A/N: This chapter is a bit of an interlude. It is not the final chapter, so do not worry about that. I spoke to soon when I said there was only one or two more chapters; there will probably be at least three more, including this one.

)O(

Sam watched idly as the line kept moving but never got any shorter. It seemed everyone was jumping at the chance to meet Madison Paige. Not that he could blame them; she had put an end to the most wanted killer in the country.

And there was Jayden, her...friend? Boyfriend? What were they? Did they even know? It didn't seem to matter to them. They were taking it one day at a time. Maybe they had the right idea, after all. A divorce was a long and arduous affair. It was better if they could just go their separate ways should things not work out, minus all the paperwork. Jayden really wasn't such a bad guy. At least he seemed to genuinely care about Madison, maybe even love her. The couple would be all right.

"Can I help you, sir?" He turned and saw a woman with curly red hair and a prominent nose. She appeared to be in her late thirties and obviously worked at the bookstore.

"No, but thanks." he replied. "I'm just here for a friend."

"Oh?" He gestured toward Madison. "Oh. You know her?"

"Yeah. I'm Sam."

"Ellis," the woman smiled, extending a slender hand. "Hey, my break starts in a few minutes, do you want to grab a cup of tea?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. Tea?

At first he thought she just wanted to talk to him because he knew Madison, but as it turned out, she wanted to know about him. He told Ellis about his job at the American Tribune, and she was fascinated. She was also a very attentive listener.

Then Ellis told him about working at the bookstore, that it was dull at times but she stayed because she needed the money. And besides, she loved books. She also spoke briefly about her painting hobby on the side. It wasn't enough to make ends meet, but it helped a little when the economy went downhill.

They stumbled through small talk with remarkably few awkward pauses. Sam couldn't remember the last time he'd simply talked with someone like this, except maybe Madison. In fact, they were so wrapped up in one another's company that he didn't even notice when Madison abruptly stood up and left.

There was something almost magnetic about Ellis. He was drawn to her personality. She made him feel relaxed and excited at the same time. It had never been this way with Kathy. Ellis smiled a lot; he liked that.

In no time, they had to part ways.

"My shift's over." Ellis said. "But I'd like to see you again."

"We could go to dinner." he suggested

"I could cook for us." she added. "What do you like to eat?"

Sam shrugged. "I have nothing against trying new things."

"I'll surprise you." She produced a pen from somewhere on her person and frantically searched for a piece of paper. Her gray eyes then settled on his autographed copy of Heavy Rain. "Uh...may I?"

He nodded. Below Madison's signature, Ellis jotted down her name and phone number in large, looping handwriting. She really did have lovely hands.

"I'll call you."

"Good," Ellis bit her lip. "I need to go food shopping."

Then she was gone, at least for now, and Sam realized how odd the entire exchange had been. He barely knew this woman, yet he'd agreed to go to her apartment and eat food and look at artwork. The divorce had only been official for a few weeks. Kathy had been gone for even less than that. Sam's now ex-wife simply took off to God only knew where with a piece of his heart, yet in a way he lost her long before that.

Where was Kathy now? He couldn't help but wonder.

Sam didn't feel whole anymore. However, meeting Ellis made him think that maybe he could someday.