Disclaimer: Super Sue-er suits are gonna find me; stick to me like gluuuue. Like they always doooooo. Unless I say I don't own yooooooou.

(Except… well… you know. I do own pretty much everything.)

Hi everyone? Did the last cliffhanger leave you wanting Moore? Have you been trying to piece together a case against Noble? Perhaps you still think it's someone else? Why am I asking all these questions? You want to find out what Chance's reasoning is, don't you? Well then, on to the show?

Turnabout of the Ancient Mariner

(Trial, part 6)

- District courthouse. 7/11. 2:30 pm. (Though does the time really matter?)

Jacopo Noble took the stand, looking everything like a man who had just lost the most important thing in his life, and nothing like a man who had taken it away himself.

"Moore?" Said Tanya condescendingly." You do realize that you just accused a pathetic-looking, clinically depressed old man who is so mentally scarred he can only speak in lyrics of murder, right? And, to add icing to the cake, one that holds the future of your career in the palms of his shaking hands?"

"I've never been accused of being sane" Chance responded with a grimace. "Nevertheless… I'm sure about this one."

"The things you said, you can't take them back again" said Mr. Noble angrily from the witness stand. "Alright? Ok? You're fired, now I want out."

"I thought you'd say something like that," Chance said expectantly, pulling out a copy of his contract from his briefcase. "But I'll have you know that it says here that any decision on letting me go has to be made by a majority decision of the three senior partners." He bit his lip. "Though quite honestly, I had that provision put in there because of Mr. Thenue, not you."

In the gallery, Cassie has produced a handkerchief from her pocket, and was gagging Morage, stopping him from screaming "I agree! You're fired! Get the heck out of this courtroom!"

"And Mr. Noble, you'll forgive my… bluntness, I suppose," Chance continued. "But must you really keep speaking in song? I think we all know you have enough presence of mind to not let depression take you over."

"Don't you realize what I'm going through?" Noble yelled suddenly from the bench. "All the things that she used to bring, all the songs that she used to sing, all her favorite TV shows have gone out the window!"

"And the fact that you did it yourself makes it that much Moore painful, doesn't it?" Chance said warily. "But I mean… c'mon… How should I say this…" He quickly racked his brain, thinking of some way to reach through to the witness. "'Unless we try, the innocent will die… you can't close your eyes, keep living a lie!'"

"You realize those are the lyrics for 'I'm Innocent', right?" Noble snapped.

"And I am innocent" Chance said. "And it's nice to see you talking normal for a change, sir."

"Hmph" Noble pouted, straightening up a little. "Well, I'm innocent as well, I'll have you know, Moore." His eyes narrowed, and tears welled up in the corners. "Until you prove otherwise, that is."

"Very well then…" Chance began, clearing his throat. "First things first…"

BOЗPAЖEHИE!

"I didn't say anything yet!" balked Chancellor.

"You don't have to" Tanya said with an almost relieved smirk. "Because there's a glaring contradiction to this farce of an idea right from the get go."

"There… there is?" Chance frowned.

"Quite." Tanya said curtly. "Motive, Moore. As you can plainly see, Mr. Noble has been shaken up something terrible by this whole ordeal." She nodded solemnly. "I believe, from what I've heard, that he was angered to the point of rage and tears when finding out, and threatened to hang whoever was responsible for it, no?"

"Well, not exactly…" Chance corrected. "He said that he wanted the man responsible hanged." Chance looked away from Mr. Noble. "And, well… I hate to point this out but… he did try hanging himself earlier today…"

BOЗPAЖEHИE!

"Completely irrelevant, not to mention tactless, Mr. Moore!" Tanya yelled. "Are you saying that if your significant other was to die suddenly, you wouldn't contemplate, if not attempt suicide?"

"WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?" Chance screamed, face suddenly red with anger. The courtroom gasped. There was, truly, a first time for everything.

"He gets mad?" Cassie whispered, her jaw agape.

"Wrong question at the wrong time…" Thompson said, shaking his head. "Poor girl, she must be terrified."

Chance's face strained with the effort of keeping under control. His mouth stung with pain as he literally bit his tongue to keep from saying Moore. He took a deep breath, let it out shakily, and muttered, "Sorry. It's… a sensitive subject."

Tanya stared wide-eyed from across the courtroom, clutching herself tightly. She opened her mouth, and, to her surprise, found herself at a loss for words.

