A/N: Thanks to leat79 for reviewing my last chapter.

Time now to take a little trip back into the past, or as Mary Alice might say: "It had been a long journey for David Williams and Jack McNorris. And though it began years ago, they remembered every step of it..."

DAVE WILLIAMS

Dave Dash was dead. He had had a beautiful wife, a perfect little girl, a good job and a nice house in the suburbs, and it had all been cruelly ripped away from him in an instant. Dave Dash was proof that the great American dream was founded on manure. Life was not worth living.

Dave Williams was born a few weeks after Dash had been drugged into submission. He bought himself a nice tuxedo and hauled himself to a hotel to celebrate, where a stunning woman with hair as blond as that of Dave Dash's daughter caught his eye. Williams quickly introduced himself and asked the lady to dance.

Over the following months, Dave Williams and Edie Britt shared many dances and dinners, and she began to open up about her past. Edie prided herself on her strength and independence, and Williams loved that about her, but he also knew his charisma could conquer anything. It had to. Edie had told him she was from Fairview, and Dave Williams needed to pry as much information from her as he could.

Tonight they were snuggled up together in front of the heater with a bottle of fine wine, as Edie confessed more of her sins to the backdrop of the howling wind and rain outside.

"I guess I wasn't the nicest friend to those people on Wisteria Lane," Edie murmured, her head nestled against his chest.

"It was a long time ago, Edie," Williams replied, kissing her hair. "I know you and that's not who you are anymore. You are a beautiful, intelligent, and compassionate woman."

Edie looked up at him wistfully. "Dave, what did I ever do to deserve someone as wonderful as you?"

Williams practised his best smile. "We were both in the right place at the right time."

Edie kissed him before settling herself back down on his chest. "I know I've mentioned my differences with Susan. But I never told you about what I did with her boyfriend, Mike Delfino."

Icy fingers began clawing up and down Williams' spine and he knew it was Dave Dash flailing about inside him, trying to get out.

He barely heard as Edie continued: "I can't believe I tried to take advantage of someone with amnesia!"

Williams leaned forward to drain his glass of wine and squeezed Edie's body against him to fight the chill that had suddenly overtaken him. "It's okay. Tell me all about it," he said. And she did.

That night, after Edie had fallen asleep, Dave Dash told Williams his plan.

The next day, Dave Williams bought an engagement ring.

JACK MCNORRIS

Having told David Francis about his long lost half-brother, Jack McNorris called his wife; assured her he felt fine; told her their eldest son was doing well in Los Angeles; and then climbed into the spare bed and cried.

Three decades ago, as the supervisor of public works in his hometown, Jack McNorris had been a very powerful figure. Ol' Jackie Boy, as he was affectionately known, was a working class antihero but to those in high enough places, he was the Fixer. If they needed anything done, if they needed anyone to shut up and disappear, Jack was the man to call. The average Joe on the street wouldn't even know his name, but Jack McNorris was the man in the shadows turning the wheels. He could make or break a career. He was tough, old school, and won debates with his fists.

As he fell into a deep sleep, Ol' Jackie Boy was 35 years younger again, driving down the block with 8-year-old David Francis by his side in the front passenger seat. Jack looked down at the fair-haired boy in his Red Sox jersey and the baseball glove he wore to sleep every night. He smiled proudly and ruffled David's hair.

They pulled up to an apartment building. "Stay here," Jack told him. "I've just gotta see this guy about work."

Tina Williams Dash was waiting at the top of the stairs. Wordlessly, Jack slipped a few hundred dollar notes into her palm.

"Thanks," said Tina, pocketing the cash. Her speaking aloud was usually a sign the apartment was empty and Jack risked a quick peck on her cheek. She smiled almost sadly. "Listen, Larry's taken the boys to the record store so they'll be gone a couple of hours at least. Do you want to come in for a scotch?"

Jack accepted the invitation and followed Tina into the apartment where, nine years earlier, she had told him she was pregnant with his child. He was already leading multiple lives then: Supervisor of Public Works, Fixer, husband, father, and a smooth operator with a string of attractive or lonely women on the side. A secret love child was not ideal but still manageable for an efficient and well-organised man like Jack. And at the end of the day, Davey Dash was his flesh and blood. The reality of their lives meant Jack could never play ball with him or take him fishing, but that didn't make Davey Dash any less his son.

Jack knew David Francis wouldn't mind waiting a little longer outside, and besides, it was not in his nature to disappoint a beautiful woman offering scotch.

Years later, Jack found himself hiding awkwardly at the back of a church in a black suit while Davey Dash, who had grown into a quietly dignified young man, delivered a heartfelt eulogy to his mother. Tina's enduring battle with breast cancer had come to an end and as Jack watched Dave Dash, he wondered if he could have eased the pain.

Jack had long stopped his secret support payments at Tina's insistence. His visits to the Dash apartment ended. It had seemed fair; at the time, Dave was almost 18 and planning his move away from Boston, while Jack was heading into retirement, officially at least. But the Dashes were hardly wealthy and Tina's eventual diagnosis must have taken a financial as well as emotional toll. It's not your fault. You didn't know she was sick. She asked you to stop. She had a husband and two boys to care for her. He had tried to tell himself the same thing all week but Jack couldn't quite shake the feeling that he should have done more.

One glance at Tina's son, now in his twenties, crying at the front of the church told Jack it was too late for that. As soon as the service was over, Jack slipped away – careful to avoid Larry Dash who had graciously turned a blind eye to his presence and Davey Dash who had been oblivious to it – and wiped his hands clean. Maybe Jack could have done things differently but it was time to move on. He had made a vow to his wife before God and from that day forward, Tina and Dave Dash would no longer exist for him.