Title: New beginnings
Author: Bronwyn Morris - bkmorris@hotmail.com
Author's Note: This story is set during the second season episode Food Chains and then branches off, basically everything that happens in the show after that point doesn't happen in this story. This story makes more sense if you read parts 1, 2, 3 & 4. All feedback can be sent to bkmorris@hotmail.com . Oh this may be irrelevant but I'm from Australia so any mistakes I make in the future regarding the American legal system aren't intentional.
Special thanks to my sister Kylie for editing this story for me.
Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to DEK and ABC, I don't own them nor do I profit from them.
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New Beginnings
Part 5
"Lucy where's the Kellerman file?" Rebecca asked as she searched her desk "I left it right here, what did you do with it?"
Lucy looked up from her computer with a frown "I didn't touch it, why does everyone always blame me when something goes missing?"
"Maybe it's because you always move things" Rebecca turned to her "You know I think you do it on purpose just....."
"Oh of course I do" Lucy interrupted her "Cause I've got nothing better to do than chase after you and hide your files when you aren't looking"
"I wouldn't be surprised, it's probably in your desk drawer as we speak" Rebecca marched over to see for herself, but Lucy stood up blocking her way.
"Get away from my desk, I've told you I don't have your file" she said
"Not half you don't, give it to me"
Hearing the commotion Eugene came out of his office to see Lucy and Rebecca standing toe to toe arguing "What's going on here?" he asked loudly to make himself heard over the screaming.
Rebecca turned towards him "Lucy stole the Kellerman file"
"Bite me" Lucy retorted. This started another screaming match.
"ENOUGH!!!" Eugene yelled, he went to the filing cabinet and pulled out a file and handed it to Rebecca, "The Kellerman file, I had it yesterday, I told you I was filing it, remember?"
Rebecca took the file "Oh yeah, I forgot"
Eugene shook his head "What's going on Bec? It's not like you to fly off the handle like that."
She got defensive "Nothing's going on, I couldn't find the file and I'm going into court tomorrow and....."
"Ahh....." Eugene said nodding
Rebecca glared and took a step towards him "What?"
He smiled "Nothing Bec, it's just that you always get a little uptight before a trial, don't worry about it, nerves are nothing to be ashamed of"
"I do not get uptight"
"Yeah right" Lucy muttered under her breath, Rebecca whirled around to glare at her and Lucy ran and hid behind Eugene "Don't let her hit me" she squealed.
Eugene shook his head "Nobody's hitting anybody, if we all could just get back to work...." He was interrupted by the door opening and Ellenor and Jimmy entering the office, snow still clinging to them, Ellenor took note of the scene in front of her "What's going on?" she asked.
"Rebecca's hostile" Lucy piped up, from her vantage point behind Eugene.
"Lucy" he warned.
"What?" she said, braver now that there were more people around "She accuses me of running around the office stealing files when no-ones looking and when she's wrong does she apologise...." She paused waiting for a response from anyone, when no-one seemed inclined to give one she answered for herself. "No, she doesn't"
Eugene looked at her "Are you finished?"
"Well she could have apologised" Lucy mumbled as she sat back down behind her desk.
"Whatever" Ellenor responded, she looked around, "Is Bobby here?"
Eugene shook his head "No, he's in court today, but he should be back soon"
"Damn I forgot about that"
Jimmy smirked at her "Gee I'm glad we rushed"
She glared at him "Shut up Jimmy"
Eugene sighed "Not again" he muttered, then stepped between Jimmy and Ellenor before another fight could break out "Ok what's going on?"
"You'll never believe who we ran into after our settlement negotiation" Ellenor said
"Who?" Eugene asked
"Lindsay"
"Oh my God" Rebecca said stunned "You saw Lindsay, where?"
"Her office is in the same building as our meeting was, just two floors up, so we thought we'd drop in and say hello..."
"Who's Lindsay?" Lucy asked.
Everyone turned to look at her. "Lindsay's a lawyer who used to work here" Rebecca responded "She left about a year before you started"
"Wow there used to be another lawyer here, how come you've never mentioned her before?"
"Bobby didn't want us to talk about her, so her name was kind of taboo after she left" Ellenor answered.
