The Annie Arc: 'Maddie Get Your Gun'

by Partners-in-Crime Int

Part 3 will deliver the goods: drama, humour, a chase, a dreamsequence...a spoonful of hope at the end? What more could you want out of one episode of Moonlighting?

'The Annie Arc'

Episode 3: 'Maddie Get Your Gun'

'Don't ask me just how it happens, I wish I knew.

I can't believe that it's happened, And still it's true.

I got lost in his arms, And I had to stay;

It was dark in his arms And I lost my way.

From the dark, there came a voice And it seemed to say:

There you go. There you go.

How I felt as I fell I just can't recall.

But his arms held me fast And it broke the fall.

And I said to my heart, As it foolishly kept jumping,

All around, I got lost, But look what I found.'

Apart from the dull roar of the engine, it was silent. Maddie's hands clasped the steering wheel like claws, as if her life depended on it. Her knuckles were white beneath her skin. Her lips were pressed together and her eyes were fixed on the dark street ahead of them. Her head was empty, and her chest full of pain, but she didn't allow herself to admit it, not yet. She kept pretending that it was rage and disgust she felt, instead of an open, throbbing wound that used to be her heart.

Agnes was sunk deep into the passenger's seat, like she was trying to disappear altogether. She felt like a desperate, shocked child who had just watched her parents break up. Absurdly enough, at the same time, she thought: Why did you let this happen? You should have known they were gonna blow it if you left it up to them. They needed you, and you let them down. She sighed. Make her talk. Yes, this has always worked. She needs reassurance. She'll just forget you're here.

'Miss Hayes?'

Maddie displayed no sign of having heard. Agnes, determined to get this going, cleared her throat with fervour and tried again. 'Miss Hayes?'

'What?' Maddie managed.

'Um... I guess we can take up the observation again tomorrow, right?' she asked, eager to start a conversation.

'I have already seen all I need to see,' Maddie drove the words like they were attached to a drill.

'But, Miss Hayes!' Agnes exclaimed. 'It was just a dinner! They didn't even have dessert! I told you, from what I saw, he really didn't seem to enjoy...'

'I was talking about the case!' Maddie snapped with exasperation.

'Of course, Miss Hayes...' Agnes sighed.

'This case is over,' Maddie declared firmly. 'I'll call Miss Robinson tomorrow and tell her that it is... hopeless.' Maddie's voice sounded frayed around the edges.

Agnes pricked her ears up and starred at her, willing her to take up the slack. 'Yes, Miss Hayes,' she replied quietly. She held her breath as she waited for Maddie to go on.

'She has to forget about that jerk, he's not worth wasting a second thought on! She needs to get over him!' Maddie wrenched the steering wheel so hard to the left that the car careened dangerously.

Agnes preferred to bite her tongue than to let out a shriek. You must not interrupt her!

'He's not worth ripping herself apart for!' Maddie was fuming now.

'Sure, Miss Hayes,' Agnes threw in, as if to encourage Maddie to go on with her raging, but she didn't need it - once a volcano erupts...

'I mean – this is ridiculous!' Maddie's voice was an overly taught violin string. 'She's a strong and independent woman. She needs him as much as a hole in the head!' She paused for a moment, almost out of breath now. Yes, that's good, Agnes thought. Come on, just a little more. You're almost there. Maddie went on furiously: 'Just because he happens to have swept her off her feet, doesn't mean she can't get them back safely on the ground again.'

On arrival at the front of Agnes's apartment building, Maddie slammed down hard on the brake, and if Agnes hadn't put on the safety belt, she would have flown through the windshield, right to the moon.

Time now indicated, in no uncertain terms, that Agnes was running out of opportunities and that therefore she must give Maddie the final push: 'Miss Hayes... may I suggest you join me for a cup of valerian tea?' she asked mock innocently.

In response to this ridiculous suggestion, Maddie's eyes widened in disbelief. A cup of Valerian tea? It would be like tossing a cup of still water into a tempest torn sea.

Agnes swallowed and added in a death-defying sentence: 'It might help to calm you down...'

Maddie brutally stalled the engine and turned to her like a termagant. Agnes closed her eyes, stoically awaiting the thunderstorm. 'I am calm!' her boss shouted at the top of her lungs, and Agnes automatically hunched her shoulders in response to the sheer volume. 'I am in control! AND I AM OVER - ' suddenly, Maddie fell silent.

Agnes bravely opened one eye. She could see Maddie was staring at her with her blue eyes so wide open that it should have terrified her, but she knew her boss so well that she was immediately able to recognize the utter pain and shock in them. She opened her other eye. Boy, why did they always have to do it the hard way?

'Sure, Miss Hayes,' Agnes replied softly, 'if you say so.'

Maddie was unable to answer.

In spite of her urge to hug and comfort her employer, to tell her that she had it in her hands to make everything all right, Agnes hurried to get out of the car. She knew what Maddie desperately needed right now. The privacy to let her despair pour out like the tears she had been holding back, with enormous effort, since they had seen the backlights of David's car disappear from the parking lot outside Cicada's.

'Night, Miss Hayes,' Agnes uttered with speed and shut the door, instantaneously forcing herself to turn away.

Within seconds, the silver BMW sped down the street, with the engine roaring, and vanished beyond the horizon.

Agnes was left standing there, shell-shocked. That was all she had been able to do for them for now. Although, ever the optimist, she had a feeling that she had just witnessed a tiny but significant amount of progress. An elfish smile coiled around her lips. Waters are still swimmable.

---

Maddie had turned the car's radio on, in order to obliterate the intense silence. Both speakers were blasting at an uncharacteristically high volume. For a long time now, she hadn't been used to: a) driving alone and b) doing the latter in silence, not talking to... someone; or being talked to. Something was missing here. Something was wrong; terribly wrong. The music was a temporary measure.

'This is nonsense,' she rebuked herself and, with irritation, cleared those surprise tears from her face. Damn it, not again! She had exposed far too much- including startling revelations to herself- and all because of that woman: Agnes DiPesto, heart, soul and conscience. How did she do that? Maddie had no idea; the only thing she did know was that, when she opened up to St Agnes, she talked herself in to a whole lot of trouble. The truth was trouble.

The truth? She had been a little upset back at that parking lot. Okay, very upset, she admitted reluctantly. However, it wasn't because David had been with another woman, hell, no! If it was up to her, David could happily go off into the wild blue yonder and pursue everything and anything with a heartbeat – or boink them, to use his word - see if she cared! It didn't matter to her. As a matter of fact, she was fine with it. She just didn't wish for either her business or her family to be involved with these filthy and immature games of his. As for the rest, she couldn't care less.

Sure, Miss Hayes, if you say so, Agnes's soft voice interrupted, echoing around her head, assuming that imperturbable, indifferent tone that only Agnes DiPesto had in her repertoire which, at the same time, cut right down to the core of your soul and revealed absolutely everything you had buried away. Maybe, Agnes went on, if you keep repeating it, you may believe it. Some day.

Maddie shook her head; it had already started to ache with a dull throb. 'Shut up, Agnes,' she whispered, 'please.' God, she could feel those tears again. She floored the gas pedal. She needed to be home.

She was thankful for small mercies - there were no goddamn silly ballads airing on this radio station. Instead, she heard rhythmical guitar sounds and a raucous, female voice: a strong woman. Good. She needed that now. She listened eagerly to the lyrics, hoping they would distract her, and instead, froze:

'Go on and close your eyes, go on imagine me there

She's got similar features with longer hair

And if that's what it takes to get you through

Go on and close your eyes,

it shouldn't bother you'

'It doesn't bother me!' she snapped at the radio. 'Why should it?' We're pals. We are through. Througher than through. Maddie took a deep breath. God, this voice broke her heart.

'Was it want with no desire Was it smoke with no fire Did I say it it doesn't rip me apart, I lied I'm sorry, dear, my hands are tied'

'Shut up!' Maddie hissed and tried ferociously to turn the radio off and put a stop to those words. The only success that she experienced was breaking the switch which she held firmly in her hand. 'Great!' She discarded the tiny piece of plastic out of the open window.

Luckily, her own familiar driveway began to appear in the distance, alerting her to the fact that it was time to sleep now, block out this night and maybe wake up with some fresh perspective. She hurried to reach it, to park the car and turn the engine off. Pausing, relieved to have silenced the music, she gazed, for a moment, at her house. No lights. Annie wasn't home yet. No surprises there.

Of course not, it was Saturday evening, and David had probably taken her to some obscure blues bar – or even a Laundromat, to perform one of his cheap little dance tricks. Maddie let out a disgusted snort as she imagined him waltzing her around- just the two of them somewhere intimate. Although, she was equally relieved that she didn't have to endure her cousin's company right now; this visit had turned out to be an ordeal, and she didn't even know why. Granted, David was a jackass but Annie wasn't behaving in a very likeable manner either. She didn't remember her cousin – her married cousin – ever behaving in that frivolous way before. It had to be David's bad influence, of course. 'Damn you, Addison,' she spat. Then she entered her house and slammed the door - shutting out the world.

Ten minutes later, she was lying in her bed, wide awake, going through that awful scene in the parking lot over and over and over again. Sleep was an unobtainable luxury. Instead, David's voice, sharp and lethal like a freshly forged blade, prevented her from slumber. Maddie's answer to everything – the Hayes-butt-farewell... Trust is a fragile word to be shooting around like that... There's only one person in this charade who needs to get over herself and that's you!

His words hurt but what had been even worse was the tone of his voice. To hear that damn voice of his sounding cold, angry, cutting had been the equivalent of a death shot. One of the things that had attracted Maddie to him was his voice; he could play it like an instrument, and he had been able to play her like an instrument whenever he used it right. Maddie shivered involuntarily when her mind drifted to the many occasions she had fallen for it; sometimes he hadn't even needed to touch her to get her to do, or get her to let him do whatever he wanted.

