Nicole helped a painfully out of commission Natalie down the stairs, pausing every few steps to let her take a breath. She contemplated how she'd gotten herself into such a terrible mess. Nicole had gone up to see how Natalie was doing and found her laying despondently in her bed. Trying to cheer her up she suggested she do something for just herself. Natalie had surprised her by agreeing and then some how convinced Nicole to carry her downstairs. Nicole was snapped from her reminiscence by Natalie stopping for what seemed to be the tenth time.
"Why have you stopped again?" asked Nicole.
"I just need a minute" panted Natalie. "Just to catch my breath."
"This isn't good" said Nicole. "It's not right, let me get someone to take you back upstairs."
"It's fine" said Natalie. "I want a change of scenery."
"Then lets get a private nurse and take you to mummy and daddy's compound in Hawaii."
"Downstairs, will work just fine" said Natalie, her voice straining with effort.
"Then let me find someone to carry you" pleaded Nicole.
"Just get me down there" said Natalie.
"Fine" said Nicole, bracing her body against Natalie's and dragging her a few more steps down.
They duo finally made it into the kitchen. Natalie leaned against a chair, catching her breath. Nicole's head moved constantly, searching for signs of life in the house. After a few moments Natalie regained her composure and began moving towards the fridge.
"What are you doing?" asked Nicole.
"I want something to eat" said Natalie.
"Then lets order something" Nicole said, her voice desperate.
"No, just let me cook something" said Natalie.
"We can't" said Nicole. "Someone is going to come back and see you down here and flip out, then kill me."
"Let's switch tops" said Natalie.
"What the hell will that do?" asked Nicole.
"Simple, when they come in here, they will think I'm you and you will be upstairs being me" said Natalie.
"They won't believe it" said Nicole. "I don't cook. Hell, I don't even eat."
"I'll tell them I'm doing it for by dearest bestest sister" said Natalie, her voice sticky sweet.
"They won't believe it, but if that's your plan then fine" said Nicole. "I love sleeping in your bed."
"Then it's settled, lets change" said Natalie.
Nicole and Natalie took a moment to switch clothes, Nicole helping Natalie off and on with her new top. They both eyed each other critically before nodding in mutual agreement.
"It looks fine" they said in unison.
Half an hour later found Sig walking past the kitchen and seeing who he assumed was Nicole eating a rather large plate of pasta. He walked right by her towards the stairs before circling back. Standing in the doorway he studied her critically, his mind trying to remember if he'd ever seen Nicole eat anything. Natalie studiously ignored him, trying her best to remain aloof.
"What are you staring at?" she asked in her most haughty tone.
"You're eating" said Sig. "You never eat."
"Well, I was just making sure it wasn't poison before I brought it up for Natalie" said Natalie.
"Do you want me to take it to her?" asked Sig.
"Did you get clearance from the physical therapist to go upstairs?" asked Natalie, her voice surprised.
"Natalie, what are you doing down here" said Sig, rushing to her side.
"I'm not Natalie, I'm Nicole" began Natalie.
"You are not" said Sig. "She doesn't eat and she's never once asked about my physical therapy."
Natalie considered pressing the ruse, but she was tired and wanted to finish her food then take a nap.
"Fine" said Natalie with a sigh. "You caught me."
"Why are you down here?" asked Sig. "How did you get down here?"
"I was hungry and I wanted to make myself something" said Natalie. "Nicole helped me down, then we traded shirts and she went up to pretend to be me and I stayed down here."
"So, if I were to go upstairs she'd be sleeping in your bed?" asked Sig.
"Probably" said Natalie.
"I wasn't even planning on stopping in the kitchen" said Sig, "I was going to go up and surprise you."
"She would have probably said something before you got too far into it" said Natalie, with a smile.
"I would need extensive therapy after such an encounter" said Sig.
Natalie gave him a harsh look and then rolled her eyes.
"Well then I guess we're lucky you found me first" said Natalie. "Would you like a bite of pasta?"
Natalie held the fork to Sig's mouth and once he opened it, she fed him a small bite.
"Delicious" said Sig.
"Thank you" said Natalie. "It's been ages since I cooked something, I was worried I'd forgotten."
