Behind The Smile...

[WYN100]

**PART SEVEN

Lewington's tone was characteristically slow and deliberate as he pushed around sheaves of paper on his desk to what Rachel considered to be between limited and zero purpose.

Jerking his head up suddenly and giving her a slight internal tremor as he did, intoned "Quite a tricky one we faced this morning, Doctor Armstrong ?"

Feeling very much like the girl summoned to the headmistress's study for an as yet unrevealed reason, Rachel donned a somewhat over-forced smile and responded chattily "Yes, but I thought we coped very well as a team, don't you ?"

Without replying, he continued to hold her in a frankly unnerving stare for several more seconds before replying ,

"All....ah,...WELL with you, is it Doctor Armstrong....?"

Then - before she could reply , "..how long have you been working with us now,,?"

Relieved she at least knew to the answer to t hat one, she responded "Four years or so now sir, - - and enjoying it more every minute !.."

Looking almost vaguely surprised by that reply he angled the tips of his fingers together with hands placed almost as if in prayer mode.

"So - no feelings of - staleness ...?...or maybe lack of direction....?" - and - just as she prepared to voice a vigorous denial - he continued - like a mouse-trap spring snapping shut - - "because during this morning's surgery on Miss Campbell, I got the very distinct impression that there was a concentration and focus debit on your part of considerable and even worrying proportions,,,,is there anything you want to tell me Dr Armstrong ...?"

The merry-go-round in her mind that had been on the hyper-active side anyway since Lewington had ordered the meeting, now began to hurtle at berzerk proportions - - so that was it - - - how much had he noticed...what should she say....had he seen the adrenakine. morphine mix-up ??? - should she mention her accident...or the painkillers...or bothh.... or neither ???"

With crash and burn threatening in the Rachel brain-space, the influx of dark storm clouds to the Lewington face had hastened greatly.-

"Because Doctor - if I'm thinking along the right lines , you may very soon be having to tell a lot of things to a lot of people, and their questions may carry a far greater potential payload than mine.."

Rachel gulped - the frenzied audit of her thoughts and feelings had reached a - - -admittedly far from coolly reasoned decision the situation surely demanded - she had to tell, admit, confess or whatever to him ...surely that was best..although...maybe..."

Her head jolted spectacularly to the right as a firm, precise knock was delivered on the surgeon's office door.

Beginning to open his mouth in annoyance at the interruption, Lewington instead looked with an air of puzzlement....as Seargeant Darren McGrath entered accompanied by a young policewoman.

"Sergeant McGrath...?"

The senior officer explained his arrival immediately..."Im sorry to arrive and interrupt unannounced like this Doctor Lewington, but.." - without even looking at her, he went on..."I'm afraid it's Doctor Armstrong her that I need,,"

Even as the merry-go-round orchestra in her mind began to recommence their deafening thrash-style accompaniment, Rachel asked rather weakly, "Oh, ok Seargeant, anything I can direct you towards, I'd be..."

Amidst a virtual thunder-crash of spectacular proportions resonating a cross her mind, she heard him say "No, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to accompany me to the police station Doctor Armstrong - We've got some questions we need to ask you..."

Followed by an expression from Lewington that could have cut through the state's phone book at a single slice, and momentarily too shellshoched to even frame an enquiry to McGrath ...a stunned Rachel stood up slowly to go

Martha had slowly coaxed Jack back away from the edge of the hill to the rear of his patrol car by dint of some gentle and bland questioning - - she'd never genuinely thought he'd been about to hurl himself off, but the dent at the side of his car and the smell of alcohol certainly needed explaining, and that was a discussion she felt probably not best held at the rim of a several hundred feet drop.

In any event, he seemed distant, troubled, confused - and she needed to find out why. He'd yet to respond to her earlier enquiry about whether he'd been drinking, so, as they both leant against the rear of the car, she tried a different tack "Jack - - it's been a tough year or more for you - - in all sorts of ways - - - have you ever considered taking some time out - - for yourself ? I'm sure McGrath and the other top guys would understand...?"

His eyes fixed intently on her, he said "I could have been a good father, couldn't I Martha ? I mean, that baby Sam carried - - that was MY child - - and I could have brought it up SO well....you know..?? I SO could..."

