Marge hummed to herself as she made sure she put her makeup on straight. She had been waiting to go out for a whole week and now she could not wait to have a great dinner with Ned. For the first time in many months, she actually had her hair up, tonight was a special night. As she prepped up she heard a knock on the bathroom door and gave a quick sigh before opening the door to see who it was. It was Bart and he seemed a little annoyed by something.

"Mom, Lisa took the good TV dinner and I know she did it on purpose because it's the only one with meat on it," said Bart who was staring at the floor afraid to look up in case his mother was in her birthday suit.

"Did you tell Lisa there was meat in it?" asked Marge.

"Yeah I did and…woah mom why you looking so fancy tonight?" asked Bart who was now brave enough to look up. Marge hadn't even told the kids about tonight's plans; she only said she was not making dinner.

"Oh I forgot to tell you that I got free tickets to a really nice restaurant on the harbor, so Ned and I are going and you three will stay home," said Marge.

"What! You're going out with Flanders?" asked Bart who now sounded completely appalled.

"Yes I am, he's been so nice to me lately I thought I should take him out to a thank you dinner," said Marge as she walked out of the bathroom and quickly grabbed her purse.

"So it's not a date then?" asked Bart hoping that she would say it wasn't.

"It's sort of one, but its more of a friendship dinner saying thank you and all that," said Marge.

Bart still did not seem convinced, but at the moment he decided to keep his mouth shut. He knew his mother needed some time out away from him and his sisters and Bart felt it would be nice to be home alone with them for a change. They could always watch a good movie that Marge never showed interest in. He would watch for his mother and Flanders though when they came home and look for any signs of affection, ones that showed how much they loved each other.

Marge headed down the stairs where Lisa was standing with Maggie wondering if Bart was going to get his way with the TV dinner. She was about to say something when she noticed how nice Marge looked.

"You didn't tell us you were going out," said Lisa in a surprised voice.

"I know, I just didn't want you kids bothering me about it. Now you three behave while I'm gone, I'll probably be back by ten," said Marge as she kissed each of her children on the head before walking out the door.

The three kids stared at the door for a moment before Lisa turned to Bart with a smirk. "Now about that TV dinner."

Marge quickly made her way over to Ned's house. The air was getting colder and the chill made Marge walk faster to his front door. When she reached it she knocked heavily on the door while trying to warm her arms, she really should have brought a jacket to cover herself.

Ned was quick to answer the door and noticed Marge's predicament. "Forgot the weather was changing did you?" he asked.

"Yeah I guess, I might have to go back and get a coat," said Marge.

"Don't worry about that, I still have one of Maude's old coverings that would match nicely with your dress," said Ned as he rummaged through his closet and pulled out a lovely top shirt that was red with jewels on the collar. Marge quickly put it on and admired how nicely it fit her.

"Thank you Ned," said Marge.

Ned only nodded as he led Marge back out the door and toward his car. The drive was spent in silence as both anticipated a nice dinner on the harbor. Talking could wait anyway, the night was still young.

For a Friday night, the harbor was quiet, not many people strolled along the sidewalks and both Marge and Ned believed it was because it was a cold night. The first in a while and everyone was happy staying warm in a temperature they had gotten used to.

They soon found the bistro near the center of the harbor and walked in. They were seated right away next to a lovely fountain. Italian music was playing around them and they got a delicious loaf of bread with dipping oil. Marge ordered a red wine while Ned ordered a soda, knowing that he was driving home later. Both remained silent for a few minutes while waiting for their salad before Marge finally had to break the ice.

"Thank you for all your help Ned, I'm so glad we are neighbors," said Marge.

"You are most welcome Marge, everyone needs a shoulder to cry on when they need help," said Ned.

Marge only smiled, she really wanted to have a happy conversation tonight, it was after all a night off.

"Why don't we talk about something else, we always seem to talk about the other stuff, we need a night of happiness," said Marge.

"That's fine by me, what do you want to talk about?" asked Ned.

Marge grabbed a piece of bread and dunked it into the oil while she thought, she had been Ned's neighbor for years and she never really got to know him thanks to Homer and his rudeness.

"Well what is your favorite book in the Bible?" asked Marge knowing that religion was easy for Ned.

"Oh you picked a good subject there Marge, do you mind if I give you my favorite of the Old Testament and one for the New?" asked Ned.

"Sure," said Marge.

"Well in the Old testament I was always fond of Genesis mainly because you find out that God is a big baseball fan," said Ned.

