Girl's Night Out

by Fluffy Cat1

Mel experiences a girl's night out with old college friends. Dinner, club with a hypnotist and then back to the Watchfire for the rest of the show!

Disclaimer: Fluffy Cat does not own or have any right to these characters or names or places, or anything else in her stories. Fluffy Cat just enjoys the characters Mel and Cole and likes to get them out in the world and play with them a bit. Fluffy Cat does not profit in any way from doing this, other than the pleasure of batting them around for a while.

Timeline: This story takes place following the episode "Love Cirronian Style."

Spoilers: Minor spoilers for "Cloud Nine", "Roswell", "Trust", and "Love Cirronian Style." That's all I can remember at least.

Note: Fluffy Cat found herself dragging a few characters out to play with Mel and Cole who are remarkably similar to other characters the readers may recognize. Fluffy Cat hopes you enjoy their visit.

Girl's Night Out

By Fluffy Cat

"Mel, what is a girl's night out?" Cole asked as he dried a glass behind the bar.

Startled, Mel's curls took flight. "Oh, well, it's a night when friends, all female, go out together and have a good time, with no men along."

"Oh." Cole considered her definition. "Why no men?"

"Because sometimes women want the company of other women, and not men." And sometimes we want to talk about men; she amended silently, grinning at the thought of Cole's expression if she had added that little tidbit to her definition.

"Okay, Mel." Cole shrugged, placing the clean glass next to the others.

"Where did you hear the term 'girl's night out,' Cole?"

"From Jess. She said you were going to have one with some college friends." Cole answered easily.

Mel grinned and shook her head. "Jess is dying to go along with us. I suppose I'll let her off so she can." Mel admitted.

Cole cocked his handsome head at her. "She would like that, Mel. I could tell she wanted to go with you."

"Uh huh. She put you up to this, didn't she, Cole?" Mel's expression was tolerant and amused.

"Up to what?" Cole inquired carrying an innocence about his face and in his voice.

"Never mind." Mel tossed her head in the direction of the pretty English barmaid heading toward them.

"Jess, Mel said you may go with her and her friends tonight." Cole grinned.

Rolling her eyes, Mel laughed. "Like there was any way she'd let me out the door without her!"

"Yeah! Oh, thank you, Mel! It's going to be great! We'll have a blast." Jess hugged Mel and then jumped into Cole's arms for a quick hug. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear before giving him a pert kiss on the lips.

Mel rolled her eyes again and smiled at the way Cole always reacted to the affectionate Jess. He never seemed to mind her spontaneous bursts of affection, but he never seemed quite comfortable with them either. In truth, he looked confused by them most of the time.  

Cole didn't wear the same sort of expression when she hugged or kissed him, come to think of it, Mel realized. That gave her something to think about, she mused.

Cole always seemed quite pleased and more than willing when she reached up to give him a quick hug or placed a kiss on his cheek. His arms always folded around her, holding her in place against him. Mel smiled at the thought.

"Where all are we going, Mel?" The excitement bubbling from the pretty barmaid had Cole and Mel both laughing.

"I'm not sure, Jess. Lizzie said something about going to one club for drinks and then moving on to another club later that night that is featuring a hypnotist. Lizzie said she saw him perform in another city and he was pretty fascinating. She said it was very entertaining."

"Lizzie is one of your college friends, Mel?" Cole asked.

"Yes, the wild one." Mel chuckled. "You'll like her, Jess. Two peas in a pod."

Cole wore a bemused expression before opening his mouth to say something to Mel. The pretty bar owner stopped him. "Just an expression, Cole. It means they are very much alike in personality and interests."

Nodding at the quick explanation, Cole gave Mel a half-smile. "I wondered what vegetables still encased in their shell had to do with a girl's night out."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Cole, one of these days, you are going to have to tell me exactly which planet you grew up on."

Cole opened his mouth again. "Cirr…"

"Come on, Jess, let's run upstairs and you can help me decide what I'm going to wear tonight." Mel interrupted, shooting Cole a chastising look for almost answering Jess.

"Oh lovely! We'll find something really hot for you to wear tonight, Mel. Maybe you'll get lucky?" Jess teased, following the elegantly dressed Mel around the bar and up the stairs to her apartment.

Cole frowned as he watched them head upstairs. He understood that phrase. He had worked around the bar long enough to know what that meant. He didn't like the idea of Mel 'getting lucky' with anyone. Anyone other than himself, that is.

He decided to follow them and have a word or two with Jess. It really wasn't safe for Mel to start seeing any man right now; not when he could be one of the fugitives. Mel was safer staying close to him. He didn't want a repeat performance of what had happened with Tev. Not with his Mel.

Cole entered the apartment and heard the two women giggling in Mel's bedroom. They had left the door open so Cole figured it was one of those times he could walk in and not be on the receiving end of one of those looks from Mel that she tended to give him when he entered her room uninvited.

"I don't know, Mel. That one doesn't show enough skin, you know?" Jess was saying as Cole stopped beside the bed. Jess was sitting on the bed cross-legged and Mel was standing in front of the closet holding up pieces of clothing in front of her.

Cole watched Mel toss a few garments to the side before picking up another one. "How about this?"

It was a very sheer black blouse. Cole liked it. He smiled. "I like that one, Mel."

"Ah! A male has spoken. See, Mel, the black is it. Cole likes it and so you know other guys will. They'll be all over you before you know it." Jess' words sunk in and had Cole rethinking his position on the sheer black blouse.

"I've changed my mind, Mel. That one is not good."

Mel's lips twitched at the uneasy expression on Cole's face. She looked over at Jess and noticed the girl's eyes were sparkling with suppressed laughter.

Clearing her throat, Mel turned to Cole. "Which one would you suggest, Cole?"

The Cirronian frowned before his expression cleared and he walked over to the closet to inspect Mel's wardrobe, his hands digging into the back of the selection. "This would look pretty on you."

Jess fell back on the bed, her laughter bouncing off the walls.

Mel's grin couldn't be contained. "That's a suit for snow-skiing, Cole."

"The forecast does call for snow flurries, Mel, and this will keep you warm, and covered-up." The Tracker smiled at her.

Mel grinned back. "That it would, but it isn't really appropriate attire for a night out in the clubs."

"Are you sure you need this 'girl's night out', Mel?" Cole asked her, his expression both sweet and concerned.

His hands reached up to stroke her throat, a gesture that prompted an immediate softening of Mel's expression. "Cole, I'll be fine. I'm just going out with some girlfriends. Nothing will happen to me." She assured him gently.

"You could get lucky, Mel." He stated in a warning tone. "That wouldn't be a good idea." He added. That comment sent Jess into a second fit of laughter.

Mel bit her bottom lip, schooled her own expression to reflect the same degree of seriousness that his did and reassured him a second time. "I'll be fine, Cole. I'm not going to get….lucky. I'm not even looking to get…lucky. I'm just going out with some friends I haven't seen in a long time. They're in town so we can get together and giggle half the night like we did when we were in school. It will be fine."

Jess had sat up and was eagerly watching the tender display between the two of them. Oh, there was definitely more going on here than either one of them let on; Jess nodded to herself. They were crazy about each other. It was so bloody obvious, yet for some reason, they wouldn't act on it! Bloody Hell. What would it take for the two of them to fall into bed with each other? The English girl had no doubts that once they did; it would all be over for the both of them. They would be hooked for life. She was sure of that.

They were both so hesitant about acting on their feelings though.

They needed a push, very badly.

Jess gave the couple a sly grin, knowing they were so wrapped up into looking at each other, they wouldn't even see it.

Oh well, people had always said she was a pushy girl. With an idea already forming in her sneaky English brain, Jess grinned at Mel and Cole. She loved it when a plan came together. She had to fold her hands in her lap to keep from rubbing them together gleefully.

"Oh My God! Does our Mel know how to draw in the customers, or what?"

Cole glanced up at the tall exotically beautiful woman leering at him over the bar. He gave her a half-smile. "May I get you something to drink?"

Hungry eyes gave the Cirronian a thorough inspection. "Oh, darling, you can get me something all right."

She flashed him a teasing smile and plopped down on one of the barstools. "Just what did you have in mind?"

"You're scaring him, Lizzie. Lighten up. Mel wouldn't appreciate you jumping her help, I'm sure." This unsolicited advice came from a second customer who took the seat next to the first one, Cole observed. She had hair almost the color of Mel's, maybe a little darker, and she smiled very prettily at him. The smile carried nothing more to it than simple pleasantness and Cole found himself smiling back at her.

"You know Mel?" He replied.

They turned to look at each other and broke into bright smiles. "We know Mel." They said in unison, prompting a second round of giggles.

The first woman, the one wearing a tight black dress with a very low neckline who was still looking at him like he was on the drink menu, grinned and leaned across the bar, showing him a considerable amount of female signatures when she did. "I think the question we need to ask here is, 'how well do you know Mel?'" She delivered the inquiry in a husky laugh that fit her exotic looks and dark eyes. She had extremely short black hair and very pale skin with more than one beauty mark. Her fingers reached out and stroked the back of Cole's hand. "And would you care to know me in the same manner?"

"Lizzie…" The redhead admonished softly. "Behave."

Lizzie withdrew her hand from the top of Cole's, but not before stroking his long fingers with one of hers. "Oh, pooh, Rebecca! You spoil all my fun."

Cole noticed that Lizzie didn't seem too upset with the friend named Rebecca despite her words indicating that she was.

"Someone has to watch you." Rebecca quipped before turning back to Cole. "Is Mel here? We're supposed to meet her tonight and go out."

Cole nodded. "Yes, Mel is upstairs. She said for you to wait with a drink if she wasn't ready when you arrived. What can I get you?"

"Here we go again, darling." Lizzie laughed, her eyes surveying Cole's form a second time. "I don't believe you answered my original question, handsome. How well do you know Mel, hmm?"

Cole answered honestly. "I know Mel very well." He smiled at the two of them. "You are having a 'girl's night out' and Mel is going with you."

The two women exchanged a look. "Sounds like you are in the know, so to speak." Lizzie commented lightly. "Very well, hmm?" Her eyes studied his handsome face. "I wonder exactly how you define the term 'very'?"

Cole opened his mouth to answer when Jess flew through the door and started chattering at him. "Cole! You wouldn't believe how much trouble I had picking out a bloody outfit for tonight. I should have brought you home with me so you could make suggestions like you did for Mel, not that I'd wear a bleedin' snow suit, but it might have been fun, all the same." Jess laughed and throwing her purse on top of the bar, made her way around it and stopped in front of the Tracker. "Bend down. You're too bloody tall for me to kiss way up there."

