Typed/Posted: July 3, 2001
Revised: July 22, 2003

Disclaimer: I do not know Ryan Stiles, Drew Carey or any other cast member personally. I have never met any of them. This story is purely fictional. The Drew Carey Show and the characters contained belong to Warner Brothers & AOL Time Warner/ Mohawk Productions. Cher/Jennifer Nakamoto is a character that I have created. I have used the characters/settings (i.e.: The Warsaw) from the Drew Carey Show (without permission) to write my first fan fiction. If you have any problems or would like to use her in one of your stories, please email me first @ tweety@hi.net. Mahalo. Thank You.  The Fiction Starts Now…

Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay folks, I had writers cramp. J In part three, a couple of other characters come out of the woodworks and I’m sure you’ll get your share of surprises along the way. Grab a fresh glass of Iced Tea and sit back, relax, and enjoy! By the way, this is a direct continuation of part two. If you didn’t read the last two parts of the story, you most likely will not be able to catch on to the plot of the story. PLEASE read parts 1 & 2 before even considering reading part three. I promise that your reading experience will be much more pleasurable.

"Can you believe that, Cher?" Gail typed, from her computer back in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Ryan Stiles is sending me a ticket to come to Cali and hang out with you and the cast! I am so excited. You know what, I’ll tell my boss at work tomorrow. It’s late notice, but I’m sure he’ll understand, after all, I do have vacation days lined up.." Gail paused when she realized she was rambling.

"Yep, I bet he’ll understand. I just got a good idea! Can I call you? I think it would be easier than typing. I mean, we obviously have plenty to talk about, and my fingers are getting tired."

"So are mine!! You just read my mind, Cher." Gail replied and typed in her phone number.

"LOL, talk to ya in a few." Click. Cher disconnected the Internet from her laptop. She walked over to one of the double beds in her hotel room. She bounced a bit as she sat down. The phone was resting on a wooden nightstand between the two beds. Cher picked up the receiver and dialed Gail’s phone number.

"Hello?" Gail answered. She had a pleasantly soft voice.

"Hey girl! It’s me."

"Cher! Wow! We’re finally talking to each other. It’s..it’s strange."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Cher agreed. "Before I forget, what’s your address?" Gail told Cher her home address slowly and clearly, so that she could write it down correctly.

"Okay," Cher said after a few seconds, "I got it."

"So, how does it feel to be working with Ryan, and more importantly, Drew?  I know your just an extra but..."

Cher interrupted, "Actually, I'm not just an extra any more. The woman who was supposed to play Lewis' love interest this week fell ill and since there weren't any actresses that were available that fit the part on such short notice, Drew asked me if I could try acting and take that woman's place."

"That's wonderful, Cher!  I can't imagine how excited you must be.  It was a dream just chatting online with Ry and knowing it was actually him for once."

"Yeah, with all those imposters out there. Gail, when you arrive in L.A., do me a favor and pinch me, okay?"

"Not if you don’t pinch me first!" Gail joked.

"You know, I could almost hear you scream here in Cali!" Cher said. She heard her friend giggle in the background. It was totally true.

"You just reminded me of something.  In a couple of days, I.." Gail stammered, "I am going to meet Drew Carey. What am I going to wear? How am I going to react? What if I faint? What if I don’t know what to say? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

"RELAX!" Cher tried to comfort Gail, who was nearly hyperventilating. Jeez, I don’t blame her for being so excited, She thought. But, if she’s like this when she’s thinking about meeting Drew, then I wonder what she’ll do when she actually meets him.

"Okay, Okay." She tried to calm herself down. "I have to go shopping though."

Cher smiled, "Don’t worry. You can go shopping with me and Jamie in L.A…I know! After we get you settled in, we can all go to the nearby spa! That would be awesome, wouldn’t it?"

"Yeah! That would be great. So, anyway, why is Jamie going to be at the tapings this week, besides to see you I mean?" Gail didn’t give Cher time to answer. "Oh wait! Let me guess, is a certain Canadian going to be taping with you guys this week?" Gail was referring to Colin Mochrie, Jamie’s favorite performer.

"You guessed it, Gail. By the way, I’ll give your address to Ry at work tomorrow?  You’ll be getting your ticket sometime Wednesday, I think…"

"So, I should be in L.A. by Thursday, then?"

