Disclaimer: This story is mine, but the characters do not belong to me. I make no money from this, but I did have a ton of fun writing it.

A/N: This is a fill-in-the-gap vignette set during EDFIAV. What does David do after he catches Alexander Hayes in the act of cheating, but before he goes back to the office to give Maddie the bad news at 9:20 at night?

Thank you to Boink at MoonlightingStrangers for editing and a really clever title.

It just had to be a stormy day, didn't it?

David knew that the right thing to do would've been to brave the rain and go straight back to the office. Maddie was waiting there for him, probably staring at the clock… too anxious to do anything but pace the floor. He just couldn't bring himself to do it, though. He felt… paralyzed almost, so instead he planted himself at the bar… in the hotel... where Maddie's father had just spent the afternoon upstairs delighting some woman who was not his wife and not Maddie's mother.

It may have been a long time since it happened to him, but David knew what it felt like to be cheated on. It felt like having the rug pulled out from under you. It felt like being punched in the gut. It felt like the one person you trusted more than anyone else in the world lied to you. It felt like the paradise you saw before you was nothing more than a mirage. And he knew that, while he was not without his flaws, he would never cheat on a woman. Not ever.

The whole thing made him feel sick to his stomach. Not good, considering he was supposed to meet Maddie and her parents in an hour for a late dinner. If it were up to him, he would have preferred to go home, but it wasn't in his heart to bail on her. He just assumed Maddie would push back the reservation if he didn't return in time. And so, the minutes crept by as he sat… knocking a bottle cap back and forth like a hockey puck and nursing a single bottle of beer for what felt like forever.

Soon enough though, David started to feel restless. He was so God-damn disappointed in the esteemed Mr. Alexander Hayes… cheating on his adoring wife, Virginia. He felt like he needed to talk to someone... someone other than Maddie... someone other than the person whose life he was about to turn inside out and upside down.

So, he called and asked his friend Benny to meet him at the bar...

'Man, I don't even know why I offered to do this in the first place. What was I thinking?' David had his elbows on the counter and his head in his hands.

Benny knew why he did it. He'd heard his friend talk about his boss so many times that even though he'd never met the woman, he swore he knew everything about her. And he knew that David would never admit it, maybe didn't even know it, but this woman meant something to him.

'You did it because you're a nice guy. You did it because... I don't know. Maybe you were thinking that she was overreacting and that you'd come back lookin' like a knight in shining armor telling her she was wrong and that her father wasn't cheating after all. You know, ride in on a white horse. Look like a hero in her eyes.'

'Yeah...'

'Isn't that what all us guys want? To be a hero?'

'Yeah, you're right.' Still with his head in his hands, David finally turned to look at Benny.

'I know. I'm always right.' Benny took a swig from his beer.

'You know what gets me, though? It's that I really wanted to respect this guy. When I first met him this morning... just being in his presence... I felt like I wanted to stand up straight... keep my nose clean. I mean, this was Maddie's father, you know?'

Benny sat there looking at David. Sure, he was talking to him, but it was really as if David was talking to himself.

'Are you positive he was cheating? I mean, how do you know for sure?'

David just turned and looked at him... silent, but with an expression that read, c'mon dumbass, this is what I do. I'm a detective, for God's sake. Then he spoke. 'Guy walks into this hotel. Already has a room reserved in his name... gets his key. Goes into the gift shop... comes out carrying flowers. There's a woman in his room wearing a bathrobe. He's up there with her for... what must've been at least two hours. I know because I sat there in that lobby the entire time just waiting for him to walk through those elevator doors. Then, when he finally does, he calls his wife from the payphone. I overhear him tell her that the golf game took longer than expected. They missed their tee time and had to wait to get started. He tells her they're done now so he's going to freshen up and meet the others in the clubhouse for a drink before returning to the hotel.'

'And now you gotta go back...'

'And now I gotta go back and tell his daughter that her father is cheating on her mother.'

'Shit, man...'

'Yeah, tell me about it.' David finished off his beer and ordered another. 'Part of me wonders... should I even tell her the truth? What good comes from that? What's she gonna do? Tell her mother? Confront her father?'

Benny had no answers. There really were no right answers. He only knew that he was there to be a friend... and a sounding board.

'You wanna know what I wish I'd done? I wish I'd had the nerve to say somethin' to him myself. Stopped him before he even went upstairs.'

'Yeah, but that wouldn't have changed the fact that he was a cheater.'

'That's true. I just don't know how I'm gonna tell her this kinda news, man. It's gonna break her heart. And angry... wooo… angry's only the tip of the iceberg. She'll probably take it out on me. I'm liable to end the night with two black eyes.'

'Speaking of black eyes, when I walked in here earlier, you told me you would tell me how you got that shiner.'

'Hey, what can I say? God frowns upon the man who impersonates a priest.'

'Seriously, man, what gives?'

David chuckled for the first time that evening, and Benny gave him a quizzical expression.

'What's so funny?' Benny asked again.

