As Frank and Eva left the police station, Eva said, "Frank, I - I can't go home, not tonight."

            "I understand.  Shall we stay at your mother's?"

            "No.  No, I don't know that I want to see anyone other than you tonight.  I just don't know that I could handle all of the sympathetic looks."  Eva paused a moment, then continued, "Faye's been there the whole day, and while I feel bad leaving her…"

            "Audrey will understand.  We'll get a room at the Oak Suites for the night."  He helped Eva into their car and then got into the other side.  While starting the car he said, "Perhaps a bit of this day can be salvaged."

            Frank drove to the hotel, and he and Eva checked in.  They went up to their room and Eva sat down on the bed, exhausted. 

            "Are you sure you'll be all right here while I'm gone?" Frank asked.

            Eva nodded.  "I don't want to be within ten feet of that building right now.  I'll be O.K., but please hurry back."

            Frank kissed the top of her head.  "I promise."  Frank left to go home and get a change of clothes for each as them, as well as a couple of other necessities.  Eva picked up the phone and called her mother; she assured Audrey that she was all right, but that she just needed the night to calm down a bit.  She asked Audrey to call Stuart and Amanda to relay the message; she knew that they would be worried as well. 

            After hanging up the phone, Eva ran a bath for herself.  Her body ached as she slid beneath the warm water.  She turned on the jets and let the water massage her.  She closed her eyes and let her mind drift away.  When she heard the bathroom door open, she opened them again and saw Frank walking into the bathroom. 

            Giving her a rather shaky smile, he asked, "Feeling any better?"  He then felt foolish.  "Physically, at least?"

            "Surprisingly, ya, a little."

            Frank picked up a washcloth and sat on the edge of the bathtub.  He dipped it into the water and then began to wash Eva's back.  She sighed as some of the tension in her back was released. 

            Eva, who was convinced she couldn't possibly cry anymore, felt her eyes water as Frank gently kissed her cheek.  "Frank?"

            "Yes?"

            "I can't believe that I'm being so ignorant."

            "Ignorant?  What are you talking about?"

            "I did a lot of crying, and a lot of saying, 'But what if you came later,' but I never said thank you."

            "There's no need t…"

            "Yes, there is," she interrupted.  "Frank, I could've - I'm convinced that he could have killed me."  She choked back a sob.  "You saved my life tonight, Frankie."

            He smiled gently.  "I was returning the favor.  You saved my life as well.  Please don't ever forget that.  I certainly never shall."

            Eva smiled for the first time since she sang to herself in the mirror that afternoon.  "I won't."

            There was a brief pause, as Frank contemplated the appropriateness of what he was planning to do.  He quickly decided Eva badly needed a treat, even if she weren't fully able to appreciate it at the moment.  "Eva, I know today hasn't exactly been an occasion for celebration…but it is your birthday, and I don't want to postpone something that I hope will make your day a little more pleasurable."

            "Oh, Frank, I couldn't possibly…"

            His eyes widened as he realized what she thought he meant.  "No - no, not that.  May I have your hands?"  Eva gave him a confused look, but did as he asked.  Frank dried them for her and said, "Keep them out of the water for a moment."  He smiled and continued, "And, please, close your eyes."  Again, Eva complied.  Frank placed the velvet box that he'd been holding all day into Eva's hands.  "Happy Birthday, Eva."

            Eva opened her eyes and studied the box for a moment.  "Frank, you do realize that this isn't necessary," she said, trying to hide a smile.

            "That couldn't be further from the truth.  Please, open it."

            Eva let a full smile cross her lips as she opened the box.  When she saw the pendant that was inside, she gasped and almost dropped it into the water.  "Frankie, this is the most beautiful - I don't know…"  She began to cry, though these tears were certainly more welcome than the ones shed earlier.  Frank took the necklace out of the box and put it around his wife's neck.  "I've never seen anything like this in my life," she finally managed to say.

            Frank moved down the side of the tub so that he was facing Eva.  "No one on this planet has," he said, smiling at her.  "Eva, I have chosen to leave royalty behind me, but that does not mean you are not my queen."  Eva bit her lower lip to attempt to hold her tears back.  "This jewel has been in my family for an extraordinary length of time.  Only royalty may wear it, and…"

            "I'm the furthest thing from royalty, Frank," Eva interrupted.  "I don't know that I can accept this."

            "Nonsense.  You married me.  The mere fact I have voluntarily removed myself from the line of succession to the throne does not mean I am no longer a member of the royal family.  You married a prince, Eva.  That makes you a princess, thus you are royalty.  You are more than deserving of wearing this."  Frank's face changed.  "Without you, I wouldn't have been alive to turn down the throne."  

            Eva leaned forward and put her hand on Frank's face.  "I will wear it with honor, my prince."  She smiled at him, and a great deal of the fear, hurt, and anger she was feeling began to dim.  She gently pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. 

When Eva finally broke the kiss, she tenderly caressed Frank's face and smiled as a wonderful realization came to her: Frank had become more than her lover, more than her husband…he was now her savior, and she his.