"Oh how so?" asked Marge ready to hear a big secret about the Bible.

"Well haven't you noticed that the first verse says 'In the big inning?'" asked Ned with a smirk while at the same time he wiggled his mustache like Samantha would do with her nose on Bewitched. The sudden idea of telling jokes tonight seemed to be a great way to help break the ice.

Marge got it right away and gave out a hearty chuckle from Ned's silly little comment. She hadn't heard a new joke in a long time and the last good one was by Homer a few weeks after the explosion at the plant. Something about how old Mr. Burns was. She had forgotten it now and wished she could remember it at the moment.

"Here's another good one, where is the first math problem mentioned in the Bible?" asked Ned who was glad to start a conversation that included good clean jokes. He could go all night with them if he wanted.

"Where?" asked Marge.

"When God told Adam and Eve go to forth and multiply," said Ned trying to sound all serious as if it were true.

Marge gave a small chuckle again. "And did they ever!" she said.

"How about this one, what kind of lights were on the ark?" asked Ned.

"I don't know, candles?" asked Marge with a smirk.

"Nope, floodlights," said Ned.

Marge tried not to laugh as she tried to eat a piece of lettuce in her salad that had arrived shortly beforehand. Ned just smiled back at her, happy to have helped her mood become brighter.

"Well you sure know how to make someone happy," said Marge.

"It's what men need to do, you gals need love and happiness mixed in with all that sentiment," said Ned.

"You are such a gentleman Ned, you don't know how much your presence means to me," said Marge as she grabbed the hand Ned was not using to eat his salad with. It felt warm and comforting and it made her feel more alive and happy, a feeling that she had been missing ever since Homer's health deteriorated. Ned stared down at her hand, for a moment he did not know what to do until he suddenly felt the same feeling Marge felt, a feeling he had not felt longer than her and it felt so satisfying.

"Just letting everyone know that the dance floor is open tonight," said a voice on a nearby intercom as music began to play.

Marge looked around once she heard the announcement and watched as several couples showed interest in the idea of dancing. One husband jumped up almost right away and took his wife with him toward the dance floor, while another older gentleman begged his wife to dance who was reluctant at first, probably because they were older now and not the best dancers any more. But who really cared about that? It didn't matter how well you danced, just how much you loved each other. The older lady finally gave in and followed her husband to the dance floor, pretty soon they were lost in the moment with five other couples on the dance floor. Marge let out a sigh as she watched them stare at each other with loving eyes and happy futures. One lady was pregnant and the husband couldn't be any prouder of the new child entering the world. Would it be their first?

"Would a young lady like to dance?" Ned suddenly asked causing Marge to return to reality.

Marge looked back at Ned; he was smiling and holding his hand out, ready to bring her out on to the dance floor. Marge hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was the right thing to do. She took a quick sip of what was left of her wine and then looked in Ned's eyes. They seemed to tell her that everything would be alright and that she was not betraying Homer for a quick dance. Finally she took Ned's hand and followed him over to the dance floor where Ned began to lead with Marge following every move he made.

Together they swayed back and forth; listening to the music and watching the happy couples share their love. Ned began thinking about the past, he remembered those years with Maude, the blessings he shared with her and those wonderful times they spent sharing things out of the good book. It was amazing how he didn't try to kill Homer himself after the accident; Homer even admitted that it was his fault. He even told Ned about a month before his death how guilty he felt for tearing his family apart and that he hoped Maude would forgive him if he ever saw her again. Ned did not even understand why he even went to that motor speedway in the first place; usually he and the family would have gone to the park to enjoy the day. Fate was a strange thing.

Ned let out a heavy sigh, two years had gone by so quickly, and he had gotten over her death in a few months but the pain was still there. That bed sure was lonely at night; he remembered how Maude would sleep closely to him, laying her head on his shoulders or sleeping back to back. The kids seemed to take it okay but they did seem lonely too. He remembered the time when Marge had to baby sit and both Rod and Todd admitted that she was the most fun they had since before Maude died. Ned couldn't be two parents, it just wasn't possible but he didn't want to let Maude down, their love was so strong, he couldn't find any one new without thinking about her. Or could he?

Before Ned knew it, he felt Marge lay her head on his chest and let out a heavy sigh, he didn't know if it was a happy sigh or a sad one but it made him wonder if she was having the same thoughts he had.

Marge was remembering the last time she had danced with Homer, it was at a friends wedding reception and Homer had been diagnosed four months before. Naturally she was the worried wife who wanted to make everything right for her dying husband.


