Forget Me Not

by TheAmateurOne

A wicked storm is brewing over Sparta and Bubba gets more than he bargained for when a young woman with amnesia blows into his path. When three out of town detectives show up to transport the woman back to her hometown, it doesn't take long to figure out that all is not what it seems to be, and trouble soon rears it's ugly head.

I do not own, or lay claim to, any of the characters from the show 'In the Heat of the Night.' However, I have borrowed the show's characters, to accompany a few of my own created characters, in order to attempt my hand a bit of fan-fiction. If there are any readers in this realm, I hope that you enjoy this story, and if you feel froggy, take the time to leave a review. Thank you for your readership. ~ The Amateur~

Forget Me Not

© 2014

Of all places to have a blowout, Bubba Skinner thought, as he stood up from the kneeling position that he had just been in. Only moments before he'd maneuvered his police cruiser over to the side of the rode after the right front tire had blown out. He looked in either direction for some sign of an oncoming vehicle that might offer some assistance. Moonshine Road, normally one of the most travelled country roads of Sparta, Mississippi, appeared all but deserted, which seemed odd for this time of the day. Most days the air stood stagnant and still for only a short time before being angrily stirred about by any number of reckless 'good old boys' looking for an afternoon joyriding thrill, but not today; today there was storm brewing, in more ways than one, but Officer Skinner wasn't privy to that knowledge just yet. As far as he knew, the only storm raging over the horizon was the one that threatened to cut loose a gully-washer that promised to raise the creek bed by an inch or two.

Bubba opened the front passenger door and reached and grabbed the cruiser radio mic, "Parker, you there? This is Bubba."

Officer Parker Williams came back, "Yeah Bubba, I'm here, go ahead."

"Parker, can you send Sweet or Jamison up check on those teenagers at Miller's pond. I got me a flat tire out here on Moonshine Road and there's a heck of a storm brewing up out here. Somebody's gotta get to those kids and tell them to get to some shelter before it hits."

"We'll do Bubba. Say, do you want me to call you a tow truck?"

Bubba smiled, "No, Parker, I don't need a tow truck; I just need to get this flat changed before it starts storming out here."

"Okay; over and out, then."

As the first raindrops began to fall, Bubba quickly tossed the mic back inside and closed the door before rounding the cruiser and opening the trunk. He removed the jack and the spare tire, and then set to work removing the damaged tire and replacing it with the spare. By time he had finished, the rain was coming down in blowing sheets, soaking everything in its' path, including Bubba.

Finished with the task, Bubba threw the jack and the damaged tire into the trunk, closed it and then hurried around to get in behind the wheel. He glanced at himself in the mirror, noting that he looked like a drowned rat. The cold, wet uniform clung to his muscular build, making it seem more like a second skin than it normally did. He started the car, put it in gear and drove onto the roadway.

The radio crackled to life, Parker's voice coming across, "Headquarters to Bubba? You there?"

Bubba grabbed the mic, "Go ahead, Parker."

"Just wanted to let you know that Jamison and Sweet both went up and chased the kids away from Miller's Pond. It's raining cats and dogs up there."

"Okay, Parker; thanks."

"You sure you don't need a tow truck?" Parker asked.

"I'm sure; I got it changed and now I am on my way to the station so I can change into a dry uniform."

"Get wet, did ya?" Bubba could hear the amusement in Parker's voice and it irritated him ever so slightly.

"You could say that, Parker. Over and out."

Visibility was poor due to the driving rain and as Bubba rounded the bend in the road he slammed on his brakes when he nearly ran into a dark haired girl slowly trudging through the pouring rain.

The girl turned, a surprised and shocked look on her face. As recognition set in, she hurried to the passenger side of the cruiser and quickly opened the door to climb in while exclaiming, "Oh my gosh! I am so glad that you happened along, but you didn't have to try and run me down!"

Bubba found himself to be slightly amused, "Yeah, I'll just bet you are; and just for the record, I did not try to run you down. Didn't anybody ever teach you not to walk in the middle of the road? Or at least to walk facing oncoming traffic so you can see what's coming at you?"

The young lady ignored his verbal jabs and took in his drenched appearance, which mirrored her own. She quipped, "Does the car roof leak?"

Bubba let out a burst of laughter, "Not hardly; I had a flat tire and got caught in the rain while fixing it."

The woman smiled, "Oh; well thanks for stopping."

"Well now, I don't think I had a choice, seeing as how you were walking in the middle of the road and if I hadn't of stopped, I would have run over ya."

"Well thanks for not doing that; I imagine it would have totally ruined my day."

Bubba laughed again. "I imagine it would have." The woman was eyeballing him, almost as if he were someone she recognized, yet he had no idea who she was. "My name's Sgt. Skinner; Bubba Skinner. Who might you be, and what are you doing out wandering down Moonshine Road in a thunderstorm?"

"It's nice to meet you Sgt. Skinner, I'm…" Her voice trailed off slightly. "I'm…I'm…well, to be honest, I'm not sure who I am."

"Excuse me?" Bubba was sure that he hadn't heard right.

"I don't know who I am."

"Now how can you not know who you are?"

"I just don't know." The little brunette insisted.

"Miss, are you in some kind of trouble? Are you running from somebody or something?"

"I don't know…" The young woman re-iterated, suddenly feeling alone and vulnerable. Who am I; where am I? And more importantly, why can't I remember who I am? The young woman rubbed her forehead, and gave Bubba a blank stare.

Bubba immediately recognized that the young woman was not faking the amnesia. The look in her eyes told him that she really did not remember who she was. "Well do you have any kind of identification on you?" By this time, he had pulled over to the edge of the road and brought the cruiser to a stop.

The woman checked all of the pockets in her jeans, coming up empty-handed. "No…"

Bubba picked up the mic, "Sgt. Skinner to Headquarters; come in Parker, I know you're there."

"I'm here, Bubba, d'ya need that tow truck after all?"

"No Parker, I don't need a tow truck. Now listen Parker, I picked up a young woman on the roadside, up here on Moonshine Road; she don't have any identification and she can't remember who she is. Do we have any reports of missing females in the area?"

"None that I know of. I'll get ahold of Detective Tibbs and have him meet you here."

"Ten-four; be there shortly." Bubba glanced at his passenger again, "Don't worry, Miss, we'll find out who you are and where you belong soon enough."

The woman nodded silently and sat staring out through the window as Bubba drove to the police station.

Bubba pulled the police car into the parking space in front of the police station. Exiting the vehicle, he rounded to the passenger side and opened the door for woman. "Right this way, Miss. Now don't you worry none, we're gonna find out who you are and who's missing you." He smiled, hoping to re assure the woman.

She smiled slightly and nodded a quiet, "Thank you."

As they entered the police station headquarters, all activity came to a stop when the officers milling around took in the haphazard and drenched appearance of the pair. Chief Bill Gillespie was just coming out of his office, "Is that Bubba? Have him get on in here and bring that woman with him." He too, stopped short and raised his eyebrows in question, upon seeing the pair. "Bubba, I'm not even gonna ask why the two of you look like you walked here in this storm."

"Uh, Chief, I had a flat tire and had to change it in the rain."

"And you made the young lady help, is that it?"

"Uh, no Sir, she was already out walking in the rain when I found her."

Chief Gillespie put up his hand, "Yes, yes, I know that already. Just get on in here."

Bubba and the girl followed the chief into his office.

"Now then, have a seat there, little lady." Gillespie motioned to the woman to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his desk as he held Bubba back and spoke quietly with him for a moment.

"Thank you." She muttered, eyes shooting toward Bubba.

Gillespie could see that she had formed a quick taking to Bubba and, figuring it would put the girl at ease, told Bubba to pull up that chair and sit down beside her.

"Can't I at least change into a dry uniform, first, Chief?"

"Why? You think you're gonna melt like a cube of sugar or something?"

"Well…" Bubba began, but abruptly closed his mouth and sat down next to the girl, giving the chief a slight smirk.

"Now Miss," began the chief, "Sgt. Skinner here, tells me you don't know your own name. Now how can that be? After all, everybody's got a name."

"I'm sure I do, sir…but I don't know what it is; I told Sgt. Skinner that, already."

"Well, what can you tell us about yourself?"

"Nothing; I don't know anything about myself. I can't remember much of anything before Office Skinner nearly ran me down and then gave me a ride into town."

Abruptly, Bubba sat forward in his chair and turned toward the woman, "Now just a second there, young lady, I did not try to run you down; you was in the middle of the road when I rounded the bend."

"Now Bubba, just let the lady talk, will ya?"

Bubba sat back quietly in his chair.

"Go on, Miss. Tell us what you remember before Bubba came upon you."

"Well…" she hesitantly began, "the last thing I remember is climbing up a steep incline, not too far from where Sgt. Skinner found me. I must have been knocked out or passed out because I remember waking up and being down in the gully. I remember opening my eyes and seeing the storm clouds above me. I sat up and figured I had better climb up to the road and try to find help, so I did. When I got to the top of the embankment, I saw there was a road so I started walking. I figured there had to be a town or house or something, somewhere, so I just kept on walking."

"And then what?" Gillespie inquired.

"And then your officer came around the bend and tried to run me over."

Bubba stood up to his full height of six foot three and glared down at the girl. "For the last time, I did NOT try to run you down!"

"Bubba! Sit down!" Gillespie ordered. He then looked at the girl, pointed his finger and said, "And you little missy, you just quit goadin' Sgt. Skinner on about trying to run you down. He did no such thing of the sort and you know it."

"Yeah, I know; he just looks like he's easy to agitate." She said with a slight laugh, unsure why she found the situation humorous despite the fact that she had lost the last however many years of her life memories and had no clue as to her own identity.

Gillespie smiled in spite of himself as he watched his 'tough as nails' officer glare at the young woman. "I'll give her this, Bubba, she's a spunky one."

"Humph; I don't know if I'd call it 'spunky', Chief; more like sassy and cantankerous if you ask me."

At that moment, Virgil Tibbs, Sparta P.D.'s Chief of Detectives walked in, "Sorry I couldn't get here sooner, I had to do a little detouring. Some of the storm drains must be clogged; a couple of the streets are flooded and I had to go around."

"Miss, this here is Detective Virgil Tibbs. If anyone can find out who you are, he can." Chief Gillespie said with confidence. He knew that his detective would move a mountain to find out this girls' identity.

Virgil reached out and shook the girls' hand, "Miss. I'm going to do my best to help you. Is it alright if I ask you a few questions."

"Hello Detective Tibbs. Yes, you can ask, but I don't really know what I can tell you; I don't remember anything."

"That's okay, you might be surprised at what you remember. We'll just take it slow.