Cole gave Jess a bemused look but bent all the same. She pecked him on the cheek and then proceeded to wipe the resulting lipstick smudge off with her thumb. "Best wipe that off, huh? Wouldn't want Mel getting jealous and coming after me." Jess teased.

"No." Cole replied. He noticed that Mel's college friends were watching him and Jess with open speculation on their faces. "Jess, Mel's friends are here, waiting for her." Cole smiled at the two women again. "This is Jess. Mel said she could go with the three of you tonight."

"Hi!" Jess smiled brightly at them. "We are going to have a blast tonight. Which one of you is Lizzie and which one is Rebecca?"

Lizzie extended a hand to Jess. "I'm Lizzie, the party-pooper is Rebecca."

The pretty redhead rolled her eyes and smiled affectionately at her friend. "Hello, Jess. It's nice to meet you. Mel has spoken of you often on the phone."

"She has?" Jess replied somewhat surprised. "Did she say anything other than I was a pest?"

Lizzie's responding laughter had them all smiling. "Sounds like we should get along. Mel has been calling me worse than that since the dorm."

Cole nodded. "Mel says you are similar vegetables."

All three women stared at Cole. Jess was the first one to start laughing. "He's mixed that up a bit, but never mind, you'll get used to Cole doing that after a bit of time. We love him all the same though."

"Do you?" Lizzie purred. "And Mel?"

Jess hadn't been born yesterday. She knew when a woman was scouting out possibilities and she felt it was her duty to protect Mel's claim at all costs. "Oh, yeah. Mel is crazy about Cole, isn't she, Cole?"

Cole looked perplexed. "Mel is very sane, Jess, although somewhat nervous at times."

Jess rolled her eyes and pressed on, "Yes, she is, but she cares for you a lot, doesn't she, Cole?"

"Mel is very compassionate." Cole agreed.

Enough was enough. Jess brought out the big guns. "Cole, where do you live?"

"You know where I live, Jess." Cole grinned down at the petite blonde.

"Yes, I do. But they don't." Jess gestured to the two women across the bar. "Tell them where you live, Cole. I'm sure they would be very interested in knowing."

"Why?"

"Just tell them, Cole." Jess hounded him.

"I live with Mel." Cole answered simply.

Lizzie's eyes narrowed at that piece of information. "With Mel? I spoke with her four months ago and she wasn't even dating anybody."

"Mel doesn't date much." Cole stated with an even expression.

"I imagine not if she is living with you." Rebecca chuckled.

"No." Cole agreed.

"I've known Mel since college and she's never been in the habit of moving guys in with her." Lizzie remarked suspiciously.

"She made an exception with Cole." Jess piped up. "Cole is well…as you can see… quite exceptional." Jess grinned, patting Cole's broad chest as she said it. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"So…Mel fell that fast for him, hmm?" Lizzie said thoughtfully.

Rebecca nudged her friend. "And you wouldn't?" She teased with a hint of a smile.

"Oh yeah…bloody hell, it was no time at all before Cole was here all the time, right, Cole?" Jess explained.

"Yes, Jess."

"It's funny Mel hasn't said anything about Cole to us when we spoke on the phone, don't you think?" Lizzie smiled at the young English girl, determined to uncover whatever it was she sensed Jess wasn't telling her. Something was definitely 'off' in this whole Cole and Mel situation. Lizzie had known Melanie Porter for ten years and Mel didn't move guys in with her, just like that, without her friends even hearing about him.

"Mel doesn't tell many people about me." Cole offered this piece of information with an understanding smile.

"And why not?" Rebecca asked sweetly before Lizzie could pounce on the statement as fast as she wanted to pounce on Cole.

Cole shrugged his shoulders and gifted them with one of his high voltage smiles. "It is private."

"Private?" Lizzie repeated; her dark eyes doubtful.

"Yeah, Mel keeps pretty quiet about it, but she thinks Cole is just…what is the word I'm searching for here, Cole…help me out?" Jess pleaded with desperate eyes.

Cole gave Jess a lost look before his expression cleared up and a smile replaced the confusion. "Mel frequently says that she thinks I'm amazing."

Jess jumped at that. "Oh yeah….Mel is always saying how Cole is amazing. She's made a list."

Turning back to Jess, Cole gave her a funny look. "What do you mean about a list, Jess? I've heard Mel talk about that list too? What kind of list?"

Jess stumbled over her explanation. "Oh, just a list a girl makes sometimes when she is thinking about why she is with a guy…you know…a list…of all his good qualities."

"Oh."

"And his bad." Lizzie threw out the wry comment to gauge Cole's reaction.

Cole gave her a bemused smile but said nothing.

"I wonder what's taking Mel so long." Jess asked no one in particular.

Cole served Lizzie a colorful concoction she hadn't asked for before turning back to Jess. "I'll go up and check. Maybe she needs some help getting into her snow suit?"

"Oh, that's probably it, Cole, I'm sure." Jess laughed. Seeing the way the beautiful Lizzie was admiring Cole's bum as he came from around the counter spurred Jess to add, "But you go on up and help Mel finish getting dressed." She instructed with 'shooing' gestures. "You know how much Mel loves it when you zip her up." Jess shouted at his retreating figure.

Cole turned around and gave Jess a strange look.

When she waved him on, he shrugged and headed up the steps to their apartment.

"So that is what has been keeping Mel so preoccupied lately, hmm?" Lizzie grinned. "She hasn't called as much as she used to and well, now I'm beginning to see exactly why."

Jess hedged a bit. "Well, yeah, Cole and Mel stay pretty busy, with the bar and all."

Rebecca asked curiously, "Cole works here for Mel then?"

Jess smirked. "Well, sometimes Cole works here, helping Mel out, you know, when we need it. But he has another job that takes a lot of his time too."

"Really?" Lizzie said. "What is it he does? Besides make a mean peach daiquiri, that is?"

"Peach?" Rebecca excitedly asked. "I love peach." She promptly reached over and dragged the frosty glass over to her, ignoring the dirty looks Lizzie was shooting her. What were friends for if not to steal a drink from every now and then? The pretty redhead told herself wearing a wry grin.

Jess chuckled. "Well, that's a good question. All I can tell you is that it is very hush-hush. Mel doesn't even tell me. And sometimes Cole is out of town on trips. He keeps very strange hours too. Mel trusts him though and so do I, so I know whatever it is he does, it's on the side of the law. I mean, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Cole is a very nice guy. An amazing guy. And he is such an angel with Mel. You  should see the way he watches her and the way he is always so tender with her. He does this thing with her throat that is just so incredible to watch. I've never seen a guy touch a girl like that in my life." Jess sighed.

"Her throat?" Lizzie looked over at Jess disbelievingly.

"You have to see it, I guess. He touches her in this special sort of way, kind of strokes her, you know? While he is standing so close and looking down at her with this unbelievable expression in his eyes. Bloody romantic, it is."

Lizzie stole her drink back from Rebecca. "I think I need a bloody drink." She laughed. "You sure this Cole guy is okay for our Mel? We've known her a long time and well, you know how it is, we don't want to see our friend taken advantage of in any way."

Jess gave them a brilliant smile. "Cole is okay. I mean, I know he seems a bit different, but you don't have to worry about him hurting Mel ever. He adores her. Really."

Changing the subject, Jess leaned over and whispered softly, "Mel said we were going to see a hypnotist? I have this great idea, but I'm probably going to need your help too if I want to pull it off. Any takers?" The persuasive English girl asked Mel's friends, wearing a huge grin and sparkling eyes.

Always one to appreciate a whispered plan, Lizzie grinned back. "Oh, I love a plan. What exactly do you want to do?"

Rebecca groaned and stole Lizzie's drink. "There may not be enough peach daiquiris in the city to prevent this ensuing disaster."

Acting extremely affronted, Lizzie turned back to Rebecca and frowned. "I think I'm offended."

"Good." Rebecca grinned.

Lizzie tossed her head back and laughed. "Oh, we're going to have a ball tonight, aren't we?"

Jess laughed with them. "Oh yeah, and if everything goes according to plan, so will Mel."

"I love it already." Lizzie cooed.

Rebecca groaned again. "God help us."

All three women were giggling with their heads together when Mel and Cole came down the stairs and entered the Watchfire. "That can't be good." Mel moaned, spotting the threesome already acting like they had known each other for years.

"Corn on the cob." Cole nodded.

Laughing, Mel corrected him. "Peas in a pod."

Cole shrugged off her correction and approached the ladies. "Mel says she is ready." His inflection clearly indicated he didn't agree with that assessment.

Mel rolled her beautiful eyes and ignored him. "Don't I get a hug from old college friends, or are you too wrapped up in listening to Jess to even say 'hello' to me?"

Lizzie and Rebecca both spun around on their barstools before leaping off and enveloping Mel in a huge group hug. "Melanie Porter! You are more beautiful than the last time we saw you." Lizzie shouted.

"Absolutely! You look gorgeous and very happy!" Rebecca observed with a pretty laugh. She looked over Mel's head to smile at Cole.

"Mel is always beautiful." Cole said softly, nodding in agreement with the women.

"Cole isn't the least bit biased, are you, Cole?" Jess teased, wrapping her arms around his waist and giving him a quick hug.

"No, Jess. Mel is beautiful." Cole stated seriously.

Mel blushed and avoided looking directly at Cole in front of her friends. She hadn't even mentioned Cole to them on the phone these past few months. How do you explain a handsome alien you allowed to live with you? Her friends weren't going to buy into the 'he can help around the bar' explanation that others who didn't know her as well had seemed to accept easily enough. These women knew her. Melanie Porter didn't pick up guys off the street and allow them to live with her. At least, she didn't used to, Mel amended silently.

Eager to leave and avoid any awkwardness around Cole, Mel suggested they go. "Ready?"

"All right, ladies. Let's hit the town!" Jess laughed, gathering her coat and purse from on top of the bar.

Rebecca and Lizzie proceeded to do the same.

Mel was buttoning her coat when Cole brought her scarf over to her. "You almost forgot this, Mel." He began to place the scarf around her neck, his fingers taking the opportunity to stroke the base of her throat gently for a moment. "You would be warmer in the other outfit, Mel." He softly pointed out.

