**A Moving Decision**

[LittleRedVicki]

Here's a short story **possibly a Character Crossover into another series** about Vicki making a major move in her near future.

It will feature an appearance of Jack Stewart, Vicki's new friend.

For more info on Jack Stewart, (He is a character that I had borrowed from Diagnosis Murder...LOL) www.paxtv.com/diagnosismurder

Story takes place in June 1993 or after the round robin storyline, Dangerous Curves Ahead. That is where Jack was introduced for the 1st time.

Take Care Y'all & Have a Great Day!

Vicki

**STORY STARTS NEW POST**

[LittleRedVicki]

********

Friday, June 25, 1993

At an apartment in Chickasaw near Chickasaw County Courthouse...

"You bought me what?" Vicki Lynn Jones asked as she stared at the couple sitting across from her in her living room. A thunderstorm filled the late afternoon sky.

Maybe she'd been hit by lightning and hadn't noticed. That would explain why she thought Coy Duke had said what he had. She shook her red head, trying to clear her obviously confused hearing. He couldn't have said that. Something was very wrong.

"Vicki, it's not so awful," her friend Katie told her. "Really, I didn't know when he'd done it, but now that I think about it, it's kinda sweet."

Vicki smiled at the couple. Coy & Katie Duke were once related to Vicki through marriage, but after her divorce, Vicki had now consider the couple to be one of her closest friends that she had.

Vicki had tried to laugh at Katie's remark, but the sound that came out was more than a moan. "Sweet. Of course. I'm sure that's what Coy meant."

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki smiled at Coy, who was grinning widely at the redhead. "All right, Coy. What did you mean by that? What did you and Katie buy me this time?" She then poked Coy in the ribs playfully.

"Vicki, aren't you a bit cranky this afternoon," Coy said after rubbing his ribs after Vicki poked him there.

The handsome ex-race car driver turned security agent wasn't the least bit upset by Vicki's reaction. If Vicki had to put money on something, she would bet that he was actually amused.

"We thought that we were doing you a favor," said Katie with a smile then added,"You've been depressed ever since Jack went back to Colorado, and before then it was right after your divorce."

"So we figured that we would help things along some," Coy added, putting his arm around Vicki.

"I don't know. I really can't take off work right now, I've been too busy trying to get caught up on paperwork," said Vicki doubtfully, shaking her red head.

She then rose to her feet and crossed to the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the wall of her family room. Outside, a storm raged, but its wildness couldn't compare to the panic growing inside her. "Was it something I did to cause y'all to do this?"

[LittleRedVicki]

"Vicki, don't." Katie said. "If it's really going to be this horrible for you, you don't have to do this."

"Honey, actually Vicki does have to do this," Coy told Katie. "Hey, we already bought the plane ticket."

Vicki spun around and faced her two friends. She read the concern, along with a healthy dose of amuesment in their expressions.

"They are only trying to be helpful," Vicki told herself. "Maybe I can go to Malibu to see Jack for the weekend. Afterall, Rachel is staying with her daddy in Florida until next Monday."

Vicki kept thinking. Katie and Coy really cared about her. They have known each other for over 10 years. She wouldn't have made it through the past few months if it hadn't been for them.

"Maybe I can do this," Vicki said with a smile then added, "But why did y'all buy me a plane ticket to California? Maybe Jack doesn't want to see me right now. I have changed since I last saw him a few weeks ago."

[LittleRedVicki]

"Vicki, do you remember that night a few months back where you met Jack at a Dance Club in Atlanta?" asked Katie.

Vicki looked wide-eyed at Katie then nodded as she sank down in the nearest wing chair. "Yeah, I remember that night well. It was actually my first night that I was single again."

"What I remember about that night, was how Jack came up to you. I think that the way you looked that night took his breath away," said Katie as she walked over to Vicki, giving her a sincere smile.

Vicki giggled slightly, but then frowned. "I wonder what he will do if I looked like that again? Maybe I'll be humiliated if I tried to look like that again."

"There isn't going to be any humiliation," Katie said earnestly. "You're a very attractive woman, Vicki. He's going to adore you when he sees you again."

Vicki slumped back in her chair. She drew in a deep breath--maybe it was too late to prevent that from happening. She then walked over to her halltree chest and looked at a recent picture of her and Jack with their arms around each other. She then sighed loudly. "Maybe I can do this."

