It was a Friday night, and Honey and Di were in the city with their parents doing whatever socialites do. No doubt they were attending a Broadway premier. Trixie wanted to go to a movie at The Cameo, but Jim wouldn�t be home until next weekend, so Dan agreed to go with her. Afterwards, he treated her to a burger and shake at Wimpy�s Diner.

�Well, well, well,� came a scratchy voice from behind Dan, �what�ve we here?�

Dan turned to look directly into the rugged face of Luke, a member of Dan�s former gang. He had greased his dirty blond hair back, had a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, and still wore his black leather �Cowhands� jacket.

�Hey Luke,� Dan said standing up from the booth, �I don�t want any trouble.�

�Trouble?� Luke donned a mock surprised look. �Who said anything about trouble, Stoolie?�

Trixie sat frozen. Since the police had caught him trying to break into the Wheeler mansion a few years ago, Luke had been in juvenile hall.

Dan still glared at his former friend and blocked Trixie from him. �Leave us alone.�

The jukebox stopped and all the other patrons in the diner quit eating and laughing to pay attention to what might happen next. �Dan,� Mike called out from behind the counter, �I don�t want any problems. Take it outside.�

�There�s nothing to take outside, Mike,� Dan said while continuing to stare Luke down.

�Yeah Mike nothin� at all.� Luke flicked his cigarette at Dan, turned on the heel of his cowboy boot and stalked out, followed by three other members.

�Dan, let�s get out of here,� Trixie said, shaking like a leaf. �Maybe Mike�ll let us out the back door, or something.�

�No Trix,� Dan said sitting back down. �Luke will be at the back door, and he�ll have one of the guys waiting at the front. Either way, we�re gonna scrap.�

Trixie wanted to call Captain Molinson, but there wasn�t anything he could do unless the boys had already fought. Dan remained calm and sipped his cherry coke, and then he stood up. Trixie nervously slipped her light blue jacket on while Dan paid Mike.

�Will you kids be all right?� Mike asked. �I�ve seen him in here before, he�s no one to mess with.�

�We�ll be all right,� Dan laughed a bit. �Luke�s easy to handle.� As Dan and Trixie headed out the door, Mike stared after them, and then quickly called Captain Molinson.

Trixie gingerly stepped out the door and looked all around her. Dan sensed that she was scared and put his arm around her shoulders. Quickly, she pulled away from him.

�Dan, I�m all right.�

�Trix, you�re shaking. I know you�re scared,� Dan responded.

�Luke�s a wimp. You said so yourself.� She shook her head indignantly, and her curls bounced. �I could probably take him on myself.�

�Well, if it made me feel better, could I?� Dan reached his arm around her again.

�Sure, whatever.� Trixie�s short legs fell in step with Dan�s long strides as they walked to his car. Oddly enough, she rather enjoyed Dan�s arm around her. He had a strong arm and a warm body for her to lean against.

�Are you still afraid?� Dan asked as they reached the middle of the dark parking lot.

Looking around, Trixie let her breath out as she realized Luke and his gang were not around. �No,� she said smiling up at him a bit, �I�m not afraid. Thanks for looking out for me, though. I appreciate that.� Dan�s thin face and dark brown eyes smiled down at her.

Suddenly, a person jumped out of the shadows and nailed Dan right in the eye with his fist, knocking him down. Without thinking, Trixie jumped on the back of the other person and wailed on his shoulders.

�Get off him!� Trixie screamed and kept hitting, jabbing her fists into his back. He reacted as if he didn�t realize she was on top of him. Dan was able to throw in a few punches. Looking up at the sound of police sirens, Trixie saw Sgt. Robinson and Captain Molinson running toward them with two other officers following behind. Caught off guard, Trixie was thrown from the rumbling heap and landed on the gravel, tearing her jacket and scraping the side of her face.

�Okay, Luke, we�ve got you now,� Sgt. Robinson yelled as the other officers pulled him off Dan. Captain Molinson snapped the handcuffs on the young man�s pale wrists while Trixie looked up at him from the ground.

Time stood still. Only then did Trixie realize that was not Luke. Luke was skinny, gangly, oily, and would have fought with a knife. This person was husky, muscle-bound, and fought with his hands. Instantly he looked at Trixie, with jealousy blazing in his green eyes.

