Second Chance - Imaginary Season Two

by KellyBat1219

It's one year later and Jimmy, Duval, Mary and the rest of the Pritchard's must come to terms with the truth and face demons from the past all while dealing with new threats and new allies.

21. The Alternative

Chapter 21

THE ALTERNATIVE

By

Kelly Batten

Tucci was in his car when he saw in his rear view mirror the van come screeching down the street and turn into Paula's front yard and crash through the front window of her living room. "Holy Mother of God!" He exclaimed into the phone.

Fielding on the other end of the phone said, "What's going on?"

Before Tucci could answer he heard the gun fire. "Sweet Jesus! They just crashed the van through Paula's living room window and started shooting!"

"Oh my God! Can you tell if anyone is dead or alive?"

"No Sir. I'll go in and check it out."

"Without back-up?"

All of a sudden he saw a car come speeding down the street and turn into Paula's driveway, it was Jennifer, Liza and Gracie.

"Wait Sir, the daughters just arrived and I think they've got that lady agent who was at Sam Adam's apartment when he first went missing."

"Tucci, I'm calling 9-1-1"

"Wait Sir, I see the neighbor across the street. She's come out on her front porch and she's on the phone. She looks like she's called 9-1-1."

"Let me do some checking….yes, I checked the system, first responders have been dispatched."

"Sir, I think under the circumstances, I need to make an exit."

"Agreed. We'll re-group once we find out who's dead and who's alive."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paula was next to Duval. She was leaning close into him. "Duval, don't try to talk. Look, if all you ever want to be is good friends, I can live with that…you can even stay mad at me….just please don't die." She was now crying.

Duval used what strength he had left and pulled her head close to his mouth and he managed to whisper something in her ear. She looked at him funny and then said, "We'll take care of it."

The door flung open with Jennifer having her gun drawn and surveying if the coast was clear for Gracie and Liza to come in. She turned and said, "Gracie…Liza…come in."

Gracie and Liza came running in and they both screamed simultaneously, "MOM! DAD!"

Gracie ran to Duval and Liza ran to Paula who said, "Liza you have the medical training…tend to Duval. His wounds are worse than mine."

Gracie was by Duval who was barely conscious and said, "Dad…don't you leave me too." She began to cry. Duval was trying to stay awake and then his eyes shut.

Liza began to administer medical attention. She began to bind the wounds to get the bleeding under control. "He's losing blood fast!"

The EMT's arrived and they came in but Liza kept holding on to Duval's wound to keep the bleeding at bay.

The one EMT yelled, "We need two ambulances fast!"

They came in with the gurneys and put both Duval and Paula on them and proceeded to take them out. Paula then said to the one EMT, "Wait, I need to tell Jennifer something."

"Ma'am you've been shot, you need surgery. You don't need your gun with you."

"The hell I don't! I'm aware that I need surgery but, you need to give me thirty seconds. I know I'm not critical…not like Duval."

The responder motioned for Jennifer to come over. Jennifer said, "Tell me what you need Paula."

"Jennifer, go into the bathroom that's in my bedroom. Duval said he left it in the medicine cabinet."

"Left what?"

"He didn't get that far but it's clearly important."

"I'll take care of it." She then motioned for the EMT to come back and into the ambulances both Duval and Paula went. Liza stayed with Duval.

Gracie said, "Let me ride with my father!"

The EMT said, "There's not enough room miss."

Then a voice said, "Perhaps I can give you a ride Gracie."

Gracie turned and it was Officer Barry Allen. "Barry, what are you doing here?"

"I was ending my shift. This is actually out of my patrol section but when I heard the call come over the radio, I couldn't stay away. I want to help."

"Can you take me there with your siren on?"

"Consider it done. Are you guys taking them to Harborview?"

"Yes we are. We'll see you there."

"Let's go Gracie."

They got into the car and started to follow the ambulances very close. Gracie said, "I need to call Aunt Helen. She needs to know what's going on."

Back at Paula's house, while the detectives were on the scene and the coroner arrived to give an official pronouncement of death on Kerning and Hoover, Jennifer very stealth like made her way to the bathroom. She opened up the medicine cabinet and found the wire that Duval had been wearing. She smiled knowing that there must be some very good stuff on there considering what she knew so far about the events of this evening from Jimmy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Helen Pritchard was closing her suitcase when Wally came up behind her. He put his arms around and her and kissed her neck. She smiled and said, "Wally, we're going to miss the ferry if we don't leave right now. It's the last one this evening. I want to make sure we catch it so we can get married bright and early tomorrow morning."

"I know…but, I can't believe we're actually doing this. We're finally going to tie the knot on Orcas Island of all places. I never imagined going there to get married."

"It'll be very quiet, intimate, beautiful, and very low key…just the way we want it."

Wally put his hands on Helen's shoulders and said, "Helen, are you sure that you want to do this secretly? I mean your father might like to be there…especially since you had your mother's wedding dress altered to fit you. Besides, I haven't even had a chance to talk to him since I found out the truth. I know you told me that your parents were a little disappointed that Duval ran off with Madeleine and got married without them knowing it."

Helen smiled and said, "Wally, it was Mom who was disappointed. Dad has always been a live and let live kind of guy. He'll support this after we get back."

"Do you want any kind of reception when we get back? I mean, my parents are both gone but again, maybe your father…"

"Wally, Dad will be fine. If you really want some kind of fuss made, we'll have a family dinner to celebrate but big fancy parties in my honor have never been my thing….that's more Duval….if he hadn't knocked up Madeleine, he would have gotten married the traditional way."

"OK, I just don't want you to feel like you missed out on something."

"I don't. All I ever cared about was being able to wear my mother's dress because if I have her dress on, then I'll feel like she's with me. She's the one who cared about the pomp and circumstance."

"All right, well your dress and my suit are in the back of the SUV…so, let's get the rest of our stuff and get this rodeo started."

Helen smiled and said, "You're on."

Wally grabbed the bags and walked out. Helen was grabbing her purse when her phone rang. She saw that it was Gracie. She picked it up and said, "Hey Gracie! I can't talk for too long right now…"

"Aunt Helen…" Gracie could barely speak as she was crying very hard.

Helen got a concerned look on her face as Wally walked in and he looked at her puzzled. Helen said, "Gracie what is it? What's wrong?"

Wally saw the color leave Helen's face as she started to look a little faint. Wally ran up to her and said, "Helen, what's happened?"

All Helen could say as her eyes began to well up with tears was, "We have to go to Harborview."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Moira Murphy sat in the room murderously calm when she heard everything. Once again, Duval Pritchard and Paula McCaffrey were on breaking news. The man in black was there. Joey was in the tank regenerating, Sam was in his locked cell and Moira had nothing. Not only did she not have Jimmy, but she now had lost Kerning and Hoover.

"I have found a name for my pain…and it's Pritchard."

The man said, "What do you want us to do Senator?"

"Lay low and do nothing at the moment. It's time for me go to back to DC. We will re-group later. They may have won this battle but they won't win the war."

"Are you sure Ma'am? We could still take out Pritchard and McCaffrey."

"Are you crazy? I will not authorize a hit to be done at a hospital! Do you have any idea how much those two will be guarded? With Jimmy not in our custody, he's a loose cannon. I will not take any chances at this time."

"I see your point Ma'am. What about Vic Shelley, Joan Soladar and John Strayburn?"

"I'll speak with them myself."

"I'm sorry for your loss of Hoover."

"They will all pay for it. I assure you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duval and Paula were rushed into the ER. Paula watched as they took Duval away with Liza still on top of him keeping the bleeding at bay.

They took Paula to the X-ray room. Paula cried and said, "Let me go and be with Agent Pritchard. I don't know that he'll make it and I want to be with him."

The doctor said, "Agent McCaffrey, we need to find out where that bullet is in you and we need to get it out and patch you up. If it hasn't hit anything vital, we'll get you done quickly. There's nothing you can do for him. Let the doctors in the other room help him. Can I take your gun for you?"

Paula realized she needed to think of her own well-being at that point and she nodded to move forward with the X-ray so they could patch her up but said, "I'm going to give you my gun for safe keeping but, once I'm out of surgery, I expect it returned to me. If it's not returned to me once I'm lucid, I will pull the IV's out and I will track you down and I will kill you….because right now, I'm not feeling very trustworthy."

"Understood Agent McCaffrey…this is normally a gun free zone but that doesn't apply to law enforcement so I will personally make sure you get your gun back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the other room down the hall, Gracie stood by helplessly outside while they bandaged Duval up enough to get an X-ray to locate the bullets he took. Liza came out of the room, her clothes all bloodied up. They couldn't say anything, they could only hug each other and cry as Barry looked on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at Mary's house, Jennifer arrived with the wire that Duval was wearing. Mary said, "This thing stayed on him while he fell five stories? That's a minor miracle. Let's see how well it survived."

They both listened to it and they both looked at each other with some satisfaction. Jennifer said, "Strayburn admitted for the second time that he killed Gracie's mother. That's at least one good thing."

At that moment, the phone rang. Mary picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Mary, it's Liza."

"Liza, how are they doing?"

"Mom and Duval both just went into surgery. Mom's surgery should be pretty straightforward but Duval's could be trickier. He took a bullet in his liver."

"Oh dear God no."

