Disclaimer: I do not own anybody or anything cept Susan

A/N: Sorry about the wait, but here is the next chapter, and it's a pretty long one. I hope you enjoy!

What was he doing here? Trixie thought. He wasn't supposed to be here. This was her place, her world. Jim wasn't supposed to come into it.

"Trixie?!" Jim said. He appeared to be as surprised to see her there as Trixie was to see him.

What is he doing? Trixie asked herself again and why was he surprised to see me? Trixie knew that he knew that she was working there. Just because she didn't talk to him directly anymore, didn't mean that word didn't reach him.

Dan, Trixie thought this had Dan written all over it.

"I'm sorry, sir," Trixie said keeping her voice professional. She was flustered at seeing Jim, of course, but Trixie didn't get through all those tight scrapes by letting her voice show her emotions, "but Officer Mangan is out at the moment. If you wish to wait, there are some seats over there."

Jim stood there, still, in front of the desk. His freckled face was blank underneath his red hair.

"Sir," Trixie repeated herself, "I must ask you to take a seat or leave. I have other people to take care of."

They both stood their, on either side of the desk, staring at each other. Jim's stare blank and unreadable, Trixie's daring and defiant. Slowly, Jim nodded his head and walked over to the chairs. He looked back, but Trixie had already started with her work, not thinking about him any longer – or so it appeared.

The whole time Jim sat a few feet away from her Trixie pretended to work, but nothing really got done, nothing really had to be done. Her job was a slow one, it always was. She flipped through blank pages, adding a word here or there. The whole time acting like Jim Frayne was the last thing on her mind, when in reality he was the only thing.

She was closer to him than she had been in three years. Jim, her trusted friend, her first – and really only – love. After Honey, he was the first person she would go to for a mystery. He was the first person she would tell good news to too, and the first one she'd go to get comfort from the bad. That was before. She could remember every detail about the first time she saw him. She remembered everything about that day, that week, the months and years that followed that. Her life started the day the Wheelers moved into the manor house. She remembered everything about walking into the miser's mansion, and seeing his sleeping form on the old mattress. She remembered the look on his face when he saw them, and the look on his face after both she and Honey had offered to adopt him. It wasn't love at first sight, but there was still something about Jim, that was just… Every moment after that had been stored safely in a special place in her mind. A place she used to like to visit, but now, she kept as far away as possible. Around Jim, she once felt safe and secure, and completely ok to be herself, but now just being in the same room as him made her feel tense and on guard.

It was all too much. Just the name 'Jim' filled her with so many emotions Trixie felt like she might explode. There was the pain, and the hurt; there was also something else. Something else that the pain didn't quite eclipse and something that Trixie didn't want to admit was there.

"Dan," Trixie jumped up grabbing her friend's attention the second he walk through the door, "You have a visitor."

She pointed to the seat where Jim sat drumming his fingers. He hopped up the second he saw that Dan had arrived.

"Jim, what are you doing here?" Dan said surprised.

Jim shook hands with his friend, "You said I could come down if -"

"Of course, right, of course, how could I forget, right this way," Dan said heading towards his desk, "we can check it out over at my desk."

Trixie looked back at their backs as they walked to Dan's desk. The desk was only a short ways from Trixie's own, but it was far enough to stop Trixie from hearing. That frustrated the sleuth in Trixie that smelled a mystery brewing. All other thoughts were driven from her head as Trixie decided she had to hear what was being said. She had to be in on the mystery. She grabbed the papers off her desk – the blank ones she had been doodling – and she walked over to the filing cabinet; the cabinet was close enough to Dan's desk to enable Trixie to hear the discussion.

"How did it come to this Dan? She wouldn't even say my name. She acted like she didn't know me," Jim's voice was raw with emotion.

Trixie risked glancing over. She didn't want to give the appearance that she was eavesdropping – which she was – but she had to see Dan's face. Jim's face would have been more ideal, but his back was towards her. His shoulders, she noted, were hunched over and his head was hanging. Dan had a sympathetic expression that was hindered with awkwardness.

"I don't know what to say, Jim, I guess you just have to give her time," Dan finally tried to consol his friend.