Lucy leaned forward "This sounds like some great gossip, I can't believe you guys have left me out of it, tell me everything"
Eugene spoke up "Lucy I don't think we should get into it right now, Bobby wouldn't appreciate us talking about it"
"Talking about what?" Bobby asked as he walked through the door.
Everybody but Lucy jumped. "Bobby, hey how was court" Eugene asked trying to change the subject.
"Court was good, I won" he looked at everybody in turn "Is someone going to tell me what's going on"
Everybody looked at everyone else, not knowing what to say, finally Ellenor spoke up "Jimmy and I ran into Lindsay today"
Bobby was visibly surprised. Everyone was watching him waiting for him to say something. He had a thousand questions, so he asked the first one that came into his mind "How is she?"
Ellenor and Jimmy looked at each other silently trying to determine who should speak, again it was Ellenor "It seems she's doing well Bobby. She's got an office on the East Side of town" she looked around at everyone "She said to say hi to everybody"
"I always knew she'd do well for herself" Bobby said, he looked down "She's probably married with two kids by now" he muttered
Again Ellenor and Jimmy looked at each other, this time Jimmy spoke "Actually Bobby, she's not"
Bobby looked at him "How do you know?"
"Cause Ellenor asked" Jimmy said
"Jimmy" Ellenor nudged him in the ribs trying to stop him from giving away the fact that she'd divulged information about Bobby. "Unfortunately we didn't get to see Helen" she said trying to change the subject.
But Bobby wasn't interested in a subject change "So she just told you she wasn't seeing anyone?" he said
Ellenor shuffled her feet. "Well you know she asked about everyone and we were talking about Rebecca passing the bar and Eugene getting re-married and it just came up in the course of the conversation" she glared at Jimmy daring him to challenge her version.
"Did she ask about me?" As hard as he tried to keep his voice neutral a glimmer of hope came through in the question.
"Well, like I said Bobby, she asked about everyone, and when we mentioned the idea of catching up with her again she seemed pretty open to it." Ellenor responded. "In fact I have to go back to her building to wrap up the Geller case, I thought I'd drop in on her again, maybe catch up with Helen this time...."
"When are you going back?" Bobby interrupted.
"Ah well, I have to contact the client, but if he agrees and I think he will, probably tomorrow. I'd really like to get it over with"
"Me too" said Jimmy
"Tomorrow" Bobby said quietly. He moved towards his office. "I've um got some work to finish up, you guys should go home, the weathers getting pretty bad out there" He walked around the corner.
"Bobby" Rebecca stopped him as he walked through the doorway "Are you alright?"
He smiled at her "I'm fine Bec, thanks. I've just got a lot of work to do" He closed the door.
"Boy" Lucy said, "Things are getting really interesting."
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End of part 5. Please send feedback
Bron
Title: New beginnings
Author: Bronwyn Morris - bkmorris@hotmail.com
Author's Note: This story starts during the second season episode Food Chains and then branches off, basically everything that happens in the show after that point doesn't happen in this story. This story makes more sense if you read parts 1 - 5. All feedback can be sent to bkmorris@hotmail.com . Oh this may be irrelevant but I'm from Australia so any mistakes I make in the future regarding the American legal system aren't intentional.
Special thanks to my sister Kylie for editing this story for me.
Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to DEK and ABC, I don't own them nor do I profit from them.
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New Beginnings
Part 6
"Jimmy are you ready?" Ellenor asked as she retrieved her coat. She looked out the window at the steady snowfall. "Thank goodness the weathers cleared up a bit"
Jimmy reached for his coat as well "I'll say we don't need a repeat of yesterday...." He was interrupted by Bobby coming out of his office and moving towards them "Hey Bobby are you going out? I thought you finished your case yesterday?"
"Ah yeah I did, I thought I might come along with you guys to help you with the negotiations, you know a show of support from the head of the firm" Bobby replied.
"Oh well, we're not really negotiating it's all been settled, we're just finishing up the paperwo...."
His sentence was cut off when Ellenor jabbed him sharply in the ribs and glared at him, "We'd love to have you come along Bobby" she said.