The girl nodded and Virgil continued, "So, just take your time and tell me what you remember? Anything at all."

"And don't be telling him that I tried to run you down, neither!" Bubba interjected, causing the chief to smile and Virgil to raise his eyebrows in question.

"Come on Bubba, let's go out of here and let Virgil and the young lady get down to business." Gillespie and Skinner left the office and walked out into the common area, where talk focused around how Bubba happened upon the girl. He was soon heard defending himself with 'For the last time, I did not, at any time, try to run her down! She was walking in the middle of the road when I found her!' He then mumbled under his breath, 'Maybe I should've run her down, seeing as how y'all believe that's what I was tryin' to do anyway!' He heard a wake of low key chuckling as he headed toward the locker room so he could change into a dry uniform.

Virgil had been questioning the young woman for about twenty minutes. He was nearly a hundred percent certain that her claim of amnesia was indeed for real. She seemed to have no recollection of anything in her life, prior to waking up in the gully and climbing her way out as the rain began to fall.

Looking up, he could see several curious faces in the outer office, as well as one very concerned face, and that was the face of Bubba Skinner. "I'll have Parker take a set of fingerprints and we'll run them through the national database and see if we get a hit; if you've ever had a run in with the authorities, chances are you'll be in the system."

"So in other words, kudos to me if I have a criminal record?"

Virgil laughed, "No, that's not what I meant at all. I just think we need to exhaust all of our resources before we decide that your name should be Jane Doe. Now, c'mon, let's go put that group out there out of their misery. They are just as anxious as you are to find out who you are and where you are from."

Virgil escorted the woman out of the office and delivered her into the capable custody of Parker while he stepped aside to speak to the chief. After a brief conversation, the chief approached her.

"Well young lady, there's not much more we can go over right now. Detective Tibbs here tells me that you really don't remember much of anything at all, so we are kind of stuck in the mud, so to speak, until we find out who you are, either by way of you remembering, or we end up getting some type of missing person report on you." He paused to let the words sink in before continuing. "Now, you don't appear to be physically hurt, but to be on the safe side, I'm going to have Officer Skinner take you over to the clinic and have you checked over."

"And then what? Do I have stay here…in jail?"

"Nah, we aren't gonna throw you in jail. I'm gonna send you home with Bubba for the night. He'll make sure that you're fed and have a warm, dry place to sleep tonight. I'd send you home with Virgil, seeing's as how he has a wife and all, but his missus is out of town so that's not gonna be an option."

Sweet walked up to the girl and the Chief, "Excuse me, Chief; I have these extra sweatpants and t-shirt from my locker; I thought maybe the young lady would like to change into some dry clothes. They might be a tad long in the legs, but at least they're dry."

"Oh, yes, Sweet, that's a good idea." He looked at the young lady, "You go on and Sweet here will show you where you can change. After all we can't have you catching your death of a cold now, can we?"

She smiled and took the offered clothing, "Thank you, Officer Sweet; that's very kind of you."

"It's my pleasure, Miss. C'mon, I'll show you where the ladies' locker room is; you can change in there."

She nodded and followed Sweet to the locker rooms as Bubba approached the chief. "S'cuse me, Chief? Did I just hear you say that I have to take her home with me?"

"Yes, Bubba, you heard right."

"Well now hold on there a minute Chief. If you don't mind my saying so, I don't think that's such a good idea."

Gillespie's eyebrows rose in question, "And just why isn't it?"

"'Cause Chief, I'm a bachelor and if I take her home with me, folks are liable to start talking. And you know how gossip flies in this town."

"Oh Bubba, ain't nobody gonna say nothin' about you bringing that girl home with you. You live out in the country for heaven's sake; who's gonna see ya? The raccoons and possums?"

Bubba knew he'd be arguing all night with the chief over this so he finally decided that having the girl spend one night at his house probably wouldn't cause too much of fuss.

"What do you want me to do with her when I come back into work tomorrow? I can't just leave her out there in the middle of nowhere."

"Just bring her in with you. We'll put her to work filing or straightening drawers or something."

Bubba frowned and said, "Whatever you think is best, Chief." He turned, saw that the young woman had changed into the dry clothing and had come back into the office area. He walked toward the young lady and said, "Well c'mon; you heard the chief, let's get along to the clinic and then I'll take you to my place."

Without question, the young woman followed Bubba out to his police cruiser and once again got into the passenger seat.

Doctor Robb exited the exam room at the clinic. Bubba, who'd been leaning against the wall outside of the room, pushed himself away from the wall and addressed the doctor. "Well Doc?"

The doctor sighed, "Well, from what I can see, other than the bump up by her temple, which probably caused the amnesia, she doesn't appear to be injured. My nurse did an exam and it doesn't appear that the young lady has been assaulted or abused in any way. Could be she just wrecked her car somewhere, hit her head and passed out and when she came to, started walking."

"Yeah, could be, Doc. Thing is, we had a couple of guys check up and down the road where I picked her up and they didn't find any evidence of an accident. No car, no busted guardrails or trampled brush; nothing."

"Hmmm, that is odd. I wish I could offer more answers, but I can't. The bump doesn't even appear to have caused a concussion from what I could tell with my exam."

"So do you think she'll regain her memory soon, Doc?"

"Well, the mind is funny thing, Bubba. Just because she doesn't have a concussion or other physical signs of trauma, doesn't necessarily mean that her condition is temporary. She might regain her memory soon…or later; maybe even not at all. I just don't know." The doctor paused, letting his words soak in. "Just keep an eye on her and with any luck she'll start to regain her memory soon enough."

"Okay, Doc. Thanks." Bubba shook the doctor's hand and nodded to the young woman as she came out of the exam room. "All set?" he asked her.

"Yep." The woman's voice was low and she sounded dejected.

Bubba reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey now, don't you worry, you'll get your memory back soon enough."

"Yeah…I guess. That's what the doctor said too…not to worry. Easier said than done, though."

"Yeah, I imagine it is. C'mon, let's get back to the station; it's time to go home."

They drove back to the police station and Bubba filled the chief in on the doctor's findings. He then clocked out and the two went out and climbed into his pickup truck. After settling in, Bubba asked, "What would you like for dinner tonight?"

The woman shrugged, "I don't care."

"Well, what do you like? Chicken? Pizza? I'm not much of a cook so I thought we'd just pick up something on the way to my place. So…what'll it be; your choice."

"It's kind of hard to choose when I don't even know what I like." The woman answered.

"Oh yeah…I forgot." Bubba said.

The girl laughed slightly, "Hmph…must be in the air."

Bubba laughed lightly, "Yeah…must be."

The pair decided in favor of picking up a pizza and some potato chips for dinner and then headed on out to Bubba's cabin in the woods, near the edge of town. As they drove down the lane to Bubba's place, the girl commented, "Wow, this is a nice place you have back here; nice and secluded, no people; and on a policeman's salary. Go figure."

Bubba turned a curious glance her way, "Thank you...I think." He studied her a moment longer and then asked, "What made you comment about the policeman's salary?"

She looked at him, "I don't know; it just came out. Sorry if I offended you; I really don't think I meant anything by it."

Bubba smiled, "Think nothin' of it. Now, c'mon, let's get inside and eat dinner before this pizza gets cold, 'cause I'm starved!"

An hour later, both Bubba and the young lady sat down together at opposite ends of the sofa. The young lady let out a contented sigh and moaned. "Oh heavens, I can't believe I was that hungry. You must think I am a piglet!"

Bubba had eaten his fair share of pizza as well. He let out a full belly laugh, "Nah, Little One, I don't think you're a piglet at all. Heck I ate just as much pizza as you did."

The girl laughed, "Uhm, yeah, but you're twice my size…or more…in case you haven't noticed."

Bubba threw back his head and laughed again, "Oh yeah, I noticed."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Bubba looked over and asked, "So, uhm, you don't remember anything at all? Nothing's coming back to ya?"

The woman shook her head, "Nope. The only thing I remember is waking up and making my way up to the road and then you came along. It's like I never even existed before that. It's really weird; kind of unnerving, actually…and scary."

Bubba reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Well, try not to fret about it. You heard what Doc said, it could take some time to come back to you. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay here. You can come to the station with me when I go to work if you want to, until you feel a little more comfortable being alone out here."

She nodded, "Okay."

Bubba could see the look of concern etched in her features and thought a walk in the woods and down by the water might help take her mind off of her plight. "How about it, do you feel up to taking a walk? I don't know about you, but I think I might feel better if I walked off some of that pizza."

"Sounds good to me." Both of them rose and walked to the door and headed out for a walk in the mild evening air. Despite the earlier rain, the path they took wasn't overly wet thanks to the overhang of trees.

The sound of a distant, continuously annoying beep roused the young woman from a sound sleep. She had been dreaming about being in a police station, surrounded by police officers; some were asking questions, others were doing paperwork. In the dream, she was sitting alone, on one side of the room, performing some unknown task. She remembered nothing else from the dream as she opened her eyes and focused on her strange surroundings. After a moment or two, she remembered when she was and sat up on the sofa, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Bubba walked quietly into the living room, and seeing the young woman awake, he said, "Hey…uhm, good morning. I'm sorry if the alarm clock woke you up. I got up before it went off and I guess I forgot to shut it off."

"G'morning. No worries…I could barely hear the alarm." She smiled slightly.

Bubba had to laugh at her 'morning hair', sticking straight out from all angles of her head, giving her a 'spiked hair' appearance. He surmised that she must have tossed and turned pretty good to have her hair in such a disarray. Coupled with the morning hair, she looked rather comical as she stood up and stretched, Bubba's oversized t-shirt hanging just short of her knees, coupled with a pair of his huge socks that were pulled clear up to the knees. Bubba had to cover his mouth for moment to hide his amusement. "Uhm, did you sleep okay? I know that old couch can't be that comfortable and I apologize."

"Oh no, it was fine. I must have slept pretty good 'cause I was in the middle of a dream when I woke up." She paused for a moment. "It was kind of weird…I dreamt I was in a police department, and there were a bunch of officers there, and I was sitting at a desk and doing some kind of paperwork. Weird, huh?"

Bubba smiled, "You probably dreamt that because of being down at the station yesterday."

"Yeah, probably."

"So, what do say you go ahead and use the shower first while I whip us up some breakfast; how does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll try not to use all of the hot water."

"Yeah, well, if you do, it's not a big deal. I don't have to work until this afternoon."

"Oh, okay."

A short time later, the young woman emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and hair neatly groomed. She had donned her clothing that she had on the previous day. Bubba cast a glance her way and commented, "Now, uhm, don't take this the wrong way, but after breakfast, we're gonna head out to the shopping plaza and pick up a few outfits for you; the one you have on looks like it could use a break…and a good washing. Besides, I don't think you want to run around in Sweets' sweatpants and t-shirt all day."