Sig, smiled and then dropped a kiss on the top of her head. In that moment Natalie realized how long it had been since they'd been near each other. She leaned her head back into his chest, relishing in the familiar feel and scent.
"I've missed you" said Natalie, her voice quiet.
"I've missed you so much" said Sig.
Sig dipped his head and captured Natalie's lips in a soft kiss. Her hand wrapped around the back of his neck, drawing him closer. The kiss deepened and Natalie found herself awash with desire.
"Lets go upstairs" said Natalie.
"Yes" said Sig, enthusiastically.
No amount of desire could overcome the duos severely limited physical abilities. Sig slowed after the first three stairs and Natalie, sat down a third of the way up, gasping for breath.
"Why are there so many stairs here?" she panted.
"My leg is killing me" remarked Sig.
"I should have taken the bloody elevator" muttered Natalie.
"You have an elevator" said Sig, in surprise.
"Do you think if I had an elevator we'd be sitting on these stairs?" said Natalie, incredulously.
"But you just said" began Sig.
"When I bought this house, they had an option for an elevator in the plans" explained Natalie. "I should have agreed to having one put in, if only for such an occasion."
"Ugh" said Sig, laying back on the stairs.
Natalie did the same, trying to regain her breath.
"It's probably for the best" said Natalie, after a moment.
"What is?" asked Sig.
"Us, figuring out we are in horrible shape before we actually tried to have sex" said Natalie.
"Disappointing is what it is" said Sig, glumly.
Their musings were disrupted by Norman walking through the front door. From the foyer he saw Sig sitting on the bottom stair and who he thought was Nicole, up slightly farther.
"What are you doing?" asked Norman.
"We were trying to go upstairs" answered Sig.
"Why can't Nicole go upstairs?" asked Norman, glancing up at Natalie.
"Because, that is not Nicole" said Sig. "Our little bug decided she wanted to make herself some food and convinced her sister to switch places with her."
"That sort of shit only works in the movies" said Norman with a chuckle.
"Yes, well, the science was sound" said Natalie, with a smile.
"Do you two need some help?" asked Norman. "Or are the stairs comfortable enough?"
"I can probably get to the couch" said Sig, standing stiffly.
"And you darling Natalie?" asked Norman.
"I do need help" said Natalie.
Norman quickly scooped up Natalie and started taking her upstairs.
"Norm, bring her down here" said Sig.
"She needs her rest" said Norman.
Natalie watched as Sig hobbled towards her kitchen and sighed.
Norman stood in the doorway, staring at Nicole asleep in Natalie's bed. He set Natalie down gently and she walked the few steps and collapsed heavily on the corner of the bed. Norman reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded envelope.
"What is that?" asked Natalie.
"It's Bishop's autopsy report" said Norman.
"Have you read it?" asked Natalie.
"No" said Norman, his eyes sliding to Nicole's prone figure.
"She's fine" said Natalie. "She'll sleep through anything."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Norman.
"Yes" said Natalie, her voice determined. "I have to know."
"I thought you were doing it for her" said Norman, pointing to Nicole.
"Just give me the envelope" said Natalie.
Norman passed her the envelope and Natalie opened it carefully. She pulled out the stack of documents and began to read. Norman sat next to her, reading over her shoulder.
"She wasn't pregnant" said Natalie, her voice almost a whisper.
"Where does it say that?" asked Norman.
She pointed to where the checkmark would have been, if a fetus had been found on the initial findings sheet.
"That's a relief" said Natalie.
"There's something else you should probably know about" said Norman.
"What's that?" asked Natalie.
"No one has come forward to claim her body" said Norman.
"How did you find that out?" asked Natalie.
"During my initial phone call to the coroners office, I had to leave a contact number" explained Norman. "The clerk called me yesterday to ask if I knew her next of kin."
"Discovery should have all that information" said Natalie. "We should see if Antha would send them an email for us."
"You should talk to Sig" said Nicole's voice from the bed.
Both Norman and Natalie turned slowly, surprised to see Nicole awake.
"Why?" asked Natalie.
"Because on the boat he was talking to someone about Bishop, he said something about her saying they were married and that she had his dad's ring" explained Nicole.
"When was this?" asked Norman.
"When you came to pick me up" said Nicole.
"Did Sig tell you about it?" asked Natalie.