"We'll see what the doctor says when he comes out but in the meantime, when you and Jimmy get here can you bring me some new clothes? Mine are pretty bloodied up right now."

"Consider it done. James will be in the tank for at least another two hours at this rate. I just hope it can repair his knees as though nothing happened."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Helen and Wally came running into the ER. Helen saw Gracie and Liza and called out to them. They turned and they all hugged each other. Gracie said, "Aunt Helen, I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course I'm here."

"What if Dad doesn't…"

"Gracie, your father's a tough guy. He'll be OK. I know he will."

Gracie then turned to Barry and said, "Barry, it was really sweet of you to bring me here. I think we can handle it from here though."

"Of course, but, listen Gracie, if you or your family need anything, give a call. Here's my card. I've also written my cell number on the back of it for you as well. I mean it call me…even if you just want to talk to someone." He handed her his card and Gracie being very touched gave him a hug. He smiled and made his way to the exit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the OR, Duval was on the table, the doctor said, "This bullet in the liver is becoming problematic. It's embedded far deeper than we originally thought."

All of a sudden a nurse said, "Doctor, his vitals are starting to fall. We're starting to lose him!"

The heart monitor flat lined. The doctor started to bark out orders for Code Blue. Gracie, Liza, Helen and Wally stood outside the door and could hear everything. They all held on to each other and they all started to silently pray.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duval sat at the table in his dining room. He looked over at the kitchen counter and saw the back of someone with long dark hair. He recognized her. "Paula? How did we get here in my house?"

All of a sudden the woman turned around and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you yet again Duval but, I'm afraid it's just me."

Duval's eyes got very wide and he exclaimed, "Madeleine?"

Madeleine smiled and said, "Yes Duval, it's me, the mother of your child." She walked over to him and handed him a glass of his favorite brand of scotch-whiskey. She said, "Here Duval, you've had one hell of a day. You need this."

Duval looked at the whiskey and said, "Am I dead?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean sort of?"

"Well, if Rod Serling were here, he'd introduce you and tell the audience that Duval just crossed over into the Twilight Zone."

Duval looked puzzled and said, "What are you talking about Madeleine?"

"Oh Duval, the Twilight Zone was one of the few things we had in common. Remember how we used to love watching those marathons on the SyFy Channel and then I bought you the entire series for Christmas one year."

"I get it but what's your point?"

"Duval isn't it obvious? You flat lined in surgery."

"Oh my God! I am dead."

"Not quite, they're working on you. You've got three minutes before brain damage sets in."

"We only have three minutes together?"

"No, you've only got three minutes in the OR. However here, time has no meaning. That's a good thing. It gives us plenty of time to talk."

"About what?"

"Should you stay or should you go?"

"Are you asking me if I should stay here or stay in the OR?"

She smiled slyly and said, "Well now Duval, that's the big question isn't it?"

"You're telling me that I've died….but then you say I've got three minutes. Which is it Madeleine…and please let's leave the Twilight Zone out of it."

"All right, clinically, you're dead right now. Do you want to stay dead? You've been so tormented Duval. How do you feel here right now?"

Duval took a drink of his whiskey and said, "I feel really good." He found himself smiling. He looked at the stairs and saw a light glimmering.

"It's seductive isn't it?"

He looked at her funny and said, "That's an odd way of putting it."

"Duval, you've been given a rare gift. Most people don't get a choice when their number pops up. I didn't. John Strayburn made sure of it."

Duval looked said and said, "Madeleine, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about everything."

"Why are you sorry Duval? You didn't kill me and I had a good life."

"It could have been better, if you'd never met me."

Madeleine shook her head and said, "You really think so? Look at what we did together. We have a beautiful daughter named Gracie who would have never existed."

"But you're dead because of me."

"I'm with Scott. When I first got here, I was with my mother and my grandparents and everyone else I had loved in my life and then Scott arrived and it's perfect."

"You've missed out on seeing Gracie finish high school and start college. Maybe one day she'll marry and have kids and you'll miss out on being a grandmother."

"Duval, I had more than I ever imagined because I met you. Your mother is right. She should have called you Jude for Hey Jude. You really do carry the world on your shoulders. You worry way too much."

Another voice then said, "You can still have it all my friend."

Duval turned as he heard a man's voice and when he turned, he recognized the man but he realized that last time he saw him, he was in far worse physical shape. He now looked young and healthy. "Scott Elliott?"

Scott smiled, sat down and said, "At your service Duval. That last time I saw you was after Madeleine's service and I had to speak rather cryptically to you and to your father. I wanted so much to tell you the truth about everything at that moment but I knew Paula wasn't ready to handle any of it and neither were you or Jimmy or Liza for that matter."

Duval looked puzzled and said, "OK, I can understand seeing my wife in this state of almost being dead but why Scott Elliott am I seeing you?"

"Because Duval in spite of the fact that everything went very wrong with Paula and myself, I've always loved her for being someone who was able to give me a child. It wasn't the conventional way but Liza's my daughter. She was mine from the moment I held her in my arms and don't even try to tell me different."

"OK I won't, so why are you here?"

"Because for so long you were a faceless person that I was so insanely jealous of. That jealousy cost me my marriage. It all came to a head in 2010 on our fifteenth wedding anniversary…in fact a lot came to a head that day. Paula had been working a case in Las Vegas. She got it wrapped up and was able to get an earlier flight back to Portland. She came home and I wasn't home yet. School had wrapped and sometimes my colleagues and I would go to a bar for happy hour that did karaoke. She decided to surprise me there."

"What happened?"

Scott pointed to another room and said, "See for yourself."

Paula came storming into the house. She looked out and saw Scott pull up and come running in. He came through the front door and Paula was looking at him with daggers in her eyes.

"Paula, let me explain."

"Explain what?! You were pretty self-explanatory with your little dedication to me. Jesus Scott! Today is our fifteenth wedding anniversary and I made a point of getting an earlier flight home so we could go out to a nice dinner. I went to the bar to surprise you only to be greeted with your dedication of the Barry Manilow song 'Trying to Get the Feeling Again'…to me!"

Scott looked embarrassed and said, "Paula it was just a song…"

"No Scott, it wasn't just a song. It was your inner feelings. Let me refresh your memory. I believe the words you sang were…Doctor, my woman is coming back home late today, could ya maybe give me something…'cause the feeling is gone and I must get it back right away before she sees, that I've been up…down…trying to get the feeling again…all around trying to get the feeling again….I won't go any further with the song but you Scott disgust me! You humiliated me in front of everyone you work with!"

"You know Paula, if I'd known you were going to be coming home earlier I wouldn't have even been at the bar!"

"Oh and that makes it my fault? How many times do you hum that song when you think of me?"

Scott was silent.

"Thanks a lot Scott."

"You know Paula, I've made every compromise I can think of and it's not enough for you."

"Excuse me? What have you done for me?"

"Tolerated you being a federal agent! I've also tolerated you being in love with someone else!"

Paula's eyes narrowed. "Scott, I thought we were past that."

"I thought we were too. I'm sorry Paula but it bothers me to no end that you'd rather be with someone else."

"I chose you Scott."

"Why?"

"Why does that matter? I chose you. You know Liza is now old enough to where she doesn't really need both of us to be married anymore. She's even in college as an early education student. If you can't get the feeling any longer, maybe it's time we called it a day!"

"I'm not moving out of this house Paula!"

"Really? Well, I'm not moving out either. It's my salary that enabled us to have this house."

"It's my sweat equity that did the landscaping and all the repairs that made this house what it is."

"Fine! I'll move into the guest bedroom. When you're ready to divorce, let me know."

All of a sudden the front door opened and it was Liza with another teenage girl and Scott's parents Bev and Frank Elliott.

Liza said, "Mom…Dad…what are you two doing here?"

Paula said, "We live here Liza, what's going on?" Paula could see that they were all carrying decorations and food.

Liza looked at Bev and Frank and said, "Grandma? Grandpa? Should we tell them?"

Frank Elliott said, "Well, I don't see that we have a choice. Liza wanted to throw the two of you a surprise fifteenth anniversary party."

Scott and Paula looked at each other very dumbfounded and were speechless.

Liza said, "So surprise, there should be close to twenty people here in just a little while. You two don't need to do anything. We'll set up the table and the decorations and we got all of the food from the store deli and a cake from the bakery."

Scott said, "Great, and Liza who's your friend here?"

"Oh yeah this is Angela and can I see you both in the kitchen for a minute."

Paula said, "Sure why not?"

They all three went into the kitchen and Liza said, "Mom, Dad, I've been trying to come up with a way to tell you both this and today seemed like a good day because it's a happy occasion."

Paula and Scott looked at each other again no sure what to do. Scott said, "What is it Liza?"

"Well, I can't hold this in any longer. Mom, Dad, I'm gay. You know a lesbian…a woman who prefers the company of other women…you know…"

Paula said, "Liza, we're aware of what a lesbian is."

"Are you two OK with this?"

Scott said, "Liza, I've always said there wasn't a man on the planet good enough for you. I was clearly correct."

"Yeah that's great to say but are you two going to be accepting of this?"

Paula said, "Liza, the fact is, your dad and I have suspected this for quite some time."

Liza raised her eyebrows and said, "Really?"

Scott said, "Really….we've been suspecting it since you turned thirteen."

