Of course, here is the fourth installment of "Serenity." It's not my favorite, but I felt it was necessary to give you the opportunity to get to know Hollis a little more. I didn't want to dump all the information at once, but hopefully you readers can feel like you might know her a little more. Again, it's just not me to force a meeting or relationship, but I promise they will meet. Soon. Very, very soon.

In case you guys weren't aware (yeah, right,) my stories are not beta'd. Therefore, I do all the editing myself. I apologize if there are any grammatical errors. I've always had an issue switching between past and present, no matter what I'm writing. So, I hope this wets your palate. Also, I've had issues publishing this chapter with the formatting I've done in Microsoft, so forgive me if page breaks do not show for the time being. (Which I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with. Are any of my fellow-writers having issues with this? Because it's to the point I'm debating on not updating on FF.)

Don't look, just keep your eyes peeled

Thoughtless, trapped in my minefield

Shotgun, never behind the wheel anymore

Danger, monsters of smoke and mirror

Slowly, can one so lost be found?

Hollis had taken Gemma's advice. She wasn't so sure, replaying the whole situation over in her head as she all but ran down the hallway, that it could be considered "advice," but whatever it was? She took it. Maybe Gemma was right. Hollis' life wasn't anything extraordinary- she didn't want it to be. And whatever this biker was involved in? Hollis was willing to bet that it was illegal.

Keeping her head down, she watched her sneakers as they squeaked against the speckled laminate. Vanilla? Vanilla. That was the perfect, shitty word to describe Hollis and her life. She has been through some bad situations, but who the hell hadn't? And she wasn't for a second tricked into thinking that what she had been through could ever prepare for the secrets the identity of the thick, leather wallet was hiding.

Hitting a hard body, Hollis felt the air escape her lungs. Looking up quickly while soft spoken apologies left her mouth, she was greeted by the sight of leather and the sexiest grin she may have ever possibly witnessed.

"You okay, Darlin'?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Are you okay? I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Nah, you're fine. I think I can handle a beautiful woman running into me every now and then." He let out a deep chuckle as Hollis' face became alight with a rosy blush. "You always walk around hospitals like this? I'm not a big fan, myself, but if it means I get to see a sight for sore eyes…"

"Okay," Hollis mumbled. She could see where this was going. The leather he was wearing made him the opposite of what she would typically go for, a vest with multiple stitching holding badges to it, but that beautiful face… She had to mentally slap herself, he was obviously a charmer. That panty-dropping smile didn't come genuine; she wasn't that naive. "I'm sorry, truly. I hope I didn't hurt you, but I'm in a hurry. Sorry, again!"

"Darlin', I didn't get your na-" Hollis ignored the last words as she slipped quickly through the closing automatic doors of the hospital. Only when she was closer to her sedan did she let the tension release form her shoulders and the air she had been holding in her lungs escape. Vanilla.

It has been months since Hollis had tried to visit the hospital in hopes of returning the wallet back to its proper owner. At first she felt guilt, hoping the long list of pharmaceuticals weren't too important (and if she was being completely honest, her fingers itches to look up what they were prescribed for, but she knew that would only make her feel worse) and she refused to touch the money inside- it didn't belong to her and that just wasn't the type of person she was, even struggling.

After a few days of repeating the word, "Vanilla" in her mind, she decided it wasn't her fault.

She at least tried to return the wallet, right? And no, she hadn't outright come out and told Gemma she had something that belonged to Happy Lowman (because, yeah, she may have gotten back in his wallet and memorized his name when she couldn't sleep,) but the older woman has done everything to make Hollis to leave, short of physically picking her up and walking her out of the place. Therefore, this was Gemma's fault.

Throwing the damp dish towel down, she huffed in frustration. The damn thing had set in the same spot since she had looked at it last, a month and a half ago. Was he missing it? Sure, everything in it was replaceable, but that didn't mean he didn't need or want it back. It was times like this she wished she had the courage to tell Gemma where to stick it that day in the elevator and demand her to take Hollis to see the biker.

Even if it meant getting her ass kicked. Hey, Hollis knew her limitations. She was a pacifist.

"You feelin' okay, sis?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Hollis waved her hand in a totally-non-believable sort of way. "I'm good, just tired."

"Sure." Nate obviously didn't believe her, but he knew when to choose his battles. Hollis was good at talking emotions, if they weren't her own. And Noae was waiting for him outside, the annoying shrill of his horn honking on time every minute. "I'll probably stay at Noae's house tonight, okay? I'll have my cell on, but it'll be on silent during the movie, sooo…"

"I get it, Nate. I'm not going to bother you." She dug in the folds of her purse before pulling out two tens.

"Thanks, sis. You're the best!" After a quick kiss on her cheek over the counter top, Nate slammed the door behind him.

Hollis wasn't sure she would ever want kids when Nathan was officially an adult. A silly thought, she knew, considering she didn't even have a current boyfriend. There had been a few good ones, but it was practically impossible to juggle a full-time job, a 13-year-old boy, and a boyfriend. The last boyfriend she had had was when she was 18, her father had just passed away and she thought the paperwork to adopt Nathan would never end.

Christian had tried his hardest to understand, she knew that, but it was just too much work. The once care-free Hollis has become swamped, eventually dropping out high school to labor towards her GED while working 40 hours a week and attempting to give Nathan the best shot she could at a normal life. It wasn't going to work, they both knew that, and when they ran into each other in the grocery store or the movie store that Nathan and Hollis frequented, they still spoke like long-term friends.

She was thankful for Christian. He has been anything but a bad boyfriend, even if it hadn't lasted long. And the memories of being a normal teenager getting to date still made her smile. And now, at 23, Hollis had tried dating a few times. It wasn't impossible, but the choices seem slim in a place like Charming. So, she devoted her time into other things, like getting Nathan to graduate and picking up overtime when she could.

Pulling the drain plug waiting beneath slimy dish water, Hollis decided she was going to relax tonight. She has some left-over Cupcake Moscato that she was damn determined to enjoy and few television shows she swore to herself she would eventually catch up on. Nathan was out with one of his more mature friends (which was not saying much) and, for once, Hollis was going to try to not worry about anything.