Author: Summer [Indian Summer]

2.01- More In Pain Than Anger

Date Published: 8.14.2004

Episode Guide- Grace has returned from her trip with her father, and Luke's more startled than anyone else when he learns the details. God's plans take Joan face to face with the enemy. Lila and Kevin team up after Kevin learns something startling about Beth. Helen learns her job's in danger. Will and Toni investigate a new lead in the Jessica Raphael case.

Disclaimer: The characters belong to the creators of Joan of Arcadia, and all I own is my writing, Lila, and Conner.

Sorry for taking so long. I was away.

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If there was a God, he was way too insistent.

Joan Girardi groaned and looked up at the blaring alarm clock. 1:2:232 AM? That didn't even make sense.

"And according to me, it's going to be another gorgeous day in Arcadia. And that means more than the weatherman's word ever will," a male voice blared from the alarm clock. "In other news, today is the day to settle past disputes. The time has come to let the past be the past, and look not just at one's appearance, but at the reason one appears that way. Isn't that right, Jo-"

She slammed her hand onto the sleep button, silencing the alarm clock. With a cry of exasperation, she pulled her pillow over her head, silencing any lingering ideas.

"You don't exist. It's just a coincidence," she yawned, letting her eyes close and herself be lulled back into sleep.

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OPENING CREDITS

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"Will, just look outside. It's so beautiful. We've been lucky lately, with this weather," Helen exclaimed, holding a mug of coffee out to Will.

Joan raised an eyebrow at her mother's words, her brain wandering back to the voice in her alarm clock's weather prediction.

"Yeah, well, you know that if it looks too good to be true, it is," Will returned grumpily, taking the cup from his wife. "I have to be at work in half an hour."

"How's the case going?" Helen asked, setting a plate of toast down in front of Joan.

Joan looked at it disgustedly, and pushed it away.

"No new developments. Everyone seems to be enjoying phoning in false tips, though." Will glanced at his daughter. "Why aren't you eating that?"

Joan ignored him, instead looking at her mother. "Mom, it's bran," she complained, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

"It's good for you, Joan. You haven't been eating very healthy foods lately, so just eat the-"

"Are you calling me fat?" Joan interrupted.

Helen threw her hands up in exasperation. "No. Here, have this instead," she said, tossing Joan a package of pop tarts. "God, why do teenagers have to be so hard," she muttered.

"Mmm. Chocolate," was Joan's only response as she opened the pop tarts and broke a piece off, bringing it to her mouth. She paused mid-bite when she caught her mother's expression. "What?"

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"I'll have a two cheeseburgers, large fries, uh, a large vanilla milkshake, and a large coke. Oh! And can you get me one of the 6 pack Chicken fingers, too?"

Luke stared at his brother in amazement. "That could feed me for the next week," he muttered.

Kevin looked at him. "What do you want?"

Luke shrugged. "Uh, a cheeseburger and a medium Sprite, I guess." He watched as Kevin leaned back out the window to repeat the order into the intercom.

"What are you doing today?" Kevin asked as he drove up to the window.

Again Luke shrugged. "Uh, I think I'm going to the mall with Friedman and Glynis. There's this new magnet and it's stronger than the one-"

"Forget I asked," Kevin said quickly, holding a twenty dollar bill out the window. "Didn't you and Glynis break up?"

"Yeah, but, uh, we're friends again. Kinda. At least we were at Space Camp. Maybe. I don't know, it's complicated. We-"

Luke was cut off by a female voice. "Oh, it's you! I remember you!"

Luke and Kevin glanced simultaneously toward the window, where a dark-haired girl was grinning at Kevin. "Uh, hi," Kevin responded, clearly not placing the girl.

"You came by a while ago. Uh, I'm Barbie. Remember?"

"Yeah, yeah." Kevin smiled, and Luke couldn't tell if he was being honest. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm good!" Barbie smiled, turning to pick up a bag. She reached out the window and handed it to Kevin. "Here's your food. Maybe I'll see you again."

"Yeah. Maybe." Kevin smiled and Luke shook his head. Kevin made it look so easy.

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"No! It's not funny, Lila. I'm so scared of them."

Lila Carson raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Koala bears? You're scared of koala- Joan, that's pathetic."

Joan sighed as she, Lila, and Adam turned a corner in the general store. "So? Adam's scared of the mall!"

"What?" Adam frowned. "I wasn't making fun of you, Jane."

He looked almost hurt as Lila laughed. "You guys are so screwed up."

Joan shrugged, taking Adam's hand as they reached the magazine rack. "We need to get the Enquirer," she informed Lila, gesturing to the tabloid. "There's an article in it this week saying Matt Damon was raised by a wolf!"

"And that Courtney killed Kurt," Lila read, picking up the tabloid. "Okay."

"I so couldn't care less about that. It's like, a decade old. I'd rather know-"

As they reached the end of the aisle, Joan froze. A girl was turned away from them, leaning against the counter, but Joan knew who it was. The dark wavy hair, weird shirts, paint speckled on her jeans. "Hi Iris," she muttered, dropping Adam's hand instinctively.

