A/N: Going back to the idea of lines spoken that seemed to come out of nowhere, there is this one from "Those Lips, Those Lies": the "Dave is afraid of intimacy" mantra. Maddie and David are in the car, arguing about Richie making a commitment to his girlfriend, when David accuses Maddie of saying he's afraid of intimacy. A mantra is something that is said over and over again, but in Season 5, when did we ever hear Maddie tell David he was afraid of intimacy? Chapter 3 sheds a little light on that. This story takes place just before the episode, "Those Lips, Those Lies".

Later that afternoon, after her appointment with the therapist, Maddie returned to the office to find that David had left early for the day.

When Maddie inquired why he'd left, Agnes said, 'He got a call. Some guy named Benny. He didn't sound too good on the phone. I don't think he was a client. Mr. Addison took the call on his phone in his office. A few minutes later, he just tore outta here. Didn't say a word. Ms. Hayes, do you know who this guy is… this Benny?'

Maddie seemed concerned. 'Yes, Ms. Dipesto, I do.' She walked over to her office door, and before opening it, looked back, and said, 'Agnes, please let me know right away if Mr. Addison calls or comes in.'

'Will do, Ms. Hayes… uhm, Ms. Hayes, do you think everything is okay?'

'I can only hope so,' she said pensively.

Hoping that David would return to the office later that evening, Maddie decided to find some work she could do to keep her there late. She kept her office door open so she'd be sure to hear him if he came in. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she desperately wanted to know what that phone call was all about from David's friend, Benny.

At around eight o'clock, David did finally come back to the office. She thought it strange that he would walk right into his office, and not stop to check in with her. He had to have seen that her light was on, as it was the only light on in the entire place. She could hear him rustling through some papers on his desk, and then locking his office door. She got up from her desk and walked towards the front office just in time to see him reach for the doorknob.

'David?'

He acted like she startled him. 'Oh, hey Maddie… I was just leaving.'

'Yeah, I see that.'

'You leaving? Can I walk you to your car?'

'David, Agnes said your friend Benny called this morning, and that you had to run out of here. Is everything alright?'

'Yeah, Maddie, everything's fine. It's getting late. Can I walk you down?' Clearly, he did not want to talk, but she was curious enough to not want to give up.

'Yeah, just let me grab my bag.'

They walked in silence to the elevator, with David walking always two steps ahead of her. He pushed the button, and the door opened right away. Once inside the elevator, again there was silence… their eyes watching the floor numbers as they descended. The door opened and they walked out into the garage. Because of the late hour, there were barely any cars. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Every sound made an echo.

'David, stop.'

He kept on walking. 'Why, your car is right there.'

She spoke a little louder. 'David, please stop.'

David listened this time, and he turned around. 'Maddie, what is it?'

'What is going on? Why are you avoiding me?'

David chuckled, and shook his head, like he had no idea what she was talking about. 'Maddie, I am not avoiding you. If I was avoiding you, I wouldn't have offered to walk you to your car.'

He did have a point there.

'I'm talking about back up in the office just now. I asked you about your friend, and you didn't tell me what happened.'

'Maddie, it's no big deal. Turns out his wife was just having those… Braxton Hicks contractions. Benny was just panicking is all.'

'Okay… 'cause you know I was worried.'

'Yeah, I know. I get it.'

'I mean, David… I know we haven't exactly been… involved lately, but I do consider you a close friend… and I am interested in hearing about your personal life.'

David's mood appeared to sour ever so slightly. 'Maddie, ever hear the phrase… you can't have your cake, and eat it, too?'

'What are you saying? That because I'm not sleeping with you, that we can't be close friends?'

'You're the one pushing me away. You tell me I should date other people, but then, what? Come back and report to you all the intimate details of my life? I don't think that's how life works, Maddie.'

'David! You're not being fair. All I did was suggest you date other people because I didn't feel that I could give you the things that most men your age want in life… marriage, a family.' She felt like she wasn't really getting through to him. Out of desperation, she said, 'I didn't do that because I stopped loving you… I did it because I do love you!' She blurted out the words before she could think better of it. It really was impossible for her to stop caring about this man.

'Wow,' he mouthed the word. 'Look, Maddie, going forward… if it makes you happy, I won't be afraid to share all my dirty little secrets with you. You wanna hear all the intimate details about my life… Hey, you may not like what you hear, but I'll tell you. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Now, if you don't mind, please go get in your car so I know you're safe because I really gotta run. Good night, Maddie. I will see you at work tomorrow.'

'Good night,' she said, though it came out as a whisper as she felt like she could barely breath. She opened the car door and sat down. She looked up, feeling more confused and heartbroken than ever, and watched him walk away.