Author's Notes: Recommended music: I Feel Like a Woman by Shania Twain, Edge of Heaven by Ace of Base, and No Fear by Terri Clark.

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The thumping of the country song did little to cheer up Trixie as she entered the bar. Denim Lounge it was called and she figured it was the best place for her to make an escape from her husband, if only for a few hours. They still had to consummate their marriage, Trixie being the one holding off. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to take things that far. A small part of her missed Speed and she couldn't in good conscious go any further with Taylor. At least, not until she had a chance to talk with her former beau.

'I wonder if he and his wife are happy,' she thought as she sat down at the bar. 'I should find out where they're living and pay them a visit. I can't live like this.'

"And what can I get you?" a female voice inquired. Trixie looked up to see a woman behind the bar, waiting with an order pad.

She had long blonde hair with blue and purple streaks throughout and some visible tattoos on her arms; she wore a dark blue tank top, revealing a tattoo just above her left breast. Trixie thought she looked familiar but brushed it off momentarily . . . until she read her name tag. Torie. Trixie stiffened slightly. The name was too hauntingly familiar.

"Nothing right now . . . What's your last name, Torie?"

The woman gave her a puzzled look as she set the order pad down. She then shrugged as she answered, "Cronkhite. Why?"

It hit Trixie. She had seen Torie's picture in the paper, not from the car accident two weeks prior but from the wedding announcement Taylor had shown her. Torie had been in Speed's wedding.

"Maybe you can help me . . . You know Speed Racer, right?"

"A little," the other woman replied cautiously. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Yes," Trixie nodded eagerly. "I used to date him. Do you know where I can find him?" Torie started to answer when someone called her name. She rolled her eyes a little, sighing. "Excuse me for a moment. I swear those boys would get lost around here if it weren't for me."

Trixie waited while Torie checked on her male colleagues. As she waited, she did not expect to hear two very familiar voices.

"Trixie?"

Quickly, she turned and saw Sparky walking in with Racer X and she smiled. She had missed seeing them during the past year. Instinctively, she hugged both men then sat back down.

"What are you doing here, Trixie?" Racer X inquired.

"Oh, just out to clear my head," she replied. "What about you guys?"

"Out seeing the sights," Sparky answered glibly. He seemed like he was in a very good mood and she was about to ask what had happened when Torie returned.

"Okay, you said you were looking for a guy named Speed Racer?"

If she had been looking at them, Trixie would have seen Racer X and Sparky's jaws dropped. However, she was not looking at them. Her attention was back on Torie as she pulled the photocopied newspaper clipping out of her pocket and handed it to her.

"Yes. I need to talk him. It's very important."

Torie frowned as she looked at the paper then looked back at her. Something about the woman's expression unsettled Trixie.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

"My . . . husband gave it to me," Trixie replied. "Can you help me?"

"Trixie . . ."

"Not now, Sparky," she snapped.

"And who's your husband?" Torie suddenly demanded. Trixie blinked. This was not how things were supposed to go.

"Taylor Silius Prescott the Third, Esquire. Why?" she blinked.

"And he told you that this was your ex-boyfriend, Speed Racer?"

"Yeah," Trixie nodded. Torie was starting to scare her.

"Oh, sweetie, you have been taken for a ride," Torie said, handing the paper back to her. "That's not Speed Racer. That's Seth O'Connell and his wife, Lia."

"Seth O'Connell?" Racer X piped in. "Any relation to Ryan O'Connell?"

"They're brothers and the only ones that look alike in their family," Torie stated, her attention still focused on Trixie. "You still want to know where your ex is?"

Trixie nodded numbly. How Racer X knew this woman was beyond her but it was the furthest thing from her mind. Her head was still reeling from hearing that the man in the photo was NOT Speed, that it was, in fact, another man entirely.

"He's at St. Mary's hospital," Torie told her. "Been there for the last year."

Trixie sat there, void of any emotion or physical feeling. She thought she felt a hand on her shoulder but couldn't feel it. She thought she heard someone say something to her but she couldn't hear it. As quickly as she had arrived, she was out the door and on her way to St. Mary's.

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Rex watched as Trixie fled the bar then looked at Torie. A fire smoldered in the older woman's eyes and he remembered everything she had said about Taylor Prescott and the tone she had used when talking about him. She absolutely loathed and despised the man. From what he heard Trixie just say, he definitely did not blame her.

"You're quite the spitfire," he commented.

"So?"

Rex heard Sparky chuckle. He was even hard pressed to keep a straight face. Torie definitely had a lot of spunk.

"I rather like that," Rex grinned.

Torie just smiled at that then went back to her business. After serving him and Sparky some drinks, she went into the back. The two men sat in silence for a while, Rex's mind not on his brother but on a certain female. He couldn't help but notice how she kept herself just out of reach of him and he couldn't figure out why.

"Racer X . . ." Sparky's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Yes, Sparky?"

"What do you think is going to happen between Speed and Trixie?"

The question caught him off-guard. He had not thought about what would happen if Speed were to see Trixie, especially after she had broken his heart the year before.

"I don't know, Sparky . . . All we can do is just wait and see."

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"So how did it go?"

Speed just glanced at his roommate as Val wheeled him back into the room, the two nursing assistants behind him. His arms and his legs ached from a year of immobility, not to mention what his back was still doing to him. Lying down never sounded so good before.

"I just want to go back to sleep," he whispered.

"I bet," Robert smiled gently. "These girls can torment you when they get it in their heads to do so."