Iris spun around, her smile faltering briefly. "Oh, hi, Joan. Adam."

Lila looked between the two girls uncomfortably. "Um. I'm Lila. It's, uh, nice to meet you, Iris."

Iris bit her lip. "Yeah, hi. And, uh, you too." Her gaze was on Adam. "Well, I was just about to leave, so…"

"Yeah, uh, so were we," Joan said quickly, tearing the tabloid from Lila's hand and setting it down on the shelf.

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

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Helen touched her paintbrush to the canvas hesitantly, adding a green-blue mix to the painting. It was the first time she'd painted since Joan's illness, and she wasn't very sure of herself.

The phone rang and Helen jumped, streaking blue across the corner of the canvas. "Oh no," she muttered, but set her paintbrush down anyway and abandoned the painting.

She ran to the kitchen and picked up the phone breathlessly. "Hello?"

"May I speak to Mrs. Helen Girardi, please?"

Helen raised an eyebrow at the official sounding voice. "Speaking."

"Hello. This is Robert Davidson. I'm the Assistant Superintendent of Arcadia Public Schools."

This couldn't be good. "Oh. Hi."

There was a pause. "I'm sorry to tell you his, and it's not official yet, so try not to worry."

Helen wasn't sure what worried her more- his words or his tone. "Well, when you say that-" she started, but he cut her off.

"As I'm sure you're aware, due to state funding there's been many budget cuts at Arcadia High School this past year. Due to this, we've been forced to cancel some of the more… elective based programs."

"Like my art classes," Helen finished, letting out a deep breath she didn't know she'd been holding, deflated.

"Well, yes. Of course, we aren't sure if it will come to that now. It won't be official for a couple more weeks, but I felt it was my job to notify you… well, you can stay on as an office aid."

"So my art classes might be canceled? I'll lose my job?" Helen asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

There was a pause, and Robert Davidson sighed. "Yes. It's a possibility."

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"God, that was awkward," Lila muttered as Joan swung open the door to the Girardi home. "So, that's Adam's ex?"

"'Cha." Adam shook his head. "I felt kind of bad."

Joan let her friends enter in front of her and then walked into her house, shutting the door behind her. "Me too." She remembered the alarm clock incident and frowned. "Do you think it's time to, you know, put it all behind us? Talk to her?"

Lila shrugged. "I don't know. But if it will make the awkwardness go away…" she trailed off. "Well, whatever you think. I've gotta go to the bathroom, though, so…"

"Just come back to the living room when you're done," Joan said as her newest friend started down the hall. She turned to Adam. "Do you think she's ready to talk?"

Adam just stared at her. "I don't know, Jane. Maybe."

Joan started to respond, but the doorbell cut her off. "Who the-" she started, swinging open the door. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

In the doorway stood a familiar looking boy, his brown hair tousled and his gaze serious. "Joan," he said, offering her a smile. He glanced at Adam. "And you're Adam. I know- I've heard a lot about you."

Joan glared at him. The corduroy jacket was gone, but it was definitely him. In it's place he wore a blue T-shirt to go with his swimming trunks. "What are you doing here?"

Adam frowned. "Isn't he the guy you were dancing with that time, Joan?" he asked, his voice strained.

No Jane. Joan shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah. This is Adam. Adam, this is…" she trailed off, the introduction too awkward. Adam, this is God. She doubted that would go over very well. She looked from him to Adam and back.

"El," he finished, holding out a hand, which Adam shook hesitantly. "Joan and I go way back."

"Way back," Joan added unnecessarily as Adam gave her a weird look.

"Yeah. Well, I'm Adam. It's, uh, nice to meet you, El." Adam looked around, as if for an escape. His gaze fell on the kitchen and he looked back over at Joan. "Uh, I'm gonna go say hi to your mother, okay, Jane? I'll be right back."

Joan nodded and waited until Adam disappeared before turning back to 'God.' Her hallucination. "El?" Her tone was sarcastic. "I shouldn't still be having hallucinations. What's going on?"

"El. Another name for God. You really should take a theology class, Joan."

Joan bit her lip. "Is that some kind of offhand comment, or some, some mission?" she asked, the last few words in a near whisper.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt... but that's not why I'm here." He paused, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"God sweats?" Joan asked disbelievingly.

"No. The human form sweats." He shook his head. "That's not why I'm here though, Joan. I'm here to answer your question."

"Finally! So why me?"

He shook his head. "Not that question, Joan." He studied her for a moment before continuing. "Go to Iris, Joan."

"But-"

He turned around and opened her door, giving her a wave over his shoulder. "Go."

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"Hey Mrs. G. How are you?"

Helen forced a smile as Adam entered the kitchen. "Okay… Where'd you guys go?" she asked, trying to get her mind off of what Robert Davidson had told her.

"Oh. We went to the general store, because the girls wanted to pick up some magazines and stuff. But, uh, we didn't get anything."