[LittleRedVicki]

"Sure you can, Vicki. Jack is going to adore you when he sees you again," Katie told her.

"Yeah, but it has been only a couple of weeks since we have seen each other," Vicki said as she complained to Katie.

"Has he called you?" Coy asked as he got into the conversation.

"Well, he has called me only a couple of times," Vicki said as she sat down in a wing chair by the window.

"Is that Bad?" Coy asked. "At least y'all have talked to each other. Jack seemed nice to me when he called here the other night looking for ya."

"Jack called here looking for me?" Vicki said surprised as she glared at Katie and Coy.

Katie nodded her head. "Yeah, Vicki, Jack really wants to see you again. In fact, he's the one that sent us the money for you to fly out to California to see him."

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki made a face. She couldn't believe that Jack had actually bought her a plane ticket to California. "Katie, I don't know if I can do this."

Katie picked up Vicki's cordless phone. "You can, sugar, and you will. You have to go on with your life."

Vicki looked at what Katie was doing. She had a funny feeling in her heart that she knew what it was. "I knew that I should have kept my mouth shut about the whole thing," she mumbled as she watched Katie talk into the cordless phone.

"Hello...Jack, this is Katie."

Vicki looked wide-eyed at her best friend. "Not him now," Vicki said quietly as she notice that Katie was smiling at her.

"Vicki, the best way to break the ice," Katie said with a smile, "Is to tell an old friend hello."

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki looked at the cordless phone that Katie was holding in her hand.

"I guess that I could be courteous. Maybe even friendly. Maybe all Jack wants to do is say hello. He wasn't all too happy with me when he went back to California a couple of weeks ago. He was wanting me to go with him then..." Vicki thought as she took the cordless phone away from Katie then added in a bright, cheerful voice, "Hello."

*********

Meanwhile on a crowded airplane that was heading south, Jack stared at the cordless airplane phone that he was holding in his right hand.

He had been debating on calling Vicki about telling her about his 'surprise' visit to see her, but he decided to keep it quite a 'surprise'.

Hoping that it wasn't a mistake & costing him a fortune using his credit card, Jack dialed Vicki's phone number...

[LittleRedVicki]

"Hello," Vicki said again as she heard a lot of static in the background. She knew that Jack must be far off or something.

"I wonder why Katie called his cell phone?" Vicki thought to herself.

"Evening, SweetRed," said Jack in a cheerful voice.

The deep, familiar voice vibrated her insides. A smile touched her lips, and the giddy feeling slid all the way down to her toes.

"Hello, Jack," Vicki said back into the cordless phone, slightly surprised that Jack had remembered the nickname that he gave her. "I'm happy to hear from you again, and to hear your voice again."

Vicki inhaled deeply, hoping that she might be able to pick up the scent of his masculine cologne, and to picture him standing in front of her with his arms around her. "Too bad that Jack is too far away from me right now," Vicki thought.

"How are you doing?" Jack asked, his question sounding stained, as if he'd been searching for something to say.

All that he was been doing for the past week is searching inside his heart for exactly the right words to say to Vicki to convince her to move to California to be with him.

[LittleRedVicki]

Not only that Vicki could hear some static in the background, but she could also hear Jack laughing excitedly.

Vicki was feeling kind of dreamy, kind of warm and tingly inside, waiting for Jack to speak again. Until a moment ago, she hadn't realized how much she liked that deep, reasonating tone of his voice. The last time she heard a voice like that was her ex-husband's.

"Vicki...how are you doing?" Jack asked, his question sounding strained, as if he'd been searching for something to say. He didn't know exactly how to tell her that he was coming to Georgia to convince her to move back to California with him.

Vicki sensed that Jack was holding out on something to tell her. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could tell that something was up. Jack seemed excited about something.

"Jack, what is on your mind? You wouldn't be calling me if you didn't have something to tell me," Vicki said as she stared out the window, watching the light rain come down.

Jack hestitated, just as he had when they met at a party, when it was their first night together. "SweetRed, maybe I'll just tell you when I get my nerve up to ask you."

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki straightened, trying to regain her senses, then she walked away from where Katie was, where she could have an ounce of privacy, stretching the spiraling cord as far as it could go.