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As soon as they left Lucy turned to Rebecca and Eugene who had been watching the byplay with interest. "So come on guys, I've been dying to know, what's the story with Bobby and Lindsay?"
"It's really none of your business Lucy" Eugene said.
Lucy knocked her head against her desk "This is sooo unfair, everybody knows except me, you can't leave me with just part of the picture, I'll die" she said dramatically.
Eugene was unconvinced "Uhuh, what part of the picture do you think you have?"
She sat back up excitedly "Ok I'll tell you what I've pieced together so far." She paused for dramatic effect "Lindsay used to work here...."
"Good going, Sherlock" Rebecca interrupted.
Lucy glared at her "Don't interrupt Rebecca. Now where was I? Right Lindsay used to work here, she and Bobby had a fight, probably cause he wanted to sleep with her or something. She left, he hasn't seen her in five years, but just the mention of her name has him using really bad excuses to go and see her again, hoping against hope that this time she'll go out with him." She sat back smiling "So how did I do?"
Eugene stared at her, "What makes you think he asked her out, you've never even met her."
"No but I've worked with him for four years now"
"So?"
"So" Lucy said "Eugene, he doesn't date, for four years now I've never seen him take anyone out, all the women who come in here flirting with him and he never pays any attention to them. I've offered to fix him up with some women every now and then but he just gets mad, and gives me some speech about how he can find his own dates. It all makes so much sense to me now" She sat back satisfied. "So she turned him down hey?"
Rebecca shook her head in exasperation "You offered to fix Bobby up with women?"
"Well he was always so cranky, I figured it was because he wasn't getting any, so I tried to help" She got defensive. "Hey if anybody had bothered to tell me he was pining away for the love of his life I wouldn't have interfered" She glared at both of them.
"You've got it wrong Lucy" Eugene said "Lindsay left because she asked for a partnership and Bobby wasn't prepared to relinquish control of the firm, that's all"
Lucy was astounded "You mean there was nothing between them, no relationship at all?"
Both Eugene and Rebecca looked uncomfortable "What?" Lucy asked "What aren't you telling me?"
"Well they did have a relationship at one stage, but that was over before Lindsay asked for the partnership" Rebecca said.
"I knew it" Lucy smirked "I knew I was right"
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"Well" Bobby said rubbing his hands together nervously "That didn't take very long" The elevator arrived and he stepped inside, when he turned around he noticed Ellenor and Jimmy hadn't followed him.
"She's on the seventh floor Bobby" Ellenor told him
"Aren't you guys coming?"
She shook her head "We said hello yesterday, we'll see you back at the office" the doors shut in front of him "Good luck" she said softly.
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Bobby took a deep breath and summoning all of his courage pushed open the doors of Gamble and Dole and took a step inside. He looked around the interior of the office noting the nice décor and spacious area with interest. He wasn't surprised Lindsay and Helen had done so well for themselves, and on a subconscious level he was happy for their success. But he was much too nervous to dwell on it at the moment. He noticed a group of people milling around a desk and stepped forward to ask for assistance when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Oh my God, it's Bobby Donnell"
With a small smile he turned around. "Hello Helen"
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End of part 6. Well I just thought I'd leave it there for now. Please tell me what you think.
Bron
Title: New beginnings
Author: Bronwyn Morris - bkmorris@hotmail.com
Author's Note: This story is set during the second season episode Food Chains and then branches off, basically everything that happens in the show after that point doesn't happen in this story. This story makes more sense if you read parts 1 - 6. All feedback can be sent to bkmorris@hotmail.com . Oh this may be irrelevant but I'm from Australia so any mistakes I make in the future regarding the American legal system aren't intentional.
Special thanks to my sister Kylie for editing this story for me.
Special thanks also to my new friend June for her valuable insights and comments.
Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to DEK and ABC, I don't own them nor do I profit from them.
___________________________________________________________
New Beginnings
Part 7
Helen walked over and hugged Bobby warmly. "Well this is certainly a surprise, in fact I can honestly say you're the last person I expected to see standing in my foyer. What brings you by?" She raised an eyebrow "You don't need to hire a lawyer do you?"