"Why not?" Helen asked, an eyebrow raised. Joan never came home empty handed.

"Oh, we, uh, ran into Iris." Adam shrugged, pulling out a kitchen chair and turning it around.

Helen smiled as Adam straddled the chair and sat down backward. "She doesn't bite, you know. She's a nice girl, Adam. You guys just hurt her."

"Yeah. Jane was just saying… well, we probably should fix things since we go back to school in a couple weeks. She's probably gonna be in my art classes, you know."

Helen frowned. "I wouldn't worry too much about that, Adam."

Adam's eyes widened. "Why? Did she transfer?"

Helen shook her head. "No. The budget cuts… they're not sure if there's going to be an art program this year," she said gently.

Adam's eyes widened. "No. That's the only reason I go to school. They'll figure something out."

"Lets hope."

Adam nodded fiercely, latching onto this hope. "And, uh, I'll tell Grace. She's coming over tonight. If anyone can stir up some kind of… I dunno, protest or something, it's Grace."

"She's back?" Helen asked, and added almost as an afterthought, "Peaceful protests, Adam."

"Yeah, yeah. And Grace got in last night. She had to unpack today though."

"Oh! You guys should call her. She can have dinner here, if she'd like. I'm already having you and Lila for dinner, so…"

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"Another tip," Detective Toni Williams said as Will entered the precinct, her tone no longer even remotely hopeful.

Will frowned. "Do you think it's another fake?"

Toni shrugged. "I have a uniform running a check now. It was an address, I think. 18 W.H. Wilbur Heights?"

Will paused, thinking this over. "Kevin was looking into a gym on Wellesley Hill."

"The Heights seems more likely. The whole area's stores. Except the low numbers are sometimes…"

"Storage units." Will whistled. "It's possible. Is someone checking out the building?"

"I told you." Toni shook her head. "I have someone checking to see if Jessica could've possibly had a unit there."

Will nodded, only half listening. He was already in detective mode. "Did you have someone check the note for prints?"

Toni frowned, looking at him questioningly. "It wasn't a note. It was an email."

Will's eyes widened. "On whose account?"

"Jessica's… the vic's dad."

Will swallowed, catching Toni's slip and thinking of all the ones he'd made. Try as they may, this wasn't just a case anymore. When you went three months without real leads and your own daughter befriended the victim's best friend… it became personal.

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

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Luke picked up the newspaper nervously, scanning the pages halfheartedly, wishing for something to take his mind off of what was going on around him. Anything to take his mind off of it. Even a nuclear disaster. He shook his head subconsciously. Well, maybe not that, but at least then he wouldn't have to obsess over other things.

Like the fact that in less than an hour Grace Polk was going to be sitting in his kitchen, newly returned from… well, he didn't really know where she'd gone. The point was, Luke hadn't talked to her since her near-breakdown in the elevator, and with the three months that had gone by since, he was even less sure where they stood now than he had been then.

He glanced down at the newspaper again, his eyes falling onto the left-hand page. Announcements. He skimmed through them, not expecting to find anything worth reading.

But there, in tiny writing toward the bottom of the page, his eye caught a familiar name.

Mr. Thomas Reinhart and Mrs. Deborah Reinhart are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth Lynn Reinhart, to-

He set the newspaper down, shocked. "Kevin!" he yelled. "I think you're going to want to see something."

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18 Wilbur Heights did prove, in fact, to be a storage unit. And more particularly, storage unit D was rented out to a Jessica Levin. So imagine Will's shock when Toni remembered that Jessica's absentee mother's maiden name was Levin.

The unit hadn't been opened since the day before Jessica's death. There was a regular lock, as well as a combination lock. The former had taken Toni approximately 40 seconds to pick, but the combination proved to be trickier.

"We could have someone burn it off," Toni suggested from her seat on the grass in front of him, twirling the lock randomly.

"I guess we're going to have to-" Will broke off suddenly. "Toni? Remember that number Jessica had on her? That we thought was a phone number?"

"What was it?"

Toni pulled a small notebook from her pocket and flipped back a few pages. "1373825. Why?"

Will shoved her out of his way gently, eager to test out his theory. "I think she deliberately wanted someone who found it to think it was a phone number. We assumed it was one because backward, it would be. 528 is in our area. But what if it's just a lock combination?"

"The highest number's 40, Will. And there'd only be 6 numbers."

Will frowned, his idea slightly altered. "Try pulling one number out." The idea sounded insane, but he had this weird feeling.

He watched as Toni went to work, first getting rid of the 1. It didn't work, and he bit his lip. The only way to keep all the numbers under 40... "Try the 7," he urged.

She nodded, and swirled the lock again. 13-38-25. It clicked open and Toni whistled. "I'm starting to worry about you, Will. First you claim to see a dead person, and now you're psychic."

He ignored her, half out of eagerness to find out what was behind that door, and half because he didn't want to think about the incident she'd alluded to.

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Beth was getting married. Kevin stared blankly at the newspaper for a few minutes before breaking out of his daze. Luke was looking at him, and his mother had come into the room to see what all the commotion was about.