"Now what were we talking about?" Chance asked rhetorically. He paused. "Um… come to think of it, what were we talking about?"

"Motive, anyone?" Scotty said softly, holding a crushed cup in place of a gavel.

"Yes…" Tanya began warily. "Yes, exactly. The point I was trying to make was that Mr. and Mrs. Noble has an incredibly happy marriage. There were, as far as anyone could tell, no problems, am I wrong?"

"Absolutely not, absolutely not" Noble said. "There once was a man who loved a woman… she was the one he ate the apple for. They say that nobody ever loved as much as he… but me… I loved Kenny more." He sniffed. "Even when she came down with mono… even when she developed her heart condition… I still stood by her. Why would I… what could cause me to…?" His voice caught in his throat. "We had our spats, as all couples do, but… I never had any reason to become angry to the point of violence…"

OBJECTION!

"Finally…" Scotty said, tears of bliss welling in his eyes. "A normal objection… but… was that even testimony?"

"The defense has the right to cross-examine all statements made by the witness, your honor." Chance nodded.

Who would object during an old man's crying session? Tanya thought angrily. If I had my Stilettos on, why I'd…

"Mr. Noble, you have been listening to the trial thus far, yes?"

"Yes…" Noble sniffed. "What kind of monster would I be not to show up for my own wife's trial?"

"So you've heard the allegations brought against Mrs. Kendra?" Chance pressed. "Namely, that she was a blackmailer?"

"Yes…"

"Does that surprise you at all?"

Noble was silent for a moment. "What… what do you mean?"

"Well it's just that you were her husband… surely you knew? Perhaps even helped a little?"

"Never!" Noble balked. "I would never condone such action!"

"Then why allow it to continue?" Chance pressed further.

"Well… quite honestly, I had no idea!" Noble said defensively.

"Oh, come off it!" Chance slammed a fist down on the desk. "As this record from Red Herring Fisheries shows, your wife has been blackmailing people for years! How could you not know?"

"I…I d-didn't…" Noble stuttered. "W-why are you…?"

BOЗPAЖEHИE!

"Your honor, do something!" Tanya yelled. "Badgering the witness is bad enough, but badgering an old man about his dead wife's actions is almost as bad as murder!"

"Chancellor…" Scotty said warningly. "You are being a bit aggressive today…"

"Only wanted to prove a point, Scotty." Chance smiled. "I just wanted to show, quite clearly, how utterly clueless Mr. Noble was about his wife's actions."

"That's nice, Mr. Moore." Tanya placated. "But you'll forgive me for saying… who cares?" She flicked her hair back dismissively. "This trial doesn't concern the innocence of Mr. Noble of blackmail conspiracy, but Mr. Culligan of murder, I do hope you hadn't mixed that up?"

"Not this time" Chance laughed. "I wanted to show that so I could ask this." He paused. "If you found out that your significant other had hid criminal activities behind your back for years, how angry would you be?"

"Furious, pro… hey, wait a minute!" Tanya stopped. "How is this question any better than the one you blew up over earlier?"

"You wouldn't know." Chance said sternly. "But I will thank you for answering the question… yes, anyone would be furious, wouldn't they?"

"I was furious" Noble said from the stand.

Ah! Chance thought excitedly. A confession?

"I was furious when I found out in the courtroom today." Noble said solemnly. "I had no idea before then."

… Oh well. No one ever said it would be easy…

"He's got you there, Chance" Scotty nodded slowly. "You don't have any conclusive proof that Mr. Noble found out about his wife before today."

"Maybe…" Chance thought. "Maybe not…" He walked to the center of the courtroom. "Hey! Liam!"

"What?" The green-haired boy screamed from shock.

"Do you still have that thing of fingerprint powder?"

"Well…" he rummaged through his jeans pocket. "Seriously… here." He threw the bottle at Chance, who caught it nimbly in on hand and walked back to the defense's bench. "Let us see…" he muttered to himself, pulling out the blackmail file marked 'Culligan' "…if my argument holds any water, shall we?" He dusted, blew the powder off, and examined the fingerprints carefully." "That…" he said, pointing to a thumbprint near the edge of the folder "… if I'm not mistaken, is Mr. Jacopo Noble's thumbprint. Am I right, Cocoa bear?"

The forensics detective walked over to the defense's bench, looked over the results quickly, and nodded. "Without a doubt, buddy." He gave a thumbs-up sign, and slapped Chance on the back. "We're good!"