"We love you, too, Robert," Val said sardonically as they helped him back into bed. He thought the back brace had limited him before. Now he knew just how limited he was.

"Supper will be served soon, gents," Val announced. "Hope your appetites are intact."

"Thanks for the warning, Val!" Robert called out as the women left the room. Speed managed a faint smile. He loved listening to the banter between Robert and the staff. They sounded like one big happy family. Moments after the nurses had left, Mrs. Racer stuck her head in and smiled at him as she walked over.

"How are you doing, baby?" she asked, stroking back his hair.

"Sore but good, I guess," he replied. Mrs. Racer nodded.

"I talked to Dr. Richmond. He says that we can take you home in a week. He just wants to make sure you'll be strong enough to sit through the flight home."

"What about Sergeant Mahoney's investigation?"

"Inspector Detector is working on that," she stated. "We just can't stay here, Speed. Your brother's staying with your aunt. He's missed you, you know."

"I know . . . I miss him, too . . ."

He fell silent for a moment, his eyes staring at the ceiling. There wasn't much else for him to do. He could hear music emanating from Robert's side of the room but it was faint. Robert tended to wear headphones now that he was awake.

"I'll be right back, baby."

"Okay . . ."

Speed closed his eyes as his mother left the room. Images danced around in his mind, all of them firsts. The first time he had entered a race, the first date he and Trixie had ever gone on, the first time they kissed . . . Every little thing he could recall, Trixie had been there. He had known no other, despite the attention other girls had heaped upon him. Though he had liked it, it hadn't been enough to tear him away from Trixie.

'Now she's gone . . . What am I going to do? I'm not sure I can make it without her.'

A song filled the room. Robert had switched from the headphones to the mini speakers apparently. Speed opened his eyes, tears running down the sides of his face.

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Mrs. Racer had made her way to the cafeteria. She was quite tired of eating hospital and fast food. Nothing could beat a home-cooked meal and she could not wait until she had Speed back home. Already she had planned the first meal she intended to fix once he was back on solid foods, and it consisted of all of his favourite foods.

'I don't know how anyone can stand to eat this food,' she thought in dismay as she took her food back to her son's room. On her way there, she saw someone she had not expected to see there.

"Trixie?"

The young woman whirled around, her eyes wide. She obviously had not expected anyone to call out her name but she managed a small smile when she saw who had addressed her.

"Mrs. Racer . . . I came to see Speed but the nurses won't tell me anything. How is he doing?"

She noted the concern in Trixie's voice but still hesitated. They hadn't heard from Trixie in nearly a year, not since she had told her that Speed had disappeared. Mrs. Racer even wondered if she should take Trixie to Speed's room but immediately dismissed it. Trixie and Speed had a longstanding history together. It wasn't something that could or would be easily forgotten, by either of them.

"He's doing all right, all things considered," she nodded slightly, smiling a little.

"What happened?" Trixie asked timidly. "Why is he here?"

Mrs. Racer sighed softly. Explaining that would be tricky but she figured she could handle it as they walked to his room.

"Come with me and I'll tell you."

Trixie fell into step with her as Mrs. Racer walked, reiterating everything her son had told them after they had found him.

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Trixie felt her blood run cold as she listened to Mrs. Racer talk. She had not expected her leaving Speed to devastate him to the point where he'd just take off then allow a bunch of thugs to beat him nearly to death.

As they reached his room, music emanated from it.

"Who's playing the music?" she asked. Mrs. Racer shook her head.

"Must be his roommate, Robert. Oddly enough, Robert is the same one Sparky saw last year with a guy who looked like Speed."

"Ryan O'Connell?"

"Yes," Mrs. Racer nodded. "How did you . . ."

"I've lived in Philadelphia for a few months now," Trixie quickly explained. "The accident that took Ryan's life was front page news for three days. It was an unusual accident, caused gridlock for nearly twelve hours. When I saw his picture, I thought he could pass as Speed but I knew it wasn't him. There was a broodiness in his eyes that would be uncharacteristic for Speed. Then I saw his fiance's picture . . . totally opposite, they were."

"You mean Torie?"

"Yes," Trixie nodded. "I remember thinking she had a bright personality, very vibrant. You could see it in the way her eyes smiled. I never saw such a happier person in my life. And now I've met her . . . She's definitely different."

"Agreed."

The song ended and the two women entered. Speed's roommate looked up and offered a slight nod then did a double take when he saw her. Trixie suddenly felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She knew who Robert was and knew just how much he detested her husband, though why, Taylor had never said.

Immediately, Robert shoved the headphones back into the Walkman and stuck his nose deep into a magazine. It was as if he wanted to pretend that she wasn't there. Trixie didn't blame him. She probably would have done the same in his situation.

'At least he's not saying anything about Taylor . . .'

Trixie kept her gaze ahead of her and made sure it avoided Robert and that it landed on Speed. The sight of him stole her breath away and made her want to cry at the same time.

His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady, an indication that he had fallen asleep. What had struck her, though, was his appearance. His hair had become longer, making him look older than his twenty years of age, and he wore a black t-shirt sporting the phrase "Ninja monkeys conspire as we speak, plotting my demise." He did not look like the young man she had fallen in love with and still loved yet she found everything she saw unbelievably attractive. Trixie stood next to him, her fingers combing their way through his dark locks. She leaned over him and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"I love you, Speed Racer, and I'm sorry. I should have never doubted you for a moment. You are one of a kind. Never forget that. There will never be another you for as long as I live. Take care of yourself."

Having said that, she quickly exited, failing to notice the blue velvet box that rested on his bedside table.