By Cherilyn W. Gerard

(Typed & Edited on September 22, 2001)

"If I'm smart then I'll run away, But I'm not so I guess I'll stay. Haven't you heard?
I fell in love with a beautiful stranger. To know you, is to love you…"

Disclaimer: I do not personally know Ryan Stiles, Drew Carey, or any other Drew Carey Show and or Whose Line is it Anyway? Cast Members. This story is PURELY fictional. The Drew Carey Show and the characters contained belong to Warner Brothers & AOL Time Warner/Mohawk Productions. Cherilyn Matthews (Jennifer Nakamoto) is a character that has been created by myself in order to write the story l intended to. I have used the characters/settings (i.e.: The Warsaw) from The Drew Carey Show without permission to write my first fan fiction series. If you should have any problems, questions or would like to use Cherilyn or Jennifer in one of your own stories, please email me (first) at tweety@hi.net. Mahalo Nui Loa.

Author’s Note: Again, I would like to stress that this is a work of my own imagination (aside from MOST of the characters, settings, and show itself), and is purely fictional. I am almost certain that many of these events could not possibly take place in real life. Especially the scenes that I have made up for the show. This is all in fun, and I am not predjudice in any way shape or form. If I may seem that way, know that I don’t mean any harm or offense to anyone, or their sexual preference. This series is drawing to an end, although I have a few more parts left. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

"Hey Jamie," Cher whispered to her friend while trying to unlock the door. "What if Gail is sleeping?"

"Oh…um…I haven’t thought of that." Her cheeks flushed.

Cher, Jamie, and their dates had just returned from Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The two women had invited the two men, Ryan and Colin, upstairs to have some coffee and to relax before the drive home. Of course, Ryan and Colin accepted the offer and stood patiently while Cher fussed with the room key.

Beep. Quietly, she opened the door. A laughing Gail and Drew met her gaze. "Hey Cher, Jamie…"

"Gail, what in the world are you still doing up? It’s midnight ya know!" Jamie giggled, glanced at Drew, then said, "And, more importantly why are you still here, Drew?" She winked mischieviously.

"Well you see," Gail started to explain, "I needed company, and Drew offered to stay until you guys returned. Midnight already? Wow…time sure flies!"

"That’s right, I should be going now." Drew sighed, looking into Gail’s eyes. He stood up, and buttoned his suit coat just as he did so many times on his show.

Cher pleaded, "No, no, Drew. Stay, I insist!"

"Well, I don’t want to be too much trouble. I mean, you already have those two to take care of."

"Oh don’t worry about a thing." Cher walked over to Drew and gently pushed him back down onto his chair.

To Ryan and Colin, Jamie said, "Make your selves at home and we’ll go start the coffee." They both nodded and landed with a thud on the soft sofa.

After a few minutes had passed by, Gail picked up the remote control and started to channel surf. Then, Jamie and Cher brought in the coffee and proceeded to serve their guests.

On an impulse, Cher glanced up at the television. A little too loudly, she shouted, "Stop, Gail!" Realizing, that everyone was staring at her strangely, Cher apologized.
"Oh, I’m sorry everyone, but my favorite T.V. show is on right now...well, one of them anyway." She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

A few seconds later, Drew was curious to see which channel Gail had stopped at. Oh my gosh… Jokingly he said aloud, "I really should be going. It’s getting late." Again, he stood up.

"All this energy calling me, back where it comes from…" He heard the band, The Presidents of the USA play, "Cleveland Rocks," the theme song of his own self-titled show.

This time, Gail pushed him playfully, careful not to spill his coffee. "You aren’t going anywhere, Mister."

"Oh no…" Ryan groaned, and covered his eyes as he saw himself dance around on the television.

"I wonder what episode this is!?" Jamie eyes lit up as she smirked.

Followng the commercial break, everyone in the room knew which episode had been aired that night. The Dog and Pony Show Episode. Colin, who wasn’t in that episode started to chuckle.

Ryan made his way to Drew and whispered, "Maybe we can leave before the last few scenes, if you know what I mean.." Drew silently agreed and nodded with a deep sigh. Although, it hadn’t been too awkward the day they had taped the episode, watching it with the ladies made them slightly uncomfortable.

By the episode’s end, the two men had tried to leave twice, but to their embarrassment, they found themselves held down to their seats by their dates.

"So, exactly how chilly was the set that day, Drew?" Gail had to ask. She tried to ask seriously, but in the end, she erupted into a fit of laughter.