"Great!" Chance said, slapping Zak on the back in return. The detective cringed. His back was still sore from the scuffle. "Oh… right… sorry…"

"Happens…all… the time…" Zak said through clenched teeth.

Chancellor laughed nervously. "Anyway…" He slammed the desk to emphasize his point. "The only time you could have touched this folder was the day of the murder, Mr. Noble! That proves you knew about your wife's activities!"

"WAAH!" Noble cried, letting out a few tears. "Alright… fine, I'll admit it…" He sobbed, his body shaking with each heave. "I knew… but…" He straightened up. "I had… the exact opposite reaction, I'm afraid."

Chance paused. "What do you mean?"

"Well… I suppose what I mean is… I agreed to keep it our dirty little secret." He smiled a small, sad smile. "You see, Mr. Moore, unlike you, some people in this world have a sense of loyalty." He stared into the younger lawyer's eyes. "I don't abandon people when they mess up, least of all my wife."

"You knew that your wife was keeping your close friend from being with his wife for years, and you didn't do anything? Yes, you're a very loyal man, aren't you?" Chance said caustically. "Not to mention the sense of human dignity you possess."

BOЗPAЖEHИE!

"Mr. Moore! Personal attacks on the witness will not be allowed!" Tanya interrupted.

OBJECTION!

"It's not a personal attack, it's a point!" Chance yelled. "Mr. Culligan and Mr. Noble were close friends, it'd be entirely unnatural for him not to be angry! Besides that, if he found out about one file…" he paused. "It only follows that he found out about all of them. Every single person Kenny Noble ever met was in that safe!"

"If a man can discover such an atrocity and not feel a thing, how can he be expected to cry when his wife dies?"

BOЗPAЖEHИE!

"There's absolutely nothing to this argument! It reeks of opinion just as a dog reeks after a rainstorm!"

OBJECTIONING!

"There's nothing opinioning about it!" Culligan protested. "I'd being trusting Jacopo Noble with my life!"

There was silence. Noble bit his lip. "I… Gilligan…" He looked away. "Of course I was furious." He said after a pause. "How couldn't I be? But…" He slammed a hand down on the witness stand, and shouted at Chancellor "I DIDN'T KILL MY WIFE!"

"If the court rules that, maybe you'll believe it, huh?" Chance responded.

"What…" sputtered Noble angrily. "What are you…"

"Mr. Noble… believe me when I say this… I know what guilt feels like." Chancellor looked away for a moment. "I know that… all too well… actually." He cleared his throat. "And I also know… that you really did love your wife. For as little as I've known you… I at least know that much." He stared into Noble's eyes. "But, quite frankly sir, sending an innocent man to prison, and possibly death, just to allow yourself the pleasure of denial is going too far. And I'd rather lose my job than sit back and watch you do it."

Noble stared back into Chancellor's eyes, and smiled. "Very well then, Mr. Moore." He straightened up and cracked his knuckles. "Let us have a battle of wits, you and I."

"Mr. Noble?" Tanya interjected. "That's my job actually…"

"Stay. Out of this." Noble shot at the prosecutor. "There is nothing you can say in my defense that I will not use."

Tanya opened her mouth to object… and sat down. Attorneys… DAMN IT, I HATE ATTORNEYS!

"First of all" Noble began. "I still don't see why it couldn't have been Mr. Newton or Mr. Culligan" Noble challenged. "You do realize that Mr. Paraclete's theory only applies if the attacker is in front of the victim, yes? Not only that, but I also have a problem with your claim that a forehand swing can't be powerful… don't you ever watch tennis? And finally" he smiled. "There is always the possibility that Mr. Culligan wiped his prints off, yet inadvertently left his other hand's prints on the poker!"

"I thought about that." Chance countered. "And I'd like the court to think about the position a man would be in if he was trying to crack a safe." He held up a photo of the crime scene. "You'll notice the poker holder is sitting to the left of the safe, right?"

"What of it?" Noble pushed back.

"If Kendra Noble had come in and discovered someone breaking into the safe…" Chance mused. "and a safe-cracker had been squatting in front of the safe at the time, the thief would grab the poker instinctively with the LEFT hand and swing backward, as Ben suggested! That would mean that the left side of Mrs. Noble's head would have been hit, not the right!"

"Would that not also apply to me, though?" Noble shot back. "If my wife found me rummaging through her safe, and I became angry with her, wouldn't I also grab the poker with my left and not my right?"