Mel's eyes closed as soon as his hand began its gentle caress. The flood of soothing warmth and tenderness always did that to her. She couldn't keep the smile off her face though at his gentle rebuke. "I'm not wearing a snow suit, Cole."

"It's very warm, Mel."

Eyes still closed, she chuckled. "Yes, but not the least bit appropriate."

Cole stepped closer to her and placed his forehead against hers, whispering so the others wouldn't hear. "The thin blouse you are wearing, Mel, hardly covers your signatures. It's going to get very cold tonight, Mel."

She wasn't buying it. Mel opened her eyes and smiled back at him. "You don't have to worry, Cole. I'm just going to spend the evening with my friends. I'll be fine."

He continued to caress her but frowned. "Yes, Mel. But if you start to feel lucky, you should come home, okay?"

She giggled and reached up to caress his cheek, taking another second or two to smooth back a lock of dark hair that had fallen forward, making him look like a little boy. "Okay, Cole. I promise."

He smiled at her and nodded. His fingers ceased their magic and he very carefully wrapped the scarf around her throat, covering up the exposed soft skin. "Stay warm, Mel."

Mel took a deep breath and slowly released it. Cole always had such an overwhelming effect on her. Stepping back from him, Mel turned around to face her friends and found all three women staring at her and Cole with unblinking expressions.

Jess sighed and turned to the other two women, her voice a soft whisper. "What did I tell you? Bloody romantic, it is."

"If I were fifteen years older, I'd swear I just experienced a hot flash." Lizzie quipped, her eyes honing in on the Tracker. "You're absolutely right, Jess. He does adore her, doesn't he?"

"I'm not sure adore is the right term." Rebecca stated. "I'm not sure there is a term to cover what we just witnessed, at least not here on Earth." She added with a soft chuckle.

"Shall we get some dinner first, before the clubs?" Mel suggested, gathering her friends out the door. "Who feels like Italian?"

Lizzie turned back to admire the handsome man who was so obviously in love with one of her oldest friends. "Oh, Italian is always a wise choice; in the kitchen or the bedroom." She quipped.

All four women dissolved into giggles as they exited the Watchfire.

The Tracker watched them go with a worried expression. Mel really should have worn the snow suit, he told himself.

"I'm telling you this guy is incredible. I saw him perform in LA one time. He had this guy on stage doing the hokey-pokey. It was hilarious." Lizzie chuckled as she assured her friends they were in for an entertaining show. "The guy from the audience weighed about 250 pounds and looked like a linebacker or something, but there he was, up on stage, putting his left foot in and shaking it all about, then spinning around with his hands in the air. I almost fell out of my chair, I was laughing so hard."

Mel giggled and took another sip of her gin martini. Rebecca was sitting back smiling at Lizzie. And Jess, Mel noted, was absolutely enthralled, waiting to hear whatever the next words were that would be coming out of Lizzie's mouth. Mel shook her curls and gave Rebecca a wink. Their Lizzie always had that effect on people. She was a handful and a half.

Rebecca leaned over to Mel. "You managed to avoid our questions pretty well at dinner. When do we hear the scoop on your handsome Cole?"

Mel sighed. "Rebecca, Cole is just…well…Cole. He's not like other guys."

"Obviously not." Rebecca said knowingly. "I've never seen you act this way with other guys. You've got that look about you."

"What look?" Mel questioned nervously.

"The look that clearly says 'Oh My God, I've found the guy, now what do I do with him?'" Rebecca laughed.

Mel tried not to laugh, but two glasses of wine at dinner and one gin martini after had its way with her; she giggled. "Yeah… maybe." She admitted softly.

"Maybe." Rebecca repeated. Her eyes were bright with amusement. "The way he touched you seemed to indicate a bit more than 'maybe'."

"Cole always touches me like that. It's just his way. He's very compassionate."

"Did I hear the word 'passionate'?" Lizzie interrupted. "I have sensitive hearing, you know. My ears always pick up on anything related to sex."

Jess burst out laughing and Rebecca and Mel smiled. "We know." Mel stated. "I remember our days in the dorm, very well. You never missed a beat. And there was a lot of talk about sex in the dorm, if I recall."

"Sex is a marvelous thing. So tell us, how is Cole?" Lizzie grinned. "As if I need to ask with that body of his, the question is surely a no-brainer, but… one does so live for the details, doesn't one?"

"Give up! She won't tell me and I've been hounding her for a couple of months." Jess told them with a pout.

"Ah…mystery…I'm intrigued." Lizzie chuckled.

Mel shook her head at both of them. "Stop it. My relationship with Cole is very…private…it's unique." Mel added thoughtfully.

"He's unique." Lizzie said to Jess. "Unique is good. So are we talking role-playing here, S&M, although I must say I'll be surprised if that is the one because quite frankly the way that man touches you hardly says S&M, so exactly what are we talking about here, sweet Mel? Give your best friends a hint."

Her mouth still open at even the suggestion of Cole being into any kind of pain and bondage associated with lovemaking, Mel sputtered. "Don't be ridiculous. Cole would never…well…he just wouldn't…I mean he is too gentle…and…well…he wouldn't."

Lizzie turned back to Jess. "He wouldn't." Her lips were twitching. "Okay, no S got it. So, he's gentle…ooh…let's see…uniquely gentle…hmm…rabbit fur mitts perhaps with a massage? Or was it mink? I saw that once in a James Bond movie. Sean knew how to touch a girl with a fur mitt." Lizzie sighed. Her expression turned thoughtful. "Cole looks a bit like a young Sean, don't you think? Wonder how he is with a soft mitt and a massage?"

"He likes to stroke her throat; got that down for bloody sure." Jess pointed out with a smirk for Mel.
Mel huffed and sat back in her chair. "I'm not falling for it. You are not going to manipulate me into giving either of you any details about my relationship with Cole. It's complicated and private."

"The show is about to start." Rebecca commented lightly.

Lizzie surveyed the stage. "So it is." Heavy sigh dramatically presented, she smiled at Mel. "We'll talk later, girlfriend. I'll find out how he is in bed, you know? You've known me long enough to know that much." A devilish grin accompanied the soft threat.

Mel accepted it with long-time familiarity. "Maybe not."

"So I was thinking one of us should volunteer to go up on stage. It'll be a blast, what do you think?" Jess suggested hopefully.

Horrified at even the thought of it, Mel stared aghast at her friend. "Are you nuts?"

Jess giggled and began to plead her case. "Come on, Mel. You could go up there. What better way to celebrate a weekend visit with friends than a memorable experience at a club? You know, twenty years from now, we could all look back and say 'you remember that night Mel got up on stage with a hypnotist?'"

"I'd rather say 'you remember that night we saw a hypnotist but none of us were stupid enough to go up there?'"

"No sense of adventure, that one." Jess remarked to Lizzie and Rebecca.

"Ha!" Mel responded quickly. "I do too have a sense of adventure. But I'm not going to stand up there on stage and let that man do Lord-knows-what."

"He's only going to hypnotize you, dear; he can't do Lord-knows-what on stage without getting arrested." Lizzie quipped.

Rebecca laughed and Mel gave Lizzie a go-to-hell look. "Very funny. I'm not doing it."

"What if we promise you we won't let him make you do the hokey-pokey?" Jess laughed.

"You're taking this all wrong, Mel." Lizzie said. "A hypnotist can't make you do anything that you would strongly object to."

That made Mel pause. "They can't?"

"No, they can't. The subconscious won't allow you to do anything that you wouldn't ordinarily do under different circumstances. I mean the linebacker who did the hokey-pokey didn't plan to do it that night, but… and this is the important thing to remember…he didn't strongly object to ever doing the hokey-pokey or he wouldn't have been able to become hypnotized into doing it. In fact, he probably has done the hokey-pokey any number of times when he was a child."

"That's right, Mel. I read about it once. People can't be hypnotized to commit acts they wouldn't ordinarily do. If that were the case, then people would be trying to hypnotize people into committing murder and all sorts of crimes. But it doesn't work like that. If you wouldn't do it normally, you can't be made to do it under hypnosis." Jess assured her.

"Oh." Mel shrugged. "Well that's nice to know, but it doesn't change the fact that I do not want to get up on stage and have that man hypnotize me."

"Okay." Jess answered with a shrug of indifference. "We tried. Here Mel, let's order another round of drinks. I'm out." Jess signaled for a waitress and when she arrived at their table proceeded to order a second round. "Another gin martini, Mel?" She asked sweetly.

"Sure." Mel smiled. "It's a girl's night out, why not?"

"My feelings exactly." Jess concurred, winking at Rebecca and Lizzie.

"I let you two go too far, I think." Rebecca stated softly, trailing behind an extremely tipsy Mel.

"You are not our Mother." Lizzie remarked smartly, her arms going around the worried Rebecca for a quick hug of reassurance. "Not that we don't love you anyway." She pecked the pretty redhead on the cheek and grinned at her as they made their way through the crowd.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves, both of you." Rebecca admonished, sending a reproachful look in Jess' direction.

"I've got nothing to be bloody ashamed about." Jess announced with a soft hiccough. "Oops!" She giggled.

"It was your idea." Rebecca reminded the petite blonde.

"Oh yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Jess stopped walking and stared at Mel several feet in front of them. "Well, it is all for a good cause. Bloody Hell, someone had to do something or they would just keep looking into each other's eyes all night long and getting no where."

"He's living with her." Lizzie reminded both of them. "If Mel has moved him into her apartment, I would think they are doing a bit more than staring into each other's eyes."

Jess avoided both women's inquiring glances and focused on the back of Mel. "Mel!" She shouted, skipping forward to join the young woman. "Wait up!"

Mel spun around at hearing Jess call her, and had to take a moment with outstretched arms to regain her equilibrium. Since when did the ground start shaking like that? She asked herself.

Lizzie watched a drunken Jess attempt to hold a tipsy Mel in place. "Look at them, Rebecca!" She giggled. "They need our help."

"I'm pretty sure you have helped Mel enough this night." The wry comment came with a secret smile of amusement.

"Hey, don't get all stuffy-shirt on me." Lizzie complained. "You thought it was pretty funny yourself. I saw you laughing when Jess told the hypnotist to not only have Mel follow the suggestion but make her forget she had done so immediately after."

"Well of course I laughed at that. It was a stroke of pure brilliance. That doesn't mean I can't carry a little guilt about it though." Rebecca admitted. "Mel will kill us when she finds out; you do know that, don't you, Lizzie?"