"Yeah, because today is Monday, right?"

"Today is Monday. You’re right. Should I go rent a car or something?"

"Don’t worry about a thing, Gail…except looking good for Drew, which will be no problem for you, I’m sure. We’ll pick you up at the airport. Jamie and I already sharing a room, and I can sleep on the sofa bed. Everything will be taken care of. Hakuna Matata." They both laughed.

"The reason I’m up so early is that I couldn’t sleep. Lucky thing I went online, right?"

"Very lucky! Though I didn't get a chance to show him the Giraffe Board like I had planned."

"That's okay, there's plenty of time for that."

"Yeah, well, I have to get some sleep. I mean, I don’t want to get raccoon eyes, right?"

"Uh-huh. I know what that’s like." Gail replied. "But, I don’t know if I’m going to get any sleep now!"

"Well, call me when the ticket arrives. I’m staying at the Los Angeles Luxury Hotel, Room 602. If I’m out, leave me a message okay? I want to make sure everything is going to go smoothly."

"I will." Gail grinned. "Bye, Cher."

"Ciao." Click. Cher hung up the receiver. Her mind was racing with thoughts. I can’t believe Ry is being such a sweetie. Jamie is going to finally meet Colin, and Gail is going to surprise her idol, Drew. Ryan Stiles, what a man. He really is something special.

The limousine had pulled up to the hotel at exactly 9:00 A.M. Cher was surprised by its promptness. Drew really knows how to treat a girl right, She thought. During the twenty minutes that Cher was in the limo, she reflected on how lucky she was to have won the contest and how lucky she was to have met Ryan Stiles, lucky to have met the whole cast for that matter.  Also, during this time, Cher visualized all the things that were going to happen that day. Let’s see…well, I’ll be taping at the studio till 4:15-4:30 P.M. Jamie’s coming during the lunch break…Then we’ll all hang out at the studio lounge and…

"Cher," The driver, Cal interrupted her train of thought. "Want to stop at Starbucks? I’ll buy us some coffee. You look drowsy."

"Sure, coffee is exactly what I need right now. Well, besides more sleep that is." They both laughed.

**9:26 A.M.; The Drew Carey Show Studio Parking – Cal drove up to the curb and got out of the limousine. He strolled over and opened Cher’s door.**

"Thanks Cal," Cher said as he helped her out of the limo. She then reached into her bag and pulled out $15.00. "Here. Take this, I insist. I bet Drew would have a fit if he knew. Please, for our sakes, don’t tell anyone," Cher laughed. Cal took the money and stuffed it in his coat pocket.

"No problem." Cal grinned and the two waved good bye to each other. Cher anxiously walked up the cement pathway leading up to the studio doors. "Talk about exercise," She muttered. All was quiet except for the sound of Cal driving away. She reached for the door handle and her mind began to wander again.

As Cher walked into the studio lobby, she started to think about the stressful but fun week that laid ahead of her. She was excited but a tad jittery.  This is not the time to be having second thoughts, girly!

"AAAAAAHHH!" Cher screamed. Two ice cold hands had suddenly surrounded her neck. "What the hell?" Oh boy, she was mad. She hated when people snuck up on her. She turned around to see whose neck she would be wringing that day. A very tall man grinned happily back at her. "Ryan Lee Stiles!" Cher said fiercely, "You scared me half to death. If you want Lewis to live to see the light of tomorrow, then you better NOT do that to me again."

Ryan made a sad puppy dog face and Cher’s expression softened. "I’m sorry, Cherry. I didn’t mean to scare you that much."

"It’s okay," Cher said genuinely and gave Ryan a hug. "I just hate it when people do that." Ryan made a mental note in his head. He was not going to forget that. "Ryan, how did you sleep last night?"

"Like a baby, and I owe it all to you."

"Why’s that?" Cher was curious to know how she had contributed to the quality of Ryan’s sleep.

"Well, three nights in a row, I haven’t been able to sleep. At most, I would probably catch three to four hours of sleep per night. Where as last night, I slept soundly..undisturbed until my alarm went off."