Still trying to work out the exact direction and emphasis she should employ. Martha reached out and took Jack's hand, gently stroking finger by finger as she said "Of COURSE you could Jack ! That whole mess with Sam had NOTHING to do with you - - she treated you badly at every turn, and you would have been - - and still will be - - - an AWESOME father ! - but what about TODAY Jack - - why are you actually up here ??.."

Again, her hope for any kind of swift response was unavailing = - - "I never loved her you know Martha,.." he intoned, now reaching out for her hand, and aping her previous stroking of the finhers one by one...."Not like I loved ...or love....you..."

Silently cursing her heart for beginning to pump significantly faster on hearing those words, she slipped her hand away from his grasp..

There was an elongated and awkward silence, broken by a heavy and careworn elongated sigh from Jack as he turned again to gaze out at the attractive swathe of scenery wrapped half the way around them..... "Families are SO important Martha, and I would have been SUCH a good father...but..." - - another huge sigh...

"...I think I may have done something REALLY stupid..."

His face creased again, and she imagined that tears of whatever motivation could not be far away..

Now she grasped both his hands, and looking straight into his eyes, said slowly and softly...."Jack, I think I know what you're going to say....you've been drinking in the car and you've accidentally knocked someone over, right...?"

He looked straight at her for a second or two, then, tearing his hands free in anger, took a step back and away from her, saying "Whaat ?? - NO !! - how the HELL could you think I'd DO such a thing as THAT ??...well thank you VERY much...!!"

A startled Martha was left looking on speechless- - in the face of all the evidence and his behaviour to the contrary, if it WASN'T that, then what the heck COULD it be...??"

Belle had listened intently to the conversation playing out just above her - with a mixture of fascination and irritation.

It was fascinating for the chunks of conversation she'd been able to hear and jot down in the reporter-style notebook she 's learnt to always carry in her jacket pocket, and for hearing Jas speaking with some element of frankness that would never have been the case if her supposed new "significant other" Dom had been in earshot.

She'd revealed piece by piece some of the real background to her parachuting into Dom's life, and more ominously, how she now intended to exploit the way in which certain events had or could turned in her favour.

Belle frequently found herself scribbling furiously (always keep a pen at hand was another golden rule - one which most of us somehow find impossible to achieve), but - she thought with annoyance - the picture she was forming couldn't be a complete one unless the identity of Jas's co-conspirator could be gleaned. Even more irksome was the fact that she spoke in fairly soft, non-intrusive tones that would make even a practised eavesdropper begin to consider tearing their hair out. But then - - - divine intervention ! - - the second woman's mobile phone rang, and in the way she answered it, Belle now had her name. It wasnt one that was familiar to her though, and she began to itch with barely suppressed curiosity to unearth the true story that she strongly now felt was germinating close to her. Knowing that Drew would be likely to know little more than her and that Irene was out, she settled on calling Cassie as someone highly likely to give her the answers she needed.

Punching the relevant preset in the address book on her mobile phone, she smiled with relief to hear Cassie's voice at the other end, and pitched in quickly. Aware of how close she still was to Jas and her companion, she kept her tone as low as possible as she greeted and enquired simultaneously - - "Hey Cass ! - it's me - Belle - - listen, I know this seems really 'out there' but do you by any chance know anything about a woman called Josie Russell ?"

She listened - gripped with interest- to Cassie's reply among which words and phrases like "be very careful " and "she's bad news" were spread thick - from what she'd overheard, those descriptions - and more - were extremely appropriate for both Jas and Josie - - - and Summer Nay would be very well advised to move into and remain on a state of high alert...

[defying_gravity]

great chapter!! why are they dragging rachel down to the cop shop...im intrigued!

[WYN100]

HI !, SORRY TO BE SLOWER WITH THIS ONE

**PART EIGHT

McGrath was pleased to be back behind his reassuringly familiar desk at the station, but dubious already about the direction Norris seemed to be taking in shaping and hopefully solving the case of the shock discovery they'd been confronted with earlier that day.

He sat shaking his head as he read and re-read the brief sheet of case-notes Norris had provided him with before sending him off to the hospital. Despite some of the obvious circumstancial background evidence, he simply couldn't reconcile his mind to the content and outcome he was being asked to accept and expand. And yet - - - he had to admit he hadn't "seen it coming" with either Zoe McAllister or Sam Holden - or Kylie Deeks- or whatever her name had really been - - so this theory too would need thorough examination.

