Disclaimer:I own nothing but the plot.

A/N: Ok people, I am really, really, really sorry about the long wait. I got caught up in school stuff, then I was unhappy with the chapter, and then my internet started to be stupid. But it's here now, and just a little recap because I'm sure you all forgot by now (I almost did :P) - Trixie is mad at Jim, Dan wants Trixie to go to Jim's school for a visit, and Jim found a threatening note at his school, and Dan showed Trixie. Ok now without further adeu, the chapter.

"I'm really glad you're coming, Trix," Dan said as Trixie watched the city speed past the window and into the distance, "this will really do you some good; you've been hiding yourself away too long."

Trixie crossed her arms over her chest to make sure Dan was aware she wasn't happy about this; she didn't really know what she felt. She felt a whole spectrum of emotions – excitement, happiness, worry and fear; most of all she felt fear. She was afraid of what she would find. She was afraid of how she would act. Her life had been different for so long, she was afraid there was no way it could go back to what it used to be. Trixie, however, didn't show her fear, so she masked it with her anger.

"You blackmailed me," Trixie said glaring out the vehicle's window.

Dan laughed, "Now, now! I didn't do anything of the sort."

"Fine not blackmail," Trixie relented with a slight grin, "but you did bribe me."

The playful easy mood of the car was calming Trixie's nerves somewhat. She was comfortable with Dan. What she wasn't comfortable with was Dan trying to make her talk about her problems.

He sighed, "Trixie, no one made you do anything. Yes, maybe I did try to make this trip more desirable for you but I did not force you to come. If you didn't want to come for one reason or another you wouldn't be in the car right now," the car stopped at a stop light so Dan turned to look at her, "So please, stop taking out your issues on me. I'm not the one you're mad at; I don't even think you truly are mad."

They were silent as the light changed and Dan drove the car down the highway out of the city. Trixie felt guilty. She hadn't meant to lash out at Dan; it was just that she was keeping so much pent up inside she had to let some of it out and Dan was the closest person.

"I'm sorry Dan; you're right, I'm not mad at you or anyone; I'm scared… I… I don't know what to expect; it's been so long since… everything. I just need to—I don't want it to be all strange but I don't know how it's not going to be," she explained her gaze never leaving the window.

"Trix," Dan said, "You're the bravest person I know… for a girl anyways," Trixie laughed a little at his playful teasing, "they're your friends, Belden, they've just missed you as much as you've missed them."

Dan's words were a comfort to her. After their conversation Trixie relaxed and just enjoyed the ride. She would deal with what laid ahead of her when she got there. She was 'Trixie the girl detective' she could handle this; at least she hoped she could.

Sadly, the ride didn't last quite as long as Trixie had hoped.

Before she knew it Dan was stopping the car in a make-shift drive way and Trixie was sure she was going to throw-up. Her stomach was a buddle of nerves that she was struggling to keep under control. She started to wonder if she made a mistake, I'm not ready for this.

Trixie could see the whole area through the windshield. Despite the hurt she still held from him, she could help but feel pride grip at her heart, pride for Jim; he had actually done it; his dream of owning a school for orphaned boys was so close to being complete. At least one thing turned out the way it was supposed to, she thought as she took in what she was seeing.

The area for the school was large and surrounded by an alcove of trees. There were three buildings already constructed and Trixie could see signs of building still going on further on in the distance.

It was quaint and perfect. Trixie immediately fell in love with it; of course she could never fully admit that – not even to herself.

Slowly, daze like even, she got out of the car. The smell clung to her sense—springy and earthy. It reminded her of home, not New York but Crabapple farms. The ache of missing grew stronger inside Trixie; she struggled to put it back down.

"I'm going to find Jim," Dan said, "He said he'd meet us out here – but, of course, someone made us late."

Trixie was still too stunned by the beauty of her surroundings to defend herself against Dan's obvious and playful accusation. Instead she just nodded and barely noticed when he left.

Curiosity, as it had always done in the past, got the better of her and she went into the closest building to her instead of waiting by the car.

From its size, placement and set up Trixie figured this was the main building of the school. The front hall certainly had that sort of look about it. The room Trixie entered through the doors was wide and spacious. It had one desk – presently empty – and many benches. The walls were adorned with selves and pictures.

As she went for a closer look Trixie was surprised to find that the things on the shelf – the trophies and rifles – were from Jim's own personal collection. They were Jim's things. She moved along, running her hand along the edge of the shelf. Among the pictures of the school construction Trixie found her own face smiling back at her as well as the other BWG's.