Bobby chuckled feeling his tension ease a little "No, I haven't been arrested"
"Well I had to ask, you know old habits are hard to break"
He frowned "I do not make a habit out of getting arrested"
She smiled "Bobby you spent so much time in a cell they nearly named one after you"
He looked down "Well that was mostly for contempt, I was only arrested once" he cleared his throat. "But anyway" he said trying to get the conversation back on track "Ellenor and Jimmy mentioned they were here yesterday, and seeing as I was in the neighbourhood I thought I'd drop in and say hello"
Helen looked confused "Ellenor and Jimmy were here yesterday?"
All of Bobby's tension came flooding back "Ahh, Lindsay didn't mention it?"
"Oh well, I've been in meetings since yesterday morning, I just finished about ten minutes ago, so I haven't had a chance to catch up with Lindsay yet."
Bobby tried to sound casual "Is she here?"
Helen nodded "She's in her office, but she's on a conference call at the moment...."
"Oh" The last shred of Bobby's courage deserted him and he felt an overwhelming desire to leave "Well tell her I said hello" he looked at his watch "Jeez, is that the time I should get going, I've got another appointment..." he turned towards the door.
"Hey!" Helen said grabbing his arm "Where are you going?" she frowned at him "If you'd let me finish my sentence I was about to say that she should be finished in a couple of minutes." Now she smiled "I'm sure I can keep you company til then" she turned and headed towards her office, assuming Bobby would follow, with one last lingering look at the door he did just that.
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"So" Helen said as she sat down behind her desk and motioned for Bobby to sit opposite her "You've come to see Lindsay"
Bobby squirmed under the direct stare "Ahh, both of you, I came to say hi to both of you"
"Uhuh" Helen rested her elbows on the desk and leaned forward "It's been five years Bobby, now suddenly here you are, and I'm supposed to believe you just dropped in to say hello"
"If you want me to leave Helen I can, Lindsay doesn't even need to know I was here"
"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy Bobby"
"I don't think I need to justify myself to you"
She glared at him "I think you do, Lindsay's my best friend, if you're just here to hurt her again....."
"Hang on, I just dropped in to say hello, who said anything about hurting anyone"
"Oh I forgot, you were just in the neighbourhood"
"That's right"
"So it's taken you five years to find our neighbourhood?"
Bobby looked uncomfortable "Well I didn't know where you were"
"We moved across town Bobby, not across the country"
He sighed "Helen, what do you want me to say? Ellenor and Jimmy mentioned you were here, as you've pointed out, I haven't seen you in awhile, and I wanted to see how you were doing. At one point in our lives we were all good friends, I've missed that, that's all"
"So that's what you're going to say to Lindsay, that you want to be friends again after five years?"
Bobby sat up straighter in the chair "You know I don't know why you're making me out to be the bad guy, she left me.... um... the firm"
"Because you let her go" she looked at him "You didn't even try to fight for her Bobby, you chose your business over her and you let her walk away. She probably won't thank me for telling you this, but it took a long time for her to get over that. She loved you and you let her down."
"If she loved me she never would have left in the first place"
Helen looked at him incredulously "She left because you were going to fire her"
"What!!!" This time it was Bobby's turn to be stunned "Where'd you get an idea like that?"
"From Lindsay, she was in the office and she overheard you talking to Eugene, you said you were going to fire her"
All the blood drained from Bobby's face "Oh my God, I'd forgotten about that." He looked up at her "Helen, I wasn't going to fire her, I was just angry and.... well venting I guess, I dismissed the idea as soon as I said it. It was just a fly away comment, that's all"
"Well it wasn't to Lindsay. She came over to see me and she was really upset, she said she couldn't go back even to hand in her resignation, she made me promise not to mention anything to you, and I told her I wouldn't, that if you wanted to know more you'd talk to her yourself. But we both know that didn't happen."
Bobby put his head in his hands "She must hate me" he stood up "You know I think I should go, before she sees me, that'll be best for everybody"
Helen shook her head "I don't think so"
"Why?"
She smiled at him "Cause Lindsay's finished her call and she's headed this way"
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Can you tell I like to end things with a cliffhanger? Part 8 will be along shortly, please let me know what you think.
