SAN FRANCISCO

by SANDEFUR

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction just for fun. I have no claims.

6-30-07/Saturday evening.

Joan Girardi scans the crowd at the busy train station, looking for a relative she hasn't seen since before the family moved to Arcadia. Despite the intervening years, Joan is fairly sure she will recognize her Mom's second cousin. Florene Donnelly and Helen Girardi share a close family resemblance even though they are remotely related. Joan senses someone approaching who has an interest in her. She turns and is surprised to see a fairly attractive blonde woman in her late twenties who is holding a cell phone with Joan's picture on the screen.

"Joan…?"

"Right the first time."

"Hi, I'm Heather Donnelly, and I'm here to pick you up."

"What happened to Florene?"

"Aunt Florene sends her regrets, but she had sudden car trouble and asked me to fill in."

"Is she okay?"

"Sure, the auto club arranged a tow to the dealer, and Aunt Florene was only a couple of blocks from her home when the car broke down. Fortunately, Tom and I hadn't left for the restaurant yet."

"Tom?"

"My boyfriend. You'll meet him when we get outside. He's making sure we don't get a ticket for parking in the drop off lane. Can I help you with one of your bags? They look heavy."

Joan easily lifts both bags. "They are, but after eleven hours of sitting on a train, I feel the need to use a few muscles."

They head for the exit, and Heather is impressed that Joan keeps up so easily. "So, I guess we're distantly related?"

"Very distantly. Florene is your aunt?"

Heather nods. "My Dad is her half-brother. As I understand it, our common ancestor is Joe Donnelly who also lived in Arcadia?"

"He grew up there, travelled a lot during his long life, and settled back in Arcadia when he retired. Joe was Florene's grandfather, and my Mom's great uncle on her mother's side. I think Mom only met Joe once at a family reunion when he was very old." Joan says, reminding herself that she must keep secret her knowledge that Joe Donnelly ('Joe of Arcadia') also served as an instrument of God.

Heather responds, "I know the family tree, but I never understood how Florene and Helen became such close friends, considering how distant their family tie is. Of course, I only got to know Florene after I moved to San Francisco to attend college."

"Well, Mom and Florene grew up together. As kids, they live only a block apart, and were together in school from kindergarten through high school. They looked so much alike, people often mistook them for sisters. It wasn't until they went to different colleges that they began to drift apart."

By now they are outside and approaching a man in his early thirties who is leaning against a Ford sedan. He is a handsome, well-built man who is obviously confident and intelligent—a real alpha male type. Heather smiles broadly, and Joan can sense her intense love for her 'Tom'.

"Joan, this handsome fellow is my intended, Tom Hogan. Tom, this is Joan Girardi, my…distant relative."

"Nice to meet you, Joan." Tom says as he politely holds out a hand, but Joan noticeably hesitates…

"Tom, are you on the job?"

"You recognize I'm a cop?"

"I was hoping so since I recognize that bulge under your jacket. It's the same kind I've seen under my Dad's coat for years." Joan says as she now shakes Tom's hand.

Heather proudly says, "Tom was recently promoted to lieutenant."

"Congratulations." Joan says as she hands her bags over to the 'big strong man'. He is surprised by their weight as he places them in the trunk. ('Yeah, that's right, big boy. I'm stronger than I look'.)

Moments later, they are under way with Joan riding in the back seat and enjoying her first glimpse of San Francisco. Joan automatically takes a 'read' on the couple in front of her. Not surprisingly, Heather utterly adores this very masculine guy who is a couple of rungs above her on the old one-to-ten looks scale. Her love burns like a blowtorch, while Tom's is more like a candle's—steady but not intense. He is fond of Heather, and enjoys their sexual relationship, but it is hardly a grand love for the ages. This reminds Joan too much of her recent rejection of the proposal of marriage made to her by Dylan Hunter. The uneven intensity of their love, and the lack of anything in common, caused Joan to reluctantly say, 'No'. She knows that Dylan is a great guy, but Joan couldn't see how they would make the relationship last…

"Joan, is your dad also a detective?" Tom asks.

"Currently he's the police chief, but he's been on the detective side of the business for a long time. Before our move to Arcadia, Dad was a lieutenant on the Chicago force. What about you, Heather? What do you do?"

"Kindergarten teacher."

"That sounds like fun."

"It is. It can also be challenging work, but I couldn't have picked another career. I just adore children, and I always knew I wanted to work with them."