They swayed back and forth together, listening to the beautiful wedding music and not paying attention to anything else around them, it was the perfect night to be at the pier. They had danced for twenty minutes and Homer was showing no signs of stopping, though Marge was getting a bit concerned.

"Homer, I won't feel bad if you need to sit down and rest," said Marge with a worried stare.

"Oh Marge, I'm fine, we don't need to worry about my health, this is a night to be together in love," said Homer and he grabbed Marge's hands and made her do a twirl around her.

"But Dr. Hibbert said to take it easy, you never know when you might suddenly have to be sent to the hospital," said Marge as she did her twirl in a face that looked as if she was dancing with someone she never knew.

"Oh Doctors, what do they know. They say you have a terminal illness but I don't feel like I am dying. I've only been sick once and that was four months ago," said Homer.

"But Homer, cancer can go into remission. Right now you are fine but things can change very fast," said Marge as she started to tug at him a little, just to get him to sit down.

Homer noticed this and looked back at her with a concerned smile. He was trying to be optimistic through all this but it looked as if Marge would want to have none of that. He wanted to make his last months happy with Marge; he didn't want them to be downers.

"Marge, can't you let the mourning wait, we need to have happy memories together, not ones where one of us is worried the other might not make it to see tomorrow," said Homer.

Marge stared back at Homer; he had a small smile on his face the kind that almost gave him a puppy dog look. It was the kind of look that usually won Marge over especially in a situation like this. Homer was right though, they needed to dance together, the problems they were facing shouldn't hold them back. If Homer could do it, then he had every right to. Marge needed to create happy memories with him.

"Okay Homer, just let me know when you want to rest," said Marge as she waited for Homer to start leading again.

Homer only smiled as he led her around the dance floor. The other couples who danced near them stopped to watch, admiring their spirit through a difficult change they were going through. They admired Homer's spirit and Marge's bravery and they all prayed that Homer would somehow win the battle like so many other people they knew.

"Marge, you have the grace of an angel," said Homer as he noticed how Marge moved about the dance floor and flowed perfectly with what he was doing.

Marge only smiled; she loved it when Homer was aware of others around him. Usually he was too busy looking around for a beer or what was on TV to care. But tonight, he was different; he was the husband she wanted him to be. Marge let Homer grab her around her waist and bent her down almost near the floor where both stared into each others eyes for a long moment. Slowly Homer lifted her back up while at the same time puckering his lips in the form of a kiss. Marge smiled before moving forward to give her husband the romantic kiss of the night.


"Marge!" She suddenly heard a voice call out to her; she opened her eyes and saw that she was face to face with Ned. She was so deep in thought that she had forgotten that she was dancing with Ned and not Homer. She had almost kissed Ned.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming," she said with a sheepish grin.

Ned looked back at her nervously and then looked over at the table, salvation had come. "Oh look our food is here," he said.

The two returned to their booth. Marge's wine had been refilled and she instantly took a sip before digging into her angle hair pasta. While she chewed she thought back to the last dance with Homer. They ended up dancing for a good forty-five minutes; Homer decided to make Marge happy and sat down at their table where they watched everyone else enjoy the evening. It was the perfect night, until about an hour later when Homer suddenly felt winded and exhausted. Marge decided it was best to go home but halfway there, Homer had some difficulty breathing and Marge rushed him to the hospital.

It was nothing too serious, not yet any way. Dr. Hibbert only said that Homer had done a little too much that evening and his body had a hard time catching up. He spent a day in the hospital before heading home feeling better and not too exhausted. Marge though made sure that Homer knew he needed to take it easy, but of course Homer still had a few wacky mishaps afterward. One involved him and Lenny trying to catch the biggest fish in Lake Springfield and another time where he, Bart and Lisa got lost in the woods overnight after going on a hike together.

Marge did not sleep a wink that night, she was so afraid that something had happened to Homer and that the kids did not know what to do. It wasn't until later in the afternoon the next day when they finally showed themselves; apparently Homer had taken them to a special place to give them a talk. It was later in the evening when Homer was finished and it was getting dark fast, they soon ended up getting lost and it was Lisa who suggested that it would be smarter for them to stay put where they were for the night. Homer decided to be the brave father too and stayed awake the entire night, making sure his children were safe from the elements. He was exhausted by the time he returned and of course Marge took him straight to Dr. Hibbert. Amazingly though, he was not in too bad of shape, he just needed some rest and he would be fine by morning. Homer was glad he spent time with the kids like that because two months later, the cancer finally caught up with him.