"How did you two know this?"

Paula said, "Liza, we're your parents. We know you better than anyone else."

Scott said, "The fact is, your mother suspected it first."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Paula said, "Because Liza, that's something you needed to tell us, not the other way around."

"OK, so are you two good with me dating Angela?"

"We're fine Liza."

"Thanks Mom…you know Dad, she's really not an understudy parent." She turned and walked out.

Paula looked at Scott and said, "Understudy parent? You son of bitch…no offense to Bev but you son of a bitch!"

"Paula…."

"You disgust me Scott. This is becoming really clear. You've been envious of my career and the phantom boyfriend and the fact that I was able to pro-create and you weren't able to. So to make yourself feel better, you made Liza believe I was the B team. Well, look at us now, I figured out that she was gay before you did."

"…and I gave you credit for it."

"Only because you wanted to look good. You know I have busted my ass to be there for you. I have turned down opportunities that would have taken me away from Portland because I would have never let Liza stay here without me and I knew you didn't want to leave. I did that for you and us so that we could be a family. I have never forgotten your birthday or our anniversary and I have made sure I was home for all of the major holidays but evidently I don't get any points for it because you just can't seem to get the feeling again….did you ever have the feeling Scott? Or did you want to be a father that badly that you'd take any pregnant woman who showed up without the father in tow?"

Scott was silent.

Paula rolled her eyes and said, "Scott…let's just put on a good face for Liza and everyone else and I'll stay in the guest room. You clearly don't want to touch me anymore and I don't want to be touched by you either."

"You gonna go find that other guy?"

"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you? You could then play the victim. Well, that other guy is married and I would never disrupt someone else's life. If I were that kind of a person, I would have sought out Liza's birth father long ago."

"Paula, I'm sorry. I did love you…"

"Scott, maybe you did…but that doesn't mean anything for the present much less the future. I'm here. I wrapped that case in Las Vegas early and that's why I caught the earlier flight home because I wanted to share my wedding anniversary with my husband. Not that it means anything to you, but I did save a young girl's life who is the daughter of a very wealthy real estate mogul. I make a difference in my job Scott just like you do with the kids you teach. When you were honored with a special award, I was there. I told you I was proud of you. Me? I catch bad people and I get convictions on them. My colleagues say, Hey McCaffrey good job. Your parents say Hey Paula good job. Liza says, Hey Mom, good job. Liza's friends say Hey Ms. McCaffrey good job. You? You barely give me a nod of approval. Maybe the reason I still wear this pendant is because it never once crossed your mind to give me a better one…I know you replaced the chain that you broke, but you never thought to buy me one from you and you could have said to me, I love you Paula and I'm with you. You don't need that other guy because I'm with you."

Scott looked dumbfounded by her statement. "Paula, would you have actually worn something like that if I had given it to you?"

"Well, we'll never know. Now suck it up and let's go act like a happily married couple."

She turned and walked through the kitchen door out to the living room. All Scott could say to himself was, "She will never forgive me this one….I can't say that I blame her. I guess I wouldn't forgive me either."

The room faded and Duval turned and looked at Madeleine and Scott. Scott said, "Does any of that ring a bell with you?"

Duval said, "You married Paula because of Liza."

"You married Madeleine here because of Gracie…and I think my blow-up with Paula mirrors a little of that blow up you and Madeleine had when she found Paula's note after so many years."

"I guess we have more in common than one might think."

"Yeah, including the fact that we have the same taste in women."

"Please the whole thing with my father and Paula is creepy enough for me, don't get me thinking on the whole swinger angle with us."

Madeleine said, "There you go again, overthinking everything Duval. Look, it's fine to do that in your job but for day to day living, it can really mess you up."

"Clearly you two figured it out about Paula and my father. I'm curious as to how you did though."

Madeleine smiled and said, "Oh let's just show you that magic moment in the hotel room."

"Oh God please Madeleine, I don't want to see anything X-rated here, not even R-rated."

Scott and Madeleine both smirked and Scott said, "Don't worry Duval, it's PG-13."

Scott pointed to another room that came into focus and there was Scott in bed waking up. He looked around and then the door to the hotel room opened. It was Madeleine smiling. She was carrying a coffee carrier with two cups from Starbuck's and some bags with goodies. She was singing Barbra Streisand's song Guilty.

"Shadows falling, baby, we stand alone…Out on the street anybody you meet got a heartache of their own…It oughta be illegal….Make it a crime to be lonely or sad… And we got nothing to be guilty of…Our love will climb any mountain near or far, we are…And we never let it end. We are devotion…And we got nothing to be sorry for…Our love is one in a million…Eyes can see that we got a highway to the sky..I don't wanna hear your goodbye…"

She set down the food, jumped on the bed and threw her arms around Scott and planted a very passionate kiss on him and said, "Good Morning Lover! I thought I'd let you sleep while I went out and got us goodies. I decided to splurge on us with calories. We have two caramel macchiatos and two of Starbuck's very yummy cinnamon rolls to go along with them."

She kissed Scott again and she realized he was pre-occupied and she said, "What's wrong Babe?"

Scott was serious and said, "A lot."

Madeleine looked worried and said, "Was it something I said last night or something I did wrong? You seemed pretty content after we finished." She winked at him.

Scott pushed Madeleine away gently so she'd be sitting next to him on the bed and he said, "What's wrong is this."

Madeleine could feel herself starting to tear up. "Are you dumping me?"

"No Madeleine, I'm not dumping you. However, I can't do this anymore."

"You don't want to do this anymore but, yet you're not dumping me? I'd think you'd better explain this better Scott."

"Madeleine, when I agreed to be part of this committee, I didn't come here to find a lover."

"Neither did I but, I'm thankful that I did. I love you Scott."

"I love you too Madeleine. That stated though, I'm the son of a minister and it bothers me to no end that I've been committing adultery for a year now. My father died six months ago. My mother's been gone two years. I don't need to keep up appearances anymore. I want more."

"More?"

"Yes, I'm ready to tell my wife that I want a divorce. My daughter's an adult and in college. It's not imperative that I stay in Vancouver. I know your daughter is still in high school. I'll come to Seattle and get a job somewhere in the area. If not in the Seattle School District, there are other districts around Seattle where I'm sure they'd appreciate a teacher with my background. Madeleine, the committee stopped five months ago. This sneaking around is making me sick. I met your father last month for heaven's sake. This is real. I love you and yet I know nothing of your husband or your daughter and you don't know anything about my wife and daughter. If we're going to have a life together then we need to start talking about them like they're real people."

Madeleine said with tears in her eyes, "You really want a life with me?"

"Yes."

"Oh my God! It's what I want too. I just wasn't sure it was what you wanted."

"If you weren't sure that it was what I wanted, why did you introduce me to your father last time?"

"He insisted on it. I was visiting him a while back and I had the radio on while I was cooking in the kitchen for him and Barbra and Barry started singing 'Guilty' and I started to sing along with much passion and after I was done singing, my father asked me who the man was that I was seeing on the side. I had no choice but to tell him everything and he insisted on meeting you. For what it's worth, he approves. He told me that he and my mother never really thought that my husband and I clicked."

"What's your husband's name?"

"His name's Duval."

"Duval? That's an interesting name. Where did his parents come up with that?"

"They've never really said."

"OK, your husband is Duval. What's your daughter's name?"

"Gracie. We named her after Duval's grandmother Grace Pritchard who died a month before she was born. Duval really loved his grandmother."

"Fair enough. My daughter's name is Liza. Here's her picture." He took out his phone and showed Madeleine a picture of Liza.

Madeleine looked at her funny and said, "She's lovely. It's funny though, she reminds me of Duval's grandmother. I've dusted the wedding picture that we have of his grandparents many times. Liza looks like she could be Grace Pritchard's sister."

"Really? Well that's interesting. They say we all have a perfect double somewhere."

"I guess so."

"Tell me what Duval does for a living."

"Duval is a federal agent. He works for the FBI. It's not exactly a nine to five kind of job. When I first met him, it sounded kind of glamourous but I realized that what he dealt with every day was just not something I could relate to."

"I know exactly how you feel. You see my wife is a federal agent with the FBI as well."

Madeleine's jaw dropped as she said, "Shut the front door!"

"What are the odds of that? I wonder if they know each other. Maybe not, I don't recall her ever speaking about consulting with anyone from the Seattle office. She's worked forgery cases, done undercover work which got her shot once and in the last few years worked her way into violent crimes. Something that I don't want to deal with at all."

"I know Duval works violent crimes as well. He's recently started working a string of bank robbery cases where there has been some death involved."

"Do you have a picture of Duval and Gracie?"

"Sure, here you go." She showed him her phone.

"Gracie is every bit as beautiful as her mother. Has she ever wanted a sister?"

"She's mentioned it before but having a second child was never on the table with Duval and me. We got married for Gracie."

"I see, I can relate. As much as I hate to admit it, I married because of Liza."

"Well don't feel bad, you and my husband have something in common."

"Actually we don't Madeleine."

"What do you mean?"

"Madeleine, how do you feel about having other children?"

Madeleine raised her eyebrows and said, "Truthfully, at this point in time, I'd prefer to not be in the baby business again."

"I'm not talking about having a baby, I'm talking about perhaps adopting children…maybe children who are a little older…maybe even from another country."