"That’s great, Ryan.  Glad I could help.  Here is Gail’s address." Cher handed Ryan a scrap of paper with an address neatly written on it. "Thanks again for helping my friends meet their favorite cast members. I'm glad that I have already met mine."

"Who’s your favorite? Drew? Christa?"

"You of all people shouldn’t have to ask, RYAN. It’s soo obvious, RYAN." Cher took that idea from one of her favorite episodes of The Drew Carey Show. The one where Drew wanted to know who Kate liked. It turned out to be Drew of course.

"Me?" Ryan pointed to his chest. "That just can’t be."

"That’s just like you. You’re always so sweet and humble." Cher glanced at her pager. It was 9:36 A.M., close to call time.

"Come on, let’s walk to the Briefing Room." Ryan suggested and motioned to the hallway leading to their destination.

"Okay." They started walking down the hall.

"So, when is your friend coming?" Ryan asked.

"Jamie? Um…Lunchtime."

"Oh, that’s good. I can’t wait to meet her. Any friends of yours are friends of mine. That reminds me, I gotta order the ticket for Gail at lunch."

"That’s sweet, Ryan. Gail can’t wait to come to L.A."

"Let me rephrase that statement, Cher. It’s more like, ‘Gail can’t wait to come to L.A. to meet Drew.’"

"Well, yeah. That’s exactly it," she smiled sweetly.

They heard someone say, "Hey lovebirds!!!" as they approached the Briefing Room.

"Oh, Hi Diedrich!" Cher waved and blushed slightly, hoping that Ryan wouldn’t notice.

"That’s Ozwald to you, Jen." Diedrich said in a slightly offended tone.

"Oh, right, Ozwald." Cher couldn’t help but giggle.

"What’s up, man?" Ryan said in character.

"Come on inside, everyone is waiting for you guys!" Diedrich motioned for them to follow him inside the well lit room.

Once inside, Cher took one of the two empty seats. Ryan naturally took the other which was between Kathy Kinney and, his best friend Colin Mochrie (whose character was sweet ol’ gay, Eugene). As soon as Cher laid her brown eyes on Colin for the first time, she thought of the look Jamie would have on her face when she met Colin later that day.

"Attention everyone." That was Drew, ready to begin. "Good Morning. I’m glad to see us all wide-awake and happy..Happy as Ryan in a shoe store." He let out his famous belly laugh as Ryan rolled his green eyes.

Ryan shot back, "Happy as Drew at an all-you-can-eat buffet table!"

This week," Drew went on, ignoring Ryan’s remark. "As you all know, along with our special guest, Cher, our very own Eugene will be taping with us for the rest of this week." Drew realized that he hadn’t yet introduced Colin to Cher and vice versa. "I feel like an idiot. Col, this is Cherilyn Matthews, the winner of our recent Fan Fiction Contest. Cher, this is the one and only.."

Cher interrupted Drew. "Colin Moochrie." She finished his sentence. Everyone who had seen or starred in that Whose Line? Episode laughed loudly. They hadn’t heard anyone call him that in quite awhile. Memories had flooded back to each of them. Especially Ryan and Colin.

Finally Drew said, "This week, the writers have yet another surprise for us.  A surprise that I don’t even know much about.  All I know is that Ms. Matthews is involved.  Know anything, Cher?"

"Um...surprise?" HUH? Surprise? No...oh my gosh...he didn't! That would be absolutely crazy... Cher debated in her head for a few seconds.  "If it's what I think you're talking about, then it was actually Jamie's idea."

"Oh, okay, isn’t she coming at lunch?" Drew asked. 

"Yep," Cher nodded, then continued, "After we wrapped yesterday, this guy, Jonah came up to me and we started chatting.  Somehow, I might have slipped Jamie's idea into the conversation thinking nothing of it.  Later on, he revealed to me that he's the fiancee of one of the head writers here.  I guess he mentioned the idea to his girlfriend," Her voice became squeaky. "And now it might be in the works??"  She eyed Drew curiously.

"That's what the they tell me," Drew turned his focus back to the rest of the people in the room. "I wouldn't bother asking anyone about what's going to be happening this week.  I’ve already attempted to [ask them]. Right now, we gotta get started. We'll break for lunch at about 11:30, and you have to be back here, in this room in costume by 1:00. Let the table readings begin." Drew stepped down from his podium and sat between Craig Ferguson and Diedrich Bader. Cher unzipped her bag and took out her copy of the script. Placing it on the table, she dug inside her bag for a pencil.