From under the sheet, Maddie felt all of the muscles in her body tense up and she cursed her wandering mind. Why did those darned memories of him have to invade when she was already feeling so weak, confused and desperate? No, she wouldn't have this! Angrily, she threw her sheets back and sat up, reaching decisively for the bedside lamp.

She hesitated for a single moment; then she reached for the phone on her nightstand and dialled a number.

'Hello?' answered a firm voice.

'Catherine?' Maddie asked.

'Catherine Robinson speaking. Who is it please?'

'Catherine, this is Maddie Hayes from Blue Moon.' Without noticing, Maddie twisted the phone cord tightly around her fingers, like a rope to strangle with.

'Miss Hayes!' Catherine exclaimed. 'This is... I didn't expect to hear from you so soon! Has something happened tonight?'

'Well...' Maddie drew a deep breath. Was this the right thing to do? 'I guess you could say that. I wanted to get started on your case right away Ms Robinson, so I carried out an observational stake-out on your 'friend' Oliver and his wife tonight.' And I was let down by my partner.

'And...?' Catherine's voice was suddenly anxious.

'And... They went out to share a few drinks, then dinner at Cicada. We have photographs for you.'

'Cicada? I can't believe this.' Hurt was clearly discernable in Catherine's voice now. 'This was... our favorite restaurant.'

'I see.' Ours not, but that didn't make it better; or less hurtful. Maddie cleared her throat, anger welling up again as she heard the pain in her client's voice reflecting her own. 'Catherine,' she said firmly, 'I'm afraid that I must inform you that it looks like your friend found his perfect...' match? Maddie bit her tongue. Does she want to know if her friend and his wife are the perfect match or if they really love each other? Because that's not necessarily the same, you know. David's voice in her head again! '...His other half,' she concluded in a miserable and deflated voice.

'Oh...' Catherine's voice was suddenly stripped of volume.

'Catherine!' Maddie said firmly, fuelled by resentment. 'Forget him! You don't need him! You're obviously way better off without this man!'

'Miss Hayes,' Catherine said wearily, 'you've obviously never had an experience like this.'

Maddie swallowed hard, but try as she might, that lump just wouldn't clear. She said nothing.

'This man is my other half. I'm not complete without him, and nothing could ever change that.' Her voice sounded reflective.

Maddie was completely steamrollered by the utter conviction of these words. This man is my other half. I'm not complete without him. 'This is nonsense!' Maddie exclaimed angrily, fighting against sense, as if she were arguing with a phantom David.

'Miss Hayes,' Catherine replied matter-of-factly, 'please, I appreciate your concern, but there is really no point in discussing this anymore.' She drew a deep, shivering breath that chilled the pit of Maddie's stomach, deep from within. 'Please just send me your bill. And thank you for your services.'

'Catherine...' The call was prematurely curtailed with a determined click on the other side. Maddie crashed the receiver back down into its cradle. 'Don't be so goddamn stupid!' she cried – unsure whether she was addressing her client or herself. She couldn't believe it. This was ridiculous. Catherine Robinson was a strong, modern, independent woman, and she was crying her eyes out for a jerk who...

'Stop it,' Maddie chastised through clenched teeth, this time she was definitely the recipient of the scolding. She turned the lights off and pulled the blanket over her head, but she could not banish Catherine's melancholic, forlorn voice from her memory. This man is my other half. I'm not complete without him, and nothing could ever change that. 'Nonsense,' she murmured again. Unnoticed by her, tears fell.

---

Maddie was sure must had fallen asleep through exhaustion in the end, but if so, it couldn't have been for long. The phone ringing had made her jolt, and as absurd and embarrassing as it was, her first thought was that David was calling. She hated herself for the eager leap her heart made. It can't be him, he's still with her. Against her will, she wondered where they were and what they were doing.

The ringing phone made her head ache even more, and she reached for it to cease the invasive noise. 'All right, already!' she snapped angrily, tired and prickly. 'Who's there?'

'Madolyn Hayes?' asked an unknown male voice.

'Who wants to know?' she automatically replied.

'Miss Hayes, this is Detective Esposito, LAPD.'

She sat upright in her bed. 'Yes?' she asked anxiously. A call from the police was never a good sign. A cold hand grabbed her heart. Oh my God, if something has happened to...

'Do you know a Catherine Robinson?' the detective interrupted her errant thoughts.

'Catherine Robinson?' Maddie repeated, perplexed. 'Why?'

'Because we found your business card, Miss Hayes, in a handbag that obviously belongs to a Miss Catherine Robinson. And, that handbag was found at a crime scene.'

'A crime scene?' she echoed. 'What happened?'

'We were called to a house where shots had been heard. We found a dead body.'

'Catherine Robinson was shot?' Maddie exclaimed.

'No, Miss Hayes. A Mrs. Jennifer Wright was shot. Do you know her?'

'I... um... no, not personally...' Maddie's already aching head was spinning.

'But you do know Catherine Robinson?' Detective Esposito insisted.

'Yes, I do, Detective. She is a client of mine,' Maddie admitted reluctantly. 'Where is she?'

'Well, that's what I'd like to know. She's disappeared, and the victim's husband can't be found either. You don't happen to know where she might be.'

'No, I don't - our business was finished!' Maddie assured, and it was no lie. After all, he hadn't asked if she had heard from Catherine lately.

'Tomorrow morning I will drop by your office to talk with you about Miss Robinson. If you hear from her before then...'

'Sure, Detective. I'll be glad to fill you in tomorrow.' Maddie was eager to end this conversation.

'Good night, Miss Hayes. Sorry to have disturbed you.'

'Not a problem Detective. Good night.' She suddenly had the feeling that any hope of sleep had been exiled until further notice.

She put down the receiver slowly, thoughtfully- her mind clicking firmly into detective mode. What had happened? Obviously, after they had spoken, Catherine had gone to the Wrights' house – but for what purpose? To confront them? To kill the wife through sheer jealousy? Maddie stirred uncomfortably with that thought. To kill them both? Where did the husband fit in to all of this?

Maddie reached for the phone yet again and started to dial a familiar number, fingers stopping mid-digit... She was dialling David. Damn habits! For more than five years, every time something disturbing or depressing had happened (when anything at all had happened) he was the first person she always turned to, to share her fears, her qualms, her anger and even her joy with. But now... her mind drifted back to the parking lot again, and she remembered that he was not alone this time, not at her beck and call anymore. Either he was still out with Annie, or... Maddie immediately dismissed these terrible thoughts. No, to call David was not an option. He would probably slam down the receiver on her if he heard her voice. This thought caused her overwhelming sadness.

At first, she thought she was hearing things when the phone rang again - her overly tired mind reeled in confusion and alarm. This time she had the receiver in her hand after the first ring. 'David?' It slipped out.

'No,' it was a female voice that broke the silence. She recognized it immediately as Catherine's. 'This is...'

'Catherine!' Maddie exclaimed. 'What happened? I just had a call from the police...'

'It isn't what it looks like!' Catherine interrupted. 'It was... it was...' She seemed completely shaken.

'You have to go to the nearest police station,' Maddie demanded. 'They are looking for you!'

'But I can't...'

'Is Wright with you?' Maddie suddenly asked - trying to piece this puzzle together.

'No, he... I... please, Miss Hayes, you must meet me at your office at once!'

'What?'

'Please! I can be there in half an hour! I need to talk to you!' Catherine's voice had assumed an almost hysterical note.

'But this is a murder investigation, Catherine! I can't...'

'I need your help!' Catherine pleaded. 'I'm still your client!'

'Catherine, where are you right now?' Maddie demanded.

'I'll be at your office in half an hour.'

'Catherine, wait!' But the connection had already been broken.

'Great!'

Damn! Maddie lay there for another couple of moments, thinking frantically, and then she vigorously threw the sheets back. What could have happened? Well, there was only one way to find that out, wasn't there? She had to meet up with Catherine. She was not comfortable at all with the thought of meeting her client at the office alone; and especially at this ungodly hour. Her client was probably suspected of murder. Maddie shivered with the thought.

She had met her client only once, and she had gained the impression that she was a woman who was desperately in love with a man who was just not good for her. With a man she was really better off without. But the fact remained; she was desperately in love with him. What Maddie had told her during that first phone call, had clearly upset her. She had been devastated by the mere thought that the man, she was madly in love with, had taken his wife to their favourite place. Maddie was still furious when she thought about the hurt in her voice. Wright was surely as cold and unfeeling as a toilet seat – why did that thought seem so familiar to her? And the fact that Maddie had told her it looked like Wright had found his other half, had been enough to send her over the edge. All in a day's work, Maddie! Catherine's voice was still ringing in Maddie's ear. This man is my other half. I'm not complete without him – what had it led Catherine to do?

Maddie groaned, realizing that she knew nothing about her client, for all she knew she could be in a critical state of mind, no, she was in a critical state of mind. If she really had killed Wright's wife, Maddie could not be sure what she was up to and what she might do next. She could even be carrying a gun around with her. It would be pure imprudence to go to Blue Moon in the middle of the night, all by herself, to meet with a woman, who was running from the police, on the edge of a nervous breakdown and had might have actually killed someone through sheer jealousy. No, going alone was not an option.

The right thing to do would be to call the police and inform them that Catherine had contacted her. But somehow, Maddie couldn't bring herself to do that – yet. After all, she didn't know for sure that Catherine had anything to do with the death of Wright's wife. There could be a rational explanation for everything, and Catherine might need her help. She had been right – she was still her client, and Maddie had an obligation. But all the same...

She was briefly considering calling Agnes, but she realized that wouldn't be very thoughtful either, she was not going to expose Agnes to incalculable risk. No, there was only one option left and she did not like it. Maddie sighed and, very reluctantly, reached out for the telephone again.

