Dateline: Sunday, July 5, 1981, 10:27 PM, Parisian Standard Time.

Violet couldn't sleep that night. The dream she had on the plane still haunted her slightly. She just couldn't shake that image from her head. The image of herself hissing like an evil serpent had burned itself on the back of her eyelids. Violet was in desperate need of comforting. She wanted to talk to someone. Oddly, the first person who came to mind was Ashley.

She reached for her watch, then thought she'd better not bug the others with this. After some complex phone tag, she managed to get a number where she could reach her psychic friend. Violet trusted Ashley in a strange way. She had only known her for a few months, and yet she felt closer to her than she ever did to her brother Dash.

"Ashley?"

"Who's this?"

"It's Violet. Did I wake you?"

"Sort of. I wasn't asleep, but I was getting that way."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep, I was still thinking about that dream I had on the plane."

"Well, then don't think about it!"

"I wish it were that easy, Ash."

"It IS that easy, boss!"

Violet moaned. "You're just saying that so I'll hang up and you can go back to sleep, aren't you?"

"Partly, yes."

"I just need to talk to someone. I'm so lonely here."

Ashley sighed. "Okay, I'll stay on the line. So, how's France?"

"It's beautiful, just like I always thought it would be."

"You don't sound like you're enjoying yourself over there," Ashley observed.

"Well, I just got word that the mayor of Nice is presenting me with a medal for my 'extraordinary valor against such a vile villain.'"

"Hey, me too! Why aren't you more excited about it?"

"Because I've gotten quite a few of these before. It was fun and exciting the first time, but the eighth time it's just irritating. Get the picture?"

"Yeah, I think I understand."

"So, how's Germany?"

"It's…uh…German…to say the least."

Violet chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me, Ashley. One of these days, I'm going to have to adopt you as my daughter."

"You keep saying that, but you never do it," said Ashley.

"Well, I don't know if I could, what with us being the ages we are. You're almost an adult, and I'm only barely legal. But I promise, one way or another, you and I are going to be relatives."

Ashley stifled a laugh.

"I'm serious, Ash."

"Yeah, I know."

"So why are you laughing?"

"I was just thinking of another way." Oops. Ashley bit her tongue when she realized what she had said.

"What's that?"

"I shouldn't say."

"Oh, come on, you can tell me! What were you thinking of?"

"No, I really can't say, I promised someone!"

"Who'd you promise?"

"José. No, wait, d'oh!"

"Why'd you promise him you wouldn't say? Does it have something to do with him?"

"NO!"

"Oh my God, you were thinking of marrying him, weren't you?"

"No, I wasn't thinking about your boyfriend, I was thinking about your brother!" Oh my God, how did she drag that out of me?

"What? What did you say?"

Ashley sighed heavily. "I said I'm crushing on your brother, Violet."

"But why? He's happily married."

"For now."

Violet was surprised at what Ashley just said. "Ashley, you're not going to…?"

"No, of course not, don't be stupid!"

"Wow. I never would have thought of that. I mean, you were always picking on him." Silence. "Ohhhhh, now I get it."

"Yeah. Listen, you can't tell Kim. If she found out about this, she'd get pretty upset, and who knows whom she'll take it out on? And you can't tell Dash either, okay?"

"Okay, but you should tell him."

"Huh?"

"It's not healthy to keep your emotions bottled up like that. You should tell him how you feel about him, so that he can let you down easy and you can get over him."

"What makes you so sure he'll say 'no'?"

Violet rolled her eyes. "He's married, Ashley! Use that amazing brain God gave you for something other than gossip!"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Thanks for talking to me, Ashley. I think I might be able to sleep now."

"Glad I could help. And thank you, too."

"Good night."

"Night, boss."

While this was going on, Dash was having a minor case of insomnia as well. Now that he was married, he wanted to enjoy the benefits of marriage. Plus, he just liked spending time with Kim. She made him feel comfortable, like a warm blanket. A blanket that could think circles around him, but a warm one, nonetheless.

Determined to see the enchanting face of his bride at least once more before returning to California, Dash left his hotel room and hit the street. He was looking for a map, so he could plot a course for Venice. His plan was to sprint there and surprise Kim. He managed to get a glimpse of a map of Europe. There, he learned that Venice was slightly southeast of Zurich, where he was. Then, using the North Star as a guide, he found the direction in which he would have to run. Then off he went.

(You have to hand it to Dash. He did more thinking in those ten minutes than he ever did in his entire life.)

Anyway, when he got to Venice, about fifteen minutes after he left, he was faced with another problem. He had no idea where Kim was. He thought about calling back home and asking the sheriff to trace her, but he decided against it. For all he knew, he could have been calling at three AM. He just started asking around, but it was hard to find someone who spoke English. So hard, in fact, that he did not succeed.

On one of the cities many bridges, Dash dropped to his knees. He was losing his mind, and the sound of icebreakers in the distance only made it worse. He felt like he came a long way for nothing. All he wanted was to see Kim. That girl over there even looks like Kim. Wait a minute…

"Kim? Honey, is that you?"

"Dash?"

"KIM!"
"DASH!"

He ran to his bride at his normal speed and almost bowled her over. Wait, what do I mean 'almost'?

"Ow! Hey! Watch were you're rushing, Bullethead!"

"Sorry."

"Oh, I can't stay mad at you, Dash. So what the heck are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with you. After all, this is supposed to be our honeymoon, right?"

"I suppose so."

"I see that Venice is still mostly on ice."

Kim sighed. "Unfortunately. But at least I got rid of the problem. The Italians gave me something in gratitude, and I was hoping I could share it with you."

"Hmm, sounds good to me, what is it?"

"Come with me, and I'll show you," Kim said with a wink.

(A/N: I think I'll stop here for now. Oh man, writer's block is starting to set it, I can feel it! I have to stop, now. Don't worry, I'll get back to the written word ASAP. In the meantime, talk to me!)