Apartment 50D - July 19, 2012 - 0624 hours

Kowalski walked into the kitchen with a yawn. "Morning, guys."

"Well, don't you look rested," Skipper observed sarcastically.

"Sorry, Skipper. I just didn't sleep very well last night," Kowalski explained.

"Why not?" Private asked innocently.

"I just tossed and turned a lot. I couldn't stop thinking," Kowalski answered, running his fingers through his bad case of bedhead.

"About what?" Rico asked.

Kowalski stopped with his hand halfway through his hair, catching each of the others' eyes as he tried to find the words to say. He couldn't tell them the truth. "The—invention I'm working on," he spat out.

"Well, Kowalski, there's a time and place for that. Try to forget about all of that when you're sleeping. I need my team sharp. Here, have some coffee," Skipper ordered, pushing a cup across the table toward him.

Kowalski accepted the cup. He also accepted another. He accepted another until he'd had his sixth cup.

— § —

There he was. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to get this done now. She couldn't take waiting. He just stood there on the terrace with his back to her. It was so simple. Rico was in the kitchen listening to a symphony of explosives while practicing knife tricks on a defenseless fruit cocktail, Private was watching the Lunacorns in his room, and Kowalski was in his lab working on something with the door shut. She had been invited over by him to watch and Skipper had let her in. Elizabeth saw him going out onto the terrace after he'd permitted her to enter.

All she had to do was sneak up behind him, slit his throat, hop over onto her terrace, grab her stuff and ditch. No one would even know. Until they found the blood trailing into her abandoned apartment, that is. But she'd be long gone by then.

Elizabeth made her decision. She double-checked her surroundings and pulled the dagger from her boot when she confirmed she was still in the clear. She placed her feet quietly in front of each other until she was standing behind him.

Then she blinked and he was gone, with her son in his place, facing her with a confused expression.

"Mom, did you do it?" he asked her.

Elizabeth blinked a couple of times to try to understand what had just happened and shook her head. "Do what?"

Ryan pointed to the end of the terrace and Elizabeth followed his finger. Skipper lay there with blood pooling under him, dead. Elizabeth looked at the dagger in her hand, which was covered with a sleek red substance.

"Ryan, I—"

"But why?" Ryan asked, stepping away from her.

"I—it's just that—how did—?"

Elizabeth tried stepping closer, but Ryan backed away.

"No! Get away from me!" he cried in fear.

Elizabeth felt tears sting her eyes. "Ryan, this isn't what it looks like!" she protested uselessly. Ryan shook his head and pushed past her, running for the door. "Ryan! Please, don't leave me!"

Elizabeth woke with a start when she heard a thump. When she wiped the tears from her eyes and sat herself up, she realized she'd fallen out of bed. Everything was getting harder on her. It was hard to handle this kind of pressure. Was that how Ryan was really going to see her? Did he even know what's going on in the first place?

She pulled the phone out of her suitcase and dialed the number. She had to hear Ryan's voice to know he was okay.

"Yes?"

"I want to speak to Ryan. I need to know he's okay," Elizabeth demanded.

"I'm afraid you can't, Amanda. The boy is fine," Hans answered.

"Hans, I have to hear his voice. Please," Elizabeth pleaded.

"That isn't part of the deal. Finish the job and you can have the boy," Hans told her.

"But—"

"Amanda, are you sure you really want to try my patience? Ryan can't even come to the phone at the moment anyway," Hans persisted.

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked impatiently.

"Nothing to be of your concern. Call back when you've done the job," Hans said. The line went dead.

Elizabeth stuffed the phone back into the suitcase in frustration and looked at the clock, which told her it was about a quarter till eight. At least she'd gotten a little more sleep than the previous night. After showering, dressing, and fixing her hair, she made her way for her shift in the diner.

1159 hours

Kowalski was about to step out on the terrace for some air and stopped in his tracks when he saw Elizabeth already standing out there, in her apron. With a smile, he took a deep breath and stepped outside, leaning against the railing next to her.

