It was the day before the training course. Daphne had noticed that for several days Velma had appeared troubled by something. She waited until Velma was working alone in her lab before speaking to her.

"What's up Velms? You look troubled, is there anything wrong between you and Shaggy?" she asked in a concerned voice

"Aside from his corny one-liners, no we're good. It's nothing to do with Shaggy, I can't quite put my finger on it but this troubles me" she said holding up the book she found in 3D's van

"Stop reading it then" said Daphne with a smile

"It's not the contents, it's actually quite interesting. It's a review of the role that the damsels-in-distress genre played in European fictional literature between the 17th and 19th centuries…"

"Velma" smiled Daphne

"Sorry Daph, what troubles me is that the book is marked as coming from 3D's library,"

"So?" questioned Daphne

"We didn't find a library in that place we were taken to; neither have the police in any of the other areas we identified from his computer data" continued Velma.

"So… that wasn't his lair?" said Daphne

"That's what the evidence would suggest" said Velma a bit glumly

"Have you decrypted all the data"

"Not yet, should be in a day or so. It should be waiting for us when we get back from the course"

"Perhaps we should alert Jennifer" suggested Daphne

"Good idea, I'll drop her a line now and see if she can spare us some time after the course to discuss this. I'll also ask Fred and Shaggy to check the data and pass it onto the authorities if it gets decrypted while we are on the course"

"Sounds good to me, you all set for tomorrow?" asked Daphne

"That reminds me, I've been working on some new cloths for us to wear on the course as the notes said we needed to be prepared."

"Without asking my advice?" asked Daphne, this was not good news.

"Relax, they look exactly like the stuff we wear at the moment, just upgraded" she replied

"Still not good news" muttered Daphne to herself as she followed Velma to the side room of her lab. Daphne tried to listen but she found the constant stares from her and Velma's decoys rather unsettling. Even worse were the decoy heads of Shaggy and Fred on the bench nearby.

The girls set off for the course early in the morning taking the pick-up. The conversation veered between their up-and-coming weddings and the course. After a while Daphne grew quiet and just stared out of the window.

"You're quiet Daph, are you OK?" asked Velma

"Just thinking, Velms" said Daphne "Just thinking how far we've all come in a such a short time."

"Daphne please, you know I don't like talking about my head injury" said Velma

"I know you don't, I didn't mean it like that Velma. I'm thinking way before that. It just doesn't seem all that long ago we were still at school chasing people dressed in alligator costumes."

"Gator Ghoul? You thinking of inviting some of the early cases to the wedding for old times sake?" asked Velma.

"Jeepers, I can picture it now, rather than bride vs groom the church is split good-guys vs bad-guys? No, I don't think so. I do hope none turn up." said Daphne getting worried by the thought.

"Well the police will be providing some covert protection just in case we get any unwelcome guests. I've asked them to shoot Gibby Norton on sight." said Velma dryly.

"You haven't! Have you?" asked Daphne in surprise

"No, but it is a tempting thought. I'm going to apply for a restraining order to keep him away from us a month either side of the ceremony." Velma sighed sadly "I wouldn't put it past him to either disrupt the ceremony, try something to stop me or Shaggy getting there or ruin our honeymoon."

"He wouldn't dare!" said Daphne angrily

"Well, if he does he's in for a surprise, from me" said Velma "He's yet to experience my angry side, you know, the dark side of the Dinkley"

"But Velma, you're better now, you're over all that... aren't you? You've never said anything…" said Daphne in confusion I wish she wouldn't call it that she thought. Daphne still couldn't get used to Velma joking about the after-effects of her head injury.

"Why haven't I said anything...? Only Shaggy and my mother know why, and now you know it too. Aside from reminding me of the hurt and upset it all caused which is bad enough, the plain truth is… I never really recovered, that's the real reason why I don't like talking about it. The Velma we all knew before the attack is as dead as last year's flowers."

Daphne gasped "But, but Velma, I thought... you're just like... I'm... I... I didn't notice... should I have... I'm sorry if..."

"It's better you know than guess" interrupted Velma before Daphne got too upset "All the things that drove me to hide in my lab, the rage, the anger, the violent tempers, throwing myself any half way attractive man... it's all still there. What I learnt to do is to channel and harness it. That's why I took to using Fred's punch-bag and I'm such an aggressive hockey player now..."

"We've noticed" said Daphne quietly

"And Shaggy..." smiled Velma

"...is the most appropriate person for you to be inappropriate around" said Daphne nodding her head. It was so obvious now Velma described things, why hadn't she seen it?

"He's so appropriate Daph, especially when he rescues me" chuckled Velma "I just save it all up till then. And before you ask he was in my sights before the injury."

"But what about when you haven't needed rescuing for a while? Neither of us needs rescuing that much these days." asked Daphne now agog with curiosity.

"Weeeell" said Velma coyly

"Yes? Yes?" said Daphne on the edge of her seat

"Well, that's for us to know... and you not to find out" smiled Velma

"Meanie!" sulked Daphne

Velma bust out laughing, Daphne joined in a few seconds later

"Never mind Daph, I may not seem all that different to you, but to me I feel different to how I remember myself. Still I have found it useful in cases from time-to-time plus Shaggy enjoys the attention and I enjoy giving him the attention."

"Well you sure scared those goons who grabbed us at the convention and 3D's face was priceless" said Daphne smiling with the memory.

"That really threw him; it was a good idea of Fred's for me to overact so much... Hey, we're nearly there"

You weren't overacting though Daphne smiled to her self. "I hope there is more to this course that sitting in a course room looking at slides" said Daphne