As Heather talks, Joan notices Tom's 'love candle' burning brighter. Oh, so that's it. Tom Hogan has reached an age where he is looking to start a family. He hasn't been searching for the great love of his life. He has been looking for a great mother for his future children. Well, maybe this will work between them - as long as that great love never appears in Tom's life.

Not long afterward, they arrive in an area of large, beautiful Victorian homes that face a lovely park. As the exit the car, and Tom struggles with the bags, Heather comments...

"This is Alamo Square. Tourists from all over the world come here during the day to photograph these beautiful Victorians. Needless to say, they're very expensive."

Tom adds as he rings the doorbell, "But be careful at night. Crime is not a respecter of real estate values..." (The door opens and Tom calls out...) "Good evening, Professor Donnelly."

In the doorway, Joan recognizes Florene Donnelly, "The one who talks to flowers." Now a respected professor of botany at U. C. San Francisco, in her undergraduate days Florene was ridiculed when she first suggested plants would grow better if you spoke to them kindly.

"Tom, I've told you before, I'm 'Florene'. If you don't stop with this Professor Donnelly business, I'll start calling you Lt. Hogan."

"Sorry...Florene. I'll remember." Tom says as he carries in the bags. Heather and Joan follow him in.

"One distant cousin delivered safe and sound." Heather says as she kisses her aunt's cheek.

"Thank you, Heather. I appreciate the short notice rescue. Now Joan, let me look at you... My, what a lovely young woman you've grown into."

"That's so true." Joan says with a broad grin to let everyone know she is kidding and not an egomanic. She and Florene share a polite hug, and Joan is struck by how much this distant cousin looks like her Mom. She even wears her hair curly the way Helen use to.

Tom asks, "How is your car, Florene?"

"I don't know. The tow truck got it to the dealership just before they closed, but the owner called and said he would have a loaner here first thing in the morning. Tom, Heather, thanks again. Now, you two run along and enjoy the rest of your evening."

Everyone exchanges fond farewells, and soon Florene and Joan are alone.

"Joan, would you like to see your room, freshen up or, if you like, I have dinner warming in the oven."

"Food. Definitely food. I'm starving."

"Dear, didn't you eat on the train?"

"That was the plan, but it turns out the motion of the train didn't agree with my stomach. All I've had since breakfast is a can of Sprite."

"Then you really must be starved. Follow me."

Florene leads the way into a charming country style kitchen, and soon Joan is digging into a delicious casserole and fresh bread from the breadmaker. As Joan begins to feel restored, she fills in Florene on the latest news from the Girardi household, especially the news about little Eleanor...

Florene reacts, "I still find it hard to believe Helen had another baby at her age."

Joan shows a recent photo of her new sister and notices with amusement Florene trying not to wince at such a homely child. "Yeah, at first Mom thought she had finally slammed into menopause, but the doctor squelched that idea. Now we have Eleanor Theresa Girardi, who is as sweet and adorable as she is beautiful."

Florene gulps nervously, unsure of how to react without being offensive.

"Relax Cousin Florene, we're all well aware that little E. T. is butt ugly. Even so, we're hoping that plastic surgery will one day fix the Dumbo ears, huge honker and receding chin."

"Well, looks aren't everything, and I'm sure Will and Helen are delighted to have another baby."

Joan shrugs. "Actually, they were delighted to have their first grandchild living with them, but when Eleanor came along, that was another matter. Of course they love her, but they are well aware of the drawbacks of having another kid so late in life. On the plus side, they're both on a health kick like you wouldn't believe. Having E. T. around might actually extend their life spans."

The sound of someone entering from the front door interrupts their conversation...

"That must be Kate." Florene says.

Moments later, a red-haired woman of medium height and in her mid-forties enters the kitchen. Joan's immediate reaction is, bluster.

"My brother is a stubborn jackass!" the woman 'Kate' says as she goes to the refrigerator, grabs a beer and takes a swallow. She notices the baby photo on the table. "Wow, someone beat on this kid with an ugly stick."

Florene hisses, "Kate..."

"You won't believe what David is considering, and all because he can't think straight with Ashley's boobs pressed up against him. I ask you, do all men think with their joysticks?" Kate says as she looks directly at Joan.

"Uh, sometimes it seems that way."

"Well my brother does. You won't believe what that old fool may agree to. That child-bride whore of his wants to have a kid! David is turning FIFTY on Wednesday." (Looks again at Joan.) "Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?"

