" Zoe?" familiar voice came into her head even before she regained her vision. Zoe sat up only to find that two muscular, very comfortable, very familiar, arms were holding her. She trained her eyes to go from the biceps up to the face, and she finally took it all in. The slightly large nose, the chiseled jaw line. All the way to the deep intense brown eyes that she remembered all too well.

" Shane?" even though she was seeing him, was being held by him, the doubt appeared in her voice. His voice was deep as he answered her.

" Hey Red One." An uncomfortable pause, and then "Listen, I was going to tell you-" he was cut off by Zoe, who was in the process of getting up and out of his arms.

" You look pretty good for a dead guy. What's going on?" Shane looked down at his feet, he seemed embarrassed.

" I don't know actually. We never caught the man. I really am sorry Zoe." His brown eyes met her with an intensity Zoe couldn't handle and she looked away.

" Well, I better go. I don't think I want to have the interview now." She turned on her heel, ready to walk away and was surprised when Shane grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him. He let go of the arm and continued:

" I am sorry Zoe. Let me try to explain, not now, but maybe we could have dinner." Zoe nearly choked on her own surprise. Did Shane Wolfe just ask her to dinner?

" Fine. I'm sure the front office has my address, it's on my resume." Did she just agree?

" Okay then." He was unsure of how to go on, so Zoe made it easy for him.

" Goodbye Lieutenant." She left now, and this time Shane let her leave. Zoe managed to make it all the way out the double doors, past the secretary, and to her car before the tears came. They came in streams, and she sobbed next to her car for about fifteen minutes before she collected herself and got in the car. Looking in her rearview mirror she saw her makeup smeared and her eyes and nose red.

" Great. Just great." Too tired to go job hunting now she turned on her car and headed home. As she pulled her car out of the parking lot she looked for the office that she had just been in but couldn't see it. He must have pulled drapes across or blonds or something, because there was no wall of glass facing the bay. She forced herself to look away and think of other things for the drive home.

Zoe decided to stop for groceries when she was about five minutes away from her apartment. There is a little shop named Harry's near her place and they had the best cheesy bread in all of Maryland. Except maybe when Chelsea made it, her sister Lulu's friend. That girl had mad talent as a chef. She was even going to some fancy cooking college in France for her first three years of college. The fourth year she was going to transfer to Yale. Zoe couldn't remember why. The ringing of her cell phone brought Zoe back to reality and she answered.

" Hello?"

" Hey! How did the interview go?" her best friends voice greeted her with enthusiasm and Zoe cringed.

" It wasn't what I expected." She answered truthfully.

" So did you get it?"

" I have to make another appointment. So I don't know yet. Listen, I'm on my way to Harry's, do you want anything?" her friend seemed surprised at the abrupt change in topic but she rambled off a list of things that Zoe would only remember half off.

" And don't forget your having dinner with dad and I tonight, and he wants us there to meet wife number...um, geez I lost count again. In any case, be ready by six. I got to go, love you." Zoe replied ditto and shut off her phone. Michelle's dad was in fact on wife number seven. He seemed to go through wives faster than Zoe did purses. Pulling into Harry's parking lot her cell phone rang again, only this time it was her mother.

" Hey darling, how was the interview?" Zoe felt better at hearing her mom's voice.

" It was a huge shock actually." A pause. "Do you mind if I come home this weekend? I have some big news. Lulu and Seth and peter may want to be there too. I guess Tyler will want to know too." Her mom immediately went on the offensive, bombarding her daughter with questions.

" Your not pregnant are you? Because you don't have a boyfriend right now, and I am not going to take care of another kid. Oh god, you got married, you eloped. Tell me that's not it. And you didn't get a tattoo or dye your hair did you? Did someone die?" Zoe cut her mom off before she could think of something else.

" Mom! I have news, that's all. I'm not pregnant, and I have not eloped. And my hair is the same as when you last saw it." Her mom seemed to accept these answers and sighed.

" You know we would love to see you. Even if we did just come to your graduation. But fine, come home." Her voice was slightly teasing and Zoe grinned.

" Thanks mom. I have to go, I'm grocery shopping." She shut off her cell phone for the second time in ten minutes and grinned. Her mom still had no idea about the tattoo on her shoulder blade. It had been an act of rebellion from her second year of college when she had been so mad at her mother that she was tempted to cut all of her hair off, but Michelle had pointed her in the direction of a tattoo instead. Easier to hide and way more stylish.