Unfazed by the prospect, Lizzie tossed back her head and gave her best friend one of her most winning smiles. "Of course, darling, that's the whole point, isn't it? What fun would it be if Mel never found out we had something to do with it?" Her feminine laughter had Jess and Mel spinning back around in Lizzie's direction.

"What's so funny?" Mel asked, holding onto Jess' arm for balance. The damn ground was shaking again.

"Nothing yet." Lizzie answered with a tilt of her naughty head. "But I'm sure something will be quite soon. Don't you think so, Jess?"

"Bloody hilarious, I'm willing to bet." Jess giggled.

"Come on, all of you. I see a taxi." Rebecca flagged down the cab and sighed at the spectacle they made trying to decide who rode in the back and which one of them should ride up front with the driver.

"The Watchfire Bar, please." Mel gave their destination to the driver and rolled her head against the back seat, smiling at her two college friends.

"Watchfire, huh? I've been in there before. Classy joint. Not the type of bar where you see women throwing themselves all over the guys, you know? It has more style and elegance to it."

"Yeah, well some things change." Jess giggled from the passenger seat beside the driver.

Mel closed her eyes as she adjusted to the motion of the vehicle, thereby missing the knowing looks that were passed between her friends.

The four women stumbled into the Watchfire amid a cloud of perfume and giggles, with a few snow flurries tossed in the mix.

Cole looked up from behind the bar and grinned when he spotted them. Relief was chief among his emotions when he noticed Mel had stayed with her friends and apparently had not come home 'lucky.'

Jonas set his drink down on the bar and looked over his shoulder at the arriving females. "She's back, boy. You can relax now."

"Yes, Jonas." Cole nodded thankfully.

The lawyer smiled at his former client, unable to resist teasing the man a little. He had been watching the entrance for the last two hours, waiting for Mel to make it back.

"Cole!" Mel waved at him as she made her way over to where he worked. "Hello, Jonas." She gave the old friend a huge smile and kissed him on the cheek. "Been keeping Cole company?"

"Someone had to, Mel. You abandoned the boy and he's been lost ever since." Jonas laughed.

Rebecca and Lizzie followed the stumbling Jess over to the men. "Hey, Jonas." Jess greeted happily. "Have you met Mel's friends, Lizzie and Rebecca?"

"I haven't had the pleasure, no." The lawyer replied courteously.

Rebecca extended her hand to him. "I'm Rebecca." Jonas took the delicate hand in his and kissed the back of it. She possessed a quiet beauty that greatly appealed to the intelligent man.

"A pleasure, I'm sure." Jonas cleared his throat. "You've known Mel for years, I take it?" Suddenly uncomfortable at feeling an attraction for a young woman who was the age of Mel, a woman he tended to think of with fatherly affection, Jonas dropped her hand and returned her smile with a weak imitation.

"Yes, I have." Rebecca replied with a gentle smile, her light eyes appraising the attractive features of the older man. Rebecca had a thing for mature intelligent men. She almost always dated men several years older than herself. This one had potential. There was a sadness about him though that practically screamed for her to soothe.

She'd ask Mel about him later, she decided. That is, if Mel were speaking to her later, she amended silently with a spontaneous chuckle.

"I'm Lizzie." The sultry brunette shoved Rebecca to the side and flashed the bewildered Jonas a million watt smile.

"It's nice to meet you." Jonas replied uncertainly. Lizzie took his hand. She winked at him.

Jonas didn't quite know what to make of that.

Rebecca covered her responding smile. Nothing pleased Lizzie more than to throw a man off balance. Some things were a given in this life.

The pretty redhead knew Lizzie wasn't the least bit interested in Jonas. Lizzie had a weakness for the dark-haired-warrior-type, preferably with a Scottish accent, but she had picked up on the fact that Rebecca might be interested and Lizzie was setting the stage. Rebecca sighed. It was a bit demoralizing to realize that after all these years; Lizzie still felt she had to help Rebecca along when it came to ensnaring the next male in her life. It came close to being insulting if it weren't for the fact that she knew Lizzie loved her like a sister and would die for her if necessary. Those kinds of facts made anger at the interfering friend more difficult. So Rebecca just watched and waited. She had become adept at it. If Lizzie played true to form, she would smile and tease and give a significant boost to Jonas' masculine confidence, leaving the way open for the quiet Rebecca to make her move.

"And I'm Mel." Mel giggled, shaking Jonas' hand and almost tipping over as she did. Jess reached out and righted her.

"Whoa, there, Mel. I told you when we got out of the cab, you have to pay attention to the ground; the bloody thing is movin' and tryin' to trip us." Jess warned in a strong English accent.

Nodding seriously to Jess' warning, Mel studied her feet.

Jess looked down and watched her own.

Jonas smirked at Cole. "I think the ladies celebrated a little tonight."

Lizzie linked arms with Rebecca, leaning against her. "Oh, we celebrated a lot!" Looking up at Cole, she added coyly. "And you, handsome, can thank us later, if you like."

Perplexed, Cole asked. "I should thank you for taking Mel with you to celebrate?"

Lizzie grinned, her silky fingers reaching across the bar to stroke the side of his face. "No darling, you should thank us for the manner in which we celebrated." Releasing a deep sigh that held more than a touch of envy in it, she looked over to Mel. "You'll see soon enough. Enjoy." She purred, her fingers trailing down his cheek and across his broad chest.

Cole's eyes followed her touch as it caressed his chest. Unsettled at having another woman touch him in a fashion he now understood was intimate, Cole stepped back. Mel was the only woman he allowed to 'rub his chest.'

Mel was the only woman he wanted to rub his chest.

Cole looked over at Mel. There was a crease between her beautiful eyes as she studiously concentrated on her feet and the surrounding floor around them. "Mel?"

Jess nudged her friend with her elbow. "Cole is talking to you, Mel."

"Oh." Mel looked up and smiled sweetly at her handsome Cirronian. "What is it, Cole? Did you have any problems tonight in the bar?"

"No, Mel. No problems." He denied easily. "Why are you watching your shoes, Mel? Is there something wrong?"

Lizzie giggled and Rebecca laughed. Jess looked back up at Cole. "The ground has been movin' all bloody night, Cole. Mel and I have almost fallen several times."

Certain that his Cirronian abilities would have noticed tremors if there had been any, Cole gave Jess a strange look. "We have not felt any movement here, Jess."

"You haven't?" The pretty blonde asked.

"No, Jess."

Shaking her head, Jess grabbed Mel's arm. "Stop watching your feet, Mel," she ordered. "Cole says the ground isn't movin'. We must be drunk then." She announced simply. "I think that fourth round of drinks was probably a bad idea."

Mel started to giggle. "You said it was imperative on every 'girl's night out.'"

"It is imperative, but I never claimed it wouldn't make us drunk, did I?" Jess pointed out with a giggle.

Mel thought about that. "No, you didn't."

"You had four rounds of drinks, Mel?" Cole asked with concern. "You never drink that much." The Tracker commented, coming out from behind the bar and over to Mel.

Insulted, Mel threw her chin up. "I did not have four rounds of drinks, Cole."

"Oh, that is good, Mel, because that is too many drinks for you."

"I had four rounds of drinks and two glasses of wine before the rounds of drinks." Mel poked him in the chest with her finger. "We had Italian." She added with a heavy sigh.

"Food, not men." Lizzie clarified quickly.

Jess fell over laughing. Mel started giggling and leaned against Cole. "That's right. No Italian men around at all."

"We might hav' had' em if there had been." Jess quipped. "After all, Mel did say she was cravin' Italian, didn't she, Lizzie?"

"Who doesn't, darling? Who doesn't?" Lizzie gave a throaty laugh, winking at Jonas.

Time to take control, Rebecca thought to herself, before this disintegrated into something worse than it already was. "I think we should probably call it a night, hmm? Lizzie and I should return to the hotel. Jess, you should probably go home. Maybe someone could drive you? And Cole, we can count on you to see Mel safely to bed, can't we?"

 Jess began to giggle. "Oooh, Cole….beats tending bar, doesn't it? Tucking Mel into bed." Jess winked at Cole. "Reminds me of a poem I once knew… how did it go…something about a girl in her bed being tucked…I can't remember all of it, but I know part of it rhymed with 'tucked'." Jess swayed against Cole with a bewildered expression on her face.

Raising her finger to get Jess' attention, Lizzie jumped in. "Let me finish it for you dear, I know that poem. 'There once was a girl being tucked…" Lizzie began before Rebecca clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I think we can all wait until another day to finish hearing this enriching and I'm sure intellectually stimulating poetry." Rebecca suggested. "Come on, Lizzie. We should go."

"You don't like my poetry, Rebecca?" Lizzie asked.

"I love your poetry, dear. You can recite more of it in the cab on the way to the hotel, okay?" She said sweetly to appease her inebriated friend. Turning back to Cole, Rebecca asked. "Cole, you will take care of Mel, won't you?"

"Yes, Rebecca. Mel is safe with me." Cole assured Mel's friend as he held a limp Mel against his side. At least she wasn't looking at her shoes anymore. "And I will see that Jess gets home safely too."

"Good." Rebecca answered. She turned to Jonas. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Jonas. Perhaps we could meet again before I have to leave town?"

"I would like that, Rebecca." Jonas shyly answered.

"Good."

"Cole?" Mel raised her head off of Cole's chest to look up at him. It took her a minute to decide which Cole she wanted to speak to. There were two of them. Both of them were incredibly handsome and very sweet. In the end she decided either would do. "Cole? Are you going to tuck me in bed?"

Cole glanced down at Mel, wearing a tolerant smile. "Yes, Mel."

Her expression immediately changed to one Cole had never seen Mel wear before. Her hands traveled up his chest and clasped the back of his neck. "Oh, I love it when you say, 'yes, Mel,' in that sexy voice of yours. I just love it." Mel purred just before she drew his head down to hers and covered his mouth with her eager lips.

Jess stepped away from where she had been standing next to Cole and covered her giggles with her palm. "Uh oh."

Lizzie spun back around to where Mel was kissing Cole and chuckled, looking over to Jess for confirmation as she whispered. "I missed it. It's all Rebecca's fault. Did he say it?"

"See for yourself." Jess indicated the kissing couple beside them.

Stunned by Mel's sudden desire to kiss him and in the Watchfire too no less, in front of other people, Cole gracefully accepted the kiss and enjoyed it, but he was certainly curious about Mel's sudden change in behavior.

Rebecca nervously looked over at Jonas. "Umm…maybe we should go?"