The young woman had a stricken look on her face and was about to speak when Bubba held up a hand to stop her. "Now I know what you're gonna say, so just don't argue with me. We have a crime victim fund here in Sparta and these are the kinds of things that we use the money for."

"Okay." The girl flashed Bubba a smile, "Thanks."

Bubba set two plates of steaming flapjacks on the table, "Have a seat and eat up while it's hot."

While they ate breakfast, Bubba made small talk, telling the young woman a little bit about Sparta and the history behind the statue in the town square. Try as she might to hang on to Bubba's words, the young lady found her mind wandering back to the dream that she had awakened from. She couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu that kept nagging at her.

"So, how does that sound to you?" Bubba asked.

Pulled from her reverie, "Huh? Uhm…how does what sound, exactly?" The girl gave Bubba a small, awkward grimace. "My mind was kind of wandering a bit and I didn't catch what you were talking about. I'm' sorry."

"Oh, think nothin' of it; I was just rambling." Bubba stood up and picked up his plate, then reached for hers, "I'm going to clear the table and go get cleaned up and then we'll head out."

The woman stood up and took her plate, then reached for Bubba's, "You'll do no such thing; you cooked, so I'll clear. Go do what you have to do while I spiffy up in here."

Bubba surrendered his plate and held up a hand, "You'll get no argument from me, little missy; doing the dishes just ain't one of my favorite chores."

Three hours later, arms laden down with several bags and boxes, Bubba and the woman walked into the parking lot of the shopping plaza and located Bubba's truck. While Bubba made quick work of placing all of the packages in the back of the truck, the girl was busy looking at her reflection in the window of the car parked next to them. She didn't recognize the face looking back at her and she found herself feeling a little vulnerable again.

Bubba picked up on her solemn mood, "Hey there, why so glum? Shopping is supposed to cheer up people of the female persuasion."

"Mmm, I dunno; I was just wondering who I am. Where did I come from? Is anyone missing me? I mean, I look at my reflection and I don't even have a flicker of an idea who belongs to the face staring back at me! It's just so…so weird."

Bubba reached out and put a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "Now don't you worry, it will all come back to you eventually. And Virgil is working hard on trying to figure out all of the puzzle pieces. It's just a matter of time until it all comes together for you."

"But what do I do in the meantime? I can't hardly go on sponging off you and the town of Sparta, Mississippi, now can I?"

"Well, all in due time you can decide what you want to do if your memory doesn't return. Besides, it might take a bit of time to figure out who you are and where you came from."

"And in the meantime?" She asked again; concern etched on her face.

Bubba opened the door to the truck and offered her a hand as she stepped up on the running board to climb in. "In the meantime, you're just gonna have to settle back and enjoy some downhome southern hospitality, ya hear?" Bubba's smile was reassuring.

"Okay, if you say so, I will try."

"Good! Now, let's stop and have lunch and then head back to my place. I need to get ready for work. You wanna come along to the station tonight? If you don't want to stay all evening, I can take you back to my place later on, as long as it isn't too busy."

The prospect of going down to the police station for the evening held way more of a fascination for the woman than she thought it ought to, but she eagerly agreed, somehow knowing that she would relish an evening at police headquarters. "Sounds awesome to me!" She replied with vigor, causing Bubba to give her a curious glance after he'd climbed in behind the steering wheel and started the engine.

"Alright then, let's go eat."

Bubba and the young woman walked up the steps to the police station and pushed through the door. Officer Parker Williams was sitting behind a large metal desk, phone plastered to his ear. He was clearly in the middle of a conversation with someone that had called the police station for some assistance.

"Yes, Ma'am, I understand, your neighbors' dog has been barking for hours. I don't know what you want us to do about it, Ma'am, but we sure will be happy to send someone out to check on it." Officer Williams paused for a moment. "Yes Ma'am, it's in the back yard; I got that. Okay, we'll send someone out." He paused again, looked at Bubba and rolled his eyes, "No Ma'am, I'm sorry, but we won't call you back after we check on the dog." More hesitation. " Yes Ma'am, you can call us back if you'd like; or you can speak with the officer when he gets out to the house." More eye rolling and then a deep sigh, "Okay Ma'am, we'll send someone out as soon as we can. You have a nice afternoon, now, Ma'am." Parker finally hung up the phone.

"Well hey Bubba; hey…uhm…well I don't know really what to call you, Miss, but it's nice to see you again." Parker's smile was welcoming and friendly. The young woman smiled back and mumbled a 'hello.'

"Hey Parker; anything happening that I need to know about?" Bubba inquired, pointing an indicating finger at the phone that Parker had just hung up.

"Nah, not really. That was just old Mrs. Rankin complaining about the neighbor's dog again."

"Hmmm; guess that will be my first stop this afternoon then."

"Yep, other than that, there hasn't been much going on today. It's just you and Jamison tonight, but the Chief and Detective Tibbs can both come in if you need them."

"What time are you out of here?" Bubba asked Parker.

"I'm leaving at eight o'clock sharp, tonight." Parker smiled at the young lady and quickly added, "But I can stay longer, if you need me to."

Bubba saw the smile on Parker's face when he had looked at the young lady, and said, "I don't think that will be necessary, Parker. But thanks, just the same."

"Hey Bubba; Hey Parker." Jamison said as he walked into the office. He nodded at the young woman, "Miss."

"Hey Lonnie." From Parker.

"Hey Jamison." From Bubba.

"Hello, Officer." From the woman.

Jamison directed his next words to Bubba. "So, I guess it's just you and I after Parker leaves tonight; do you want the inside and I'll go out, or do you want to split it?"

"Yeah, I'll come in when Parker leaves."

The young woman spoke up and asked enthusiastically, "So, what do I get to do? Ride along, maybe?" Jamison and Parker both glanced at Bubba, who was quick to say, "Well, uhm, no, I don't think the Chief would approve of that."

The woman struck a defensive stance, hands on hips. "And just why not? I don't think I need to know who I am to know that I would need to stay out of the way and not interfere while you are busy."

Bubba looked taken aback, "Well, I know you are smart enough to stay out of the way, but I'm still gonna have to say 'no'; I know that Chief Gillespie won't allow that. Besides, I think Parker here can use some help on filing reports or something." He glanced at Parker, "Ain't that right, Parker."

Parker shrugged and said with a smile, "Nah Bubba, I got all of my filing caught up earlier today."

Seeing the look that Bubba shot him, he quickly added, "But, uhm, I'm sure there must be something else around here that I could use some help on." He looked toward the woman, "So what d'ya say?"

She looked disappointed but could clearly see that she wasn't going to win this argument. "Okay, sure. Lead the way and show me what needs done." She followed Parker over to a desk where he had her sit down and wait while he found something to keep her occupied. Bubba and Lonnie made their way to the locker room to change into their uniform and gear. A short time later, they emerged, changed and ready for duty. Bubba was pleased to see the young woman happily engaged in alphabetizing a stack of index cards and had to smile to himself, as he was pretty sure Parker had alphabetized those cards only a few days prior; he guessed that Parker had probably shuffled them up in order to give the young woman something to do.

"Well, I see Parker found something for you to do." Bubba smiled and indicated the stack of cards in front of the woman.

"Yep, he sure did." She chuckled and glanced across the room where Parker was sitting at another desk, phone up to his ear. "Of course, he doesn't realize that I watched him shuffle 'em up a few times before he gave them to me."

Bubba let go of laugh, "That's our Parker; always finding a way to improvise." He was just about to say something else when Parker spoke up.

"Hey Bubba, Lonnie; we got a bunch of kids over at the park, on the schoolyard side, fighting. Passerby said she thought she saw a couple of the kids holding something shiny, like maybe knives, but she couldn't be sure. She went down the block to call us from a payphone. Sweet's still out so I'll get him headed that way, too."

Both Bubba and Lonnie hurried out of the building as Parker jumped on the radio and dispatched Officer Sweet that way, as well.

From her seat across the room, the young woman could clearly hear everything being said over the radio by the officers responding to the call. She found herself drawn by curiosity and walked over to where Parker was seated. She wanted to ask questions, but the phone rang and Parker picked it up. "Sparta Police Department, Officer Williams, how can I help you?" He paused, "Yes Ma'am, we have officers on the way now."

"Ask her if she sees any weapons." The woman said from behind Parker.

"Yes Ma'am, they are on their…" Parker's voice trailed off as he listened to the woman on the other end of the phone.

"Weapons; ask about weapons." The young woman reiterated from behind Parker, who put up a hand and nodded, as if to say, 'Give me a minute!'

"Okay, Ma'am…" Parker paused, "No Ma'am; no…no, don't do that Ma'am; just stay in the house, the officers will be there shortly and will break up the fight."

"Weapons?" The young woman persisted in Parker's ear.

"Yeah, yeah…I got it; go sit over there." Parker directed to the young woman before turning his attention back to the phone. "Uhm, Ma'am, do you see any…" The phone line went dead and Parker hung it up.

The radio crackled to life with Bubba's voice, "Parker, this is Bubba, I'm on location and Lonnie's right behind me; Sweet, if you can, step it up, we've got a couple a kids with knives. Parker, better call for ambulance, we've got at least one on the ground and several others with visible injuries."

"Got it Bubba." Parker quickly picked up the phone and dialed for an ambulance.

Sweet's voice came over the radio, "Parker, this is Sweet; I'll be out with Bubba and Lonnie."

"Okay, Sweet."

That was the last of the radio transmissions for a few minutes and the deafening silence was more than the young woman could stand and she spoke up. "You should check on them."

"They're fine, it's only been a few minutes." Parker said.

"A lot can happen in a few minutes, though." The woman insisted.

"There's three of them out there; trust me, they're okay."

"Still, wouldn't you feel better if you knew for sure that they are okay?" Demanded the young woman in a commanding voice.

Parker rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh and then pushed the button to talk over the radio, "Bubba, Lonnie, Sweet, is everything okay out there?"

Jamison's voice crackled over the radio, "It's all good, Parker. We've got three in custody and we're taking information on about six others. Stand by for some phone numbers; you're gonna have to call some parents to come and get their kids."

"Will do, Lonnie; just advise."

Parker turned to the young woman, "There…now you can settle down and quit worrying. I told you they were okay." She thought he sounded a bit perturbed with her, but chalked it up to the fact that he probably wished he could have been out there where the action was, rather than stuck inside the station.