---

Long after Annie had let herself out of his house, David remained awake, lying in his bed, stony-faced and paralyzed. He was far away from sleep. After their nasty fight out there on that parking lot of Cicada's, he had been convinced, for the first time ever, that they were truly and finally through, that there was, as Maddie had expressed it, nothing left between them. Nothing. Her words still rang in his ears, causing him physical pain. That blonde had always known how to use her weapons to their full capacity. And when she shot, she shot to kill. But what her cousin had said, had forced him to reassess. She had said: things between them were... complicated? Never before had he heard of a complicated relationship between pals.

Just let this go, don't start again. Don't picture things that aren't there just because you desperately wish they were. Hasn't worked in the past, and won't work now. He took a deep and aching breath and tried to pull the blinds on every last thought he had about Maddie: her distasteful cousin (what he had done with her), the words that had been fired like bullets. It was not working.

That damn radio was still playing on into the lonely night, and obviously the dumb jackass of a DJ had decided that, for these wee small hours of the morning, the only appropriate kind of music were the songs that depressed the depressed even further and made a lovesick fool sicker still. David groaned when he heard the almost broken voice of Ray Charles singing words written just for him. At least I'm not seeing him in my living room this time!

'No, you don't know the one

Who dreams of you at night

And longs to kiss your lips

And longs to hold you tight

To you I am just a friend

That's all I've ever been

'Cause you don't know me.

For I never knew the art of making love

Though my heart aches with my love for you

Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by,

A chance that you might love me too...'

'Oh shut it, Ray!' he snapped angrily. 'What chance? Where was that goddamn chance?'

His mind was an old style projector, running memories of them together through its old mechanism, like crackly frames from a timeless movie. His mind desperately attempted to fathom where he had gone wrong, where she had gone wrong, hell, where they had both messed up- he played reel after reel, searching for mistakes in the negatives: his first memory was verbal, Maddie telling him that they were both, whether they liked it or not, on the same ladder and it was up to them whether they resumed climbing it together – whatever they decided, it was evident that they would always be on the same one, even if one was a little ahead of the other. He wondered if she still felt the same way and whereabouts on that goddamn ladder he actually was – maybe he had fallen off it? Sure felt like he had, and he had the bruises to prove it. He paused at the time when she had kissed him on the bridge; on his desk at the office; rolling around on that hot air balloon after that ridiculous chase scene (she'd been genuinely worried for him then). These stills were scratched, imperfect - why hadn't anything moved on from those opportune moments? Each time it had been her, he thought, where was I when all of this was happening? Dumb ass schmuck, he chastised himself. The movie flickered and stretched as it reached their last real date – she had actually followed him to a pool hall- Maddie Hayes in a Pool Hall, when it wasn't even part of a case! He chuckled at the memory: the broad had hustled him! No dame had ever done that to him before, he considered himself an expert at the game but she had wiped the floor with him. It was a surprising twist in the resolution. He'd liked it though, liked that she was full of surprises... and she had looked gorgeous that night, beautiful dress, beautiful Maddie...

David was so lost in the past that the shrill ring of his phone felt like a cold intrusion. Who could it be at that hour of the night? He fumbled for the receiver.

'Yeah?'

'David?'

He sat upright, completely taken aback. Even though she sounded very alarmed and shaken, he would have recognized that voice anytime, anywhere. He heard it every night in his dreams and, sometimes, even in his nightmares. 'Maddie, is that you?'

Her voice sounded reserved, reluctant. 'I... I need your help.'

His body was gripped by nervous tension. He was sure that, given what had happened earlier, Maddie would rather fight a bunch of dragons all by herself before asking for his help – if it wasn't something utterly grave in nature. 'What happened?'

'Um... after... I got home this evening, I called our client to... to inform her about the results of tonight's observation,' Maddie started to explain.

'Why did you do that, for Heaven's sake?' David asked. 'Couldn't that wait until tomorrow?'

'She had a right to know!' Maddie snapped.

'Okay, okay...' David soothed. 'So... what did you tell her?'

Maddie cleared her throat, and he could almost physically sense how uncomfortable she was talking to him about this. 'I told her that... she needn't worry about her... friend. I told her that he had found his...'

'... perfect match?' David couldn't resist throwing that in.

'... other half,' he heard Maddie finish the sentence in an almost desperate voice and found himself momentarily lacking in words.

'You did, huh?' he murmured, more to himself. 'Who would've thunk it.'

'What?' Maddie sounded uneasy again.

'Never mind. What happened then?' he asked.

'Well, she... thanked me and asked me to send her our bill. A little while after we had finished talking, I received a call from the police,' Maddie went on.

'The police?' David echoed.

'The police,' Maddie repeated with genuine concern. 'They asked if I knew a Mrs. Robinson. They claimed they had found her handbag at a crime scene - with our business card in it.'

'What? What kinda crime scene?' David was urgently trying to piece the evidence together into one coherent picture.

'The Wrights' residence,' Maddie explained. 'Apparently, Mrs. Wright has been shot. She's dead.'

'What?' David couldn't believe it. He had experienced an odd feeling about this case from the beginning; something about Catherine Robinson had made him feel edgy. Or had it been more the fact that Maddie appeared to be personally invested in this case?

'Wright's wife is dead,' Maddie repeated impatiently, 'Wright has disappeared, and the police are looking for him and for Catherine.'

'This is a real case of not knowing your Wright from your wrong!' he muttered to himself. 'I'm guessing she might be in danger too?'

'She's fine,' Maddie contradicted.

'How can you know that?'

'Because she called me right after I had spoken to the police detective.'

'Wow, you've been busier than a switchboard operator tonight, ain't you?' David remarked sarcastically. 'What did she say?'

'Not much,' Maddie admitted. 'She only pleaded with me to meet her in the office in half an hour. I tried to convince her to go to the police, but... she wouldn't listen to me.'

'That's not good.' David murmured, more to himself than to Maddie, and ruffled his hair.

'I know,' Maddie sighed. 'But what can I do? What can we do? She hung up before I could say anything, and now she's waiting for me at the office. I have to meet her. I... I just can't go alone.'

David threw the sheets back and put his feet to the floor. 'Sure you can't. Where are you? Still home?'

'Yes,' came the reluctant answer. 'David... if you're... busy...'

He was already pulling on some sweat pants he had found on the floor. Absurdly enough, despite this situation, he felt some kind of awkward excitement and eager anticipation from the mere fact that Maddie was calling him in the middle of the night, asking for his help. Just like old times.

'Nonsense!' he replied curtly. 'You stay right where you are, is that clear? You're not going anywhere alone! I'm gonna pick you up!' Without waiting for an answer, he slammed down the receiver, pulled a shirt over his head and grabbed the car keys. His partner needed – and had asked for – his help. Nothing else mattered.

---

Putting down the receiver, Maddie paused to reflect. David's reaction had not been what she had expected, his voice had sounded genuinely concerned and, yes, caring. In fact, he had sounded as if their awful row on that parking lot had never happened. She was even able to blank it out for a fraction of a second, but then, involuntarily, she wondered if Annie was still with him, and everything was back. Well, he hadn't sounded as if he had been asleep. Quickly, she pushed those thoughts aside; they made her feel nauseous.

As if on cue, she heard the closing of the front door and the muffled sounds of tiptoeing steps. Annie was sneaking back into the guestroom. A satisfied smile, out of nowhere, was tugging at Maddie's lips. No night of betrothed bliss tonight then, honey, she thought venomously and, almost at the same moment, shocked, she put her hand over her mouth as if she had spoken the thought out aloud. And why would you care, Blondie? - A mocking, nagging voice poked at her conscience.

She shook her head and started to dress quickly.

Fifteen minutes later, she heard the car pull up the driveway. He was here.

Awkwardly, she approached the car. Equally uncomfortable, David got out and opened the passenger's door for her. She hesitated for a moment before she got in the car, not knowing what to say, as she remembered that their last words spoken face-to-face had been dreadful ones.

'Thanks for coming...' she finally managed.

To her surprise, David averted his eyes and just murmured: 'Let's get on with it, before the bird flies.'

She got in the car, and David closed the passenger's door. When he got in himself and started the engine, he still didn't look at her and, what was even more awkward, didn't say a word to her. Come on, Addison, she thought, that's not natural, that's not you – sitting next to me in this car and not saying a word.

He just looked straight through the windscreen at the dark street before them, avoiding her eyes, and that was the moment when the plain and simple insight hit her with such brutal force that it took away what was left of her breath and heartbeat. He had slept with Annie. Her face was bled chalk-white.

Maddie turned her head to see him, but his eyes were still fixed on the street. 'I can't believe it,' she blurted out, almost soundlessly.

Finally, he turned his head and looked at her, frowning. 'Can't believe what?' he asked.

She looked into his green eyes and, for the first time since she had met him, she wished, she really and truly wished, she would never have to look into them again. It hurt too much, more than anything she could have imagined. Only once in her life had she felt greater pain.

'Do you love her?' The words were out before she could hold them back.

He was taken aback. 'What?'

I hate this conversation, but I have to know it. I just have to. She steadied herself and plunged right in. 'You heard me. I asked – do you love her?'

David looked back at the street again, his heart and his mind racing. Where had that come from? Maddie's question had come out of nowhere and knocked him off track. She was acting like she knew what had happened between him and her cousin. Of course she knows it, stupid! His inner voice warned. What were you thinking? This woman is your other half, has been for a long, long time - even if neither of you have had enough courage to admit it. All she had to do was to take one look in your eyes to know that you have been a goddamn fool; that you boinked her stupid cousin.

David promptly decided that offense was the best defense, and for sure the best option to bring her out of her shell. He took a deep breath. 'What difference does it make?' he asked in a deliberate, almost nonchalant tone. 'Why would that be of any importance to you, since you pointed out, so eloquently earlier, that we are nothing?'