He sighed- in himself, genuinely torn, but as a policeman there were paths that needed following regardless of personal opinions and doubts. A thorn of annoyance suddenly pricked at the cloud of contradiction now surging around his thinking - - -could someone PLEASE tell him, where the HELL was Jack Holden ??? But - that needed to be a question for later. He walked the few steps from his office to the reception area where Fitzy was sitting patiently with a still-shellshocked looking Rachel.

The trio proceeded to his office, and swinging straight into gear, McGrath began "Dr Armstrong, how often are you at the Caravan Park ?"

Rachel . not for the first time that day, radiated confusion, looking instinctively to Fitzy on her left, perhaps hoping that all police flashed up a series of all-explanatory subtitles on their clothing. If so, she was to be disappointed, Fitzy merely sending back an all-purpose standard police issue " don't bother looking at me, we're all like this when the chips are down" type of expression.

"Sorry, how often..what..?"

McGrath sighed "It's a simple question Dr Armstrong, how often are you at the Summer Bay Caravan Park...?"

Rachel waved her hand in small, indecisive circles in the air, as if attempting to conduct a peculiarly talentless orchestra,

"Oh, ...uh...I don't know...two, maybe three times a week - I live pretty close to there you know, ..but WHY on earth do you want to KNOW that - it's no secret, you know !"

The Sergeant leant forward in his chair, striking an uncompromisingly businesslike tone,

"Well Doctor Armstrong, you may or may not know we're investigating the discovery of a body at the Caravan Park today.."

Her very busy day so far meant she hadn't, as her dumbstruck expression seemed to display..

"Well, we believe it's murder - and....our early findings indicate some evidence linking you with the killing.."

An expression that seconds previously had been dumbstruck now reflected a cocktail of blank amazement..and creeping horror...

Jack's eyes flashed a combination of anger and some genuine hurt as he strode past Martha and headed for the drivers' door of his squad car, snatching the keys from his pocket and snapping at her as he passed "So you - who always bleats on about how WELL you know me, HONESTLY think I'D drink-drive and then knock someone down - well, good one Martha ! - after all I've had to see since becoming a cop and after what happened to poor Beth too - That's somewhere I just DON'T...." he tailed off into more of a mutter.."...well anyway, if you think that little of me..."and began pushing the key into the lock. Martha reached out to grab his wrist - for a split second it seemed as if he'd be receptive to that....but then snatched it angrily away as Martha launched the case for the defence - "Ok Jack, ok - - ! but see it from my point of view - there's you up here off with the pixies somewhere, there's a dent in your car, the smell of alcohol and you tell me you may have done something stupid - now what was I SUPPOSED to think ??"

Face defiantly pointed forward, she scanned his features to size up and tackle his response, which for three or four long seconds threatened to be just as uncompromising as what had gone before.But just as he looked set to vent further indignation at what she'd said, his lips - almost in spite of himself, formed into a thin, reluctant smile, - "Hmm, well, when you put it like that, Columbo - you always DID want my job, didn't you ! He smiled fully, but with a sma ll dark cloud scudding across his brow, he insisted "Seriously though Martha, I' d NEVER drink-drive, it's a loser's game - EVERY time, - but.."

"But...?"

He sighed -"That bump in my car- it came when a red people-carrier pranged into me at an intersection - as it goes it was that guy Lewis driving it, him who was with Rachel about 18 months ago. Now I jump out, ready to do all the usual spiel, and,,,"

"Go on Jack..take your time.." - Martha was decidedly favouring the more gentle approach to arriving at the truth on this occasion..

"Well, he had a kid in a child's seat in there with him - couldn't have been more than about a year - 14 months old, and I.... and I........."

Placing one hand softly on his shoulder, Martha said very quietly "And you thought of the baby you could...and should...have had with Sam that would be about the same age as that now...."

Reciprocating the hand gesture he nodded - "Yes...exactly that... now of COURSE I should have hauled him in, but he tells me the alcohol smell was surgical alcohol he'd spilled from his work bag - I look at this kid, and thinking of all the garbage Sam brought into the world, I found myself thinking, if I get the book thrown at Lewis, what sort of a start will that boy have in life....so I let him go...but standing here away from everybody and everything, the stuff he said just sounds so thin and unlikely now..."

He paused, and Martha genuinely wondered whether or not she'd see a tear. The prospect of that was at least delayed temporarily as the police radio in Jack's car crackled to life - "Jack...come in Jack...PC Holden..Jack..."

"You'd better answer it", Martha advised softly.

