It wouldn't be until a week after visiting Pam that Aidan found an opportunity to drive up to Big Bear and talk to Bill. As she drove along Highway 18 up to Big Bear, her mind drifted over the events leading up to this point, from the time she woke up in the hospital, her visit to Napa, then to Pam's house and finally the past week.

She frowned at the thoughts, especially the last week and how much it took to convince her parents they could go home and that she would be fine. Though after her accident and then her behavior at Pam's house they were hard pressed to believe her, she was able put up a good front, going about daily activities in what she figured was normal for this reality. But all the while in the back of her mind she was just waiting for the opportunity to seek out Bill Maxwell and find out what happened to her uncle. Aidan knew while her parents were still in town they would never let her visit Bill, so she had to wait until they left. She thought it would hard pick up the "normal routine," but instead it was easy. Each day, she would easily fall into the daily working of her small business and interaction with clients and employees. Aidan did it so well in fact that it she felt she could get used to this. …

This thought startled her, it scared her how easily she could accept this reality and forget all about where she came from. Forget about Ralph and Pam, Tony and the suit, and accept that those she loved and cared for were now in jail, widowed… or dead.

In the past week, besides convincing her parents everything was back to normal she had to constantly remind herself, why it was all an act, that this wasn't where she belonged and why she needed to remember. But the harder she tried to remember it seemed the faster the reasons and memories slipped away. It was like holding onto water in the palm of her hand only to have it escape the harder she grasped it.

Aidan sighed as she rounded a rather dangerous curve, bringing her focus back to the road and from her thoughts. Once around the curve, she ran a hand through her hair as she tried to remind herself once again why she was going to the cabin, why she was going against her parents' wishes to leave the past lay were it belonged, dead and long buried. …

"No, not buried, not dead," she whispered in frustration clutching the steering wheel harder and forcing back tears that threatened to blur her vision. "I'm doing this for Ralph… I need to ask Bill what happened to my uncle, his friend…" Aidan told herself, repeating the same mantra she told herself every day for the past week, ever since she found out her uncle was dead. The young woman chanted it anytime she had to pause, and try to remember why - and it seemed to be more often than before.

When the mantra failed to bring the reasons, Aidan hit the top of her steering wheel with her hand in frustration. The sting the action caused brought back the reasons: Ralph was dead in this timeline, it wasn't supposed to be like this. …

But, then again, her parents are alive.

She sighed, willing her emotions back. Isn't this what she asked for? Isn't that what she wanted? Isn't that what she longed for, just to see her parents, for her life to be simple, with no complications of the suit and everything that came with that other life? It was her own actions… her choices that brought her to where she was now.

But at what cost, she mused as she drove. Was it worth trading one life for another? Ralph was dead and her mom and dad who died in the other timeline were now alive.

Her parents, Aidan sighed, thinking some more. After their visit with Pam, Aidan went home to make plans to visit Bill. When they looked over her shoulder and found out what she planned to do - to visit Big Bear, her parents again warned her to not try and see Bill, claiming too much pain and stress for her. They even went so far as to forbid her to go, as if she was 5 years old asking to go to a neighbors to play rather than the adult she was.

They stated very plainly that he, Bill Maxwell, was no longer a friend of the family, but why she had no idea. Though Aidan said that she wouldn't do it, she knew that she had to talk to the man, if nothing else to know what happened to Ralph so she'd have some closure. It was something she needed, though at the time for the life of her she couldn't remember why closure in this case was so important. Even now the reasons slipped once again from her memory as she continued to think about her parents.

After about a mile, Aidan passed a point on the road, and felt her heart turn to ice. When a shudder ran down her spine, she realized she needed to pull over to collect herself. Pulling into a small turnout just past Big Bear Dam, Aidan stopped the car and got out, walking to the edge of the small lookout. The edge was bordered by a rock barrier, simple in form, and complete.

She felt a shudder course through her body, reaching the most inner part of her, despite the heavy coat she wore and the bright mid-morning sun. Confused, she looked down, and saw that the drop off was a fairly steep hill with boulders - one that stopped just at door level of her car - and other brush peeking out above some of the snow that had fallen the other day.

The young woman paled slightly, feeling the shudder again and made the connection - this had to be where she had the accident in the other timeline. Shivering even more, as though the air had turned her cold as ice, Aidan wrapped her arms tighter around her and headed back to the car, getting inside. She then looked at her watch and frowned, realizing she'd have to hurry or she might miss Bill before he went fishing or on an errand.

After about five more miles, she turned off on the road that led to Bill's cabin. When she arrived at the number, she was surprised to find that it was a fairly small cabin, made out of logs and shingles. To her slight amusement, she noticed that Bill still had a tan car - but instead of it being a sedan, it was a four door Toyota Echo.