Madeleine smiled and said, "Really? You know that's something I could be totally on board with."

"Thank God because that was one of the things my wife and I disagreed upon. I think she suspected that my master plan was that if we adopted more children, I could make her feel guilty about her job and she'd find another line of work."

Madeleine looked at him very seriously and said, "Was she correct?"

Scott looked guilty and said, "As much as I hate to admit it…yes."

"You asshole!"

"Look, that wasn't the only reason. I really wanted to have more children. I was an only child and I didn't want Liza to be an only child."

"I think I'm missing something here. Are you telling me that Liza is adopted?"

"Yes. I adopted her after her mother and I got married. She was six months pregnant when I met her."

"OK but why adopt more children when you and…"

"Because we couldn't have a child….or rather I can't have children."

Madeleine's jaw dropped and she said, "Scott, you have a fertility issue?"

"Yes, before you ask, the answer is yes, I tried everything. It's why my first marriage crashed and burned."

Madeleine looked surprised and said, "You were married before?"

"Yes, it's why I'm telling you all of this. I don't want any secrets. I love you Madeleine and if you're game, would you consider marrying me?"

"Oh my God Scott! I would love to marry you! Why didn't you tell me that you couldn't have kids? I would have thrown out my birth control pills months ago. Trust me, Duval and I might be sleeping in the same bed but it's a king size bed and we never touch each other these days…and it's been that way for a considerable amount of time."

"Well thank God, you're OK with the no having kids the traditional way." They passionately kissed and Scott said, "I tell you what, I'll tell my wife first. I know she'll gladly consent to the divorce. We've been living in separate rooms the last few years….truth be told, we're actually better friends now because of it. Once I get everything in order, I'll come to Seattle and get a job and then you can tell Duval and Gracie. I know it will be hard on Gracie as she's still in high school."

Madeleine had tears running down her face. "Scott you have made me so happy. I do have a question though, has Liza ever had any contact with her birth father?"

"No, Paula said he was older and married and she didn't want to cause him any problems with his marriage."

Madeleine's eyes got very wide and she said, "Paula? Your wife's name is Paula Elliott?"

"Yes and no, she went back to her maiden name of McCaffrey after she finished her training at the FBI Academy." Madeleine got a look on her face that was a cross between confusion and contemplation. "Madeleine what's wrong?"

Madeleine quietly said, "When did Paula go to the Academy?"

"She was there from January to May in 1998." The color left Madeleine's face. Scott was getting concerned. "Madeleine, what's wrong? You look like you're seeing a ghost."

Madeleine grabbed her phone and said, "Scott, about three months ago, you made a flippant remark in passing that your wife was hung up on some guy from her past."

"I shouldn't have said that. It's why I shut down the conversation when you asked me further about it. What went wrong with Paula and me, shouldn't have any bearing on us."

"What if it does?"

"How?"

"Scott, my husband Duval was at the FBI Academy at the same time Paula was."

Scott's eyes got wide. "Maybe they do know each other."

"I think they knew each other better than we might think." She handed him her phone and said, "I think you'd better read this….tell me if that's your Paula's handwriting."

Scott took the phone and began to read the note that Paula penned to Duval so many years earlier. His eyes got wide and he said, "Oh my God! Duval's the guy!" They looked at each other and couldn't believe what they had just uncovered. "Madeleine, where did you find this note?"

"He's been carrying it in his wallet for all of these years."

"You don't say." He then pulled out his phone again and found a picture of Paula where her pendant from Duval is very visible in the picture. "Here's what Paula looks like. She's been wearing that pendant since the day she left the FBI Academy."

"Oh my! That definitely looks like something Duval would buy. He's into antiques. He used to go shopping with his mother for them."

"OK we've solved part of the puzzle here but I feel like we're missing something. Why would Paula come back to me? My first thought is that Duval dumped her."

"He didn't dump her. This note that she penned him is proof of it. She dumped him and he's never gotten over it."

"I went to Quantico to make up with her. I was a real male chauvinist Madeleine. I told her it was the FBI or me. She chose the FBI. I realized I'd lose my Liza if we divorced. Paula was the biological parent after all. So what would make her cut and run like she did on Duval? When I got there, she came running into my arms crying and told me she wanted to leave without going through the graduation ceremony."

"What if she found out something that didn't sit right with her?"

"What could that be? What could Duval have said to her?"

Madeleine looked like she was in deep thought and then said, "When Duval was at the FBI Academy, he called himself Duval Shannon which is his mother's maiden name. What if he told Paula on the day that you came that his last name was Pritchard?"

"Why would that be a game changer?"

"Where was Paula physically at the time that Liza was conceived?"

Scott looked at her funny and said, "Ah, she was in her apartment."

Madeleine gave him a semi disgusted look and said, "Come on Scott give me more than that. Was she in Portland at the time?"

"No, she was in Seattle. At that time she was doing an internship with the King County Sheriff's office."

"OH MY GOD! My father in law Jimmy Pritchard is the Sheriff of King County or he was at that time! I think Jimmy is Liza's birth father."

"This is unbelievable. You really think Jimmy Pritchard is Liza's father? Why was Duval calling himself Duval Shannon at the Academy?"

"Seattle and Jimmy Pritchard had been in the news and Duval didn't want attention like that on him. Scott, I'll take a picture of Grace Pritchard's wedding portrait and send it to you. I'll also forward you a picture of my sister in law Helen. Liza looks like a Pritchard. It makes complete sense. Paula and Duval met, they fell in love. Paula thought her marriage to you was over so she had no guilt about it. Duval then comes clean and tells her that his name is Pritchard and she runs for her life. Duval clearly doesn't know about Paula and Jimmy. If he did, I can't help but wonder if Jimmy would still be alive."

"Wow, all of a sudden I feel terrible."

"Scott answer me honestly. Do you think I resemble Paula at all?"

He took out his phone and showed her a picture of Paula and said, "Maybe slightly from a certain angle but Madeleine, I didn't start our relationship because I thought you looked like Paula."

Madeleine looked at the picture, shook her head and said, "No, you didn't but, Duval did."

"What?"

"It doesn't matter at this point. What matters is what happens now. Do we tell them? I feel like we should tell them."

"Look Madeleine, this is a huge hornet's nest. Paula has never told anyone who Liza's birth father is. She's always kept that secret to herself. I can't walk into the house and say, Hey Paula, I just figured out you slept with the Sheriff of King County and you've been in love with his son for years. I can't say that and you can't tell Duval about this either."

"What do we do Scott?"

"First and foremost, we need to get divorced from these two people. Then we figure out a way to get them to meet in a public place and the rest is up to them. I will encourage Paula to tell him the truth though."

"OK when do you want to tell Paula you want a divorce?"

"I'll tell her soon. First though, I've got to see the doctor."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm not sure. I've been having some abdominal pain that comes and goes. I need to get it checked out with the doctor and I have an appointment set up on Wednesday. Don't worry, I'll keep you in the loop Madeleine."

"OK, I'll hold you to it." They leaned into each other and kissed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duval sat there and looked at both of them. He wasn't sure what to say other than, "I'm sorry."

Scott said, "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm not sure. I just think it's terrible that you two got your lives cut short."

Madeleine said, "You're right, we got our lives cut short but it doesn't have to be that way with you Duval. You can get the bad guys and get the girl and have it all."

"How can I do that?"

Scott said, "Why can't you accept Paula the way she is instead of some idealized way you've always looked at her?"

Madeleine said, "It's simple, he's still holding on to the idea that if Paula and Jimmy had never had sex, they would have met at the Academy and they would have lived happily ever after."

Duval said, "Maybe you two would have met, if I'd never met Madeleine first. You two could have had a life together."

Madeleine said, "Duval, you really do overthink it. I think we need to show him Scott. He's only at a minute and ten seconds for flat lining."

"Show me what?"

Scott then said, "Well Duval, we've all seen what happened to Jimmy Stewart in 'It's a Wonderful Life' if he'd never been born. Perhaps it's time you saw what the world would have been like if Paula McCaffrey and Sheriff Jimmy Pritchard had never had sex."

With that Duval found himself standing outside his father's apartment door banging on saying, "Dad? You've got the music on too loud."

A woman came out and said, "If he doesn't turn the music down I'm calling the police."

Duval looked over showed her his badge and said, "I'm FBI, will I do?"

"Fine get your father under control!" She walked out.

Jimmy opened up the door and said, "Hello Duval, glad you could make it."

"Make it? I came because the manager called and said there were complaints against you again. You keep this up and you're going to get evicted."

"They won't evict me."

"That's why the manager called me."

"Look Duval, now that you're here, stay for Chinese food that's been ordered."

Duval looked over at the kitchen and said, "Dad what happened in the kitchen?"

"That's why the Chinese food has been ordered."

All of a sudden Duval heard something drop in the other room and he said, "Dad, is there someone else here?"

"Yes, there is. I want you to meet her and be nice."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Duval, try to have an open mind."

All of a sudden Paula came walking out of Jimmy's bedroom. Her long dark hair was wet and she clearly had been in the shower. She looked a little younger than him. Duval rolled his eyes and said, "Well, whom have we got here?"

She smiled and walked up to him to shake his hand and said, "Duval, I'm Paula McCaffrey. It is so nice to finally meet you. Jimmy's been wanting us to meet for quite some time."

