Maggie was driving into Pine Valley Forest to meet with David, and despite the fact she was here for a completely different reason she couldn't stop her thoughts from returning to Saturday and the time spent in another cabin in the woods.

Reese had taken her on a tour of the cabin she had brought. There hadn't been much to see; all that had been left were a few sticks of furniture and peeling paint. Reese was full of it though, excitedly explaining the changes she had planned; the layout for the rooms; the colour scheme… Maggie could almost see it as she spoke. It also made her smile to see Reese so animated, but she always was when discussing her passion… architecture.

After the tour they moved on to their real reason for the visit… talking about each other. They settle together on the only substantial piece of furniture left by the cabins previous inhabitant, an old porch bench bleached white with age. The porch overlooked a perfect view of the lake… the real selling point of the house.

Admiring the view Reese and Maggie had sat and talked… but somehow the talking never touched on what they had planned to say but said it all just the same. They had both decided that they cared too much about each other not to try and make this work. They talked about how much longer they needed to stay in Pine Valley beyond Bianca's wedding. Maggie was keen to see David's research project through to the end although some of David's methods were worrying her. Reese also hinted that she might have had another job offer on top of the project at the cabin to keep her in town for a while. They never really touched on what life would be like when they did return to Paris. Reese made some grumbles about how lonely she was in her big house… Maggie moaned about her long commute to work… neither really said what the other was hoping they would say about moving in together and sharing the rent… but Maggie had too many U-hauling lesbian jokes running through her head to speak the idea out loud and she suspected Reese was the same.

There had been kisses that night as well and a long comfortable silence, Maggie lounging in Reese's arms, as they watch the sunset in blissful peace.

Maggie smiled at the memory, but now she was out in the wilderness for a whole other reason and she really should be focusing on the road.

…

Maggie scrubbed the wooden floor, wondering how David had talked her into this. They were setting up an operating room in his cabin; screening off a section from the rest of the room with sheets of polythene. It felt very crude and dangerous. What worried Maggie most was that when the preparations were done David was expecting her, with no external assistance, to give him an epidural, inject a serum into his spine and then after an hour extract a sample of spinal fluid.

"You're sure about this?" Maggie asked as she scrubbed more disinfectant into the floor in an attempt to create a sterile environment.

"It's the only way to be certain." said David, settling up the instruments tray by an operating couch.

All Maggie could think was, if this went wrong David could be permanently paralysed.

David had certainly been persuasive. He had shown her the results from Bianca's spinal sample. There was evidence of stem cells that had been rejected by the body while other chemically identical cells had been accepted and integrated into her nervous system. This was proof that something else must have been happening in the body for it to react so differently to the same serum. David was certain that the secret for success with Orpheus was if the body was already fighting another illness. This procedure would prove that in a healthy body the serum would be rejected.

"I hope you're right." she muttered.

Maggie almost jumped out of her skin when the phone rang.

"Ignore it." said David busying himself now at his computer.

But the phone rang and rang.

"I think it should be answered."

"Take the phone off the hook." said David, his only focus on the upcoming experiment. "It's just a distraction."

The phone had stopped ringing by the time Maggie had reached the receiver but just as she was about to pick it up and take it off the hook the phone rang again.

She had no choice but to answer it.

…

"David!" she called, once the voice at the other end of the line had asked for him with urgency. "It's the centre, about Leora!"

David frowned and then stretched across from his desk to take the phone.

"David Hayward here." he said gruffly. "What's happened to Leora?"

Maggie watched with concern as David listened, nodding along with the tinny voice at the other end of the line with an expression of nervous intensity. Suddenly something was said and David's whole manner changed; a new light filled his eyes and his worry instantly turned to a smile.

"I'll be right there to collect her." he said.

There seemed to be some protest at the other end of the line, but smiling David insisted.

"No… no, I'll be right there to bring her home!"

"What's happened?" Maggie asked as David turned back to find his coat and keys.

He was still beaming with excitement.

"It's Leora, she had chicken pox."

"Poor girl." said Maggie, "But why are you smiling?"

David grabbed her shoulders; for a moment Maggie thought he was going to swing her round the room in his delight.

"Don't you understand? Chicken Pox! A fever… A virus… A reason for Orpheus to work!"

Before Maggie to respond he had hurried out the door to his car.

…