When she was certain that no more tears would come, she quickly washed her face, not even bothering to change her clothes. Where she was going, it wouldn't matter what she was wearing. Her heart raced as she stepped into the hallway. God, what was wrong with her? Why was she so nervous? Her hand trembled and she knocked on the door, praying silently as she waited for an answer.

Please let someone be home. Please let someone be home.

The door opened revealing Richard and her heart sank. As expected he looked completely shocked to see her. But it wasn't the first time. Everything she did seemed to annoy him these days. "Annie, what are you -?" He froze at the sight of her standing before him, wearing the hideous turquoise dress with the white stripes and the wide belt. "What are you wearing?"

"Richard-."

"Dear God, what kind of over-the counter medication did you take to decide to wear that?"

Anger flared inside of her, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say. And leave it to Richard Karinsky to notice. "What? No witty comeback?"

Now she was fuming. "If you must know… M-my date said that I look stunning in this dress!"

It was definitely a childish comeback of the junior-high variety, but she simply didn't feel like arguing with him at the moment. But of course Richard didn't buy it. He smirked, making her want to smack him in the face. "Oh really Annie? And what kind of date was this? One by braille? Oh wait, that's the way all of your dates end up, isn't it? You and he in the bedroom, exploring each other with your hands?" He laughed hysterically as though he'd said the most hilarious thing in the world. But she could only stand there with her mouth open in disgust.

"Richard!" She swallowed hard, thinking about how much she wanted Jimmy to stay and how much she wanted to get to know him better on a much more intimate level. Was that so wrong? But she wasn't about to explain it to Richard. He didn't deserve an explanation of any kind.

She was eternally grateful for the sight of Caroline who strode into the living room wearing her pajamas and robe. And the sight made her eyebrows rise. "What's going on here?"

Caroline smiled. "Oh hey, Annie. . ."

"Hey, yourself."

"What are you doing here this late? It's almost 3am!"

Annie looked point-blank at Richard who quickly looked away. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Oh… I was just-."

"Working late tonight, right Richard?" Caroline finished, looking strangely suspicious as well. And when Richard laughed nervously Annie knew something was up.

"Right, that's what we were doing." Richard said. "We were working."

"Yeah, you mentioned that. But are you sure about that, Richard?"

"Look, never mind us. I'll… just leave you two alone."

Overcome with relief when Richard left the room, Annie smiled. Maybe Richard actually had compassion after all, but she seriously doubted it.

"No, it's… All right, Richard. You can stay, but I-…" Her voice trailed away and she sighed deeply, wishing like hell that she was with Jimmy. Right now she would do anything to be in his arms, where she belonged. Caroline was looking at her with concern but how could she possibly explain how she felt about Jimmy when it was so difficult for her to even imagine the words?

She gasped in surprise when she felt a small warm weight on her back and she turned to find Caroline watching her in concern. "Hey, are you all right?"

Annie blinked back tears. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just-." The lie gave way to tears that she'd held in for far too long. She saw Caroline and Richard exchange perplexed looks and Caroline draped an arm around Annie, allowing Annie to cry on her shoulder. "Annie, what's going on? What is this about?"

Wearily Annie raised her head and looked tearfully at her friend. "I'm in love with my IRS agent!"