Jill drummed her fingers nervously on the steering wheel as she drove. What had started as a tingle of uncertainty an hour ago had steadily developed toward stomach cramping panic. Cursing under her breath, she slowed and looked around the dark and empty road.

No signs. No lights. No cars.

No clue where she was.

"Aw, shit." Jill muttered to herself. She heaved a sigh of frustration and turned guiltily toward Kelly, who had been asleep for the past few hours. She hadn't wanted to wake her. An hour ago, she'd thought herself on the right track, but the past four turns had gotten steadily less familiar. Where was the lake? Where was ramshackle motel they'd passed?

Jill rubbed her eyes and glanced at the map. Useless. Despite her confident promise to Kelly that she could find her way back by herself, she'd failed. There was no choice now. She had to wake her up or they'd never get home.

She was never going to hear the end of this.

"Ke-" Jill began to say but the words were taken out of her mouth. The headlights of the mustang were suddenly blotted out as a large form leaped in front of the fast moving car. Jill gripped the steering wheel tightly and smashed down on the break pedal full force to avoid hitting whatever it was. There was no time to swerve out of the way.

The bridge of Jill's nose rammed against the top of the steering wheel as the car smashed into a fraction of itself. Pieces of glass shattered inside the car, the windshield disintegrating into nothing due to the sheer force of the animal that nearly fell in with them. Her vision clouded and she clenched her eyes shut, feeling pelts of liquid hit her from what she'd collided with. Within seconds something thick and wet dribbled down to her chin.

Something told her to take time opening her eyes.

She did so slowly and immediately wished she hadn't.

Two big black lifeless eyes stared back at her. Jill cringed at the sight. The deer's mutilated head and upper body had smashed right through the windshield and now lay on the hood, leaking blood all over the dash and onto the front seats. There were wisps of smoke rising up from the front of the car, which was now much closer than it had been seconds ago. The engine was surely a goner.

It was too soon to tell how badly they'd been hurt, though. She had been able to brace for impact, however, Kelly couldn't in her dead sleep. Jill could only pray the seat belt did its job. Before she could worry about herself, she snapped her head over to Kelly, who was bent over in her seat, clutching her head and stomach simultaneously.

What had happened? What had she done?

The car rolled a bit farther down, one tire going off the side of the road on its own. Jill felt numb as she tried to slow down her labored breathing and focus more on Kelly. "Kelly," Jill grabbed her arm and shook it. "Kelly talk to me! What's wrong!?"

As she did this, Jill found that moving herself was a difficult task. Being thrashed so violently had done more damage that she thought. "Kelly!" She yelled again, desperation in her voice as she unbuckled herself in order to lean in closer. "Tell me you're okay!"

"I don't know." The brunette finally answered quietly, pain evident in her tone. "Don't touch me, just let me sit here for a minute."

Jill paused the words she wanted to say and slipped her hands away. Her eyes felt like they were going pop from the intensity of watching her friend's every move, sound, and breath. In those moments where there was nothing she was able to do, she reached up and wiped away the blood from underneath her nose and on her chin. The tanned skin on her arm became tainted in red.

Kelly was sweating, obviously panic stricken and only moments away from looking like she could hurl. She licked her lips and gasped in deep breaths, feeling for anything out of the ordinary. "I... I don't think I'm hurt. I don't feel anything..." But the talking made her wince. She pulled her hand down off her head and there it was. "Except my head is bleeding."

"What?" Jill moved back over and Kelly turned her head sideways so Jill could get a better look. "Oh shit, Kell." A gash started above Kelly's eyebrow and disappeared into her mess of dark hair. "How bad does it hurt?"

Kelly growled. "Well, how bad does it look?"

"You'll need a hospital."

"Then that's how it feels." She kept her bloodied hand pressed against it until she could find something else. There had to be something in the back seat or in the trunk. "What about you?" She pondered, "Are you hurt?"

"Not really. Aside from my nose bleeding, I think I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"Then what the fuck, Jill!" Kelly had a near reflex reaction to do harm to the blonde, who cowered back in shock at her raised voice. "You nearly killed us! Why the fuck weren't you watching the damn road!"

"I was!" She quickly replied, hoping she could settle Kelly down. "Please, just relax. It was a bad accident, but if we freak ourselves out about it, it's only going to make things worse." Jill reached to touch her but she stiffened.

