A/N: This chapter is kind of a jumble of a few events, but... yeah...

Disclaimer: Don't own the Fog and probably never will...

Nick walked back down to his house, which had become his prison lately. But that didn't matter anymore. He was going to leave the island in a few days anyway, before the news could spread to the mainstream newspapers. Sam had been the first person down there about the story, surprisingly. The islanders had kept the story pretty quiet. They didn't want anything to disrupt the tourist season.

Nick laid down on his bed, not bothering to pull back the covers, and stared at the ceiling, images haunting his already tormented mind. He stayed this way for hours before he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

Sam woke up with her face pressed against the desk. Rubbing her eyes, she realized that she must have fallen asleep after downloading the pictures and taking a quick look at them. She sat up and turned off her laptop. Good thing that she had plugged it in instead of using the battery.

"Hey, Sam, you in there?" Max called from outside the door.

She got up and opened the door. She felt like she had died and had come back to life. She flopped down miserably on the bed.

Max stood over her and peered down smiling cheerfully. "You ready to go and get some breakfast?"

"Why are you so happy?" Sam grumbled. "Nevermind," she added as Max's smile grew wider. "Just give me a few minutes to shower." She grabbed the clothes she had left on the back of her chair and headed into the bathroom.

When she came back out, her hair was up in a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of relatively clean pants and a T-shirt. Before heading out with Max, she grabbed her jacket and pulled it on.

Max drove to Suzy's, which didn't surprise Sam at all. They sat at the same table they had sat at the day before. Kelly came over again to take their order. She and Max exchanged smiles, and Sam merely rolled her eyes, although she really felt like projectile vomiting across the table. After flirting with Max, Kelly took their orders and headed to the kitchen leaving Sam and Max to debate about Kelly and her "morals."

After waking up the next morning, Nick showered and left the house in search of breakfast. Sure, he could have made his own breakfast, but he didn't want to spend more time in that house. It was too full of memories. So, instead, he headed into town, and picked out a place to eat. Perhaps it was destiny or just the good food that led him to Suzy's, but he headed into the diner. Either way, he spotted Sam in the corner of the diner with a guy by her side. A stab of jealousy poked at him, but he tried to wave it away. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Sam wasn't his girlfriend or anything. Besides, he had just lost Elizabeth. It was just too soon to start anything.

He picked out a seat at the front of the diner, but it was too late. The man sitting by Sam had already started to wave. Was he supposed to join them? He was deciding what to do when he saw Sam turn around. He didn't have a choice any more. His sense of ettiquite prevailed. Reluctantly, he joined Sam and her boyfriend at their table.

"Nick Castle, right?" the guy said as Nick sat down at the table. After Nick nodded, he stuck out a hand and said, "I'm Max Hurley. And I believe you already know Sam."

Nick shook Max's hand, again out of politeness. The waitress reappeared with Sam and Max's food, and took Nick's order. But not before flirting a little more with Max.

So, if Max wasn't her boyfriend, who was he? Her brother or something? He got his answer soon enough.

"Well, since you're here, would you mind answering a few questions?" Max asked. Sam must've given him a swift kick under the table because he winced and said to Sam, "I asked him if he minded. He doesn't have to."

It made sense to Nick now. Max was the reporter and Sam was the photographer. But Max could still be her boyfriend, maybe he was just the type of guy to flirt with waitresses in front of his girlfriend.

"It's still rude, Max," Sam hissed.

Luckily, Kelly reappeared with Nick's food.

"Hey, Max, I just got off... If, you know, you wanted to do something..." Kelly said.

Sam rolled her eyes disgustedly as Max heartily agreed. The only good thing was that she had provided a distraction from Max questioning Nick.

"Of course," Max agreed wholeheartedly.

"Well, I think I'm going to leave now..." Nick said uncomfortably.

"I'll go with you." Sam followed Nick out of the diner.

When they walked outside, Sam noticed that people were trying to sneak glances at them discreetly. Too bad they weren't very good at it.

"Nick, why are they all watching us?" Sam whispered. They were making her feel nervous.

Nick stopped in front of his truck. "Get in. I'll explain on the way."

A/N: Well, that's how I'm going to leave it. At least it's something, I guess... Reviews are always welcome, of course...