Once he was back in his apartment, Derek felt as though he was floating.

For the whole bus ride, he and Maddie had chatted like normal people! (Well, semi-normal, anyway. It could hardly be considered normal that he dreamt about Maddie ever night.)

They'd discussed the museum, the bus system…He'd even told her about the Mullins/Muffins incident! She'd laughed at that, but had said it was still very good of him to apologize for the error, even though it wasn't his own. He'd glowed with pride at that.

His stop had been before hers, so he had been forced to tear himself away from his angel to get off the bus. It had hurt tremendously.

He was surprisingly giddy. It was understandable, of course. After all, less than two days ago, he'd assumed that Maddie was a figment of his imagination; a fantasy creature created by his lonely, middle-aged psyche. Now, he had not only found out that she really existed, but he had actually talked to her!

The giddiness still worried him, though. He felt as though he'd just chugged three pots of coffee. His alter-egos were excited as well, though each in their own way.

Derek #1 was ecstatic, having met Maddie and spoken to her and even (gasp) touched her hand! He could die happy.

Derek #2, however, was angry. Very angry. And scared. Very scared.

"How could you have just talked to her like that?" Derek #2 fumed. "Have you no shame? She's seventeen! You're…not. She's young and beautiful, and you're just old. Old and disgusting and fat and-"

Derek #1 gave Derek #2 a figurative slap upside the head.

"Shut up, you downer!" Derek #2 chided. "Just shut up!"

Derek was in for a long night.

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Meanwhile, back at Maddie's apartment, Maddie was fixing dinner for her father and the twins, her mother having already fallen asleep due to the extreme exhaustion caused by being a housewife and mother of three in Brooklyn. She hummed quietly to herself as she fixed her family some macaroni and cheese.

Today had been a really good day! She hadn't gotten fired immediately (or at all) which was definitely a good thing. She'd also seemed to make a good friend in Rebecca. The docent seemed sweet and intelligent, almost like an older sister.

Then there was Dr. McPhee, the eccentric museum director. He seemed to be an alright guy. A bit stuffy and paranoid, sure, but at least he hadn't gone ballistic when she'd went all crazy at him. The fact that he could hardly finish a sentence was kind of annoying, but the fact that he kept backtracking and putting his foot in his mouth was just adorable. Maybe he was pretty cool after all.

Sighing, she finished the delicious, cheesy, noodly concoction and took it off the stove. She went to the living room and poked her head in, telling her dad and the twins that dinner was ready. Then, before he could even get up, she bolted into her room.

Once safely in her room, she curled up in bed with her biology book. Mr. Robertson had assigned a major amount of homework tonight, so Maddie wanted to get some of it done tonight.

She'd already called Brenda and Nadia, telling them all about her first day. They had agreed that Rebecca sounded nice, and that the whole thing with Maddie thinking Dr. McPhee thought she smelled bad was purely hilarious. Brenda actually had the audacity to suggest that it sounded like maybe Dr. McPhee had a bit of a thing for her. Maddie retaliated by promising to give her a severe slap upside the head tomorrow morning. Nadia just laughed, knowing well enough by now to stay silent when the other two were arguing.

With promises to see each other in the morning and to keep the boys in line, they departed from their telephoning.

After about an hour, Maddie had gotten a good chunk of her homework finished. Sure, it wasn't a lot (about three pages) but it was enough for the night. Smiling to herself, Maddie rose from her bed, grabbed her pajamas, and walked to the bathroom.

Once inside, she stripped off her clothes and cranked on the water in the shower. Once it was the right temperature (Maddie hated cold water), she stepped in and proceeded to wash off the dirt of the day, relishing the feel of the warm water.

All of a sudden, Maddie heard a flushing noise. The water in the shower turned scalding hot. She cried out in shock. A small giggle caught her attention, as well as the pitter-patter of running feet.

"Matt!" she screamed, annoyed. Her anger faded away after a moment, though, and she laughed. It was kind of funny…

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She looked up at the fogged up mirror, then back down. She did a double-take. What in the world…?

She shook her head and sighed, starting to put on her pajamas. She was obviously in need of some serious sleepage. She could've sworn she'd just seen Dr. McPhee in the reflection!

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Back at Derek's house, Derek was lying in bed, blushing madly. He'd been lying there, minding his own…well, minding Maddie's business, really…when all of a sudden she'd gotten up and went into the bathroom! Since he was…connected to her somehow, he'd had no choice but to follow her.

He'd tried to force himself to wake up when she'd started to strip her clothes off, but he couldn't. He'd averted his eyes as much as he could, but…being a man…Ugh.

He'd stared at the floor when she was turning on the water, only looking up once he was sure she was in the shower.

She'd been singing to herself as she washed. Her voice was a little off-key, but sweet just the same. He wouldn't have minded her singing to him someday. He hadn't recognized the song, but it had something to do with that book she was reading: Wuthering Heights. He knew because he'd read the book himself as a teenager. Some of the lines just went so well with the book, it was impossible that it had to do with anything else: "Heathcliff, it's me-e, Cathy! I've come home, and I'm so co-o-o-old. Let me in your windo-o-ow!" And then the line: "Leave behind my Wuthering, Wuthering, Wuthering Heights" really sealed it.

As he'd been listening to her sing, he'd vaguely noticed a little boy with brown hair sneaking into the bathroom. Derek had only really paid him any mind when the little boy's hand had snaked out to the flusher on the toilet, a wicked grin on his face as he pushed it down.

Maddie had cried out in either shock or pain. Derek winced and started to scold the little boy, but then remembered that he wouldn't hear him. The little boy giggled and ran out.

"Matt!" Maddie shrieked. Derek winced again. Suddenly the water cut off and Maddie stepped out of the shower. Derek froze. His mind told him to look away, but he felt like he couldn't move.

Maddie glanced carelessly into the mirror, then away from it, and then she quickly looked back up. For a moment, Derek was sure she saw him.

However, Maddie shook her head and muttered something about sleepage. Then she'd started to pull on her pajamas: a pair of blue and white boxers and a tight white tank top.

And then he woke up.

(AN: Bahahahaha. I just couldn't help it. Sorry. Lolz You knew it was gonna happen sometime! Oh, and the song I keep mentioning is called Wuthering Heights and it's by Hayley Westenra. It's the most bizarre song I've ever heard. You ought to check it out. Lolz