H picked it up and was greeted with some apparent relief by one of the constables from the station..

"JACK. my man...so he lives !!!.."

"Yes yes, cut the comedy if you don't mind.."said Jack shortly, "..what's going on ?"

"Well, one piece of advice, one piece of info.." crackled the disembodied voice..

"The advice - get back here and in touch with McGrath before he goes any redder...we're thinking of hiring him out as a traffic light as it is....."

"Right, I hear you there Mr Funny Man...and what's the info...?"

"Well, you heard about the RTA where Annie Campbell was knocked down and hospitalized..?"

They hadn't, so as the voice continued, Jack and Martha exchanged shocked glances..

"..well, we now have a take on the vehicle we're looking for in relation to it..."

"Go on..."

"..it's a red people carrier...."

The remainder of the message went unheard as the significance of what they'd just heard dropped chillingly into their consciousness and began to ripple outwards...

Ric breathed out as Viv dropped the handbrake and her car pulled out from its space a dozen yards or so up the road from the police station. He'd had to think quickly - very quickly - as Fitzy had returned to the interview room, but under the general umbrella of impromptu reasoning that went to make up his Plan A, it had been the only realistic option. Had he refused, the set of circumstances surrounding any involvement with the "mad girl" hed met to such devastating effect earlier in the day looked highly unpredictable at best, and he'd watched with amazement as Viv had done exactly what she'd promised - convince as hard-headed a professional as Fitzy that her "attention-seeking" cousin had been the one to blame - and no, she didn't think it was wise for the police to administer justice of whatever variety - she promised to have a SERIOUS word herself - - and so it was that here they were, baby Alice sleeping soundly in the back and Viv literally purring at the now seemingly imminent prospect of a new life together.

It's important to stress just HOW opposite to that future scenario was Ric's future life vision - but he knew now was the time to be grateful for his 'escape" and let his plan formulate around him.

"So, what's Noel going to say when he finds out about all this then, ?" finally enquired Ric drily as the car picked up speed heading towards the main shopping centre.

"Oh ask someone who cares !!" shot back Viv -"you wouldn't treat a PIG the way he's treated me since our -brief- moment of togetherness - and if that guy thinks he's going to ruin my life he can think again - now it's my time - our time- to be happy, right Ric ..?"

"Mmm.." he responded with something less than ringing conviction - "Um, so Viv ...where are we off to then...?" he enquired, simultaneously checking his mobile phone was within some kind of texting reach in his pocket and also noticing in the wing mirror alongside his seat that there was a car travelling extremely- almost hazardously -close behind them.

Viv gave a short, enigmatic laugh "Ah, don't trouble your head about that just yet Ric, plenty of time to enjoy it when we get th.....Whooooa - you IDIOT - what the HELL are you doing ???!!!"

That last exclamation wasn't of course directed at Ric, but at the driver of the dark coloured car behind them, which, without any notice had veered alongside them in an apparent bid to overtake, and being forced to drop back only by a new and briskly-moving stream of oncoming traffic.

Ric and Viv both exhaled in deep and expressive style at the near-miss - luckily the resilient Alice had remained unaware of the moment of trauma and continued to sleep soundly in the baby chair on the back seat.

The dark car though remained in close and distracting position directly behind their car - Ric and Viv shared a baffled glance, Ric voicing their shared thought of "What the hell's his story ?"

Shaking her head in mystified fashion, Viv attempted to concentrate on the road ahead. They were coming up on one of those car dealerships with a drive in-drive out forecourt containing a clutch of vehicles situated in a block leading up to a sizable concrete wall displaying a multi-coloured and garish advertizing board,

"How about heading in there till he goes past ?" offered Ric, his shoulders taut with the new tension. Viv's eyes darted left then right uneasily, weighing the situation up - - until the option was wrenched from her in violent and shattering fashion - for a second time the vehicle burst past them, and as Viv wavered on the possibility of turning left, it cut crazily in front of them, Viv's hands flew from the wheel, and her car with its three occupants lurched with deafening impact into the concrete advertizing wall - the bonnet concertinad ,and smoke twas pouring from underneath it - the hoarding looked down unknowing on what had become an ominously silent vehicle - .....

[defying_gravity]

yayy thanks 4 updating!!! put more rachel chapters in!! and feel free to add some sally parts aswell

[maccaz]

Ric, Viv and the bub...

Please let them survive.

Update soon!

