Look! It's chapter 8!

But before you start reading it - I wanted to give a quick shout-out to let-boss-find-love, who has apparently become my number one fan and even dedicated a story to me (you should go check it out, it's called 'Partner' and it is an adorable little slice of D/H goodness). So yes - thank you, let-boss-find-love! I hope you keep reading and enjoying 'The Nagging Dark'!

It was late morning, and the sun was beating down on the town square. Outside the bookstore, beneath the shade of a small tree tucked away from the busy streets, a lone hamster was deep in thought behind a thick textbook. His concentration was broken, however, by a familiar, if anxious, voice shouting his name.

"Maxwell!" Sandy was racing down the street towards him. She was sweating buckets, and her usually upbeat and cheerful persona had been replaced with an aura of absolute distress. Maxwell set his book aside and got to his feet just in time to catch Sandy as she ran into his arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, genuinely concerned.

"I don't know," she answered. "I don't know." She twisted out of his grasp and sat down with her head in her paws. Maxwell sat down beside her.

"Tell me what's going on," he prodded.

"It's...Bijou," Sandy replied. "A-and Pashmina. The three of us, we were going to meet up at Bijou's house today since we can't go to the clubhouse, but…they're…they're gone!"

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"I went to Pashmina's house. She's not there. Same with Bijou." Sandy sniffled a bit. "I don't know what's going on."

"Hmm." Maxwell pondered this for a moment. "I wonder…"

Sandy watched him curiously, waiting for him to finish his thought, but he merely trailed off and fell silent. After a long pause, Sandy waved a paw in front of his face to bring him back down to earth.

"Hello?" she said. "You were saying?"

"Well, I don't know, really," Maxwell replied. "But I was wondering if this might have anything to do with how weird Boss was acting yesterday."

"I thought he was just sick or something?" Sandy asked.

"That's what he would have us think," Maxwell answered. "But I don't think that was the crux of it. I'm pretty sure something is going on with Boss…up here." He pointed to his head.

"Shouldn't we check up on him or something then?" Sandy asked.

"These things have to be handled with delicacy," Maxwell replied. "We can't just attack the problem head on, he'll only deny it. That's why I've been trying to do some research. Reading up on psychoanalysis." He gestured to the heavy book he had been studying before the interruption.

Sandy examined the cover. "Sigmund Freud? Really?"

Maxwell nodded. "It's amazing I was able to find a hamster-sized copy." He stood up and stretched, then held out a paw to Sandy. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet.

"But I don't know for sure whether Boss' behavior has anything to do with your situation. It's just been weighing on my mind. For now, maybe we should head to Penelope's house and see if Pashmina is there."

Sandy's expression brightened a bit. "I…hadn't even thought of that," she said. "Good idea. Let's go."

Boss' expedition to Pashmina's house had ended up as predicted: no sign of Pashmina anywhere, just as Sandy had seen for herself a short time earlier. Bijou had had the same idea as Maxwell, though – maybe she was at Penelope's, and they would find her there. And so it was that as Sandy and Maxwell approached Kylie's house, they were greeted by a pair of familiar faces.

"Boss!" Sandy gasped. "Bijou!"

"Sandy!" Bijou cried, and threw herself at her friend. She broke down into a fit of sobs as soon as Sandy's arms closed around her.

"I was looking for you earlier!" Sandy exclaimed. "What in the world is going on? And why are you wearing Pashmina's scarf?"

Trembling, Bijou pulled away from her, removed the scarf and held it out for Sandy to see plainly.

"Oh my God…" Sandy whispered, seeing the dark red stains here and there among the familiar pink cloth. She raised a paw to her face in shock and looked at Bijou with tears in her eyes. "Is…is she…?"

Bijou shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered. "This is all we found."

"Ok, something is obviously very wrong here!" Maxwell shouted. There was anger in his voice. "Boss, what the hell is going on? Who is she?" He gestured to Amy. "And when were you planning to let us in on your secrets?"

"Amy. Her name is Amy, and she's an old friend of mine," Boss began. "And you're right, Max." He sighed. "I shouldn't have tried to hide things from the rest of you, and for that I'm sorry. But I only did it to protect you; I was trying to keep everyone from getting swept up in something that should have only involved myself and Amy."

"Well, you've done a damn fine job of that, haven't you?" Maxwell sighed, drew a deep breath and composed himself. "I'm sorry, Boss. I know you would never intentionally let anyone get hurt."

"No, you're right," Boss said. "I…I don't even know what's happened to Pashmina. I inadvertently put Bijou in grave peril already, and Howdy and Dexter…SHIT!" He stopped talking abruptly and looked about frantically. "Where the hell did they go? Damn it, how did I let those two out of my sight?"

Amy grabbed his arm and attempted to calm him down. "I'll bet you anything they snuck off to go chase after Rei in hopes of finding Pashmina," she told him. "Listen, I'll go track them down. The rest of you stay here, I should be back soon." Without another word she turned and disappeared back in the direction from which they had come.

"Where are you going?"

Dexter jumped, startled, and turned around to find Howdy staring him down.

"Were you following me?" Dexter demanded.

"Of course I was following you!" Howdy shouted. "You think you're sneaky, but I knew the second we got to Pashmina's house and she wasn't there that you were gonna go looking for Rei. You really think it's safe to be wandering off on your own at a time like this?"

"I don't care if it's safe or not," Dexter replied. "I need to find Pashmina."

Without hesitation, Howdy grabbed Dexter by the shoulders hard enough to make Dexter cringe. There was anger in his eyes, but also fear, and compassion, and a desperate pleading expression.

"You listen to me," he said, trembling. "Scuzz almost killed you once already. You remember?" Howdy lifted a finger to Dexter's neck, mimicking the blade Scuzz had pulled on him during his 'negotiations' with Boss.

"I know," Dexter said, brushing Howdy's paw aside. "But if Pashmina is still alive, I have to take that chance."

"No, you don't!" Howdy replied. "Rei is one of them, don't you understand that? That whole 'playing innocent' thing, you're really going to fall for that?"

"Well, what if it wasn't a trick? What if he was telling the truth?"

"But what if he wasn't?" Howdy barked. "If he wasn't, and you go off willy-nilly following him, you're dead, you understand?"

For the first time, Dexter noticed that there were tears in Howdy's eyes. And at that moment, all of the anger in Howdy's expression disappeared; he relinquished his hold on Dexter's shoulders, rested his forehead against Dexter's chest and cried.

Dexter was taken somewhat aback and unsure what to do. After a moment he put a tentative paw on Howdy's shoulder, and Howdy lifted his head and looked him in the eyes once more.

"When I thought Scuzz was going to kill you before," Howdy said, sniffling a bit, "it tore me up inside, okay? And I can't face that possibility again. I care just as much about Pashmina as you do, but – but if she's already dead, and then you were to die, too – well, shit, there wouldn't be anything left for me to live for."

Dexter sighed. Damn it, what was he supposed to say after a speech like that?

"Okay," he finally replied. "In that case, come with me. If we die, we die together, and that's that. But if Pashmina is alive, then we'll find her."

Howdy punched him lightly on the shoulder; then, after a moment's hesitation, he made his decision.

"Alright, you win. Let's do this."

Woo, chapter 8! A little bit longer than chapter 7. Slowly but surely I am bringing everyone into this mess.

Also, this is not intended to be a D/H fic as the main emphasis is on Boss' relationships...but somehow I managed to sort of get some D/H fluff in there without intending to...

Anyway. Review please! And I will have another chapter up within a week, I think. I hope.