Olivia sighed in exasperation. "Who is it?"

Bill looked at the name. Harley Cooper. He inwardly grimaced, and the internal debate begun. What if she was in trouble? What if this was something completely random? He stared at it blankly, as if willing it to decide for itself. Olivia pulled out of his grasp, and moved towards the bathroom. "Answer it," she called back, raising her eyebrows challengingly.

Bill shrugged at her helplessly, and mentally willed her to forgive him. Olivia just shook her head knowingly, and shut the door. He could hear her humming softly to herself as he answered the call. "Hello?"

"Bill?"

"Yes, Harley, what is it? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you remember what I was telling you earlier about -"

"Just shut up for a minute! Please!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"We're ... we're in trouble."

"We? Who's we?"

"I don't have time to explain ... please ... you have to help us."

"Harley, what is going on? I really don't have time for games."

"I think that Phillip -"

"What? Harley? Hello?"

There was a strangled sound, and with a click the line went dead. Bill was on his feet. His mind was a jumble of questions. Trepidation enveloped him as he contemplated what it would mean for Harley and for whoever else was with her if Phillip had discovered her secret. He had to get to the Spaulding mansion and figure out what was going on. He couldn't just leave someone in a predicament like that. It wasn't right. Bill glanced toward's the bathroom door. He knew what he had to do.

Mustering his strength, he knocked softly. Olivia's voice floated back to him "Yes?"

"Olivia ... erm ... are you decent?"

Olivia laughed from within. "I'm sure your hoping for a negative, Captain."

"Actually, I have something to tell you. Right now." Bill forced his voice to be calm.

Olivia, however, detected the note of worry in his voice. She came out. To what would have normally been his delight, she was wearing her lingerie as if she had been in the process of changing. Bill gulped. Hard. "Um, wow. Well ... yes, I have something I need to tell you."

Olivia nodded. "So you said."

"Yes, I did, yeah," Bill cleared his throat. "Would you mind maybe putting on ...?"

"Oh, sure." Olivia wrapped a robe around her lascivious frame. Bill mentally shook himself and reorganized his thoughts.

"Right. Well, I really have no clue where to begin."

"Let's see. You have to run and rescue Harley from the big, bad clutches of Life!"

Bill favored her with a sardonic smile. "Yes and no. Oh, boy. This is going to be harder than I thought it would be. Whew."

"Oh, now I've got it. You're divorcing me after only an evening of marriage so you and Harley can run away together. That phone call was confirming your arrangements and your undying love for each other."

Bill looked at her in exasperation. "Olivia Lewis! Please! I don't make it a habit to runaway to Vegas with old babysitters."

She beamed, pleased to hear her new name, and slugged him merrily on the shoulder. In return, he took her gently by her shoulders and sat her down on the bed so she faced him. He knelt down so their eyes were level. He gripped her shoulders for a moment longer and looked at her.

"What?" Olivia inquired, find it all a bit peculiar. "Was that ... you're not dying, right?"

The tension eased a bit as Bill chuckled. "No, no. Not that. You might kill me when I'm through saying what I'm about to say, though. So I'm going to remember you like this. I'm going to remember you looking so peaceful and non-furious."

"Just spill it," Olivia said. "I won't get upset."

"Don't make any promises."

"I didn't. Tell me."

"Uh, okay," Bill exhaled air he didn't realize he'd been holding in. "You remember when you, Harley, and I were trying to think of ways we could get into Phillip's secret world. We were trying to find a way to get on the inside and undercover, right? We wanted to infiltrate the enemy forces."

"Right," Olivia nodded. "And we were kind of playing it from the outside. Trying to get the list of stockholders and trying to prevent Phillip from taking Company and Cross Creek."

"Yes, yes," Bill said. "We were doing that. You were helping to do that." Bill got up and paced the room with anxiety. "You have to understand, please understand, that I didn't know if I could trust you. I knew that you were on your own, separate power-kick. I thought for a long time that all you wanted to do was use me and what I had, and then kick me away when you got what you wanted. I didn't know how ... how deep any feelings for Phillip ran. I didn't know if there was a part of you that might still be in love with him."

Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but Bill held up his hand. She fell back into silence.

"Please, let me finish. I feel stupid enough as it is trying to just say this to you. I ... I made a mistake. A big mistake. I chose to trust you, but not to trust you all the way. I really am not sure what happened. For some reason I trusted you implicitly when it came to Dinah. I just knew somehow that you would never betray my trust with that circumstance. Harley came up with this idea. She came up with a brilliant, dangerous plan to go incognito and squeeze information from Phillip and be able to predict his next moves."

"Incognito? What do you mean?"

"For the last while here, she has been posing as an employee of Phillip's. His personal assistant."

"What! How is that possible? Phillip knows Harley on sight! Anyone would know Harley on sight. This doesn't make any sense ..."