He looked from one to another, and then simply stated it. "Beth and Todd are getting married," he told his mother, his eyes burning into hers.

Her mouth formed a surprised 'O' and she covered it quickly. Luke's gaze was more pitying than shocked.

Kevin wheeled away quickly, shaking his head. "I have to go talk to her. It's my fault."

"How's it-" Helen started and then realization clouded her gaze. "She told you she broke up with him before because she wasn't ready."

Kevin nodded. "And then I got into that fight with her."

He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to ever talk to her again, not after everything that had happened. There was so much history there, so much pain. And he'd acted like an idiot with her, and then never bothered to apologize.

But as his guilt caught up with him, he'd already started wheeling from the room. "I'll be back later," he mumbled as he rolled through the door.

Lila was standing by the front door when he reached it. "Are you going to talk to Beth?" she asked, and Kevin wondered how she already knew.

"I don't know. I'm getting out of here, though."

Lila pursed her lips, looking at him for a moment. "I think that you have to do what you feel's right." She paused, pulling keys from her pocket. "My car can have you in Fordham in half an hour."

Kevin looked at her, trying to determine if she was serious. She opened the front door, shooting him a questioning look. "Okay. Lets go," he said, wheeling out the door.

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

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It figured Luke had to be in the front hall and closest to the door when the doorbell rang. "Luke, can you get that?" he heard his mom call, "It's probably Grace."

No kidding. Luke looked at the door nervously and approached it cautiously, as if there was a tiger behind it, and not a teenage girl. He turned the doorknob slowly and let the door creak open. "H-h-hey," he stuttered nervously, earning a disgusted look from Grace.

It was weird to think this was what the summer could do to Grace Polk. There were the obvious signs, like tan skin and dried out hair. What Luke hadn't been expecting, though, was that she looked, well, like a girl. Her hair was a couple inches longer and a buttery blonde. Gone was the leather jacket and in its place was a navy tank top and gray shorts. She didn't wear any makeup and it didn't appear that she'd tried to look this way; it had just happened. "G-Grace, come in. You look-"

"It's just temporary," she muttered quickly, stepping past him. "Just until I can get my hair cut."

Luke nodded. "Well, uh, it looks good." He shifted uncomfortably as she glared. "Not that, uh, you were trying to look good. Or that you don't usually. Just-" His voice was much squeakier than he'd meant it to be. "How was your summer?" he asked, looking for a quick topic switch.

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Three months locked up with an old Jew and a huge wine cellar…"

Luke smiled. "Well, at least you didn't have to spend it with an ex."

"Nerd camp," Grace nodded.

"Space Camp. And it's a very intellectual, hands-on program used to train-"

"Did you know Victoria's Secret is named after the most prudish monarch in British history?" Grace interrupted.

Luke frowned. "What does that-"

"Think about it," Grace countered, starting for the kitchen.

Luke bit his lip, his brain raking over her words for a hidden meaning. He recognized it probably related to his 'Queen of England' phrasing, but thoughts of Grace in Victoria's Secret lingerie? Hell, he was a teenage boy. He could interpret that however he liked.

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To think a teenage girl could collect so much crap made Will sick. Because 90% of the stuff Jessica Raphael had stored in this unit he'd seen in his own house, in the possession of his own daughter. Magazines, old clothes, newspaper clippings, posters… it was all here.

And seeing all this teenage clutter at once made Will realize how much money he must've spent on all this useless stuff that Joan had tossed after a couple of months.

Jessica, however, had proved to be a bit of a packrat. They'd been searching for almost two hours now, and they were still no closer to finding anything of use in here. Will couldn't really picture how an old hair straightener could be beneficial in solving the brutal murder.

"Nothing," Will complained, tossing a Seventeen magazine from December '98.

Toni nodded in agreement, standing on her tiptoes to reach a box. Dragging it down, she opened the lid. "Old photos. But just her and her dad or-" She broke off and whistled under her breath. "A guy."

"One of the exes we've interviewed?"

"Nope." Toni held up a photo of a smiling Jessica, her arm wrapped casually around a teenage boy's waist. His hair was a short, mousy brown, his eyes hazel. He was a little taller than Jessica, but probably not much older. "Maybe Aidan?" Toni asked hopefully.

Aidan had proved to be the biggest hurdle in Jessica's case. Lila had described numerous encounters with the boy, but no sign of him had ever turned up. But from the small description Lila had provided… "It could be," Will said, placing the picture in a plastic bag.

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"So, Grace, how was your summer?"

Grace looked up at Mrs. Girardi. She'd been counting on the B-movie hugs and stupid questions, the inability to stay quiet during dinner. But she'd expected Joan to be the main culprit. "It was okay," she offered lamely.

Mrs. Girardi nodded, leaning forward in her seat to get some salad. "Where'd you go again?"

"California," Grace responded.

