Emma sat silently in the room trying to take in what had just happened. Had Shalimar just broken up with her? She didn't think that was very likely but found it hard to tell with the way things had been going. She thought Shalimar understood her playfulness and didn't take her too seriously. She'd never meant to upset or offend the feral and now deeply regretted teasing her. All she wanted to do was lighten the mood after the hardships they'd already been through.

Emma sighed as she fell back to the couch. She noticed a paper pad on the arm of the couch and reached for it. It didn't take her long to realize it seemed to be almost a poem or some sort of descriptive writing about her from Shalimar. She read the words which described her sleeping sweetly on the sofa and the love the feral felt for her. As Emma read on it only added to her regret and sadness. The more lovely words she read the worse about herself she felt. She knew Shalimar did indeed feel really bad for all their troubles so far and she also knew it wasn't all her fault. The only thing she couldn't seem to get around was how irresponsible Shalimar had seemed to act towards their trip. She couldn't help be annoyed that she didn't check for all their necessities before they embarked upon their vacation. That bothered Emma more than she liked. She felt it showed Shalimar had rushed into it and not really took the care to properly plan it. Why hadn't she spent more time making everything perfect? Emma knew she shouldn't dwell on a thing like that but couldn't ignore the nagging in the pit of her stomach asking her why the feral didn't care about making everything just right.

Emma decided she had to do something to get her mind off her troubling problems. She placed the notepad down on the coffee table and reached for the remote to the TV. As she was just about to turn it on she heard a click and noticed the whole room go dark. She pushed the power button but knew it was no use as the power was now out. Emma rolled her eyes and stood to her feet. She tossed the remote down to the cushions and headed out the door.

As she entered the main hallway she made her way to the clerk behind the desk.

"Excuse me," she began with a smile, "is something wrong?"

"The storm took out all the power, ma'am," the clerk replied as he wrote in the log book.

"Storm?"

"Yeah, you haven't heard it?"

Emma look puzzled at his words and before she could answer heard the loud cracking of thunder that seemed to be right above them. She must've not heard it over her fighting with Shalimar.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there," the man continued, "been like that for half an hour now."

"But I need to take a shower. I walked all day yesterday and I'm filthy."

"I'm sorry about that but I don't expect that power to be comin' back on anytime soon."

Emma sighed heavily in total frustration as she headed back to the room. When she entered she found Shalimar standing by the doorway.

"The power's out all through the place," Shalimar said as she crossed her arms at the incoming psionic.

"I noticed."

"So that means I can't call to get the car fixed. No one in the inn has a cell phone."

A cell phone, what a good idea, Emma thought but decided not to say.

"I'm headed over to the restaurant to check over there," the feral said as she stepped back towards the door. "Wanna come?"

"Sure," Emma replied and followed the feral out the door. They walked down the hall and headed for the main entrance.

"Are you ladies going out in this? It's only gonna get worse," the desk clerk warned as he noticed them about to open the door.

"We're just going next door," Shalimar informed, "we'll be fine, thanks."

"The power's out over there too. Make sure you shut that door tight. It's only expected to get windier and stronger."

"We will," Shalimar said as she and Emma headed out the door and pulled it tightly shut behind them.

Shalimar prepared the open the umbrella she'd borrowed from the container by the door as they stepped outside into the strong winds and rain. They made their way through the storm next door to the restaurant. When they reached the door they could hardly wait to enter and quickly stepped inside. Shalimar shook herself off as she closed the umbrella upon entering the restaurant. She looked around the see only a few people inside. Emma shook the rain from her body and followed Shalimar over past the bar. She saw a different bartender behind the counter and wondered if maybe he had a cell phone.

"Excuse me," Shalimar called to the bar tender as she whipped a wet strand of hair from her eyes.

"This is quite a time to get the munchies ain't it?"

"Not that. I was wondering if you know of anyone that has a cell phone."

"Nope. I don't have one and I haven't seen anyone use one in quite a while."

Shalimar sighed feeling things couldn't get worse. She turned around and headed over the couple sitting in a booth by the window.