Getting out of the car, Aidan felt a slight shudder run down her back. She was nervous now, wondering what Bill would look like in this time as well as how he'd react to her talking about Ralph. The two had been very close - partially because of the suit but increasingly because they found a common bond, so she knew that Ralph's death had to be painful for him.

Walking up the porch to the door, Aidan took a deep breath and let it out, then knocked on the door. She heard a grumbling as footsteps approached.

The door opened, and Aidan stepped back slightly in surprise as Bill peered out the screen door. With the exception of a silver beard, Bill looked exactly she remembered him in the other ... was it other?... time.

Bill, however, was a bit disgruntled at the sight of the young woman at his door. He had a sinking feeling as to who it was, given she did have a bit of a resemblance to his friend - her mother's brother, which only made it harder for him to see her. "Who are you?" he asked, just to be sure he didn't make a mistake as to who it was.

"My name is Aidan Hin... uh, Onyxsard," said the young woman. "It's been a while, Bill..."

"Aidan huh? What are you doing here..." he said, narrowing his eyes at her looking at her through the screen door. He then looked around, making sure her parents weren't in the vicinity. "Do your parents know where you are?" he grumbled.

"Umm, No they don..." she said, confused by his response. From the sound of his voice, her parents had said something to him that hurt him deeply. Why he was being cold to her, however, she wasn't certain.

"Good then get... I don't need any trouble," he said abruptly, only to see her stay on the porch.

"Trouble? Bill... all I want to do is ask a question..."

Seeing she wasn't going to move, Bill pushed the screen door open, causing Aidan to step back rather quickly. "You don't hear real well do you...I said get out of here," he says rather gruffly still stepping forward, until Aidan is totally off the porch and he was on the top step. Seeing he had her attention, he then nodded his satisfaction. "Now get... you don't want to catch hell from your parents. Believe me, I know."

Though a bit stunned at the man's remarks as he turned away, Aidan persisted. "But Bill..." she said, taking a step forward to follow him again.

The agent paused, his hand still on the door to open it to go inside, kept his back to her. "Look, I don't know what your game is but your parents made it clear that I was not welcome any more after what happened..." he said. 'Despite my friendship with Ralph ...'

"But that's why I came here. I need you to tell me what happened to my uncle."

"There isn't anything to talk about he's dead," he said abruptly. It was not something he wanted to talk about, especially since he saw what happened - all of it.

"But he was your friend...and I need to know what happened no one will tell me and it's important," she said.

"Like I told you he's gone… been gone a long time," he said, entering the house and about to shut the door, keeping her out.

Aidan didn't miss the fact he changed his wording - that he said gone rather than dead. The words had different meanings, and she also knew that Bill rarely would change the two.

Given that she wanted to find out more, she realized that there was one thing that would make him listen to her. She also wanted to know why it didn't protect Ralph.

"I know about the suit Bill..."

Bill froze in his tracks, his head spinning at the abrupt announcement. He was pretty sure that Ralph had never told anyone outside of Pam that he wore the suit. For Aidan to know about it, either Ralph had kept it a secret to him that Ralph mentioned it to her or she found out on her own.

The retired agent turned around glaring at her through the screen. "What?…" he said coldly, then realizing he admitted she was telling the truth, tried to bluff it out. "I don't know what you're talking…"

Aidan stepped forward, putting her hand up to tick off the items that made up the suit. "Yeah you do: Red tights, red tunic with a funny emblem on it, black cape with red trim, boot spats, a grey belt…."

"Sure honey, and you know what that emblem looks like… little red robin boppin' around the bend," he said sarcastically, trying to see if she really knew about it or was lying.

Aidan shook her head. "No… it looks basically like a Chinese character, but I've always felt it looked like the top of an antique key…" she said, then noticed Bill pale. "Are you all right?"

Bill nodded, still dumbfounded. "OK, so ya know about the suit, but you'd better forget about it real quick. It's a curse, and it curses everyone who knows about it."

"What do you mean?" she said, only to pause when Bill turned away. "Don't turn your back on me Bill, and don't think I am going away cause I 'm not. Not until you talk to me " She said in frustration stepping closer to him, then taking a deep breath and calming her self she continued, her voice barley steady "I need you to tell me…to help me to understand, please." She said the last part almost pleading, hoping it to reach that part of him that still felt an obligation to her uncle and their friendship.

Bill ran a hand over his face then looked at the screen door in front of him. Aidan's stubbornness reminded him so much of his best friend, it brought back to many memories, it hurt too much. It would be to easy to simply ignore her and walk through that door, locking her and the memories of her uncle out.