Trixie attempted to ignore these reminders of her past and the dull ache they brought into her chest but they just kept sucking her in deeper and deeper. No matter what she did, she couldn't stop torturing herself. She had to keep going. That was until she saw something that shocked her so much that she was frozen place.

Jim's bible and christening mug.

Trixie hadn't seen either of those mementos since Jim was first adopted by the Wheelers. She hadn't even thought about them, but of course Jim wouldn't have gotten rid of them; they had meant so much to him. They were the only things he kept with him as he ran across the state.

Unconsciously, Trixie pulled the bible off the shelf and started running her hands through the pages. Memories swept her swiftly into the past. She remembered the book flying to the ground as Jim swayed on that rickety old ladder for the second time. She remembered her excited calls as a thin piece of paper floated out of it – the will.

Slowly, she put the bible back how she found it, and ran her hands over the words on the mug – James Winthrop Frayne II; the words he had used to prove his innocence when she and Honey had found him asleep in Ten Acres; the words that had caught the bad light in a photograph and sent his cruel step father Jonsey down to Sleepyside. It was where she had put the note to come find her and Honey at Autoville when he had run away the second time.

It had been years since Trixie had thought about any of these things but suddenly they were all coming back to her in a flood so forceful that Trixie felt she could be drowned by all of them.

"The school doesn't have any history to put up yet, so I thought putting up some of mine would be fitting," the voice had spoken quietly but Trixie jumped as if it had been a gun shot. She quickly pulled her hand away, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and turned around.

"Jim," the name was out of her mouth before Trixie even thought about it. Her heart was screaming in her chest but she was desperate not to let Jim Frayne know that. She had promised herself that before she had even left her apartment, "You really did it. It's truly lovely… really."
"It's not done yet," he said, a small smile playing on his lips, "but closer than I've ever been… I'm glad you came… it means a lot."

Trixie gave a nod. They were talking to each other like formal strangers rather than long time friends.

She looked at her feet as she replied, "I had to come… it's your childhood dream. What kind of fr-friend would I be if I didn't come?"

"Well, I'm glad anyways," Jim replied quietly.

It was silent; the air was tense but some of it seemed to be dissolving. Some of the usual calm was coming back to the room and the conversation.

"Dan's here too… somewhere," Trixie said more to break the silence than to inform "he went looking for you…"

Jim nodded, "Sorry, I know I told him I'd meet you guys outside but you guys were so late, I decided to show everyone else around; Dan knows his way around here."

"Oh, the others are here already?" Trixie tried to keep her voice casually conversational as her stomach clenched. She felt like she'd rather be back in that hamburger shop with Blinky and the others, or tied up on that rotting Mississippi steamboat with Lontard, or whatever his name actually turned out to be, then go and face all her old friends again, "Everybody?"

"Yes sir," Jim nodded from the hallway. He hadn't come into the room; he seemed to be keeping a safe distance between himself and Trixie, "You and Dan are the last to arrive."

Trixie flushed; she hadn't realized they were so far behind.

"Sorry," she apologized, "Dan was driving pretty slowly—"

"Oh no you don't Belden," Dan himself walked into the room, "you are not putting this one on me; you were the one that made us late."

Trixie kept her distance as the two boys – men really now – greeted each other. She smiled fondly; time was a real funny thing.

Once he and Dan were done catching up Jim turned towards Trixie again, "The others are in the cafeteria, follow me."
They followed Jim down the hallway he been standing in.

As they walked the two boys talked of the school and the construction. Trixie was too busy panicking to even listen.

What would they think? What should I say? Questions flew through her head. I've really put myself in hot water now.

"Most of the buildings are done now; the building crew is just finishing up the athletic fields. They will be back tomorrow to start on the pool," Jim was saying.

Trixie perked up at the mention of building. The note and the real reason she was out here and not hiding at home came back to her.

'Stop the building or risk your life' was what the warning had said. Trixie's sleuthing mind was back at work and she was about to ask Jim about that note when Jim turned into a large room with several round tables. Sitting and chatting easily at one of the tables were four people. Four people Trixie had known very well and four people that she had been more or less ignoring for the better part of three years.