"Really? Were you in the shower just now?"

"Well yes, we had a mishap with the pressure cooker as you can over there. Some chili ended up in my hair. Once Jimmy saw that I wasn't injured, we had a pretty good laugh over it. It's why we ordered Chinese food. Jimmy, thanks for the use of your shower."

"Sorry I don't have a blow dryer."

"Oh that's OK I can make do with a towel."

Duval then said, "Oh my God!"

Jimmy looked at Duval funny and said, "Duval, why are you taking the Lord's name in vain here?"

"You think I don't know what's going on?"

"I wanted you meet Paula…what do you think is going on here?"

Duval turned to Paula and said, "Why were you really in the shower?"

"Excuse me?"

Jimmy said, "Duval why are you being rude?"

"You think I didn't catch your little code with the blow dryer and the towel?"

Paula said, "Jimmy, you're right I think he does overthink things."

Duval then looked at Paula and said, "How much is my father paying you to be here?"

Paula raised her eyebrows and said, "Paying me?"

Jimmy looked mortified and said, "Duval, why are you embarrassing me like this?"

"You're embarrassing yourself Dad. I'm not blind to the hookers you have and now you expect me to believe that this one is your girlfriend."

Paula looked a little dumbfounded but then started to laugh slightly and said, "You think I'm a hooker?"

"What the hell else could you be?"

"Maybe I'm his friend."

"A friend for hire?"

Jimmy yelled, "Duval that's enough! She's not a hooker and she is my friend."

Duval looked at Paula and said, "You're his actual girlfriend?"

Paula walked over to her purse and took out a badge and shoved it in Duval's face. "I'm not a hooker first and foremost. I'm a federal agent. Special Agent Paula McCaffrey and I work out of the Portland office…in fact, I'm the Special Agent in Charge of my division." She took the badge away and Duval immediately looked embarrassed.

"Paula, I'm sorry…"

"Spare me your apologies Duval. Jimmy's right. You can be a real bastard when you want to be. For the record, I'm not Jimmy's girlfriend. I was an intern at the Sheriff's department in 1993. Your father did a lot for me. I was also the 9-1-1 operator who was on the phone when your mother decided to blow her brains out. We have a shared trauma." She turned and looked at Jimmy and said, "Jimmy, I'm sorry. I've lost my appetite. It was sweet of you to try and play matchmaker but clearly your son isn't interested."

Duval raised his eyebrows. "Matchmaker?"

Jimmy said, "I'm sorry Paula, call me before you go back to Portland."

"I will." She picked up her purse and walked out.

Jimmy and Duval stood in silence for sever seconds when Duval said, "I'm sorry Dad."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. You owe Paula an apology. You honestly think I'd purposely get you over here to meet a hooker?"

"Dad I came over because your music was too loud and the manager called me."

"Yeah I know I have an understanding with my manager on how that works."

"Wait a minute, you turn up your music so I'll come over?"

"Yeah I do. I crank up the music and the manager gets called and he in turn calls you. You honestly believe that the manager couldn't come up here on his own and tell me to turn it down and threaten me with eviction if I didn't?"

"Why don't you just call me and invite me over?"

"Because Son, every time I do that, you have some excuse for not coming over or you cancel at the last minute!"

"I don't always do that."

"Yes, you do Duval and it hurts. You know Paula is like a daughter to me. She was one of the most promising interns that ever came through the sheriff's department. I knew early on that she wanted to become an FBI agent. She had some very bad luck that hit her. She lost her entire immediate family in the course of two years. She got jilted by her boyfriend who ran off with her best friend. I wrote her a letter of recommendation to get into grad school and I also gave her the winnings of a poker game she lost big in so she wouldn't end up homeless."

"Was she really on the phone when Mom committed suicide?"

"Yes, it messed her up pretty badly initially maybe even more than it messed me up."

"So you've been friends this whole time?"

"Duval, after your mother died, you and Helen were not exactly the most sympathetic kids to be around. Helen as you know, decided to take a trip to Las Vegas with her friends and she got a job and stayed there. You know how many times she's come home to visit since?"

"I know Dad, six times. She has a good paying job."

"Yes, she's the hospitality manager for the MGM Grand and it takes up a lot of her time. I don't doubt that she's busy but I always thought she could do more than just manage maid service."

"That might be why she doesn't come home much."

"Yeah, well forgive the father who believes to this day that she is capable of more. As for Paula, she got into grad school and she finished and she got accepted to the FBI Academy in January of 1997. She's worked in Atlanta and Denver before getting to Portland. She used to write me letters and once we got email she started to write more. She's just as smart and driven in her career as you are Duval. The problem is that neither of you has a life outside of the FBI."

"Dad, I have dated."

"Yes you have. The last one was that Susan Adair who took a job somewhere else because her career came first. I didn't really like her that much. She was too much of a by the book agent. You need to be able to see the shades of grey. Paula does that when she works a case."

"Dad why are you telling me all of this? Why are you trying to play matchmaker?"

"Because Duval, all work and no play makes a person very dull. Paula knows the job and she could sit with you after work, have a drink and unwind about the day. Both of you would know how the other one feels. She'd be good for you kiddo, you could do a hell of a lot worse than her."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Duval said, "Maybe Paula forgot something." He answered the door.

"Someone order Chinese food?"

Jimmy said, "Yes, I did. How much do I owe you?"

"Fifty-two dollars and thirty-two cents."

Duval said, "I'll get it Dad." He handed the driver sixty dollars and said, "Keep the change."

"Thank you very much sir."

Duval closed the door and said, "So Dad, what did you order for us to eat?"

"Oh Duval, you don't get to stay."

"What? I just paid for the food!"

"Duval, go see Paula. She's staying at the Day's Inn at Tukwila right off of I-5. You've seen it from the freeway many times as you drive by it. She's in room 330."

"You really think she'd want to see me?"

"Try taking her some flowers and saying you're sorry. I know that orange is her favorite color."

"Fine, I'll go apologize."

"Good, by the way Son, I'd like my other records. Where are they?"

"Dad they're in my house. You're welcome to come over any time to get them."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Duval pulled up to the Day's Inn. He picked up the orange carnations. He couldn't find roses so the carnations would have to do. As he walked to the door, he bumped into a pizza delivery driver. The man said, "Oh sorry about that."

Duval smiled and said, "No harm done."

They both then found themselves walking in the same direction. The man said, "Are we possibly going to the same room?"

"I don't know are you going to room 330?"

"Yes, I am, this must be for you and your lady I'm guessing? Flowers and pizza, that's my kind of a date." He laughed slightly.

Duval smiled again and said, "How much do I owe you?"

"Nineteen dollars and twenty-five cents."

Duval reached into his wallet and said, "It's a good thing I went to the cash machine today. This is turning into an expensive evening."

"Sir?"

"It's a long story. Here's twenty-five. Keep the change."

"Thank you Sir and you have a really nice evening."

"Thanks." He took the pizza and proceeded to walk to the door. He reached room 330 and gave a knock.

Paula opened the door with her wallet in her hand and was shocked to see him. "Duval?"

"I hear someone ordered a pizza. It's on the house." Duval smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

Paula took the pizza and said, "Ah, thank you. Are the flowers for me?"

"Yes." He handed them to her.

Paula shook her head in disbelief and said, "OK, I guess you might as well come in."

"Thank you." He walked in and said, "Is it possible to apologize and start over?"

Paula smiled and said, "Yeah, I think so. Look Duval, I'm not naïve to your father's extracurricular activities. I don't judge. He's old and he's lonely and it's hard to find companionship when you get past a certain age. He does his best to keep it separate from the people he cares about."

"I know. It's just that I grew up with the man and he wasn't always the nicest person to my mother. As you know she ended up killing herself. You were really on the phone when my mother pulled the trigger?"

Paula was silent and said, "Would you like some pizza? It's sausage, pepperoni and mushroom."

"I'd love some but I'd like to know what you meant by all of that?"

Paula opened up the pizza box and they sat together. She quietly began to speak. "I was working the call center that day. Part of the internship was to be part of all aspects of the job. I took the call and your mother said that she needed the police to come to her house because she just killed a sheriff's deputy. This was the most intense call I'd had and I immediately motioned for my supervisor to get on the call. I asked your mother what her name was and she told me. My supervisor immediately patched us over to Jimmy. Jimmy tried to talk her down and assured her that first responders were on their way. He told her that maybe Joey wasn't really dead and that he was just badly hurt. She assured him that he was dead because she'd shot him three times in the chest and twice in the head. She apologized to your father and then she said she wouldn't disgrace him or the kids with having a crazy, murdering woman for a wife and mother. She was going to end it. Jimmy pleaded with her to just keep talking to him until the first responders arrived. She told Jimmy she loved him and the kids and then we heard the gunshot on the other end of the phone. I had never felt so helpless in my life. I heard all of it and there was nothing I could do to prevent that woman from killing herself. I had nightmares for quite a while."

Duval looked concerned. He reached out and took Paula's hand. "I'm sorry Paula. Dad told me he was on the phone with Mom and a 9-1-1 operator but he never said who it was. Were you at Mom's funeral?"