She made the trip home and put her keys in the key bowl and the groceries on the counter. Ughh. She noticed that her friends had left a huge mess from the night before and groaned.

" Slobs." She continued to mutter obscenities under her breath as she put the groceries away and began to clean up the mess. An hour later Michelle came home and smiled brightly at Zoe.

" Heya girl. What's shaking?"

" Your friends are absolutely the messiest people in the world." Zoe glowered.

" My friends? They're yours also. And my boyfriend is your roommate, so that's your entire fault. So there."

" Me? I have no friends. Only paid acquaintances." She grinned and Michelle threw her purse at her.

" What's going on? You seem grumpy. Did something happen at the job interview?" at the mention of the interview Zoe's mind was flooded with everything Shane and began to feel a little dizzy. Zoe's knees gave out from under her and she sank to the floor. Immediately sensing something was wrong Michelle came to give her a hug.

" What happened?" Zoe just shook her head and got up off the floor. She had never told anyone about Shane, she had never told anyone how much he had meant to her. Not even her family had known they had become good friends even after he stopped being their babysitter. They had become friends through email for her senior year, up until she stopped receiving them and Lt. Ryan told her he was dead. They had sent letters, packages. He even sent her a NAVY SEAL t-shirt once. She liked to send him pictures of the family, and he sent her pictures of the places he was. She had one of him in Maine, one of him in Vietnam, one of him in Germany. There were others but the names escaped her. After she found out he was dead, she had rarely spoke about him after that. None of her college friends even knew about how a Navy SEAL had protected her family for a couple weeks, since none if them were from California, let alone her own neighborhood. She had packed up the pictures, the shirt, anything that had reminded her of Shane, and it was in a box on the top of her closet. And now that he was back...

" Zoe? Honey is everything alright?" Zoe nodded and headed towards her room. She needed some sleep.

" She's been asleep for like five hours. We were supposed to go to dad's but I called him and told him he would be late."

" So this is all because of her job interview?"

" I think something happened. When I saw her this afternoon it was as though she had seen a ghost."

" Look she's waking up." Zoe heard voices surrounding her as she groggily opened her eyes. She felt worse than she had that morning, when she had a hangover. Seeing Michelle, Sam, and Sean looking at her and she sat up quickly.

" What time is it?" her head was spinning from the sudden movement and she sat back down.

" Its six thirty. You've been asleep for five hours. That's like a coma Zoe." Five hours? What the hell was wrong with her? She never took naps, let alone five hour ones.

" I have to get ready." She sat up again, slower this time, and everyone backed off a little.

" Zoe?" there was concern in Sean's voice and she turned to face him.

" I'm fine. Don't worry. I was just tired, and combine that with the hangover and you get a coma." Smiling weakly she made her way to her closet.

" If you say so. Dinner in fifteen then." Michelle ushered everyone out of the room and Zoe was left alone again. She changed into a long peasant skirt and a light short sleeved t-shirt, and put on some low-key heels. ' I look horrible.' She thought to herself but shrugged anyway and headed out to the kitchen. Michelle was there, heavily engrossed in everything Sam.

" Oh come on. At least do that in the bedroom!" Sam and Michelle broke apart and her roommate grinned.

" Hey Zoe. What's shaking?" he used Michelle's catch phrase, and Zoe couldn't help but to smile.

" Are you ready to go?" she asked her friend, and Michelle gave Sam one more kiss before hopping off the counter and straightening her clothes. Zoe gave Sam a quick hug and a warning that if he ever made another mess she would hang him out to dry.

" Sure thing. And thanks for getting to the groceries." She flashed him a quick smile and then left to go to the car. She found Michelle already in the front seat with the radio on.

" You okay to drive?" Michelle eyed her friend warily and Zoe shot her a look.

" I am fine. Totally refreshed." Zoe got into the drivers seat, and for the second time that day she pulled out and headed into the city. As they left the actual city limits and headed for the countryside Zoe began to relax. Nothing was better than a ride through the countryside, no matter what had happened during the day. All thoughts about Shane were contorted into thoughts of picnics by the lake, and reading under a large oak tree, caught in the shade.