"You would react with your left hand, true enough." Chance retorted. "But as I've already said… you really did love your wife. I don't think you ever intended to kill her."

"Then how do you explain what happened, Moore?" Noble said, his voice beginning to rise in volume. "If I never intended to kill my wife, why is she dead?"

"Because of what your left hand did do that night!" Chance said. "About an hour before the trial reconvened, detective Ricardo Writchard found a very clear imprint of your left hand on your wife's distinctive jacket, above the left chest!"

"If love is a crime, I'd do my time, Mr. Moore!" Noble spat back. "Kenny and I are married! Is it a crime for me to have a little fun now and again?"

"Perhaps not, but it's incredibly dangerous, considering."

"Considering what?"

"CONSIDERING a certain 'incident' that happened on the ship that night!" Chance yelled. "Your wedding ring was sucked up by a magnet! And when such a small piece of metal is caught up by an electromagnet large enough to lift a submarine, it too becomes magnetized!"

Noble leaned over the witness stand. "POINT, Moore? What does that have to do with my wife's death?"

"Because your wife, as these medical records show, had a pacemaker, and according to your own testimony earlier today, she had a heart condition! And when a magnet gets too close to a pacemaker, IT STOPS WORKING!"

"When your hand, wearing the magnetized ring, hit the area over Kendra Noble's heart hard enough to make a well-defined handprint, the pacemaker stopped working, AND SHE WENT INTO CARDIAC ARREST!"

Noble gasped, but held his ground. "So you're saying I killed my wife to put her out of her misery? If what you're saying had actually happened, I would have run for a doctor instantly!"

"Not so!" Chance yelled back. "You had just found out your wife was a blackmailer! Not only were you angry at her for lying to you for years, but you were also afraid to contact anyone else, less they take legal action against her or you!" He slammed the desk, hard. "And on top of it all, as far as you knew, you had just murdered your wife with your own hands!"

"WAAH!" Noble cried, cringing back slightly.

"So many impulses were running through your body, you didn't know what to do!" Chance continued. "In panic, anger, fear… I don't pretend to know what it was, but something caused you to decide to clear yourself from the crime, make it look like a break-in gone wrong! So you grabbed the poker, with your right hand, since you weren't squatting in front of the safe at the time, and struck your unconscious wife on the head! You used the safecracking tools, making sure you left no fingerprints, to make it look like the safe had been broken into, and then you just left and waited!"

"Preposterous!" Noble yelled. "Even if it does sound somewhat believable, you're missing one crucial detail, rookie! As it's been said before, there was an inordinately low amount of blood at the crime scene! Considering that Kenny was a hemophiliac, that mean the body must have been discovered minutes after her murder!"

"Which puts the time of the murder close to 8:30! And as you well know, I have an alibi for that time! I WAS WITH YOU! SHOWING YOU MY SUBMARINE!"

Chance smiled "The answer to that question is also the conclusive proof that shows you're the murderer, Mr. Noble!" He puffed out his chest. "Mrs. Noble was a hemophiliac! Her blood didn't clot in the slightest!" Chance shook his head. "I don't care how fast you find the body after the murder, blood should have been everywhere! The only way that there could have been less blood than usual at the crime scene…" he paused. "Is if the heart was no longer pumping at the time of impact." He pointed accusingly at Mr. Noble.

"And the only reason Kendra Noble's heart would have stopped before her death was if her pacemaker had been disturbed!"

Noble was silent. His bottom lip began to tremble, and tears began to stream down his face. "So it's true… isn't it?" He sniffed. "It… it was me… I…" He hung his head. "I never wanted it to happen. It was an accident. A goddamn freak accident and…" He shook his head. "I can't make excuses for myself. I don't deserve such niceties…"

"Mr. Noble…" Alexis pouted. "Mr. Noble, I know that you'd never…"

"But nevertheless… I did." He sobbed repeatedly, his chest shaking violently. "The only thing that gives me comfort is knowing that…" he sniffed. "She's climbing… the stairway… to heaven!"

There was nothing left to say. The bailiff led Jacopo Noble away, and Judge Scotty pronounced the words Not Guilty. The trial was over.

-Defendant's lobby. 3:30 pm.

Cassandra burst into the lobby, giving the classic victory screech as she ran towards Chancellor. "Congratulations Mr. Culligan!" She yelled. She paused, and looked around the room. "Mr.… Culligan?"

"He left already" Chance explained, lounging on the sofa. "He's attending to Mr. Noble, as a good friend should, I suppose."

