Hello All! I'm back again!

Scratch the whole explosive thing…I changed up the plot when I saw a very similar story come to life. Trying to be original here.

Some definite Sules in this chapter! Hopefully it's not super cheesy.

Reviews get virtual cupcakes. Which I'm eating right now. Writing requires brain food.

Cassidy glanced at the clock and sighed. 5 minutes and the Braddock's would be here. She had no idea how she allowed herself to get talked into this. Social stuff was not her thing. As it was, she couldn't convince herself to put on anything more than jeans and a t-shirt.

"I'm so sorry!" she sobbed.

She was too late. She was supposed to be there. She had promised. And she was too late.

"Dang it." She hissed, smacking her hairbrush on her mahogany dresser. This was her new life. No memories allowed.

The doorbell startled her away from her thoughts. She grabbed her leather coat, two sizes too big, and ran to the front door.

"Hey." She was greeted by a smiling, pregnant woman. "I'm Jules!"

"Hi Jules, I'm Cassidy. Nice to meet you." Cassidy smiled. She pulled on her Converse and locked the door behind her.

To Cassidy's surprise, Jules didn't try and make small talk. She liked her all the better for it. The two women reached the Braddock's Jeep and climbed in.

"Hey, Cassidy!" Sam called from the front seat.

"Hi Sam," she answered. "How's it going?"

Sam did make small talk, although Jules was able to keep most of it directed at herself. It was almost unnerving, how she was predicting Cassidy's emotions, how she seemed to know what she tried to avoid.

Within twenty minutes, Cassidy found herself seated at a table with three people she barely knew in a public setting. All things she tried to avoid.

The conversation started out lightly, and Cassidy was able to make minimal contributions to it. Then it turned to the SRU's daily report, which Jules listened to intently.

"Do you miss it?" Cassidy asked Jules, nodding to her belly. "The job and all?"

Jules smiled. "All the time. But as Sam loves to remind me," she flashed him a gorgeous smile. "I'm doing more important things right now."

Cassidy leaned back, marvelling at Sam and Jules interaction. She loved him; there was no doubt of that. But it was the way he looked at her that was striking. He wasn't just in love with her.

He was completely and utterly consumed.

Every move she made, every gesture and smile, he watched with pride. And this woman, Jules, was blossoming under his love.

No wonder Sam came to work so relaxed. With a home life like that, who could miss?

She turned her attention to Spike. He was lively tonight. Relaxed, and in his element, likely. Questions of his story, of who he was came to mind. He glanced over at her and smiled. She noted how the smile didn't stop with his face. It reached those perfect chocolate pudding eyes of his.

"So, you're from Alberta, right?" he asked.

She inwardly groaned. Inevitable back story questions. "Yeah, I am."

"Just like I am!" said Jules brightly. "Are you a Flames or Oilers fan?"

"Flames."

"NOOO!" groaned Sam. "Why the Flames?"

Cassidy smirked. "Why? Are you an Oilers fan?"

"Nope. Canucks."

It was Cassidy's turn to groan. "That's even worse!"

Spike shrugged. "I cheer for the Leafs, if it helps."

Sam chuckled. "And look where that gets you, Spiky."

The next ten minutes were spent debating the pros and cons of Western hockey teams, and whether or not the stupid lockout would come to an end anytime soon. It wasn't until Cassidy got up from the table to go to the washroom with Jules that she realized she'd been saved from any possible awkward questions. Again.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is Michelangelo Scarlatti interested in something that isn't a computer program?"

Spike rolled his eyes, realizing that he had stared after the two women intently. "No way, Sam! Jules is your wife!"

Sam snorted. "Not so fast, Scarlatti. You like her, don't you?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "I barely know her!"

"Which is why society's invented this incredible thing called dating. It's where you get to know this other person. An actual person, Spike! Can you imagine that?"

"Sam…"Spike moaned. This was getting more and more awkward. "It's against the rules. You know that."

Sam chuckled and chomped down on yet another chicken wing. How many was the guy going to consume? "Didn't stop Jules and I."

"And that went just brilliantly, didn't it."

