Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Let's carry on with what's going on with the Patterson case

Note for all chapters: I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

Chapter 03

I held the phone to my ear. "You mean, he's… He's not into women? Archie is, wow. I did not see that coming."

"As sure as the nose on your face, sweetie. He admitted it to me last night," Louise told me – whenever I heard her voice, I instantly began to smile, it was her accent. I loved it. "That was before you fell asleep."

There were voices on the other end of the phone and it wasn't long before Louise had to go somewhere. I disconnected the call and took a deep breath, pressing the handset to my lips in deep thought.

A bark from outside startled me – I still hadn't gotten used to having Stella around. She was bounding up at the glass door to her garden, pressing her padded paws against it. The thumping on the glass made me hurry to the door.

"Sorry Stella, the wind must have caught the door," I said in a higher pitch as I let her in. "I'm sorry Stella."

She leapt up at me and I noticed something in her mouth, but before I could grab it, she darted away.

"Hey, come back here girl…" I said, shuffling around the kitchen counter towards my little dog as she bounded about. "Stella…"

She growled at me before ducking under the glass coffee table. Those growls really bugged me because she would always do that when I was doing nothing wrong.

"Don't you growl at me, missy," I squeaked aggressively, creeping towards her because I knew if I ran at her, she would go mental and knock everything over.

It had already happened once before, Nolan didn't like the fact that a glass ornament got knocked off the table and shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces.

A muffled bark from Stella made me think about her pull rope. It was this thick blue rope that I had bought her and whenever we played with it, I ended up letting her win so that she could grow a little tougher. I knew it was lying in the garden so I backed away from the little pup and out the door. She didn't seem to care at all as I stepped outside and picked it up, but as soon as she saw what it was that I had grabbed, it was action stations. The black thing that was in her mouth fell to the floor and I threw the rope gently back outside. Like a rocket, Stella darted into the garden and wrestled with the rope by herself.

The black thing that was in Stella's mouth was now a little bit chewed which worried me a little because if it was a bug or something like that, then it meant that we were being watched and that we needed to extract information from it.

Instinctively, I pulled out my phone and called Nolan, but no answer. As if by magic, the door opened and in stepped Nolan holding up his phone.

"That wasn't your brightest idea, Riley…" he murmured in a low tone.

"What?" I asked, screwing up my face. "What do you mean? I found something weird, so I called you. I mean, I thought about it. About what if it was from the guys who are behind Scott's mother's trial and they found out that you and he were working together, and then they came and found us and they hurt us. Because you said that you didn't want anything to happen to me, and I don't want anything to happen to Stella, and- and I don't want anything to happen to you…"

"Riley," he said again and again, silencing me. "I put it there to see what you would do… And you did the not-so-good thing."

"You put Stella at risk – she could have eaten it!" I didn't understand what he was on about. "Un- Nolan, can you quit being so cryptic and tell me what I supposedly did wrong?"

"Well, put it this way. Amanda would have known what kind of bug it was and then deactivated it so she could trace its origins back to whoever put it there."

Anger built up inside me- recently, it seemed that Amanda was all that Nolan could talk about, and it was beginning to get on my nerves. This constant comparison between me and her, like I had to live up to the presence she left behind.

"Stop it!" I shouted, "Stop comparing us… It's not fair. We aren't the same. I'm not like her. Just because she was some golden girl who wanted to cleanse her father's name, and I want to help Scott prove his mother's innocence, that doesn't mean me and Amanda have to be the same. I can be just as good as she was, but in a different way. So, so, so-"

"Calm down Riley, it's not a comparison. It's just showing you the other side of the coin…" Nolan tried his best to calm me down, but I stormed off in a huff.

Without even thinking, I stepped into the mirrored wardrobe and slumped down to the floor, pushing the door shut behind me. I could feel the various materials of the clothes that I owned resting on my shoulders. Whilst my clothes didn't span across the whole rail, I loved each and every one of those items of clothing. Just sitting there, counting to ten, and breathing deeply was enough to eradicate the anger that had suddenly emblazed itself within me.