"She has been wearing a disguise. Heavy make-up, wig, glasses, baggy clothes, fat-suit, prosthetics, and who knows what else. The whole enchilada. She talks in this creepy, nasal way. She signed up for separate phone lines for when Phillip or anyone at Spaulding calls her. We've given her a background. Everything. Only she and I know about this."

Olivia sat very still, staring hard at the patterns in the carpet. Her mind was churning and flitting back and forth so rapidly it was making her head hurt. She reached up a hand and clutched her forehead, and began massaging. Why hadn't he told her? There was no reason on earth that she could think of that would have made her divulge such a lethal secret. I am going to kill him, she thought angrily, I am going to never, ever believe a word he says again. How could he betray my trust this way? How could he hide this from me when we are supposed to be partners? This was supposed to be our mission. We were the original team and he went behind my back. He probably never would have told me had something not happened. What do I say to him?

Bill watched her. "Olivia. I'm going to have to ask for your forgiveness once more tonight. That call just now was from Harley. It was very bizarre, and the line got cut off. I think she is in big trouble, and that we have to go help her. It's the right thing to do, and I know that you know that."

"And was it right, Bill, for you to lie to me?" Olivia asked, hoarsely.

"Not at all. It was dead wrong. As usual, I made a mistake. I can't do anything about it now. I can't change what I chose to do. I need your help. I can't do this by myself. You know how the Spaulding's work. You know where they might go, what they do, and you know the mansion. You know Phillip. You know Alan. I don't know the intimates. I only know outside information. Harley kept tabs on the inside. That is the reason I have spent so much time with her." He wasn't sure why he added on that last sentence, but saw Olivia's tense shoulders relax just a little bit.

"I really don't know what to say to you," Olivia began. "I really don't owe you a damn thing. This was completely wrong. You can justify it how you like, but I thought, foolishly, that I was an equal part of this business."

"Olivia, I married you today. I married you to keep you here and to keep you safe. Harley was the one who saved you from being stuck in Denmark for the rest of your life. I know that doesn't change what I did. I care for you deeply. Know that. Trust that. Are you going to help me?"

Olivia was struck by his words. Yes, she knew that he was the reason she wasn't flying home right now. She knew that Harley had helped save her from becoming a Danish prostitute. That last thought nearly made her smile. She looked up at Bill. She saw the pleading, hopeful, and contrite look in his eyes. She observed his nervous stance and the ticking of the clock warning them that time was passing. She realized he really had no time to waste. She realized he could have chosen to run out on her, or to have told her in a rush while pushing her out the door. He didn't. He took time to try and make it right. Olivia shook her head.

"Let's go, then," she said. Olivia walked near the closet and dropped off the robe. She put on a pair of black jeans and a red halter top that had been in her overnight bag. She threw on her jacket and shoes. Walking over to the door, she stood there expectantly.

Bill watched all this with some amazement. He walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. Thank you."

The pair quickly made there way down the hall, in the elevator, and out the main doors of Towers. Upon exiting into the parking lot they were met with a wet shock. The rain was coming down in torrents. Sheets of it fell at a time, spilling against the shining pavement. The thunder roared somewhere in the night sky. Bill grabbed Olivia's hand and leaned in close to her ear. "Do you see my car?"

Olivia squinted. "Make that noise with your key chain thing."

Bill pushed the button, and a ways off they heard the familiar clicking sound. They ran blindly towards that direction of the sound. Bill hurriedly unlocked the doors and Olivia dove in the passenger's seat. The car doors slammed in unison. Bill backed out carefully as Olivia flipped on the heater.

"Ah, wow," Bill sighed as he felt the dry, warm air hit his face. "That feels great."

Olivia shivered. "I didn't know it was still coming down this hard."

"Yeah, we might be in for some trouble," Bill said.

"We're on our way. The trouble doesn't start till we actually get to the Spaulding mansion. Why do you say that?"

"Hoo boy. That's why!" Bill pointed out onto the road. Cars lined both sides, packed tightly. A random horn honked somewhere ahead. The traffic was progressing only inches at a time.

"Can't we take a back road?" Olivia turned to look behind them.

"Don't think so, lady," Bill groaned. "We just got boxed in. We are going to have to wait it out."

"But Harley might not have a lot of time!" Olivia squeezed his arm. "We have to get there now! Should we try and walk?

"Well, we can't leave the car in the middle of the road. I can't even pull over. We would probably both catch pneumonia and die horrible, painful deaths and not do anyone any good at all. Plus, we're not going to be able to see. It's coming down too hard, and too fast." The windshield wipers were on their highest setting, and were squeaking back and forth restlessly.

"What do we do?" Olivia folded her arms and gripped her shoulders.

Bill honked hard on his horn, before letting his head fall back against the headrest and rolling his eyes up to the roof. "Wait it out. There really is no other option."

"I could try and go alone. You could stay with the car ..."

"There is no way at all that I am letting you go out into the rain, into the dark, and into the cold alone. There is no way I'm letting you try and find the mansion let alone go in there by yourself. Forget it. We're staying together."