He shrugged. "Look where we are now, Spike."

He couldn't argue with that. Sam and Jules had had one of the rockiest relationships he'd known of, and he hadn't seen half of everything that went on. But the seemed to believe that it was worth it now. Watching them together, it was hard to disagree.

His mind turned back to Cassidy. She was gorgeous, yes. But there were those scars…Not the physical ones. The ones that kept her jaded and unwilling to open up to anybody.

"Did you know that Cassidy's truck is broken down?" Sam asked.

Spike glanced up. What did that have to do with anything? "Yeah, that's why she almost couldn't make it."

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "We brought her here. I wonder what would happen if Jules suddenly felt sick, and had to go home immediately. Someone else would have to give Cassidy a ride home."

Spike nodded, trying to figure out where this was going. Then he saw the huge, mischievous grin on Sam's face and caught on. "No. No way. Don't you dare, Sammy. That's going way too far. I do not need you to play matchmaker for me."

Sam chuckled. "Here come the girls. Tone it down, Michelangelo, and let Cupid do his work."

The girls sat down, and the conversation turned to where everybody had taken their training. Spike watched in helpless dismay as Sam's fingers flew across his phone's keypad. Within ten seconds, he heard Jules' phone buzz. She picked it up and read, a slow smile crossing her face. It was then that Spike knew the truth.

He was screwed.

"Oh…" moaned Jules.

Cassidy glanced over in surprise. "Are you ok?"

'And is it my imagination, or is Spike glaring at you?'

Jules shook her head. "I think the baby had one too many chicken wings. Sam, I've gotta get home."

Sam nodded, but Cassidy couldn't miss the flicker of mischief that crossed his face. 'Dude, your wife is sick! What's so amusing? And why is Spike still glaring at you both?'

"Spike, could you give Cassidy a ride home? We brought her here, and I'd bring her back, but with Jules not feeling well…"

'If looks could kill…' Cassidy observed. "It's alright. Nobody has to give me a ride home. I can get a cab."

"No," Spike said, turning with a cautious smile. "You don't need to do that. I'd be happy to give you a ride home.

Cassidy was surprised, giving the looks he'd been throwing Sam and Jules, but simply nodded.

Ten minutes later, she was doing something that she'd never planned on.

She was seated in Spike's car as he drove her home, making small talk. Talk about something unplanned.

"Thanks for the ride." She said tentatively. Dang, she was bad at this.

"It's my pleasure." Spike replied. "Gorgeous night, eh?"

What was she supposed to say to that? "Yes, it is nice. If it wasn't for all these city lights, we could see the stars."

Spike glanced over. "You like stars?"

She smiled softly. "I adore them. If there's one thing I miss about Alberta, it's the big skies that are filled with stars. So many stars that the night looks more white than black. It's the most incredible thing I've ever seen."

"You ever charted them?"

She chuckled. "I tried once, when I was 14. But I didn't have the patience. So I read other people's charts, and just do the watching."

Spike glanced over, an unsure smile touching his face.

"What?" she asked.

"I just think that's really cool, that's all."

Her eyebrows went way up. "You think that's cool."

"I'm a science geek. Not much is uncool when you're one of the nerdiest people on the planet."

That got a real laugh out of her. She was still grinning when he pulled up in front of her condo.

"Thanks for the ride, Spike. I really appreciate it."

He shrugged. "It's not a problem. In fact, if you need a ride to work tomorrow, I'd be happy to pick you up."

She thought about this. She'd planned on taking the bus, but she hated busses and avoided them if at all possible. "Actually, that would be really great."

"I'm going at 6:30. Is that too early for you?"

"Not a bit. Thank you, for everything. See you tomorrow!"

He gave a casual wave, and she fought to walk in a restrained manner as she reached her front door. She closed it behind her and fought the waves of emotion threatening to flood her mind.

He wasn't interested, he was just being nice. That seemed to be his personality. That was it.

And even if he was interested…She wasn't his kind of girl. No matter what he thought, she couldn't be that kind of girl.

Because no matter how much she clung to this new life in Toronto, she still could hear that little scream, pleading with her two years ago in Alberta.