A/N: another weekend, another chapter. Hope you enjoy it. I'll be working on the next chapter here soon.

Chapter 4-Dreams

Jesse looked down at his pocket where he felt his phone vibrating. Being a doctor and a friend of a police detective, he quickly reached into and took it out. His eyes closed tight in agony at the number and slumped down into the leather seat of his mustang. Why now? If he didn't answer the phone she would probably call again, if not his cell phone then BBQ Bob's and the hospital.

"Hello," Jesse answered the phone, acting cheery.

"Jesse! Did you get the message I left at your apartment yesterday?" the voice was all too familiar and it made him unconsciously flinch.

"Yes, mom. I did. I guess I forgot to call back. I can't come over for Christmas." He tried to voice himself to sound disappointed.

"But your cousins are all coming. They have busy lives too, but they knew how important Christmas was to the family and so they planned to take it off." The tone his mother's voice turned to made Jesse feel like he was thirteen again.

"Mom, the hospital is open 24/7. It's not like I could close up the ER and come down there. I'm already covering shifts on Christmas day and Christmas Eve for people who are sick."

"Well, Jesse, that is fine. I just wish you had taken the position I offered you here at home so things like this wouldn't happen. Private practices have their benefits you know."

"Believe me mom, I've heard about it." Jesse knew his tone was too sarcastic when his mother's end of the conversation stopped.

"Fine Jesse. I'll send you your Christmas present though the mail." With that she hung up and Jesse shook his head. Why did family have to be so complicated? Jesse didn't mind spending Christmas at the hospital. It was better then spending it with his family and ten times better then spending it alone. Mark and Steve would have never let him spend it alone, though. They would have invited him over and even if Jesse had gotten Christmas off, he would feel he was invading on some private time that Mark had scheduled with his friend, Amilie.

Jesse started his car and headed to the restaurant, for some reason he knew his mother would call there to leave a message just for him.

oooooooo

"Gabby, listen to me…" Steve held the phone to his ear with two hands trying to stop the wind on the beach from muffling his conversation. "Look, so I didn't want to go to the ballet. Have you ever taken me up on a trip camping? ... What is that suppose to mean? … So we have a little bit of differences in taste, we can work though that … Gabby, she is just my partner, we do stake outs all the time, we are close friends… you know Gab, maybe we should take a vacation… no… not together I mean from…" Steve held the phone away from his ear for a few seconds as Gabriella's voice got louder. Once upon a time she had been a very nice girl. However three months after he had begun dating her, she started planning a wedding, and he backed off.

Ever since then it seemed like she was giving him things to do just to test his love for her, and Steve was tired of it. He cared for her a lot but she was moving too fast for even him, and he didn't know how to break the news to her. "Gabby, I'm getting off now. Call me tomorrow." Steve heard her mumble an ok before he snapped the phone together and put it in his pocket. He blushed slightly, noticing a thin blonde in a bathing suit just coming out of the water. She was smirking at him.

"You should've just told her." The blonde remarked, nodding toward his phone.

"Told her what?" Steve asked trying to remember if she lived around here or not.

"Told her it wasn't workin'." The woman had an accent and it made Steve grin.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Yep, but I still don't think she gets the picture by the sounds of it."

"You're not from around here? Are you?"

"Nope." She looked him over, and Steve felt it. He couldn't help but watch her squeeze out the water from her hair with her towel. "I haven't swam in ages in the ocean. It's very refreshing."

"I agree. I surf, it is even more refreshing. The waves here are excellent."

"Surfing, now that sounds like something I've never done."

"You wanna learn?" Steve took the opportunity while he could. "I don't know how long you plan to stay but…"

"Oh, that would be great. Thank you. I'm Amilie, I'm staying with Dr. Sloan over in that house…" She pointed to Steve's house and Steve paled slightly. "If you need to get me, I'll be there."

"Well, I think we are closer neighbors then I thought. I'm Steve Sloan. I live on the bottom apartment of the beach house." He put a hand out to shake hers and he noticed her blushing.

"Why, I should've recognized you." She giggled and shook his hand. "Mark has told me much about you over lunch."

"Hopefully all good things…" Steve laughed and started walking with her back to the house.

"Only the very best from a proud father."

oooooooo

Mark sat at the coffee table; the puzzle from Jesse sprawled out over the wooden surface. He was sorting them one by one into sand, water, and sky, trying to figure out where to start. Suddenly he heard voices coming up on the porch and he remembered he had locked the door earlier. Mark stood to get up and his knee hit the coffee table sending the pieces flying. "Oh dear…" He looked at the puzzle, irked by his own faults. A knock at the glass door stopped him before he bent to pick them up. "Oh, Steve…" Mark looked up and saw he was with Amilie, he smiled. His hand reached over for the door and unlocked it, letting in his son and guest.

"What happened here?" Steve's smile pointed toward the puzzle.

"My own clumsiness, I'm afraid."

"I'll help you pick it up." Steve went over and picked up some of the pieces on the floor and put them into the box on the couch.

"Let me help too," Amilie said and walked over with Mark to assist.

"I see you two have met." Mark inquired.

"You could say that, yes…" Steve smirked.

"Steve said he is going to teach me to surf." They both laughed and Mark shook his head but grinned.

"Well, I'm glad you two are getting along."

oooooooo

Amilie sat at the end of the bed looking out the window at the sun setting slowly in the west. Close to her heart was apiece of cloth pressed against her chest with her right hand. She could smell it. The smell of him, the scent he had carried everyday with that same old jacket and torn up boots. An image of his face crossed her mind and she closed her eyes…

Struggle… fear… they were on his face as he was tearing things apart in the barn. What was wrong with him? He looked over to her and ran at her, reached for her hair.

A yelp escaped her lips and she dropped the piece of clothing on the ground standing. Amilie turned on the lights in the bedroom as it was getting dark. What had she just remembered? Her heart was pounding slightly and she wrapped her robe closer around her shoulders. Today had been such a good day. It wasn't like her to daydream nightmares. Mark Sloan had been so kind to her, letting her stay at his home; it was a beautiful place. The beaches were beautiful and the people very friendly, especially Mark's son, Steve. He was very sweet to her and Amilie didn't mind it. She was lonely; she would admit it, lonely for a long time now.

Her choice to stay at the ranch instead of move in with her mother had been a mistake. But Amilie was tired of all the phone calls, of all the visits and she couldn't imagine what it would have been like living again with the woman. It felt great being away from the ranch for awhile. Never had salt air smelt like freedom. Maybe she was finally going to let what happened in Iowa become memories, a good memory. She and Robert had a good life together and he was a pretty good provider. Things were really taken care of after he died, and it helped that his father had given him a trust fund. Amilie couldn't imagine taking care of the ranch with out it.

There was a soft knock at her door and she didn't move to open it right away. Her hand reached down and picked up the cloth and put it in the side drawer of the night stand. "Come in…" She said fixing a smile on her face.

"Amilie," Mark said, opening the door slowly and standing just in the door way politely. "I will be going to the hospital tomorrow for my shift and I was thinking you'd like to be taken to some of the sites around here. My friend Amanda Bentley wanted to plan a girl's day out with you. Lunch and some shopping…"

"That sounds very relaxing. Thank ya, Dr. Sloan." Amilie nodded to him and he seemed excited about her answer.

"Great! I'll have her pick you up here around noon. Will that be ok?"

"That will be just fine." Amilie said and waited for him to slip back out, silently closing the door behind him. She frowned slightly and sat on her bed and dwelt on a serious question that women always ask themselves before social events. What am I going to wear?