Florene tries again. "Kate! You remember our houseguest? Helen's daughter, Joan?"

"Oh right, the distant cousin. Sorry if I was rude, but I'm just so mad!"

Joan smiles. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

Kate laughs. "I like this kid."

Florene says, "Joan, this occasionally embarrassing woman is known to the world as Katherine Bloom, attorney-at-law. To me she is Kate, my life partner."

"Nice to meet you." Joan says. "You were on the topic of your brother and a potential late-in-life baby?"

"Yeah, sorry. I remember now your folks just had a baby, and your dad is around fifty?"

"Fifty one, and as Florene and I were just discussing, my parents have definite concerns about having a baby at their age. After all, Dad will be 68 when Eleanor graduates high school."

"Exactly. It's a stretch of sensible behavior, and my brother used to be a very sensible man until two years ago. David was a widower with no children who discreetly dated age-appropriate women and focused on his career. Then he met a 22 year old blonde with giant boobs who knew how to flatter a middle-aged man. The next thing you know, he wants to marry the little gold digger!"

Florene tsks. "Kate, that's a little harsh."

"Is it? Joan, my sister and I leaned on David really hard, and eventually we managed to convince him that he should get a pre-nuptuial agreement. Oh, the little whore didn't like that. She boo-hooed about how he didn't trust her, and if he loved her he wouldn't ask her to sign something like that, but when she saw she might lose her free ride, she came around. Now those two are married, and Ashley goes through his money as fast as she can."

Florene softly appeals, "Ashley went from being a waitress to being the wife of a prominent millionaire. That's a difficult transition for anyone to make."

"Well now she's come up with a new scheme. Ashley knew when she married David that he didn't want to have children. She said she had no problem with that, but all of a sudden, it's all she can talk about. I figure she's gotten tired of having a middle-aged man plowing her furrow, and she wants out. But that pre-nup means she'll get almost nothing in a divorce. However, if she pops out a kid, David will be paying through the nose for years to come."

Florene, "Cynical."

Kate, "Naive."

The two women smile at each other with great affection, obviously fond of their give-and-take conversations. Joan notes that Kate outwardly seems the stronger of the two, but all of that bluster hides a lot of insecurities. Florene, the quieter one, has far greater inner strength. Together, they make a well-balanced couple.

Joan asks, "Is your brother going to go through with this?"

Kate grunts. "He says no when he's using the big head, but Ashley knows how to manipulate him. David promised to give the idea serious thought, and will have an answer after his party on the fourth. By the way, you're invited to that party."

"Me? I...wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense. There's going to be over a hundred guests, and David has the penthouse of a tall apartment building on Nob Hill. The view of the Independence Day fireworks will be great."

Florene adds, "You really are welcome to come, Joan. You can even invite that boyfriend you're here to visit with."

Kate says, "Oh right, you're here to shack up with your hometown hottie. Got a picture?"

Joan blushes as she searches her wallet for a photo of Adam. "Actually, Adam and I are bit estranged at the moment. My visit here is sort of a test of whether or not we can salvage out relationship."

"Are you hoping for a successful outcome, Joan?" Florene asks.

Joan blushes again as she knows what Florene means by 'successful'. Oh yes, she wants lots and lots of...success. "I'd like to think we can still work as a couple, especially since Adam was the first guy I ever loved."

Kate, holding the photo, remarks... "He's a good looking kid. Hey...I know him."

"You do?"

"Well, I met him once at an art show sponsored by the university. David is the Dean of the School of Art, and somewhat of a mentor to this Adam...Rove, right?"

"Right. That's quite a coincidence, you meeting my boyfriend amongst all the people who live in the bay area."

Kate shrugs. "My sister Charlotte would call it a 'cosmic connection', but then again, she's this weird psychic..."

"Wait. Your sister is the one who sometimes helps the police as a psychic?"

"You've heard of Charlotte?"

"I met her, briefly, while she was working on a kidnapping case in Arcadia. Uh, she wasn't a lot of help that time."

"Charlotte will admit that she only gets it right about half the time. You probably won't get to meet her this trip. A family hired her to track down a runaway daughter, and Charlotte is convinced the teenage girl is somewhere in the Rocky Mountains."

Joan breathes a sigh of relief. She wouldn't want to try to explain Charlotte's pronouncement that Joan has a 'special connection to the universe'. Still, these coincidences have Joan wondering if there is a divine connection involved?