"Jack, what are you wanting to ask me now? If it has something to do with us, I don't want you to keep it from me," Vicki asked, whose heart was beating rapidly.

"It's not anythng really, Vicki. I just wanted to hear your sweet voice again. I miss you. I want you...to come out here to California to see me."

Vicki stared at the phone in her hand, trying to find the right words to say to Jack. "Jack, can you hold on for a minute?" she asked cheerfully ino the receiver of her phone.

[LittleRedVicki]

"Vicki, what is it? What did Jack asked you?" Katie asked as she saw that the redhead was trembling.

Vicki breathed heavily for a few moments, trying to stay calm.

"Katie, Jack asked me out on a date. I'm not sure on what to do," Vicki said uneasily.

"What's the problem?" asked Katie, looking at the redhead. "You told me and Coy earlier that you needed to get on with your life."

Putting the cordless phone down on the table, Vicki sighed as she picked up a picture that was sitting on her endtable in her living room.

"I'll tell you what the problem is," said Vicki, putting the picture down on the table as a stray tear fell down her face then added, "It's Bo..."

[LittleRedVicki]

"Vicki, what about Bo?" Katie asked, surprised by the redhead's remark.

"I don't know, Katie." Vicki said as a stray tear fell down her face. "I know that it has been a year since Bo and I separated. I still have strong feelings for him."

"What about Jack? How do you feel about him?" Katie asked as she handed Vicki a tissue.

"I don't know, except that he makes me happy when I'm around him," Vicki said as she talked back into the phone. "I'm back. So where are you?"

[LittleRedVicki]

AUTHOR NOTE: **Hello all. Sorry for Delays on this storyline. I'm glad that some of y'all still enjoy the way I write, even though it is not everyday. lol. I'm going to go ahead & finish this story. It is near done anyway. New crossover story have been updated on fanfiction.net as of 7/22/04. Take Care Y'all & Have a good night!**

*********

*********

"Honey, you should know where I'm at," Jack laughed back into the phone then added, "Can't you hear all that buzzing? I'm on an airplane."

Vicki stared at the phone, trying to find the right words.

"Where are you heading? Back to New York to see your father?" Vicki asked back into the phone.

She was surprised, but excited at the same time. For all she knew, Jack was on his way to see her.

"No, just taking a little trip to clear my head. Mark gave me the ok to do it," said Jack back into the airplane phone then added, "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki shivered away from the phone, with pleasure & misgiving. Did she really want to start another relationship with Jack so soon after she & Bo had divorced?

"Am I completely ready to start an relationship with Jack after only dating each other on weekends for the last 3 weeks?" Vicki thought to herself, sighing loudly.

She had been married before. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this. She wasn't eager to repeat her mistakes.

On the other hand, Jack wasn't anything like Bo. She could trust him. She have trusted him so far.

"Jack, you didn't catch me at a wrong time. What are you exactly doing on an airplane? Are you going to come here to tell me that you have good news about the resume' that I faxed out to the LAPD to your friend Steve Sloan?" Vicki asked sweetly back into the phone.

Jack looked out the airplane window as it desended down through the clouds towards Atlanta International Airport. "You could say that, sweetheart." Jack said back into the phone as he looked outside the airplane window...

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki smiled as she hung up the phone a few minutes later, thinking about what Jack had said. She couldn't believe that the LAPD had liked her resume'. Maybe she will be able to see her former best friend Enos Strate out there in California in the near future.

And she couldn't believe that Jack had talked to her from an airplane just to tell her that. "It must have cost him a fortune just to tell me hello..." she thought to herself as she looked out the window of her apartment thinking about everything, including her conversation with Jack.

Glancing at her grandfather clock, Vicki rushed into her & her daughter Rachel's bedroom. Katie followed closely behind. "Is there something wrong?" she asked to her best friend.

"Well," said Vicki as she walked into her walk-in closet then added, "If I don't leave in about 5 minutes, I'll be late for my shift at the police station."

"I thought that you weren't working today. I thought that "Big Ed" Little gave you the day off since you worked until 2a.m. this morning," Katie said surprised.

