Red flowers (poppies?)

Moderation In All Things Save Love

My much-delayed story for this challenge has finally been posted!

Title: Moderation In All Things Save Love
Author: Pouncer
Fandom: Cupid
Rating: R
Genre: het, romance, stealth crossover
Pairing: Claire Allen/Alex DeMouy
Summary: Everybody dreams of winning the lottery. Claire said, "I always thought I'd travel." Alex reached out for Claire's hand, and her breath caught at the touch. "Me too. Want to go together?"
Almost 6000 words.

"Give me a dollar."

"Trevor!" He would interrupt Claire just as she was taking the first sip of her morning coffee, steaming into the cold air. "What are you --"

"Dollar!" His tone demanded.

Claire sighed and pulled out her wallet while resting her cardboard cup atop a Chicago Tribune dispenser. Her scarf twisted around her wrist.

Trevor grinned, sprightly, and snatched the bill from her hand. Then he passed over a slip of paper.

"The lottery? Trevor, this cup of coffee would be a better investment."

But he was leaving, waving, calling, "Be sure to check the numbers tonight," as he disappeared down the street.

Welcome to episode 1x10!

explain this 'episode 1x10' to me:

Back in the 1998-1999 television season, ABC aired a show called Cupid. The show focused on one Dr. Claire Allen (psychologist, played by Paula Marshall) and one Trevor Hale (her client, played by Jeremy Piven) a man who believed himself to be Cupid, expelled from Olympus for past transgressions. Trevor's only hope of returning to Olympus (if, indeed, he was Cupid - a matter that the show never cleared up) was to make 100 love matches while on earth. Each episode therefore focused on the trials and tribulations of people trying to find love, aided and abetted by Claire (and her therapy group for disaffected singles) and Trevor (whose methods were usually more unorthodox).

In episode six Trevor set Claire up with journalist Alex DeMouy (Joe Flanigan) in an attempt to prove that even if she met the perfect man, she wouldn't be able to make a relationship last. Trevor's plan backfired when Claire and Alex fell headlong into a funny, passionate, smitten relationship that still has the power to make viewers' toes curl nine years later.

Since The Powers That Be had intended for a long-running sub-plot of the show to be that Claire and Trevor were destined for each other, the fact that Claire and Alex had chemistry a-go-go was rather inconvenient. Therefore, in episode nine, Alex won a position at the New York Times and left Chicago, promising to send Claire flowers.

That sounds all kinds of wrong.

You have no idea.

But that still doesn't explain why your community is called episode 1x10

Put quite simply, we're scrapping the rest of the season. The name of the game is to rewrite things as though the real episode ten never aired - between us, we can conjure up a good deal more happiness for Alex and Claire than TPTB ever managed.

So where does 'challenge' come into it?

The challenge is to write someone else's dream episode 10 (and beyond!)

From now until September 30, we're accepting prompts. What's your dream Alex/Claire scenario? You can request anything from the moment Alex steps onto the plane to go to New York, right through to any number of conceivable futures. Want to see them old and grey with forty-seven grandkids? Step right up! Want to see them travel to the Amazon together and have their love tested by anacondas? We can do that!

On October 1, claiming begins! One writer and one artist per scenario!

On December 1, everyone posts! And everyone revels in how things ought to be.

I'm in!

Exactly what we like to hear! Start by leaving a prompt in the comments to this post!

Anything else I need to know?

Joe Flanigan's really hot.

Okay, that's a given.

Yeah, but it bears repeating.

Fair point.

Questions or comments? Leave 'em here! Let the prompting begin!