She stopped at the door while Jim and Dan walked easily into the room and towards their friends. Trixie took a deep breath and forced her legs to follow. These are my friends, she reasoned with herself, not my enemies. They want you here.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Mart drawled easily when he noticed the incoming group and more importantly his sister, "Hey Sqaw – you finally decided to take a break from the big city and dwell with us little country people?"

Trixie's nerves bubbled away to be replaced by the very familiar irritation her brother's teasing always brought.

"Martin," she replied stiffly with a curt nod of her head. Over the years, Trixie had learned how to tame her anger a bit. It was getting harder and harder for Mart to find the right buttons to push, but he didn't stop trying.

"Trixie," Honey beamed at her as she sat down across from the fair haired girl, "I'm glad you came."

Trixie returned the smile without thinking, "So am I."

Trixie's resolve to ignore her best friend for her heart's protection dissolved the second she was in the same room as Honey. She just couldn't do it with her sitting so close; she had missed Honey too much. If she was being honest with herself, she missed everyone too much.

That didn't mean she had forgotten what had happened. Trixie Belden was still hyper-aware of Jim Frayne standing a few feet behind her. This awareness was a constant reminder that despite the ease of conversation at the moment, it could never go back to how things were when she was fourteen years old. Time had just changed too much.

"So, Miss Super-sleuth, how is the crime fighting going? Do they have enough criminals for your superior talent in the big city?" Mart asked.

Trixie made a face before replying bitterly, "No, because I'm not Miss Super-Sleuth, I'm Miss 'stick with what you know' Secretary."

"Your better than half the men on the force," Dan told her loyally, recognizing the warning signs and cutting Trixie off before she got too worked up about the unjustness to be stopped.

Trixie gave Dan her best charming smile, "Thank you."

"Fine, then I will rephrase my inquiry," Mart said turning to Dan, "How is babysitting Miss 'I get into more trouble than a back of dogs and Bobby'?"

Dan just chuckled while Trixie's face started to redden with contained irritation.

"I do not need a babysitter," Trixie retorted evenly, "I am an adult now."

Mart opened his mouth to continue his batter with his sister but Diana interrupted before he could.

"Please, we've all been back together for less than fifteen minutes, and you two are already fighting," Di pleaded, "Don't you ever stop?"

Trixie traded a guilty look with her towheaded brother. The last thing she ever wanted to do was upset anyone.

Thankfully, Honey, tactful as ever, changed the conversation to something far less controversial.

They slipped into conversation about little things. Things like jobs, and life. To an outsider it would look like a group of friends without a care in the world; it would look like how it used to be.

However, the change was still there. There was an atmosphere the hovered over the group – an atmosphere that still kept the knot in Trixie's stomach. There was a silent agreement among all to avoid certain topics, such as the past, and Trixie and Jim.

Trixie got through it by ignoring it as she had been more or less ignoring Jim; she thought of her mystery. She thought of the warning.

Stop the building or risk your life.

Trixie was dying to ask about the note, to find out if there are anymore clues, but she didn't find an appropriate opening until hours later while the group was enjoying a meal of barbequed hamburgers.

"As I was telling some of you earlier, all the buildings are pretty much done. The crew is coming back tomorrow to finish the pool and athletic centre," Jim explained.

Trixie looked up sharply and directly at Jim Frayne, the first time she had done that in hours and the only time she had without being forced, "Why aren't they here now? Why send them all home when something is only half finished?"

Jim gave her a startled look; it was the first time she had acted anything remotely close to her old self, at least where he was concerned.

"Well," he replied slowly, a little unsettled by the direction the conversation was going, "they deserve a holiday, don't they? I'm not a slave driver."

He gave a chuckle and smiled his old smile that use to make Trixie's pulse quicken and knees melt. She looked quickly down at the table before any of those symptoms started. She couldn't let those feelings loose; they were useless now. Trusting Jim with her heart wasn't something she could do, not anymore. Her head just had to remind her body of that.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She had to know some answers; she had to solve this mystery, and the only place she can do that and get those answers is from Jim. She'd handled some dangerous thugs before. She could handle this – she hoped.

"So what exactly do you make of this note? Could this 'holiday' have something to do with this note?" She used all her will power to keep looking at Jim and ignore the emotions raging inside of her. The note, which she flipped out of her pocket as she talked, lay between them.

Jim's expression was somewhere between surprised and amused. Everyone else, except for Dan, just looked confusedly at Trixie

"I told you she would find something," Mart trilled triumphantly, "You guys owe me! So what cooks? Spill."