"Should we leave?" Emma asked the man as she wondered if it was ok to be there at a time like this.

"Don't hafta. This place is open during storms. We have storm windows and a first aid kit. Lots of the people who live next door come over here when it gets like this."

"Do you know how long this storm is gonna last?"

"Nope. I heard at least a day or two. It's just passing over us."

Emma turned to notice Shalimar heading back over to stand beside her. She crossed her arms before her chest as she stood before the psionic with a disappointed look on her face.

"No one has a cell phone. I think we're gonna hafta wait this storm out."

"How can no one have cell phones?" Emma asked. "This is like a trip back in time."

"You say you need a cell phone?" a woman called from behind them as they turned to see who was there. Shalimar turned as she hadn't noticed the woman behind the arcade machine.

"Yeah, very much," Emma answered.

"Here," the woman said with a smile as she headed over to them. She reached into her back pocket and removed a purple cell phone and handed it to Emma. "You're welcome to use mine."

"Thank you so much," Emma replied as she pulled the number out of her pocket and began to work the phone. "Our car broke down and I wanna call the garage and tell them to come help as soon as the storm's over." Emma looked down to the phone upon hearing the beeping coming from it. She sighed as she saw the message window telling her there was no service.

"Sorry," the woman said as Emma handed her the phone back. "These storms are bad for cell phone service. It should be better after it passes."

"Well, thank you anyway," Emma said as she forced herself to smile. As the woman smiled back Emma noticed how pretty she was. Her striking green eyes were warm and friendly and she felt like she'd known the stranger before. She saw the flawless skin and remarkable curves of the woman before her. She tried not to stare at the nicely sculpted jaw line of the woman beneath her rosy cheeks. Her hair was blonde with red highlights and she screamed beauty queen from every pore.

"Are you two staying at the inn next door?"

"Actually, we're just passing through but yeah for now we're kinda forced too,"

Emma replied.

"Cool. Well, maybe I'll see you there later," the woman said with a smile and turned to go back about her business.

"I'm gonna head back to the inn," Shalimar said in a huff. "I'm kinda tired."

"I'll join you later," Emma said faintly before catching herself looking at the new stranger again. She turned back to Shalimar's gaze to notice a displaced look in the ferals' brown eyes as she headed out the restaurant door.

Emma had to admit she was pretty tired as well but felt it best her and Shalimar had more time apart for now. She could tell the feral was still pretty reluctant to talk things out. Emma headed over to the bar and ordered herself a coke. She made her way to an empty booth and slid herself inside. She sat pondering everything that had happened today and yesterday. She never dreamed anything like that would happen between her and Shalimar. She felt so bad and hurt like an open wound was apparent deep within her skin and her heart.

"Hey."

Emma turned at the strangers' voce standing beside her. She quickly realized it was the pretty woman with the cell phone.

"Mind if I sit down?" she asked.

"No, go ahead," Emma answered with a sweet smile. The woman smiled in return and slid herself into the seat across from Emma.

"I'm Barbie," she said as she stuck her hand out to greet the stranger.

"Hi, I'm Emma," the psionic answered as she shock the woman's hand. She noticed how soft her skin was and a smile spread across her face at their touch.

"Barbie, that's an interesting name."

"Well, it's Barbara, but I always go by Barbie."

"Cool," Emma replied as she took a sip from her soda.

"So," Barbie began as she paused before continuing, "was that your girlfriend I saw you with?"

"Oh, um," Emma was somewhat taken by surprise by Barbie's blunt words. "Yeah."

"Cool. You're both very pretty."

"Thanks."

"So what are you guys doing here?"

"Actually it's our one month anniversary. She, Shalimar, was taking me somewhere else but we kinda got sidetracked and here we are."

"Ah. Makes sense. No one would come here voluntarily I don't think."

Emma smiled at the words. She felt herself beginning to relax and calm down at talking with the woman.

"So where you headed?"

"I don't know. It's a surprise. She hasn't told me."

"Well, I'm sure it's much better than this."