Paula shook her head and said, "No, I had just buried my mother one week earlier. I was already in a bad place. My mother's funeral was held on the morning of my twenty-first birthday. I came back to Seattle that day though so I could attend a Neil Diamond concert with my friends. I'm very thankful I had that concert to go to because with the frame of mind I was in, I might have done something really stupid that night."

"Like what?"

"Who truly knows for sure? Anyway, I was starting to feel a little better when this happened at the call center."

"I'm sorry you went through that."

"I'm sorry you lost your mother so abruptly. I lost my mother abruptly but it was due to natural causes."

"How about we don't talk about our moms anymore? It's a depressing subject. You know Dad thought we'd have a lot in common. I guess maybe he's right. We both lost our moms very abruptly. Let's find out what else we have in common."

They ate pizza and talked. They talked about everything. They had both been raised Catholic. Duval had pitched baseball in his younger days. Paula had also pitched softball in her younger days. They both had been to England and had done most of the same things. They liked the same music. They both liked antiques. They liked the same movies, books and they thought the same politically. Around two AM both had realized they had very little of a voice left but neither had laughed or felt so relaxed in a very long time.

The next morning Duval woke up fully clothed alone. Paula came into the room and said, "Hey you woke up!"

"What time is it?"

"It's a little after nine. I went over to the office where they have complimentary breakfast and I got us some coffee and muffins. I also picked you up a toothbrush and a razor from the front desk."

Duval smiled and said, "You think of everything don't you?"

"It's my job. I'm the Special Agent in Charge of my division down in Portland remember?" She smiled at him.

Duval looked at her funny and said, "Is this all in a day's work for you?"

Paula laughed slightly and said, "Nah, don't take it quite like that. I think I've just lived for so long in the mode of gotta remember everything it carries over into my personal life or at least what little there is of it."

Duval took a bite of a muffin and said, "I know how that is. I've actually been criticized by some colleagues for not having a life outside of work. I keep getting told that you need something else outside of the office to keep yourself sane. Funny thing, I feel the most real when I'm working a case."

Paula took a drink of coffee and said, "I do too. I know what you mean. People have a tendency to call me Paula AB. It stands for Paula All Business."

"When was the last time you went out on a date?"

"Truthfully? Well, this is rather embarrassing but I guess college."

Duval about choked and said, "No way! You haven't dated anyone since then?"

"Come on Duval…why do you think they call me Paula AB? I'm in a position of command. I didn't get there because I was taking time off to do volunteer work at a school…or partying with a different man every weekend. What about you?"

Duval raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, I'm not really that much better. The last time I was out on a date was three years ago and prior to that it's too far back to really talk about. I guess I'm all business too. Does that make us two of the dullest people in the world?"

"No, I didn't think you were so dull last night. I almost feel like we had parallel lives although I think I might have had a happier childhood than you. I also feel bad for you and your dad because Helen doesn't really want a whole lot to do with either of you. You know I tried to make contact with her one time when I was in Las Vegas."

"You did? Does Dad know that you tried?"

"No, I didn't have the heart to tell him. I called her and wanted to meet her for lunch and she told me she was too busy. I told her I know the feeling but I valued her father's friendship and I also told her that he missed her."

"What did Helen say?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah, I do. She talks to me even less than she talks to Dad and I don't understand it."

"Helen told me that when your mother committed suicide, she just felt that the family was already so fractured that it just hurt too much to stick around. She told me that she loved you and Jimmy but given what life was like before and how it culminated with your mother's suicide she just didn't want to deal with any of it anymore. I told her he missed having his daughter around and she got a little miffed and then said and I quote, 'So why don't you go be his daughter?' She then hung up the phone."

"Wow, I had no idea that she could be so bitter. In the past she gave Dad more of a pass on things than I did and yet she's the one who flew the coop."

"People deal with grief differently. I think Helen's way of dealing with it was to not deal with it or to pretend that everyone else was dead as well. I don't have a family anymore. I lost them all when I was young. I'd give my right arm to have at least one of them back."

Duval smiled and said, "Maybe I should try to appreciate my dad a little more. You know this is the first time I've ever spent the night with a woman and all we did was talk and fall asleep. How about I treat to you a real breakfast out somewhere."

"That'd be OK, why don't you go brush your teeth and shave first."

Duval smiled and said, "Sounds good to me. Do you have a preference on where you'd like to go?"

"You know the area better than me. I'll let you decide."

"OK, give me twenty minutes."

Duval walked into the bathroom and shut the door. When he emerged from the bathroom twenty-five minutes later he was not expecting what he saw.

Paula was lying in bed smiling at him. She had the covers pulled up around her and it was very clear she had no clothes on underneath the covers. "Am I being too forward?" She asked.

Duval was dumbfounded for a moment and then said, "Not at all. I've been fantasizing about this since about eleven pm last night but I didn't want to be so forward. I mean you clearly are someone Dad thinks quite highly of and if he thought I'd dishonored his friend in any way, I suspect he'd disown me."

"Don't worry, I think this is what he was hoping for."

Duval walked over to the bed and leaned over her and kissed her for the first time. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him onto the bed. They kissed and kissed while Paula started to unbutton Duval's shirt and everything else on him that needed unbuttoning. Duval was under the covers in record time when he said, "Are you totally sure about this?"

Paula looked at him funny and said, "Duval, I think I've made the first, second and third move here. I'm sure. I just have two requests."

Duval raised his eyebrows and said, "Anything…"

"Go slow and when were done, hold me."

Duval nodded and said, "Those are very easy requests. Is it too soon to tell you that I love you?"

"No, because I love you too."

They smiled at each other and they resumed with kissing and everything else that went along with it and when it culminated with Duval taking them both to paradise, Duval fell on top of her and she held his head to her breast both of them breathing hard. They both fell asleep.

When they woke up about forty-five minutes later, Duval said, "So would you be interested in having lunch? I think we're too late for breakfast."

Paula smiled, kissed him and said, "Lunch would be nice. Maybe we should take a shower before we head out."

Duval laughed slightly and said, "Sounds good to me."

"Race you to the bathroom!"

She ran in and turned on the shower. She poked her head out the door and said, "Are you coming or what?"

Duval laughed and said, "I already did."

Paula laughed and said, "Are you coming in?"

"I did that."

They were both laughing and Paula finally said, "Would you consider scrubbing my back?"

"OK, I haven't done that before. It sounds fun."

Duval joined her in the shower and it was most enjoyable shower either of them had ever taken.

When they were getting dressed later, Duval's phone started to ring. "I wonder if it's work or Dad."

"Hey if it's Jimmy, maybe see if he want to have lunch with us."

"Really?"

"Oh come on, he'd be happy to know that we hit it off…besides there's something else he wanted to talk about with us."

"Really? Well, all right. Why not?" He picked up the phone and he got a concerned look on his face.

"Duval what is it?"

"It's the King County Sheriff's department….Hello? Yes, this is Duval Pritchard…Yes, James Pritchard is my father."

Paula then saw the color leave Duval's face as he sat down looking like he's just been sucker punched. Duval said, "Thank you for calling. I'll be there as fast as I can."

Paula ran over to Duval and knelt in front of him. "Duval what is it? What's happened?"

"Dad's dead."

Paula looked completely shocked. "What do you mean by that? How? He was fine when we saw him last night? Did he have a heart attack or a stroke?"

"He killed himself."

Paula stood up and said, "The hell he did!"

"They found his car by a bridge and Dad was in the water. It appears that he jumped."

"What? No way! Duval, why would Jimmy jump?"

"He was lonely and Oh my God! We got into that argument last night. It didn't occur to me that it meant so much to him that we get together…the tragedy is that we did and he didn't know it."

"Wait a minute, nobody kills them self over an argument like what happened last night. Duval, come on think like a detective here and not a son."

"You really are all business aren't you?"

"Duval where is Jimmy's body right now?"

"In the morgue."

"OK let's go there."

In the morgue, Duval walked in and they opened up the drawer. There was Jimmy Pritchard.

Duval shook his head and said, "Dammit Dad? Why?" He then turned to the ME and said, "Has the autopsy been completed?"

The ME said, "Yes the preliminary at least, the injuries are consistent with someone who fell from the bridge."

All of a sudden Paula's voice came out of nowhere and said, "You say fell? Why don't you say jump?"

"Who are you?"

Paula took out her badge and said, "Special Agent Paula McCaffrey. Sheriff Pritchard was a good friend of mine. So why didn't you say jump?"

"It appears that he leaned backwards and fell so that his back hit the ground first."

"Most jumpers typically jump head first because they want to die."

"I'm not a mind reader Agent McCaffrey. Everyone's different."

Duval said, "Paula, please don't…"

"Duval, do you notice Jimmy's arms over there?"

"What about them?"

"There's bruising that could be from someone grabbing him."

"Paula, Dad was old and lonely. He was never the same after Mom died. He ended up resigning from the department because he couldn't deal with the all the press regarding Mom's murder/suicide."

"Maybe not but, whenever I spoke to him and saw him, he didn't strike me as suicidal. Come on Duval, you majored in psychology, did your father seem suicidal to you?"

"No, but I always thought he was selfish. This is the ultimate act of selfishness."

"If he was so selfish why try to match us up? Look, when you first came in here to identify the body I made a phone call to see where his car was. It's in impound. I made another call to have that car taken in to be looked at by a forensic team. Let's see what they can tell us. Jimmy's dead. What have you got to lose?"