Kelly brushed her off and closed her eyes. "Fine. Fine." She breathed, after a moment. "Let's… let's just get the hell out of here and see how much damage there is."

Jill sighed. Kelly's head might be worse than she thought if she couldn't tell that the entire car was tilted dramatically to the left. Still though, to humor her, she attempted to open the door. It wasn't a surprise when it squeaked open a few inches before digging into the ground and refusing to budge any further.

"Can't get out this way." She said quietly. "Try your door, Kell."

Kelly groaned and cursed under her breath. "What do you think I've been doing? Help me." It took a few minutes of bickering and pushing, but the girls managed to pry open Kelly's door and climb outside into the cool night air where the most horrifying thing was not their battered vehicle.

"What the hell is that?!" Kelly panted, throwing an arm out toward the dead deer.

Jill followed her gaze and fought the urge to vomit up her bag of chips all over her shoes. What a grisly mess. "We hit a deer." She said flatly. "I tried to tell you. It just jumped out right in front of me. I couldn't stop."

"Jesus Christ, look at that damn thing!" Kelly continued, seemingly unaffected by the blood. "It's huge! And... look at what- how are we still alive?"

Jill rolled her eyes. She was done looking at the deer. Rather it than them. She walked around the vehicle and to her dismay remembered that she'd seen the left front wheel go rolling down the highway. They weren't driving anywhere in this thing.

"I don't know." She sighed.

Done with the deer, Kelly joined Jill beside the car and let loose a few choice words. "Shit. We need a tow truck." She said finally. "How long was I asleep?"

Jill bit her lip and busied herself with the trunk of the car. The axe was about to fall. "About an hour and a half." She answered. "Hey, you have some towels back here right?" Without waiting for an answer, she keyed open the trunk and swept through various items of junk until she found a crumpled t-shirt.

"So, we should be pretty close to that gas station we stopped at on the way up. Maybe a couple miles." Kelly continued, talking more to herself than to Jill.

"Uh-huh." Jill wiped her nose on the shirt before handing it to Kelly, who took it wordlessly, her green eyes looking around their surroundings before narrowing in confusion.
"Wait..." Kelly said quietly. "An hour and a half…. I don't recognize this road. Where are we?"

Jill hid her face, scratching the back of her head. "You mean you don't recognize where we are?" Her voice got higher as spoke, and the complete guilt her expression held hit Kelly like a solid brick.

"You stuck to the road I showed you, right?" She asked wearily.

"There might have been some turns here and there I guessed on."

"Guessed on?" Kelly repeated, edging closer to Jill as the other woman backed away. "Guessed on!"

This time it wasn't a question, it was a statement of rage. Jill had gotten out of the car wreck alive but she wasn't sure she would escape Kelly alive. Seeing the blood rushing to her face – which couldn't be a good thing for the condition she was in – Jill seized the moment and waved her hands in front of Kelly. "Remember you have to keep your cool!"

"We're lost because of you! Were you even going to wake me up? Or just keep going until you realized we were at the border of Mexico?"

Jill shook her head, trying her best to calm Kelly down. But there was no way she was going near her. "As soon as I went to wake you up that fucking deer came out, I swear! And... we're not exactly lost. More like misguided."

"Lost is the word, Jill." Flustered and too close to reach out and attacking Jill, Kelly turned her back and moved to the side of the car which remained upright on the road. She relaxed against it, taking in deep breaths. The black, unseeing eyes of the dead deer stared behind her as she looked down on it. "I guess you're having a worse time than us."

"Who are you talking to?"

"The deer."

"Don't make friends with the dead animals, Kelly." Jill tried to tease but was met with an unforgiving look.

Kelly swept over to Jill, who flinched nervously once she saw her. "No, I'm not ready for you to be like that when I am so close to wringing your neck."

"Sorry. I suppose I shouldn't tell you the bad news?"

"There's worse news?"

"The car phone doesn't work." Jill expected a strike and closed her eyes but Kelly stayed silent, absently resting her head in the t-shirt Jill found. "And neither does the CB radio." Jill backed away quickly.

"That's not a shock," Kelly answered, sighing. "I could try to re-wire them but..." She shrugged over at the deer laying in her car's windshield. "That's not happening." Not to mention it was pitch dark and they lacked a flashlight.