Jim raised his head, "Time, it's been two years! How much time do I have to give her…? Oh, I don't know…"

Dan sighed and shuffled some papers on her desk. Trixie stopped moving, she was enraptured in the conversation.

"Ok, look, I'm not pretending to be an expert on these things, but I've spent a lot of time with Trixie these past few years," Dan said solemnly, "and… she, it really hurt her… you just… I don't think she wants it to happen again. She has her guard up; so to speak… she's shielding herself from those things."

Jim covered his eyes, leaned his head back, and groaned, "I wish none of this had happened. If I had just… but then… and now I can't get her to believe I didn't do it. Dan… I just can't believe I managed to mess it all up so bad. It seemed so perfect, then…"

"I still feel like this is some how my fault," Dan admitted.

"What are you talking about? You didn't do anything," Jim said, "It's nobody's fault but my own. You would think after it happened once I would have learned…. Then of course that's what makes my story so unbelievable now… cause I should of learned… but…"

Dan nodded slowly, "Twice does kind of make a bad impression, but I brought her home the second time… I just I should have known…"

"Dan, I made decisions that lead to both incidents, no one can change that. No matter how hard you might try. I messed up my life on my own, and everyone else's," he sounded so defeated that it would have broken Trixie's heart if it hadn't been broken already.

As she stood there listening to the boys' words, words she had more or less heard so many times before, but didn't believe, couldn't believe, memories flashed back to Trixie. Memories she didn't want to live again, but were coming any how.

She felt the pain expanded in her chest taking up the space where her heart and lungs use; she was short of breath, gasping for air. She felt tears well up in her blue eyes. Why did this have to happen? Where did all this pain come from? What happened to the old me, and can I ever get it back?

It was right after Trixie's graduation. The first time it happened.

The Wheelers had thrown a big graduation party for the girls – Diana, Honey, and Trixie. All the kids in their class was there, and their family and close friends - specifically one girl, Susan McNeil.

Susan McNeil was a pretty blonde who was a year or two older than the girls. Her brother had been in their grade and that was why she was there. Susan was tall, delicate and all around feminine. She was in some ways everything Trixie was not. Susan has a stunning smile, and was one of the only people Trixie could think of that came close to rivaling Di for most beautiful. Trixie, when she noticed Susan talking to Jim early in the evening, couldn't help but feel jelous, and ragged in comparison. It was like being faced with the stunning Dot, from Des Moines, all over again.

It was halfway into the evening that Trixie noticed that Jim was no where to be seen on downstairs where all the guests were.

"Have you seen Jim?" She asked Honey and her eldest brother Brian. They both shook their heads.

"He could be up in his room he was saying something about wanting to get started on next years stuff," Honey said hoping to be helpful, "Why he would do that during a party though, I don't know."

Trixie nodded her head, and went for the stairs that lead to the second floor of the Manor House.

"Jim," She called out to the silent hall. She got no reply.

What is Jim doing? She pondered. It was unlike Jim to leave a party he was hosting. That wasn't proper, and Jim was nothing if not proper.

She started knocking on the doors and calling out his name. It wasn't until she was halfway down the hall that she was successful.

"Come in," he called.

She turn the doorknob ready to great her boyfriend, and instead froze in the doorway. Any words she had once thought about saying died on her lips the moment she registered what she saw in the room.

"Trixie!" Jim called as she fled from the scene that had met her eyes.

She was all over him- Susan, perfect, beautiful, older, simply wonderful Susan.

Trixie only made it a few doors down before her legs collapsed from under her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She didn't want to cry, but tears were already running down her face.

"Trixie," Jim said again. He started to say something else but she cut him off before any words could come out of his mouth.

"Just save it Jim Frayne. Whatever you have to say just keep it to yourself, because I don't want to hear it," She open her eyes to glare at him , however, the tears glittering in her eyes some what marred the affect, "I know, why don't you go back to your room, and tell your little miss perfect what you want to say. You're obviously more interested in her anyways."

Jim stopped and stared, "How could you-"

"How could I what Jim? How could I what?" Trixie asked, "I think I should be the one asking you, 'How could you?'"