"Oh." Mrs. Girardi smiled, looking from one of her kids to another, as if for help. "Uh, what's in California? If you don't mind my asking…"

She minded, but telling Joan's mother that? That was not an option. "Um. My mother has a beach house there."

"I don't think I've ever met your mom," Helen said conversationally.

Grace raised her eyebrows, uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. "Yeah, well, that's not very surprising."

"You know, I've never seen your mom either, Grace. And I've gone to your house a few times," Joan started, seizing on the topic.

Grace's gaze met Adam's as Joan fell silent, and Grace could tell Adam had elbowed Joan. She offered him a small, private smile, one she could be sure no one else could translate.

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

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It figured the jerk's apartment was on the second floor. As Lila had driven him toward Fordham, Kevin had made a phone call to Beth's parents and learned she was living at her fianc's apartment.

As Kevin waited impatiently for the elevator door to open, he tried to think of what he'd say. He wasn't here for some grand romantic gesture; he wasn't going to take Beth in his arms and proclaim her the love of his life. He wasn't going to offer her a proposal of his own. And he certainly wasn't going to fight this Todd guy. Not that he could…

The door swung open and Kevin found a man standing on the other side, about to step in. "Oh, hi," the guy said, looking from Kevin to Lila, "Do I know you?"

"I don't think so," Kevin responded quickly, looking down the hall to the door of Beth's apartment.

"Well, uh, the only other apartment up here belongs to an elderly couple with no grandkids, so I can't picture you…" The man drifted off, holding out his hand. "I'm Todd."

Kevin's eyes widened and he shook the man's hand against his will. "Uh, Kevin… and this is Lila," he said, gesturing to her as he spoke.

Todd smiled as he took Lila's hand in his own and raised it to his mouth for a kiss. "A pleasure to meet you." He dropped her hand slowly, then turned to Kevin. "Kevin…" Todd bit his lip as he looked at the wheelchair. "Beth's friend."

"Yeah." Kevin looked up, half-defiantly.

Todd nodded. "Well, she's in the apartment. Just knock and she'll let you in. I, on the other hand, have to go. Maybe I'll talk to you later." He stepped into the elevator as Kevin and Lila got out.

"Right." Kevin glared as the elevator doors closed. The guy was leaving him alone with Beth. He didn't even consider Kevin competition. Kevin shook his head and looked down at his legs. Why should he? Todd was tall, probably 6'3, and muscular, with an athletic build. Like Kevin used to be.

He sighed, wheeling down the hall to the door without meeting Lila's gaze. He knocked, already defeated. He braced himself as the door swung open.

"Kevin."

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"Where'd Lila go?" Joan asked for the sixth time since dinner, glancing from Grace to Adam and back. The three were sprawled on the couch, Joan in the middle.

Grace shrugged. "Don't ask me. I've never even met her."

Adam frowned. "I don't know, Jane. I think she left."

Joan rolled her eyes. "No kidding."

They fell into an awkward silence and Joan, feeling the need to break it, turned to Grace. "So, you haven't told us anything about your trip. What did you do without us for the whole summer?"

"Redefined quiet and peace." Grace rolled her eyes. "Not much."

Joan heaved an exasperated sigh. "Seriously, Grace. What did you do? Who'd you hang out with? What did you eat? What did you do for fun?"

Adam, who'd been quiet since dinner, suddenly straightened. "Was Conner there?"

"Ooh!" Joan clapped her hands together in glee. "Who's Conner? A boy?"

"No." Grace rolled her eyes again. "A girl with really mean parents."

Adam shook his head, glancing at Grace. "Conner was Grace's first boyfriend. He-"

"Shut it, Rove," Grace interrupted quickly, glaring at him.

Adam ignored Grace's warning. "Anyway, Conner and Grace were close for a while, then they got together, then Grace kicked him into the curb."

"You did not just say that!" Joan laughed.

Grace groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "He's serious," she mumbled, "He probably still has my shoeprints on his ass."

"Was he there?" Adam asked again.

"Yes," Grace muttered through gritted teeth, not raising her head.

There was something about the way Grace admitted this that made Joan narrow her eyes. "And you were with him?" she asked knowingly, a bit too proud of herself.

Grace didn't answer and Joan laughed. "You were! You were with him!"

"With who?"

All three turned toward the door at the voice. Luke was standing outside the room, a pile of laundry in his hands.

Joan smiled, still happy with herself. "Grace hooked up with her ex when she was on vacation," she told him gleefully, basking in Grace's anger.

Luke blinked and nodded slowly, stepping away from the door. "Oh, cool," he said, his defeated tone making it clear he was anything but.

Joan, Adam, and Grace watched in silence as he walked away, and then Grace threw her head backward against the couch dramatically. "Five points for Girardi," she muttered, closing her eyes.

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"Six nights in a row. My wife's going to kill me," Will said from his desk at the precinct.

Toni whistled under her breath as she rifled through a stack of papers. "Cop work doesn't make room for five course meals, unfortunately. You can still have a PB&J when you get home."

Will laughed. "We had company tonight, too. I bet dinner would've been good."