**11:25 A.M.; The Briefing Room – The table readings had just ended for the day and the actors and actresses were going over their lines in small groups, preparing for the afternoon tapings.**

Errr. Errr. "Mr. Carey, sorry to interrupt, but I have a young woman here. She says her name is Jamie and that she has permission and reason to be inside the studio." That was the intern receptionist, Molly speaking over the intercom. She was average height with curly brunette hair. Her girlish figure was complemented by the short black dress she wore.

"Send her in." Drew spoke into the speaker phone that was inside the room.

"Yes sir." Molly replied.

"Okay," Drew said to everyone. "As I said this morning, Jamie West, Cher’s friend is going to stay with us for the week and watch the tapings. Make her feel welcome, and remember, you must be back here by 1:00." A handful of people left the room. They were mainly crew members, or writers who needed to prepare for the tapings. All the main cast members stayed in the room, ready to meet Jamie.

Cher stood up and so did Ryan. Knock, Knock. Ryan opened the door. "You must be Jamie," He said to the casually dressed woman stood just outside. Jamie was also average height. She was thin with her naturally curly hair up in a high ponytail. She had deep green eyes, just like Ryan.

When Jamie glanced up at Ryan, she wobbled a bit. Ryan reached over and steadied her. Many women had had the same reaction as she did when they met him. It wasn’t his fault, it came with the territory of being a celebrity.

"Jamie!!!" Cher went over and hugged her friend. This was the first time they had actually met.

"Cher! Hey, what’s up girl?" Jamie pulled away from the hug. "It’s so great to see and meet all of you."  There's Drew, Ryan, Kathy, Christa, Diedrich, Craig, and..uh…um.. She staggered and took a deep breath to prevent fainting in front of all of them. What a good first impression that would have been.

"I think you should sit down." Cher laughed and helped Jamie to a nearby seat. Cher knew who Jamie wanted to meet first, so she twitched her head in Colin’s direction hoping he’d get the idea. Luckily, he did, and walked over to the two women. "Colin, this is my dear friend Jamie."

Colin shook Jamie’s hand, "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jamie."

Cher continued, "Jamie, I’m sure this guy needs no introduction." Jamie grinned, she could do no more than grin and look straight into Colin’s eyes. Oh boy, Cher thought. Jamie’s caught "Colin fever."

"Jamie, you’re okay, right?" Colin sounded concerned. "Wanna get a bite to eat? It’s lunchtime…I’ll buy ya something." Jamie giggled as Colin helped her out of her seat.

"Come on guys," Cher said, following the two out the door. "I’m starving, and it’s 11:45!"

On the way towards the cafeteria, Ryan said softly to Diedrich, "They’re getting along great for two people who have just met." Diedrich agreed.

"They’re no different than when you and Cher met, Ryan." Christa remarked, quietly enough so Cher wouldn’t be able to hear. Cher was too busy conversing with "Mr. Wick" to notice anyway. "You think I didn't notice, hmm?"

Meanwhile, Colin and Jamie held their own conversation at the front of the group. "So, uh, Jamie…I heard there is some kind of ‘surprise’ happening this week on the show. Cher said that you had thought of the idea. But, he also said that you guys weren’t going to disclose any information about it. Can you at least tell me if I am involved with this ‘surprise?’"

Jamie hesitated. She knew exactly what the ‘surprise’ was going to be, although Cher hadn’t told her that she was actually going to submit her [Jamie’s] idea. I guess it was supposed to be a surprise for me as well. Jamie thought. She knew that she could trust Colin, but did not want to give too much away. Jamie finally whispered, "This is top secret information." She paused to giggle. "I don’t think that anyone is supposed to know yet, except Cher, me, and the writers. But, I guess I can give you a hint though. Can I trust you?"

"Of course!" Colin said softly.

"Okay then, three letters: E. N. G. Even if you can’t figure it out Colin, you mustn't tell anyone!" Jamie held her left index finger to her Dr. Pepper lip smacker coated lips, "Shhh!"