"He did give me the day off," said Vicki, brushing her long auburn hair back into a ponytail then added, "But I have to go in for a while and do some paperwork for him. I'm just working at the Courthouse this afternoon."

Katie looked at Vicki closely. She knew that the redhead had something on her mind, but she couldn't place it at the moment. She knew that it had something to do with Jack Stewart, but what was it???

[LittleRedVicki]

**About 45 minutes later...**

About 45 minutes later near the Hazzard/Chickasaw County line, Vicki sat in her Chickasaw County patrol car watching the clouds go by.

Just on the other side of the Hazzard County line, she could see Cletus's patrol car nestled in the trees.

They were talking to each other through the CB.

"So how is everything in Hazzard? How are Rosco & Lulu doing?" Vicki asked to Cletus through the CB.

"Rosco & Lulu are fine. Just the same as always, Vicki. Real quiet. I haven't had to chase anyone, especially any of the Dukes, in weeks." Cletus said back into the CB mike.

"Yeah, tell me about it. The only thing that I've done all week is give Coy a ticket for speeding through Chickasaw," Vicki giggled into the CB then added, "He didn't like it too much either."

Cletus laughed at the redhead's remark. "At least you gave out at least one ticket to a Duke."

"I guess so," said Vicki back into the CB mike as she glanced at the clouds...

[LittleRedVicki]

Near the Hazzard/Chickasaw County line, Coy Duke was driving recklessly as he neared Cletus's speed trap.

"Coy, are you sure that you should be driving like this?" Katie asked to her husband as she sat in the back seat of the red Ford Explorer.

"Nah," laughed Coy then added, "Cletus won't give me a ticket. I'm doing exactly the speed limit."

Coy then made a sharp turn that went into Chickasaw County.

Sitting in the front seat on the passenger side, Jack tightened his seat belt.

"Do you always drive like this?" Jack asked sarcastically.

Coy laughed. "Only when I'm nearing the Chickasaw County line. Vicki's patrol car can be seen just over the hill in the trees. Maybe we'll let her pull us over."

Looking at Jack then at Coy, Katie smiled brightly.

"Honey, I have a better idea." said Katie as she whispered into Coy's ear.

[LittleRedVicki]

Vicki fumed as she watched the Explorer speed up in front of her. "Just my luck," she muttered under her breath then added, "Coy knows better than to get away from me. I'll arrest him for sure now!"

Jack glanced back behind him as he heard the Chickasaw County's patrol car siren blaring. "Coy, you better step on it. She's looks really mad."

"Katie, what do you have in mind on what to do about Vicki?" Coy asked, grinning at his wife.

"Why don't you let Vicki pull you over and arrest us," Katie asked, putting her arms around her husband.

"Katie, you're crazy! She can't arrest you. You're a Chickasaw County Deputy just like her," said Coy, pulling the Explorer over to the side of the road.

"I know that, Coy. She can arrest me today. I'm not working today. It's my day off," said Katie as she glanced back behind her at the patrol car approaching them.

"I don't know if I want to. She wasn't in a good mood when she left the house earlier this morning," said Coy as he heard a patrol car siren blaring in the distance.

Jack placed a hand on Coy's arm. "Let's switch places. As mad as Vicki is right now, let her arrest me instead. She can take it out on me all night while I talk her into moving to California with me."

[LittleRedVicki]

After a few minutes, Vicki came up on the Explorer, but the SUV took off fast again.

"Of...all the things. Why did Coy do that? I think that he is trying to play with me again! Well, this time he's going to get it!" Vicki said angrily as she turned her siren on.

Vicki followed for a few miles, but realized that either Coy's driving had changed, or her driving was better than normal.

She speeded up her patrol car to fifty-five as the Explorer speeded up as well.

---> In the Explorer, Jack was watching the road in front of him, and watching Vicki in his rear-view mirror. "How is she doing back there, Coy?"

Coy Duke laughed loudly. "I think that she is getting madder by the minute. She is less than 3 feet behind us. If she gets any closer, she'll bump into us. Vicki knows better than to "bump" into us."

[LittleRedVicki]

AUTHOR NOTE: Hello y'all. I'm back to writing on this short fic, but it won't be an everyday occurance. Not with my schedule! lol

************

Vicki fumed as she watched the Ford take off recklessly in front of her as she turned the sharp right curve.