Jim closed his eyes and bit his lip. If Trixie hadn't been as upset as she was, she might have notice the Jim looked as upset as she felt.

He swallowed, and then said, "I was going to ask, how you could think I would actually do something like that. What about me makes you think I would do that. Trixie, I lo-"

"It's not what I know Jim, it's what I saw," Trixie said, cutting him off before he could finish saying anything she didn't want to hear, "and I know I saw you and her together… if you like that kind of girl better – Susan is gorgeous - then you know what fine, that's ok… it's not like I can do anything about it anyways. You could have… should have just told me… not-not…"

"Trixie, I've told you over and over again; it's you I like, it's you I want," he kneeled down to her level.

"Sure didn't look like I was the one you wanted," she growled.

"Trixie… you can solve a mystery that can stump even the most veteran professionals and yet you can't see what's in front of you right now. Susan had to use the bathroom, and all the ones downstairs were occupied. So I accompanied her up here to use mine. She was in there when you knocked, and then next thing I knew she wasn't… You came in so fast I had no time to react, no time to push her away," Jim explained, pleading with his voice and face for her to understand him, pleading for Trixie to forgive him, "and don't say I'm lying. If you think I'm not telling the truth, then answer me this, when have you known me to tell a lie? Give me one example and I'll leave it."

Trixie looked over at him. She wanted to believe him, but how could she? He, however, made a good point. Trixie thought long and hard, but all she could come up with was a whole group of times where he did everything in his power to not lie. He was just so honorable. So honorable, Trixie thought with a slight laugh, that it gets dull. The only time she could remember him coming close to lying, he had hated it so much, and he hadn't even told a fib. It had been back when he was hiding from his step-father, and they had gone for a ride in the woods. Mr. Lytell had found them, and just assumed that Jim was Honey's brother, and although that is true now, it wasn't then. No had actually told Mr. Lytell anything that was false, they just didn't correct him either. Still, Jim hated himself for that simple act.

Trixie tried; she made a valid attempt, a more than valid attempt to find a time when he had let a lie pass through his lips, but nothing could be found. As far as Trixie knew, could tell, Jim had never really lied. She felt her resolve weakening.

"Well," she said after a short time, "there was that time you scared Honey with all those lies about mad animals."

Jim's expression flickered, "Hang on now Trix! You know I was telling the truth-"

He appeared to have more to say on the subject, but Trixie's slowly growing smile stopped him. He realized she was teasing him.

He smiled, "So, do you believe me? Am I forgiven?"

Trixie sighed and looked at him, "Can I tell you tomorrow? I just don't know what to think right now, Jim."

"Of course," Jim said, "take all the time you need."

She obviously forgave him the next morning. Then it happened again.

It was the same as before only a few months later, and no party. Susan had come to the Wheeler estate with Dan this time. He had met-up with her again in New York. Trixie wasn't even aware that she had been their when she had walked into the wheeler's tack room to find Susan and Jim kissing. This time she didn't even stop to wait to hear his excuses. She knew better to believe them; they were just that – excuses.

That's exactly what she told Honey when she called that evening.

"You know Jim wouldn't do that," Honey had said, "That's just not him."

"Yeah," Trixie said with a bitter laugh. She had moved past the crying and was trying out being angry, "that's what he told me last time."

"Last time?" Honey asked confused. Trixie had forgotten she hadn't told Honey about what happened at the graduation party. After she forgave him, it just seemed easier to Trixie not to tell anyone about it. It had was done and over with, or so she thought.

Trixie told Honey the story, and Honey sighed, when Trixie was done, sounding relived, "Oh, well than, that's what happened this time too."

"Honey," Trixie told her friend wishing she could believe it was all that simple too, "you just want to see the good in everyone. The world just doesn't work that way. If it happened once, than maybe it was true, but twice… why would Jim be alone with her if he knew that could happen again."

"Trixie, this isn't just anyone were talking about, it's Jim. You know how honorable hi is," Honey pleaded, "and as for way it happened again, it's Jim. He's like me, like you just said, we want to believe the good in everyone. He wanted to believe that she had changed. She was supposed to be going with Dan."