Now that they were on more civil terms, Jill thought she could edge in the news that disturbed her most. "There's one more thing."

Kelly's sudden laughter lacked any humor. "What could that possibly be?"

Jill's expression held a bit of fear behind it. She nervously played with her hands, trying to figure out how to explain herself. "That deer was the first thing I've seen on this road. I mean no cars, no gas stations, no side roads, no houses... catch my drift?"

"You've been driving for hours and haven't passed a car along this road?"

"Not a one. To be honest, it's pretty weird out here."

"I've gotten that impression time to time but I can't say I've ever been out here at night. It's un-nerving."

Kelly closed her eyes and rested her head against the dented metal of the passenger door. Adrenaline had dulled her pain a few minutes ago but now her head was pounding. Her face felt sticky and the t-shirt Jill had given her was quickly soaking with blood.

She felt Jill sink down into the dirt beside her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Kelly sighed wearily, her eyes still closed. "I'm sorry I got so mad. You sure you're not hurt?"

Jill sniffled and shook her head. Her nosebleed was losing momentum. "I'm okay." She answered softly, wiping her face on the tail of her shirt. "I'm really sorry this happened."

"Not your fault that Bambi here decided to end it all." Kelly said, eyeing the dead animal crumpled on the hood of her car. It seemed to stare back and she had to look away towards Jill. She was surprised to see the detective looking back at her, a far away look in her eyes.

Jill half smiled. "Thanks, Kelly."

"But it is your fault that we're lost." Kelly continued. "What's the last familiar thing you remember seeing?"

The question had Jill pondering silently for nearly a minute.

"Um," She started slowly. "I… I think we passed that rusted out truck. Remember the one? You saw it and said that must have been where Sanford and Son went-"

Kelly's eyes opened and swiveled toward her friend in disbelief. "That's the last thing? That was thirty minutes away from Walt's place! Oh Jill, tell me there's something else."

The flustered blonde wiped her nose and let her head thump against the door of the car. "I'm sorry, Kelly. That's all I remember. I passed that truck and I was thinking that it was kinda like that cow skull in Death Valley that you see in the pictures, you know? Cause it was all rusted out and it reminded me of a skeleton. Then I was waiting to see that big group of trees." Her expression looked pained. "Only I didn't and then it was dark and I thought maybe I'd passed it so I started looking for the motel with the broken sign -"

"So we could be in Nevada is what you're saying." Kelly cut her off.

Jill dropped her head against her knees with miserable groan. "Yes."

Sighing to herself, Kelly shook her head and reached out to give her friend's shoulder a gentle rub. She couldn't even conjure up the energy to be mad anymore. Poor Jill looked so guilty and upset that anymore yelling would only make her cry. And that would get both of them nowhere.

"Look, we're both okay and that's all that matters. Don't be upset. The car has insurance, we'll get to see Bos make that weird face again and in a few days it'll be good as new, huh? So, c'mon, help me figure out what to do."

Jill rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms and did her best to compose herself. She sniffled and gazed out into the gloomy darkness. "I… I could keep walking that way." She suggested half heartedly. "Maybe there's something close by."

Her suggestion was met with disdainful laughter that stopped her mid-sentence. "Alone?" Kelly responded unbelievably.

"Well, you can't."

Kelly fixed her friend with a pointed look. "You aren't walking alone."

It might as well have been Sabrina that said it. Jill huffed her defeat, though secretly she was glad that she wouldn't have to do it. She'd watched too many horror movies to ever think that walking off alone on a deserted highway would get her anywhere but murdered.

"So there's nothing we can do but sit here and wait until a car passes by."

"Guess so." Kelly answered.

"Yeah, guess so." Jill echoed. She let out a wry laugh. "Too bad we didn't bring a book, huh?"

"Mmhm."

The girls were quiet for a few moments before Jill cleared her throat and gave her friend a gentle nudge.

"So, are you a man?"

Sabrina tilted Bosley's chair up and down with both of her feet pressed against the desk. She was on her fourth drink of the night and decided it would be her last. The alcohol was doing very little to calm her nerves as she waited anxiously for the phone to ring.

Any second now.