Title: New Beginnings
Author: Bronwyn Morris - bkmorris@hotmail.com
Author's Note: This story is set during the second season episode Food Chains and then branches off, basically everything that happens in the show after that point doesn't happen in this story. This story makes more sense if you read parts 1 - 7. All feedback can be sent to bkmorris@hotmail.com . Oh this may be irrelevant but I'm from Australia so any mistakes I make in the future regarding the American legal system aren't intentional.
Special thanks to my sister Kylie for editing this story for me.
Special thanks also to my new friend June for her valuable insights and comments.
Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to DEK and ABC, I don't own them nor do I profit from them.
___________________________________________________________
New Beginnings
Part 8
Panic was the first emotion that ran through Bobby's body. Last night when he had been imagining this moment the circumstances had been totally different. He had been in more control, he'd been calm, relaxed even and Lindsay had been happy to see him. But he wasn't feeling calm now, he was feeling a whole range of emotions and he wondered how he ever thought coming here would be a good idea. He quickly scanned the office for an escape route, but none seemed available.
Helen was watching him with interest "Looking for somewhere to hide Bobby?" she smirked "You could try under the desk or behind the plant, that usually works on TV" He was looking a little pale so she decided to take it easy on him "Why don't you sit down....." She was interrupted by Lindsay opening the door and walking into the office.
"Helen, Mr Marshall's agreed to..." She stopped in mid sentence as she noticed Bobby.
"Hey Babe" Helen said "Look who was in the neighbourhood" Lindsay and Bobby just stood looking at each other neither of them speaking. Helen looked between the two of them and shook her head "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to catch up" As she passed by Lindsay she whispered "I'll be outside if you need me" and she walked out closing the door behind her.
Bobby couldn't believe how much Lindsay had changed, when she had walked into the office to talk to Helen, she had carried herself with a confidence Bobby didn't remember her having before. He knew it had been a long time since he had seen her but she seemed to walk a little taller than he remembered. Of course that was before she noticed him standing there, Bobby watched the range of emotions pass over her face, shock being the most evident, before she managed to compose herself, just watching her achieve this had a wave of pride sweeping over him. 'God she's something' he thought to himself. He noticed some physical differences as well, the most obvious being her hairstyle, which he last remembered had been well past her shoulders, it was now cut in a short bob, that suited her perfectly. It gave her an air of maturity that, coupled with the slim figure nicely outlined in the suit skirt and blouse made for a very attractive package.
Lindsay was unaware of the direction of Bobby's thoughts, to say she was surprised to see him standing there was an understatement. She had thought Ellenor of Jimmy may visit again in the near future, if they had another appointment in the building. She also wouldn't have been surprised to have a phone call from Rebecca or Eugene, but the last person she expected to see only one day later was Bobby, standing in Helen's office like it had only been a week, instead of five years since they'd last spoken.
The silence wore on, because Lindsay had managed to control her emotions Bobby had no idea what she was thinking, but determined that she was probably too surprised or too angry to speak, he desperately hoped it was the former, 'there's only one way to find out' he thought and took a step forward. "Hello Lindsay" he said.
The shock was slowly wearing off Lindsay, she opened her mouth to talk but found no words were coming out, so she cleared her throat and tried again "Bobby, this is a surprise"
"That's what Helen said" He took another step towards her, "You look great"
"Um, thanks" she said embarrassed, she moved around behind Helen's desk in an attempt to put some distance between them, Bobby noticed and took a step back as well. She indicated the chair he'd been sitting in earlier, "Please have a seat" She said as she sat down in Helen's chair.
There was another awkward pause "Um .... " Bobby had no idea where to start so he chose the safest topic he could find "The office looks great, it looks like you've really built something here" he looked around desperately and his eyes settled on a painting hanging above the filing cabinet, he indicated to it. "Ah, that's nice, is it an original?"
Lindsay didn't know the reason for Bobby's visit, but she was sure it wasn't to talk about the furnishings, "No it's not" she leaned back in the chair "Bobby why are you here?"
