Recommended Music for this piece: Ask Me No Questions by Kindred Spirit. (If you can't find the album, then try the Bangles' version. It can be found on their Doll Revolution CD.)

Rex sighed to himself. Six months had passed since he had moved to Philadelphia. Six months had passed since he had resigned from his life as a secret agent, a life he could no one about, not even the woman he had chosen to pursue. To do so would have been to put her, and her friends, at risk so he kept it a secret.

'And the secrecy is what's killing my chances with Torie,' he mused morosely as he ordered another drink. 'Of that, I'm sure.'

Since he had moved to the bustling city, Rex had been introduced to a wide variety of people, via Torie and Robert, and most of them had been male. There had been the twins, Frankie and Freddie - African American males – and Melissa and Marissa – blonde-haired nineteen-year-old girls – as well as James - a huge hulk of an African American, C.J. and Kyler a.k.a. Killer – two blonde surfers from California – Gloria Jensen, an aspiring film maker with dark red hair, Frank and his live-in boyfriend, Terry, Yoshi and Danae O'Connell - Ryan's older brother and baby sister, Val – the nurse had taken care of his brother during his stay at St. Mary's – Li Saki, a local Asian girl, Josie Kellerman, another girl of Asian and American descent – her emerald eyes were the giveaway – and Sheena Hernandez, a raven-haired beauty with Spanish eyes, and Elijah, who actually lived in New York City. He had even met Genevieve Prescott, Trixie's mother-in-law and a Prescott that Torie actually got along with.

'The woman is odd,' he had thought more than once during his stay in Philadelphia. 'Too bad she's keeping herself untouchable.'

"Hey, Rex," a Spanish-accented voice said. He turned his head and saw Sheena standing next to him.

"Hey, girl. What brings you by?"

"Got stood up by my blind date," she shrugged, sitting down. Rex noticed she had dressed to the nines with a red, tight, sequined dress and her dark hair cascading down her back. "What are you doing?"

"Moping," he said then chuckled. It seemed he'd been doing that a lot lately.

"That's not a healthy thing," she commented. "What are you moping over?"

"Eh, same old, same old," he shrugged, taking a drink.

"I see . . ."

They fell silent, leaving Rex to his own thoughts. Yet, as they sat there, he couldn't help but notice how Sheena avoided looking at him, the way her eyes often averted away from his. He couldn't help but wonder at that. The bartender handed her a drink.

"Sheena . . ."

"Yeah?"

"Have I done something to offend you?" he inquired, turning towards her. She blinked.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Well," he began, "I've noticed that you don't look at me very often. I was just wondering if I had done something to upset you."

"No," she shook her head, taking a drink. "You've done nothing to upset me."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure . . ."

"Because if I have, I'd like to make up for it."

"You haven't done anything," she stated. Then she smiled and chuckled. "No. You haven't done anything."

"Okay . . . Would you like a ride home?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "That would be nice."

He grabbed his jacket and paid for the drinks, escorting Sheena out. They walked in silence for the most part. Sheena kept her gaze ahead.

'She still doesn't look at me. What is up with that?'

"So . . . how's your day been?" he asked suddenly, an attempt to break the silence. It was driving him crazy.

"Eh, it was okay," she answered, shrugging a little. "Same old bull shit, really . . . Have you seen Torie today?"

"No," he shook his head. "I know she had an appointment today . . . How did it go?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me," she smiled. "You're over there almost constantly."

"Not today," he managed a bare smile. "She was up in arms over something when I called this morning."

"And you decided it would be best to leave her alone, right?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Smart move," Sheena stated. "I've seen that woman up in arms. She's scary."

"What could have gotten her in such a mood?" he mused aloud. "She's usually so . . ."

"Happy?" Sheena finished. "Yeah. She normally is. But she is pregnant and contending with the loss of fiancé. I know her. Once she gets it in her head to be alone, alone she stays. And it could have been anything. Pregnant women do strange things."

"You don't need to tell me that again," Rex chuckled. "I remember what my mother was like when she was expecting my brother. I never saw my father duck as often and as fast as he did then."

"Well, he had prior experience," she pointed out, chuckling herself. "You are the oldest, right?"

"Right."

"Experience, bambino. Experience. By the way, have you called your parents to let them know where you're at?"

"Are you going to get on my case about that, too?"

"Of course," she winked from the corner of her eye. "Of course. They must be so worried."

"I'm sure they are," he conceded quietly. "I'm sure they are."

"So call them. Let them know. Hell, I'll let you use my phone once we get to my place."

"I don't think that's such a good idea . . ."

"Rex, they're your parents," Sheena stated gently. "They brought you into this world and gave you a life that most kids only dream about. If you don't talk to them, at least talk to your brother. Let him know that you're okay. I know he thinks the world of you."

Rex slowly digested her words. She had a point. His parents were the reason why he had life and they had done their best to raise him, and his brothers, right. And Speed surely didn't deserve being kept in the dark. Not after everything he had lived through the last year and a half.

"Okay. I'll call but only to tell them that I'm alive and that I'm thinking of them. Got that?"

"Got it, bambino," she grinned. "Got it."

Sheena, like Torie, lived in Old City, the oldest section of Philadelphia, but she lived in an apartment complex ten blocks down on Bank Street. Her apartment had been decorated aptly. Unlike Torie, who had no problems displaying any and all signs of eccentricity yet lived relatively low-key, Sheena preferred displaying her Hispanic and Latin roots and loved to be in the limelight. A few movie and band posters were displayed but most pictures were of her family and friends. Rex looked around and noted the differences, like he always did when visiting others. He often preferred visiting Torie's apartment over anyone else's – the wild child, as everyone dubbed her – but something about Sheena's apartment caught his attention this time.

