It was after midnight when Johnny arrived back home. The sounds of a boy and his dog snoring from the Mystery Machine told him that Shaggy and Scooby-Doo were already asleep and that the others were likely inside. The porch light being on was a reminder of his youth, and all the nights his Mama stayed up with the light on to welcome him home, but this was different from coming home defeated from a night of chasing women on the strip, this felt worse.

Travel bags and cardboard boxes ringed the living room couch were Fred and Daphne sat with tired eyes. Walking down the hallway while fluffing a pillow, Mama Bravo called out, "Just finished making up the guest bedroom. It's a fair bit more comfortable than the couch. So why don't you two just settle in there for the night."

"Thanks Mrs. Bravo." said Fred, too sleepy to even notice Johnny's presence.

Stepping aside to let the two down the hallway, Mama Bravo noticed Johnny and pointed at the garage, already knowing what he was going to ask.

A low electric hum from the garage signaled that the electron microscopes were powered up and in use. Sliding back and forth between three monitors on a wheeled stool was Velma, who had already managed to set up a crime lab the way she liked it. Though Johnny remembered she didn't like the term crime lab, as she did not see herself as a crime scene investigator.

"Did you get a ride home from the police or the agency?" asked Velma, not looking up from her microscope.

"I actually got a ride home from my lawyer." said Johnny, knowing he now owed Carl a favor.

Sitting back, Velma lifted her glasses to rub her eyes and checked the time on her laptop screen. "Everyone else is probably in bed by now." Even through the garage door the muffled snoring of Shaggy was audible.

"Guess it's just us, a couple of night owls as always." said Johnny.

"Yeah, that much hasn't changed."

"Come on, let's go for a ride."

"Right now?"

"It's been a busy day; I think it'd be best to get some air and clear our heads."

Tapping her fingers on the edge of the old workbench which she used as a desk, Velma's eyes went up and to the right as she was trying to think of a reason not to go. Reaching forward, Johnny took her free hand and gently lifted her to her feet without an ounce of resistance on her part.

"Okay, there are some things we need to talk about. So let's go."

Standing by the door with the keys to the Cadillac was Mama. Planting a big kiss on her cheek, Johnny took the keys as Velma followed him out to the driveway. Mama always parking in reverse meant that he was able to open the door for her to get in. Once seated, he hopped in the driver's seat and started driving up to the hills north of Aaron City.

"Sorry that my friends seem to have made it a habit to abandon you in bad situations." said Velma.

"Oh, don't worry about that none. Sometimes it seems my life has been nothing but bad situations, but I always manage to scrape through." Johnny let his fingers roll along the familiar grooves of the steering wheel, remembering times he had taken Velma out on dates in this car made him feel like a kid again, and as much as he wished he could recapture those nights, things were different now.

"I'm pretty sure my friends are all in love with your mother by the way."

"Hard not to be. Mama's one in a billion."

Continuing to drive in silence, Johnny drove around the chained entrance to the road that led up into the hills, a courtesy of local government that everyone ignored with equal courtesy.

"What's with all the string?" asked Velma, looking out at the brush illuminated by the headlights still tangled with all colors of yarn.

"Oh that? About four years back we had a cat-themed supervillain in town that stole all our yarn and string, made a giant ball, and threatened to roll it down the hill to destroy the city." Chuckling to himself, Johnny pulled up to the overlook to park. "Our city only attracts the finest villains."

"Now that is a sight." said Velma, looking down on the town. North of the greater LA area, but not in the rich 'hills' area, Aaron City was close enough to the action to see the glitter of the city lights, but far enough away to avoid the big city blues.

Turning on the radio to a classic rock station, Johnny turned the volume low just to act as ambience. No doubt, both he and Velma had some things on their minds.

"Mind if I go first?" asked Johnny, a nod from her was sign enough. "I-I-I need to apologize. I think I rushed too fast back when we were dating. Some might say it was a summer fling, but that's not the way it sits with me."

"I left you tied to a tree, came back out here for an internship at Stanford, we dated, and we broke up. Why can't it be as simple as that?" asked Velma.

"A proposal is never simple." said Johnny. "But that ain't what I'm apologizing for. Ain't sure whether it's my brain or my heart telling me, but I don't see that as a mistake. Just the right thing at the wrong time."

Pondering his words for a moment, Velma thought back on their times together. "We did have some great nights. Remember that couples amateur wrestling night we went to?"

"The one where we dressed up like Victorian England costumes and you had me wear a fake mustache?"

"Dame Librarian and the Golden Hunk. We creamed the competition."

"I remember you doing most of the work, all I did was show up and flex my muscles while you judo flipped the other teams into submission."

"Hey, you love my judo flips."

"You do have a way of making people go head over heels for you." Johnny didn't mention how impressed he was at her range of movement in that old-style corset she wore during the matches, nor how good she looked in it.

Giving a gentle nudge to Johnny's arm, they laughed at the good memories. How that entire summer was full of moments where one or the other thought that they were too different, but time and again they each surprised one another with new ways where they just seemed to click. From wrestling and martial arts, to food and fitness, to nights where Johnny would just sit around and watch her study, refilling her mugs or giving her shoulder massages, putting her to bed before she fell asleep on her pile of research notes and passing out on the couch in her rented apartment.

"Maybe we could have been something good." said Velma, "But I had obligations, to my friends, and to myself. I had goals I wanted, and… they didn't include you."

"I've come to peace with that." said Johnny, shifting in his seat to lean back into the padding.

"Have you?" asked Velma.

"No. I traveled the world. Been involved in more things than I could cover in one night of catching up. Made movies with a bull. Lived in India and made more movies there. Came home and started up a gym in a strip mall. And I do fitness consultation for the occasional movie star. I grew up a little, kept busy, and one day I look in the mirror and realize I'm not the same kid I used to be… but, I can't help but still be in love with you."

The hilltop would be silent were it not for a nearly muted Meatloaf belting out a chorus on the radio. Reaching over, Velma turned off the radio, unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted her position. A slight gust of wind blew a bit of yarn across her face, which she removed and let go off into the night sky.

"Johnny. Thank you for telling me how you feel. I'll admit, I'm not as clear about how I feel. We had a great summer, I'm very fond of you. Maybe I do love you, but like the song says, 'It was long ago, and it was far away.' That summer we shared; my main focus was my internship. And now, I'm back and there's this new mystery hanging over all of us and I can't help but feel that we're in real danger here and if we restart our relationship it's going to be a distraction and if I'm distracted I won't be able to focus and if I can't focus I might miss some important detail that could wind up getting us all hur-"

Placing his hand on Velma's face, he could see the stress and anxiety were starting to get to her. Small tears were in her eyes, and he saw she was afraid. But her every feature relaxed as he touched her, letting his fingers run along the temples of her glasses back to the crook of her ear where he rubbed away the tension he felt there.

Her breathing deepened, steadied, and slowed as she calmed down. Did his touch make her feel safe, calm, at ease? Pulling back his hand, Velma straightened her glasses and hair before sitting up straight.

"Thank you." said Velma, and Johnny nodded in reply. With a curious look in her eyes, she leaned over and asked, "So, about that year in India. Did you learn the local language?"

"Yeah, I actually learned both Hindi and Marathi. It all sounded like gibberish at first, but I got the hang of it, and this coming from a guy who flunked eight semesters of French in High School."

"Prove it." said Velma, turning her head so her ear faced him.

"Mere dil par tumhaara naam likha hai." said Johnny.

"And what does that mean?" asked Velma.

Pulling back with a coy smile, Johnny looked down at the folder at her feet. "So, what did you want to talk about?"