She'd long ago gotten a taxi for Robert Carlson and sent him back home after he provided no further assistance. Instead he merrily chatted her ear off until he fell asleep on the couch. It took a few slaps and heavy yelling to wake him up enough to help him out to the taxi cab. She hoped the driver would make sure he found his way inside safely like she had instructed.

Almost midnight. Maybe Walt had kept Jill and Kelly long with his talking. If he was anything like his brother then they wouldn't be home until tomorrow. But they never called her to check in which was unusual for both of them. An hour ago she had tried calling the mustang's mobile phone but just got a busy signal.

She laid her head down on the desk just as the phone rang. Sabrina grabbed it, hoping it was them. "Hello?"

"Hi, angel. I'm sorry I'm late but the meeting I was in lasted longer than I expected."

"A three hour wait is a little more than late."

Charlie chuckled. "I am sorry. Take the day off tomorrow as a token of my appreciation for staying so late."

Seemed too good to pass up. "I might take you up on that. But how did you know I was still here?"

"Lucky guess, but I know you. You've always done what I've instructed."

Sabrina smiled inwardly. Compliments from Charlie always did make her ego swell, as if she were the leader of their little trio. Sometimes it even felt like a competition between them, fighting for his approval on who did best.

"Well, thanks. Um... you haven't heard from Kelly and Jill have you?"

There was a quick moment of silence before he spoke. "No, not at all. In fact I was going to ask you the same thing."

Though she'd already been expecting that answer, hearing it made her stomach drop. The nagging feeling of something being wrong that had been plaguing her the past few hours immediately gave way to fear.

"Not a thing on my end." Sabrina said quickly. She swore under her breath and hoped Charlie hadn't heard. "I've called and all I get is a busy signal. It's been hours, Charlie. I think I should head that way and see-"

"No, angel." Charlie cut her off. "No. I don't think that's the best course of action right now." He heard her frustrated sigh and continued, hoping to keep any protests at bay. "It would be impossible to know where they are. It's a shot in the dark at best, Sabrina, and your going after them in the middle of the night isn't going to help matters."

Sabrina pursed her lips. "Then what am I supposed to do, Charlie?" She asked in exasperation.

"Go home.' Charlie answered simply. "It's fairly common to not be able to pick up a signal that far out of the city. This might be a simple case of car trouble." He paused to give a forced chuckle. "Or an overly talkative host."

"Car trouble?" Sabrina echoed back, unconvinced. "Kelly just got a new mustang last week."

"New tires aren't immune to blow outs, angel." "No, but..."

"Sabrina, go home." Charlie said again. "I must insist. If Jill and Kelly decide to call, I'm sure your apartment will be the first place they try. Try not to worry, I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding, but just in case I'll have the highway patrol on the lookout for Kelly's car."

There was a few moments of silence before Sabrina finally relented with a weary sigh. Judging by her boss's tone, he didn't think it was a simple misunderstanding either. But, not wanting to argue, she stood and began to gather her things. Charlie was right, anyway. They wouldn't think to call the office at midnight, they'd expect her to be at home. Maybe they'd already called.

With that thought fueling her, she grabbed up her purse and began to dig for her keys. "Alright Charlie, I'm on my way home then."

"Thank you, angel." Charlie replied and she could almost hear the relief in his voice. "I wouldn't worry too much about Jill and Kelly. They can handle themselves and whatever is going on, they're safer together. Call me as soon as you hear from them."

Sabrina didn't comment. "Likewise."

"Of course. Goodnight."

"Night." Sabrina mumbled. She waited for the gentle click on the other line that told her he'd safely hung up before she slammed the receiver down with an angry curse.

Damn every last liver spot on that lecherous old Robert Carlson. Damn Charlie for leaving her here by herself. Damn herself for not volunteering to go in their place. But most of all, damn Jill and Kelly for getting themselves into trouble.

Feeling helpless and angry, Sabrina snatched up her coat and quickly locked up the office on her way out. "Oh girls, how hard could it be?" she grumbled to herself in an imitation of Bosley's voice. "He's a two hundred year old man who's looking for someone to give all his money! For once you three can flip pages instead of your cars."

She scoffed to herself as she trudged past Jill's car to her own. Yeah, this was really shaping up to be an uneventful case alright. The frustrated detective climbed into her car, started it, and pulled out onto the empty street. "You two idiots better be okay." She grumbled to herself as the reflection of Jill's car gradually faded in the dark.