While she stood there contemplating that thought, the radio crackled to life again and Officer Sweet's voice came over it, running off the names of two of the juveniles, along with phone numbers for each one. Parker acknowledged and picked up the phone to dial the first number, and was just getting into the explanation for the call when the radio sounded again, this time with Bubba's voice winding out the names and numbers for three more juveniles. Parker put the call on hold, copied the given information and acknowledged Bubba's request, then emitted a loud sigh before going back to the call on hold.

"Can I help?" the woman whispered to Parker, who mouthed the word 'no' and waved her away as he proceeded to speak with the person on the other end. The young woman walked dejectedly over to Bubba's desk and sat down. She wasn't sure why she felt bummed out, but she did; after all, she only wanted to help, and wondered what it could possibly hurt for her to make a few calls to the parents of the wayward juveniles and tell them to meet their offspring at the police station. She let out a sigh and began to wonder why it even bothered her to just sit there and watch Parker at work.

The radio suddenly popped to life once again; this time it was Lonnie, calling out that he was in foot pursuit of three of the juveniles. Parker put his call on hold and turned full attention to the task at hand. The next three minutes seemed to be a mirage of chaos and noise as the officers called out locations and event happenings; the phones began ringing and Parker had to put the callers on hold. Finally the announcement came over the radio that the juveniles were apprehended and had been securely placed into the back of one of the cruisers. Parker muttered something under his breath and then began to work his way through the calls on hold. Finally, last call completed, he turned to the woman and asked, "Do you still want to help?"

"YES!" came the quick and affirming reply. She crossed the room in a few short steps and stood looking at Parker. He handed over a piece of paper with the names of two juveniles, their parents, and the phone numbers for each.

"The Chief probably ain't gonna like me doing this, but I gotta get these kid's parents called so they can get down here quick."

"Just tell me what to say and don't worry about the chief; what he doesn't know isn't going to hurt him." She could barely contain the excitement that seemed to be building within her at the prospect of helping.

"No, but it might come back to hurt me!" Parker muttered under his breath before saying, "Just tell each of these boy's parents that their son is being brought in to the police station and that they need to get down here as quickly as they can. Don't give them any information about the boys running from Lonnie or anything like that. If you have to tell them anything, just tell them that a group of juveniles were causing some problems in the park and that officers are bringing the kids in to the station. You got that okay? Do I need to write it down or anything?"

"Ya, I got it…and no, you don't need to write it down; it doesn't sound like rocket science, you know."

Parker smiled, "No, I guess it ain't rocket science. You can use Bubba's desk."

The woman took the paper and walked over to sit in Bubba's chair once again, promptly picking up the phone and dialing the first number. Parker smiled as he listened to her identify herself as J.J. Doe, office assistant for the Sparta P.D. He was pleased to hear her take charge of the conversation with a sound of authority in her voice. The first parent didn't ask any questions, but the second parent tried to get more information than what she was instructed to give. Parker thought for sure she would put the call on hold and let him take over, but she didn't; she kept repeating the minimal information over and over to the parent, in a monotone voice and after the third repeat, she told the parent that coming to the station was not a negotiable option and that their presence was not only being requested, but that it was required, immediately. She then thanked the parent and terminated the call.

"Nice." Parker commented.

"Thanks." She answered, wryly.

"No, I'm serious; you're a natural." Parker was paying her a sincere compliment.

"If you say so." She commented, flashing Parker a slight smile.

The door of the police station opened and three sour looking teenage boys came traipsing in, running their mouths about how they were arrested without cause and that their parents were going to sue the police department and have all of the officer's badges and jobs. Bubba was close on their heels, barking out orders to 'shut up and keep moving' as he ushered them to a holding cell.

Behind Bubba and his band of delinquents came Lonnie and three more; they were a bit more subdued and didn't seem interested in causing more trouble for themselves than what they were already in. Lonnie led them to a separate holding cell and told them to go in and sit down and stay quiet. They obliged. The woman figured that these were the three that ran and had to be chased.

Sweet and three others filed in a moment later, and like the first group, they were complaining about the police not having anything better to do than hassle kids. "Oh just shut your mouths and get on over here!" Bubba demanded, indicating that they needed to file into the first holding cell with the three that he had brought in.

"Parker did you get ahold of all the parents?" Lonnie asked.

"Yep, we sure did."

"We?" Bubba turned and asked.

"Yep; that's what I said. We…me and her" he pointed to the woman, with a smug smile.

Bubba gave him an incredulous look, "You and her?" He paused, "Parker, why would you let her call these kids' parents? She don't even know these kids and that's something that you should have done; not her."

"Bubba, you're the one that told me to keep her busy and I did. Besides, she did fine."

"Yeah!" came an indigent response from the woman, "I did just fine, Mr. High and Mighty!" She wasn't sure why, but Bubba's attitude toward her ability to make a couple of phone calls just really rubbed her the wrong way.

"Now you just keep that lip to yourself, little missy. I've got these kids to deal with and then I'll deal with you and your busy bodyness. This is official police business and you shouldn't have been involved in it."

"Hmph…no wonder you ain't married." She muttered under her breath.

Bubba took two long strides over to where she was standing and glared down at her in a way that should have made her cower. "What was that, little missy? I don't think I heard you correctly."

"Then buy some cotton swabs and clean your ears, you big oaf! I said, it's no wonder you ain't married; the way you are barking orders and being hard-headed about a few phone calls. Good heavens, it isn't exactly rocket science to call a few parents and tell them to come down to the police station to get their kids, you know."

Bubba glared a moment longer, as the woman glared back. Neither was willing to look away, but both did so at the same moment when the door to the police station opened again. It was the mother of one of the juveniles and she did not have a happy look on her face.

"Who's in charge here?" she demanded. "I want to see the chief right this minute!"

Bubba moved over to stand in front of the woman, "Now Mrs. Phipps, you just calm down there. Little Junior has gotten himself into some trouble tonight, and we have him in a holding cell in the back."

"You people have no right to lock up Little Junior. I demand that you release him right this minute, Bubba Skinner! You hear me boy?"

"Now Mrs. Phipps…" Bubba tried to continue, only to be interrupted once again by the irate mother in front of him.

"Don't you 'Mrs. Phipps' me, Bubba Skinner. You get my boy out here now or I'll have your badge before you can blink three more times!"

Bubba blew out a breath that he was holding and then let out a sigh. He reached out to guide the woman by the elbow. "Ma'am, just come on over here and have a seat for a minute while we get the paperwork taken care of."

"No!" Came her emphatic reply, as she jerked her arm away from Bubba's touch. "I will stand right in this spot until you get my boy out here."

"Now Mrs. Phipps…" Bubba began again, but abruptly stopped when she glared at him and crossed her arms defiantly. He sighed and mumbled under his breath as he turned to walk over to his desk so he could start on the paperwork. He had dealt with Mrs. Phipps on more than one occasion and he knew she was not going to budge from that spot until she had what she came down to the station for; her son.

Bubba sat down at his desk and began the grueling process of paperwork, ever mindful of the daggers being shot at him from the angry eyes of Mrs. Phipps. He could feel the sweat beads popping forth around his hair line and at the back of his neck. The tension in the room was thick and uncomfortable.

The door opened again and in came two men, both were there to retrieve their wayward sons. Shortly following them, came three more sets of parents, looking more embarrassed than upset. Parker had taken on the job of greeting each of the juveniles' parents and seating them in the waiting area where Lonnie was going to take some time and explain what trouble their kid's had found themselves to be in.

The young woman, feeling useless amidst all of the official police work, decided to make herself useful. She approached Mrs. Phipps, "Excuse me, Ma'am. Would you like a chair?"

The woman gave her a scornful look, "No, I don't want a chair. I don't want anything except my son out here right now! Who are you, anyway? I ain't never seen you here before." Mrs. Phipps had had many opportunities to deal with the Sparta police and she didn't remember ever seeing or talking to the waif in front of her.

"No Ma'am, you haven't seen me here before; I'm new to this area. My name is J.J. Doe." She offered a smile to the woman, hoping to soften the woman's foul demeanor.

Bubba looked up and half smiled, half frowned, glad that Mrs. Phipps had someone else to concentrate on for a moment. He just started to relax a bit when he heard the escalated voice of Mrs. Phipps.

"J.J. Doe, did you say? You were the one that called me about my boy. Listen here little missy, I did NOT like being spoken to in the manner that was used." She glared at the young woman, "And another thing, when I ask a question about something, I EXPECT an answer. Why wouldn't you answer me about what my boy did?" Her voice was rising and Bubba was just about to stand up and come to the rescue when the he heard the young woman pipe in.

"Ma'am, I apologize if you were offended in any way; that was not my intentions. When I called you, I was only following department procedures, which only allows me to give out so many details when calling citizens in for any reason. I am sure you must agree that going into too many details over the phone might only lead to confusion and misconceptions; it's always better to speak in person during a crisis." She paused only briefly, "Can I get you a cup of coffee, soda, tea or water, while you wait?" The smile on her face was sincere enough to the untrained eye, but Bubba could see the look in her eyes was telling the woman to 'shut up, sit down and wait.'

Mrs. Phipps looked a bit taken aback and opened her mouth to respond when the young woman reached over to an empty desk and pulled the chair over, matter-of-factly stating, "You sit right down here and I'll get you a coffee. Cream & sugar?"

"Yes…please." Mrs. Phipps replied, in a subdued, defeated tone.

Bubba made eye contact with the young woman and raised his eyebrows, then nodded slightly, as if to say that he approved of her approach. He was just happy that Mrs. Phipps wasn't glaring at him anymore. He was even happier, a few minutes later, when he realized that the young woman had managed to distract Mrs. Phipps with questions regarding Sparta and the surrounding towns. With the older woman occupied with conversation, Bubba was able to concentrate on his paperwork and within the hour Mrs. Phipps and her son were heading out of the police station.

"You be sure to bring that little filly around for cup of tea, Bubba, you hear me?" Mrs. Phipps said as she and Little Junior were walking out. Then she added, "I mean it, now, you are welcome over anytime, Miss J.J."

"Thank you, Ma'am; I'll have Bubba drop me by real soon." She smiled and waved at the woman, and then turned towards Bubba. Seeing the look on his face, she held up a hand and said, "Don't…just don't even start in on me. I may have been overstepping my boundaries with my 'busybodiness', as you call it, but by offering her coffee and chatting with her, it kept her out of your hair and off of your butt while you completed your paperwork."

Bubba smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Well little missy, I was just gonna tell you that you did a good job of deterring her and keeping her occupied. I was even gonna say 'thanks'."

"Then say it."

"Thanks."

'That hurt, didn't it?" She flashed him an ornery smile.

He laughed and said, "Can I buy you cup of coffee, tea, soda, or water, Miss J.J.?"