"Hey. I take it you're on break?" he asked with a warm smile.

"Yeah, I am. Hello, Kowalski," Elizabeth replied, returning the smile.

"I was wondering, um, would you like to—go for lunch or something?" he asked while trying to mask his growing nervousness.

"I'd like that," Elizabeth accepted. How could she refuse?

1224 hours

"Hey, have either of you seen Kowalski?" Skipper asked, coming into the living room.

Private paused the Lunacorns. "Haven't seen him since about half an hour ago. He went out on the terrace and came back saying he was going downstairs for lunch," he answered.

"Yup," Rico concurred without looking up from his latest issue of KABOOM magazine.

"Lunch? Why did he go downstairs for lunch?" Skipper inquired.

"I don't know. Maybe he liked the selection," Private replied.

"Oh, I'll give him a selection. He can get his soldier-y tail feathers up here or get fish-slapped," Skipper replied as he stormed out of the apartment.

Meanwhile, Kowalski and Elizabeth were laughing over a story Kowalski was telling.

"And then after we were put through all that, we accidentally left Private at the toy factory!" Kowalski said between laughs. They both cracked up.

"That poor boy!" Elizabeth said between laughs.

"Hello, Kowalski."

Kowalski turned around with a start. "Oh . . . hello, Skipper."

"And what are we talking about?" Skipper asked casually.

"Oh, not much," Kowalski answered uneasily.

"Well, it sure sounds like a whole lot of 'not much.' Come on, I like a good laugh," Skipper urged.

"We were just talking about the time we left Private at the toy factory. Wasn't that—funny?" Kowalski answered with an awkward laugh.

"Oh, that is funny. You know what else is funny? You coming down here after I deliberately told you not to," Skipper said, crossing his arms.

"Right, it's just that—"

"Are you coming or not?"

Kowalski looked to Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I've got to go."

"It's fine, Kowalski. Catch you later," Elizabeth replied understandingly.

Once Skipper and Kowalski arrived back at the apartment, Skipper pulled Kowalski into his lab and slapped him before he could say anything.

"Are you crazy?! I told you not to get personal with her! You know I don't trust her!"

"Skipper, I've talked to her! You haven't! She's harmless!" Kowalski protested.

"Kowalski, did you see the way she looked at me when she saw me? It was as if she were trying to stare me into dust! She was clenching her napkin so tight her knuckles turned white! But, no, you didn't notice that because you're too naïve to know any better!"

"Naïve? Naïve?! The only one who's 'naïve' is you! You know nothing about Elizabeth! She's one of the nicest women I've ever met!" Kowalski argued.

"Kowalski, if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you're starting to develop feelings for this woman," Skipper said, folding his arms over his chest.

Kowalski opened his mouth to respond, but ended up standing there with his jaw hanging open in silence. After a moment, he brushed past Skipper and left the lab and out to the terrace.

Skipper remained in the lab, thinking about what had just happened. He sighed.

Maybe I should give her a chance, he thought. As much as his gut was telling him not to, he left the apartment and went back downstairs.

Elizabeth had started waiting tables again and was serving customers coffee just as Skipper approached her. Her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of him, as she hadn't expected him to return.

"Oh, Skipper, I—" she started, but Skipper cut her off.

"No, don't say anything. Look, I was rude before. I just—have some trust issues with people I haven't met yet. I came down to tell you," he took a deep breath, "that I'm sorry. I just care about my team. And I was wondering if you'd—like to come to our place for dinner tonight? I think Kowalski would enjoy your company," he offered.

Elizabeth's heart pounded out of her chest and she nodded understandingly. She was getting to him. Clearing her throat, she responded.

"Sure. I'd like that," she said with a nod of her head.

Skipper nodded. "I'll see you at 1900, then," he told her with a forced smile. After he nodded his goodbye, he turned his back and returned to the apartment and out onto the terrace, where Kowalski remained smoldering with anger as he leaned over the railing.