"All right, but I guess I better call Helen and figure out a service of some kind." He turned and looked at the ME and said, "Thank you for…taking care of this."

They walked out and the ME made a phone call. "You have a problem."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, when Duval and Paula were having lunch her phone rang. "McCaffrey…You're sure about this….all right thanks for letting me know."

Duval said, "What is it?"

"Get this…the steering wheel and door handles of your father's car have been wiped clean."

Duval looked at her funny and said, "Were they sure?"

"Yes…now are you still buying suicide?"

Duval was silent for a moment and then said, "Paula thank you."

"I haven't done that much yet."

"You've done enough. It would have never occurred to me to have his car looked at."

"Well, it looks like we've gone from being lovers to being partners in solving a murder."

"I think Dad would still want us to be the first part."

"You're right, but right now, let's see if we can figure why someone would want your father dead."

"OK, I guess we could find out if anyone he put away is out of prison."

"My gut Duval is telling me it's something more recent. Look, your father wasn't just wanting us to meet because he thought we had a lot in common personally but, he also thought we might have something in common professionally. I didn't bring it up earlier because I wanted to get to know you…Duval the person…not Duval the federal agent first."

"OK what do we have in common professionally?"

"Jimmy's been keeping track of your bank robbery case."

"Yeah, I know the last time I was over, I saw the newspaper clippings. He kind of berated me for not being closer to finding out who was behind it."

"Well, the last time I spoke with him on the phone I mentioned we'd been having a string of bank robberies in the Portland area. He described the MO to me and it sounded like what was happening in Portland. We've had two fatalities to your one. The same type of gun was used in those fatalities."

"How do you know that?"

"When Jimmy told me about it, I requested the ballistic report from your office and it was match for the two fatalities on our end."

"Why didn't you reach out to me sooner as a professional?"

"Because…Jimmy…really wanted to set us up. He wanted to be able to bring it up over dinner which was why I was suggesting that he come to lunch with us. Look, I know you have to make arrangements and this can wait."

"No, Dad would want me to work this case with you…now…but how would this get Dad killed? He wasn't in communication with anyone that I'm aware of who could be involved."

At that moment Duval's phone rang. "It's Helen. Let me go outside and tell her."

"Sure no problem." Paula sat there and wondered at the next step as she looked at her smart phone and noticed an ad for Lookinglass. She got an idea. She made a phone call and said, "I'd like to speak with Mary Goodwin please….I'm Special Agent Paula McCaffrey with the FBI. If she's available today, I would greatly appreciate it." She was put on hold and then the voice came back and told her that she could be seen at three o'clock. "Thank you so much."

Duval came back and looked upset. "Well, I told Helen. She sounded like she had been drinking and she informed me that she wouldn't be coming to Seattle for any service that I might organize."

"Why not?"

"She said that she rarely came here when Dad was alive, she didn't see that it would serve any purpose to be here now that he's dead."

"Duval I'm so sorry."

"I think something just broke in all of us when Mom committed suicide."

"Was that why she said she wouldn't come?"

"She didn't say that but I think it has something to do with it. Losing both parents to suicide is a hell of a thing to deal with."

"Did you tell her that we're not sure it was a suicide?"

"I did and it didn't help."

"Maybe this will raise your spirits. I've got us a meeting with Mary Goodwin."

Duval raised his eyebrows and said, "As in Mary Goodwin the E-Princess of Lookinglass?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'll explain on the way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duval and Paula walked into Mary's office. Mary shut the door and said, "Please Agent's McCaffrey and Pritchard sit down. I'm not sure what I can do for the FBI but I'm very intrigued as to why you're both here."

Paula spoke first. "Ms. Goodwin, we're in need at the moment of an informant."

"An informant?"

Duval said, "A very confidential informant."

Mary raised her eyebrows and said, "What is it that you think I can do for you?"

Paula said, "Ms. Goodwin, you've probably heard that the former Sheriff of King County is dead."

"Yes, I'm guessing he was your father Agent Pritchard?"

"Yes, he was."

"I'm very sorry but what does that have to with me?"

Paula said, "Ms. Goodwin, I interned with Sheriff Pritchard back in 1993. One of the things that always stuck with me was when he told me that sometimes you have to go around the law to find out what really happened."

"I can see that but again what does that have to do with me?"

Duval said, "Ms. Goodwin, we have reason to believe that my father's death may not have been a suicide….we suspect foul play here."

Duval proceeded to tell Mary about the findings on the car and how he was more interested in getting Duval and Paula together than in possibly committing suicide.

Mary listened and then said, "I know how devastating it is to lose one's parents. I've heard the news and they're indicating that your father may not have ever gotten over your mother's suicide."

"I can imagine all kinds of things they're saying."

"How can I help you?"

Paula said, "Ms. Goodwin, you have the most sophisticated computer system in the world now. The FBI is familiar with the fact that you could easily hack just about anything and you'd go unnoticed. Instead of fearing you like many of my colleagues might, I say would you like to be a friend of ours and hack into some traffic cameras?"

"It seems you could do that through proper channels."

Duval said, "The coroner's ruling is going to be that this is a suicide unless we can prove something else. We can't risk getting more attention on us than there already is. Paula's already gotten an email from her boss demanding to know why she poked her head into another jurisdiction's case and ordered forensics done on a suicides car. I've also gotten a text from my boss telling me to take a few days off and let my father go peacefully. Something isn't feeling right about any of this."

"Well, I believe in doing the right thing so let's see where your father went on the night he died."

Duval handed her a piece of paper and said, "Here's my father's address and his car information and there's where they found his body. Just look at traffic cams and let me see if he drove directly to the bridge."

Mary smiled and said, "Easy request…Arthur, we need to access the traffic cams for Seattle." She put all of the information in and the three of them watched.

They saw Jimmy walk out of his apartment building and get into his car. They saw him drive over to Duval's house. Duval's jaw dropped and he said, "Why would he be going over to my house? Wait, he's been wanting to come over and get his other records."

Paula then said, "Duval, there's another car there."

Mary said, "Arthur zoom in on the other car and get the license plate number."

Duval then said, "He doesn't have to. That car belongs to my partner John Strayburn! What the hell is he doing at my house?"

Just then they saw Jimmy emerge from the house with Strayburn and another man on either side holding onto his arms tightly and pushing him. Duval said, "What is Strayburn doing in my house with Kerning?" He then saw them throw Jimmy in the trunk of his car and then Strayburn drove Jimmy's car with Kerning following close behind. The traffic cam footage stopped after they took the turn on the road to the bridge.

Duval was shocked, "Oh my God! My partner John Strayburn killed my father! Why? Why would he do that?"

Paula then said, "Duval a bigger question is why were they in your house? What would they have been looking for? He's your partner."

"You're right. Why would Strayburn feel like he needed to break into my house? I've been up front with him on everything pertaining to our case."

"Do you want to ask him or should I?"

"No, I'll ask him but in my own good time. You know, all this time we've been working this bank robbery case and I haven't been able to find the key that ties everything together. Maybe the key has been sitting right next to me…and the key is that he didn't want me to find the key."

"Duval, if Strayburn is dirty, who else might be?"

Duval turned to Mary and said, "Ms. Goodwin, can you send me that footage anonymously?"

Mary smiled and said, "Anything you need Agent Pritchard. I've always thought Arthur could be useful in other ways to society."

"Yeah, the problem is I still have to have information obtained legally to present to a jury."

"Which is why I'll get this to you anonymously."

Paula raised her eyebrows and said, "Ms. Goodwin would you like to be our CI?"

"As I said, anything you need both of you. I'd like to make a difference while I'm still here."

Duval and Paula looked at each other and Duval said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean it hasn't been announced to the press but, I have a rare form of cancer and the treatments are not working. I'm not sure how much time I have left. It's why I'm merging Lookinglass with Oncentric…Connor Graff's company. I need someone to look out for my brother Otto."

Paula said, "I don't understand."

"Otto isn't quite right. He's very smart but he needs someone to look out for him. Connor Graff will do that."

Duval said, "Why tell us this?"

"If I'm your confidential informant, I wanted you to understand it will be short term."

"Fair enough."

"I'll send it to you and in the meantime I guess you need to bury your father."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few days later, Duval had the service and Paula remained in town to attend. After the service at Duval's house for the wake, he saw John Strayburn there. John came into Duval's home office and said, "Duval, you shouldn't be working today. Today is about your family."

"What family John? My mother's dead. My father's dead and my sister wants nothing to do with me so much so that she didn't think it was worth coming home for his funeral."

"Look Duval, there are people out there who care about you and your father. You should speak with them."

At that moment Paula came into the office and nodded to Duval. "They're here."

Strayburn looked confused and said, "Who's here?"

Duval said, "The police…John, I'd like to you to see something." He played the video that Mary sent to him anonymously and Strayburn saw it all. His demeanor crumbled. "Why John?"

"This isn't what it looks like."

Paula said, "On the contrary, it's exactly what it looks like. It shows you and Kerning throwing Jimmy Pritchard into the car and you drove off with Kerning. It's obvious what went down after you made the turn on the road to the bridge."

Strayburn said, "Duval, come on why would I kill your father? All that shows is that I drove off with him."