The next several days played out for J.J. Doe, as she and everyone else had come to call her, as if she were the star in a low budget film; things were confusing and scattered, yet dull and routine. Still, despite anything that she did, she was unable to remember anything of her past. She continued to go to work with Bubba, keeping busy at the station doing whatever trivial and mundane tasks that could be found. Once in a while, she was even allowed to answer a ringing phone; she couldn't figure out why, but those were the times that she relished the most; the anticipation of the unknown situation on the other end of the phone always seemed to get her adrenaline going.

Virgil's wife, Althea, returned from the women's retreat and had gone by the police station almost every day. She and J.J. would go to lunch and spend time just talking, hoping that maybe something discussed would strike a familiar chord and jar a memory. J.J. enjoyed talking with Althea; as much as she enjoyed being around Bubba and the others at the police station, she had to admit that it was nice to have a woman to talk to as well.

"Why don't you and Bubba come over to our house for supper tomorrow night?" Althea offered. The two women were having an early lunch at the diner across from the police station.

"Well, I think that would be really nice, but I don't think I should answer for sure until I talk with Bubba; I don't know what he has planned after work tomorrow."

"Oh that's fine; check with him after lunch and then just let Virgil know, and he can let me know. I thought I would fry up some of Virgil's mothers' famous fried chicken."

"That sounds really good."

"It's one of Virgil's favorites. His mother was a wonderful cook and when she passed away and we moved back here from Philadelphia, I inherited her recipe box. She had a great recipe for homemade rhubarb pie, too; I am going to whip one up this afternoon, for dessert tomorrow night." Althea chuckled and added, "I will have to hide it from Virgil, though, so he won't get into it after dinner tonight…or for breakfast in the morning!"

J.J. laughed and commented, "Poor Virgil…you are depriving him!"

"Oh please! The last time I made a homemade pie, 'Poor Virgil' polished off two huge slices before it even had time to cool! And the worst part is that it was supposed to be for the bake sale at church!" Together the women shared a laugh at Virgil's expense.

The bell above the diner door jingled to life as three casually dressed gentlemen strolled in. They took a booth at the front of the diner, by the plate glass window. The waitress told them that she would be with them in a moment, then proceeded to Althea and J.J.'s table with their lunch bill. Althea pulled a ten dollar bill from her wallet, and as she glanced up and handed it to the waitress, she noted that the three gentlemen seemed to be watching J.J. She took a quick mental picture of what the men looked like and realized that she had never seen them in Sparta before this.

J.J. noticed the concerned look on Althea's face. "Althea? Is everything okay?"

Althea turned her attention back J.J. "Uhm, yeah; everything's fine." She forced a quick smile, "All set?"

"Yep; all set." J.J. responded.

The two women vacated their booth and headed towards the door. Once outside, they crossed the street and headed to the police station. As they approached, Bubba pulled up in his cruiser and got out, casting a quick smile and a tip of his hat their way, "Ladies."

"Hi Bubba!" J.J. responded with enthusiasm.

"Hi Bubba, how are you?" Althea offered.

Bubba paused to speak with the women. "I'm good, Mrs. Tibbs; thanks for asking." Bubba said. "How was y'all's lunch?"

"It was very good, Bubba. The diner always has a good chicken salad."

"Yes, Ma'am. I do believe that they use the recipe that Mr. Tibbs' mother gave them."

"I don't doubt it, Bubba. From what I understand, her recipes grace the tables of many a kitchens in Sparta." Althea then added, "And, speaking of recipes, Virgil and I would like it if you and J.J. would come over for dinner tomorrow night. I am going to make his mother's famous fried chicken and we'll have rhubarb pie for dessert. What d'ya say?"

"Well I say that sounds great. Can we bring something?" Bubba asked.

"Just your appetites!" Althea replied. "Six o'clock sound good?"

"Six it is, Ma'am." Bubba confirmed. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to go speak with Chief Gillespie."

Bubba turned and headed up the steps while the two ladies talked for a little longer before Althea turned to leave and J.J., headed up the steps and into the police station. All three were oblivious to the three men closely watching them from the diner window.

Bubba and J.J. arrived at the Tibbs' house at five-thirty that next evening. Bubba had gotten off of work a little early, giving the twosome plenty of time to freshen up before heading over for dinner. At J.J.'s insistence, Althea had relented and agreed to allow her to throw together a refreshing pasta salad and a batch of deviled eggs to compliment the meal. Bubba knocked lightly on the screen door and the two went in at Althea's welcoming acknowledgement from inside the kitchen.

"Hi you two!" Althea greeted them enthusiastically.

"Mrs. Tibbs." Bubba nodded his head and smiled.

"Hi Althea." J.J. added. "Where would you like this?" She asked, referring to the pasta salad and deviled eggs.

Althea reached out and took the offered items, "We'll just pop these in the refrigerator for a little bit. Virgil called about ten minutes ago and said he was getting ready to head home. He had to stay a bit longer at work today; said he had some news that you might be interested in, J.J."

"What news?" J.J. was excited about the possibility that Virgil had found out her identity.

"What'd he say, Mrs. Tibbs?" Bubba asked, just as curious about the news.

"He wouldn't tell me anything other than that he is pretty sure he has some news about you." Althea reached out and hugged the young woman, glad that maybe she would soon have some answers.

"Oh, and he also said that he is bringing home three more guests for dinner."

"Who?" Bubba asked.

"He didn't say, Bubba. You know how Virgil likes to surprise people though." Althea glanced at the clock and stated, "Well, I need to check on the chicken; you two go on in and make yourselves comfortable in the living room until everyone arrives."

"No, Althea, I am not going to go sit down and relax while you are in here juggling dinner all on your own. What can I do to help?" J.J. insisted.

"J.J., I am fine, really."

J.J. put up a hand to stop any further rebuttal, "Now Althea, you said yourself that a few more people are coming to dinner, so please let me help with the extra duties, okay?"

Althea laughed and replied, "Well, okay; I guess you could go add three more table settings."

Bubba hollered in from the living room, "Better make that four extra settings; Chief's with Virgil, and three men just got out of another vehicle." Bubba took in the off purple vehicle, chuckled lightly and muttered, 'Man, somebody ought to put that ugly vehicle out of its' misery.'

Virgil and party entered the house and introductions were made amongst Bubba and the newcomers. He was surprised to find out that two of them, Dan Romero and Pat Blank, were detectives from Lexia, Louisiana; a small city near Baton Rouge. The third gentleman, Wes Buttons, was a police officer from the same city. With that knowledge, Bubba's curiosity was at its' peak and he wondered what these three men could possibly want with J.J.; in the short time that she'd been in Sparta, he seen nothing about her that would send up signals to indicate that the she was wanted by the law.

Althea, hearing the entourage in the other room, left the kitchen to do her hostess duty and greet the guests. She rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks as she recognized the three men from the diner, though they didn't seem to recognize her, as Virgil made the introductions.

Virgil, Chief Gillespie, Bubba and the others made their way into the dining room, followed by Althea, who invited everyone to take a seat around the table while she and J.J. brought out the food.

"J.J., if you can grab the pasta salad and rolls, I'll take the chicken and deviled eggs." Althea directed.

"Sure thing, Althea." J.J. replied, following Althea to the dining room.

As the two women entered the dining room, all eyes were on J.J., who smiled at everyone and said hello. Though her eyes and greeting for Bubba, Virgil, and Chief Gillespie held a warm and welcome tone, the smile and tone used for the strangers was welcoming, but held no trace of recognition. Virgil did the honors of introducing the three men to J.J. and vice-a-versa.

J.J. wanted badly to bombard the three men with questions, but good manners held her from it. She knew that Althea had worked hard on the dinner and she didn't want to detract from that by focusing on her own plight and unanswered questions.

With everyone seated, the eight people bowed their heads while Virgil said the grace. Afterwards, food was passed from person to person and plates were filled. Soon enough, talk focused on the reason for the visit from the three strangers; J.J., whose real name was Alydia Grant, was wanted by the Lexia, Mississippi Police Department for theft and embezzlement, but she was only a small part of a bigger group that was involved. The three representatives had been sent to Sparta to transport her safely back to Lexia.

All eating ceased and Alydia turned pale as a ghost upon hearing the news. Bubba, who was seated next to her, placed a protective arm around her shoulders. "Now just wait a minute, you three cannot just waltz in here like long lost friends and then drop this sort of news." He turned to Virgil, who looked just as shocked as everyone else at the table. "Virgil, did you know about this?"

Virgil shook his head and replied, "No; and this doesn't make me very happy. You three have a lot of explaining to do! Back at the station you made it sound as if J.J….uh, Alydia….was just your typical missing woman!"

Chief Gillespie spoke up, "Now Virgil, Bubba, you two just calm down." He then addressed the three men. "Would any of you care to explain why you didn't divulge this information when you came into the station earlier today? I mean, why on earth would you wait and reveal this information around an enjoyable and delicious home cooked meal that is being served to you out the generosity of down home southern hospitality. There is a time and a place for information like that to be revealed, and around someone's dinner table, is not the time or the place. Now, I think the three of you need to apologize to Mrs. Tibbs, here, and to Miss J.J…uh, Alydia, for putting a damper on an otherwise fabulous meal, and after we have finished with dinner, we will all go down to the police station and see about getting this straightened out."

The three men mumbled their apologies to the two women, and though strained, the rest of the meal was pleasant enough, with small talk centering on neutral topics. Understandably, Alydia had lost her appetite, but she continued to pick at the food on her plate, knowing that her friend had worked hard at preparing it.

When it came time to leave, Detectives Romero and Blank stepped to either side of Alydia, with Officer Buttons directly behind her. Detective Romero faced Chief Gillespie and stated, "Alydia will ride with us down to your station, Chief Gillespie."

Bubba reached out and pulled the young woman over to him, "She will ride down to the station with me." The look on his face indicated that the subject was not up for debate.

Detective Romero was about to voice his objections when the Chief spoke up, "That's fine, Bubba, she can ride with you; I'll go with Virgil." He then looked at Detective Romero, "Bubba will make sure she gets to the station with no problem. She knows him, she is comfortable with him, and she trusts him. She doesn't know you three and forcing her to ride to the station with you would only upset her more than she already is." None of them could argue the point so they quietly followed Bubba and Alydia out of the house, watching as he escorted her to his truck and helped her inside. They then went to their vehicle and got in. Chief Gillespie thanked Althea for her kind hospitality and went outside to wait for Virgil.

Virgil kissed Althea and told her he would be home as soon as he could. He couldn't pinpoint it, but he had a bad feeling about those three officers from Lexia, Louisiana.

"Virgil?" Althea voiced.

"Yes, Honey?"

"Don't let those three men take her. I don't know what it is about them, but I don't trust them."