Skipper took a deep breath. "I just talked to Elizabeth. I'm sorry, Kowalski. All right? I'll give her a chance. I invited her for dinner with us tonight. I hope you're right about her, Kowalski," he told him. After a moment of silence, he turned and started to go back inside, but Kowalski's voice stopped him.

"Skipper?"

"Yeah, Kowalski," Skipper answered, turning back to him.

"Thanks," Kowalski said with a forgiving smile.

Skipper smiled back, nodded, and went back inside.

1904 hours

Kowalski answered the door upon hearing a knock from the other side. "Hi, Marlene. Please come in," he said, moving out of the way for her.

They'd decided to invite Marlene over as well to relieve some of the awkwardness stemming from dining with four men. At least Marlene knew the team and could set Elizabeth's nerves at ease.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth showed up. Kowalski led her in and introduced her to everyone, and they all sat down to eat.

After a wonderful dinner, everyone had become acquainted with one another and Elizabeth got to know everyone better. While the rest of the team and Marlene were distracted with conversation, Elizabeth and Kowalski slipped out onto the terrace.

"It's a beautiful night," Elizabeth said softly.

"Yeah, it is," Kowalski replied, although he was too drawn away by Elizabeth's beauty to notice the few stars in the sky.

"I had fun tonight," Elizabeth said, turning to him.

"I did too. I'm glad you came," Kowalski told her.

"I am too. I'm also glad Skipper wasn't too harsh on you. I know it's probably hard for him to accept me considering I'm new here and all. I can understand his distrust in me," Elizabeth told him, looking down into her hands.

"I suppose. But I'm sure he'll warm up to you," Kowalski encouraged.

Elizabeth looked down out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I'm sure," she said under her breath. She couldn't help but think about how hurt Kowalski would be if she went through with her task at hand. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kowalski pushed a tuft of hair out of her eyes and rested his hand on her cheek.

As the intensity of the moment grew, the distance between Kowalski and Elizabeth shrunk as much. They looked from each other's eyes to their lips and finally, their lips met. There was nothing but that moment. Nothing else existed. Elizabeth slid her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around Kowalski's neck. Kowalski wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Neither of them even realized that Skipper appeared at the door behind them and watched them for a moment. After a smile and a sigh, he left them be and returned to the others.

Finally, Kowalski and Elizabeth slowly pulled apart and looked into each other's eyes, drawn by the desire that kindled there. Kowalski then pulled her into another kiss and pushed her into the railing.

Elizabeth sighed against Kowalski's lips and pushed his hair between her fingers. Kowalski pushed his fingertips into her waist and caressed her hip. Without thinking—as if the moment would let her—Elizabeth brought up her leg and hugged Kowalski's hip with it. It wasn't until Kowalski started to run his hand down her leg did she realize he was about to find the dagger in her boot.

Elizabeth put a hand on Kowalski's chest and gently—and reluctantly—pulled away from him while the other hand stopped Kowalski's from moving any further down her leg.

"We should—go inside before they realize how long we've been gone," she suggested with a nervous smile.

"Of course," Kowalski agreed as a smile twitched at his lips.

With a nervous laugh, Kowalski let her go and rested his arm around her shoulders as they went back inside.

"Thanks for a wonderful time, everyone. But I really should be getting back to my apartment," Elizabeth announced.

"All right. Goodbye, Elizabeth," Kowalski said.

"Bye, Kowalski. Gentlemen, Marlene," Elizabeth said with a nod to the boys and Marlene as she left.

2214 hours

Elizabeth stared at the woman in the mirror. She felt like shoving the dagger through her own heart just for her stupidity. It was bad enough that she had to murder someone, but she was falling for the man whom obviously trusted her. She splashed water into her face.

What was she supposed to do, now? How was she supposed to kill Skipper, get her son back, and not hurt Kowalski? She wasn't heartless. Even if Kowalski never found out she'd killed Skipper, she couldn't exactly explain the sudden appearance of an eight-year-old son over the course of one night. If she ran away, he'd still be hurt. Elizabeth started to wonder what she'd ever done to deserve this kind of torture.