The words seemed to have a physical effect on her; she looked like she had been slapped in the face; she even backed away from him a few inches- an instinctive, unconscious move. When she finally spoke, her voice had a high-pitched note battling with it. '...Because she's married! Because she's my cousin, and she deserves better than to be used for your shallow amusement!'

Now we're getting into the pace. Here she comes. He raised his voice angrily. 'What if she likes it? Might seem hard to believe for you, but, y'know, there are women who enjoy themselves in my company. Who enjoy life!' David knew his words were hurting Maddie, and that caused him physical pain, but he was convinced there was no other choice than to fire broadside if he wanted to get to her, to tear down that great wall she had erected around herself.

She snorted with utter disgust. 'As if you ever cared about anybody else, other than for your own sordid satisfaction!'

'And so I repeat my question: why would you care, Maddie?' he insisted.

Her eyes fired mad, uncontrollable lightning bolts. 'Because I don't want an innocent woman to get hurt!' she snapped. David had a feeling that wall was starting to get porous.

'Yeah, right.' He paused for a moment and scrutinized her closely, before he went on in a softer, kinder voice: 'Is this really the only thing you're concerned about here?'

Aware that this was a broad invitation for her to reveal locked-away thoughts, Maddie turned away from him and stared at the street instead. Come on, Blondie, he thought, I know what you're feeling. Give it to me, give it to yourself. For a moment he thought he had gotten to her, but then the moment had vanished, and he could almost see the blinds being consciously closed. She then pulled herself entirely together and hissed in her iciest voice: 'If this weren't my cousin you're fooling around with, I wouldn't care.'

David looked away from her. His jawbone tightened. 'I hear your message loud and clear.'

'Good,' she pressed through clenched teeth.

'Good,' he replied silently, devastated.

'Fine.' Maddie seemed proud of her composure.

She seems pleased with herself, with this regained self-control. Hell, what have I been thinking? Before that human iceberg admits her feelings, I would have to take her to a labor room and make her watch another woman having a child which she thinks is mine. He was so tired of this. Then he spoke very slowly and pointedly. 'Fine. Then I have an answer for you: what I do with and what I feel for whoever is none of your goddamn business, pal.'

---

It was 2am and the Blue Moon corridor was steeped in darkness. From the elevator, Maddie and David emerged into this gloom, a noticeable distance between the two of them, a distance that was roughly a foot of space and an eternity of miscommunication. They both sighed heavily as they made their way along the unlit corridor and towards their office space. There was no talk, just the sound of deflated footsteps that suggested what could have been.

Catherine Robinson was waiting outside the main door, in the shadows; leaning up against the wall. She did not resemble the powerful woman who had walked into Maddie's office the day before, this woman looked like she was positioned on the edge of a precipice.

David reached for his keys and realised that his sweat pants did not have pockets 'Maddie? I guess I didn't read my invitation to this party properly, completely missed the part about bringing keys.'

Maddie huffed as she rooted around in her over-sized handbag for the office keys 'Here,' she held them out to him.

'I'm not a regular at these kinds of gatherings ...but we've only just arrived Maddie, don't we save the key swapping until later after we've had a few drinks?"

'Open it,' she snapped. She was definitely not in the mood for any banter and glared at him as if she wanted to strangle him. He definitely had the advantage tonight.

'I also do sit, stay and play dead,' complained David, taking the keys from her and letting them all in.

'Thank you,' Maddie managed through clenched teeth.

'Do I get a treat?' David dared, spurred on through the tension that existed between them tonight. He received no reply so dangerously moved forward 'Not even a pat on the head? Boy, you're one tough master.'

Maddie reached for the light switch and Blue Moon, startled, came to sudden life.

'We gotta get this work life balance thing sorted, boss,' sighed David looking at the time: 2.05 am. 'All work and no play... sounds eerily similar to a woman I used to know, big blonde, owned a detective agency that kept erratic hours...'

'Please, Miss Robinson, won't you take a seat in my office,' said Maddie to Catherine, with a serious tone, she could see how upset Catherine was and David's witty remarks and digs were not helping the situation. She knew he always turned to humor when he was stressed or tired but this was not an appropriate situation.

All three made their way into Maddie's office. She turned the light on, the harshness making all three of them wince. She took her usual seat, David perched on the edge of the desk and the client sat in a chair opposite. Business as usual.

'Miss Robinson,' began Maddie, 'do you want to tell us what's going on?'

'I don't know where to start,' she said with an anxious tone. 'Are you sure we're safe here?'

'Safe is our middle name,' stated David. 'Well... there was a small lapse at the end of season 3 that involved a parked car on a steep hill - but blame that on the writers.'

Maddie threw him a stop talking look, he received it and shrugged in an over exaggerated manner just to rile her. It irked him that she could move so abruptly from their personal lives to business - it was like she had an open/closed sign plastered to her forehead.

'You can trust us Mrs Robinson,' David offered a reassuring statement. 'But the question is can we trust you? We'd like to know a little about you for our files, we'd like to help you learn to help yourself, look around you...' He couldn't help it; Maddie was bringing the worst out in him tonight. He was in a fighting mood.

'Can we get on with this?' Maddie growled, interrupting his rendition of the famous song. 'Catherine, do you know what happened to Mrs. Wright?'

'She realised that she wasn't?' David quipped, throwing a quick aside glance at the readers.

'I'm afraid I do,' she sighed, ignoring David and looking to Maddie for support, her eyes widening. 'It was shortly after your phone call to me, Miss Hayes.'

'That'll do it!' David couldn't resist the temptation once again; the tension was getting too much. 'One call from Maddie Hayes is enough to make anyone run out and commit a grizzly homicide - believe me, I know.'

Maddie chose to ignore him; maybe he would just stop talking if she did. 'Do continue Mrs., sorry Miss Robinson...'

'I was so upset after I put the phone down that I didn't know what to do with myself,' she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. 'I felt like my life was over. It was, is... over.'

'Lot of that going around,' David remarked but he was back in the ball game now; his face wore that penetrating glare he got when he was trying to work out if a client was guilty or innocent. 'So what happened, what did you do next?'

Maddie looked grateful that David was finally taking this seriously.

'I had to see him,' she cried. 'I didn't want to believe what Miss Hayes had said... so I drove to where he lived with her. I had to see them for myself... face them. Only then would I be willing to accept it was over.' Catherine looked horrified at her own words; this was beginning to sound like a confession.

'So what happened?' demanded David, his voice all business.

'I rang the bell and he answered, thank God,' she sighed. 'I told him I had to talk to him. He looked pleased to see me which, I must admit, confused me more.'

'That would sure confuse the hell out of me too,' stated David looking directly at Maddie but without humor in his pitch.

Catherine Robinson continued, regardless. 'He ushered me in to the house and started to tell me how much he missed me...'

'Coz that's what you do when you're happily married,' scoffed David, an edge of scorn to his voice.

'I was taken aback; I wasn't expecting this, not after what you had reported back to me, Miss Hayes.'

'Miss Hayes!' chastised David. 'I let you do one teeny weenie piece of homework on your own and you copy from someone else's book. Go straight to the bottom of the class.'

Maddie's cheeks flushed with instant anger. 'I can assure you, Miss Robinson, that Mr. and Mrs. Wright appeared to be very much in love! I saw it with my own eyes.'

'Sure you were looking at the right couple?' David knew he should not have crossed this line.

This last rhetorical question threw Maddie and she stopped for a second, stumbling over her words. 'I'm very sure which couple I was looking at, thank you, David. I know love when I see it.' It was her turn to realize that she had just dug her own grave ready to leap in, packed suitcase and all.

'Maybe we should have sent an agent, who was a little more adept with matters of the heart,' David was suddenly making this personal.

'They were clearly in love!' shouted Maddie, shocking herself with her own volume.

'How come I'm beginning to figure out why you didn't want to fully disclose the nature of this case to me?' David sighed. 'Hey you don't fancy stepping outside for one moment, do you, Maddie?'

'No, not really,' Maddie cut in.

David rose from his position on the desk. 'If you'll excuse us, for just one moment, Miss Robinson?'

'Of course,' Catherine replied, looking anxious and lost – a look that had been perfected by most of their Blue Moon clients over the years.

Maddie sighed, apologized to their client and followed David out of the office; clearly unimpressed by this unnecessary interruption.

'Can you make this quick, it's 2.30 in the morning!' she complained.

'Oh yeah, I'll make it quick. I'm just ascertaining some key facts, from a detective's perspective, that are pertinent to this case, Miss Hayes.' His eyes were all over her, searching, analysing, presuming...

'And what would those be?' she hissed.

He regarded her with detached amusement that seemed to frustrate her. 'You tell me, Maddie. What was the real reason she wanted us to follow the Wrights?'

'If you'd have turned up on time to the meeting with our client, instead of engaging in god knows what with Annie, you would know,' Maddie smarted, feeling her inner landscape crumble under his words.

'Well, you see,' David began, moving in closer so that they were face to face, 'I was a little caught up so I missed the part about Catherine believing that Mr. Wright was the man she was meant to be with, her soul mate?'

'Well now you know,' stated Maddie and turned round, to break their proximity with one another (it was making her feel strange), in order to re-enter the office.

'Not so fast whirlwind,' he spoke with determination, catching her by the arm.

'Get-off-me,' snapped Maddie, flushing furiously again. 'What?'

'Isn't it a little dangerous messing around with someone else's relationship like this? If she absolutely believes that they're soul mates then her judgement may be skewed - they might do anything, risk anything to be together - even,' he paused, 'murder?'

'Don't be ridiculous, David - you sound like a work of fiction!'