"Not exactly the grateful type, is he?" Cassie joked.

"Nah, I don't blame him." Chance said, shaking his head. "Your friend's well being comes before everything, after all."

"Except for payment." Ricky said, strolling into the room. "And how is it you expect to pay my retainer if you get fired?"

"If I get fired, I won't need you any more, will I now?" Chance shot back.

Ricky opened his mouth, and closed it. "Good point."

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!" Came a familiar, almost endearing scream from the hallway.

"Look on the bright side" Chance said, standing up and putting a hand on Ricky's shoulder for support. "No Moore running around at my every whim, right?"

Morage Thenue stormed in, face as red as a granny apple. (…wait… never mind.) "MOORE! Do you realize what you've done? The entire reputation of Thenue and Noble has been completely demolished, one of our best attorneys, not to mention one of my BEST FRIENDS, has just been put behind bars, and you've succeeded in making at least one, if not BOTH, of your partners look like incapable IDIOTS!" He growled savagely. "Are you SATISIFED?"

"Why yes, I'm satisfied" Chance nodded. "Are you satisfied Cassie?"

"Why yes, I'm satisfied" Cassie nodded. "Are you satisfied Ricky?"

"Why yes, I'm satisfied" Ricky nodded. "Are you satisfied, Mr. Thenue?"

"Why yes, I'm… NO I'M NOT SATISFED!" Morage screamed. He put his face in his hand and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. "Chancellor… after all you've done… you've left me with no choice."

Here it comes… The big one. The 'f' word. And I don't mean fudge.

"I hate doing this…" Morage said, clearing his throat. "But…"

Oh c'mon! Just lay it on quickly! Get it OVER with!

"I'm giving you the junior partner slot."

"But Mr. Thenue I…" Chance stopped protesting. "Wait… what?"

"Don't make me say it AGAIN, Moore," he grumbled. "Once was already enough pain for several decades."

"Wha… how…" Chance stuttered.

"I was completely against it, rest assured." Morage growled. "But Ms. Aegis and Mr. Noble were both adamant that you be given the slot, seeing how well you've handled this case."

… Tell me… how is it that a man big enough to reward an attorney for sending him to jail do anything deserving of being sent to jail in the first place? "W… thank you." Chance nodded, hastily shaking Mr. Thenue's hand. "Does this mean my name gets put on the firm's title?"

"NO!"

"Oh… but…" Chance frowned. "I had this great advertising slogan worked up." He put his hand in the air. "You got cases? We can solve Moore Thenue!"

Mr. Thenue, overcome with the sudden urge to smile, quickly left the room.

Ricky laughed. "Now that didn't turn out too bad, did it?"

"I wouldn't speak so soon," Cassie whispered.

"Why not?"

Cassie pointed to the doorway, where Tanya was motioning Chance to come.

Chancellor gulped, and slowly made his way to the Russian prosecutor.

She was in tears. As he drew close, she flung herself on him, and began to weep openly. "Chancellor… why…. I'm so sorry but…" Nothing she said was coherent.

Good gravy… I never realized how traumatic this was for her…

"Chancellor…" she said, finally pulling herself together. "I know you're just doing your job, but…"

"That's my line." Chance said angrily.

Tanya's head jerked up. "What? What are you…"

"You know what I'm talking about!" Chance said, raising his voice. "I could have lost my job in there, Tanya! And all you did was try to destroy my case! I mean, I know it's your job but come on! You could have at least backed off a little!"

"What… how…" Tanya reared up. "What gives you the NERVE to say something like that to me?"

"I'm Chancellor Moore!" Chance said. "You know I've got that kind of nerve! And if you don't like it, then…" He stopped. "Well, I'm not sure I'd go that far but…"

Tanya looked at him in disgust. I'm not sure how he did it she thought, but he somehow managed to say everything that would cause me to think 'what did I ever see in him?' within the course of twenty seconds! "You know what?" She said, leaning into his face. "Let me finish that sentence for you." She turned around. "We're through, Chancellor Moore."

And Chancellor, looking after her for only a brief moment, smiled and turned around, walking back towards Ricky and Cassie.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ricky yelled in his face. "What… how… what the HELL possessed you to do that?"

"How insensitive can you get, Chance?" Cassie yelled in turn. "She comes to you, crying about how hard it is for her to prosecute against you, and you scold her? I…I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D EVER DO SOMETHING THAT HORRIBLE, CHANCELLOR!"