"We haven't said good-bye to Mel, yet." Lizzie laughed.

"I don't think she'll notice at the moment." Rebecca quipped.

"Rebecca! You always ruin my fun. Let's stay and watch." She said in a low voice.

"Lizzie." Rebecca shook her head.

Cole broke off Mel's kiss, gently but with more firmness than he had expected to use, especially when she had resisted and tugged on him to continue kissing her. "Mel?" Cole said her name in obvious bafflement. "We are not alone, Mel." He whispered softly to her face, before looking up at the women and Jonas watching him very closely. His confusion at Mel's kiss was painfully obvious.

Mel sighed and began toying with the hair that brushed against his collar. "I know, Cole. But I can't help it. I want you so much and I don't care who knows it." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "Kiss me, again, Cole." Her lips started raining tiny kisses down on his face and neck as he pulled at her arms and tried to remove them without hurting her.

"No, Mel." He said gently.

"Cole…" She pleaded softly, capturing his attention with her imploring tone. When he stopped fighting her clinging arms and waited for her to finish, Mel took strategic advantage of the situation. "Have I told you how much I love to see you when I walk in the Watchfire?"

Cole shook his head no and watched Mel's hands as they traveled over his chest in much the same way Lizzie's hands had. The effect when Mel did it was much stronger than what he had experienced with Lizzie. It was affecting his respiration. He was rapidly becoming distracted.

"I love to walk in and see you here. It makes me smile. It lifts my spirits. It makes my heart glad." She confessed sweetly. "It raises my temperature." Mel added in a husky voice, her hands making quick work of burrowing beneath his sweater.

Cole looked up to the interested faces watching them, his own bemusement clear to all. "Mel, what are you doing?"

Mel looked at him sweetly. "I'm undressing you. I think you look best with a bare chest." She explained with an indulgent smile.

Laughter erupted from both Lizzie and Jess. Rebecca hid her smile by looking down at the floor of the Watchfire, avoiding the watchful gaze of Jonas.

Cole frowned down at Mel's busy hands. He proceeded to have a tug of war with Mel over his sweater. "Mel, you are not acting like yourself."

"Oh, yes I am." Mel argued softly, grinning at Cole as she began to pull his sweater up again. "Come on, Cole. You've taken off your clothes before in the bar. Remember the Full Monty Friday Night?"

Cole shook his head and holding her hands still, lowered his voice to a soft baritone whisper as he spoke gently to her sweet face. "Mel, you always said that one of the most important rules in the Watchfire is for me to keep my clothes on. No more walking around in only my underwear."

Mel cocked her head to the side and grinned at him. "Rules are made to be broken. Come here, big boy."

"No, Mel." Cole backed away, his expression concerned. "You are not thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking very clearly, Cole. I'm thinking of all sorts of things so clearly…it would frighten you." She giggled.

Sensing that Cole was in full retreat mode, Mel spun around and hopped up on the bar, her legs dangling off the side. Crooking her finger at Cole, wearing a sly smile, she called to him. "Come here, Cole."

Cole looked over at the others for a moment before shaking his head at Mel. "No, Mel. I don't think you should have had four drinks and two glasses of wine before those drinks."

Making a face, Mel motioned again, this time using a pleading voice. "Come on, Cole. It's important; I want to tell you something." She explained, her legs swinging in time to music only she could hear.

Mel looked innocently at Cole, offering him a sweet gentle smile of encouragement.

Cole smiled back, relieved to see a familiar expression on his Mel's face, and started toward her.

"He's not actually going to fall for that, is he?" Lizzie remarked disbelievingly to Jess and Rebecca.

"Looks like it." Rebecca replied.

"Surely not! Look at her! Mel never looked that innocent, even when she was." Lizzie quipped.

"Cole trusts Mel." Jonas remarked.

"Well sure, but come on! She's practically licking her lips." Lizzie laughed softly.

Cole stopped in front of Mel. "What is it, Mel?"

"Gotcha!" Mel shouted with a quick laugh, looping her arms around his neck and wrapping those long feminine legs of hers around his hips, crossing her ankles behind his work-of-art bum.

Jess turned to Lizzie. "She got him."

"He fell for it. I can't believe it. That's one of the oldest tricks in the book." Lizzie giggled.

Jess shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes I think Cole's book is a new edition."

Jonas chuckled at Jess' observation and at the way a startled Cole was dealing with Mel's overly enthusiastic kisses. "I don't think Cole is entirely comfortable with Mel's sudden public displays of affection."

Mel broke off her kiss, but kept her hold on the captured Cirronian. One hand left his neck to caress the side of his face. Laughing, Mel tossed back her curls and broke into song. "Baby Love, oh, Baby Love, I need you, oh how I need you."

Jess' eyes grew huge. She turned to a giggling Rebecca and Lizzie. "The Supremes?"

"Mel always sings The Supremes when she is tipsy." Lizzie informed them.

Jess looked back at Mel who was still crooning to the man she had captured. Cole wore an expression that struck Jess as a cross between Forrest Gump and Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy. "Well, sure, I mean The Supremes are classic, but her selection? Baby Love?"

"Don't throw our love away!" Mel's pretty voice continued to sing the lyrics while her hands dropped to Cole's belt and began unbuckling it.

Completely bemused by Mel's singing as well as her sudden affection, Cole decided he'd best get Mel out of the Watchfire and alone in the apartment before she managed to get his pants completely off of him. "Come on, Mel. You can sing to me upstairs." Cole told her gently, his arms going around her.

Still wrapped around him, Mel easily came off the bar.

"Mel says good-night." Cole told Rebecca, Lizzie, Jess and Jonas with a sincere smile, before turning toward the stairs with a long-limbed singing female wrapped around him.

Jess was bent over giggling when she saw Mel wave to them from over Cole's shoulder, her voice prettily singing, "Baby Love, oh Baby Love, let's do some kissing and making up."

Lizzie leaned against Rebecca. "How long has it been?"

Rebecca looked at her watch and sighed. "Almost four minutes."

Jess looked over to Lizzie. "Poor Cole. One minute left. Not much time."

All three women laughed.

"Maybe you three should tell me why a perfectly elegant and socially graceful young woman I've known most of her life would suddenly behave in that fashion in her own bar?" Jonas inquired with an expression Rebecca was certain had been honed in a thousand court rooms.

Rebecca turned to Jess and Lizzie. "Care to explain to Jonas?"

Lizzie sighed and then gave the lawyer a brilliant smile. "Well, you see, it was all Jess' idea."

"Mine!" Jess shouted in a shocked voice before realizing that it actually had been her idea. "Oh, yeah, it was, wasn't it?" She started to giggle. "Well, Lizzie liked it too."

"It was brilliant, darling." Lizzie agreed.

"That right there should have been your signal to reevaluate the whole plan." Rebecca quipped smugly.

Jess and Lizzie both frowned at the redhead.

Jonas sighed and studied the women in front of him. "What exactly did you do?"

"Oh, we didn't do anything." Lizzie told him honestly. "The hypnotist did all the work."

"Well, that's not entirely true. We did give him the suggestion, after all." Jess felt obligated to tell the truth.

"A hypnotist?" Jonas asked, his expression clearing quickly. "Ah… I'm starting to see what is going on here. Perhaps one of you better tell me exactly what this suggestion was, hmm?"

A pretty redhead, a perky blonde, and a devious brunette all shuffled their feet and avoided the lawyer's penetrating gaze.

"Now!" Jonas insisted.

Three pretty heads popped up and frowned. Lizzie was the first to speak. "Well, nothing too horrible. And besides it only lasts five minutes. She should be back to normal any second now."

"Back to normal?" Jonas repeated. "What was the suggestion?"

Jess looked back at Lizzie and Rebecca then shrugged. "Nothing cruel, Jonas. We love Mel. We just thought that sometimes Mel keeps things to herself and maybe with Cole, she shouldn't."

Jonas released a deep sigh. "I see." He shook his head at them.

Lizzie took pity on Jess. "When she hears a certain phrase from Cole, for the next five minutes, Mel will show and tell him exactly how she feels. Complete honesty for five minutes, uninhibited honesty."

 Jonas stared at them with a shocked expression.

"Good grief, Jonas, don't look at us like we're criminals or something. Men are always saying how they want women to come out and tell them exactly what they are thinking; that they are tired of trying to guess how we feel." Jess argued. "Besides, Mel has deep feelings for Cole and it's obvious Cole returns those feelings, yet they seem to always back away, rather than going forward, if you know what I mean, and I just thought this might give them a little push in the right direction."

"Unbelievable." Jonas sat back down on the barstool and took another sip of his drink.

"It's a brilliant plan, really. Have another drink and it will grow on you." Lizzie suggested with a chuckle. "You haven't even heard the best part." Seeing that she once again had his attention, she added, "When the five minutes is over, Mel won't remember any of it." Lizzie looked over at Jess and both women started giggling again.

Jonas covered his eyes with his hands. "Good Lord!" Looking up at the giggling females in front of him, Jonas found his smile again. "The phrase, 'with friends like these, who needs enemies,' comes to mind for some reason."

"That particular saying frequently comes to mind when I'm with Lizzie." Rebecca commented with a light chuckle.

 

Cole carried an affectionate and lyrical Mel up the stairs and through the door to the apartment. It wasn't easy opening the door when she shifted her weight and began nibbling on his ear. The Tracker managed though.

"I love your ears." Mel whispered softly.

Cole nodded, unsure of what to say to that little piece of information.

"I've been considering your wardrobe, Cole."

Cole looked down at where Mel was smoothing the front of his sweater as he carried her over to the couch.

"I think you look your best wearing what you've got on tonight." Mel told him with a coy smile.

"I thought you liked the red sweater the best, Mel."

"The red is nice on you, but this is better." Mel replied.

"I'll remember you like this blue one, Mel." Cole answered with a half-smile.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about the sweater, Cole. I was talking about me. I think you look best wearing me." She giggled, hugging him tightly. "You should wear me all the time." She purred, nipping at his bottom lip.

Startled at the love bite, Cole frowned at the woman draped all over him. "Mel…you shouldn't go on any more 'girl's nights out.'"

"Put me down on the couch, Cole. I'm getting dizzy up here." Mel mumbled.

"Okay, Mel." Cole gently placed Mel on the couch and waited for her to drop her arms from around his neck.

Mel pulled the Tracker down on top of her. "Gotcha again!" Mel giggled. She looked down at where his body fell on top of hers and purred. "Now I like what I'm wearing."