"Fine! Fine," Olivia grumbled. "Be that way. I was just trying to help."

Bill sighed. "If she gets hurt it will be on my head. If you had known from the beginning, none of this would have happened. We could have dropped everything and just come to her aid, like the team we are supposed to be."

Olivia looked at his pained expression. She took his hand in hers. He grasped it firmly, as if her fingertips could relieve him of his guilt. They sat for a short while in silence. It was a bit uneasy; neither one of them knew what to feel. The sound of impatient drivers and the pelting rain chipped away at the peacefulness. Finally, Bill gave a little cough and withdrew his hand. Olivia, trying to contain any disappointment, folded her hands in her lap and faced her window.

Still more time passed. The traffic moved slightly, and Bill tried to satisfy himself with being able to lurch forward five inches. Feeling a bit awkward, he mustered the courage to speak.

"So, how are you?" he drawled dimly.

Olivia was startled by his voice. "Splendid. Thank you for asking. How are you?"

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old."

"That's really good."

"It's fantastic."

"I can't even imagine."

"Why is this so hard?"

"Excuse me?" Olivia glanced in his direction.

Bill sighed. "It's my fault things get so tense between us. We really seem to jump around to only two subjects when we talk these days. We talk about business ... or we start talking dirty."

Olivia shifted in her seat. "I don't know what you want me to say. I don't even know if you consider me your friend, and yet you married me. That definitely puts us in a very crazy situation."

"Insane," Bill agreed. "But I do think of you as my friend. You really have been a friend to me. You're probably the only friend I truly have right now. I mean, Harley only started to associate with me after we all teamed up. Michelle doesn't remember who I am. My family is always pushed to the limit dealing with extraordinary problems. I don't know where I fit in. When I'm with you, things don't seem so dire. Things might still be complicated, yet they feel simple at the same time. Am I making any sense at all?"

"Perfect sense," Olivia said. "I feel the same." Her heart begged to differ. What she was feeling was a lot stronger. It wasn't simply that she enjoyed his company or liked him as a person.

"Sometimes I don't know what to give you," Bill continued. "I don't know how ... how to take care of you. I am afraid I will hurt you if I push too hard, or if I fall short."

"Yeah, it was easier when it was just lust and revenge," Olivia tried to say it jokingly, but it came out sounding half-hearted.

They were both disconcerted when silence fell in the vehicle once more. Both were lost in their own, jumbled thoughts.

"This silence is driving me nuts," Bill finally admitted. "Do you want to put on some music?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," Olivia hit the radio dial. Fuzz and static met their ears. "Ugh!" Olivia turned it back off again.

"Station's must be experiencing technical difficulties," Bill lamented. "But, never fear! Look in that compartment between the seats. I've got a bunch of CDs in there. Go ahead and pick something you might like. Although, don't pick anything to head bashing. I'm edgy as it is. My nerves are fried."

Olivia chuckled softly, and opened up the case. "Hmm, interesting. My, what a lot of rock you have in here. Eighties, nineties ... good stuff. Something calm, something calm. You have some country in here."

Bill grimaced. "From the good old Texan days."

"Ah, the Lorelei days."

Bill looked at her sarcastically. "Yes, the Lorelei days. Just shove something in! Geez."

Olivia suppressed a grin, and went back to flipping through. "Gracious, what's this? Sarah Brightman? Josh Groban? I never knew you were so cultured."

"Huh?" Bill glanced down. "Pff! Those are not mine. I'd love to say I am so polished and refined so I could impress you. Actually, those are Dinah's. She gives these people to me because she tells me they're 'pretty' and I should listen to them."

"Never said your sister didn't have bad taste," Olivia said. "I love opera."

"Could you really consider Josh Groban opera?" Bill queried.

"In a way," Olivia said. "I would think you would like it better since it's not too over-the-top."

"I actually haven't listened to them yet," Bill said sheepishly. "Dinah would be angry."

"Don't want to get her angry," Olivia teased.

"Put it on. I don't care. Hopefully it will turn out to be soothing and not ... annoying."

Olivia popped in Closer, but left the volume low.

"I can't understand what he's singing," said Bill.

"That's part of the beauty," Olivia sighed.

"Whatever you say!" Bill shook his head.

Olivia ran her fingers through her still damp hair. "We've been together a long time, haven't we?"

Bill gave her a look. "I wouldn't call a few months a long time."

"I mean before that," Olivia went on. "Do you remember when you first came back to town?"

Bill laughed. "Oh, yes. I remember that. Years had passed, and when I saw you again, I was amused that Uncle Josh couldn't hang onto you. You were too much for him to handle, I guess."

Olivia bristled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Josh knows Reva inside-out. Reva knows Josh inside-out. It was inevitable that they would get back together. Plus," he cocked an eyebrow. "I think you were too fiery. You were too primally sexual. You were too unpredictable. You were his exotic, caged bird. One day you would have to be set free to go back into the wild."

Olivia didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. "So you're saying you can 'handle' me, whereas Josh couldn't?"