X X X X X

7-1-07/very early Sunday.

Shortly before dawn Joan is awake, dressed in jogging sweats and waiting by the window of the guest bedroom. Nervous about her pre-arranged date with Adam tonight, Joan was restless and awoke early. With such an early start, Joan decided to get ready for the appearance of her tutor-angel... Tap. Joan opens the window immediately.

"I'm up. Meet you in the park."

The angel nods and walks away. Except when he is lecturing her on demonology topics, he's not a chatty guy. As quietly as she can, Joan tiptoes downstairs so as not to disturb Florene and Kate in the master bedroom. Making sure she has the key given to her, Joan steps out on the front porch and shivers.

The sun is only minutes from rising, and the streetlights are on, but Joan can barely make out anything through the thick fog. Even her 25 foot tall tutor, standing in the park, would be invisible if his eyes didn't glow. Shivering again, Joan walks toward the park, and is reminded of a quip by Mark Twain who said the coldest winter he ever experienced was a summer he spent in San Francisco. As Joan reaches the park, her new cell phone begins playing: 'When The Saints Come Marching In'. The caller I. D. reads: GOD. Joan answers...

"Before you start, can you do something about all of this fog?"

"Joan, you know I don't interfere that way. The coming sunlight will burn off the fog quickly. Did you perhaps have a question about coincidences?"

"Yeah, I remember you once telling me that there are few coincidences. That often it is a matter of people not being able to see the big picture and recognizing where all the connections fit."

"You have a good memory, Joan. But, coincidences do exist. My hand isn't always behind them."

Joan sighs. "Why do I get the feeling that this is leading up to another one of your backdoor ways of getting me involved in an assignment without breaking your promise that I could have time off this summer?"

"Joan, I'm saddened that you are so mistrusting. I gave you this vacation time, and I want you to enjoy yourself. Of course where your free will choices may take you are a situation in flux, as always."

"Well, my free will choice is to spend time with Adam and see if he and I can patch things up. This is important to me, so none of your passive-agressive manuvers, okay? I need this time with Adam to...uh..."

"Yes Joan, I know what you are hoping for."

"Is that tone a commentary?"

"Joan, if you hear a 'tone', it is in your imagination only. You have free will, and my trust that you will use it wisely. Enjoy your vaction."

As Joan and Phone God have been talking, a couple of tough young men, drug addicts who prowl the night looking for what they can steal, silently watch Joan. The night has yielded them little, and on their way back to their 'home', they have spotted an easy target. With a grunt of pleasure and anticipation that even if they gain little monetarily, they can at least have some quick 'fun' with such a pretty girl. Silently, they move forward, but at every step, a feeling of dread begins to overtake them. They glance about nervously, feeling panicked, but not knowing why. Approaching a level of pure terror, the two men are unable to resist the urge to run away. Little do they know that the two demons of violence and addiction that influence their lives have recognized the danger that Joan represents, and that is why they are running as if their lives depended upon this escape.

Meanwhile, Joan has completed her warm up exercises and has begun her run. Alamo Square is four city blocks in size, and Joan alternates laps of jogging and running for nearly an hour. During this time her tutor barks out a lecture on fire demons, who have far less influence than they use to since people have stopped worshipping fire. Still, they often influence pyromaniacs, and they love corrupting small children - getting them to become facinated with fire. At the end of her run, Joan practices the bizarre but highly efffective angelic fighting techniques her tutor has trained her in. Finally, she comes to rest on a bench, wiping the sweat from her eyes and enjoying the sunlight now that the fog is gone.

Satisfied with the extent of her workout and degree of attention during his lecture, the angel begins to walk away. Joan calls out...

"Wait, we need to talk."

The angel says nothing, but pauses momentarily.

"The thing is, I'm on vacation and there may come a morning when I need you to not do your tap-tap-tap routine on the window of...whatever bedroom I happen to be in."

The angel frowns, not willing to make this easy for her.

"I'm...talking about my sex life."

"I wasn't aware you had one."

"That's the point. I want one, and my visit here might be my only chance this summer to...start one."

"With Adam Rove."

"Can't keep secrets from you, can I? Yes, with Adam - assuming things work out between us. So, if I'm with Adam one of these mornings, lay off the tappity tap stuff, okay?"

"I can make it a spiritual 'tap'. Only you would hear it."