Marge sighed and looked up at Ned as she sipped her wine. He was looking down at his chicken Alfredo, looking a bit embarrassed by the whole situation. He looked up a few seconds later and Marge only stared back before giving him a small grin. Ned only grinned back before going back to cutting up a piece of chicken. Marge took another sip of wine and looked back down at her food thinking about Homer some more.

It was hard to believe he had been gone for nearly four months now. It felt like only a month had passed by, while taking care of him as the cancer finally took hold seemed like years. Every day seemed to be a struggle for him physically and emotionally. He hated asking for help because he wanted Marge to worry about other things than himself. Marge though wanted to help him, she wanted to be the wife who stayed strong through everything, she did not want to give up on him no matter how terrible the outcome would get.

She was glad he passed away quietly but so saddened that his life had to end so soon. She had hoped he would live longer than that, at least till he was in his seventies or at least his eighties. She remembered hearing a sermon from Reverend Lovejoy that God has a plan for everyone. Some would leave this world as quickly as they had come while others stayed until they felt their time on this earth was expired and needed to go to the place where life was eternal and happy. Marge sensed that Homer's plan was to give her someone to share her love with and have three beautiful children as the outcome. Three children who only had a father for a short time. They seemed to have a new father now though, Ned was being so helpful in all of this, picking the kids up when he could and watching them if she had to take care of things. She just wished Bart didn't act so angry around him, Marge really did not understand how Bart was feeling, he never liked talking about how he felt, he seemed to act way too brave for his own good.

But Bart needed to accept Ned into their lives for now; he was giving her a job and comforting her through the hardest thing in her life. She couldn't just walk away from him because of how Bart felt about it. It was strange though how Bart was steering clear of Ned, she remembered how he ran off to find him before the bomb blew off when the dome was over the town, and how he even told Homer that he wished Ned was his father during the argument they had in their Alaskan home. Of course the mind was a strange thing to deal with, one minute you wanted to be with someone, the next minute you couldn't stand them, Bart was probably feeling this way and of course he did loose someone important in his life and all his emotions were running wild.

So much was going through Marge's mind that it was hard for her to think and for her to notice that she had finished her plate, and a glass and a half of wine. It was Ned who finally pointed out that the bill had come; quickly she took out her two coupons and a nice big tip for the waiter and set them on the table before taking one more big sip of her wine. They then left the restaurant silently, walking side by side but nervously. Marge was a little embarrassed by the dance and she wondered if Ned was now too afraid to go out with her again. But that wonder quickly changed when Ned finally spoke up.

"So Marge, have you seen any good movies lately?" he asked with a grin. The momentary awkwardness now seemed to have subsided because he sounded more relaxed and more like himself.

"Oh yeah, Bart picks out some pretty good ones. A few nights ago I saw this movie with Russell Crow called Master and Commander," said Marge.

"Oh I have seen that one too, such a great swashbuckling adventure, I just wish that doctor wasn't so into evolution," said Ned.

"Oh I don't think he was, I think he just wanted to study how animals adapted on that island. I was so glad Jack Aubrey decided to give him a chance to visit the place. The poor guy needed some respite," said Marge.

"What was your favorite scene?" asked Ned.

Marge thought for a moment walking along the pier with Ned until something caught her eye, giving her an idea. She grabbed Ned by the arm and slowly she led him to a section with lots of statues and benches. Ned only followed thinking that Marge wanted to go a different way and enjoy the night while it was still young.

"I liked it when Jack fought that French ship near the end, and water was spraying everywhere from all the guns going off, just like it's about……… to do………… right………….. now," said Marge.

Ned was confused for a moment until five different spouts of water suddenly burst out from the ground. Ned let out a gasp of surprise as another five different spouts attacked him from behind. Marge stood at the edge and began to laugh hard at Ned's surprised face; she had really tricked him good. Ned of course was not going to take this lightly and before Marge could even think about running away, he grabbed her and swung her into the water jets with him. Marge let out a scream of laughter before she ran with Ned through the fountains, dodging the water left and right and sometimes pushing each other into an oncoming spout. Even though it was freezing cold, they did not care, it was a great way to let off anything that had gone earlier.