Toni laughed at the look of longing on her partner's face. "Maybe they left you some."

"You haven't seen the way Kevin eats."

Toni shrugged, tossing the papers into her desk drawer. "You can always stop at McDonalds."

Will laughed, picking his coat up off the back of his chair. "How is it that we work late every single night when there's rarely a good lead?"

"I don't know. Maybe we're just highly inefficient at our jobs," Toni said, locking up her desk. "We may have a good lead. I submitted the photos. Carl said he'd see what he could dig up."

"Still… the average teenage boy isn't in a criminal database."

Toni raised an eyebrow. "The average teenage boy doesn't have a teenage friend who ends up murdered."

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

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Lila tried not to smirk as Beth looked back and forth between her and Kevin. It hadn't occurred to her that the other girl could mistake them for a couple, but now it seemed to fit into her plan perfectly.

"I'm Lila," she said, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Beth shook her hand hesitantly, offering Lila a small smile. "Beth. It's nice to meet you, too."

Beth bit her lip, glancing around the apartment. They'd obviously caught her in the middle of folding laundry, because clothes were strewn about on the floor. "I'm sorry it's such a mess here. I wasn't expecting anyone," she said nervously, kicking a shirt away from Kevin's chair. "Let me just, uh, make a path for you."

"It's okay, Beth. I can just, uh, go around the outside of the room," Kevin said quickly, turning his chair to the right.

Lila nodded, uncomfortable by the other girl's discomfort. "Yeah, and anyway, it's Kevin. He'll probably say a hundred things in the next five minutes that will make him deserve an obstacle course, right?"

Beth laughed appreciatively, looking up at Lila. "You seem to know him well. Are you guys…?" She trailed off, letting the question hang in the air between them.

"N-" Kevin started.

"Oh, yes. I mean, isn't he just the greatest?" Lila gushed over Kevin's protest, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Beth smiled uncomfortably, nodding. "Uh, yeah. Kevin's… a great guy."

Kevin threw Lila a questioning look, but she just smiled. "Anyway, that's kind of why we're here. We wanted to congratulate you on your engagement. And thank you."

"For what?" Beth asked, truly puzzled.

"Oh!" Lila said, giggling, squeezing Kevin's shoulder, "You taking that next, big step made Kevin realize he was ready, too. We're going to get married!"

Kevin's jaw dropped and he glared at Lila. She knew he hadn't come here to make Beth jealous, but she had a feeling there was still closure needed in their relationship. "Lila…" he started, but once again she ignored him.

"I just think it's so great that your engagement made Kevin commit! I was really worried that he, you know, still had his mind on the past…"

She smiled sweetly as Kevin glared at her, but she could tell he was trying to gauge Beth's reaction. Lila cleared her throat, holding up her cell. "I just remembered I have to call someone. I'll take it to the hall, though."

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"I can't believe you own this movie," Joan told Adam as she popped The Waterboy into her DVD player. "I didn't picture you as a Sandler fan."

Grace let out a small, derisive laugh. "Adam owns every horrible movie ever made, from the old foreign films in black and white to anime movies."

"Foreign films aren't horrible, Grace. You have to look at them-"

"Whatever."

Joan laughed. "That's not the point, you guys. This movie should be like, a classic."

Grace shook her head. "That is wrong on so many levels. A movie about football and breasts doesn't make a classic. In fact, it's just a reflection of Hollywood's twisted priorities and sense of-"

"Thank you, God!" Joan cheered as her cell phone rang, effectively cutting off the rest of Grace's rant. She lunged at the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's me."

"Oh, Lila! Where are you? You just randomly took off and-"

"I'm at Beth's," Lila interrupted, "With Kevin."

Joan frowned. "I'm not even going to bother to ask."

"Isn't that the same thing as asking? Anyway, it's a long story."

Joan nodded. "Okay. So what's happening?"

"Kevin's… not too happy. But his expression… all I can say is a countenance more in sorrow than in anger."

"What?" Joan asked, wondering why Lila always had to use obscure references instead of saying what she meant.

Lila sighed. "Hamlet. Act 1, Scene 2, Line 232... Never mind."

Joan froze, thinking back to the time 'Alarm-Clock-God' had awoken her. "Did you say 1:2:232?"

"232. Yes… Why?"

"Uh, nothing. But I have to go. We're supposed to be watching a movie and Grace is glaring at me because I won't shut up."

Lila laughed. "Okay. Bye."

Joan heard a click as Lila disconnected and turned off her own phone. Glancing at Adam and Grace, she said hurriedly, "I, uh, have to go do… someone a favor. I'll be back in a while. You can start the movie without me."

Before they could reply, Joan had jumped up and run from the room. Grace frowned, glancing at Adam. "I give up."

.

.

"I'll just try adding a little Sodium Chloride to it," Luke muttered to himself, putting 4 mL of NaCl into his test tube.

He was about to set the tube down in the rack when a knock on his door startled him, and he dropped the tube. "Ergh," he muttered, crossing the room to open the door. "You made me-"

He stopped cold as he saw Grace on the other side. "Grace. Hi. You scared me."