[rachel&kim]

Oh my god, incredible. What's going on with Rachel?? Can't wait for an update.

[WYN100]

**PART 9

Sally's frown lingered briefly having pressed the 'end call' button - Colleen had been only too eager to bring her up to date with the very latest twists and turns at the caravan park over the discovery of the body - - and yes, she'd definitely think of walking up there - perhaps later that evening - to see Miles and the others, but...

She paused ...but WHAT exactly ? ...then a smile..the 'but' was the difference within herself she could feel as a result of what had been an initially daunting - but ultimately highly enriching trip overseas - across the islands, into Asia, Africa, and then Europe, before...

Again a pause....again the thought, .. before WHAT, exactly... again, applying a precise, neatly cut label to an inward calling, craving, desire- call it what you would - was not easy to achieve.

But - and again the smile - SHE knew what it was, and indeed was very very sure about the concrete and practical reason she'd returned to the Bay - - despite the hugely warm and emotional send-off she'd been given, she couldn't help but feel her 'legacy' in many people's minds was NOT the years of solid and wide-ranging achievement she'd put in at Summer Bay High, but more the whole Johnny Cooper stabbing episode and her subsequent slide out of profile at the school - engineered to no little extent by the unlikely professional piranha that was Martin Bartlett, And that was something she wanted to alter. Not from some overblown internal ego ..... simply a bright and burning desire to restore some equilibrium to "the record".

And - with no false coyness it had simply NOT been in the script that her globe-trotting trip would have featured romance or anything similar....until.... She'd been spending two weeks in Africa having linked up with a UN-sponsored infant education programme , and a week in to that stint, a group helping with physical education and team sports had arrived.

One lunchtime she'd been idly leaning on the fence around where an impromptu junior age game was being played, and.....she felt the smile she'd worn that day returning as she craned her neck during a luxurious yawn and viewed the garden outside. She'd put down a deposit on the house, an attractive, picturesque cottage-style site set back in the hills on the eastern side of the Bay overlooking the new diner-cum-drop-in centre.

"Blimey Sal, they must have had Tarzan or someone doing the garden here before we arr...mmmmmmm!"

The sentence dissolved into a happy murmur as Sally placed a long, contented kiss on the lips belonging to.......Jesse McGregor......he flopped back onto the sofa and opened the cold can of beer Sally had thoughtfully provided. Wiping the initial froth and foam exuded by the can away with the back of his hand he flashed her a smile......which would of course have vanished in a fraction of a second had he known the identity and plans of one of the duo Belle had been scouting out at the Yabbie Creek Coffee Culture....

Rachel clenched her teeth as aggravation teetered on the brink of outright annoyance. McGrath had already left the room twice since he'd started the interview - firstly to be told the elusive Jack Holden had finally been tracked down, and then with the first sketchy details of a car crash with potential casualties at the furthest end of the Yabbie Creek shopping area.

As he levered himself into the chair yet again, Rachel- eyes flashing with growing indignation - an indignation that was NOT about to hold its tongue.

"Sergeant McGrath, I've had a stressful day so far to say the least, and take it as read this is NOT helping - now can we please - as they say- cut to the chase..?" - she paused before adding with withering irony - "unless you're likely to be getting a takeaway pizza delivered or anything similar...??"

He raised his eyes from the document in front of him - considered making a rebuke, but thought better of it and continued. "Doctor Armstrong I know you may consider this old ground, but you had something of a - how can I put it - "history" with Mr Henk Van Patten, am I right...?"

The mention of Henk's name saw Rachel immediately stiffen, bridle and then take issue with McGrath's chosen description-

"Ah - put in simple terms Sergeant, Mr Henk Van Patten attacked - forced himself on - me , whatever you'd prefer to call it some years back , and after he subsequently came to the Bay I made every effort I could to stop him fouling up other people's lives - sadly as we know, not successfully in certain cases...!"

"So it would be fair to say you retained a level of hostility to him then...?"

Rachel hesitated momentarily...after the day she'd experienced the pain from her leg was again beginning to tear aggressively upwards, but she was determined not to reveal that discomfort to the officer, particularly in these surroundings, and the as yet unexplained reason for her being there.

"Disdain, contempt even, yes...hostility .? No, I'm not even sure he DESERVED hostility - but , Sergeant, WHAT on earth is this all about - presumably you HAVE some reason for me being here AT ALL...?"