Not only did they forget their troubles during that brief moment of fun, but they also forgot about how far away Ned's car was. They made their way as fast as they could to the parking lot covered head to toe in water and both were shivering like two Chihuahuas. Marge's hair now looked scraggly and unkempt, it was halfway down and parts of it were sticking out. Ned looked like an old sheepdog by how his mustache was now drooping and his hair was a bit mussed as well. When they finally reached the car, Ned had to hold his hand steady as he unlocked the door and when he turned on the ignition while Marge quickly grabbed a towel from the backseat to dry off as best she could.

"Nice trick there Marge," said Ned with a smirk once he finally got the car running.

"I couldn't help myself," said Marge as she tried to dry her hair.

"Thank goodness I bought a new heater for this thing a few years ago or we would be both catching Pneumonia before the night is through," said Ned as he turned on the heater at full blast.

Marge said nothing, her teeth were chattering too much to do anything else. It was a stupid idea but they still had so much fun. It wasn't long before the heat helped them warm up and Marge was glad for it since they came home at the perfect time. Ned decided to be a gentleman and stopped his car in front of Marge's house. Marge was about to open the door when Ned grabbed her arm.

"No no, don't get out yet young lady," he said.

Marge sat there wondering what was going on until she realized that Ned was opening the door for her. Such a gentleman. Marge mad her way out of the car and once she was all the way out she looked up at Ned and gave him a warm smile. "Thank you so much Ned, that was such a nice night," she said.

"If you ever want to go out again just let me know, and if you still need anything I am right here," said Ned.

Marge looked down at the sidewalk; her mind was racing again about what was going on. Tonight was such a special night, almost like a fairy tale. She had been trapped in her house for the last four months mourning Homer's death and trying to handle things the best she could. The nice man that came into the Leftorium had given her those special tickets and she had someone to share it with. The kind neighbor who would do anything for her. Ned was just standing next to her as if he was expecting Marge to say something to him and to Marge it was the perfect opportunity. For a moment she stared at Ned and then tried to move forward but quickly had second thoughts as she looked down at the ground nervously.

"What's wrong Marge, is there something you want to tell me?" asked Ned who seemed a bit concerned.

Marge bit her lip and stared up at Ned for a moment while he waited for a response. Finally she decided that she had to get it over with and before Ned knew what hit him, Marge went full force at him and kissed him on the lips, her arms around his neck in a loving embrace.

Ned stood there in shock, unsure of how to take what was going on with Marge. Carefully he pushed her out of his personal space and Marge quickly got the message as she let go of him before looking up at Ned with a sheepish face.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," she said nervously.

Ned looked back at her awkwardly; he rubbed the back of his neck not sure how to respond to what just went on. Was it the wine? She did have three and a half glasses but usually that didn't make you too drunk. He knew now though that it was probably best to go home.

"See you later," he finally said as he got into his car.

Marge watched Ned make his short drive into his driveway before he disappeared into the house; her mind was now racing about what just happened. What made her want to kiss her own neighbor like that? Was it because she was half drunk or was it because something new was brewing inside her? Marge shook her head at that thought; it was too soon, she shouldn't act rational like that right now. Sure it was like a fairy tale, but she still loved Homer and she was still married to him for as long as she wanted.

Marge then let out a shiver and remembered that she was still outside and wet from the fountain incident, as quickly as she could she ran to the door. She opened the door and the first thing she saw when she walked in was Bart sitting on the bottom step of the stairs with an angry look in his eyes. One that told her he had seen everything that had gone outside, and he was not going to leave until she gave him a reasonable explanation.


A/N: Sorry about the long wait, finals take over your life like nobodies business. And look a mini cliffhanger! Well summer is finally here which means I will be updating more frequently for you guys. But just to warn you in advance June 15th through the 30th, I will be taking two classes. I don't know how often I will have time to write so there will be a small dry spell once we reach those weeks. Also If my chapters suddenly start getting repetative, please slap me, I'm worrying they might suddenly do that and I won't be paying attention to what I write.

Any way quick story behind the Master and Commander conversation. I got the idea thanks to a friend of mine who loves writing fanfiction, has more ideas brimming in that brain of hers than I ever will. She has like twenty of them right now it's insane, I don't know how she keeps track of them. But any way, when I first came up with this chapter back in March, she was in a Master and Commander kick and it kind of rubbed off on me so I decided to mention it. Great movie by the way if you have not seen it. She is off that kick now, for a few months it was Twilight but after forcing me to go with her and see Star Trek (Don't worry I thought it was amazing) she is now in a Star Trek kick, thank God too, I can handle only so much Twilight. Yeah my friend has fanfiction ADD.

Any way I will shut up now, and please review when you can. Have a nice week.