Disclaimer: Still not mine, no matter how much I beg and plead, and getting a hold of Larson is a lot harder than I imagined. I must be content to use them as puppets to play along with my own set. Thankfully Maggie, Nikki, Michelle and Elyse don't mind too much. ::grin::

A/N: Because I was threatened with bodily harm by way of pretzel, I have worked hard to put out a good and decent chapter relatively soon after my last update. As you can see that isn't what really happened, I am truly sorry for that. And I sheepishly admit that I have not yet thanked my betas/ personal cheerleaders/ idea inspirers, Nikki and Sashay, go read their work, go now!. No other comments to be made other than thanks for the reviews and keep them coming my way.

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As Maggie walked out of her class, she began to mentally go over what she wanted to discuss with Collins. Knowing that Collins too would be disappointed in her as her roommates had, she prepared herself for his reaction. Still he would be fair to her, and that was what she needed rather than the bull that Nikki, Michelle and Elyse had been feeding her.

The walk across campus was rather short, as it usually was when Maggie had something on her mind. It never ceased to amaze her how she could go on auto pilot and still get to where she needed to be. Walking up two flights of stairs, and turning left at the top brought her right in front of a door that read Professor Collins.'

Maggie thought back to the first class she ever had with Collins, as a frightened transfer student in a new and scary place, with relatively no friends. When her ex-professor had walked into the classroom and practically demanded that his students only call him Collins, she was prepared to get up and leave right then and there. Maggie could not understand why someone who went to school for so long to earn a prestigious title would want to forget all that just so they could be buddy-buddy with people so much younger than themselves. But she was not a quitter, or rather the class was a prerequisite for another class she needed in order to graduate, so she had stuck around.

Now glad that she did, Maggie couldn't help but smile at the fond memory. She had learned so much from Collins, both inside and outside the classroom that semester, and she would forever be in his debt. It was Collins who helped Maggie through the threatening depression that followed her shocking discovery of Paul. He also showed her around the city, and made her fall in love with the Life cafe. In a way, she could even say that it was Collins who led her to meeting Mark.

Shaking her head, Maggie knocked on the door before walking on in. Collins' open door policy made things even easier. Greeted as she always was with the sight of Collins leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk and his hands touching at the fingertips in front of his face, she couldn't help but think he looked like the evil doctor out of a movie instead of the openhearted man she knew him to be.

Hello Maggie, what can I do for you today. I would ask how you were, but I can already tell that something is bothering you, so I'll skip such pleasantries. Collins offered her the chair next to his desk.

she sheepishly started, I was hoping you could give me some advice. See I guess you could say I met this guy. And he is really sweet, and I can see myself being able to fall in love with him.

But? Why isn't this the reality? Collins took his feet off the desk and leaned towards Maggie. Do you think that you are sabotaging it so you won't run the risk of getting hurt again? Not every guy is like Paul you know. You need to move on and learn to trust other guys.

I know and that is what Nikki said, well in slightly different words, but the same. And I normally would agree, that I am following regular patterns on this, but this time it wasn't all my fault. I caught this guy filming me...

Collins interrupted her, Filming? With a camera? Where?

At the Life, and yeah like with a real camera and everything. Maggie tried to be sarcastic but knew it was lost on Collins when she noticed the look on his face. It was not one she had seen before, but then again with Collins one never quite knew what he was thinking. Anyways, I fainted and he took me up to his loft down the street from there. And the long and the short of it was he kissed me and I ran, leaving all my stuff behind.

Nikki berated me for doing that, and was going to force me to return to this guy's loft later. However, the guy ended up coming to my place to return my stuff. I decided that I might as well give him another chance, because he was so nice about the entire thing.

We ended up talking for a while, and before I really knew what I was doing, I kissed him. Then he ran. Maggie took a breath and looked at Collins. Again she considered the look on Collins face; it was one she could only assume represented his curiosity - that or he was just staring off into space.

So let me get this. This guy, he filmed you, you passed out, then he kissed you and you ran. When you saw him again you kissed him and he ran. Interesting.... Collins stood and put his hands behind his back. Well Maggie, I thing you were right in giving him another chance. It sounds as if there is something there between the two of you even if you don't quite understand it. I know you came here for advice, but the best I can give you is to just let go of your fear and let what happens happen. You have had too much sadness not to take this chance and see what comes from it.

Now if you don't mind too terribly much, I am hungry, and I need to take my meds. Why don't you come down to the conference room with me so we can talk some more about all this. I also want to hear all about your secret' project you are working so diligently on.

Maggie stood and walked out of Collins' office as he held the door open for her. She felt much better about the whole situation even if Collins didn't really give her any advice she hadn't figured out for herself. Still it felt better just to hear what he thought about the whole situation. It seemed to her that Collins always made the decisions Maggie made more concrete, knowing that he supported what she felt in her heart to be right.

Collins, you know you won't be able to sneak any information out of me. I promised Professor Jackson not to tell anyone. Even if you are a professor and a friend, it doesn't mean that I can break another professor's trust. But if you must know something,, I will tell you this. I get to be part of something big, and hopefully make a name for myself after it is all over. Maggie continued to follow Collins down the hall, passing the other offices filled with professors and students having conferences and eating lunch.

Alright, I suppose that will have to hold off my curiosity for now. But I expect more information later. Collins opened the door to the empty conference room and turned on the light. Why don't you sit down. I have a short meeting with another student and I have to grab my lunch. I'll come back as soon as I can. Until then, I am sure that you have some work you can do in my absence. With a smile, Collins turned and walked the other way.

Left to her own devices, Maggie took out her newly returned sketch pad and began her work.

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Down the hall in front of Collins' office, Mark stood looking out of place, as he always did when he visited the campus. Looking down the hall, he could see Collins coming towards him with a grin - or was it a smirk? Mark couldn't tell, but he knew that the conversation ahead would be nothing short of interesting.