"Riley… Riley?" Nolan opened my bedroom door and I heard skittering paws across the floor, followed by a metallic sounding clang as my puppy jumped up at the mirrored panel of the wardrobe. "You think she's in there then?"

The panel slid to the side and I was almost attacked by Stella. It was hard to be angry when I was having my face licked to death by her. She was the cutest little puppy in the world.

"I need to apologise…" Nolan sighed, appearing a little uncomfortable. He awkwardly perched on the edge of the bed. "You and Amanda are- you're both incredibly important to me and I need you to know that it was unfair to do what I did without preparing you." He folded his arms and stood up abruptly. "But Amanda's gone, and I'm stuck with you so I'll have to teach you a trick or two."

"Really Nolan?" I said calmly. "Because it's just a pain when you bring her up in a comparison to me…" I added, holding Stella down on my lap to stop her jumping up at me. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I do. I just stick by what I said before. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Uncl- Nolan," I corrected myself quickly. "Let me learn how to protect myself and help with the technology stuff, but let me still be me."

Nolan remained silent for a moment, which worried me a little.

"Besides, I think Archie needs a little push in the right direction…" I sat down beside him, nudging him with my elbow. "And no more mini tests for me, okay? I'll try to learn some of the stuff that Amanda learnt. Only if you promise not to try and test me- just tell me what to do instead. Deal?" I held out my hand for him to shake.

His head rolled a little and then he took my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Deal."

Let's see how long this lasts.

Later that week, Scott arrived and we were ready to track Archie down for the second attempt at squeezing some information out of him.

"Do you think he can do it?" Scott asked, referring to Nolan.

I personally wasn't sure, but I had faith in my uncle. "Of course he will."

"There's a lot riding on this though…" he mumbled cynically. "So how are you finding life over this side of the states?"

It was at that moment that I wasn't sure whether to answer him or not. Nolan didn't want me talking about my life as Michelle Campbell, and I didn't know if that meant the difference between The Hamptons and Florida. Scott didn't know much about me, apart from the fact that Nolan was looking after me, and I was obviously living with him. Confused didn't describe my current state of emotion.

"Well it's okay here, I guess." I stopped, looking out the glass wall that was a window in this case. "But when you're presented with an opportunity, you take it, don't you?" Immediately, I focused on changing the conversation topic. "So these people that set your mum up, do you know them?"

Scott scowled at the fact I had brought them up. "I know them, every last one of them. But Nolan thinks I should focus on the small players before I look at the big guys at the top, which is why we took the lead on Arnie."

"My lead." I was hasty to correct Scott on that little technicality. "As long as Nolan doesn't get too involved…"

It felt strange doubting Nolan's ability to play his part, but it was true. I wondered whether he might get caught up in the moment, simply forget about the case and finds himself infatuated with Arnie. It was peculiar, because Arnie seemed like a nice enough guy – Nolan said himself, he thought the young journalist was cute. Deep down, I worried about the outcome of prying Arnie for information, but I blamed this doubt on my over active imagination.

"Don't worry about him. Amanda told me if there was anyone to help me prove my mother's innocence, it was him." Scott smiled cheerfully.

"So what's she like- Amanda I mean, not your mum…"

"Amanda is, she's smart and talented. We spent a long time together, she taught me how to defend myself and all these techniques that she expected would help me and my project." The way Scott spoke showed he was thankful for what she had told him, clearly because it got him closer to clearing his mother's name.

I thought about what to say next, but went with what my head told me. "Will you teach me?"

Scott smiled a little, clearly pleased at the concept of teaching me. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

What? You smiled as if you were please by the concept… So why are you so quizzical?

"Alright then," I replied, shrugging my shoulders like it didn't bother me. Deep down, I had a plan mapped out for how to get him to agree. Walking down the corridor, I counted in my head, expecting to stop counting at five, but stopping at three seconds.

"Okay, okay." Scott reached out for me, grazing my hand. "I'll teach you some of the stuff that I know, but only if you understand that I will not go easy on you and I will pretty much overpower you."