Trixie wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe the excuses more than anything; more than the time before, but this time she couldn't. She just couldn't. She had believed him, and then he had turned around and torn her trust apart again. How could she believe him after that? She had believed him before, but she couldn't do it again.

"Look, Honey, I know he's your brother, and you want to believe him. I understand that, I really do; I have brothers too, but we just have to face it, he likes that type of girl better, and wants nothing to do with me anymore," she had planned to sound determined but unattached but instead, she sounded tearful and broken hearted.

Honey gasped, "Trixie, don't say that, you know Jim, absolutely, thinks the world of you."

Trixie could see that this was going no where. Nothing she said could change Honey's mind, and Trixie didn't think she wanted to do. Trixie knew in her heart, Jim had hurt her, and she couldn't forgive him. She knew that if she didn't forgive Jim she would end up having to make kind-hearted Honey choose a side. She didn't want to do that. She didn't want to turn Honey against her brother. So she did what she thought she had to do, even if it hurt her as much as it hurt Honey.

"Honey, look, you don't know what your talking about," she told her friend harshly, "so just stop talking."

"Well… if that's how you feel," hurt was etched into every one of kind-hearted Honey's words.

'Look, I'll talk to you in the morning," Trixie was on the verge of tears as she hung up the phone.

Trixie didn't talk to Honey in the morning. She didn't really talk about to Honey again. Not like the use to talk. As for Jim, Trixie avoided him at all costs. She hadn't really seen him, seen him till that morning, when he walked into the police station.

Trixie knocked a bunch of files on to the floor.

"Oh, gleeps," she moaned as Jim and Dan, and just about everyone else in the office looked her way, "I'll clean it up."

She vent down and looked the mess on the floor, Aw, there's papers everywhere. I'm never going to get it all organized again.

"Well, lets get back to why you're here," Dan said bringing Jim's attention back to their conversation, "Do you have it with you?"

"It was taped to the door this morning. Like I said before, I thought it was just kids, but now…" Jim said pulling a paper out of his pocket and passing it to Dan.

Dan took it and Trixie froze arm stretched out to pick up one of the sheets she spilt. She looked out the corner of her eye, without turning her head. She could see a mystery forming in font of her eyes, and she forgot everything except the note and the mystery it held. Trixie would give anything to know what was in the note that Dan was reading. The mystery was calling to her, begging her to solve it.

"So what do you think?" Jim asked reminding Trixie everything that solving that mystery would involve.

Dan looked over the paper, "I don't think that sounds like a kid's prank."

"What do we do?" Jim asked.

Trixie forced herself to stop listening, she couldn't get involved. It hurt too much to get involved.

Trixie managed to forget about the whole incident – or think about it a little less – until she was driving home with Dan.

"So I guess you're pleased with yourself," She said to Dan.

"Hmm, why should I be?" He asked.

Trixie sniffed, "Please, don't pretend you didn't plan to have Jim show up while you were gone."

"Actually, I didn't," he answered, "but I wish I had. Trixie it would do you a lot of good, to start trying to put this all behind you. I know you were hurt. I understand that, but you've spent enough time away from it. It's time to get back into it."

Trixie didn't answer so Dan talked for her, "Don't you want to know what the note said?"

"The note?" Trixie said deciding to play dumb about all that.

"Oh, please," Dan laughed, "I know you were listening, and I know you want to know what's going on. I also know you won't ask because it involves Jim, but I think this is just what you need. So incentive to make you go back to where they all are. If you use the mystery, which I know you love, you can start becoming who you use to be. Just come with me to Jim's school. Everyone's going to be there. It will be good for you."

Trixie still didn't respond and Dan didn't push it. They went to there apartment and made small talk or didn't talk at all.

After a while Dan go up and announced that he was going to bed.

Trixie looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears, "Dan… I can't… I can't," She sobbed.

Dan stopped and looked at her. He had seen her get through a lot of scraps, and tight spots, and yet this seemed to be the one thing she can't get past.

He set a piece of paper on the table, "Yes, you can."

Trixie watched as he left the room, than she picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was the note Jim had given Dan.

The message was clear, simple, and threatening.

Stop the building or risk your life.