"Something wrong, Rex?" She handed him a cup of coffee as he looked around.

"No . . . I just can't help but notice how everyone's apartments appear to be so low-key when compared to Torie's yet she's the one who actually lives low-key."

Sheena laughed at that.

"Of course she does, bambino. Despite her nickname, she really isn't that much of a wild child. Very quiet, likes to keep to herself. Helps her focus on her writings. That's how come she's able to live the way she does. God, that woman sure loves to write."

"So I've noticed . . . but what about you?"

"How do you mean?" Sheena perched herself on the couch.

"You like being in the spotlight . . . You and Gloria work together an awful lot," he stated, plopping down next to her.

"I don't like being in the spotlight," she pouted. "I like being dramatic and acting but I love my job even more."

"I still think you can do better than exotic dancing, Sheena."

"I probably could but it's what I like to do, Rex. Every single one of us is doing what it is that we like to do. I like dancing, Gloria likes being behind the camera, Torie and Killer write, Robert paints and works on cars, C.J. practices law, James loves traveling wherever his job as a geologist takes him, Elijah acts, and so on," she explained.

"I still don't get it," he sighed.

"It's something we learned from Torie . . . something she said when we first met her . . . We couldn't understand how someone could be happy and carefree as she was. I mean, she worked in a retail store and a bar and went to school. How could anyone be happy running themselves ragged like that?"

"I don't know. How?" he asked.

"We didn't know so one day we asked her. That's when she told us that it didn't matter what we did in life, so long as it was healthy for us and made us happy. It was better to be a failure at something we loved than a success at something we hated. For a while, we thought she was on Lithium or Valium or something like that," she laughed. "But we watched her. We watched as she constantly struggled with her jobs and school and her attempts at getting her writing out. She had books and short stories and poems published but could never sell a screenplay and never had a best seller. Yet she didn't care about the money coming in. She just wanted her works out there, in black and white where people at least had access to them. She was more excited that something just got published than it being a big hit. Said that the gratification should come from the fact that it's out there. If you're happy with what you're doing then you've become a success. That's how she measures success. In happiness."

"Yeah . . . she's told me that on more than one occasion . . ."

"That's why we do the things we do, Rex. We love what we're doing and the freedom that it gives us. Expression is what it's all about."

He smiled at that.

"Must have taken everyone a long time to figure it out."

"Some more than others," she agreed. "Now let me ask you this . . . What is it that you love to do, Rex Racer? What is the one thing that gets you all excited?"

"Racing," he replied without a moment's thought.

"See?" she grinned. "It's something you're already doing and something you're good at."

"So you've been following, huh?"

"Whenever I can," she answered. "Torie's more of the racing fan but prefers stock cars and trucks and demolition derbies. I like the Formula-1 racing myself. Some of those cars are badass."

Rex chuckled at that. He had raced against many of the Formula-1 racers and some of the cars were rather badass, his brother's car among them. His eyes met Sheena's at that moment and they locked. For a single moment, he saw everything she had been feeling and understood. Then she blinked and it was gone but he still felt it. And for once, he felt torn in two. He still wanted a chance with Torie, a chance and a hope that he knew grew dimmer and dimmer with each passing day, yet he didn't want to hurt Sheena. He knew not what to do.

"Maybe I should make that phone call," he murmured, turning away.

"Phone's in the kitchen."

He nodded and stood up, making his way into the kitchen. The phone hung on the wall and he picked it up. As he dialed the numbers, Rex sighed to himself.

'What am I going to do? I've never had to deal with anything like this before. Do I reject her for Torie? Or should I give her a chance?'

"Hello?"

His heart nearly leapt out of his throat at the sound of his mother's voice. Rex blinked and shook his head, reprimanding himself for becoming distracted.

'Focus,' he told himself.

"H-hello, Mom," he began.

"Speed?"

"No . . . it's Rex . . ."

"Rex?" she whispered.

"Yeah . . . I know it's been a long time . . ."

"Too long . . . Rex, where are you? What have you been doing? Good god, are you all right?" she demanded.

"I'm all right," he chuckled. "I'm living in Philadelphia now. I've been . . . doing what I set out to do when I left home . . ."

"We've missed you," she pointed out. "Speed most of all."

"I know . . . How has he been doing, by the way? Can I speak to him?"

"He's doing all right," came the answer. "But you missed him by a day. He, Janine, and Sparky left for Philadelphia yesterday. He's supposed to call later on tonight. Maybe you two can meet up while he's there."

"I'd like that, Mom. I'd like that a lot."

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Sheena grinned.

"Oh hush," he admonished lightly. "That ought to make Torie happy and get her off my back."

"It might," she agreed. "You know she cares about you, right? That's why she's always on you about contacting your family."

"I know," Rex conceded. "Life is short. Gotta let the ones you love know how you feel. So she keeps telling me."

Sheena chuckled then motioned for him to sit next to her on the couch. He obliged her.

"So how did your brother take it?"

"He wasn't home," he replied.

"Wasn't home?"

"No. In fact, he's somewhere here in Philadelphia."

"Really. Are you going to meet up with him?"

"Of course. When he calls Mom tonight, she's going to give him the information and to tell him to contact me tomorrow."

"I see . . ."

"That's going to be nerve-wracking . . . He's going to know the instant he sees me that I'm Racer X."

"So? At least he'll know that you have been watching over him the past few years," Sheena pointed out.

"True . . . Very true. . . Thanks, Sheena."

"For what?"

"Giving me the push I needed," he smiled.

"Isn't that what friends are for?"

"It is."

Their eyes met once more. On impulse, Rex gave her a hug, a hug she returned . . .

Fin