He's all the way down by the nurses' station when a voice he recognizes starts echoing down the hall. He picks up his pace until he's practically running and charges through the open door of Curly's room.

"You don't have to tell him anything," Tim says. "Curly, don't tell him anything."

The cop looks up at him. It's officer Hope. He was one of the beat cops in their neighborhood for a while. His actual name is Bob Hope, and Tim and Dally Winston used to give him hell about it.

"A pleasure as always, Tim," Hope bites.

"Don't you have a USO tour to do? I bet the boys over in 'Nam could really use some half-assed jokes right about now."

"You didn't know? It's the monsoon season right now. They won't let me over there," Hope replies.

"Huh, finally a decent comeback. Only took you four years. I'm impressed, Hope. Now do you wanna' let me know what you're doin' talking to my brother while he's clearly out of his mind on painkillers?"

"Just tryin' to get a statement, and then I'll be out of your hair. You seem to be forgetting that he's on the right side of the law this time."

"Like hell I'm gonna let you talk to him…"

"Let the man do his job, Tim," his mom says softly. He hadn't noticed her before.

"Thank you," Hope says. He turns to Curly. "Now, can you tell me what happened?"

Curly is holding Faye's cardigan like it's a teddy bear. His eyes look heavy, and Tim wonders how he's even awake. He's normally almost comatose from the morphine at this time of day. But even though he's awake, Tim can tell that Curly is high as a kite, and he doesn't trust him not to say something about Faye Louise and her plants.

"I … I don't know," Curly says. "I woke up here and I'd been shot."

"What do you remember from before? Did you see anyone suspicious? Is there anybody who would want to hurt you?"

He slowly shakes his head. "It's all blank. Things are all jumbled together. I just don't know."

Hope sighs. He's getting nowhere, and he's about to just give up.

"What about that sweater you've got? Could that be some kind of clue?"

"Huh?" Curly says. "Oh. It was here when I woke up. Sure is soft."

Hope closes his notebook and shakes his head. He turns to Tim and his mom. "Not really anything I can do, I'm afraid. There's nothin' to go on. Let us know if he remembers anything, and we'll see if we can be of some help."

Ms. Shepard nods. "Thank you for your time."

He's gone before Tim can make another Bob Hope joke. Dallas would have been disappointed in him; he always seemed to have a joke or two up his sleeve, ready to go.

"Ma," Curly says. "Can you see if the nurses will bring some more ice?"

She nods and stands up. "I'll be right back."

"Tim," Curly says as soon as she's gone. "Tim, come here."

He rolls his eyes and scoots his chair over to Curly's bed. "What?"

"It was Mack."

"Huh?"

"Bobby Mack. He's the one who shot me."

"I know. I've known that all along. How did you know that?" Tim asks.

"Remembered this morning. I didn't tell Bob Hope because I didn't want the cops to give Faye any trouble. They've gotta know Mack runs with her brother. If the cops find the plants she's gonna be locked up forever."

Tim smiles and shakes his head, laughing softly to himself. "You ain't half as dumb as you look."

"Well, seein' as how I look just like you…"

"Quit while you're ahead," Tim warns.

Curly picks up Faye's sweater and starts absently rubbing one of the sleeves against his cheek. It's soft, and it smells like her – like weed and cherry syrup. He misses her, and he wishes he could be back at her house instead of stuck in the hospital.

"Think you can sneak Faye Louise in again soon?" he asks.

"I'll see what I can do."

XXX

Playing strip poker isn't the best idea she's ever had. Especially since they're both drunk, she's terrible at card games, and she and Stewart Hall were almost dating not too long ago. But Faye Louise Glass needs a distraction from her racing thoughts. She's not falling for Curly Shepard. She can't be. They can't be anything more than friends with benefits. Being his steady girlfriend just isn't in the cards.

Winning a hand also isn't in the cards for her. Hall beats her pair of twos with a Royal Flush and starts laughing hysterically.

"Take it off, Faye Louise!" Hall laughs.

"Let the record show that I hate you," she says. She takes a shot of bourbon.

"Noted," Hall replies and drains his beer.

Faye Louise takes off her last two pieces of clothing, and Hall's eyes practically pop out of his skull.

"Didn't your mother teach you that it isn't polite to stare?" she teases.

It all suddenly comes together for him. "You minx. You're trying to seduce me."

"You say that like it's a bad thing. You like what you see, don't ya?"

"Damn straight I do," Hall says.

She giggles and starts backing toward her bedroom, motioning seductively for him to follow. And, of course, he does.

XXX

An arm that isn't Curly's wraps around her waist and a pair of lips presses against her forehead.

"Mornin' sexy," Hall rumbles when he sees that she's awake.

She feels sick, and it's only partly because of the hangover. Sleeping with Stewart seemed like a good idea the night before. It was a way for her to get her mind off of Curly. But she ended up thinking of him the whole time.

"Oh god," she groans.

"You OK?" he asks.

She shakes her head and forces herself out of bed. "Jesus Christ, I don't believe this. The fuck did I just do?"

"Faye Louise?"

She and Curly aren't even a couple, really. So why does she feel so guilty?

She curses under her breath until she reaches the basement and locks the door behind her. Stewart knocks and calls her name, but she doesn't open the door.

XXX

Tim Shepard knocks on the front door just before nine o'clock in the morning. A bleary-eyed Hall answers.

"Mornin'," Tim says. "Faye Louise up yet?"

Hall rolls his eyes and nods. "She's locked herself in the basement. Been there since real early. Chicks, man…"

Tim brushes past him and walks over to the basement door like he owns the place. He knocks hard on the door.

"Faye?" he says. A few seconds later, and the door opens.

Her eyes are red like she's been crying, but Tim doesn't mention it. He's learned that it's better not to ask questions. If it's something worth talking about, she'll probably bring it up on her own.

"How's the plants?" he finally asks.

She shrugs and walks over to one of them.

"This one's an overachiever," she says. "Gonna harvest it tonight. The rest are right on schedule. They'll be ready to go in a couple days."

He nods. "Good deal."

"How's Curly?" Faye asks.

"The same, I recon. Haven't been to see him yet today. Thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to come with me."

"Yeah. Sure," she says. Her voice is calm, but he doesn't miss how her eyes sparkle with excitement.

XXX

She and Curly just stare at each other for a few seconds. Then, in the time it takes Tim to blink, she's crossed over to Curly's bed.

She cups his cheek in her hand and kisses him hard. At first, his eyes are open wide with surprise. But he slowly lets them close and tangles a hand in her hair, humming contentedly against her lips.

"Well, hey there," Curly says once they break the kiss. He's wearing a goofy smile, and Faye notices that he's put her sweater over his pillowcase.

"Hey," she replies. She pushes some stray strands of hair out of his face. "How ya feelin'?"

He nuzzles her neck and rests his head on her shoulder. "Tired, sore, bored. Feel better now that you're here. Been missin' you like crazy."

She tightens her arms around him and pulls him in for another kiss. "I missed you too. So damn much."

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