"This is just my day! Nothing has went right every since I woke up earlier this morning when I was called into work. Why did it have to happen to me today?" she thought as she floored the accelator.

She then picked up the CB mike. "Coy Duke! Pull over now! I'm not in the mood for this today!" Vicki barked into the CB mike.

Katie glanced back at the Chickasaw Patol Car directly behind them.

"What's with her? She must be in one of her moods again."

Jack suddenly pulled off to the side of the road. "Don't worry about it. I'll handle her. I'll make her take me to jail."

[LittleRedVicki]

"What the...." thought Vicki as she slammed on her brakes, watching the Explorer pull off on the side of the 2-lane road. "Coy hardly never pulls off for me at all. Maybe my ex-cousin in-law knows what type of mood that I'm in this time."

She slammed the Chickasaw County patrol car door and got out.

Katie glanced behind her, watching her best friend & co-worker walk towards them. "Uh-oh, y'all. She is in one bad mood this time. She's liable to take us all in."

[LittleRedVicki]

AUTHOR NOTE: Happy Holiday's y'all. In case y'all are wondering, this story does take place a few years after Bo, Luke, & Daisy left the farm, and Coy & Vance came back to Hazzard to help Jesse run the farm.

This is a "What If" type of story. There may be a sequel sometime in the future if I decide to take my character into a new direction. Take Care!

***************

Vicki's heart pounded as she neared the Explorer. Something told her deep down that it wasn't Coy who was driving the SUV. As she approached, Vicki's heart nearly stopped beating as she glanced at the driver. "He couldn't be crazy enough to fly out here to see me..." she thought to herself.

Watching the redhead approached the Explorer, Jack rolled down his window. "Jack, I owe you one!" said Coy excitedly, patting his best friend's back. "Thanks for getting me out of that ticket!"

"No problem, Coy. You can owe me when you and Katie come out to California next year to a wedding," said Jack, grinning at his friend then watching in his rear view mirror, eyeing Vicki down as she approached the Explorer.

"He's got to be kidding..." Vicki thought to herself as she stopped at the driver's side door, staring into Jack's dark brown eyes.

[LittleRedVicki]

Surprised, Vicki opened the door. She couldn't believe who she was seeing sitting on the driver's side of the Explorer. She was sure that Coy would be driving.

"Dr. Jack Stewart, what are you doing here?" Vicki said angrily.

Jack stared at the redhead as she pulled him out of the Explorer.

His jaw muscles spasmed. "I think that you know why I'm here."

Vicki smiled at Jack. "I have a pretty good idea why you're here, Jack. And we'll talk alot on our way into town." She said as she was getting her handcuffs out of her back pocket then added as she slipped a cuff loosely around Jack's left wrist. "I am placing you under arrest for reckless driving."

********

Katie & Coy looked at each other as Vicki led Jack to the Chickasaw County patrol car.

"You know, Coy. By the way Vicki was looking at Jack. I think that Chickasaw County is about to lose a dang good deputy." Katie said, as she was getting into the front seat of the Explorer.

Coy laughed with his wife. "I think so too. I think that we just witnessed Vicki's last arrest as a Chickasaw County Deputy."

[LittleRedVicki]

About 20 minutes later, Vicki had drove her patrol car into Chickasaw City Limits with Coy & Katie following close behind.

Looking out the window, then back at Vicki, Jack smiled as he took her cuffed right hand with his cuffed left hand. "So have you thought about what I told you earlier?"

Vicki nodded. "Yeah, I have. Ever since we started seeing each other a little over a month ago, that is all I have thought about. And also about that job offer in California."

Jack looked around outside the window. Vicki had pulled up not in front of the Chickasaw County Courthouse, but in front of her apartment.

"What is on your mind, sweetheart? Why have you brought me here?"

Vicki smiled as she put the handcuff key into the lock on Jack's cuff. "I'll tell you what, Jack. You're going to help me decide."

Jack studied her in silence rubbing his bruised wrist as Vicki unlock the cuff around her right wrist. His expression was sober and not a little hurt.

He was surprised at what Vicki did to him. "Decide what?" he asked as he smiled at Vicki.

Vicki smiled at Jack. "You're going to help me decide on when would be the best time for me to set up an interview with the LAPD."