"Again, you're missing the point. That morning I wouldn't be in the mood to train. I'll be busy cuddling, and...maybe having morning sex. Understand?"

"I have seen the entire span of creation. Yes, I understand all of your bodily functions."

With that, the angel turns and walks away. As usual, Joan watches his departure. He makes an impressive sight, but the angel definitely takes getting use to. No wonder the first things angels always said in the bible was 'fear not'. Feeling relieved she has got her point across, Joan heads back to the old Victorian house...

Meanwhile... Kate Bloom rushes into the kitchen and takes her seat at the table. "She's coming."

"What's the hurry? I only asked you to see if Joan was done with her jog."

"Shh. I'll tell you later."

The sound of Joan entering the house is heard, and a moment later she joins the two older women in the kitchen...

"I'm back. Something smells really good."

Florene replies, "Bacon and cheese omelets, if you'd like one. Or, are you a vegetarian? I have tofu."

"Eww. Bacon and cheese sounds great. I worked up quite an appetite. Do I have time to take a shower first? I also worked up quite a sweat."

"Of course, dear. The omelet can be ready with only a few minutes notice, so take your time. Enjoy your shower."

"Thanks. Be right back."

Joan rushes to the stairs, and the two women wait until she is out of earshot.

"Now, what's up?" Florene asks.

"When you asked me to check on Joan, I looked out the front window and saw her resting on a park bench. She was looking up and having a conversation, but no one was there!"

"Oh. Maybe Joan was praying? I know Helen is quite religious, and maybe she passed that on to Joan."

"No, this wasn't any sort of prayer. I could tell, it was a conversation where she paused several times while waiting for a response. She definitely thought she was speaking to someone."

Florene pauses, concern on her face. "Okay, I didn't want to mention this, but a few years ago Joan went through some problems with her health. She had Lyme disease, and was feverish with delusions. She thought she was having conversations with imaginary people, and last year it came out that those talks were with...God."

"Florene, you've invited a crazy girl into our home? She has a key to this house! Who knows what lunacy she might drag in here?"

"Now Kate, it's not that bad. Joan spent an entire summer at a camp for troubled teens, and came back much better. She doesn't have those delusions any more. You've seen and spoken with Joan, and you said you liked her. Please don't hold it against her that she had a few problems when she was younger. I, of all people, know what that's like."

"That's different. You were proposing a scientific study that said plants respond to people's voices, and it was true."

"Yes, eventually numerous studies showed I was right, but for a long time, I wore that 'crazy' label. One you have it attached to your name, it's nearly impossible to get rid of. For years I've been known in my family as that oddball who talks to flowers."

"At least now when your family talks about the crazy member, they won't necessarily be talking about you." Kate says with a chuckle.

"It's not funny. Talk like this would really hurt Joan. I know. Besides, I still think all you saw was Joan praying. Some people don't do it in a rote way, but actually speak to God like a person."

Kate snorts, "As if that wasn't crazy. Talking to thin air and expecting some sort of response."

"God is real. I saw that during my experiments with the flowers."

"Here we go again..."

"How else do you explain that plants exposed to kindness and love grow better than a control group, while plants that are exposed to harsh yelling and threats wither? How can you explain that plants, with no mental or emotional components, respond to good and evil the same way higher beings do? How can that be anything but the inherent plan and will of God for all living things?"

"I'll admit that it's kind of weird that plants react to emotions, but it would take a lot more than that for me to believe in God, especially when you consider how every major religion in the world condemns the two of us for being in love. What kind of God is that?"

"That's religion, not God. Maybe that's a new experiment I should consider? Expose various plants to the preaching of the different religions of the world, plus devil worship, and see how they do. Maybe it's a way to see if one religion is any better than all of the others. I'm not sure how that would turn out, but I'd be willing to bet the plants exposed to the sounds of devil worship would do horribly."

"I'll take that bet. Winner gets to pick the restaurant of their choice, and the loser pays."

Florene laughs. "Deal. The easiest lobster dinner I've ever won."

"Hey wait, there better be a control group. The deal is that the plants exposed to the devil stuff won't do any worse than those exposed to nothing."

"It's still a deal, and I'll make that surf and turf, if you please."