'It's not funny at all. It's sad, actually. I found out this scum-of-the-Earth, skirt-chasing casting director was cheating on his wife with not one, but three wanna-be starlets.'

'Infidelity strikes again…'

'Yeah. Tonight's recurring theme… I don't get it,' David pondered, considering the actions of both the casting director and Mr. Hayes. 'I mean, if you can't commit, don't commit. If you want out, get out.'

'I hear ya,' Benny agreed.

'So, anyway... in the end, the guy decided I was the one who needed to see stars.'

'Hey man, if it's any consolation... makes you look like a real badass.'

'Great, just what I need right now… to look like Rocky Balboa…'

'So, what's this about a dinner tonight?'

'Oh, Maddie's parents flew out here from Chicago for a wedding. They asked us to meet them for dinner.'

'Why?'

'Why, what? What why?' David looked confused.

'Why you?'

'Why me?'

'Yeah, why you? Her parents are taking her out to dinner and she brings you? What? Blue Moon never offered a men's shampoo?'

'If you're asking if this is a date, it's not. Not that I'd mind it bein' a date. Wouldn't mind that at all. Her parents just wanna get to know the guy their daughter works with. Make sure I'm not some slacker out to take advantage...'

'So, they do know you...'

David rolled his eyes. 'Smartass. Nah, I've changed my ways. You'd be surprised. I'm not the same…'

'Irresponsible… unreliable… frivolous…' Benny carried on while David waved his hand as if to say ha, ha, keep the insults coming.

'… fly-by-night person I was a year ago. I take this job seriously. I really do...'

'Hey, I'm jealous of you, man. You got a job you like... things are really lookin' up.'

'Yeah, and I got my fingers crossed you'll get that promotion you wanted, too.'

'Benjamin Zampella, Finance Manager... got a nice ring to it...' Benny held his hand out like he was envisioning his name plate on his own office door.

'David Addison, Late-To-Dinner...' David mimicked Benny's movements.

'Oh, shit! You really gotta go! Damn, it's almost nine. This dinner of yours… more like the late-night munchies…'

'Yeah, and I still got a twenty-minute drive back to the office to try to figure out what the hell I'm gonna say.' David stood up and grabbed his trench coat off of the barstool next to him.

'Sorry I wasn't much help, but I hope everything works out...'

'Yeah, me too.' David took a step toward the door and then turned back around. 'Tell Angie hello for me. I hope she's feeling better.'

Benny's wife, Angie, had recently miscarried... a topic of discussion that Benny made clear right after it happened was not on the table for discussion.

'I will. I'll tell her.' Benny's voice faltered, and David immediately regretted bringing it up.

'You leavin'?' David asked.

'Nah, I think I'm gonna stay and have another beer.'

The shift in Benny's mood and the fact that he was leaving his friend behind to drink alone made David feel terrible... worse than he already felt. But Benny was right… he really did need to go. He'd made Maddie wait long enough.

After dragging his feet all the way across town and up to the 20th floor, David finally reached the Blue Moon door and stood there. He took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob as it suddenly opened away from him. There she was… standing right in front of him… purse in hand… ready to leave. He was startled. She was, too.

He looked at his wristwatch for the time. '9:20… early night…' It was his attempt at a little humor, but could anything be further from the truth?

'I waited for you as long as I could.'

'You miss me?' he asked, still trying to make light.

'Sure… your name again?' She, too, was dancing around the inevitable.

He laughed… nervous laughter.

'So?' She asked.

'So…'

'So, say something.'

He looked away for a moment. 'Well, I think your father's a really good guy, ya know?'

'What does that mean?' She really didn't know.

'It means… I think your father's a really good man.'

'And what does that mean?' This verbal volley they were doing was driving her crazy inside.

'It means what it means.'

'Look me in the eye and tell me you followed my father all day.'

He nodded his head. "I did it, Maddie.'

'And?'

'And I'm sorry.'

She lowered her eyes and walked away.

He sighed and gave her a head start towards the elevator. As he rounded the corner, he saw that she was still there. As he got even closer, he saw that she hadn't pushed the button yet, and so he did it for her.

'Are we still on for dinner?'

She had her back to him. 'Yes.' She paused for a moment and then, 'I know what you're thinking.'

'What's that?'

'That it's ridiculously late for dinner.'

'Hardly…'

'I know that having dinner with me and my parents is probably the last thing you want to do tonight… but I need you there with me…' Her voice trailed off.

He stood there and said nothing, but it wasn't lost on him that she said she needed him. It made him feel warm inside, a feeling that he hadn't felt with her before.

The elevator door opened, and she cleared her throat. 'I have to go home and change.' She finally turned to him. 'If you need to get ready, maybe you can drop me off at my house first and then come back to get me…'

'Ridiculously late, huh?'

Her chin quivered and she looked like she wanted to cry. It was his first inclination to reach out to her… to offer a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on. But now that he'd met her father, David knew that she was a lot like the man. Stoic and strong. She wouldn't cry standing there in front of him. But the dam would break at some point. He knew it would.

A/N: Please be so kind as to leave a review. I'd really appreciate your feedback.