CONGRATULATIONS roban05! Yep, it's Cathi! And I feel the same way! Isn't it kinda crazy how we miss written characters? I mean, I understand TV and movie characters because we see their nonverbal interactions, but written characters? I mean, I see everything I write in my head, so I'm actually watching a video, typing what I see. For you, you don't get to see my video. You have to create one yourselves. And I know it's not as good as mine cause I know I'm not the best descriptive writer! I'm good with concepts, but not always describing the visual surroundings, especially when something is exciting! All the same, we all miss the people I forget! My dream is to write a story that has everyone, ACCs and Sue characters, with the perfect amount of 'screen time', but somehow my brain focuses on a set of characters and runs with those characters, temporarily forgetting the others for a while, until I think up a story for them. If you're ever in a specific need for any character, just let me know! Maybe it will inspire me to add more of them into the story!

?-?

"Thanks for coming." Myles slowly said as he answered the door.

"Well, you sounded so downtrodden on the phone, I couldn't imagine you being alone at a time like this." Cathi concertedly replied as she walked into the house. "What's wrong?"

"Well," he started, waving his hand to indicate her to sit on the couch. She did and he sat down on the couch across from her. "I have to be honest and you can't take it the wrong way."

"OK?" She asked, not sure where he was going.

"I mean, you shouldn't, but I know some women would, but I want to make sure." He rambled.

"What is it?" She quietly asked, crossing the room and sitting next to him, taking his hand in hers. "I won't judge you, even if, if, you say your deepest darkest secret is that you're moving to Antarctica tomorrow." She watched a slight smile come to his face. "You know I'd follow you." She whispered.

He slowly nodded, placing his other hand on hers. "Yes, I do. And I thank you. The reason I'm having a hard time right now is because almost everyone I know is married. And I'm not ready for that. Not yet, at least."

Cathi nodded. "I know. I'm not either, if you can believe it. Some people are made to marry young, some are not. I am not one of those people."

He now widely smiled at her. "Thank you. I just don't know what to do with the sinking feeling I feel when I think of all the people I used to visit with but can't because they're now married and have family lives that don't consist of visiting with friends as often as before."

"How do you think I feel? All my friends stopped being friends because they had kids and I don't, resulting in us having nothing in common?"

"I suppose that's worse. At least most of my friends will talk to me now and again."

She nodded. "We all go through that. You're not alone. Whenever you feel this way, just let me know and I will keep you company till you feel better."

He smiled at her again. "Thank you." He said, then gave her a kiss on the cheek. Just as they were going back to a neutral position, Myles' phone rang. Getting up to answer it, he stood in the center of the room. "Hello?" He asked the caller, listening to what they had to say for a few seconds. "What?" He whispered, dropping the phone in shock, his whole body frozen.

"What? What is it? What happened?" Cathi worriedly asked, seeing the look on his face. When she saw he wasn't going to answer her, she quickly picked up his phone and put it to her ear. "Hello? This is Cathi." She responded to the callers question. "What happened?" She asked. When the caller answered, she too dropped her arm in shock. "Sweet Jesus." She whispered.

?-?

"I'm so nervous!" Lucy excitedly whispered Monday morning as she and Sue sat in some chairs near to their boss' office as he finished another meeting. "Do you think he'll go for it?"

"He has to." Sue replied. "It's better use of our time, us alternating when we're working. If one of us works 7-12 then the other 12-5, switching every day and catching up with the hours in the evenings and weekends, we'll be able to be more productive and do two things at once. I don't see why he wouldn't like the idea!"

Lucy turned to the office, then back at her friend. "Well, we'll know soon enough. He's ready!"

The two friends smiled at each other, then quickly got up and walked into the office.

?-?

"Hey, has anyone seen Myles?" Jack asked, looking around the room. It was after 10 and because he drove Sue and Lucy here for their appointment, he had been at his desk since 7:30.

Bobby shook his head. "Nope. Haven't seen him. It doesn't look like anything's moved on his desk since Friday either." He said, slightly standing up to look at the unoccupied desk.

Jack frowned. "I'll try calling him." He said as he took out his phone. Just before he could press the number, a loud explosion of voices came through the door.

"Look who I found on my way back from the bathroom!" Mya exclaimed, pointing to the women behind her, along with a wagging dog.

"Hey! How was your meeting?" Jack asked, setting his phone down, signing a few words to ensure his wife knew he was talking to her.

"Great!" Sue happily replied. "It's all set! We start tomorrow. I'm taking the 7 to 12 shift, Lucy the 12 to 5. We're flipping it on Wednesday."

"And we've decided that we're going to have school at your house. It will be easier because we won't have to worry about being too loud when Sue's working." Lucy added.

"Sounds like a great idea." He replied smiling. "I'm sure the kids will love to know that."

"That's what we should do!" Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed her phone. "I'll call Mark so we can tell them now."

Just as Lucy was searching for her husband's number, Myles walked into the room. He wore a frown and wrinkled clothes and hair and said absolutely nothing to anyone. Seeing him like this, no one said a word to each other, but did give questioning stares at him.

"HAPPENED WHAT?" Sue asked.

Jack shrugged. "DON'T KNOW."

"I know you're talking about me behind my back. Rather, in front of it." He grumbled.

"We just were wondering what's up. You're usually not this late." Jack replied, trying to keep the energy in the room.

"I had a long drive." He mumbled so quietly, most of them didn't hear.

"Is everything OK?" Sue bravely asked.

He glared at her. "Just fine, thank you." He snapped.

Eyes wide, she stepped a few steps back. "I, I think we should go back to our office." She said, not being able to take her eyes away.

Lucy nodded. "I think that is a very good idea." She replied, then the two women left the room. "Sheesh. I'm glad I don't have to work with that team today."

"Something's very wrong." Sue said, thinking as they walked, Sunny happily padding in. between the two. "There was intense pain and hurt in his eyes, more than I've ever seen. I just wish we knew what it was. Maybe we could help him."

"Well, maybe there's a way to know." Her friend said quietly, then jogged up ahead. "Cathi!"

"Oh! Hi, Lucy!" Cathi said as she turned around.

"We were wondering what's wrong with Myles. He was acting really weird a few minutes ago." She said when Sue caught up.

The woman looked from one friend to the other, then back again. "What, you don't know?"