She nodded, looking past him to the glass shards on the floor. "Got that." She shifted uncomfortably. "Can I come in?"

He nodded, stepping aside to let her pass. "Yeah. Um, what did you need?"

She sat down on his bed, drawing her knees to her chest. "I didn't…" She paused, narrowing her eyes as she looked at him. "Nothing major happened back there, and I'm thinking if I don't clarify, you'll turn it in to some big thing and it will get twisted and-"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he sat down next to her, but he knew what she was talking about. Her ex. Or maybe he wasn't her ex, because that wasn't how Joan had made it sound.

"His name's Conner," she started, and he winced.

"I don't need to hear-"

"I met him when I was nine, and we hung out every summer. When I was thirteen, we kind of… got closer. It's kind of a summer thing, I guess. But we're more friends than anything else. He's not like, my boyfriend." Grace noticeably shuddered at the word, but she met his gaze. "I don't want a boyfriend."

Luke nodded, having a little trouble digesting this. But what aggravated him more than the details were her motivations. "So you can… be with him. But you can't with me."

She rolled her eyes, breaking their eye contact. "This isn't about us. Not that there is an us."

He paused, studying her. She looked nervous; her hands were wrung tightly together, her eyes narrowed, her mouth set in a thin line. "Then why'd you feel you owed me an explanation?" he asked, the words hanging between them.

.

.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

.

.

"You know, God, this isn't exactly my idea of a good day. So if you want to hit me with lightning or something, instead of having to do this, that would be just great. Please?" Joan begged as she approached Iris' house.

Of course, there was no response. Joan sighed as she walked across the lawn. Iris' jpise was a white ranch, with a porch out front and a perfectly groomed lawn.

Joan paused before hitting the doorbell, wishing there was a way out of this. Hanging out with Iris wasn't going to be a fun experience. Joan was about to leave when the door swung open.

On the other side of the doorframe stood a thin woman with wavy black hair. She wore a blue sundress with a light green cardigan over it. She was barefoot and had no makeup on.

Joan smiled. "Hi. I was just wondering if Iris was home. I'm Joan," she introduced herself, hoping Iris hadn't told her mother about her.

"A friend of Iris'?" the woman asked, stepping to the side. "Come in, come in. I'll go get her."

The front door opened into a large living room. It was immaculately clean and furnished with leather armchairs, couches, and a widescreen television. There was a fireplace on the far side of the room. Joan opted to sit in an armchair while the woman went to get Iris.

Joan looked around the room curiously. The walls were a light tan, and paintings, some clearly by Iris, were framed and hung on the walls. There were five photographs framed on the mantelpiece. One was a picture of Iris taken in school last year, one was of a young man with dark hair and eyes, probably about twenty. There was a school picture of a second girl, probably about thirteen, who, unlike the other two, had dirty blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes. A photo of the woman Joan had just met and a man, presumably Iris' father, was off to the side, taken probably about five years ago. The center photo showed all five of them- Iris, her parents, brother and sister, when Iris was about ten.

From the photos they seemed like a completely normal family, and if Iris hadn't told Joan of the domestic abuse, she never would've known there was a problem under the surface.

"What are you doing here?" Iris' accusing voice interrupted.

Joan's eyes flew up to the girl. Iris was wearing the same thing she'd had on earlier, only now the blue of her jeans seemed to have almost disappeared beneath specks of paint. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and a pencil stuck out from behind her ear.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About…" Iris started, sitting down on another armchair.

Joan bit her lip. "My friend, Lila- you met her today. Well, anyway, she said something to me that… well, I wanted to come talk to you."

Iris crossed her arms over her chest. "Joan…"

Joan sighed. "I don't like this anymore than you do. Believe me. But I have to do this." She heaved a sigh, leaning forward to look at Iris. "I'm sorry we hurt you, Iris. Really."

"I think we've already had this conversation a dozen times, Joan. A likes you. I was just, I don't know, a substitute." Iris shifted uncomfortably.

Joan bit her lip. "It wasn't like that." She met the other girl's eyes. "Listen. Adam and I… we had this complicated history before you even met him. And I was scared and the timing was never right and everything just got really screwed up. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt when he hooked up with you…"

"But?" Iris asked, her voice softening a little.

Joan sighed. "You're a good person, Iris. And I know you know Adam's a good guy. And this was never about you not being good enough, or me being better, or Adam being… a guy." She offered Iris a weak smile. "I know this is weird coming from me, but you were… you were good for Adam, Iris. And you're a good person."

"Yeah, this is weird coming from you." Iris rolled her eyes. "I don't need to listen to you relieve your soul, Joan."

Joan shook her head vehemently. "That's not what this is about. I swear, Iris. And I don't want you to think we're trying to… I don't know. Rub this in your face or anything. Because you're a cool person." Joan paused, trying to decide whether or not she should tell Iris the rest. She didn't see what else she had to lose, because her pride was already long gone. "And after you and Adam… broke up, I wasn't trying to be mean to you. I was just… jealous."