Oh you did not just imply I was weak. You did not.

"So you don't think I could take you in a fight?" I asked, standing up straighter.

"No, you wouldn't stand a chance." Scott folded his large arms, purposefully clenching his muscles. "Come on, let's take this outside." He opened the sliding door that took us out to a patio near the poolside. "Come on then…"

I was ready for this, I just had to remember everything that I had seen in the films. To use my opponent's weaknesses against him and to use my surroundings to my advantage. Stepping out into the garden, the sun hit my shoulders and blinded me momentarily whilst I tried to focus on wherever Scott was.

"Right okay, no going easy, please?" I said calmly.

"Okay, I promise I won't go easy on you…"

I feebly raised my fists, readying myself for a fight. The anticipation was so unbelievably awkward for me. He crouched down slightly and I could feel the blood pounding in my head. Taking a few steps back, I shuffled away like a worried child trying to cower in the corner.

"Are you going to hit me or what?" Scott taunted, calmly laughing at me, but he caught me off guard and landed the gentlest punch to the shoulder that made me stagger back, falling over one of the sun loungers.

He was clearly going easy on me, it was a feeble punch that someone of his stature would not deliver if his life was at risk.

"Hey!" I snapped.

"What? You wanted me to teach you how to fight, but I've got to test what you're capable of!"

Scott swung some slow swipes, which really hurt when I managed to block them with my own arm. As our arms slammed into one another, there was a moment where I thought I could overpower him, but I was wrong. If I had carried on blocking him, then I would have ended up in Stella's garden.

The sun glistened on the pool, giving me an idea. Shuffling to the side, I managed to coerce him near to the pool's edge. In the moment, I hoped for him to focus deeply on moving away from it because he knew the pool was there, and give me an opportunity to strike. But he didn't.

He did the total opposite.

"Scott!" I shouted, jumping forwards to try and catch him before he fell into the water.

There was a splash that showered me and the sun loungers at the poolside as his body fell into the water.

Cupping my hands over my mouth, I watched awkwardly as Scott resurfaced. I began to panic when his body floated face down along the surface of the water. Instantly, I dived into the water and lifted Scott above the water, with a hand holding onto his shirt.

Laughter, I heard distinct laughter. He was laughing.

"What the hell were you playing at, Scott?" I squeaked, swimming to the poolside and pulling myself out of the water agilely. "Scott!"

He too leapt out the water in a similar manner to me. "Come on Riley- that was funny. You may have guts, but you're nowhere near strong enough against me. I saw a moment to catch you out in a panicked state and wanted to see how you reacted."

"It wasn't funny! You could have been really hurt!" I squealed, knowing that my voice was cracking at the end and I felt like I was acting far worse than the situation required. "Seriously Scott, that was so stupid of you." Without saying another word, I stormed back into the house, dripping all over the floor. I shut myself in my room and changed quickly into some dry clothes.

After a while, there was a knock at my door.

I opened it slowly. "What do you want?" I frowned at Scott on the other side of the door. "Because I'm still not happy with you…"

"Come on, I need a towel, I'm dripping outside your bedroom now, and Stella's jumping about like crazy and rolling in the water…"

"Fine…" I went out across to the airing cupboard and threw one of the spare towels at Scott. "You know where the bathroom is," I added solemnly, trying to make him feel bad for what he had done.

Stella was keen on following Scott into the bathroom of which I was not happy with. I barked her name and beckoned her to my side as the bathroom door was shut in her face and the key turned in the lock.

"You're a silly girl, aren't you?" I cooed at her, ruffling the fur around her neck and cuddling my little puppy.

As I waited for Scott to get out of the bathroom, I decided to dry a damp Stella off, which was a challenge in itself.

When Scott came out of the bathroom, he had the towel wrapped around his waist. Whilst I avoided staring at him, there was a clicking sound as the front door was about to be opened, so I lurched forwards and pulled Scott into my room.

"Well, it's not every day that that happens to you…" Scott mumbled to himself.