'Fiction?' he echoed. 'Beg to differ, Blondie, this is real life you're messing around with. A real dead body and a real red blooded female right there in your office.' He took a step closer again, and she backed away from him immediately.

'Amazing,' he went on, 'what some people are capable of doing when they are willing to fight for their love, don't you think?' His voice took on an intimate tone.

'That's not love,' she snapped, 'that's a catastrophe!'

He was scrutinizing her closely. 'A little touchy on this subject, aren't we, Miss Hayes?' he replied sarcastically. 'Well, if you say so.'

Without knowing it, he had used the very same words Agnes had used earlier, and as a result, Maddie felt like she had been punched by a hand that she cared for. He seemed to penetrate her with his stare, and she squirmed under it. Like so often now, she sensed he was looking right down to the bottom of her shaken and perturbed soul, and she knew that was more than she could bear.

Maddie took a step back. 'We have a client waiting in there,' she reminded him icily, 'are we through?'

'I thought so,' he replied thoughtfully, 'but I'm not sure anymore.' His eyes caught hers full on, just for a fleeting moment.

Without a word, with utter control of her movements, she turned her back on him and re-entered the office. Her cheeks flushed hot pink.

'Miss Robinson,' Maddie smiled, encouraging her client to resume her story. 'Please continue.'

'Well, you can understand my perplexity,' continued Catherine. 'Of course he was whispering because Jennifer was in the other room, but it was clear that he was more than happy to see me. His whole demeanour lit up, right before my very eyes; that's when he kissed me and I lost sense of my surroundings... his kiss did that to me every time. He kept repeating that he was so thrilled to see me, he held my face, brushed his hand through my hair, kissed me again... and that's when Jennifer saw us.'

'Ouch,' stated David without taking his eyes of Maddie, he had detected a flush to her neck area when Catherine was describing the effects of his kiss - he'd know that flush anywhere. 'What happened next?'

Maddie caught David staring at her exposed neck and made a big show of tilting her head towards the client, in a desperate attempt to divert his gaze back to the matter at hand. She knew what he was thinking and it made her mad - especially given the circumstances.

'A huge argument broke out between them, tears, hysterics... which turned to more physical reactions: throwing vases, pushing each other. I toyed with the idea of calling the police and wish I had now. She pulled out a revolver and was pointing it at both of us. I was terrified and just reacted; I have my own small pistol in my handbag - for protection, you understand...'

'How convenient,' David breathed. 'Your own pocket pistol - did it come with its own collectable accessories?'

'Lots of women carry them,' Catherine insisted. 'I held my own pistol out to try and convince her to put her one down. Well that's when it got really crazy! Oliver reached for her gun whilst she was distracted by mine... I thought she was aiming for him and he thought she was aiming for me... in all of that chaos the guns went off...' she burst into tears and reached for the tissues on Maddie's desk. 'And...' she sobbed.

'And... We would have got away with this if you hadn't insisted that you owed this woman something,' came a deep voice from the door way.

All three of them spun round to face Oliver Wright, who was brandishing a gun at Maddie and David.

'Nya!' mouthed David. 'Haven't you committed enough murders for one episode? Obviously not, just greedy for air time.' He threw Maddie a quick I-told-you-so look.

'I told you not to speak to them,' he moaned.

'I had to,' wept Catherine. 'I owed it to Miss Hayes here; she worked so hard on our case; she really cared. She believed in us. I could tell.'

'Why I...' David began, shaking a finger at Maddie. 'Wait a minute, can you hear that?'

The William Tell Overture had begun to play, softly at first.

'What?' Maddie whispered.

'It's the chase music, Maddie!' he declared with a hint of the crazy in his voice.

'David, I hate to point out the obvious but none of us are running, don't we need to at least be pursuing something?' asked Maddie, looking around at the gun that was pointing at the two of them; it kept her firmly rooted to the spot.

'You always have to go and spoil it, Maddie,' David complained. 'Surely it means the writers know something that we don't!'

'Like what?' cried Catherine, Oliver and Maddie.

'Like this!' shouted David throwing the closest glass ornament that he could lay his hands on, as hard and fast as he could, in the general direction of Oliver - forcing him to drop the gun in order to defend himself. 'Maddie, run!'

Maddie and David ducked out of the office at lightning speed, heading for the Blue Moon door and finally into the corridor. They sped off to the right, losing both their pursuers and their footing for a brief moment.

'David,' panted Maddie. 'Surely if it's a chase, we're supposed to be pursuing them.'

'Maddie, you can't always get what you want!' bellowed David. 'Come on let's go, they're gaining on us!'

They both spotted the open door to the lawyer's office at the same time - the late night cleaning company must be in full swing, luckily for them! Instinctively, David held on to Maddie's hand, to make sure that she kept up, and the two of them slipped into the open office just before Catherine and Oliver rounded the corner. They were both residing in five years of solid and familiar territory here - chase scenes were their forte and their differences were briefly swept aside in favour of staying alive and working as a formidable team. They held their breaths as the two villains ran straight past the office and, only when they were sure that the coast was clear, did they creep back out into the dark corridor. Strangely, they both found themselves finely adorned in barrister's wigs. They eyed each other's elaborate hair pieces with utmost suspicion.

'You know women your age usually dye their hair if they start spotting greys!' David cried, as Maddie slapped him on the arm with her handbag. 'The coast is clear - let's go!'

They hurtled down the next corridor at lightning speed, checking over their shoulders as they went. The William Tell Overture seemed to get louder every time they resumed running. David tested the theory by pulling Maddie's hand to slow her down and sure enough, the music corresponded. He stopped, Maddie stopped and the music stopped. He chuckled out loud, a mischievous glint in his eye.

'What are you doing?' Maddie gasped with exacerbation, staring at him with impatience.

'Playing God,' shouted David. 'Let's go!' He pulled her along and the music revved up again as he let out a mad cackling laugh. 'You gotta love that sense of power... come on, down this way!'

'Isn't that the way we just came?' Maddie ascertained.

'No it's just the expression on my face (no idea how that one got by the censors!)...whoa!' He spotted Catherine and Oliver at the end of the corridor, guns clearly brandished and meaning business.

'There ya go!' cried David. 'Now we're chasing them!'

Oliver spotted them and waved his gun in the air as a deathly warning before beginning to head down the corridor towards them at a frightening pace.

'Oops,' whimpered David, 'the moment was short-lived, now they're after us again! About - face, Maddie!'

Maddie made a strange, not quite identifiable sound as she tried, in vain, to slam on the breaks 'Mmmeebleyrfffhhhhhhuuuuu!'

'...and in English?' yelled David, using both of his arms to physically pull her round to face the other way. 'Run, Maddie, run!'

He spotted another open door and dragged them both in, it was a beauty centre. Again, the cleaners, the unseen magicians, were hard at work, restoring the salon to its freshly opened state.

'I've been meaning to get my nails done,' David gasped as they ran past the nail bar and into the facial and massage area. 'Got time for an all over body wrap?'

'They'll be wrapping us in a body bag if we don't pick up the pace!' demanded Maddie, pulling him away from the sign that read 'All over body massage' –only $50 for a whole hour!

'But Moooom,' whinged David, 'I saved up all my pocket money!'

'Duck!' she whispered fiercely.

'It's not the same,' he complained, 'unless you're in the tub with me.' He realised that, given their current perilous situation, he should not be taking liberties with lines of this nature but what could he do, he didn't write this stuff!

'No, David - DUCK!' she grabbed him by his trouser legs and pulled him down as Catherine and Oliver sped past the window. The two of them huddled together, hiding from the foe - they always worked well as a team when they were under duress. The irony was not lost on Maddie.

Once again, when they had both established that it was safe, they leapt to their feet - ready for action, David dusting down his suit. 'Do we have to chase them? It's much more fun in here!'

Now she was dragging him, out of Betty's Beauty Centre and back into the chase. They had entered Betty's in full Barrister wigs and now left in full face-masks, complete with cucumber pieces over the eyes. They both stopped, in disgust, to pull these off.

'Blind-folded chase scenes – they must be running out of gimmicks!' grumbled David and licked his fingers. 'Mmmmmh, chocolate cherry yoghurt, my favourite flavour!'

'They're getting away!' screamed Maddie.

'Good!' cried David. 'They have guns!'

'We've still got to stop them!'

'Do we have to?' David sounded tired.

'It's our civic duty!'

'Of course,' David stammered, 'I knew that. But is it just me, or is this the most confusing chase scene we've ever been a part of? I mean, not meaning to quibble here, but who exactly is chasing whom?'

'Writer's first chase scene!' revealed Maddie.

'Explains a lot,' David moaned, scraping more yoghurt off his face. 'Hey, maybe she intends us to lick this off in the last scene?'

'This way!' commanded Maddie, ignoring his last comment.

She ran to the left and straight into another open doorway. 'It has a back exit!'

'What does?' David sighed.

'Funerals R Us!' she cried, dragging him in.

Instantly, the music changed from William Tell to the more sombre notes of a funeral dirge.

'Hang on!' David cackled. 'You gotta let me try that again!'

'What?'

David ran back out into the corridor and the faster chase music started up again, he stepped into the funeral parlour and the slower dirge dominated the air waves; he grinned from ear to ear like a kid who has just discovered a new toy - he continued doing this every couple of seconds until Maddie had had enough.

'Enough already!'

'Party pooper!' cried David and did it one more time for his own amusement before racing to catch up with Maddie. They headed straight for the exit, past the coffins and flowers...

'I guess if they shoot us in here, it'll cut out the middle guy...' David suggested, pausing at the coffins. 'I always thought of myself as an ebony person myself... how about you, Maddie?'

'Neither,' she yelled and dragged him away from the elaborate coffins and towards the exit. It was locked. 'David?'