More than ever, he wanted to send her packing, but knowing she was related to his long dead partner, Bill knew he was not going to accomplish that goal until she had her answers. He just hoped this would not be too hard - on either of them. He turned slightly in her direction "OK," He said with a sigh "since you've come all the way here ta try and find me… but ya ain't gonna like hearing what happened to your uncle."

"I know he's dead... or so everyone keeps telling me," Aidan said walking over until she stood in front of him, but far enough away so he didn't feel crowded. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel intimidated and run. Looking him in the eye she continued "I need some answers, and it sounds like there's more to it isn't there, and the suit's involved. You're the only one Bill who can give me those answers."

The agent nodded, and motioned her to a chair on the porch. She sat down, and he sat across from her in a porch swing. He rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to keep his emotions at bay. "Yeah, it was. Still remember it like it was yesterday," he said. "Ralph and me were on a drug bustin' scenario over near the ocean. Large bust of meth cocaine - probably the largest bust at the time. Pretty easy case, we go in, me with the gun and Ralph with the suit, and we put the kibosh on the project."

Aidan blinked in surprise. "A drug bust? That should've been easy..."

"So we thought. Ralph of course bundled up the creeps nicely with some tire irons and then we put them in my car. He changed out of the suit and we were about to leave. I don't even know why he took the suit off I mean sometimes he did that, in case backup was coming and he didn't want to leave me totally alone. God I wish he hadn't." Bill paused for a second running a hand over his eyes as if the action would wipe away the memory as well as the tears that were forming there. Aidan heard him mutter something about allergies though she knew better before he continued.

"Anyway, It was then we hear a gunshot near the car," he said, then his voice broke slightly. "We turn, me with my gun drawn, and see someone pointing a gun and yelling at us - a third dealer who was also a user. He was particularly aiming at me… because of our past. Ralph tried to get him ta calm down, and that it wasn't my fault for the creep's firing from the agency, but he wouldn't listen. I tried to get the man to put down his weapon, but he only said 'payback's a bitch...' and pulled the trigger…."

Bill took a breath and let it out. "That's when Ralph stepped in between us and took the hit, with no suit to protect him… why…." he said, and frowned when he noticed Aidan start to cry. He knew exactly how she felt, but kept going. "Anyway, after Ralph fell, I took a shot at the creep and got him. Went over to him, and found he was alive, but completely defenseless. I wanted…"

Aidan paled slightly when she saw the hatred in Bill's eyes. "To kill him," she said, finishing and knowing how Bill must have felt. She also had the same feelings one time in a different case, but Ralph was only out cold and she mistakenly thought that he had been killed. She remembered, however, how it took everyone to talk her out of going through with her revenge.

"Yeah, I wanted to... but Ralph had come around and told me not to... how I heard him I'll never know, but I listened," said Bill. "Since the creep was out cold, I ran back over to Ralph and held him in my arms to ease the pain... the wound was bad - it hit his heart. I knew he was a goner, but couldn't let him know…"

"But he knew though," she said, remembering vaguely the visit to the ship and another time… the day she got the suit. Aidan had never told anyone else, but as she started to piece together more of the events leading up to her receiving the suit, she realized how close to death she had come. What had scared her though was she remembered how much at peace she was with the possibility just before the green guys sedated her to heal her wounds.

Bill, not knowing this alternate time, continued though slightly confused by her comment. "Yeah... and made me promise ta take care of the ones he loved. I said I would, and then... well, he died," he finished choking back the lump in his throat, and blinking away the tears that threatened to spill over from the memory of that day. There was more to tell, but The old agent couldn't bring himself to tell anyone - including Pam - what he saw happen in those last few moments, and made a vow to never say.

He tried to brush them away, but realized that even Aidan understood how he felt. "The rest is pretty much what you know... had to come over ta the Couns... sorry Pam's home and tell her the news. What I didn't expect was that you were there and ya'd faint and hit your head though..."

"Like the other time..." said Aidan, realizing this part was similar to the other reality.

"Other time?..."

"Sorry, it's just I don't remember a lot about that night, so I see it as another time," she said, though she knew it was only partially true.

"Oh. But your parents blame me for both Ralph's death and you being unconscious in the hospital that they told me ta never see ya again. That'd I'd curse you just like I did the guy who killed your uncle."

Aidan blinked, confused at the response. "How could you influence Ralph's killer? You were a good agent."

"I was, and so was Villacana until he went sour after being caught with drugs at the agency. Tried to deny it, but even Ralph got a holograph of him with them," he said, only to see Aidan lean over slightly with her head in her hands. "What is it?"

Aidan, however, didn't hear Bill's words. The feelings and emotion that were surrounding her were too difficult to explain - rage, hatred, nausea, faintness, anguish, confusion - and all directed at Tony and the world she was living in. The quickly were replaced by guilt - that her choice affected not only Ralph's future, but Tony's as well as everyone she knew and loved.