"Now Honey, while I agree that their techniques are rather questionable, they are just doing their jobs. I can't keep her here if she is wanted by their department, and as long as they have all of the necessary paperwork, I won't have a choice but to let them take her."

"I know, it's just that the little hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end right now. I don't think they can be trusted."

"Honey, it's probably just because of the intensity of the situation. Now, they drove all night and just rolled into town this afternoon, so I am hoping I can convince them to get a room at the motel for the night so we can approach this fresh in the morning."

Althea's brow furrowed, "Virgil, those men were in town yesterday. They were at the diner when Alydia and I had lunch yesterday. They kept watching her. Why didn't they come forward yesterday?"

Virgil was surprised by the news and had no answers. "Are you sure it was them? They said they just arrived in town today."

"Yes Virgil, I am sure. If there's one thing I have learned with being the wife of a policeman, it's to be aware of my surroundings. They were in the diner yesterday afternoon." Virgil could see by the look of concern on Althea's face that she was genuinely concerned. He knew she was sure of having seen them the day prior. He had to admit, it was more than a little discerning that they hadn't told the truth about when they had arrived in town.

"I'll talk to the Chief on the way to the station. Don't worry, she's not going anywhere with them until we are sure they are on the up and up."

"Thank you, Honey." Althea said, sure that Virgil would make sure they were legitimate before letting Alydia go anywhere with them.

On the way to the station, Virgil filled the Chief in on the situation.

"Sounds like our three visitors aren't being on the up and up. Let's not let on about knowing that they got to town yesterday; I want to see what else they are keeping from us." Gillespie said.

"Sounds good."

When all parties had arrived at the station, Bubba sat Alydia at his desk while he, Virgil, the Chief, and the three others convened in the Chief's office. This night, it was Sweet working inside to cover the phones and radios. He had been there when the three men delivered their news to Virgil regarding the woman's identity; he didn't know that she was wanted by their department, though.

"Hey there. Guess we can't call you J.J. anymore. They said your name is Alydia. That's a mighty pretty name." The girl sat silent. "Anyways, I bet you sure are glad to finally know who you are, huh?" Sweet said, making small talk. He thought that Alydia looked upset, but he couldn't figure out why, especially when the visiting officers had been able to give her back her identity, even if she couldn't remember anything yet.

"That's not all they said." She stated. "They said that I am a wanted criminal! I don't feel like a criminal…not that I know if I would even know what being a criminal feels like." She added.

"Wow…that's…well, that's just awful." Sweet said, for lack of anything better to say. He walked back to his desk to answer a ringing phone, thankful for the distraction. Alydia sat in silence, waiting for news of her fate.

It seemed to Alydia that hours had passed by before the door to the Chief's office flew open. Two angry detectives and one sullen looking police officer came hurrying out. Detective Romero stopped short and spun on his heel, coming face to face with Chief Gillespie. "Do you have any idea of the repercussion that your uncooperativeness is going to cause for our department, Gillespie?"

Chief Gillespie smiled nicely and replied, "Well now, I certainly do apologize for holding you fellas up, but you see, that young lady is in my jurisdiction and you three haven't shown me any paperwork to indicate that I am under any obligation to turn her over into your custody."

"We have outstanding warrants for her!" Romero nearly shouted.

"So you say, and I have Detective Tibbs checking into that as we speak. Now when I see those warrants, or at least have it confirmed that those warrants do indeed exist, I will gladly turn her over to you fellas; until then, she will continue to stay here in Sparta for as long as she pleases." Gillespie calmly replied, eyeballing Detective Romero as if daring him to argue.

Detective Romero opened and the closed his mouth, took a deep breath and then calmly said, "Fine; we'll have the papers in the morning, and you have her here and ready to go. I trust you will at least keep her locked up for the night seeing as how she is a criminal?"

"Now just hold on, there…." Bubba started to intervene, but was quickly silenced by Chief Gillespie.

"Hush, Bubba." He then turned his attention back to Detective Romero. "No, she will not be locked up; she will remain under the watchful and capable care of Sgt. Skinner."

Alydia looked up from where she solemnly sat; her eyes searched out Bubba's figure looming near the open doorway of the Chiefs' office. Bubba's eyes caught her gaze and he weaved his way through the detectives and the Chief, over to where Alydia sat. He placed a re-assuring hand on her shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. That small gesture was enough to allow Alydia to relax ever so slightly, though she was still visibly upset.

Detective Romero, looking very unhappy, spoke in a bitter tone, "Very well, Chief Gillespie. We will be staying over at the motel out by the highway. We will be back bright and early in the morning." With that, he, followed by Detective Blank and Officer Buttons, hustled out of the police department, letting the door close angrily behind them.

Chief Gillespie walked over to Bubba and Alydia. He pulled Bubba away from Alydia and quietly ordered, "Bubba, take her home, get her calmed down…and keep an eye out tonight. I don't trust those three."

"Ye'sir; I know what you mean, they've got my hackles raised, for sure."

"I know, I know. You take her out of here now. I'm going to see if Virgil has found anything out, just yet. I'll have him give you a call if does."

"Okay, Chief; thanks." Bubba turned to Alydia, "C'mon, let's get you home."

Alydia stood up and walked out of the police department with Bubba. They got into his truck and he started the engine, casting a glance her way. "Quit your worrying, ya hear. We're gonna get it all figured out."

As Bubba put the truck in reverse and backed out of the parking spot, Alydia mustered a small smile, "I know." The twenty minute ride to Bubba's cabin was mostly silent, save for the country music playing low from Bubba's truck radio. Bubba sensed that it was going to be a long night.

"What are you doing? The motel's back the other way." Wes Buttons spoke up from the back seat." He could see Dan Romero's face reflecting back in the mirror and he didn't like the look of anger in the man's eyes.

"Just shut up, sit back, and enjoy the ride, Buttons. Leave the thinking to me and Pat; after all, you are the main reason we are in this jam to begin with. I warned you to stay away from that girl, but you wouldn't listen." Spat Dan Romero.

"Don't worry about it Buttons, he knows what he's doing." Pat Blank said, over his shoulder. He wasn't too comfortable with the plan that Dan Romero had hatched at the last moment, deciding not to go to the motel, but instead to follow Bubba and Alydia to Bubba's cabin, but Romero was in charge and Blank knew better than to argue.

Romero made sure that he stayed back several hundred yards as he followed Bubba's truck out past the town line and towards the country.

"Look, I don't think this is a good idea." Buttons again spoke up from the back seat.

"And that's precisely why you aren't the one in charge; now shut up and listen." Romero's tone left no doubt that he was not going to be argued with, nor was he going to be talked out of his plan. He had a loose end to tie up, and that loose end was Alydia.

"We'll pull out of sight until after dark; then we'll go in on foot after we know they have turned in for the night. Buttons, you'll go around to the back and make some noise to lure that cop out. When he comes through the door, Blank and I will take him down. While we are doing that, you go in and get the girl and then we'll get the hell out of Dodge!"

"You're planning on killing him?" Buttons asked, beyond belief that Romero would even think of killing a fellow officer; that just wasn't done.

"No, I'm going to invite him to Christmas dinner." The sarcasm dripped from his tone, "Hell yes, I'm going to kill him; but first, I am going to beat the living shit of him and his high and mighty puffed up self. I figure he won't be any match for me and Blank, here; not if we tag team him and catch him off guard."

Blank turned in his seat, "C'mon Buttons, you know we don't have any other choice. We are in this all of the way and there isn't any backing out now. I'm not crazy about killing a fellow officer, either, but I'm even less crazy about the idea of going to prison." Blank paused a moment to let his words sink in before adding, "There's no other way, Wes, and you know it."

"What about Alydia? Are you planning on killing her, too?" Buttons asked softly, though he already knew the answer.

Romero let out a hearty laugh, and then answered, "Yep…slowly and very painfully, if I have my way about it. That little meddling bitch botched up the only good thing that we had going in that department and now, thanks to her, our retirements aren't going to be anywhere nearly as good as I had planned before she started poking around." He turned a scathing glance over his shoulder at Button and said "And this time, I'll be the one to make sure the deed is done!"

Wes couldn't keep his thoughts off of the young woman that he had come to call a friend over the last four years. In fact, she had become a friend to all three of them as well as to every other officer on the department; her friendship was equal for one and all, no matter what shift they worked, or what position they held in the department. She always had a ready smile and a kind word to offer up, and when a shift was particularly difficult, she always had a ready ear and would sit and listen to 'her guys', talk it out, offering comforting words of encouragement or sentiment when needed, and other times, just being a sounding board.

Things had changed a couple of months prior, when Alydia had walked in to the department workout room and overheard Romero and Blank talking about their 'take' from the latest drug house raid. She immediately turned to leave the room, but Blank had caught a glimpse of her and in that moment, Romero had decided that she needed to be eliminated.

Unbeknownst to Blank and Romero, they were already under department investigation for the incidents of money and drug shortages from various raids; in all instances, Romero and Blank were the lead detectives. Wes Buttons had been a suspect as well, as he was the lead member on the department S.W.A.T. team, but he was cleared of any involvement when Alydia went to him with her suspicions and the two of them then went to their chief with the information. Internal Affairs had immediately been brought in and it was decided that Wes would be the perfect 'mole' and IA advised him to go to Blank and Romero and demand to be in on the operation. In return for a cut of the profits, Wes was told to assure Blank and Romero that he would help them 'silence' Alydia for good.

Buttons sat quietly, pondering about what he could do to stop Romero and Blank. He wasn't about to just sit by and let the two men hurt her in any way. He had stopped that from happening when they dumped her out over the edge of the embankment after Romero had used the butt of his gun to crack her in the temple. Her world had immediately gone black and then they mercilessly dumped her down the embankment.

After watching her seemingly lifeless body come to a rest, Buttons had been the one to volunteer to climb down and make sure that Alydia was dead. He recalled breathing a sigh of relief as he felt for, and found a pulse. He looked up at the other two and gave a 'thumbs up' and then quickly climbed the embankment, anxious to get out of the area before she came to. His plan was to break off from the other two as soon as he could and call in to his headquarters with the information of where she was located so that they could call the local authorities and get her some help, but the opportunity had not presented itself, as Romero and Blank had little trust for Wes and they refused to let him out of their sight.

It was only after they had returned to their own city that Wes was able to make some phone calls to the county sheriff's office, near Sparta, and he was told that a 'Jane Doe' had indeed been found, and was residing in Sparta until her identity could be determined. It was during one of those calls that Romero had walked in and overheard the conversation on Wes' end and, and upon finding out that Alydia was alive, Romero hatched a story about theft and embezzlement, and then formed a plan for travelling to Sparta to pick up Alydia. He informed Blank of the findings and the two decided that now that they knew that Alydia was alive, Wes could not be fully trusted, since he was the one that had declared her to be dead in the ravine. Wes sensed that it was just a matter of time before the two would try to kill him, but he also knew in his heart that he couldn't just stand by and let Romero kill Alydia. He needed to form his own plan.

