Disclaimer: I will never own wonderful characters such as these.

Warning: Rated M for sexual themes, as well as sexual content in later chapters.

Notes: This is a sequel to my four previous stories. Hold on tight readers. In the words of Rayna from the 2015 "Spy" film, "This shit is about to get really sad".

"Daphne! Please come back, I'm sorry!"

Fred reached out for her arm, but she yanked it away and stormed off, slamming his office door behind her. The force was so jarring, that it knocked Fred's bachelor's degree off the wall and it fell to the floor with a crash.

He sighed and seemed to deflate in his office chair; this was becoming their new normal. Throughout their relationship, they had never had any serious disagreements, but lately he could just cough and she'd be upset.

Fred rubbed his temples, he was getting a massive headache. He was pondering spending the night at his own apartment, something he hadn't done since Daphne had welcomed him into her bed.

He looked up when he heard a light knock on his door. He was hoping to see Daphne, but to his suprise, it was fellow producer Gretchen Sawder, from two offices down.

She smiled warmly, "Hey there, Fred."

Fred grinned back, happy to see somebody that wasn't yelling at him, "Nice to see you."

Gretchen invited herself inside and sat down on his office couch, "How's your Coast to Coast production going?"

Fred shrugged, "It's slow these days. There's been some…difficulties." He didn't mention that the difficulties included near constant arguing with Daphne.

Gretchen crossed her stunning, bronze-colored legs and leaned back on the couch, "I feel you. I can't seem to please anyone these days. The fans are upset with the way the story is unfolding, the actors are always bickering, and I'm lucky if I can get behind a camera for two minutes without chaos".

Fred smiled, and nodded in understanding.

The conversation dissolved into an uncomfortable silence until Gretchen cleared her throat, "Well, I'd better head out. See you around."

She waved as she closed the door behind her, leaving Fred to worry about what Daphne would be offended by tonight.

When Fred arrived at home, Daphne was chopping carrots for a pot roast. She didn't turn around when he entered, but her voice was terse, "You're late."

Fred rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, well work has been tight…"

Daphne huffed before dumping the carrots into the crock pot, "It's always tight."

Not wanting her to get the last word, Fred raised his volume, "It wouldn't be so damn tight, if you weren't so angry with me about every little aspect!"

Without losing a beat, she snapped back, "Just because I disagree with you about a shot, doesn't mean I'm angry."

"No, but you constantly slamming doors, walking off set, and just…biting my head off all day, every day is a real problem."

Daphne stopped slicing the potato she was working on and looked up.

He continued, "People are starting to talk..."

Daphne looked back down at the potato, but remained still.

Fred crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, "More than one person around the office is saying that you're impossible to work with. Joran called me today about my edits being late...again. I know it's the off-season right now, but Joran's considering scraping Coast to Coast."

Daphne gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

Fred took a deep breath, "And that's not the worst of it, Daphne. He wants to reassign me to another project."

She took a step closer to him and laid her hand on his chest, "Freddie, why didn't you tell me?"

He met her eyes, "Because, it's been so bumpy with us lately. I think this is the first conversation we've had in weeks where you weren't screaming at me."

Again, Fred began rubbing the back of his head, a nervous tick, "We need to talk."

Daphne smiled, "We are talking right now."

Fred did not smile back, and averted his eyes, "I've been thinking a lot on this, and I think…we need a break."

He remained silent for a moment to let his words sink in. When Daphne spoke, she was on the cusp of tears, "What do you mean?"

Fred put his hand on her shoulder, "Just some distance. I need to consider things."

Her voice quivered, and she covered his hand with hers, "To think about...us?"

He exhaled deeply, "About everything, Daph."

Daphne had been skydiving only once in her life, but her current feeling now was the same; her heart was beating fast, she couldn't breathe, and felt as if she was falling from a great height.

Desperate for Fred not to see her tears, she turned from him and back to chopping the potato, "Well, if that's how you feel, we need to talk about something else…"

Before she could finish her sentence, she heard the soft clinking noise of her front door closing. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that he had left, leaving the kitchen empty.

She was semi-grateful for the solitude as she sunk down against the cabinets in a quiet sob.

Daphne climbed the stairs to her bedroom, more than ready to fall asleep. Maybe this was a nightmare, and going to bed would be like a cosmic reset button. When she opened her eyes the next morning, Fred would be right there, kissing her awake.

She had tried calling Fred several times, but her calls had all gone straight to voicemail.

Daphne didn't bother changing into her nightgown, as she collapsed onto her soft comforter. She picked up a framed picture from her nightstand and ran her thumb over Fred's face.

They didn't have many photos of just them, usually it was of the whole gang; but this one was special. It was a close-up shot of their faces, taken right after he had told her he loved her for the first time.

They had taken a vacation in the sunny hills of California, in one of the Blake family's time share homes along the west coast.

The couple had spent the day swimming in the pool, sunbathing, and enjoying the privacy afforded by the tall fences surrounding the yard.

Fred was lounging, half asleep on a floating raft. Feeling devilish, Daphne swam silently underneath him, and using all her might, flipped the raft over sending him crashing into the chill water.

Fred immediately popped up and gave chase, laughing the whole way, but Daphne was much faster. She climbed out of the pool, without using the ladder, and ran until she came to the sliding glass door.

Fred swam to the edge of the pool as Daphne held his eyes. Without a word, and only a mischievous smile, she reached up and undid the tie that was holding her bikini top in place. The top fluttered to the ground, leaving her chest bare in the open. She made no move to cover herself, as her nipples began to peak in the afternoon air.

She slid open the sliding glass door behind her and walked backwards into the house, beckoning Fred to join her with an index finger. As if enchanted by some supernatural spell, Fred was powerless as he climbed out and followed her.

An hour later, they lay intertwined together, damp with sweat and exhausted, but sated.

Fred was absently playing with her hair as her eyes became heavy. When he spoke, it was a breathy whisper, "I love you."

Daphne lifted her head up from his chest, "You…love me?"

Fred grinned, "Yeah. I really do."

Daphne smiled. His words had left her feeling warm, but Fred wasn't finished, "You're so beautiful…"

She waved him away, "Not like this. I'm all sweaty, and I know I smell like chlorine."

Fred shook his head, "Exactly like this. In fact, I want to remember you like this forever."

He reached over and grabbed his cell phone and flipped the camera to selfie mode. He cuddled up tight to her and snapped the photo.

He proudly showed her the snapshot, "See? Absolutely gorgeous."

Daphne hated to admit it, but he was right. It was a nice picture.

Fred took his phone back and kissed her head, "I think I'm going to frame this one…"

Silent tears made their way down her cheeks and splashed onto the picture frame. Instead of setting it back on the nightstand, Daphne tossed the frame carelessy into a waste basket.

This is not how it's supposed to be, she thought, as she laid down on her bed and cried into her pillow.

The only other people in the room to witness her sorrow was a happy couple, frozen in time and in love, peering out from the top of the garbage can.