"It's gotta be," Emma agreed. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was just driving by and the storm hit. I decided I should probably come inside and keep dry."

Emma smiled as she continued talking with her new friend. She tried to push all thoughts of her problems with Shalimar out of her head and enjoy a nice conversation.

As Shalimar headed back in the inn she tried to shake some of the water off her. She placed the umbrella back in the can and made her way to the sitting room.

"Ma'am! Ma'am!"

Shalimar turned to the man calling her from behind.

"Ma'am, we've got a room for you now if you'd like. A woman checked out this morning before the storm hit. It's all ready if you'd like it. I'd recommend it since this storm is expected to last through tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah sure, thanks."

"If you'll just follow me to the desk we'll make the proper arrangements."

Shalimar headed over to the service desk and signed the appropriate paper work and left her credit card with the clerk. He smiled and handed her two keys in return.

"Could you do me a favor? You know the girl I was traveling with? When you see her just tell her where to find me."

"Sure thing," the man replied. "And if you need anything don't hesitate to call me or one of the maids.
"Thanks."

Shalimar took the keys and began to head up to her new room. She made her way up the stairs and down the hall until she saw the room with the number two on the outside. She put the key in the lock and turned the knob to enter her new room. She stepped inside and realized the inn wasn't a bad place at all. It actually seemed pretty romantic. There was a chandelier hanging from the middle of the room and a large queen sized bed against the wall to her right. She could tell this room definitely had a woman's touch applied to it. The wallpaper was tasteful and the carpet was clean as could be and matched the walls and the curtains. She headed over past the bed to the table beside the window and tossed her keys on top of it. She headed into the connecting bathroom which was quite large. It was white and sky blue with clean towels and plenty of soaps.

Shalimar smiled in satisfaction at her new room. She turned the knob to the sink and began to wash her hands. She turned to the towel beside her to dry them before heading back into the room. She tossed her jacket on the chair in the corner and noticed a laminated paper standing up beside the small fridge on the counter in the corner next to a cute little microwave. She made her way over and picked it up and read the words upon it.

"Please help yourself to the complimentary food in your fridge. Enjoy! Sincerely, Your Staff."

Shalimar liked the way that sounded very much and placed the page back down. She opened the fridge to see what was inside and decided to have one of the sandwiches she found. It occurred to her that the food her and Emma had stashed in the car would probably be no good by the time they got back there. She took one of the paper plates and napkins from beside the fridge and sat down on the bed to eat her lunch. She reached for the notepad on the table and began to write as she ate silently in the dark.

As Emma sat in her booth she noticed her watch informing her she'd been talking with Barbie for almost two hours.

"Oh, I should probably get going, it's been over an hour," Emma said. "Shalimar's probably wondering where I am."

"I didn't mean to keep you so long on your anniversary."

"It's actually not for a couple days. But no you didn't. I enjoyed talking with you."

"Let me give you my phone number in case I don't run into you again. I'd love for us all to hang out sometime."

"Great," Emma said with a smile as Barbie handed her a piece of paper. Emma took it as she stood to her feet and placed it in her back pocket. "It was nice meeting you," Emma said as she leaned to hug her new friend.

"You too, Emma. I hope we can talk again sometime."

"Me too. See ya later."

Emma smiled and headed for the door. She found herself back in the rain as she made her way to the inn. She entered in a slight run and whipped her feet on the mat. She felt like a wet rodent after traipsing through the huge downpour and began to make her way back to the sitting room.

"There you are, ma'am," a mans' voice called from behind. "Your friend rented you a room. It's number two straight up the stairs."

"Oh, thank you," Emma said as she began to make her way up the staircase and towards the room. She lifted her arm to knock on the door when she reached it.

"Shal, you in there?"

"Hey," Shalimar said as she offered a smile upon opening the door. "I thought we might be here so I got us a room. Now you can get a good night sleep."

"Thanks," Emma said as she stepped into the room.

Shalimar closed the door behind her and Emma made her way into the bathroom to dry herself off. Shalimar headed over to the bed to lie down. She sprawled out on her back with her hands behind her head and starred at the ceiling.