The directness of the question threw Bobby, he scanned his mind for an answer and when one didn't immediately come forward he settled on the truth. "I wanted to see you"
Lindsay didn't respond but her raised eyebrows spoke volumes. Bobby took a deep breath and continued "Ellenor and Jimmy mentioned running into you yesterday, I haven't been able to think of anything else since. I wanted to see how you were doing"
Lindsay wasn't giving an inch "You could have asked them"
"I did, they said you were doing well and that you wanted them to visit again, I kind of hoped that might include me as well"
"So here you are"
He squirmed in his seat "I know it's been a long time" Again Lindsay was silent, Bobby grew defensive "It's not like you came to see us either"
"No" Lindsay agreed "And to tell you the truth Bobby I never would have"
Again he was taken aback by her bluntness "Why not?"
She didn't answer immediately, trying to think of the best way to phrase the response without revealing to much "I was angry when I left, I felt ....." she searched for the right word and used the only one that came to mind "Betrayed... I guess, I handed in my resignation and if it hadn't been for a visit from Rebecca I never would have even known you'd received it..."
Bobby leaned forward "Rebecca visited you?" he interrupted
Lindsay shook her head in disbelief "You didn't even know that, why am I not surprised" she looked him right in the eye for the first time that day "Yes she came to visit me, on behalf of the other members of the firm, she tried to talk me out of leaving"
"Obviously it didn't work"
Now Lindsay was getting angry, five years of pent up emotion came rising to the surface "No it didn't work Bobby, and you know why?" she didn't even wait for him to respond "It didn't work because the one member of the firm she wasn't speaking for was you, handing in my resignation didn't even rate a phone call from you, let alone a visit. So I did leave, and I didn't visit you, in fact I've done everything I could to avoid you up until now...." She broke off, as the composure she had been clinging so tightly to cracked and the tears she'd been holding back threatened to overflow. She looked away.
Bobby was stunned by the outburst, he could tell how hard Lindsay was trying to keep herself together and he was upset that by being there he had opened old wounds he hadn't realised existed. He wasn't exactly sure how to go about making things right, but he desperately wanted to.
"Lindsay, Helen told me about you overhearing my conversation with Eugene" she turned back around to face him, "Please don't be mad at her" he said quietly "She was telling me the real reason why you left, I thought....."
"I know what you thought Bobby" she broke in "You thought I was trying to blackmail you into offering me a partnership..." Bobby looked at her with surprise "I've always known, that made it worse I think, that you thought I was capable of that"
Bobby wondered if he could do any more damage "Lindsay I was wrong, about everything, your reasons for leaving, my reason for not going after you, I know sorry can't even begin to cover it, but I am so sorry." He leaned forward "I know you have no reason to believe me, but what you heard that night was me just blowing off steam, I never had any intention of firing you" he stood "I have no right to ask this of you, and I fully understand if you say no but...." He paused taking a deep breath "I was wondering if you'd give me the chance to start over" She looked up at him "I know I've let you down, and I certainly don't deserve a second chance, but we used to be friends once Lindsay, I'd be forever grateful if we could be again. Pride kept me away this long, but I don't think I have any left. Please give me a chance to earn back your trust."
Tears were running freely down Lindsay's cheeks, there was no way she could speak through the lump in her throat. Her silence had Bobby clutching at straws "Everybody else misses you too, if you won't say yes for me could you at least for them?"
Lindsay nodded slowly and Bobby released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, "Can I call you?" she nodded again. "Great" he said "I'll get your number from your secretary" he moved towards the door, and opened it, but turned before walking through, "Thank you" he said quietly and left.
Lindsay turned to look out at the snow falling outside, she let the tears fall, purging herself of all the emotions she'd been keeping inside for five years. She didn't know if it was possible to be friends with Bobby after all this time, but just having the opportunity to confront him about the past helped to heal a few wounds she'd never been able to close, if for no other reason than that she was glad he'd come. She hoped they could be friends though, because as much as she'd tried to hide it, she had missed him and everyone else too. Perhaps pride had gotten in the way but if he was willing to try again, then she could meet him halfway, it couldn't hurt to try she thought, and smiled through the tears. For the first time in five years the future looked positive.
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Please send me feedback, I'd really like to know what you thought.
Bron