Whether or not he wanted me to hear that was another question, but we were so close to one another that it would have been hard for me not to have heard.

"Yeah? Well don't get any ideas… Because Nolan's back," I whispered, peering through the gap in the door to see Nolan walk into the house, turn around and usher Arnie inside.

"Who said I had any ideas?" Scott replied. Obviously eager to see what was going on, he came up close behind me, looking over the top of my head and not saying another word.

I would have watched for longer, but once Nolan and Archie had gone around the corner, I thought it wasn't worth risking anything and closed the door. Turning to face Scott, our eyes instantly locked onto one another.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked, holding onto the towel as if I was going to whip it out of his grip at any moment.

I hadn't even moved since I turned.

"Oh quit being so tetchy – I'm not going to grab the towel… I just don't want Archie to see us, either of us, and you'll just draw attention to us if you got sauntering off into the bathroom for your clothes-" I paused, realising the problem. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh…" Scott murmured. "My clothes are in there and if Archie goes in there."

I shook my head, silencing him. "Nolan will get around it and think on his feet, have faith in him. I do…"

"Riley," he sighed. "I have no doubt in Nolan's ability to improvise, but I don't exactly want to sit in your room all night with nothing but a towel for cover."

"Give over… A guy like you, you must be confident in your body. I mean, look at your abs, it's like you've scored those lines across your stomach with a butter knife!"

Scott shied away, clearly feeling a little awkward, and I didn't hesitate in making it worse.

I tried to shed a humorous light on the situation. "Let's not worry about what happens when I get ready for bed, or when I get changed in the morning."

"The morning? You think Archie will stay the night?" His eyes went wide in disbelief. "No way, that's never going to happen."

"It might do… I don't know what Nolan is like, but I know that he'll do what it takes to get information out of Archie by any means possible. Even if I'd rather he got back with Louise, he's got to make his own decisions."

That night, Scott and I waited to see if Nolan would kick Archie out, but in all of the waiting, sleep got the better of me.

The fibres of a towel pressed against my cheek as I slowly woke up. My eyes flickered for a moment and I noticed the towel Scott was once wearing, had now been draped across my bed. The curtains hadn't even been closed and the sun was beginning to beam through the window.

As much as I wanted to stay in, or more on my bed, I was desperate to hear about Nolan's date with Archie.

Grabbing a change of clothes, I made my way to the kitchen where Nolan was hunched over his laptop with a coffee mug in one hand.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "So spill the beans! How was your date?"

"Interesting, I managed to steer the conversation to a few of his most prized articles- one of which was Mrs Patterson's case…"

There was a fondness in his voice, but I didn't want to draw attention to it.

Nolan turned to face me. "I saw Scott sneaking out of your room though, I hope it's not what I think…"

My eyes widened and my cheeks were set on fire with a burning red. "It's not Nolan. Well anyway, that was your fault!"

"Hold on, how was it my fault?" he asked calmly.

"Be-because you brought Archie back he didn't think it would be a good idea to try and sneak out, so I guess he snuck out early this morning." I was keen to know more about Mrs Patterson's case. "Do you have any notes on the people behind Mrs Patterson's conviction?"

"I do," he replied, turning back to the computer. "But that also doesn't explain his lack of clothes…"

"Hey, leave it. Oh come on, stop pushing me out of the case stuff, Nolan. I'm helping and I need to know exactly what's going on, so let me catch up, please?"

"Alright…"

Nolan pulled out the drawer that I knew the bin lived in, which concerned me a little. I watched him thread his hand almost behind the bin and then pulled out a sealed wallet that had a paper file in it.

My hand reached out for it, but he moved it away and looked me square in the eye.

"This does not leave the house, not even outside. Or by the pool. And Stella stays far away from it… Deal?"

His voice was harsh and stern, so I knew he was being so unbelievably serious, that you couldn't even see the line that distinguished being serious and calm.

"Okay grumpy…" I growled, taking the file from his hand.

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = So in the next chapter, we'll find out more about the people that caused Mrs Patterson to get arrested… AH!