"There's food if you're hungry," she called the Emma in the bathroom.

"Maybe in a little while," the psionic answered back.

A few minutes later Emma stepped from the bathroom almost completely dry and headed over to the chair to sit down.

"I wish I could take a shower," Emma said in a sigh.

As the two girls sat in silence in the darkened room they both knew they should talk though neither of them seemed to be able to start a conversation. They sat quietly for a few moments hearing the silence slice its way between them. Shalimar wanted to talk things out with Emma more than anything but couldn't seem to find the right words to say. Emma sat at the table awaiting the feral to make a move. She wondered if maybe Shalimar didn't want to talk or else she probably would be. They listened to the raging storm outside and Emma felt relived she was sitting by a storm window as the fierce winds blew by seeming to shake the inn.

"So, this place isn't too bad. I think we can make the best of it," Shalimar finally offered without looking from the ceiling.

"Yeah," Emma agreed softly and barely audible.

"So," Shalimar began with a pause. "Where you been?"

"Oh, I was just talking to that woman at the restaurant, Barbie."

"Oh," Shalimar said softly and with a tone that caught Emma's attention.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what?"

"I told you, nothing."

Emma could tell Shalimar was hiding something she clearly didn't want to talk about. Emma decided she was already keeping enough from her and decided to probe further for information.

"What was that tone in your voice?"

Shalimar sighed at Emma's questioning.

"So did she flirt with you for two hours?"

"Flirt with me?"

"Yeah. She was hot for you."

"Everyone's not hot for me, Shal."

"I didn't say everyone was. I said she was. And you seemed to be enjoying the flirting."

"Excuse me? I hope you're not suggesting that I would flirt with a stranger while on our anniversary vacation, Shalimar, because I have to take issue with that."

"You always have to say something don't you?"

Emma shook her head at the amazement that she was unable to last ten minutes in Shalimar's company without fighting with her.

"What is it, Shal? Am I on some reality show where they make your life miserable and film it or something? Why do you love fighting with me so much?"

"I don't love it. But I'm not gonna ignore something like that on our trip. You were gone almost two hours with a total stranger over me. And a woman who flirted with you on top of it and I'm supposed to be ok with it?"

"No, you're supposed to trust me. And can I remind you that you're the one who walked out on me earlier."

"Well you moved on pretty quick," Shalimar snapped harshly. Emma grunted in annoyance and jumped to her feet.

"Then why'd you break up with me?"

"Break up with you? I never broke up with you, Emma," Shalimar said as she sat up in the bed. She folded her legs Indian style and braced her arms behind her body.

"Is that what this is about? You were trying to make me jealous?"

"No, Shal, I was just bored and talked to someone. Is that a crime?"

Emma couldn't believe Shalimar was even acting like this. She assumed it must be all the tension because she couldn't remember the feral ever acting in such a way.

"What has gotten into you?" she asked the feral.

"Nothing. Just forget it," Shalimar said as she lay back down on the pillow.

Emma rolled her eyes and sat back down on the chair. A few moments later she heard the wind and rain kicking up and noticed the room getting even darker than it already was. Looking around she'd swear it was the middle of the night. Emma sighed at the new darker atmosphere that seemed to reflect their relationship.

"Did I thank you for taking me on this trip, Shal?" Emma asked in a hint of slight sarcasm.

Shalimar paused as she rolled her eyes before answering.

"Actually, no, you haven't."

"Ah," Emma relied before letting the silence between them take over once more. Emma stood to her feet.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk," she said as she removed a bottled water from the fridge.

"Walk?" Shalimar echoed. "Didn't you notice the storm out there?"

"I didn't mean outside, just around the inn. I just need to move around."

Shalimar wondered if she would just rather be with her new friend instead of her. She wondered if it was apparent to Emma how hurt and regretful she was feeling. She wanted to beg Emma to stay but sat in silence instead hoping Emma wouldn't leave.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Emma answered. "I just need to be doing something. I'll be back soon."

"Ok."

"Bye," Emma said as she headed to the door and stepped out.