"No, I was just in the room when he was on the phone" said Nicole.
"Did you know about it?" asked Natalie, to Norman.
"No" said Norman. "We need to talk to Sig."
Sig sat in his lawyer's plush downtown Seattle office discussing his relationship with Lindsey Bishop. Natalie sat next to him, listening intently to the proceedings. After she and Norman had told Sig about what they'd learned from Bishop's autopsy report they urged him to call his lawyer. He had and his lawyer, Mr. Birch, had insisted he come in as soon as possible.
"So, you would say, under oath, that you had no long term relationship with Ms. Bishop" said Mr. Birch.
"Yes, it was for a couple weeks at best and ended quite abruptly" said Sig.
"And you never proposed marriage or gave her this ring?" asked Mr. Birch, motioning to the ring on the table.
"No, never" said Sig, vehemently.
"How do you think she came into possession of this ring?" asked Mr. Birch.
"She stole it from my stateroom, either on the night we parted ways or in the days before that" said Sig. "I'd noticed the room was messier than usual, but did not connect it to anything until today."
"You say she broke into your boat on the night you parted ways?" asked Mr. Birch.
"Yes, she broke in, destroyed priceless maps that belonged to my father and grandfather, ripped mattresses in all the staterooms and even kicked in the cabinets in my stateroom" said Sig.
"And you have a police report, stating as much" said Mr. Birch.
"Yes, I filed it that night" said Sig. "With the local police in Dutch Harbor."
"Very good" said Mr. Birch. "This concludes our statement."
The lawyer switched off the tape recorder and dismissed his clerk. Once he was sure the door was closed he turned to the couple in front of him.
"I've looked up any and all marriage records, using the national database, under your name and hers, none exist that I could find" said Mr. Birch. "Our office could hire a private investigator if you'd like, but at this point I don't see the need."
"So what happens now?" asked Natalie.
"We have Mr. Hansen's statement on file if anyone surfaces with questions regarding Ms. Bishop's marriage claim" explained Mr. Birch. "But as she is deceased and seemingly has no family, there isn't much chance of that."
"So, just to be clear" said Sig. "We could get married with no issues."
"That is correct" said Mr. Birch. "I would advise both of you to consider prenuptial agreements, since you both own businesses, but other than that, you could get married today if you had the proper license."
"Can I take the ring?" asked Sig.
"Of course" said Mr. Birch, placing it in Sig's hand.
Sig looked relieved and Natalie just smiled benignly at the lawyer behind the desk.
"Well, if I can't help you both with anything else, I'll see you out" said Mr. Birch.
"It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Birch" said Natalie, rising slowly from the chair.
"The pleasure was all mine Ms. Moore" said Mr. Birch. "I wish you luck on your impending nuptials."
"Thanks again" said Sig, shaking the lawyer's hand.
"Any time" said Mr. Birch.
The pair walked slowly out of the office and into the bank of elevators.
Edgar, Norman and Antha paced in the lobby of the law offices. They were all worried about Natalie and Sig being able to physically make it through the meeting. The clock struck the hour and Antha realized the pair had been upstairs for over an hour. Natalie had assured all of them that she and Sig would be fine, but Antha was unconvinced. The door of the elevator opened and Sig and Natalie walked out into the lobby.
"Oh thank god" said Antha, rushing to Natalie's side.
"It was fine" said Natalie.
"Is everything cool?" asked Edgar to Sig.
"Yes, I got Dad's ring back and found out that there is nothing stopping us from getting married" said Sig happily.
"Legally" said Natalie.
"Legally what?" asked Sig.
"Legally getting married" replied Natalie. "However, a girl still likes to be properly asked and she expects a ring on her finger."
"Right" said Sig. "Nothing is stopping us legally from getting married."
Natalie smiled and then walked shakily towards the door. Antha caught up with her, offering an arm to lean on.
"Did I ever tell you how Edgar first asked me to marry him?" said Antha conversationally.
"No" said Natalie.
The pair walked off together and after a moment peals of laughter accosted the Hansen brothers' ears.
"You are in for a shit load of trouble" said Norman.
"I'll get her a ring and ask her properly" said Sig. "Don't worry about it."
Norman and Edgar shared a look before helping Sig out to the car.