"So, why’d you tell me?" Colin asked out of curiosity.

"Well…because." Jamie’s rosy cheeks turned red. "Because, I look up to you, you’re my favorite celebrity, comedian, actor, improvisationalist, whatever and it seems unreal that we're both here together." Oh jeez, was that too much, Jamie thought.

Now it was Colin’s turn to blush, "Aww, Shucks."

**1:28 P.M.; The Taping – In character, Ryan, Christa, Cher, Drew and Diedrich sat in Drew’s living room pretending to watch television. Jamie stood off stage next to Stanford Hudson, the director for the week. Ryan sat on the sofa with his arm around Cher and Drew sat in Lewis’ usual chair. Diedrich and Christa sat next to each other on the floor. They each munched on popcorn and sipped their bottles of Buzz Beer.**

Drew stood up, "Jen, Lewis, want a beer?"

"Yeah, I do." Lewis said.

Jen shook her head, "No thanks, but could I have a glass of water?"

Drew shrugged, "Okay." He went off into the kitchen.

"So, uh, Lewis," Jen tried to start a conversation. "How’s work going for you?"

"It’s okay. I mean, nothing out of the ordinary’s been happening lately. Just the usual. The Monkapotamus escaped again, and a guy turned into a mosquito. A few of us had tried to look for him but we couldn’t find him. Later that day, a coworker told me that he had been accidentally slapped. Oh well. Just another day at work."

"Jeez, sounds harsh." Jen flashed her 1000-watt smile. Drew walked into the living room.

"Here’s your beer, Lewis, and a glass of ice cold water for you, Che…Jen." Drew handed Lewis a bottle of beer, and Jen a clear glass of ice water.

"CUT!!!" Stan shouted.

"I know, I know. Sorry guys." Drew realized his mistake, a mistake that the audience did not happen to notice. He had almost called Cher by her real name instead of her character's name, Jen. It was only Cher’s second day on the job, so she was too new for the audience to recognize.

"Let’s take it again from your last line, Drew." Stan called.

**4:59 P.M.; Still Taping – There were a couple of scenes left to shoot. During the last break, Cher had apologized to Jamie for keeping her so late. She had thought that the tapings would have been over by 4:30. But from the star struck look Jamie had on her face, it was clear that she didn’t mind one bit.**

Lewis led Jen by the hand up to her front door. She had found a house in a quiet neighborhood a few blocks from Drew’s place. They had both just returned from a quiet candlelight dinner, and from seeing a movie, entitled Evolution. Both had loved the movie, but each for separate reasons. Jen loved seeing the flick because she had a thing for action comedies (and David Duchovny), but Lewis liked the movie because of his experiences as a janitor at Drug Co. Strangely, he could relate to some parts of the movie’s fictional plot.

"Lewis, I had fun tonight. More fun than I’ve had in a long time. You always could show a girl a good time, huh?" Jen held both of his hands and stared into his emerald green eyes.

Lewis gazed back, "I guess." He wondered how he could have let the girl of his dreams get away.  Whatever the reason, he was not going to risk losing her again. He had to seal the deal.

Jen sensed his feelings and acted on an impulse. She threw her arms around his long neck and kissed his sweet lips. Invisible sparks flew around them, and coincidentally, a shooting star raced across the sky outside the studio. Upon impact, the audience clapped and cheered loudly. It's about time Lewis had a girlfriend! The kiss lasted way too long. Too long to be just a stage kiss. Stan was going to intervene, but before he could, they pulled apart.

With a tear in her eyes, Jen said, "How could I have ever left Cleveland. All the things I needed were right here. How could I have been so blind? I was such a fool to leave your side." Cher paused.  How could the writers give Jen such cheesy lines?!

Lewis put a hand to her cheek and sighed, "I’m glad you’re back, Jen-Jen." They kissed again. In character and out of character, Cher and Ryan were attracted like magnets; two nearly inseparable forces.

"And…CUT! Print it!" Stan yelled to the camera operators. Then he saw that the two were still going at it. "Hey you two, get a room." He joked. The audience clapped and whistled because Lewis had finally found the one. Cher and Ryan suddenly pulled apart and smiled at each other.

*Copyright 2001, Cherilyn W. Gerard. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the author. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.*