Duval looked at him funny and said, "John how long have we been partners? How stupid do you think I am? Why did you kill him and why the hell were you and Kerning in my house?"

"This really isn't what it looks like."

Paula said, "Yes it is. In between making funeral arrangements Duval and I used that footage to get a warrant on your financials. You've been on the take for quite a while. I don't know how all of this fits into the bank robberies but we're going to find out and when we do, you and everyone involved are going down but, in the meantime…"

Strayburn looked at Duval. "Duval…"

Duval said, "Save it John. You're under arrest for the murder of James Pritchard."

At that moment Paula opened the door to the Seattle Police detectives and said, "Book him for murder one and please read him his rights. We don't want anything about this arrest to be in question."

As Strayburn walked out he walked past his and Duval's boss Beck who turned away. Duval walked up to Beck and said, "Is the APB out on Kerning?"

"Yes it is Duval. Don't worry we'll find him."

Later that night, Paula was packing her things as she had to return to Portland the next day. Duval came up behind her and said, "I don't know what I would have done without your help."

Paula turned to him and said, "It's all part of the job. Jimmy meant a lot to me as well. Thanks for letting me stay with you."

"I didn't want to be alone."

Paula reached up and touched Duval's face and said, "Duval are you going to be all right?"

At that moment Duval did what he hadn't done yet since he found out his father died. He fell into Paula's arms and said, "I have no idea." He then burst into tears. Paula began to cry as well and they fell onto Duval's bed and cried themselves to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

One month later, Duval was sitting at his desk at work and was called into his boss's office. Duval walked in and said, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, putting Kerning on Washington's Most Wanted show paid off. He's in custody. I was wondering how things were going on the bank robbery case."

"Well, as you know Agent McCaffrey and I have discovered a connection between the bank robberies here and the ones in Portland. We think we've got a lead on who's behind it."

"Anything you want to share with me?"

"Not yet, but she's coming up today. I expect her here by dinner time and we'll discuss it more then."

"Duval, is your relationship with McCaffrey more than professional?"

Duval was silent and said, "I'm not sure at this point Sir."

"Well, keep me posted…there are human resources issues to discuss if they are."

"I will Sir."

"By the way, have you heard the latest headlines?"

"Sir?"

"Mary Goodwin has been hospitalized. She's in a coma. Evidently she has a rare form of cancer. She's not expected to make it."

Duval looked puzzled and then said, "Didn't her merger with Oncentric just go through last week?"

"Yes, it did. Good thing I guess. If she were to have died before the merger, who knows what would have happened to her company."

"Right…well, if I don't see you, have a good weekend."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paula knocked on Duval's door and he opened it. She smiled and he pulled her in and they passionately kissed as Duval shut the door behind Paula. He whispered in Paula's ear, "Come and see my new bed sheets Paula."

Paula laughed slightly and said, "Duval, we need to talk. I'm guessing you've heard about Mary Goodwin."

"Yes and I was shocked by it. She didn't seem like she was at death's door yet."

"I know and I don't think she was. I think someone wanted her out of the way."

"Who?"

"Connor Graff and maybe some other high ranking people."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Duval, I did some additional checking on Strayburn's and Kerning's payoffs. I was interested in where the money came from. The money came from some overseas accounts. I had to call in a few favors to get some additional information from Interpol. One of the accounts came back as an account tied to Senator Moira Murphy. That was on Strayburn's account. On Kerning's account, I found money from an account for a shell corporation that connects to Senator Bob Woodford."

Duval raised his eyebrows and said, "As in Senator Bob Woodford of Oregon?"

"Yes, and here's something interesting, maybe it means something or maybe not but Connor Graff has been a huge contributor to both Senators Murphy and Woodford."

"Both of those senators are on the defense committee aren't they?"

"Yes, I had a conversation with Mary Goodwin two days before she went into a coma. She told me that her brother Otto is a savant. He's highly intelligent but he's unstable. He's obsessed with preventing her death and has been trying all kinds of things with the help of Connor Graff's lab. I did some investigating on him and he's got at least one operation in Senegal."

Duval looked completely perplexed. "What have we stumbled on Paula? Mary hacked those accounts didn't she?"

"Yes and no, I got Interpol's help on tracking them down. Mary with the help of Arthur found the connection to the senators. She then found the connection with Connor Graff. She'd already signed the merger deal and with what we found out, she was fearful for her brother."

"Oh my God, what if she confronted Connor Graff with the information that we've been uncovering?"

"I know…and now she's in a coma. I fear that Connor Graff will keep her alive and exploit Otto in any way he can."

"Paula, why did you come up here to tell me this? Next weekend is a holiday weekend and you were going to come up then so we could spend it together. You could have told me all of this over the phone."

"There were two reasons why I didn't want to wait. Mary also did some additional checking and she found a payoff with your boss Beck. I started to think about it and I realized that in order for Strayburn and Kerning to fly under the radar, they had to have help."

Duval looked shocked and said, "Why didn't you say something immediately?"

"You're in the same office with him. I didn't want him tipped off in any way that he was a suspect. He's just as dirty as Strayburn and Kerning."

Duval nodded and said, "OK, my boss is dirty. We'll deal with it. What's the second reason you wanted to see me sooner rather than later."

Paula was silent for a moment and then said, "I needed to show you this." She handed him a piece of paper that was very official looking.

Duval's eyes got very wide and he kind of smiled and said, "Is this truly for real?"

"Yeah it is. Are you OK with this?"

"Wow! I never thought of myself as going down this road but yeah, I'm OK with it. I'm happy about it. Are you happy?"

Paula smiled and said, "Yeah, I am. I never saw myself doing this either."

"Well OK then, I guess I need to move to Portland."

"Duval, you don't have to do that."

"Paula, I belong with you. We belong together…all three of us. I don't have anyone here anymore. With me in Portland, we can work this together. We'll figure this out. I love you."

"I love you too Duval." They leaned in and kissed each other. Just at that moment the entire house erupted in bullet fire. Paula fell into Duval's arms and to the floor they fell. Duval took several gun shots as well.

They hit the floor and Duval realized that Paula was dead. "Oh no…no Paula….why?" He then choked up blood and he breathed his last with Paula in his arms.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Duval opened his eyes and he was on the floor of his house and he saw his mother leaning over him. "Mom?"

"Get up Duval, your time is almost up."

"I thought it was. I was killed again."

"No Duval, you're not dead yet. You're at two minutes and thirty seconds. You wanted to see what the world would have been like if Jimmy and Paula had never had sex. So how'd it work out for you?"

Duval looked down and said, "Pretty bad."

"Yeah, it was. Now do you believe me when I used to tell you that God had a perfect plan?"

"I don't understand Mom, why did Dad and Paula having sex change everything so dramatically especially for you?"

Rosie smiled and said, "Duval, I wasn't stupid. I always suspected that your dad had dalliances here and there. Joey told me everything and that's why I ended up having an affair with him. However, it wasn't supposed to end with him laughing in my face. When I pulled the gun on him initially, I believed that Jimmy would never let me go to jail. However, that was a fantasy. In this timeline when I pulled the trigger, I knew Jimmy couldn't get me off and I knew that you and Helen would have to live with a murderess as a mother. The guilt overcame me and that's why I shot myself. In your timeline when Joey told me about Jimmy and Paula, I realized that killing Joey would do me no favors where Jimmy or the law was concerned, he'd already moved on with someone younger. It's why I didn't bother killing Joey. I only wanted to kill myself because I had let myself become such a fool when I always knew Joey underneath it all was bad news. It turned out to be a good thing. I would have never been properly diagnosed otherwise….and I would have missed so much."

"There was no Gracie or Liza in this timeline…Mary never got cured and God only knows what Connor Graff would have done with Otto."

"You're correct. The world is better for both Gracie and Liza being here. Just their presence has been a blessing and it's made a difference for many people. As for Madeleine and Scott…I'll let them explain."

Madeleine appeared and said, "Duval, do you remember when I was eight and half months along with Gracie? My cousin Julia had a bachelorette party in Las Vegas. One night when they were cruising in the limousine, they got broadsided by a truck. Do you remember that?"

"Of course, luckily nobody got killed."

"If you hadn't gotten me pregnant, I would have been there and I would have been sitting where the truck hit. I would have been the one fatality. I never would have had a child and I never would have met Scott."

Scott then appeared and said, "In this timeline Duval, I never met Paula because she wasn't pregnant and she therefore, never came to my father's church. I died very much alone from liver cancer. I never found anyone who was interested in adopting kids with me. Then again, I never got over Stacy. For all of mine and Paula's mismatched faults, I never regretted meeting her. In fact, have her tell you the story of how we met. It's actually pretty funny."

Rosie said, "It's two minutes and forty-five seconds Duval."

Duval then heard a voice.

"DAD!" He turned and he could see Gracie crying outside of the OR where they were working on him. He turned and saw Rosie, Madeleine and Scott. The light was much brighter behind them now like it was beckoning him. Rosie nodded to him and he knew what he needed to do.

Madeleine walked up to him and said, "Duval, I always loved you as Gracie's father and sometimes as my husband. We never got to say good-bye. Would you like to kiss me good-bye?"

Duval smiled and said, "Thank you Madeleine." He leaned in and kissed her.

Madeleine then said, "Take care of Gracie Duval….and love…."

TO BE CONTINUED….