Trixie shrugged, "I don't know anything, yet. I've just read the note. It's Jim and Dan who are holding out on you."

Every head swiveled to the other end of the table where the two boys sat.

"And the plot thickens," Mart drawled dramatically.

Brian took a more serious approach, "Why don't you two start explaining exactly what she's on about."

So Jim and Dan took turns explaining what Trixie had already over-heard.

"I'm sure they are nothing more than a prank," Jim concluded, "There is nothing out here other than this, so why would anyone care?"

Honey looked at her brother, "Oh Jim, do be careful."

"I always am sis," he said ruffling her hair, "That is why I sent everyone home for a few weeks to figure some things out, but I found nothing and I really can't wait any longer. So they got to come back."

"Are you sure you didn't find anything? Who were your suspects?" Trixie's sleuth senses kicked in making her forget her awkward stomach knot for the moment.

Jim smiled, Trixie's familiar excitement making him forget the situation as well, "Yes, and no one; there is no one out here so sleuth down Shamus – it's just kids having a bit of fun. There is nothing for you to find Belden."

"Ah, dear Jim, you forget, my precious sister seeks mysteries like a bloodhound; she will never let go of this one," Mart quipped.

Trixie, glaring at her brother, opened her mouth to retort back but was stopped by her other brother.

"Well, she's going to have to let this one go this time. It's just a kids joke and if it isn't than you can get yourself into a lot of trouble," Brian said sternly, "This isn't a childhood game anymore Trixie, and your not a child."

Trixie started to defend herself but was again stopped from replying.

This time Jim intervened by changing the subject, "Well, we've spent enough time yakking; I think I should show you where you are sleeping."

The girls were sleeping in a small three bed bedroom in Jim's private rooms; the boys had a similar set up while Jim had his own room.

"Trixie, I really am glad you came," Honey gushed to her best friend while Diana was using the bathroom to ready for sleep, "It's been so long since… I really missed you."

The pain in tender hearted Honey's voice and eyes completely broke Trixie's heart. She couldn't understand how she had done that to her best friend, and really to herself.

Trixie suddenly and impulsively threw her arms around the other girl, "I'm sorry; I'm so, so sorry. I missed you too, I just couldn't… you were too close… not after…"

Honey held her friend tighter, "It's ok. I forgave you ages ago… you know… Jim really—"

Trixie stiffened suddenly and pulled away. This trip may have been healing her in some ways but in this one she was still very vulnerable; she just couldn't – she couldn't forgive, she couldn't forget, and she couldn't talk about it.

"Honey, I –" she started.

"Please Trixie, I know it was horrible – it still is horrible, but he didn't mean to… he didn't even do it," Honey pleaded. She lowered her voice, "it's Jim."

"Honey, I know what I saw. I'm sorry… I just can't. I'm here and that's going to have to be enough."

Honey still didn't want to give in, "But he—"

"Honey just stop!" Trixie snapped, and than lowered her voice, "please."

Honey looked down at her feet, "I just want things to be how they use to be, to be normal again."

Trixie bit her lip. She was doing it again. She hadn't spent more than ten minutes alone with Honey and she was already hurting her feelings all over again. She just didn't know how to be 'normal' anymore; maybe this was her new normal.

"I know Honey. Gleeps, I'm sorry… I really do know…" she said wrapping her arms around the other girl again, but it can't. That's just not normal now, not anymore.

Diana came back in then and as the girls unpacked they spoke of safer things, but the shadow of Trixie's outburst still hung over the room.

Trixie awoke with a start. She looked around the small room groggily. Something had woke her but what?

She sat up straight as a noise rose from outside. It was floating through the open window; whatever had woken her up was outside!

She crept forward, towards the window, but quickly ducked out of sight when a beam of light flashed towards her through the window.

After a long minute the light moved away and Trixie carefully peaked out the corner of the window frame, still keeping most of her body hidden.

A man's dark form was silhouetted against the bright moon. It was a non-descriptive form; Trixie couldn't determine anything from it.

"Honey," she whispered forgetting where she was, forgetting about the situation, forgetting about the past. All Trixie remembered was her mystery and the drive to solve it, "Honey, wake-up. There's someone outside."

A/N: hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry for the wait, I have a plan to keep track of all my stories so I shouldn't get too overwhelmed again and it shouldn't take too long for the next one to come out. Anyways, again hope you enjoyed, and would love for you to just leave a little reveiw, tell me what you liked and didn't. There is always room to improve!