"Well, now she doesn't have a reason to feel bad wanting to kill me, does she?" Chance said offhandedly.

"Well, yeah, but, that doesn't mean you can…" Cassie stopped.

Silence.

"No." Ricky said, shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, no, Chance you didn't…"

"Do it on purpose?" Chance said with a sad smile. "Yeah. Of course I did." He shook his head. "You of all people know I'm not that big a jerk, Ricky." He looked back at the doorway, which stood emptier than usual. "I'd rather lose her for life than put her through hell, you know?"

"I'd call that noble" came a scratchy voice from behind him. "But I don't want to run the risk of using a horrible pun."

Chance, used to this by now, turned around slowly to face one Stradivarius DuClaw. "And now you'd like to put in your two cents, wouldn't you?" He folded his hands and looked at DuClaw in mock respect. "Well go on, I'm all ears."

"I just thought I'd let you know" the old man said curtly. "That I've decided in your favor."

"…?" Chance gave DuClaw a questioning look.

"I have decided" DuClaw continued, "to acknowledge that, for an attorney, you are, in fact, a decent human being, and have therefore decided to lift that ban that has kept Cassandra here from contacting you for the past two months."

Chance blinked. "Wait…" he said warily. "Why, of all people, do you have that kind of…" He looked frantically from the old man's face to that of Cassie's, and back again. "You" he said, pointing a finger at Cassie, "and you?" He pointed the finger at DuClaw. "No… no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

Cassandra DuClaw smiled. "PLOOOOOOOT TWIIIIIIST!" She sang, overjoyed.

Chance was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Good gravy, I think I'm going to be sick! HA HA!" He sank into a chair. "Ricky… be a pal and get me a cho-cov-stra, will you?"

"Here…" said a voice, and a hand appeared, holding a box from Fondue Stew's.

Chance looked up. "Miriam?" He said, surprised. "You do realize your hand is in grave danger of being bit off like that, right?"

"I'll take my Chances." she smiled. "And since I'm here… I heard about what happened with you and Tanya…"

Chance's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "I… no, I don't think I'll be ready for a relationship that soon, Miriam…. Thanks though."

Alexis simply raised her eyebrows. 'Rebound' and 'relationship' aren't synonyms in my book, Moore. Remember that." She left, leaving the people in the room in shock.

"Chance…" Ricky said, sidling over to his best friend slowly. "If you don't want her, I'll be perfectly willing to…"

Chance laughed. "We'll see, buddy. We'll see."

-Central Lobby.

Tanya Krasivaya sat in a chair, waiting for Chancellor. There's no way he meant it. She thought. I was stupid for falling for it to begin with! Stupid, stupid! He can't act his way out of the clichéd paper bag… "Ah!" She said, calling out to a man walking by. "You haven't seen Chancellor, have you?"

"Still in the defendant's lobby, last I checked" the man responded. "Laughing, having a good time, I hear he does that a lot after a victory."

Tanya gulped slightly. "He doesn't seem… the slightest bit sad? Perhaps disappointed? Depressed?"

"No…" the man shook his head. "In fact…" the man lowered his voice. "I even overheard he and that Lexington girl talking… something about 'relationships' or something?"

Tanya's eyes widened. "No… no I don't believe."

"That he played you?" The man finished. "That he used you up, found you too burdensome to maintain, and moved on to someone easier to get along with?" The man shook his head. "I don't think any man would do that to you of all people…"

Tanya blushed. "You're too kind… but… that is what it looks like, isn't it?"

The man hung his head. "Well, if I'm completely honest… yeah, I guess it is." He took a chair next to Tanya, snaking an arm around her shoulders. "But I wouldn't think on it, my little devochka!" He pronounced correctly. "What's exactly so appealing about Chancellor Moore anyway? It's certainly not a physical attraction, I know that…"

"And he didn't turn out to have much inside either, huh?" Tanya finished bitterly. "Slava bogu… what did I ever…?"

"Shhhh" the man said, putting a finger to her lips. "Let's not dwell on the past, devochka. The present is, after all, a gift." He stood up, and held his arm out for her. "Let's not waste it."

Tanya smiled, stood up sharply, and took the mans arm. "I agree completely , Mr…" She paused, and shook her head. "I'm sorry… I really should know your name by now…"

The man laughed, and waved it off as nothing. "Paraclete" he pronounced for her. "But please…" he bent down and kissed her hand. "Call me Ben."