Bill, however was concerned. "Ade, are you feeling OK? C'mon speak to me," he said, afraid that she was either going to faint like she did so many years ago hearing the news, or throw up.

Aidan, however, ran a hand over her face, trying to not cry out in anguish. "Tony killed Ralph?" she said between tears. She couldn't believe that her teammate and friend in the other time turned out to be Ralph's murderer.

Bill, seeing Aidan's anguish but not sure how to comfort her, put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, honey, he did. I would've killed him if Ralph didn't tell me not ta. Your uncle was a tree-huggin' hippie until the end," he said with a wry smile. "Tony of course got the book thrown at him and he's now serving life in prison with no parole. Too bad he couldn't get Old Sparky or the gas chamber. Deserved both."

Aidan shook her head at the notion, but continued. "OK, but what about the suit?" she asked, wondering what happened to it. The only story she knew of someone else wearing it besides Ralph or herself was the one that Ralph told her of a Holly Hathaway getting it. While in that time it was a dream he had as a warning to not use the suit for gain, for all Aidan knew Hathaway did receive it after Ralph's death.

"Don't know. The green guys musta picked it up not too long after everything. Who knows if it's still here on Earth or in that intergalactic Chevy."

The young woman looked at Bill, then decided it was time to ask. "OK, can you at least tell me where was he buried?" she said. "No one seems to want to tell me where Ralph is so I can visit his grave and have some closure. That's why I came here."

"I can't tell you..."

Aidan quirked an eyebrow, a bit skeptical about the response. "Bill, you were his friend, you can tell me," she said, but then realized that there might be another reason why he said that. "Wait, was he buried? Or was he cremated and his ashes strew about? Though I didn't see an urn anywhere at Pam's…"

"Neither," he said abruptly, then paused, realizing his mistake.

Aidan shook her head, now really confused. "Neither? Bill, he'd have to be either buried or cremated. I know he wasn't going to donate his body to science. For some reason, that seemed to bother him" she said, only to see Bill shudder some. She narrowed her eyes, wondering if she had been played for a fool. "Bill... What the hell is going on here? You're not answering me - are you lying to me? Is Ralph dead or did he… I don't know, wind up with amnesia, leave the hospital and been walking around not knowing who he is for years?"

Bill ran a hand through his silver hair, frustrated. He still wasn't sure how Aidan knew about the suit, and even if Ralph told her, Bill knew the man hadn't told her this "fun" part about the green guys. "He's not dead… not in the way you and me think anyway."

"What do you mean? Everyone here thinks I'm going bananas for insisting he's alive," said Aidan, confused.

"Never mind, I already said too much. just drop it OK," he said, getting up to go back into the house.

Aidan stopped him. "No Bill I won't drop it. What do you mean he isn't dead...you just said so yourself that To…" she said, still reeling at what she had heard. "Tony killed my uncle and you saw him die. But now you're saying he's not dead…"

Bill glared at her hand on his arm and swung it around, making her release it. "And I said drop it Aidan."

"Artie…" she corrected.

"What?" he said, confused.

"Bill, you always call me Artie. I mean, I used to hate it, but now I know it's a term of endearment... like you call Ralph Kid…"

"Called Ralph 'Kid,'" he said, admonishing her again for insisting Ralph was alive. "Besides, Artie doesn't fit ya."

"Yes it does Bill, That's what you always call me…"

The man shook his head, almost reaching the end of his patience. "Aidan, this conversation is over. Your uncle to this world is dead and has been for a long time... Now I am asking you to leave…"

"Bill, you can't just throw me out. I need to know what happened to my uncle, I need to know where he is. Why the hell won't you tell me?"

"I already did," said Bill cryptically. "And I still don't know how you knew about that cursed suit. If you want to know the truth then blame that - it was what killed your uncle. And you might as well as forget it before it ruins you too, if you know what's good for you."

"Bill…" started Aidan, only to see Bill slam the door into her face. Aidan banged on the door jamb a couple of times, and not getting a response, stood there shocked at the man's behavior. She wrapped her arms around herself, and felt as though everything had happened the past few days came crashing on her: the accident, the ship, the head injury… Pam, Bill, M'Lynn, Austin saying Ralph was gone … blaming herself for it… Bill not saying where her godfather was… that Tony killed Ralph… people hiding facts from her… 'Ralph's dead Aidan'…

"Stop it!" Aidan shouted, covering her ears and closing her eyes. The sounds disappeared, and she opened her eyes, only to shake her head as the world seemed to spin around. She felt weird, as though there was a warmth about her. It confused and frankly scared her… "What the hell's going on," she wondered.