Drew did not answer but groaned and rolled his eyes a bit. "Oh, here it is!" Jamie whistled to attract attention. "The scene we’ve all been waiting for."

The three women moved closer to the tiny television while the guys took another sip of their coffee.

Earlier that morning, on two separate occasions Cher had received a brown teddy bear, and a lovely bouquet of sunflowers from her Secret Admirer. Ryan’s face was nearly green with envy because his girlfriend’s S.A. was stealing away much of her attention. Also, he was still quite curious as to whom this "Secret Admirer" was.

He had planned to give his girl some gifts of his own, but he constantly worried whether they’d be good enough for her. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep up with her Secret Admirer. It’s so frustrating, everytime I try to get close to her, he steps in…

Christa, Kathy, Cher, Jamie, and Gail were lounging around on the soft, rich cream-colored carpet giggling and laughing to themselves. Diedrich was the first brave soul to approach the ladies.

"What’s so funny?!" He asked innocently.

"Oh, nothing." Cher said almost too sweetly.

"Come On, Tell Me!" Pleaded Diedrich.

Cher began speaking softly, and Diedrich sat down next to her and listened closely. "Well, a few of us came back to the hotel early last night, just in time for the late episode of The DCS . Take a guess, which episode happened to be on last night?"

Prepared for the worst, he groaned, "Which one?"

"The *ahem* Full Monty Episode…" Jamie could barely hold in her giggles, as she twirled a lock of her curly hair around her fingers.

"Or, The Dog and Pony Show Ep!" Gail supplied happily. A bright, stop sign red Diedrich slowly stood up and backed away from the five women, who sat comfortably on the floor, sorry he had asked. By doing so, he caused the ladies to brake out into more laughter.

After Diedrich had fled to the other men, across the room, Drew looked at his buddy plainly and asked, "So, what did they say? Why are you red?"

Turning to Craig and Ryan, Diedrich said, "Let’s just say that ‘the Silver Fox and Captain’ are very fresh in their minds. That ep aired last night."

Craig was embarrassed, but he was a comedian, and he took this sort of thing in stride…although his pale cheeks did turn a rosy color.

"Oh jeez," Not again…I knew they’d bring it up today. Ryan was suddenly very glad the girls were not in the audience that day. Drew smiled uneasily and thought the exact same thing.

Seeing their sudden, tense reactions, Jamie grinned and said, "Awww, come on guys, we adored that episode!"

"And, we sat really close to the TV too!" Gail added. Then she sighed, I just wish I could have been in the studio audience that day.

"I’m so jealous of you, Christa!!" Cher winked.

Christa replied, "There was not much to see ladies, trust me. You really didn’t miss anything special."

Drew playfully threw a crumpled paper napkin at her. "Hey! Watch it!"

"It was about time someone popped your gigantic ego. The room wasn’t quite large enough for us, and your bloated head." Kathy grinned. On screen or off-screen, it didn’t matter. Kathy always had and always will have ‘Mimi-like qualities.’

Stan stuck his head inside the room, "Sounds like we’re all having a little too much fun in here…back to work."

It had been a long, hard morning for all of them, and for some of the cast members, tapings would continue into the long hours of the night.

Everyone started to leave the room. Diedrich casually walked over to Cher and blushed, "So..uh, what did you really think?"

"You mean about that ep?"

"Yeah."

"Do you workout? You looked pretty good. All of you looked great."

"Sometimes," Diedrich replied. "I work out at home and sometimes at the gym..depending on how I feel."

"Well, next time you all are planning to strip for the camera, give me a call, okay?" Cher joked. "I’d fly up here in a snap just to be in the studio audience." Again, Diedrich blushed.

"Uniformed men are very sexy," Cher told her friends. She, Jamie, Gail, Christa, and Kathy were all gossiping and eating lunch together in the cast lounge. The five women had crossed the street outside the studio and brought back some fresh Subway sandwiches and salads. Their lunch break was only scheduled to be an hour that day, so they had to hurry up and eat.

"I agree, Cher." Kathy smiled sweetly and took a bite of her roasted chicken breast sandwich.

Craig walked by just then, obviously sent to eavesdrop on the group. Jamie with her back to him pretended she didn’t notice his presence, and said, "When the guys were wearing those uniforms in the Full Monty episode, Craig was definitely the hottest." The others caught on to her sneaky plan and decided to play along.

"Yeah, I know. Craig is soo muscular, he must work out everyday!" Christa pretended to fan herself.

Realizing they knew what he was up to, Craig fled quickly back to the guys who were sitting a few tables away. One by one each of the five women broke into hysterical laughter, and slapped each other high fives.

