"Anita, hi, where did you come from?" A.J. had a shocked look on his face, then Rick decided to rescue him, then rag him later.

"From the fountain of youth, obviously, you look great, hon." Rick took her none-to-gracefully from his brother and gave her a brief squeeze, not missing the decidedly polite smile the frosty redhead flashed.

"So do you, Rick, marriage must become you, you look very settled." Rick grinned. Touche.

"Well, thank you, I think my little brother and my wife might agree with you. Speaking of which, here come our ladies." Rick gave a nudge to A.J., who looked over at the elevators, then beamed at the sight of Linda in a red velvet sheath. Laurie was right behind her in a Chinese style jade cocktail dress, part of Rick's anniversary gift, and he had the satisfaction of seeing his brother's former girl friend turn red as A.J. put an arm around both women.

"You two put everyone else to shame, Linny, you look …incredible." He said, then remembered Anita standing in front of them.

"Honey, this is Anita Cooper, Anita, this is my wife, Linda. Anita and I were friends in high school."

Now Anita was practically gritting her teeth, "friends, oh come on, A.J., we were more than friends. I could tell your wife some stories, but…."

"I'm sure you could, Anita, you always had an interesting tale up your sleeve." Laurie interrupted her, giving her a glacial smile. Rick was suddenly on edge, Laurie had never liked Anita, had even told their Mom she was no good for her "little brother".

At once he saw Anita frown, "how do I know you, wait a minute…." A.J. glanced at his brother then interjected, "You remember Laurie, don't you? Laurie was Laurie Scott, she lived around the corner from us."

"Laurie Scott, you're some big time author now, aren't you?" Now a look of jealousy crossed the woman's face, and immediately Linda rose to the occasion.

"Yes she is, Anita. A very important person, too. She not only makes Rick happy, she's responsible for my meeting this handsome guy, speaking of handsome…" Linda put her arms around A.J. and he instantly responded with a kiss.

Laurie raised her eyebrows, then turned back to their former classmate. "Well, it was interesting seeing you again, Anita, maybe we'll run into you in another twenty years."

Rick wanted to laugh at the blatant dismissal but controlled himself as A.J. released his wife long enough to blurt, "nice seeing you, again." Taking Linda's arm, he led her toward the restaurant as Rick nodded "likewise". Laurie's hand in his, the two Simons left the woman standing alone in the lobby.

"Darlin'." Rick began, feeling her fingers close around his as they approached the restaurant.

"Yes, love."

He brought her hand to his lips. "Remind me never to get you jealous, you don't fight fair."

"I don't fight fair when someone I love might get hurt." She sighed. He slipped his arm around her as she leaned against him.

"My wild Valkrie, never change." Rick murmured, then stopping in the doorway of the dining room, dropped a kiss on her lips, bringing a blush to her cheeks as he escorted her to their table.

The next week was a busy one for the Simons, as Rick and A.J. hurried to finish any outstanding cases before the start of their Christmas vacation.

Not so busy, however, for Rick to notice dark circles under his little brother's eyes when he came into the office on Wednesday.

"Late night with Robin, A.J.?" he asked, thinking his nephew was getting a little old for keeping his parents up.

"I wish." A.J. yawned, then shook his head. "I'm only glad Linda slept in this morning, I'd be afraid for her to be driving on the amount of sleep we got."

At Rick's inquiring look, A.J. sighed. "Anita Cooper's been calling. Apparently she's in town near the airport. At first I was concerned, she called 3 times Monday night, saying she thought someone was following her. I even called the police for her, but there was no one. Last night, I think she was, well, she'd been drinking, so she called at 12., then 1. I turned the machine on, but then we couldn't sleep for fear we'd miss someone calling in an emergency."

Concerned, his brother went to their kitchenette, then brought back a cup of coffee and the extra egg white burrito Laurie'd made for him.

"Here, you eat this, then we'll figure out how to get that gal off your back. What did Linda have to say about her calling?"

"Well, she wasn't exactly happy, seems Anita left a rambling message yesterday, I didn't find out about it until last night. To think I once was crazy about her….." A.J. said wearily, then managed a smile when Rick replied, "Yeah, and your big sis didn't much like that. I remember before she left, she told Mom Anita was no good for you."

"She did?" A.J. was startled.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but well, you know Laurie's instincts are usually right on." Rick frowned. This was something that had bothered him even as a kid, something Anita did really set his girl off.

Just then the phone rang, and Rick immediately picked it up. "Simon and Simon".

Silence, then .."Rick, may I speak to A.J.?"

Anita. Anger swelled in Rick as he tightly responded "Anita, I don't think he or his wife have any business with you, nor do I except to tell you to stop calling him."

"What do you mean, my business with him is that I love him. I want him back." Now the woman's voice was slurring, and Rick was disgusted. "That was 27 years ago, Anita, I suggest you go back to where you came from, don't call here again!"

"Rick?" A.J. motioned at him to give him the phone, and her next words made it evident that was a good idea.

"I don't believe he doesn't want to talk to me-he has to tell me himself and I'll keep calling until I talk to him!"

Rick reluctantly handed his brother the phone.

Clearing his throat, A.J. took the receiver. "Anita, it's A.J.."

He listened for a moment, then firmly told her "No, I don't love you, I love my wife, and I told you to get some help. I'm not responsible for your life or your drinking. If you call or harass me or my wife in any way, I'll call the police, understand?"

Rick could hear crying on the other end, then A.J. hung up.

"That's that, hopefully." The younger Simon sighed.

The rest of the morning passed peacefully enough, then around lunch time the phone rang.

Rick picked it up, "Simon and Simon".

"Rick, it's Ron, do you know a "Anita Cooper?"

He groaned, "Yeah, Ron, she's a gal we used to know in San Diego; did she call you guys?"

"Yes, apparently she's had officers out several times to her hotel on Mission Way. First she says someone is stalking her and you two won't help her, then we had to book her for drunk and disorderly. Now she's called three times in the last hour claiming A.J. is her husband and won't come home." Ron's tone was humorous.

"Oh God, Ron, this Cooper gal is over the bend. She's been harassing A.J. and Linda since this weekend. Seems she blames him and me for everything wrong in her life. We hadn't even seen her in 22 years until we bumped into her in San Diego this weekend." A.J. shook his head then dialed his house.

"Oh great, I bet Linda's been real happy about this. Do you guys want to swear out a restraining order against her, at least they'll have some protection." Ron advised.

"Would you, Ron?" At the look on A.J.'s face, Rick made the decision. "Just a minute, pal."

He put their friend on hold, then glanced at his brother.

"Rick, Anita called the house and claimed we've been having an affair. When Linda told her she was a liar and to leave us alone, she said it was all Laurie and yours fault and that you'd pay." A.J.'s face was worried. "It's being taken care of, A.J., " Rick told him reassuredly. He went back to Ron.

"Ron, can you process that and we'll come sign the papers? Anita called Linda and threatened Laurie and I."

"I'll do it right now, and I'm going to have her picked up for violating her bail. That ought to take care of her for a while." The chief of detectives explained.

"Thanks, Ron, I appreciate. We'll close up right now and be over in a few minutes." Rick ended the call, then looked up over at his silent brother. "A.J., you didn't do anything wrong, so take that expression off your face."

A.J. was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"All those years I used to wonder if I made a mistake in letting her go. Boy, was I wrong, I married the right woman after all."

"You sure did!" Rick asserted, then a glimmer of a smile appeared on A.J.'s face.

"Remind me to bring a lemon pie for dinner on Sunday; you and Laurie have earned it."