McGrath shuffled his documents, coughed and went on...."Doctor Armstrong we found a shallow-buried body at the Caravan Park today - the deceased IS Mr Henk Van Patten and while we're still trying to determine all the logistics of this, our initial medical tests have determined that the intravenous drug he'd been taking to stabilize and manage his HIV diagnosis had been replaced by a high-dose blood thinning formula that could have led to rapid seizure and relatively quick death - there was also some evidence of a struggle and items found on his person would seem to show a recent meeting between the two of you....when exactly WAS the last time you actually saw Mr Van Patten, Dr Armstrong ??"

Rachel's face was a mask of stunned horror from which any response was predictably slow to emerge...

Ric manoeuvred his wheelchair through the door of the hospital bedroom and towards the reception area. Increasingly restless and fearful of heart, he was defying all instruction and edicts from the medical team, who'd emphasized to him in no uncertain terms exactly how lucky he'd been. In the grand scheme of things it was indeed little short of a miracle that the impact of the car against the large garage wall had thrust him out of the insecurely-fastened passenger door and away from the flames at the teeth of the impact - the emergency services had arrived mercifully quickly and he'd been promptly into the ambulamce and back to the hospital for an exhaustive checkover, minor treatment on several bruised and one cracked rib - and an instruction to sit quietly and await his medication.

Ric though had been - and was increasingly - choked with concern and uncertainty about the fate of Viv and baby A lice. As he struggled to think back, chaos had been erupting at the hospital when he led the influx of victims from the crash - with Rachel otherwise detained at the police station, Doctor Lewington had been summoned from his office ivory tower and was now gliding efficiently between the two active operating theatres, while the younger Dr West had co-ordinated and distributed the arrivals to where they needed to be.

And so it was that Ric saw the surgical apron worn by Dr West semi-disappearing around a corner as he hauled himself towards the reception area, ..

"Doc... DOC..!!" he called - hand flying quickly to his damaged rib as he completed the call, then banging both arms of the wheelchair in frustration over the continued lack of information about his two co-passengers - - West had disappeared back into the surgery and Ric was left doubly and trebly aggravated by a temporarily unattended reception desk -plus a highly ominous pain emanating from the ribcage area and seeming to rip upwards through his lung area as he attempted to haul the chair back towards the door of his room. Remarkably for any hospital during daylight hours , the waiting room was all but empty, saving one other man in the far corner, leaning on the point of his elbow, chin in hand and staring with a glazed expression at a doubtless long-since wholly tepid serving of coffee in a plastic vending-machine cup on the table alongside him.

The macabre jamboree of thoughts in Ric's mind was continuing to expand at high speed and full volume - fervently wishing well to both Alice and Viv - attempting to unstitch Viv's mindset in the stunt she'd arranged earlier in the day - and who the HELL had that car driver been..??? - if indeed it had been ANYBODY significant....?? ..

As the internal cacophony began to reach vein-bursting point , Ric raised his right hand and slapped himself firmly across the right cheek - settling on it as the only immediate option to try and calm the mental hot-spot prevailing within him..

The echo of the blow could still be heard in the corners of the empty waiting room, and though even that didn't break the semi-trance of the room's other lone resident, even he stirred and glanced over a little dozily as Ric exclaimed "Shut UP...!!" as a severe ultimatum to his over-active mind.

He told himself he'd be no help to anyone if he couldn't keep it together, and resolved to head back to his room and attempt to at least temporarily press a general 'refresh' button on himself.

He aimed the chair in the diagonal route he needed to head for the room, getting about half the distance required before a gentle click some distance behind him caused him to stop short and perform a half-turn to where the sound had emanated from. A slow, hollow tap of footsteps on the marble-effect floor saw him make that a full turn, his heart making the simultaneous journey upwards into his mouth as he saw Dr West heading at ponderous pace towards him from the direction of the operating theatres. West came fractionally closer, stopped, and after a brief, but to Ric seemingly interminable moment of silence said "Hi Ric - - listen, there's something I need to tell you...."

Ric's grip on reality around him was hurtled to a wilderness far further distant than that of the again glassily-staring man in the corner...

[maccaz]

So, Henk's the murder victim!! Wonder who did it??

Sally's with Jesse?!?

Update ASAP.

[defying_gravity]

that was an AMAZING chapter!!! thank u so much!! loved the sally part!! keep going with it! this is my fave fic! xx

[rachel&kim]

Oh my gosh soooooooo good. Cant wait for an update.