�Jim?� Trixie looked up at her boyfriend in Captain Molinson�s custody. �What are you doing?�

Jim didn�t answer. Instead he just glared at her. Molinson�s face revealed that he was just as shocked as Trixie was. �Jim, what�s going on here?�

�I come home early and find Trixie with Dan, that�s what!� His voice had a feeling of hurt, deep hurt.

�We were called because of a threat from The Cowhands, and a Bob-White squabble is what I get?� Molinson sighed out of frustration and released Jim. �You kids get on home before I decide to lock you all up. Don�t cause me any more worry tonight.� With that, Molinson stormed away into Wimpy�s to ask questions.

Jim stared down at Dan, refusing to extend a hand to help him up. �If this is how it�s going to be, I�ll just�I�ll just move on then.�

Trixie didn�t even acknowledge his comment, but turned to Dan instead. He was sitting up, wiping his bloody nose and looking up at Jim. �What are you talking about, Frayne? I wouldn�t dream of touching Trixie and hurting you or Hallie. You didn�t see everything��

�I saw enough.�

Trixie whirled around and stared her boyfriend right in the face. �Jim Frayne, I don�t know what you�re talking about. There is nothing between Dan and I and you know it!�

�Oh yeah? Then what was all this drama I saw as you guys left Wimpy�s?� Jim grabbed a hold of her arm.

Yanking it away from him, she turned and slapped his face. �Don�t you ever lay a finger on me again, Jim. For your information, Dan was protecting me from Luke.�

Trixie�s stinging slap hurt more than any punch he could have taken from Dan or any other person. �Who�s Luke?�

�He�s from The Cowhands,� Dan said slowly standing up. �He�s out of Juvi, and he caused a scene at Wimpy�s.� Jim still looked as if he wasn�t ready to believe Dan�s story. �I didn�t want Luke or any of the other scum from that gang to get their hands on your girl, Jim. I�m sorry.�

Trixie looked at Dan. His right eye was puffy already, and blood dripped from his nose onto his shirt. Jim looked untouched. For that reason alone, she was even more furious at Jim than she was before.

Jim�s eyes strayed from Dan�s face to Trixie�s, but she turned hers away so she didn�t have to look at him. Frustrated, Jim sat down on the back bumper of Dan�s dirty black car, bent over and put his head in his hands. He sat still while Trixie made sure Dan was okay. Five minutes of silence went by.

�Jim,� Trixie said softly sitting next to him, �why did you think that I would run to Dan when you�re not here?� Jim didn�t answer her. Instead, he concentrated on the dirty scrape on her cheek.

�Trixie,� he whispered as he lightly ran his finger over the raw skin, �I�m sorry.�

�Don�t apologize to me until you�ve made your peace with Dan,� Trixie said getting up from beside him. She opened the passenger side door of Dan�s car, and after getting in, slammed it for all it was worth.

It seemed as if she sat in Dan�s car for hours. Breaking the tense quietness, voices came from outside the car.

�Look, Dan, I�m sorry.� Jim�s voice said.

�Hey, Jim. It�s alright,� Dan laughed. �If I came home and found my girl walking beside one of my friends, like how you saw us, I don�t think I would have acted any different.�

It would have been smarter, and a lot less hurtful and humiliating if he had just asked what was going on, instead of beating Dan up, Trixie thought to herself. Tears came to her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, just in case Jim or Dan came back to the car at that very moment. Is it always going to be like this?

�Yeah, I guess so, but just the same, I shouldn�t have accused you of anything. I had no reason for it.� Jim stopped for a minute. �I know I hurt Trixie, but I want to make sure things are okay between you and me.�

�You�re real observant, Jim,� Trixie mumbled under her breath.

�Hey, no hard feelings. I must ask one thing though,� Dan said as he wiped his nose.

�Sure.�

�Drive home for me? My eye is swollen shut and I can�t see very well.�

�You got it, Dan.� Jim said as he caught the keys.

Jim drove back to the Manor House and insisted that Dan sleep there that night, so he wouldn�t have to explain anything to Mr. Maypenny at such a late hour. Since it was Friday night, Regan would be glued to his TV set watching the Friday night fights, and Miss Trask had the night off. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler weren�t home yet from their evening out with the Lynch family, so they pretty much had the entire house to themselves. Trixie hadn�t spoken the entire way home, and when Dan was comfortable in Jim�s room, she headed for the bathroom to clean the scrape on her face.

