It was as Dirk was doing the dishes that he heard Todd's phone start to go off. The shorter man was in the bathroom so he decided to check who was calling. Overall he was happy to see Farah's name flashing up at him, but there was still a small part that wanted to put the phone down and pretend he hadn't heard it. In the end, really only after a second or two, he decided to answer it.

Trying to sound cheery, he greeted, "Hello! Todd's phone, this is Dirk speaking!"

Farah gasped on the other side as she said, "Dirk! I knew what Todd had said in his message but I don't think I actually expected to hear your voice." He could hear the smile on her face as she asked, "How are you? Are you okay? How did you get back? Where, exactly, were you? What happened that day at the dinner? Why…"

Cutting her off, Dirk play scolded, "Now, Farah, you know how I feel about people doing that." When he heard a small chuckle he went on to answer her questions as best he could. He was in the middle of giving her a vague run down of escaping when Todd showed up at his side with a questioning look. Asking Farah to hold on for a moment he told him, "Farah phoned back."

With a look of pleasant surprise crossing Todd's face, making Dirk's stomach clench in an unpleasant way, the other man grabbed the phone from his hand before hitting speaker phone and saying, "Farah, finally." He sounded a little peeved, making Dirk's stomach feel much better, as he added, "I've been trying to get a hold of you for over a week."

The next fifteen minutes were filled with Farah apologizing as she told them where she had been. Apparently, she had gotten hold of Dirk birth name, the news of which made Todd look at him in a painfully questioning way, and had tracked him all the way back to his days at St. Cedd's. When she let slip the part about him doing jail time for selling exam papers before he could stop her he felt Todd's stare like a dagger. He had derailed Farah's attempts to continue as he assured Todd, "It was an unlucky misunderstanding. I simply made a practice exam based off of previous ones and unfortunately it ended up being exactly the same as the one that was given that year. They thought I stole it to sell it." As Todd opened his mouth to speak he quickly interjected, "I am not psychic, Todd, I've told you before."

Scoffing, Todd asked, "Then how did you know I was going to say that?"

Dirk was at a loss for words but was saved by Farah's voice on the speaker as she told them, "Look, I have to go. I have a flight in a few hours back to the States. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning." After a quick goodbye the phone was hung up leaving Todd and Dirk standing in the cramped kitchen.

Clearing his throat, Todd finally told him, "You don't have to tell me about it, your past is just that, your past. It's none of my business."

Opening and closing his mouth once as he thought about what to say he finally landed on, "I'll tell you all about it one day, I promise. There's just a lot of it, too much for one conversation." Seeming to accept the answer, Todd simply nodded.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent out on the street, Todd and Dirk trying to find Amanda. As they walked aimlessly, because Dirk assured Todd it was the best way to find her, they talked about possibilities and Dirk confirmed that the Rowdy 3 had not actually been captured, or at least that he had not run across them on the inside, or heard about them being there. That made Todd feel better, hoping it meant Amanda didn't just have one protector, but four. In the end they only went back because Dirk said Todd was looking tired, and that he was hungry anyway since they had skipped lunch. Really though, he could still see that something else was very wrong. Don't get him wrong, Todd did look tired, but it was deeper than that, far more intense. There was a bone deep exhaustion that seemed ever present now, and a level of resignation to it that frightened Dirk to see.

After getting home and freshening up they made dinner together, simple soup and sandwiches, eating in a comfortable silence at the table. After the dishes were done and put away they sat on the couch, turning on the crappy television, and stayed there until they were tired. This time, it wasn't even a conversation about where they were sleeping. They simply went through their nightly routine before climbing into bed. They were both asleep within minutes, and again, if their hands had found each other over the covers neither made mention of it.

They both found themselves jolting awake the next morning at the sound of sharp knocking on the door. Quickly extracting themselves from each other they got up to open it. It was barely open half way before Farah barrelled in, enveloping Dirk in a crushing hug. As he managed to hug her back she told him, "We were so worried about you, Dirk. I'm so happy you're okay." She pulled back enough to really look at him, satisfied enough for the moment he was alive, before adding, "I'm happy Todd remembered to think about your rent, it looks like it was worth it after all."

Dirk turned a questioning look on Todd as he asked Farah, "What do you mean?"

As Farah hugged Todd, making Dirk's stomach clench again, she asked, "Didn't Todd tell you?" She still had an arm around Todd as she told him, "Your apartment has been covered since you were taken. He asked me if I could pay it before I left for England." She sent a questioning look of her own at Todd as she asked, "Didn't you tell him?"

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Todd simply said, "I told him you had taken care of it."

Sensing she had just started something she tried to change the subject, asking, "Have you heard from Amanda again since she sent that letter you mentioned in one of your voicemails?" Once again she felt the tension in the room rise. Looking at her with a sad smile he told her he hadn't. That was the first moment she noticed what Dirk had been trying to figure out, that there was something else wrong, but she was at even more of a loss than the tall gangly man to figure it out. Instead she simply pulled him into another hug as she soothed, "It's okay, Todd. We'll find her, you'll see."

As Dirk watched Todd soaking up the comfort Farah offered he found his stomach more than just clenching, but turning over and making him feel like he was going to be sick. Quickly excusing himself he ducked into the bathroom. As he shakily paced back and forth in the confining room he could no longer deny what he was feeling. It was an intense jealously toward Farah. He didn't even know if there was something going on between the two, but just the thought of it being a possibility made him want to cry and scream all at the same time. Splashing some water on his face he mentally told his reflection to get a hold of itself.

When he finally did emerge from the bathroom Farah was gone and Todd was standing up, leaning against the table waiting for him, a look of concern on his face. Standing up straight, he asked Dirk, "Are you okay? You looked pretty pale before running in there."

Waving off the concern, though it actually made him feel quite amazing, he assured Todd, "It's nothing." Thinking quick on his feet he told Todd, "Probably just the same bug you had." Todd frowned at him, clearly not believing him, but said nothing else about it.

Instead he informed Dirk, "We are going to meet Farah for breakfast in an hour. Do you think you feel well enough to go?"

A part of Dirk wanted to say no just so he could keep Todd away from Farah but he prided himself on not being petty or selfish, so in the end he said, "I'll be fine. We can meet her."