"Gin! I win again!" Alydia beamed, as she lay down her cards and then began to tally up the total score.

"Awe c'mon, now!" Bubba moaned, "That's four hands in a row. You have to be cheating!"

Alydia laughed at his expression and held up her hand, "I swear, Bubba, I am not cheating! The cards just seem to be on my side tonight."

Bubba let out low growl as he totaled up his cards, "Minus eighty-five." He threw his cards into the middle of the table. "And it's your deal!" Bubba was glad that the competitive card game had done the trick and helped to take her mind off the men that wanted to place her in custody.

Alydia started to laugh but it turned into a yawn. She glanced at the clock, "Oh my goodness, it's almost midnight; maybe we should finish this tomorrow."

Bubba glanced over his shoulder, towards the clock on the mantel, "Well so it is. I guess you're right, we should probably call it a night." He gathered the cards together and put a rubber band around them. Alydia got up off of the floor near the coffee table and picked up their coffee cups to take to the kitchen before heading to the bathroom for her nighttime routine.

After she finished in the bathroom, she made up the couch with the bed sheets and blanket and then lay down.

Ten minutes later, Bubba quietly emerged from the bathroom, did a once over of the doors and windows, whispered goodnight to the snoring freight train on the couch, and headed down the hall to his bedroom. He had an uneasy feeling in his gut that things weren't quite as quiet as they seemed this night, so he went over and opened his top dresser drawer, unlocked the strongbox inside the drawer and removed his duty weapon. He checked to make sure there was a full clip of ammo and then placed the weapon on his night stand. He then shut of the bedside lamp and lay down, but sleep was nowhere to be found.

"C'mon, let's get this show on the road." Romero ordered, as he slowly and quietly opened the driver's side door and exited the vehicle. He gently pushed the door closed, motioning the other two to do the same. They were parked just off of the main road, on a small access road that led to Bubba's cabin. They had backed in between some overgrown bush for cover. The time was nearing midnight and after three hours of waiting, they figured that Bubba and Alydia were likely to be fast asleep by now.

Slowly and stealthily they made the quarter mile hike up the road towards the cabin, carefully treading the dirt path beneath them, wary of ruts and puddle holes. The only sounds that could be heard were the night sounds of woods and the animals that lived within, as well as the quiet sounds of their footsteps. As they rounded the last bend in the roadway, they could see the cabin just ahead, setting dark and quiet in the still of the night.

Whispering low, Romero directed Buttons to head around the left side of the cabin and check windows for signs of anyone still being awake inside, while he and Blank headed around the right side of the cabin, doing the same. Romero took a moment and used his pocket knife to cut through the phone line on the side of the house.

The three met up at the rear of the cabin and Blank and Romero crept quietly up onto the back porch and took up post on either side of the door. Buttons remained in the yard, struggling in the dark to find something that he could use to stir up a ruckus. He felt like he was walking in a circle as his eyes tried to adjust to his surroundings. His foot connected with a hard object and he stumbled over a heavy tree log that Bubba used as a chopping block for wood splitting. Knee jerk reaction caused him to let out string of curse words without thinking of being quiet. Romero sent him an angry look and a gesture to be quiet.

Buttons righted himself and then pulled a small keychain flashlight from his pocket and turned it on, aiming low to the ground. He didn't want to take a chance on tripping again."

"Shut that damned light off!" Romero ordered in a quiet voice.

"I will…just as soon as I find something to throw at the cabin!" His eyes settled on a several small pieces of wood that were big enough to make noise when they hit the cabin exterior.

"Just hurry up and pick up the wood and shut off that damned flashlight!" Romero hissed, through clenched teeth.

Bubba jerked awake from the light sleep he had fallen into. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he had heard a noise outside and to the back of the house. He immediately became fully alert, sat up and swung his legs over the bed as he reached for his gun and the small flashlight that he kept on the nightstand. Not even bothering to pull on his sweatpants over his boxer shorts, he quietly stole out into the living room where he found Alydia looking out through the front window. Figuring that her stirring was the sound that awakened him, he relaxed and let out a sigh, startling the young woman, who swung around with a gasp.

"Alydia, what's wrong? Can't you sleep?" Bubba asked, suddenly aware that he hadn't stopped to put on any pants.

"Bubba, I think I heard something outside." Came her frightened reply.

Bubba crossed the room over to the window where she was standing and steered her away from it. If anyone was out there, he didn't want her to be an easy target. "Go back over to the couch and get down on the floor." He ordered, as he moved to the side of the window and pulled the curtain back slightly, gazing into the darkness and willing his eyes to adjust. The clouds hung low with the promise of rain and the moon, only a sliver, provided little light to see by.

"Why? Who's out there?" She questioned, with fear in her voice.

"I don't know if anyone is out there, but I'm not taking any chances. You just sit tight while I take a look."

"Put some pants on first." Alydia directed, face flaming as she realized that Bubba was built very, very well.

Bubba frowned, hoping that his manner of dress would have gone unnoticed. He was just about to head back to put his pants on when he glanced toward the kitchen and could have sworn he saw a dim light come on and then go off. The pants were quickly forgotten as he once again ordered Alydia to stay put on the floor. He silently walked over to the phone and picked it up, intending to call the station. The phone line was dead. Bubba knew at that moment that his gut instincts about the night were right on the money.

Walking over to the fireplace, Bubba grabbed the poker and the walked back over to where Alydia sat. He knelt down, and speaking quietly to her, he handed the poker to her. "Listen Alydia; I think we've got us some company out there, and I ain't talking about the raccoons and skunks. You sit tight right here, I need to check it out."

"Call the police, Bubba!"

"I can't…the phone's dead."

"Oh my god, Bubba, what are we gonna do?" She was frightened beyond measure at that point.

"I'm pretty sure that whoever is out there, is out back. I'm gonna go out quietly through the front door and see if I can't sneak up on them from the side of the house. You lock the door behind me, and don't you dare open it for any reason at all! No matter what you hear out there, you keep it locked, do you understand me?" His eyes had adjusted enough to see her slightly nod her head. "If anyone does get in here, you swing that poker straight at their head, with all of your might, you got that?" Again, she nodded.

Bubba stood up and crept quietly towards the front door, very carefully and quietly unlocking it. He waiting to the count of fifteen and then slowly turned the handle, releasing the door catch; again he waited for fifteen seconds before easing the door open slightly. When nothing happened, he slowly eased the door open a little further and stepped quietly out onto the porch, gun poised and ready. He carefully eased the door closed behind him as his trained eye scanned the darkness. In the stillness of the night, he could hear faint voices to the rear of the cabin. He wanted to wait until he knew for sure that Alydia was going to lock the door, but he knew he had to make fast tracks to the rear of the cabin before the three men could gain entry through the back door.

Feeling as if he had a clear advantage, since he knew his property like the back of his hand, Bubba lightly stepped off of the porch and made his way over to the tree line of the woods surrounding his property. He then silently crept around the perimeter, using the trees as a cover, towards the back of his cabin. His eyes had adjusted well to the nighttime and he could make out the three silhouetted figures at the back of the cabin. Two were on the porch, flanking the door on either side, and the third was throwing wood chips at the back window. 'So help me, if he breaks my kitchen window, I will shoot that city-slicker where he stands!', thought Bubba.

Bubba wasn't sure just what plan of attack he was going to take, but he knew he would need to act fast once he executed a move; with three against one, his options were limited.

As if on cue, Buttons ran out of log chips. Romero immediately came unglued and in a whispering yell said, "What the hell are you doing? Keep throwing 'em!'

"I ran out!" He whispered back.

"Then find some more!" Romero ordered. He then told Blank to go help and Blank complied, stepping quietly off of the porch and walking over towards the wood line.

"Where in the hell are you going?" Romero demanded. He was just about fed up with what he considered to be two incompetent partners. He contemplated doing both of them in after killing Alydia; after all, he figured he was the brains behind this operation, so why should he share the take.

"I'm going to go find more wood, like you told me to!" Blank shot back with irritation in his voice. He was getting sick and tired of Romero acting like he was better than him.

"I'm going around front and see what I can find." Buttons said, in a low voice. "I'll be right back."

Romero turned his attention back toward the cabin. He slid over to the kitchen window and strained to peer into the darkened room.

At the tree line, Bubba held his breath and stood stick still as Blank stepped within a foot of the tree that he was hiding behind. Swiftly, he raised the butt of his gun and cracked the man in the back of the head, catching him as he fell. As quietly as possible, he lowered Blank to the ground and took his gun out of his waistband.

Thinking that he heard a noise out by where Blank had gone, Romero swung around and went on full alert. He strained to see out towards the woods, but could not make out Blank's figure anywhere. 'You have got to kidding me! He went into the woods to find something to throw!'

'Okay, this is my chance.' Bubba thought. He did his best to disguise his voice and keep it to a low whisper, "Romero, c'mere, I need your help." He hoped that he did a convincing job of sounding like Blank.

"What!" Romero whispered back, agitated beyond belief.

"Just come here! I need your help." Bubba had to think fast, "I…I'm stuck on a tree branch and can't get my shirt free!"

"You have got to be kidding me! How incompetent can you two be?" Romero seethed, clearly beyond pissed off as he stepped off of the porch and moved stealthily towards the woods, shoving his weapon into the back of his waistband.

He never saw Bubba's figure behind the tree, or his fist as it slammed hard into his chin, causing him to stagger backwards. "Freeze right there, Romero!" Bubba ordered, gun pointed toward the detective.

Romero froze, his hands slightly in the air, and said, "Now just hold on there, friend; we can work this out. I don't want any trouble, I only want what we came here for, and that's the girl. Turn her over to us and we'll be on our way." As he was talking, he was slowly lowering his hands. In one lightning fast move, he reached behind himself and grabbed his gun from him waistband, bringing it around quickly and firing off a shot.

The stinging feeling of the bullet as it bit into Bubba's flesh made him suck in his breath. Knee jerk reaction kicked in and he fired his gun at his assailant. His bullet hit its' intended mark, square in the midsection, and Romero's body slammed backwards, tumbling to the ground.

Bubba made a quick assessment, and, feeling no pulse in the man, knew that Romero was dead. He heard Blank starting to stir around and he quickly went over and offered up a swift jaw jacking, rendering the man back into oblivion. He then took Blank's belt off of him, turned the man face down on the ground and used the belt to bound his hands behind his back. He then went to the deceased, removed his belt, and used it to shackle Blanks' ankles together.