David looked around and spotted a chair positioned behind a desk... he grabbed the chair and threw it, with much force, through the glass of the door - it made an ear-splitting sound as it shattered. A spray of glass splinters hit everything within range.

'What did you do that for?' complained Maddie.

'I dunno, just felt an incredible sense of déjà vu!' shouted David. 'There any lift shafts around here?'

They tip-toed over the glass shards, careful not to get any of it in the soles of their shoes and then picked up the pace again... this time, as they exited the funeral parlour, they found themselves all kitted out in black: black trousers, black turtle necks, black boots...

'At least this outfit is more conducive to a chase!' hollered David. 'I look good in black.'

They found themselves back in the familiar corridor that led directly to Blue Moon.

'It's the end of the line David, we've come full circle.'

'Are we still talking about the chase?' he asked.

'Maybe we could set up a trap?' suggested Maddie. 'Tempt them in, wait and then capture them?'

'Maddie that's a cunning plan... do you have any?'

'What?'

'Traps?'

'Not on me,' Maddie shrugged, patting the pockets of her slinky black Avengers' outfit. 'You?'

'All out - didn't want anything ruining the line of this little black number I'm wearing!'

'Come on David, let's get in there and figure a way to get the upper hand,' whispered Maddie, determination in her voice.

'At this point,' David sighed, 'I'd take any hand... I'm all outa them.'

They cautiously crept into the dark offices of Blue Moon...

'Oh,' said David, disappointed. 'There's my old clothes back again, I rather liked the black.'

'Listen...' Maddie whispered, grabbing his arm.

'To what?'

'Exactly.'

'Exactly what?'

'That, it's exactly my point.'

'What exactly is your point?' he sounded exacerbated.

'The silence, David! The chase music has stopped!'

'Run out of tape? Chase scene too long? Writer got bored and started writing another scene?'

'The chase must be over,' she muttered, sounding confused.

'It is!' shouted Oliver, holding his gun and aiming it directly at them. 'Slowly move into the centre of the room and keep your hands where we can see them!'

'Oh nuts,' complained David. 'We really are right back at the beginning! You mean we went through all of that for nothing?'

'Catherine,' pleaded Maddie. 'Are you sure you're doing the right thing? I thought you two wanted to be together?'

'We do,' she sighed. 'If we get caught, we'll go to prison and never see each other again.'

'I'm confused,' David stated, scratching his head, 'confused about the part where killing two major television stars will help you to stay incognito and hence together.'

'We'll make it look like suicide,' Oliver stated.

'You obviously don't know us well enough,' laughed David. 'Maddie and me? Suicide? HA! Our characters would never do that, not in a million years, we enjoy the banter too much, and the break ups, the make-ups...nar- nobody would go along with that. You need better motivation for the scene!'

'How about an accident?' Catherine suggested.

'Amateurs,' moaned David. 'That wouldn't work either... there's no way on this planet that either one of us would physically hurt the other, accident or otherwise, emotionally maybe... oh boy we're good at that... but real bruises? Noooooo, nobody'd buy that. You running out plot points pal?'

'Okay how about this then... we make it look like the janitor did it!' Oliver snapped in desperation.

'Hey partner, what d'you think of that one?' David asked Maddie, 'it has some feasibility if you're an animated cat. Although, I didn't know Bob the janitor held a grudge? And don't you need an ulterior motive if you're gonna go around killing people where you work?'

'I say go with the janitor,' encouraged Catherine.

'Oh lady, you've obviously not attended a network meeting.'

'This is season 5,' pointed out Maddie, 'anything goes.'

'Don't encourage them Maddie!'David hissed.

'Say your goodbyes,' said Oliver in a flat tone.

He started to walk towards them, with Catherine following behind, clutching her smaller pistol in a shaky hand.

'Don't worry Maddie – this ain't how it all ends,' said David flippantly. 'No way... there's still fifteen minutes of this episode left.'

'Don't count on it!' replied Oliver getting closer with the gun, pacing around them - showing them that he was running this show.

'How are you set for filling time? I mean what are you two gonna do to fill fifteen minutes if push comes to shove? You're not us, you won't be able to convince The Temptations to come on here and show you how to get funky! It's not easy you know...' David yelled with an edge of nervousness to his voice. 'Nobody wants to see dead air space.'

'This is ridiculous!' Maddie suddenly shrieked. 'Why don't you just tie us up, leave us here and make your escape?'

'Now there's a splendid idea!' declared David. 'You see? You should always leave it to the professionals!'

'Let's do that,' pleaded Catherine. 'Too many people have died already, Oliver.'

Oliver looked at Catherine. 'Is that what you really want?'

'Yes, Oliver, it's what I really want. I love you... and I just want to be with you.'

'Okay, then we'll do that,' he replied.

Maddie and David sighed with relief and both held their arms out, happy and willing to be tied up rather than shot.

'Er,' began Oliver. 'Catherine do you have any rope? Handcuffs?'

'What kind of girl do you think I am?' she huffed. 'No. You?'

'Of course not.'

'Oh God, where's there some good bondage when you really need it,' sighed David, receiving a distasteful look from Maddie.

After thinking for a few seconds, Maddie suddenly shouted: 'In my drawers!'

'Is this a last request?' David looked suddenly quite excited.

'My office drawers stupid, your office drawers, our office drawers!' she sighed. 'There's both rope and handcuffs in there - plenty, all you'll need.'

All three of them looked at her with raised eyebrows.

'Well, we are detectives...' she replied with a hint of defensiveness.

'I'll stay here, you go and get the rope,' commanded Oliver.

A minute later, Catherine returned with the rope and looked towards Oliver for the next set of instructions.

'I'd better tie them up I guess,' he observed comparing his strong hands with her small, delicate manicured ones. 'Keep the gun pointed at them.'

He gently set his gun down and approached them with the rope. David took his chance. The fact that Catherine looked like she didn't have a clue about handling a weapon was all the opportunity he needed. He was up on his feet taking a swing at Oliver before he could even start tying his first knot. Catherine rushed forward and Maddie got caught in the middle. A fight broke out, fists swinging, pistols exchanging hands, utter confusion until... Oliver grabbed for the gun so hard and fast that he didn't see Maddie directly in his way, the gun cracked on contact with her head; she went down hard, hitting the floor.

'Maddie?' David's voice was all concern. 'Maddie! Are you okay?'

He bent over her body which was crumpled into a painful position. His hands were travelling all over her head to find the wound... 'Where'd you hit her?' he demanded of Oliver.

'I think I caught her on the side of her head,' he sounded apologetic.

'Do me a favour, will ya? Get out of my sight!' David shouted. 'You've done enough damage for one episode. Just go!'

'Maddie, I'm here,' he was pushing her hair out of her face. 'Come on, Maddie, be okay for me, honey.'

He looked up, 'you two still here? Look, as you can see, I'm clearly not going anywhere!'

Catherine and Oliver took their cue and fled.

'...And neither are you!' muttered David under his breath as he grabbed for Miss DiPesto's phone. 'Hell,o security? This is the offices at Blue Moon... I need you to stop two felons who are attempting to escape the building as we speak... wanted for murder. And I need an ambulance... my partner's hurt.' His voice broke a little on this last word.

As soon as he had hung up, he rushed back to Maddie 'Come on Zorro, don't give up on me now girl! You got more fight in you than this - I know, I saw it tonight! Come on baby, Ambulance is on its way.' He brushed her cheek with his hand. 'Maddie,' he used a whisper this time, 'don't worry I'm with ya, always with ya, always was.' He lightly kissed her forehead, took her hand in his and waited for that ambulance to arrive.

---

'I've had my way with so many girls

An' was lots of fun.

My scheme was to know many girls

To keep me safe from one

I find it can be done.

My defences are down

She's broken my resistance

And I don't know where I am

I went into the fight like a lion

But I came out like a lamb'

It was dusk in Fort Smith, Arkansas; a chill wind blew down from the Ozark and Ouachita mountains and it brought with it an unwanted gift of unease which settled, unopened. The inhabitants of this quaint, Western town sought solace in their homes or, you could find the gun-slingers hiding from this disquiet behind the swing doors of 'The Last Chance Saloon'.

Billy stood in his favoured place at the bar - it had the best view of the barmaid, little Miss Lorraine. She, with her tight blonde curls, was the main reason these pistolers drank here, instead of 'Joe's Saloon' where the beer was cheaper. She gave away a free smile with every purchase and blushed coquettishly at the men's lewd jokes and bawdy innuendos. She was a stranger to decorum and this was reflected in her low cut dresses, of course they were just short of exposing her soul or she would be in danger of her Mama dragging her home.

'What can I get ya, big boy?' she drawled in the direction of Billy, she had noticed his drink was half empty.

'Oh baby,' he replied in husky and gravelled tones, 'I hope you're just talking about the drink honey coz I think you'd have to learn how to walk again by the time I got through with you!'

'Oh Billy, you make me blush! All you're gettin' tonight are my kisses - I'm a good gal.'

'That's not what I hear told around!' came the voice of Frank Smith, a short, dark and curly haired cowboy who had been nursing the same beer for the last hour.

'You can shut it too cheap skate!' she giggled. 'Where's your Mrs. anyway?'

'Agnitta?' he asked, looking up for just one moment. 'Tonight's our night off from each other... a woman needs her space just as much as the next man.'

'Under the thumb,' breezed Billy. 'Fix me another beer, Lorraine.'

Lorraine pulled a beer in her experienced and adroit manner, just the right amount of head; filled all the way to the top - just how he liked it. She slid it across the bar towards him so that it stopped, with precision, at his out-stretched and waiting hand.