The Tracker gave her a tender look, his mouth curving upward. "Mel, you are drunk."

"Yep." She admitted easily enough. "I am most definitely drunk. I can tell. There are two of you. Both are adorable, by the way. Which one is going to make love to me?"

Cole grinned. He couldn't help it. "Mel, you need to sleep."

"I will. After." She clarified, kissing him, her hands dipping down to that pesky belt buckle she had been struggling with earlier.

Cole lifted himself up a few inches and watched the progress of her fingers. "Mel." His look was amused.

"I can't get the stupid thing undone. Stand up, Cole; you'll have to do it."

Nodding, Cole stood up. But his hands didn't touch the buckle. "I'm going to get you a cup of herbal tea, Mel; something to help you sleep."

Mel admired his work-of-art bum as he headed into the kitchen before sighing heavily and flopping back against the couch. "Drats! He got away." She groaned. "I'll catch him again in a minute. I still say he looks better without clothes."

Cole puttered around in the kitchen for a couple of minutes, heating the water for Mel's tea in the microwave while he considered Mel's strange behavior. Even allowing for the effects of alcohol, Mel had not behaved in what he would term a 'normal' fashion. It was a puzzle for the Cirronian.

Mel walked in the kitchen. "Hello, Cole."

Cole nodded. "Hello, Mel. Your tea isn't quite ready."

"My tea?" Mel asked; her expression puzzled. "You're making tea for me?"

Cole turned from where he was retrieving the cup from the microwave and studied her. "I told you I was."

"Did you? I don't remember. Isn't that strange? I was downstairs with Lizzie and Jess and Rebecca. Jonas was there and I think I had too many rounds of gin martinis. The floor was moving. Jess and I were watching for earthquakes." She laughed and shook her curls. "Did you help me upstairs, Cole, because I can't remember how I got here?"

The Tracker nodded and gave her a tender smile. "You needed my help, Mel."

"Oh." She looked embarrassed. "Well, fortunately, I don't drink that often. Girl's nights out are rare lately."

"Probably for the best, Mel." Cole advised with a tender look.

"Yeah, probably." She admitted with a yawn she delicately covered with her palm. "I'm really beat, Cole. I don't think I can stay awake for my tea. I think I'll just go to bed without it, okay?"

"All right, Mel. You should sleep."

"Good-night, Cole."

"Good-night, Mel." Cole caressed her throat gently for just a few seconds. "Sleep well."

"Thank-you, Cole."

The Tracker watched her with a wistful expression as she stumbled off to her bedroom. Part of him desired to join her there.

Mel pounded her pillow three times and still couldn't get the blasted thing in the shape she wanted. Finally she accepted the truth that it was probably her and not the pillow that was the problem. Why did she wake up? Lord knew she had ingested enough alcohol to send her off to sleepytown three times over.

Falling asleep hadn't been the problem, but staying asleep seemed to be a monumental dilemma.

Mel flopped back over to her back and stared at the ceiling. Then she flipped to her side and stared at the windows, catching glimpses of passing headlights from the street below.

Finally giving up, Mel slipped on her robe and went looking for Cole. Maybe he needed some help in the war room? Probably not, but sometimes she could assist him, she told herself. Whether she was able to help him or not, she would at least have something to do; a little late-night conversation beat tossing and turning in her bed.

His door was partially open. Mel stood beside it and poked her head in the room. "Cole? You busy?"

The Tracker looked up from his computer screen. "Mel?" He studied her beautiful face. "Is there something wrong? You should be sleeping."

"Can't sleep." Mel shrugged as she walked the rest of the way into the room.

"You fell asleep earlier." Cole stated.

Surprised, Mel looked over at him. "Yeah, I did, but I can't seem to stay asleep. How did you know I slept earlier?"

"I checked on you." Cole replied simply.

"Oh." Mel decided it would probably be best to avoid that ensuing discussion. She picked up her curling iron which looked somewhat different than the last time she had used it and began to fiddle with it. "Well, I did fall asleep pretty fast, I think, like when my head hit the pillow, but for some reason, I woke up."

"Would you like me to make you some herbal tea?" Cole offered with a gentle smile.

Mel looked over at him and gave him a sweet smile. "No, thank-you, Cole, I don't think tea will help."

He nodded and watched her curiously. "Is there something else I can do for you, Mel?"

Now there was a loaded question, she thought to herself. Grinning at him, Mel shook her head. "Not really, Cole. It's just insomnia, probably induced by too much alcohol." She replied with self-mockery. "You know, Cole, I still don't remember much after we entered the Watchfire. Please tell me I was a well-behaved drunk."

Cole's lips twitched. "You didn't act like yourself, Mel, but you didn't do anything that would warrant sending a Tracker after you."

She laughed, her hand brushing stray curls out of her face. "Good. That's a relief. Nothing warranting a Cirronian Tracker, huh? Good to know." Mel admitted with another chuckle.

Cole watched her with dark eyes and a partial smile.

Mel leaned against his desk and looked over at his computer screen. "So, working on anything interesting?"

"You wouldn't find much in it to interest you, Mel."

"Oh. Well, then, would you consider taking a break and talking to me for a little bit, just until I get sleepy again?" She asked sweetly.

Smiling at her, Cole clicked on something near his screen and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, Mel. What did you wish to talk about?"

Mel cocked her head to one side and took a moment to admire the fine masculine specimen sitting in front of her. "I think I'd like to take you up on your previous offer, Cole."

Suddenly uneasy at Mel's expression, Cole shifted slightly in his chair. "You want me to make you some tea after all, Mel?"

"Not tea. The other offer." Mel reached out and began to run her fingers through his dark hair. It was so soft and slightly curly. "The 'something else' you can get for me." She clarified as she suddenly braced her hands on both of his shoulders and straddled his lap. "I can think of several 'something else's' I might like for you to do for me."

The Tracker swallowed once and began to develop a better understanding of the human phrase 'déjà vu.'

"Let's start with a kiss to knock my socks off, shall we?" Mel chuckled, leaning forward so that her breasts rubbed against his broad chest. "And why don't you put a little extra spark in this one, hmm? And some tongue." She added with a feminine laugh.

Cole never got a chance to answer her. She took possession of his mouth too quickly for a response.

Mel tasted sweet. So very sweet. And her body was warm and soft against his. Everything about her was soft and sweet and inviting. Cole gave up trying to understand why Mel was acting this way, at least for the moment, and concentrated instead on giving her exactly what she had asked him for; a kiss to knock her socks off.

Cole put the extra spark into it too, just like she had asked, and the tongue.

Mel practically purred her approval. Her arms folded around his neck and she shifted her hips to grind against his pelvis. "God, yes." She moaned with her eyes closed after the kiss ended. "Oh, Cole, you do that so well. I mean….really well."

"Thank you, Mel." Cole gave her a quick grin. "Did it knock your socks off?" He teased lightly, his fingers brushing strawberry-blonde curls out of her eyes so that he could gaze into them better.

Mel chuckled and shook her head. "Not wearing any, Cole. But if I were…wow…no sock would be safe." Mel watched him closely, her lips turning up at the edges. "Come to think of it, there are many things I'm not wearing at the moment…" Her grin grew wider at his raised eyebrow. "Like a bra," Mel leaned forward and rubbed her breasts against his chest again, "and, oh look, there goes my robe." Mel unbelted the garment and allowed it to slip off her shoulders, leaving her clad in only a very thin nightgown with spaghetti straps. Cole's lips twitched at the same time his eyes took in the softness and beauty of her pale skin.

"Mel…" Cole started to speak but Mel covered his mouth with two of her fingers, shushing him.

"No…I love to hear your voice, Cole, but I'm not through telling you what all I'm not wearing." She smiled coyly. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, no bra, see?" Mel brought his wonderful hands up to her breasts and positioned a palm over each, holding them in place there while she stroked the back of his talented hands.

Her smile grew brighter when she noticed his eyes darken with sudden desire. "Oh, yes, that feels good, doesn't it, Cole? I love your hands, you know. Have I ever told you that?" She asked softly.

The Tracker shook his head and took a deep breath.

"I do. I absolutely love your hands." She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "I sometimes dream of your hands and what magic they are capable of. Sometimes when I'm in bed, I fantasize about getting up and coming in here just like this and letting you run your hands over my body, the pleasure they can give me."

"Mel…" Cole watched her face.

She stopped him again, this time with her lips. "Shush, don't tell me 'no,' Cole. I can't bear it tonight."

It was his turn to close his eyes, his mind and his heart doing battle with each other.

Sensing that he was more troubled than she wanted him to be, Mel put on a teasing smile, hoping to restore a lighter note to their lovemaking. "Now, where were we, hmm? Oh yeah, I'm not wearing any panties either, Cole." She whispered against his lips.

He looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"I have a small confession, Cole. Do you want to hear it?" Mel asked him, her hands back in his hair while her lips were busy tasting his. "I once told you that there was not a 'jump on the bones thing' happening between us." Mel brought her body closer to his, pressing her breasts and pelvis against him. "I lied."

She covered his mouth with a gentle kiss that was in deep contrast to the hard motion of her body against his. "In case you failed to notice, I'm hot for you." She chuckled. "I have been from the beginning, I'm afraid. Well almost the beginning." She admitted. "Definitely since the whole Fek-Maln thing."

Cole stared at her, his expression uncertain and somewhat surprised.

"This shouldn't surprise you, Cole. You have a way of pushing a girl up against a wall that gets all the right juices going."

Mel laughed and looked down at his hands. They were still holding her breasts. "You can move those, you know?"

The Tracker smiled back at her. "I like them where they are for the moment."

Mel grinned and nodded. "Yeah, it's not a bad place to rest them." She kissed him again and moaned softly when he took control of the kiss.

"It's going to be rather difficult continuing this in a chair that rolls, Cole." Mel quipped.

"Where would you like me to take you, Mel?" He asked gently.

Lips twitching, Mel provided his answer. "Well, there's a question…hmm? Should I answer truthfully or like a lady?" Mel teased him. "You're Cirronian and the truth is very big with you guys, so I'll go with the truth." She punctuated her next words with tiny kisses every time she named a new location. "I'd like you to take me on the bed, on the couch, in this chair, in the bathtub, up against the refrigerator, on the stairs, on the bar downstairs, behind the bar downstairs, and quite possibly the pool table." Mel stopped kissing him and indulged in a moment of considered thought. "Oh yeah, and up against that building downtown, you know the one I'm talking about, the one that started it all." Mel admitted with a feminine chuckle.