"Jealous?" Iris asked, confused. "Of what?"

Joan shrugged. "You have your thing. You're an awesome artist, photographer… you have so much in common with Adam. And it seemed like whatever I tried to do, you did better."

Iris' lips curved into a half smile. "I am pretty good," she said hesitantly.

Joan smiled. "I just don't want everything to be awkward forever. Can you… I don't know? Forgive me?"

Iris bit her lip. "It's not about forgiveness, Joan. I already forgave both of you. But it still hurts. I guess it's just going to take me time. But since enough of that time hasn't seemed to go by, it's still awkward. But I don't hate you guys."

Joan smiled. "Thanks Iris."

Iris nodded. "No problem." She looked around uncomfortably. "I have to get back to my painting before the mix dries. I'll talk to you in school in a couple weeks, okay?"

"Yeah," Joan nodded.

.

.

"Well, Lila seems nice," Beth told Kevin when the other girl had excused herself for the sixth time in twenty minutes.

Kevin nodded. "She is." He rolled his eyes. "We aren't engaged."

Beth's eyebrows shot up. "What? Why would she lie?"

"Lila's… She's not exactly known for her rationality. And she makes Joan look stable."

"Huh?"

Kevin sighed. "Lila's not even my girlfriend. She's a friend of Joan's who thought she could help and somehow made everything more complicated." He smiled softly. "Just like Joan would've."

Beth laughed. "Somehow I doubt Joan would've pretended to be your fiancée."

Kevin nodded in agreement. "Well, yeah. But you know what I mean."

Beth nodded, taking a cookie from a plate and offering it to him. "Yeah… so why are you here?"

"Well, I read that newspaper announcement thing about your engagement and I couldn't stop thinking about how you told me that you didn't think you were ready for marriage. And that was only a couple of months ago. So…"

"What changed," Beth finished.

"Yeah."

Beth sighed, and thought for a moment before answering. "I guess it was partially our last conversation… or fight. And the summer. I don't know. It's just different now."

Kevin shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "About that…"

Beth smiled sadly. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." Kevin shook his head. "I was an idiot, Beth. Back in May and before the accident. I kind of let my ego get in the way of…"

"Everything," Beth laughed. "I know."

"Yeah." Kevin bit his lip. "Back then… the reason I acted like an idiot… I was a stupid high school guy. And my ego… really got in the way then. I let myself get caught up in the guy crap. And when Jeannie seemed so into me…"

"You let it happen."

He nodded. "It was never about you, Beth. I was completely in love with you then. I was just too scared to admit it."

Beth smiled softly, taking a bite from a cookie. "You never told me that."

"I was scared; I told you that. I wasn't sure if you loved me, and I was worried about what the guys would think. So instead of being a man about it, I ran away. And hooked up with the first girl I could, just to show I wasn't whipped."

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

Beth shrugged, holding out another cookie. "I love Todd, but listening to you… I don't think I'm doing the mature thing by agreeing to marry him… that sounds weird."

Kevin smiled, taking the cookie from her. "I get it."

.

.

Grace frowned. Why had she told Luke? "I don't know," she said aloud, and then, shocked by her own voice, looked up.

Luke was staring at her, his gaze penetrating and deep. "Grace…"

"Listen, Luke. I don't do relationships. I don't want a boyfriend. I've told you this a hundred times. I don't want to date you."

Luke groaned in frustration, his gaze still burning into hers. "What do you want, Grace?" he cried, irritated.

Grace shrugged. "I don't know. This is exactly why I can have… whatever with Conner. He doesn't ask for a definition of our 'relationship.'"

Luke winced at the mention of Conner, and Grace almost wished she could take it back. "Well then, I'm sorry I'm not Conner."

"I didn't mean-"

"Yeah, you did, Grace. And I get it if you don't want to define what we have. It frustrates me, but if you don't want to, it's up to you."

"What do you-"

He wasn't done though. "I just know that I can't keep doing this. I can't keep sitting across the table from you, or walking next to you, or being in a class with you, and not at least knowing what we aren't." He stopped long enough to take a deep breath before continuing, "I get that we aren't dating, or boyfriend and girlfriend, but I don't even know if we're friends."

"We are-"

"I'm not asking you to change, or even to talk to me in public. I just don't want to keep doing this. I want to get past this constant wondering. Because every time I think I know where we stand-"

"Luke!"

He froze, searching her eyes. She knew immediately that it was because she'd used his name, and that he was smart enough to know she used nicknames to distance herself from people. "What?" he asked quietly.

She leaned forward slowly. "We're friends," she whispered right before her lips met his. It was a quick kiss, but when she pulled away he was smiling.

"You always surprise me," he mumbled, leaning in to kiss her again.

.

.

.

NEXT: Joan turns her back on God as a string of roberries hits close to home and Helen fights for her job. Grace and Luke continue with their strange relationship as Lila and Kevin hang out.