X X X X X

For Joan, the rest of the day is one of nervousness and soul searching. It has been nearly a year since she last saw Adam, and the few times they have spoken since then were filled with harsh words and bitter feelings. For most of the year they have communicated by e-mail because they seem unable to speak civilly to each other. Was she fooling herself with this reunion? True, she missed Adam dreadfully, but was that due to a lost love, a lost friendship or just plain horniness? At 19, Joan has become increasingly frustrated with her virginal status, and one way or another, she is determined to end that status before she is out of her teens.

Joan has no doubt that she loves Adam and always will, but is that the way her heart truly feels or is this a nostalgia for that simpler, sweeter time in her life? Of course her body simply replies, who cares? Jump his bones! Joan sighs as she tries to deal with the endless emotional baggage between her and Adam while resisting the urge to just give in to her hormones. It would be so much easier if this was just about sex, but there is the morning after to consider... Adam has hurt her too many times (and she him, if she is being completely honest), and she doesn't want to look over at Adam the morning after and hate herself, or worse, him. After all, this is their third (fourth?) attempt at making a relationship work between them, and something always interferes... Like Bonnie.

No, that was unfair. Joan has accepted that she bore some of the responsibility for what happened between Bonnie and Adam. The night she rejected him in the camper, she was too naive to know that she needed to reassure Adam that the problem had nothing to do with his lovemaking techniques. It wasn't his fault she didn't become aroused. It was because she was obsessed with how losing her virginity might adversely affect her relationship with God. Focused only on her own problem, Joan did not consider how she had shattered Adam's ego as a guy, and that he needed to prove his prowess to himself or go mad with doubt. And of course, there then entered into their lives that greasy little skank, Bonnie.

Forget high school. Focus on the now...but was that any better? Last summer, after her war with Ryan Hunter, she and Adam found that their renewed friendship still had the potential for romance. Both were worried that if they failed again in a relationship it would forever end their friendship, but the urge to try again was just too strong to resist. They swore to go slow and to honestly say if they had any doubts along the way. If so, they would retreat and settle for just friendship. But things went well. Slowly, Joan regained that deep trust she needed to have in order to fully commit herself. By the time Adam was about to go away to State (an easy commute from Arcadia), Joan decided she would join him for his first weekend there and finally consumate their relationship. But once again, fate bitch-slapped her.

Berekley was Adam's dream school, but he lost most of his scholarship money due to a plot by Ryan. Adam settled for State with the consolation that at least he would be near his girlfriend. But some kid who had a full financial package to go to Berekley had to drop out at the last moment to enter rehab. Adam was offered the financial package (thanks to Dean David Bloom, Joan now realizes), but the catch was, he had to take it immediately. In the rush to make it to California in time, Adam forgot one minor detail. Joan.

Infuriated, and feeling betrayed once more, Joan raged against Adam in one angry phone call after another. Eventually, she declared that since she was such an after thought in his life, they should date other people while they were apart. Angry himself by what he saw as Joan's unfairness, Adam readily agreed. And that's how they left it. Dozens of times afterward, Joan thought of calling Adam and apologizing and asking that they call off this dating others idea. But pride and stubborness won the day. When Adam informed her that he would not be coming home to Arcadia on summer vacation because his work was catching on in the bay area, Joan wondered if she would ever have another chance with Adam Rove. But then came this vacation, paid for by Kevin, and hope sprang up once again for Joan.

Now it is early evening, and Joan waits nervously for Adam and their first date in nearly a year. Does he still love her? Does he want to bother trying again? And just how many women has Adam Rove had in his bed since she last saw him? Joan gulps as impossibly high numbers race through her head. The doorbell rings...

Joan hears Florene answering the door and welcoming Adam inside. Joan stands and makes her way from the living room to the foyer. There he is, looking incredibly handsome in his best navy blue suit.

"Adam..."

"Jane..."

Like an old fashioned movie, they race into each other's arms...

To Be Continued. Please review.

For those unfamiliar with the TV show Women's Murder Club, it was based on the series of books by author James Patterson. Barbara Hall, the creator of Joan of Arcadia, worked on the show as a consulting producer and wrote some of the episodes. Women's Murder Club ran on ABC on Friday nights, and it was definitely a cut above the average police drama. It quickly became my favorite show of the 2007/08 season, so naturally it was canceled. Oddly, the show won its' time slot nearly every time it aired. So why was it canceled? Like JoA in the second season, the average age of the viewer of W. M. C. was over 50 - the kiss of death for network television. (Who do they think makes up the majority of the Friday night TV viewers?) For the purpose of this crossover, I have played a little fast and loose with the timeline.