�How am I going to explain this to Dad?� Trixie asked her reflection. She was at least thankful that her parents had taken Bobby and were spending the weekend with Aunt Alicia. That way, there wouldn�t be any explaining tonight. �Dan�s a bloody pulp, so we�ll have to explain that one to Mr. Maypenny, too.� After cleaning the scrape a bit with warm water, it actually didn�t look that bad. No blood or anything, just the top layer of skin looked irritated and scratched. Looking in the mirror and dabbing the washcloth over the scrape, she saw Jim show up in the bathroom doorway.

�Trix?� He cautiously approached her. Without turning around, she stared at his reflection in the mirror.

She didn�t answer him, but just ran the hot water and rinsed the washcloth out. A few minutes went by, but he just stood there waiting for her to answer him. Finally, she could take no more.

�Why do you have to get so jealous?� Trixie dabbed her cheek again.

Jim didn�t say anything, but just shook his head. He couldn�t bear to look at her because he was so ashamed at his actions. Instead, he stuffed his right hand in his pocket, and opened and closed his swollen left hand, wincing while doing it.

�I can understand jealousy, Jim, I�ve been there before.� She kept on dabbing her scrape. �I can remember wanting to tear out her hair, scratch out her eyes, fight for keeps, all because I felt my relationship with you was coming to a heartbreaking end. But I didn�t do so much as touch one strand of hair, did I?�

He shook his head, knowing better than to answer. There were quite a few chapters in his life that he wished had never happened, but they had already been through it all, and decided that none of it was worth bringing up anymore. There was Dot Murray the figure skater from Iowa, Hallie Belden from Idaho who Trixie knew for sure would win Jim�s heart with her �Indian Princess� looks, Laura Ramsey the con artist who won Jim and Honey as friends, and Sabine Wolfe the university student from Austria. Each time he insisted upon being his honorable self, and that he was doing the right thing by being �nice� to them.

�But Dan is one of us, Jim. He�s a Bob-White. You can�t do any better than Bob-White friends, can you?� Again, Jim remained silent and shook his head. �How�s Dan doing?�

�He�s fine.� Jim croaked out, wiping his nose with his dirty right hand. �How are you holding up?�

Trixie didn�t answer, for she knew if she did, she would burst into tears. Looking directly into Jim�s misty green eyes, she had seen something that was incredibly new to her: his tears. Gradually, her lower lip began to tremble as tears sprang forth from of her own eyes.

Jim hated to see her cry. Swiftly, he stepped through the bathroom door, took his girlfriend in his arms, and held her close. Feeling her whole body shake as she cried, his heart broke all the more. Her curls bounced as her shoulders shook. Burying his face in her neck, he began to sob.

Trixie pulled away from him slightly and wiped her eyes with the washcloth, but Jim took it from her and began to gently dab around the scrape. He still held her close.

�You know, the whole time you were wailing on Dan, I was on your back hitting you as hard as I could.� Trixie said as she let Jim nurse her cheek. �I hope I didn�t break anything, or leave bruises.�

Jim raised his eyebrows. �You were on my back?�

She began to laugh a little. �As soon as you jumped on Dan, all I could think of was that it was Luke, and I couldn�t just stand there and not do anything.�

�Trix, he might�ve had a knife.�

�So what? You had your rifle aimed at me when we first met.�

It was Jim�s turn to laugh. �Yeah, I guess I did. That didn�t stop you one bit, did it?�

�I�m sorry I slapped you,� Trixie bawled as the tears ran down her cheeks again, stinging the exposed raw skin. �I didn�t mean it!�

Jim grinned through his freckled, tear-stained face at the girl in his arms. �No, Trixie. I guess I needed that.�

Resting against his chest, she vigorously nodded her head. �Yes, you did.�

Western Publishing Company *blah blah blah* Trixie Belden, no permission given to *blah blah blah*. *Blah blah blah* don�t sue me, *blah blah blah* have no money.

Sabine Wolfe is a whole new story of her own that has yet to be written down�

Many thousand thanks to both Steph H. and Mary for proof reading! You guys are the greatest!!