When she was sure none of the guys could hear her, Cher asked, "Seriously though, who do you think looked the hottest in that episode?"

"Diedrich!" It was unanimous.

Christa said, "Craig did look pretty good in his brown uniform. But, I think all the guys did a great job."

"That’s true," said Kathy, sipping her soda.

"Drew looked as fine as always." Gail sighed starstruck, sneaking in a glance of Drew. I still can’t believe I’m actually here..with him! With Ryan!

"Oh Gail!" Cher threw her crumpled sandwich wrapper at her.

A while later, Colin walked up to their table, "Cher, Jamie, are you done eating? Stan wants us to meet with the writers in the briefing room."

"Yeah, we’re done." Cher jumped to her feet and helped Jamie up.

"What’s up, Col?" Ryan asked.

"Honestly, I really don’t know." Colin replied and escorted the two women out of the cast lounge.

**12:16 P.M.; Briefing Room**

Stan stood at the podium with a bright smile on his face. The writers, Colin, Jamie, and Cher sat around the big, black, central table in their nice comfy leather seats.

"Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s get started. I called you all in here so we could get a head start on the scenes we’re filming today." Stan’s booming voice echoed through the room.

He handed them each a warm script. "These are copies of the brand new script. As you can probably tell, they are fresh off the printers. The others will be getting these

Later on."

Colin, Jamie, and Cher exchanged glances. "Why are we so special to get these in advance?" Colin looked very puzzled.

"Because, there is a very important scene that needs to be smoothed out before the whole cast starts rehearsing together. And, I apologize that I cut your lunch break short."

"No problem," Cher grinned eager to read the script. "I can’t wait to dive into this script."

"Me neither," Colin said, as he began to flip through the script.

Jamie’s eyes grew wider as she flipped through her own copy, "HEY! Wait a minute!" She shouted loudly, "I’m acting too?" She gulped.

"Yes, you didn’t know?" Stan was surprised.

"Eugene, stop trying to hit on me!" He made an "Eww, I’m not gay" face and went off to mingle with Jen and Lewis. Eugene just shrugged. Drew had thrown a party for Eugene at his house. It was Eugene’s birthday and although he wasn’t gay, Drew tried to hang out with his pal and fellow employee. But, sometimes, it was quite awkward for both of them.

Jen barely 5’7’’ was dwarfed by her 6’6’’ boyfriend standing next to her. She didn’t mind though, as tall and lanky as he way, he was sweet, not to mention adorable. She couldn’t resist being with him. She waved to Drew as she saw him approach the couple.

"Hey Drew!" Lewis smiled, as he placed an arm around Jen’s tiny waist. "What’s up?"

"Eugene is starting to creep me out again..sheesh! You’d think he’d take the hint the first time I told him I was straight." The three of them laughed quietly.

"I’ll leave you two alone for a while. I really should go talk to my friend, Zoë over there across the room." She gestured toward a lonely young woman, about her age, with sparkly green eyes. Zoë was wearing a slight frown. "She’s also new to Cleveland and she looks sad." Jen gently slid away from Lewis’ grasp and waltzed over to the Zoë who was now standing near the refreshment table. Lewis started to follow but gave up after Drew began to talk to him.

"Hey Zoë!"

"How are you, Jen?" Acting isn’t so bad. And, I kinda like the name Zoë…oh! I’d better pay attention.

"I’m okay, and you?"

"Truthfully, I’m bored." She admitted.

"Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. You looked lonely, so I came over here to keep you company."

"Hey, who’s that cutie over there?" Zoë said out of the blue.

"Who?"

"That guy…right there." She pointed to the man of the hour, Eugene.

"Uh, hello? That’s Eugene. This is his birthday party."

She let out an uneasy laugh, "Give me time, I’m new. I’ll figure out who everyone is eventually." Colin looks so cute…Zoë has good taste…

"By the way, he’s gay. He’s tried to hit on Drew many times, but he’s really sweet. You should go talk to him."

"Okay, maybe I will," Zoë signed as Jen went back to Lewis. They’re happy..Will I ever be that happy? Zoë thought. She scanned the room with her piercing green eyes. Why are all the cute ones gay?! There! Eugene was chatting up his boss, Mr. Wick.

Zoë walked up to the two men. "Happy Birthday, Eugene."

"Thanks, and who might you be?"

"I’m Zoë. I’m new to Cleveland." She said shyly. Mr. Wick silently excused himself from the conversation and walked over to try to hit on Kate yet again.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Anyway, I was trying to ask Drew who you were, but he took off and didn’t let me finish."