Billy was a fast-draw artist, you could tell from the way he wore his guns: they were tied to his thigh. His holster, being soft, long and supple, allowed him to wear them long and his tie-downs prevented the guns from catching on the holster when he needed them quick. He was the master of twirling his guns and often showed off this skill to Lorraine who was mightily impressed by it. It also never hurt to self promote his undeniable skill to any other bad man who happened to be frequenting the saloon- just to show them who was boss. Billy was the best and many a man had lost his life proving this- but not as many as people thought. It was not a coincidence that some of his kills could not be proven with actual evidence; half of his reputation was, indeed, built on rumours.

'Why don't ya tell us one of your stories, handsome?' Lorraine suggested to Billy. 'I love a good yarn when it's so cold and dark outside.'

'There's a blue moon tonight,' Frank offered, he did not contribute to conversation often but when he did it was usually to provide facts to the punters at 'Last Chance'. 'It's the third full moon of the season and you know what that means...'

Billy deliberately ignored Frank, he was too cool for this kind of talk, but Lorraine jumped straight in with 'No Frank, what does that mean? That we're all gonna go crazy tonight and start howling at the moon? Ow Ow Oooooooooooow!' She howled, giggled and winked at Billy.

'Well,' Frank stuttered, suddenly aware that he had an audience. 'A Blue Moon has several folk law origins.'

'Do tell,' Lorraine yawned, wishing she hadn't asked.

'Well the Clergy identified this moon as the 'betrayer' moon, folklore suggests it's a moon that came too early- throwing the seasons out of kilter and of course, there's the popular colloquial meaning that it forewarns a rare event. Maybe it's a sign of foreboding?'

'Fore- what?' asked the ditzy Lorraine, rolling her eyes and fixing them on Billy's green ones.

'The only fore I know begins with the letter P,' joked Billy, following this with an abrasive laugh. 'Know what I mean, baby?'

'Oh, I know what you mean, honey,' she flirted back. Except she didn't know what he meant, like half the girls in Fort Smith, she was illiterate.

'Can't you feel it in the air? There's something bad heading this way, carried by this wind... relentless... unstoppable...,' prophesized Frank, once again, returning to his drink. 'Never underestimate the power of the blue moon.'

'Billy, about that story you was gonna tell...' Lorraine attempted to change the subject but Billy looked troubled.

'He's right about one thing, Lorraine,' he stated uneasily, 'I can feel something bad in my bones... someone's pickin' at 'em.'

'All the more reason you tell us one of your funny stories!' demanded Lorraine, tossing her curls back with a flick that she knew would melt her Billy the Kid. She fixed him with her baby blues and batted her lashes. 'Come on baby... what d'ya say?'

'Alright already,' grumbled Billy. 'You better fix me tequila on the side first hon... Telling stories is thirsty work.'

Lorraine immediately jumped into action; she swept the tequila bottle from its resting place, grabbed for the shot glass and with one swift movement presented it in front of Billy - ready for the story to commence. She was all eyes and pouting.

'Once upon a time in the west...' began Billy, downing the shot in one go and wiping his mouth. 'There was an ongoing feud between myself, an outlaw and her, a law man. Yes you heard right, a woman of the law - not many of them floating about in Arkansas. She was a strong woman, determined, independent... and beautiful.'

Lorraine interjected 'More beautiful than me?'

'Lorraine, honey, you're the prettiest barmaid a man could lay his eyes on but this woman, this woman was drop-dead-gorgeous!'

'Hubba hubba,' breathed Frank from his corner.

Lorraine did not look impressed and busied herself with the washing of glasses whilst he continued with his story. Various men from around the saloon had noticed that Billy had begun one of his epics and thus moved their chairs closer- it was sure to be entertaining. They needed it on a night like this. He had drawn his crowd.

'This feud was more cataclysmic than the 'Going Snake Massacre'- there were more green-eyes involved here than you could shake a stick at. Well, this law woman, I made her itchy, she wanted me outa town and who could blame her? Since I'd arrived, ten men had been shot and five others run straight outa town! I was quite literally leaving my mark. There weren't enough coffins left to take care of all the dead bodies...everyone was terrified of me and I could clear a saloon just by walking in the door,' he paused for dramatic effect. 'More Tequila!' he demanded 'It helps me to exaggerate.'

Lorraine poured him another and set three more up behind the first... she knew his habits well.

'Keep 'em comin'' he demanded and pulled playfully on her hair- just to keep himself in her good books. 'Now, me and her, we had a history! You see, I'd done this to her before... another place, another time, another moon... and it had ended with a duel. She's the only god darn woman I know that has the nerve to face me in a one on one shoot out. I admired her courage. So, I hit her in the leg and she hit me in the shoulder... We never miss. So, work it out for yourself folks... our aims were wide of their targets for a reason.'

'Love,' sighed Frank, suddenly missing his wife.

'She sat there in a pool of her own blood, staring up at me with those amazing blue eyes that could cripple a man with one glance. It was at that moment that I knew our feud would never end... different times, different locations... she'd always find me and we'd do this dance all over again - same tune, different fiddle,' Billy seemed lost in this memory. 'Then, I'll never forget, she took off her hat and her long golden hair just fell down over her shoulders and as I live and breathe, she stole my heart right then and there.'

'Even though she wanted you dead?' asked Lorraine incredulously.

'Even though she wanted me dead,' Billy repeated. 'I couldn't look at her, she was too damned beautiful... I wanted to go right over there, sling her over my shoulder and walk off into the sunset but, she just wasn't that kind of woman. No sir-y Bob - and besides, my shoulder was shattered by her bullet. You want to see the scar?'

His spectators all nodded in unison and Billy undid his shirt much to Lorraine's delight. His body was tanned, muscular and well-built; the hair on his chest travelled down his belly in a neat path that ended at... He pointed to the scar where his collar bone was located. 'There, right there she left her mark.'

They all moved in closer and made an 'Ooooohhh,' sound.

'Yup, read 'em and weep. She wasn't just any law woman – she, was commonly known as the 'assassin' and had alternative work as a Pinkerton detective. I'd messed with the wrong law woman. From this day folks, not a minute goes by when I'm not watching my back, looking up every time those swing doors open and I'm constantly updating my will... Yet there's another part of me that wants to see her, look into those eyes, to face my advisory and be done, once and for all, with all of this fighting... just take her in my arms and kiss her to death!' He sighed at his dilemma and chuckled to himself. 'But it ain't gonna happen...' he sighed.

'She'd kill you first chance she got,' said Lorraine, an angry tone behind the words that spoilt her smile.

Billy ignored Lorraine's interruption and sighed once again 'No sir, not in a blue moon...'

Frank looked up instantly when he heard these words 'What did you say?'

Billy hooked his copy of the scrip out from his back pocket '...Yet there's another part of me that wants to see her... hey, you on the blue copy of the script, or the green?'

'No, further along than that...' Frank sounded impatient. 'Did you say Blue Moon?'

Billy scoured through his copy. 'Yup, says it right here: No sir, not in a Blue Moon...'

Frank shivered. 'That's it. When you repeated those words I shivered in response again.'

'Good, coz that's what it says in the direction,' Billy sighed, throwing his script down on the bar and drinking another shot.

The room darkened, the eerie sound of the wind picked up and a dead silence fell over the occupants of the saloon. Everyone looked at each other, a sense of dread hovered invasively over them, in between them and underneath them. Something was happening in 'The Last Chance Saloon' and it had everything to do with that over-powering blue moon.

It was then that the saloon doors burst open and swung, to and thro; revealing a woman dressed in the traditional clothes of a cowboy, complete with Stetson and low slung weapons.

Lorraine shrieked in fear, ducking behind the bar; the other men all reached for their guns instinctively...but Billy knew - it was him she had come for; the one time he had not been watching his back...

'Billy Brogan,' she stated, holding her guns in line with his face.

'Clementine Stoudenmire? As I live and breathe.'

'Not for long, bucko!' she rasped and cocked both pistols in one smooth movement.

The two of them squared each other off, one waiting for the other to make their move. Nobody dared breathe.

'Hey sharp shooter,' Billy whispered, 'learned any new tricks since I saw you last?'

Frank, taking his cue, threw a coin into the air and the two of them shot at it with cunning precision - demonstrating how deadly accurate they could be. The whole moonlit room gasped as one.

'Know any more?' he was playing with her, he couldn't help it; she brought out the best and the worst in him.

She reloaded and aimed her gun, although her face displayed the fact that this wasn't going to be a deadly shot, just a display of her prowess. The bullet grazed past Billy, removing the buckle of his belt so that his pants fell down around his ankles.

'Neat shot, I must try that one on you sometime gorgeous,' he toyed. It was no good trying to pull them up without a belt so he side-stepped out of them instead, shamelessly standing there in his boxers.

'Love hearts?' inquired Frank. 'I had you down as a cowboys and Indians print man myself.'

He stylistically twirled his weapons in order to make the statement that she had failed in humiliating him and threw her a side-ways cocky grin. She flushed in response.

'Where you been hidin' all this time, doll face?' he mused.

'I've been searching for you, Billy - unfinished business.'

'...and what pray, tell, is this unfinished business?' Billy's eyes flared.

'You know,' she replied, constantly keeping him in range of her gun. The two paced around each other, keeping equidistant at all times. The air crackled in response.

'Do I?'

'Yes, you do.'

'No, I don't.'

'Yes, you do.'

'No, I don't.'

'Yes...' she began.

'No, he doesn't!' shouted everyone in the saloon.

This distraction was all he needed to shoot one of the guns straight out of her hand.

'Quick,' she admired,- eyes widening, 'but you should have gone for both. Now, I'll have to kill you.'

'Not before I kill you,' Billy repeated.

'You wanna go back to back?' she asked.

'Generally I'm a front to front man, 'Billy cajoled, 'but I'm also open to new ideas.'

'Three paces? First one to shoot?' Her voice was devoid of nerves.

'Okay, lady.' A stark reply.

This was it: 'The Shoot-Out at The Last Chance Saloon' – it was either Billy's last duel, or else he might live to tell the tale in another saloon far, far away from here.