He stood up, eyes searching the darkness for Buttons. Suddenly, from the cabin he heard a scream.

Buttons approached Bubba's truck, quietly gaining access through the unlocked passenger door. As his eyes adjusted to the inside of the dark vehicle, Buttons found what he was looking for and quickly executed the plan that he had formed. Now all that was left was to get to Alydia. He carefully and gently closed the truck door, so as not to make any more noise than necessary and headed toward the front porch of the cabin. He heard two shots ring out from the woods, but rather than go investigate, he stayed on course with his plan to get to Alydia.

Buttons reached the front porch and gingerly stepped up on it; taking two long strides, he was at the door and trying the doorknob, surprised that it turned in his hand. He turned it a little farther and quietly pushed the door open. He whispered, "Alydia? It's me, don't be scared; I'm here to help you."

Alydia let out an ear-piercing scream and jumped up from the floor near the sofa. In her haste to run over to the door in the dark, her foot caught the edge of the coffee table and she stumbled, head first, into the door as it was opening. Her world exploded into stars and then faded into blackness.

"Lydie!" Wes exclaimed urgently. He quickly found the nearest lamp and turned it on, then hurried to over and knelt down at Alydia's side. He scooped her up into his arms and laid her over on the couch, then sat on the edge, next to her and tried to rouse her. 'Lydie? Lydie…can you hear me?" He shook her shoulder slightly. "C'mon, Hon,…, c'mon, talk to me." He was tapping at her cheek with his hand. The worry in his voice was evident.

Bubba burst through the open door, "Get the hell away from her!" He ordered, gun raised and aimed at Wes, who didn't move away from Alydia, but continued to try to rouse the young woman.

"C'mon Lydie, wake up." Buttons continued, ignoring Bubba's orders.

Once again, Bubba ordered, "I said, get away from her now, or I will shoot you where you sit and then drag your sorry carcass out to the woods and let the wild coyotes feast on you and your little buddies that I already have trussed up out there. You hear me, boy?"

Wes sat still, except for looking over his shoulder and into the angry face of Bubba. He breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that Romero and Blank were no longer a threat this night. "I hear you, but I am not leaving her side. She's hurt! She needs a doctor." He turned his attention back to Alydia as he continued speaking to Bubba, "Besides, I am not the enemy; I'm her friend, if you put that damned gun away and give me a chance to explain…"

"You go right ahead and start explaining, I'll just keep on aiming, so you'd better hope I like what I hear or you'll make a mighty fine midnight snack for the…"

Alydia moaned, stopping Bubba mid-sentence. Bubba moved over closer to the sofa. Wes continued to hold her hand and speak softly to her, trying to bring her back into the conscious world. Her eyelids fluttered opened and closed several times. She moaned again and then quieted.

Wes looked at Bubba, "We have to get her to a hospital." There was an urgent pleading in his eyes, and Bubba's gut told him that Wes Buttons was telling the truth, he meant no harm to Alydia.

Bubba contemplated the man in front of him, and thinking back, he noted that during all encounters, Wes had seemed to be the more reserved of the three men, Bubba felt that maybe, just maybe, he was one of the good guys, but he wasn't quite sure just yet and wasn't one hundred percent ready to let his guard down, yet he knew that Button's was right, Alydia needed to get to a hospital. The angry lump forming on her head, coupled with the open wound that was oozing blood, made that obvious. 'Good Lord, how many more times can this girl stand being hit in the head?' Bubba wondered.

"Look, Sgt. Skinner, I know you don't trust me. I don't blame you one bit, I wouldn't trust me either if I were in your shoes. But, again, I am not the enemy. I am working undercover through my department." His eyes spoke volumes as he split his attentions between stroking Alydia's face and holding her hand, while he explained all that had happened to lead them to where they were at now.

Bubba lowered his weapon, took a deep breath, ran his hand down his face in a weary gesture. He was just about to speak when Alydia's eyes fluttered open again, staring up at Wes, and in a weak voice, she managed, "Westridge? Bubba? What happened? Why does my head…oh wait, I fell and hit the door, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." Wes confirmed.

"Westridge?" Bubba questioned.

Wes smiled slightly, "It's my mother's maiden name, and my given birth name. Lydie is one of the few people who know that…or ever even calls me that."

'That bump on the head brought her memory back', thought Bubba. He was happy for her, but yet a little sad; he had hoped that as time went on, if her memory didn't return, maybe she would settle in Sparta. He had really come to enjoy her company, even if she could be a little hot headed and confrontational from time to time.

"Uhm, just let me go get some pants on and we'll get her to the hospital."

Alydia slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. Her world was spinning slightly and her vision a bit blurred, but she was able to focus enough to see that Bubba had been wounded in the side and was bleeding. "Bubba, you're hurt!" She exclaimed, rising to her feet a bit too quickly. Wes quickly slid a steadying arm around her waist, supporting so she wouldn't fall.

"Nah, 'ole Bubba is just fine; it's just a little flesh wound. Now, uhm, I need to get into some clothes and rustle up Blank and throw him in the back of the truck so I can run him in to the station after I drop you off at the hospital."

"What about Romero?" Wes asked, figuring that he already knew the answer.

"He ain't going anywhere until I get somebody out here to process the scene back there." Bubba answered quietly.

Off in the distance, Bubba heard a whole bevvy of sirens. Wes, hearing the sirens as well, spoke up, "Well, it sounds like the cavalry isn't far off."

"I wonder how they knew to come out here?" Bubba mused aloud.

"I radioed the station from the 'CB' in your truck."

"You broke into my truck?" Bubba didn't know whether to be ticked off at or grateful to the man sitting in front of him.

Wes emitted a small laugh, "I didn't have to break in to your truck. I just played a hunch that Lydie wouldn't think to lock the passenger side after she got out of it; it's kind of a bad habit that she has."

Alydia moaned, "Well at least this time my bad habit paid off!"

"Yeah…and nobody's car stereo got stolen this time." Wes teased, as he thought back to the brand new stereo that was stolen from his vehicle after he had given Alydia a ride to work. It had been stolen right out of his car, in broad daylight, as the vehicle sat in the parking lot behind the police station.

Bubba cast a slightly amused grin at the two and shook his head.

The front yard suddenly lit up with red and blue lights, and the dust flew as two police cruisers and a detective car all slammed to screeching halts. Two officers quickly exited their vehicles, and crouched low behind the opened doors. Virgil and the Chief both exited the detective vehicle and crouched behind the open doors.

"I had better go out there and tell them that it's all okay." Bubba said, walking over to the door and flipping the porch light several times, and then leaving it on to let his fellow officers know that everything was okay and that he was the one opening the door.

Several hours later, Bubba had just finished getting bandaged up and was heading down the hospital corridor to the room that Alydia had been shuffled off to. As he approached the room, he could hear Wes and Alydia talking. He hesitated just outside the doorway and took a step back; he didn't want to intrude. He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

Alydia, having seen Bubba as he approached and then stopped short before backing up a bit, decided to have a little fun. "Westridge, why should I go back? I kind of like it here in this sleepy little town. The people are really nice."

"C'mon Lydie, you know you'd miss the whole dispatching scene and all of the activity around the department. You wouldn't be happy here once the newness wore off and the hum-drum daily activities set in. You need more excitement than that." Wes was saying everything that he could think of to convince her, yet he could see it in her eyes that he wasn't doing a very good job at it.

Alydia chose her words carefully. "Well now, I don't know about that Wes; I seem to recall my time here as pretty exciting. I mean, c'mon, how many places can a girl go wandering and darned near get ran down by a police car in the middle of nowhere?"

"For the last time," Bubba boomed, as he stormed through the door, "I did NOT try to run you down!" He stood at the foot of the bed, glaring daggers at Alydia.

Seeing the look on Bubba's face, Wes feared that he was going to have to throw himself between the two, in order to keep Bubba from strangling Alydia.

As Bubba continued to glare, Alydia began to laugh, much to Wes' amusement, and Bubba's chagrin, "Oh Bubba, you are just too much of an easy target!"

Wes smirked slightly; he'd been on the receiving end of Alydia's sense of humor more times than he could remember, and he almost felt sorry for Bubba.

Tongue in cheek, Bubba continued to glare at Alydia, as well as at Wes, who was trying not to laugh. Finally, a small bubble of laughter escaped from Bubba, followed by a deep belly laugh that told Alydia that Bubba finally knew that she was just trying to goad him with her teasing accusations.

All three were engaged in uncontrollable fits of laughter when Virgil and Chief Gillespie came through the doorway. The two men looked at the threesome, who froze silent in an instant, looked at each other, then promptly turned and high-tailed it out of the room, causing another riot of laughter that could be heard in their wake.

Three days later, Alydia was cleared by the doctor to travel back to her home town. Bubba was sad to see her go, as was everyone else at the police station. Arrangements had been made for Blank to be extradited back to Lexia to stand trial for the crimes of theft and embezzlement, along with charges of intent to commit murder. Romero's body had been transported back to Lexia for his funeral and burial.

As Wes was finishing up inside with Virgil and Chief Gillespie, Bubba walked Alydia to Wes's vehicle, and opened the passenger door for her. She stretched up on her tip toes and placed a light kiss on Bubba's cheek. "Thank you, Bubba…for everything."

Bubba fidgeted, "You're welcome, Alydia." He hesitated and then spoke again, a catch in his voice. "You know, you don't have to go; you could stay here, work at the station with me…" He was hopeful.

"Mmm, that sounds pretty tempting, Bubba, but I have a full-time job waiting at home, and now that I have my memory back, I kind of miss my co-workers and all of the excitement that goes with my job. You do understand, don't you?" She sat down in the vehicle and Bubba carefully closed the door, and then leaned down to peer into the window.

Bubba offered up a small smile, "Yeah, I guess I do understand." He reached out and stroked her cheek lightly with his hand, "Maybe you can come back and visit once in blue moon or so?"

"Now that, I can do.", Alydia eagerly agreed. "I think it's only about a four or five hour drive. I can take a couple of vacation days and make a long weekend out of it."

"That sounds real good!" Bubba readily agreed.

Wes came out of the police station, sauntered down the steps and shook Bubba's hand. They made small talk for a few minutes and then Wes rounded the vehicle and entered through the driver's door and started the engine.

Bubba took a step back from the curb and stood watching as Wes backed the car out of the parking space and the two drove off down the street. He smiled when Lydia leaned through the car window and strained her head backwards, as she waved frantically and hollered goodbye. Bubba raised his hand and waved back. He was already thinking ahead that maybe he should make that four or five hour trek to Lexi, Mississippi one day soon, as he was already missing Miss Alydia Grant.

The End