Reaching their destination Zoe was always amazed at the size of the house. The house was an old castle that had been restored to all of its glory- minus the suits of armor and the candle lighting. It had over 200 rooms in all, even a few turrets, one of which was reserved for Zoe in the case of her ever needing a place to stay. Michelle's family had always treated her like family also, even furnishing her apartment so she wouldn't have to spend any of her college money on it. Reaching the long four mile driveway Zoe drove the car down, handling the twists and curves like a pro, even at 60 miles an hour. Michelle hadn't said anything to her, but Zoe reasoned it was because she had been acting weird all day. Collapsing on the floor earlier, taking naps, crying, the just weren't the types of things that she was known to do.

" The code on the security gate was changed Zoe. 837456." Michelle's voice snapped her out of her reverie and Zoe nodded. Reaching the immense iron gate Zoe punched in the code on the number pad. She glanced around, looking for James, the security guard, and sure enough he approached, an m-60 in his hands.

" Afternoon miss. Michelle, Miss. Zoe." He greeted warmly.

" Hey James. How's the baby girl?

" Just fine miss, thanks for asking. Have a safe night now." Having passed inspection the girls continued the drive into the airplane hangar that served as the garage of the house. Michelle's father loved to fix up old cars, so the hangar was full of classic fully restored cars. Zoe's favorite was the 1938 Packard Towns car, and she had even been allowed to drive it once.

" Girls!" Ms. Rosanvinge ran over to their car from the doorway and gathered each on a large hug. " How was your drive?" Ms. Rosanvinge was the main housekeeper, the head of the house, whatever you might say. She was also Michelle's second mother. Ms. Rosanvinge had gone to every graduation, dance recital, and play that Michelle had ever participated in, and she was always there to help her in a jam. She was a part of the family, right down to sitting with them at dinner and gossiping like a fifteen year old.

" Our drive was awesome, thanks for asking. How has your day been? Oh, it's been too long!" Zoe gave the older woman another hug and smiled. " And how is the fine Mr. Darcy?" The reference to Michelle's father brought a twinkle to the woman's eye and all of the girls laughed. It was well known around the castle that Ms. Rosanvinge and Michelle's father were on very friendly terms; even when he did have a new wife. The man also had a lot in common with the fictional character; he too was proud, rich, and had a soft spot for pretty intellectual women.

" Hush now. There is dinner waiting inside. Michelle, your father is anxious for you to join the company, so he has a lot of questions for you. Be prepared to talk shop." She ushered them all inside and into the formal living room. There Zoe was greeted by Mr. Darcy himself. He was a very fine man, to be sure, and he had the aura around him of someone you could trust. His blue eyes always seemed to be twinkling, as though holding some type of secret, and his face was rarely without a smile. He was a good five inches taller than Zoe, herself being only five foot seven. He wore finely tailored clothes, but he did not seem famously wealthy. A passerby on the street would think nothing other than he seemed like an amiable man, of which he was.

" Michelle! Come here; give your old man a hug. And Zoe. You both look smashing." The two girls giggled at each other, and Ms. Rosanvinge winked at them.

" Come on, the steak is getting cold. Oh, and Michelle, your father requested lobster. Your not still having that aversion to seafood are you?" Zoe laughed at the memory of Michelle refusing to eat the luxurious birthday dinner her father had prepared; it had been completely seafood, and Michelle had thrown up onto the lobster in front of 25 guests. Zoe would never let her live it down.

Four hours later Zoe and Michelle piled back into her car and they were out on the road. They had had a wonderful dinner, steak and lobster, and Michelle had finally agreed that she would start working with her father in the city on Monday. That gave her four days until she had to become a workingwoman. Zoe had been anxious all night, thinking and trying not to think at the same time, about Shane. This had grown harder and harder since she had more time to think as Michelle spoke business with her dad.

" Michelle? Can I ask you something?" Michelle grinned, as if knowing she was about to learn a juicy secret. " Spill."

" Well, it's just a question. But, lets say you had a friend, and you became good friends with this person. And then one day you're told they're gone. You move on, and then four years later you find out they're not dead. How do you handle that?" Michelle raised an eyebrow, extremely quizzical.

" Yeah. Explain, cause I don't think this is just a question. This isn't one of those hypothetical...is it?" Zoe blushed, thankful it was dark.

" Its just a question." Michelle leaned back in her seat and pondered.

" Well, I guess you would have to talk to that person. Find out what went wrong. Catch up and all that."

" Bloody hell. I was afraid you were gonna say something like that." Those were the last words spoken the entire night.