'I'll count you in!' frank enthused,- he didn't get out much.

3-2-1...

Lorraine popped her head up from behind the saloon bar; the allure of a gunfight was too much for her.

When the triggers were finally released, they went off simultaneously...,the double noise emission was deafening...,and time stood still...,ears were ringing...,smoke clouded judgement... and poor Lorraine lay slumped over her own bar. Curiosity killed the cat.

'Lorraine's dead!' came a cry from one of the other cowboys. Some of them gathered around her, checked her pulse and nodded. It was too late for her. She was the victim of Billy and Clementine's love,- there wasn't room for three in this scenario.

Billy and Clementine had missed their targets once again. They stared at each other,- eyes locked, smoke emanating from their freshly used weapons. Only this time, Billy threw his pistol to the floor and strode fearlessly up to her. She was taken aback by this forward movement and raised her gun again to defend herself. However, Billy gently placed his hand on the gun, releasing it from her grip. He flung the weapon to the ground to meet the other in a deadly meeting of metal on metal.

The crowd watched, in awe. Poor Lorraine was forgotten.

Billy pushed her hat away from her head, and once again, the golden hair, ran like a river down her back. He took a minute to stare at her in silence, before combing his hand through the beautiful blonde locks, grasping her head between his two hands and pulling her towards him. That's when he kissed her, it was a long, hard kiss full of passion and she responded in equal measure.

The crowd cheered.

He pulled away for a fraction of a second '...you see what happens when we stop fighting?'

'Kiss me again,' she demanded and pulled him roughly towards her. 'I don't remember giving you permission to stop!'

'You betcha,' he gasped.

'Kiss me, kiss me...' she whispered...

---

'Maddie I would but we got company,' David laughed, now holding her hand on the hospital bed. A nurse was putting the finishing touches to the dressing on the side of her forehead. She smiled to herself as she busied with the tape, she'd certainly heard a few things when patients came to from their concussions. It was usually revealing.

'David? Where am I?'

'You're in the hospital, honey,' he reassured her. 'It's okay, I'm with you, have been since you took a hit on the side of your head courtesy of Mr. Wright... I told him he was too unoriginal but he managed to hit the jackpot by knocking you out for a second time this season!'

'The chase?' It all started to flood back into her memory. 'What happened?'

'Mr. Wright and Miss Robinson got their just desserts,' he smiled. 'Don't worry about them. How are you feeling? You took a pretty hard whack to the head.'

'A little woozy,' she sighed.

'What were you dreaming about?' he inquired in a soft tone. 'You certainly kept me and the sister here entertained.'

Maddie went deep crimson. 'Nothing...' she spluttered.

'Funny,' replied David, 'to me it sounded like you were somewhere in the Wild West! I can't believe you did a dream sequence without me! I Wondered what was going on in that honey blonde noggin' of yours.' He brushed her cheek with his hand, showing deep concern for her. This confused them both in equal measure.

---

David parked the BMW in her long driveway and turned off the ignition. He sat there, soaking up silence for just a moment. He had not been expecting a second visit to her house so closely on the heels of that fated night - funny how kismet had a way of dealing the most unexpected of hands. In Craps there's no in-between – you're on a winning streak or you're folding from the depths of the gutter.

'How's the patient?' he asked, in a much softer tone than on his last visit.

'Sore,' Maddie replied, with an equal softness. 'Tired.'

'Sure,' he empathised. He couldn't see her properly in this light.

'Sure,' she repeated. 'It feels like we just had one helluva long and bumpy ride tonight.'

'That's because it was, long, very long - longerest - felt like we were on the dodgem cars and somebody forgot to stop the ride,' he mumbled, fighting the desire to yawn.

'You wanna take the car tonight?' Maddie asked, aware that they had had to leave David's at Blue Moon. 'You're tired and you probably need some sleep.'

'Uh uh,' he shook his head. 'You need watching tonight – doctor's orders!'

Maddie was uncharacteristically quiet when David drove her home; her head leaned back on the head rest, eyes closed. Her cheeks were pale, and she was obviously exhausted and under the influence of the pain pills the doctors had insisted she take. Every three minutes during that car ride to Maddie's house, David asked: 'Maddie, you okay?'

'Bad weeds grow tall,' she replied in a feeble attempt to sound like her old self. She tried very hard to look normal, but she just couldn't keep her eyes open. He knew how hard it was for her to depend on anybody's help, so he understood just how uncomfortable she must feel depending on him now. For a short moment though, in the hospital, when she had been waking up, she had seemed to accept him at her side; she had acted like it was the most natural thing to have him around, like she was glad he was there- she wanted him there. And that's how it should be.

He didn't know what weird kind of dream she had been having under the influence of the painkillers and sedatives, but something in her voice when she – only half conscious – had pleaded to be kissed, had told him that her dream, her fantasy, hadn't been completely detached from reality but had been somehow related to them, to him. Maybe it was irrational, but he had the unmistakable feeling that, code-wise or not, her desperate, yet passionate plead to be kissed had been addressed to him. Despite what she had thrown in his face on that parking lot, despite her affected indifference, he was sure that she still cared. He had experienced utter shock when he had seen her lights go out, after she had been hit on the head. Those were painful, horrible moments until that ambulance finally arrived and the paramedics told him everything was going to be okay. Those seconds seemed like hours, his heart, his whole being, had been in the merciless grip of the icy hand of fear, and it certainly had felt familiar to him. And it had certainly shown him that he still cared. And how could you ever believe anything else?

He looked at her again. Her eyes were still closed, and he dared to raise his hand to touch her cheek; her skin was cool. 'Hey, bad weed,' he said softly, 'we're almost home. Wake up.'

With some effort, Maddie opened her eyes and looked at him. There was her defensive attitude again, like a drape being pulled back. She was feeling uncomfortable. 'Thank you,' she said stiffly, 'I...'

'Don't offend me,' David replied, more curtly then he had intended to, 'where do you think I see my place when my partner is in need of help?'

She didn't answer, and as they had arrived at her house, he parked the car and turned the engine off. She wanted to get out of the car by herself, but she was afraid her feet wouldn't carry her, so she allowed him to open the passenger's door for her and to help her out. Reluctantly, she took the arm he offered her, and they slowly walked to her front door in close silence.

'The keys,' she remembered suddenly, 'I don't...'

'I have them,' he interrupted, took them out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Maddie was watching his profile for a moment, and for the first time since all this had started, she allowed herself to feel the pain of the loss. Oh Blondie, her inner voice sighed, you are not calm, and you are not in control. And you are certainly not over David Addison. How could you ever believe anything else? The urge to raise her hand and run her fingers along his jaw line, and to touch his ruffled hair was almost unbearable, but even if she had dared to give in to it, she would have lacked the sheer physical strength to do it. She felt her head spin and grabbed David's arm.

'Hey, whoa!' he exclaimed. He had just opened the front door and caught her around the waist right when she started to stumble.

'I'm okay,' she understated and tried to wriggle free from his grip.

'Yeah, I can see that,' he replied angrily and slammed the front door shut behind them, not letting go of her waist.

'David, would you please...' she tried to snap, but even her voice was weak, and she hated that.

'Just shut your trap, Maddie!' David lifted her unceremoniously in his arms, ignoring her protests. 'Believe it or not, Blondie, it won't kill you to accept help, to let someone take care of you, even if it's me.' He carried her through the lobby and climbed the spiral staircase.

Maddie wanted to yell at him, but her voice was croaky, and her head was throbbing with pain. She was literally seeing stars and closed her eyes. She was so tired. Reluctantly, involuntarily, she sighed and let her head sink against his shoulder. She could feel the effect of the pain pills again, and she hated it; they were misting her brain. She wasn't sure what had happened in the hospital, and she could only dimly recall that strange dream. She remembered only that it had left her with a strong longing for peace of mind, for happiness and the absurd sensation that this was something she could only find and hold on to in David's arms. Also, she didn't know where the words, which were ringing in her aching head, came from: You see what happens when we stop fighting?

'Here we are,' David's voice jolted her from her thoughts, although he was speaking very softly, and she realized they were already in her bedroom. He walked over to the bed and laid her carefully down. Before he pulled the blankets over her, he took off her sneakers and made sure her head was rested comfortably on the pillow.

'There you go.' His voice was very soft and soothing, and it shot right to the center of her being. This was his voice again, not that cold and angry one she had heard on the parking lot at 'Cicada's', it was the voice she had heard many, many times before, in sweet, in intimate, even in sad and heartbreaking moments. It was the voice she had fallen in love with. To hear it now made her want to cry.

He sat down on the edge of her bed and touched her forehead gently with his fingertips. 'Now you sleep, Blondie,' he murmured, smoothing her hair out of her face, 'and tomorrow it will be better. I promise.'

'David...' she managed, not even sure what she wanted to say.

'No backtalk,' he interrupted. 'Close your eyes. I will be right here beside you, do you hear me? Don't worry. I'm here.'

Within only a few minutes, her eyes closed, and she drifted away, trying to hold on to the sound of David's voice. You see what happens when we stop fighting? I'm here... don't worry... right here beside you... tomorrow it will be better... tomorrow...

He sighed when he realized that she had finally fallen asleep. 'Blondie, Blondie, Blondie...' he murmured, not taking his eyes off her. 'What am I gonna do with you?' He stroked her hair one last time, bent down to kiss her gently on the cheek and rose from the bed. Then he took his place in the armchair, folded his arms and finally allowed his eyes to close.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Songs:

'My Defences are Down' by Irving Berlin – from 'Annie Get Your Gun'

'I got Lost in his Arms' by Irving Berlin – from 'Annie Get Your Gun'

'Similar features' by Melissa Etheridge

'You don't know me' by Ray Charles