?" piped in Amy, coming to stand next to her mother and handing over a smallish box.

" Perfect Amy, thank you," said her mother. Putting the box down, she placed half a dozen sweets of different designs into the container, then carefully lifted Valerie into the box.

" Do we have to let her go ?" said Amy wistfully.

" Yes dear, they are people, just like us," the mother explained, " now you take this box and carry this Little Person to wherever she asks to go, okay ?"

" Okay,"

" Thank you, thank you both," said Valerie, waving to the mother as Amy carried her out of the kitchen and back into the garden. When she reached the corner of the house, Amy stopped and peered down at Valerie.

" Where do you want to go ?"

" Can you put me down by your back fence ?"

" Sure, that's not difficult, hang on tight,"

Valerie braced herself against the corner of the box as Amy walked briskly across the lawn and approached the wooden fence. The afternoon was almost over, the sun starting to set behind the trees, plunging the woods into a semi gloom. Amy knelt down and placed the box on the ground, helping Valerie to clamber over the edge, then lifting out the chocolates and placing them on the ground beside the tiny woman.

" How are you going to get those.....those choco..thingy's back to your home ?" asked Amy, looking perplexed.

" If you have a cloth, or handkerchief, I'll exchange it for one of your mothers talocoche," offered Valerie, also wondering how she was to haul the treasure back to camp.

Amy riffled through her pockets and produced a strip of ribbon that she tied around the sweets making them into a neat bundle.

" There you go, you could drag that, couldn't you ?"

" I sure can, thanks Amy...by the way, my names Valerie,"

" It's been nice to meet you Valerie, oh.....who's that ?"

Behind them, Betty had approached unnoticed, but, quickly assessing the situation, she decided to show herself and help Valerie get away.

" That's a friend of mine, she can help me get these back to our home," Valerie explained, relieved beyond measure to see Betty.

" Okay, well you'd better go, it'll be dark soon," said Amy, getting to her feet and starting to back away.

" Thank you Amy, goodbye," said Valerie, waving to the girl until she turned the corner of the house and disappeared.

" You have more lives than a cat, Valerie Scott,"

" And what have you got against cats....look what this allycat managed to bag......CHOCOLATE !!" Valerie squealed and hugged Betty until the girl gasped for release.

" You know Steve will have our hides for being so late, I bet he's sent out a search party already," said Betty, trying without success to hide the smile in her voice.

" Oh phooey, a hundred scolding are worth this prize, don't fuss so Betty, now give me a hand and lets get started before some nosy insect gets wind of our supper,"

" Okay Val, but you get the job of telling Steve how your obtained this lot, I plead the fifth,"

The two girls hauled their precious cargo away, their laughter following their progress as the woods closed in around them and they disappeared from sight.

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End.