"Well, now you know. Drew did a great job on this party. You looked very surprised."

"I was. It’s nice to know people care." Zoë nodded in agreement.

"So, uh..Do you like Cleveland so far?" Eugene tried to make conversation.

"Yeah, it’s been great. The people here seem very friendly."

"I guess.." Eugene’s voice trailed off.

Zoë asked, "How long have you been here?"

"Too long." They both laughed heartily.

Zoë decided to be blunt with her new acquaintance. "Why do all the good looking guys have to be gay or taken?" She gazed at Eugene, who answered, "You think I’m good looking?"

"What if I do?" She had a mischievous look in her eyes. She thought, What the heck are you doing falling for a gay guy, Zoë?

The camera faded out as Eugene stared at Zoë oddly, while Colin thought, I think I know what Jamie meant by E.N.G..

"And…Cut!" Stan yelled to the cast and crew. By the time that scene finished taping, it was 3:25 P.M. Stan told everyone to prepare for the next scene. "And…Action!"

"Say, Eugene…" Zoë batted her eyelashes slightly.

"Yeah?"

"Come follow me." Zoë motioned for Eugene to go with her through Drew’s empty kitchen, and out his back door. She hoped that no one had seen them sneak away. She stopped by Drew’s pool table and curled her index finger as a sign. She wanted Eugene to come closer to her. Gosh, he’s so handsome..Jamie thought to herself trying to stay in character.

Eugene felt drawn to her for some reason. He couldn’t explain the feeling that had washed over him. When he had reached her, Zoë whispered in her most entrancing voice ever, "Have you ever kissed a woman before?"

Shocked by the question, he replied nervously, "Well, once in the 8^th grade."

"Lemme refresh your memory then." Zoë tugged at his tie causing him to lean toward her. When he was close enough for her to smell his cologne, she almost violently wrapped her arms around his neck and French kissed him. The audience was shocked, yet applauded and cheered.

"And…Cut!" Stan was clearly pleased. "You two have very good chemistry and not just on the set." He winked. Colin who was still wrapped up in Jamie’s arms blushed.

Jamie caught her breath, and said, "I’m sorry, Col! Did I hurt you?" Her focus melted into a soft gaze.

"You did what you had to do." Colin smiled slyly.

"Oh I see, you loved it didn’t you?" Colin nodded and grinned sheepishly.

"Can you all gather around me?" Stan yelled to the cast and crew. A few seconds later, the sound of scuffling feet and hushed voices filled the set.

"That was awesome! Such passion! Such Drama!" Stan said excitedly. "You never acted before, Jamie? You rocked." He gave her two thumbs up. "Lets all give the lady a hand." Everyone clapped and cheered, including the audience.

"I realize that a good number of you have places to get to in a few minutes, but I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow is Friday, we have to put everything we have into tomorrow, okay? See you tomorrow, normal time, and YES, lunchtime will be one and a half-hours tomorrow. Just like before. That’s a rap for today. Once again, you all did outstanding work today. Good night everyone."

As soon as the cast was finished signing autographs for the audience, Cher ran over to Ryan who picked her up and spun her around a couple of times. They both started to get dizzy and laugh, so he put her down. "Ryan," She said, as they walked hand in hand toward the dressing rooms. "What time are the tapings tonight?"

"Cast call is at…let’s see…" He glanced at his wristwatch. It was 4:17 P.M. "Cast call is in about an hour an fifteen minutes, hon."

"So I’ll go grab Jamie and Gail, and I’ll meet you at the front parking lot?"

"Alright, Cherry." They went their separate ways.

Sometime later, Cher had gathered her two buzzing pals and escorted them out to the front parking lot to wait for their ride. She had kept their destination a surprise to make it mysterious, yet fun for her friends. Cher had wrapped blindfolds over their eyes and didn’t even tell Gail or Jamie who their driver was.

A few minutes passed by, and soon a teal Chevy Tahoe, pulled up. Ryan, who knew to keep quiet waved ‘hello’ to Cher. She opened the doors and helped Jamie and Gail into the backseat of Ryan’s car. When they were both buckled in, Cher climbed into the front seat next to her main squeeze, and shut her own door.

"And, we’re off." She said to Ryan, signaling for him to start the car. He did, and drove away from The Drew Carey Show Studio. All the two in the back could hear was the gentle purring of the engine.

"What’s the deal, Cher?" Gail asked curiously.

"Oh, you’ll see. Don’t worry, you two, I guarantee we’re going to a place that of interest to you."