Cole gave Mel an uncertain look.

"Too honest for you, baby?" Mel nodded and then proceeded to kiss the worry off of his face. "It's okay. I promise to be gentle." She whispered, crushing her lips against his.

Laughing, Mel ended the kiss and climbed off of his lap. "Come on, Cole. We'll start with the bed. We'll work our way down to the pool table."

Cole allowed Mel to take him by the hand and followed her out of the war room and around the corner into her bedroom.

Mel stopped by her bed, stared down at the rumpled covers for a moment before looking back up at him. "Cole? Why are you in my bedroom?"

The Tracker tilted his head and studied his sweet Mel's expression. She was back to normal. Nodding, he answered her. "We were going to start here."

"Start what?" Mel asked him, her eyes full of more questions than she was asking.

Cole gave her a gentle smile. "Getting you to sleep, Mel; you woke up, remember?"

"Yeah, I did, I remember. I thought I'd talk to you for a while, until I got sleepy."

"You're sleepy now, Mel. Climb in bed. I'll tuck you in." Cole pulled the covers back and watched her slide beneath them, admiring her slender legs as she did and remembering she had told him she wasn't wearing any panties. The Tracker gave a deep sigh.

Mel chuckled and grinned up at him. "Sorry, just a stray thought. Lizzie used to recite this poem in college about a girl being tucked in bed." Rolling her eyes at the memory and the fact that infamous poem had been mentioned more than once tonight. Mel cleared her throat and dropped the subject. "Thanks, Cole. It's been a long night. I think I can sleep now."

"I'll make sure, Mel." Cole informed her, raising his palm and placing it over her forehead.

"That isn't necess…" Mel went to sleep as soon as his hand passed over her face.

"Do it for me, Mel." Cole told her with a shake of his head. He didn't need a 'different Mel' approaching him again this night.

His willpower wasn't that strong.

"Cole?" Mel called from the other side of the bathroom door. The Tracker looked up at the door and frowned. He had hoped Mel would sleep longer than she had. After the 'girl's night out' she had indulged in, not to mention the drinks she had consumed, Cole strongly felt Mel could use a longer period of rest. It was only a few minutes after ten in the morning. The Watchfire was just now opening and there wouldn't be many customers until around lunchtime.

"Did you have any breakfast, Cole?" Mel called sweetly. "I was going to prepare some pancakes and thought you might like some too if you haven't already eaten."

Mel sounded like Mel. Cole smiled to himself. "No, Mel, I haven't eaten yet. I'll be out in a minute."

"Good. You can keep me company over breakfast then. Pancakes sound okay? Or would you prefer something else?"

"Yes, Mel; pancakes sound good." Cole answered, picking up the bar of soap and going to work on his chest.

The bathroom door opened and Cole winced when he caught the expression on Mel's face as she stood in the doorway. "Hi!" She greeted him with a coy grin.

"Hello, Mel." Cole sighed, his expression a combination of both anticipation and dread.

"I reconsidered and decided that I'd keep you company in here, rather than over the breakfast table." She strolled in and dropped to her knees beside the bathtub, her eyes luminous with desire as she regarded his handsome face.

"This isn't a good idea, Mel." Cole cleared his throat. The corners of his mouth did turn upward at the impish grin she was giving him.

"Oh, Cole, I think it's the best idea I've had today." She laughed, her eyes peeking over the rim of the tub and into the water. "No washcloth this time?"

"Mel…"

"Oh, don't get all nervous on me, Cole. I just thought I'd scrub your back for you. And possibly your chest…and well…take care of anything else that might need my attention." Her eyes were laughing at him but she took the bar of soap away from him and began to lather her hands.

"Mel…"

"Lean forward, I'll get your back for you. It'll feel wonderful. I can't tell you how many times I have wished that you would come in here and scrub my back."

"You have wanted me in here with you, Mel, while you bathed?" Cole asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

She was giving his back a good scrub and as usual, Mel knew what she was talking about, it did feel wonderful; of course all times when Mel's hands were on him felt wonderful.

 "Naturally, Cole, any woman still breathing would want you washing her back." Mel admitted with a soft chuckle. "And I know you better than other women, so it makes sense I would especially want you."

Her hands massaged between his shoulder blades and Cole closed his eyes for a moment, reveling in the soft feel of her hands as they ran over his skin.

"Don't go to sleep on me." Mel whispered in his left ear, her hands climbing over his shoulders and proceeding down his broad chest. She continued to lather and massage his chest, paying particular attention to flicking over his nipples before extending her fingers and running them down those marvelously sexy washboard abs of his.

He opened his eyes wide when she flicked her tongue on the inside of his ear. "Wake up, Cole. Pay attention to me." She ordered softly, her hands drawing patterns over his nipples and through his chest hair. "I love your chest." She cooed to him.

"Mel…" Cole answered in a shaky voice.

"I know…I know… this isn't a good idea." Mel sighed before sitting back. Not one easily distracted from a set course, Mel moved around to the side of the tub and faced Cole again.

He looked at her tenderly. "Mel…" His fingers reached for her throat to gently caress her.

"I think I'd like you caressing more than my throat, Cole. Here, I'll make it easier for you." Mel's smile was coy and full of humor when she slipped off her robe and allowed Cole to see her wearing nothing more than that same little teddy she had worn to bed the night before.

His eyes drifted down to the soft white female signatures he had held in his hands a few hours before.

His dark brown eyes were filled with desire when he looked back up at Mel.

"Cole Hauser, I do believe you want me." Mel teased with an affectionate smile, leaning over the tub to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.

Cole returned Mel's kiss; her mouth tasting as sweet and inviting as he remembered. The Tracker wrapped his wet muscular arms around her slender body and dragged her over the rim of the tub to land on top of him.

Mel broke off the kiss at the same time she splashed on top of him and started to giggle. "Cole!" She shouted, shifting position and looking down at her wet gown. "Look what you've done."

Cole's eyes admired how revealing the gown was when it became wet. Seeing a spot still dry, he grinned at Mel and promptly splashed the dry spot with a well-aimed spray of water.

"Cole!" She shouted with wide eyes. "I can't believe you did that. Look at me now."

The Tracker gave her a wide mischievous grin. "I'm looking, Mel." His hand caressed her throat and slowly dropped to a very visible wet female signature. "Come here, Mel."

"Why?" She asked with a throaty laugh.

"So I may kiss you." He stated softly. "With tongue." He added just before his lips covered hers.

Mel giggled throughout his kiss.

Cole's hands quickly took advantage of her position on top of him, skimming down her spine and over her sweetly shaped bottom.

It was her yelp of total shock that first alerted him to the fact that his Mel no longer wanted to take care of anything else of his that might need attention.

Dropping his shoulders in resignation, he removed his hands from her soft bottom. Cole leaned back and studied Mel's shocked expression.

"Mel?" Cole called her name softly.

Looking around, her blue-green eyes wide with surprise and no small amount of shock, Mel sputtered, "Cole? How did I get in the bathtub with you?" Tears filled her eyes.

Seeing them, Cole gently stroked her throat. "It's okay, Mel; you started washing my back, and well, we ended up like this." He frowned, realizing there was really quite a bit left out of his simple explanation.

"Oh." She nodded, her curls bouncing around her face. "I was washing your back and we ended up like this. Makes sense."

"You don't remember washing my back, do you, Mel?" Cole asked with certainty.

"Not today, no, Cole."

Nodding, Cole studied her. "What was the last thing you do remember this morning, Mel?"

"Umm… I was asking you if pancakes sounded good for breakfast." She replied with a worried look on her face.

"I see." Cole gave her a gentle smile. "A few more things happened after that, Mel."

Mel surveyed her wet nightgown, one that would walk away with a first place prize in any wet t-shirt contest, and nodded back at him. "I bet."

"And you don't remember kissing me in the war room last night either, do you, Mel?"

"I kissed you in the war room?" Mel gasped.

"You don't remember pulling me on top of you on the couch before that, do you, Mel?"

Her wide eyes answered for her.

"Or trying to strip my sweater off of me in the Watchfire last night?" Cole added.

Mel gave a negative shake of her curls and looked at him with a lost expression. "What's happening to me, Cole?"

"I don't know, Mel. But it all started after your girl's night out. You were fine before that." He stated.

"I was fine before…." Mel looked at Cole and the Tracker saw fury replace her confusion. "I'll kill them!" She shouted, jumping up and sloshing a fair amount of water out of the tub as she jumped over the edge. "They are dead! Dead! Do you hear me! Dead, Cole! I know you will miss Jess, but she's dead!"

"Mel!" Cole shouted her name as she threw her robe on over her dripping wet gown and bolted from the bathroom.

Cole watched Mel fly out of the room and began to worry. His gentle Mel wouldn't really kill anyone, would she? He asked himself.

"They are all dead, Cole!" He heard Mel shout just before the apartment door slammed shut.

Worried, Cole sloshed more water out of the tub and grabbed a small white towel. Muttering a Cirronian curse that he had left his pants in his war room, Cole knotted the towel around his waist and ignoring the water and soap dripping off of him, headed toward the Watchfire to stop Mel.

His Mel was too sweet to be imprisoned for murder.

Jess had just served Jonas a cup of coffee to go with his newspaper when she looked up and saw a furious Mel headed towards her wearing a damp silk robe. Water was dripping out from under it on Mel's pretty wooden floors.

"Uh oh." Jess commented with a nervous chuckle.

Jonas looked up, caught the expression on Mel's face, and turned back to Jess. "Time to pay the piper, I'd say."

"Jess!" Mel shouted, ignoring Jonas and the two other customers in the bar. A businessman and woman had both stopped talking when Mel came storming in, and were now watching the dripping wet woman yell at the pretty barmaid.

"Problem, Mel?" Jess asked with an innocent look.

Mel drew a deep breath and pasted a falsely pleasant expression on her face. "Jess, I was wondering if you might know why I just found myself sharing a bath with Cole?"

Jess tried to cover the responding giggle but failed miserably. "A sudden urge to conserve water, Mel?"

"Not funny, Jess!" Mel glared at the English barmaid.

"Mel!" Cole called, arriving in the bar wearing an extremely small white towel that barely covered his more masculine attributes. Wet nicely-shaped masculine legs were adding water to the puddle around Mel's feet.

"Oh my!" Jess laughed. "Well, Mel, I can't say for you, but I know why I'd join Cole in the tub." Her eyes traveled over his magnificent chest and Jess sighed. Her sigh became more pronounced when she glanced down and noticed the towel was so damp and small that where it was tightly stretched around him was rapidly turning into one of the more inspiring sights in Chicago; definitely needed to be on the tourist map. 

The two customers had been somewhat thrown by the entrance of the screaming woman dripping water on the floor, but when Cole walked in, chasing after her, wearing only a towel that came closer in size to a dishtowel than a bath sheet, their mouths fell wide open. The woman stared longer than the man accompanying her.

Cole looked over at them when he realized they were watching him and then pretended he didn't notice their stares.

Cole gave Jess a sweet smile and turned back to the woman he had followed downstairs. "Mel, murder is wrong. I strongly advise against it. You should rethink what you plan to do." Spotting Jonas, Cole implored his former lawyer. "Jonas, tell Mel that murder is also against the law. She doesn't wish to go to prison."

Jonas tried to affect a serious expression. "Mel, Cole is right. It is most certainly against the law. I would hate to have to defend you as well in a murder trial."

Ignoring the old family friend and longtime customer, Mel glared at Jess again. "Why, Jess? Why did I end up in the bathtub with Cole?"

"How would I know, Mel? You're the one who stepped in there with him." Jess quipped.

"Actually, she didn't step. I pulled her in." Cole admitted.

Mel turned to him with an incredulous expression.

"You didn't mind, Mel. You gave me signals indicating you wanted to be there." The Tracker explained gently.

Jess grinned and Jonas covered his laugh with a fake cough.

Mel decided she would discuss the details with Cole later. Right now she wanted to know what Jess and the others had done to her. "We'll talk about who pulled whom in later, Cole. Out with it, Jess! What was the suggestion?" She demanded.

"Well…" Mel began to speak but was stopped by the motion of Jess' hand.

"Just a minute, Mel, the customers are signaling me." Jess began to walk over to them.

"Hold on a minute, Jess! I'm not through with you!" Mel shouted, grabbing Jess' arm as she tried to walk by her.

"Mel, the customers…" Jess lectured Mel with a stern look. "I'll be right back."

Jess approached the table and gave her only two customers besides Jonas a bright smile. "What can I get you?"

The woman spoke up. "I think I need another drink please."

"Right, refill coming up." Jess nodded.

"Thank you." The woman stopped Jess. "And would it be possible for that gorgeous Greek god standing over there in only that little bitty towel to serve it to me?"

Jess smirked at her. "I doubt it, but I'll ask."

"I'd appreciate it. Big tip in it if he does."

"I'll do my best." Jess laughed and headed back to prepare the lady's drink.

Mel watched Jess refill the customer's drink, shooting the girl dirty looks the entire time. After Jess had served the lady her requested drink, much to the disappointment of the customer, she made her way back over to her glaring boss.

"Okay, Jess. Customers are satisfied. I'm waiting." Mel huffed.

"Not really, Mel. She wanted Cole to serve her." Jess snorted.

Mel ignored that and asked again. "The suggestion, Jess. Tell me."

"The suggestion, Mel?" Jess tried to pretend ignorance.

"Yes, Jess, the suggestion; the one you gave the hypnotist, the one that landed me in the bathtub with Cole. The same suggestion that had me trying to take his sweater off in the Watchfire, the same suggestion that had me pulling him down on top of me upstairs on my couch, the same suggestion that had me kissing him in his room in the middle of the night!" She shouted.

"Really?" Jess asked completely intrigued. "Wow, Mel! You've been a busy girl."

"What did you let him do to me, Jess?"

It was the hurt tone of her accusation rather than the words that had Jess feeling a twinge of guilt. "Mel…we love you…we would have never allowed him do anything bad to you. The truth is you were in that bathtub with Cole because you wanted to be." Jess shrugged honestly.

"What do you mean?" Mel asked, drawing on all her patience.

"Yes, Jess. Explain this suggestion." Cole requested. "I read about hypnotists after I heard you and Mel were going to see one. I know they can give suggestions and people will follow them."

The doors to the Watchfire opened and Lizzie and Rebecca walked in right as Jess was about to explain. Seeing Cole standing there wearing nothing but an indecently damp towel and Mel wearing a wet robe that concealed little of her figure, both women grinned at each other and proceeded into the bar.

"Looks like we're just in time to hear the fascinating details." Lizzie laughed.

Mel glared at her friends. "I'll deal with both of you after Jess has explained exactly what the three of you did to me."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Mel, I told you, we didn't DO anything."

"Honesty, Mel." Lizzie stated with a smug smile.

"What?" Mel turned to her friends.

"Honesty. Complete and total uninhibited honesty with Cole. That's all we suggested." Lizzie replied. "When Cole said a certain phrase, you would for the next five minutes show him as well as tell him everything you were feeling and thinking. No buried feelings, no hidden desires. Just complete honesty." Lizzie grinned at her friend.

"Oh My God!" Mel stared at them.

Cole's concerned expression began to clear and soon a very handsome grin was forming on his face. He looked at Mel, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement and affection, and possibly something more.

"Oh My God!" Mel muttered again, collapsing into a chair.

"So you see, Mel, if you kissed Cole in his room last night, well…it goes without saying…you must have wanted to kiss him, and well we won't even go into the whole sweater off, couch, bathtub thing, but you get my point." Jess looked smugly at Mel.

"Oh My God." Mel sighed.

"I was just about to say the same thing now that I've got a closer look at Cole in that wet towel." Lizzie chuckled.

Rebecca pulled up a chair next to Mel and gave her a sisterly hug. "We're sorry, Mel. But you know how Lizzie is and well, Jess is apparently very much like her. After several drinks, the idea seemed more humorous than mean; even romantic sort of."

"I don't remember any of it." Mel admitted softly.

"Oh, that was the best part. We instructed the hypnotist to make you forget." Lizzie admitted with a slight wince.

Mel tossed Lizzie a dirty look before whispering softly to her other friend. "Becca, I don't know what else I might have done with Cole."

"Five minutes, Mel." Rebecca whispered back. "We put a time limit on it of five minutes. We didn't want you to get into too much trouble, you know. It may be hard to believe right now, but we are your friends."

"Besides, Mel, you are living with him." Lizzie quipped with a curious expression. "Surely a couple living together could handle five minutes of uninhibited honesty? It should have been fun. And I really can't understand why you are so upset. Judging from Cole's appearance right now, it looks like it was fun."

"I am living with him." Mel repeated softly. "Yes, I am." Adjusting to what they had done, Mel began to draw on her inner strength, much of which had been forged in the pranks of college dorm mates, as well as her irritation. "What was the phrase? And how do I stop it from happening again?" She demanded.

Lizzie chuckled. "Jess came up with the phrase. And it won't happen again, now that you know about it. It's not in your subconscious now."

"The phrase?" Mel demanded again.

"Yes, Mel." Jess replied.

"I'm waiting." Mel watched Jess, her fingers tapping on the table.

Confused, Jess looked at Mel blankly for a second before she started to giggle. "No, Mel, That was the phrase. 'Yes, Mel.'"

"When Cole says it." Lizzie added with a wink at the handsome man currently ignoring them for the moment in favor of inspecting the area behind the bar for some reason.

"When Cole says it." Mel repeated, closing her eyes in disgust. "Cole uses that phrase all the time with me."

"We know." Lizzie and Jess chimed in unison. "That's why it was such a good phrase to use." Jess added.

"Cole, is there something wrong behind the bar?" Mel asked, distracted by his seeming indifference to what they had done to her and his preoccupation with the bar area in general.

Cole looked up and smiled at her. "No, Mel. I was just…looking at it." He ran his palm over the top of the counter, his smile reflective as he did so.

"Why?" Mel asked.

His expression amused, Cole shook his head. "It's not important, Mel."

"Okay, well I want you to come over here and say 'yes, Mel' to me." Mel requested with an irritating glance at her friends. "Not that I don't trust these so-called friends of mine when they say I'm no longer under the hypnotic suggestion, but if I start to do or say anything not like the Mel you've known for three months, I want you to take me upstairs and keep me there for at least five minutes."

Cole grinned and began walking over to Mel. He stopped midway and glanced over at the pool table, wearing the same smile he had near the bar.

Mel caught him doing it. "Is there something wrong with the pool table, Cole?"

Wearing a smirk not usually seen on the Cirronian's face, Cole looked back at Mel. "Not that I can tell from here, Mel. Maybe we can inspect it together later?"

"Okay, Cole." She easily agreed, failing to notice the quick flash of a grin he bestowed on her. "But right now, I want you to get over here and say 'yes, Mel.''

Cole stopped in front of her, his expression unusually tender as he pulled her up out of the chair with both of his arms and began to gently caress her throat. "Yes, Mel."

She stood completely still for a moment and watched him.

Lizzie and Rebecca grinned at each other. Jess nodded her head at Jonas. "See Mel, you're not doing anything un-Melish."

Mel turned to the other three women. "And that is the only reason you are still alive."

They laughed and nodded. "We know." The three of them chimed in unison.

Mel glanced at Cole's towel, her eyebrow arched at the significant bulge the damp towel failed to conceal. "Maybe Cole and I should get dressed." She suggested.

"Don't hurry on our account." Lizzie chuckled. "Cole looks fine to me just the way he is."

Mel took Cole by the arm and began escorting him to the stairs. "Come on, Cole, this way to safety."

Rebecca turned to Jonas. "I know I'm taking a risk here of being completely rejected after you've seen the results of one of my practical pranks, but would you be interested in having dinner with me this evening, Jonas?"

He smiled in return. "I think that can be arranged. It seems to me that you might need a friend who is a lawyer."

Rebecca laughed. "If I keep hanging around Lizzie, it's a certainty."

"I think I've been insulted." Lizzie huffed.

"You have." Rebecca chuckled.

Mel was halfway up the stairs when she noticed Cole wasn't stepping beside her. "Cole?" She turned around and found him frowning at the steps. "What's wrong?"

He looked up and shook off her question. "Nothing is wrong, Mel. I was just wondering why you have a particular fondness for these steps."

Mel shrugged. "I don't."

"Oh."

She turned back around and continued up the steps reaching the top just as she heard him ask. "Then why did you want me to make love to you on them?"

The amused Cirronian caught Mel as she lost her balance at the top and tumbled down the steps into his arms.

"Now, Mel?" He asked with a straight face.

THE END