Black and blue, that's how I feel, like I've been beaten up. he thought, morosly. A.J. quickly wiped away a stray tear.

Poor Mitzie.

One minute they'd been flying high, skydiving actually. Their first unassisted dive.

They had been having the time of their lives, a high, a rush unlike anything ever before experienced. The next thing he knew, Mitzie was gone. All he'd done was pull the cord like he'd done a hundred other times. There'd been a powerfull jerk as the parachute expanded and then he saw Mitzie falling, soundlessly. Tumbling end over end to the unforgiving Earth below.

He'd screamed frantically to no avail.

Mitzie was gone.

Memories flashed in rapid succession.

Mitzie, who'd been there from the first hit single.

The second CD.

The Homecoming Special.

More recently, when they'd watched the VMA's from home.

And now this, he stiffled a sniffle, It just wasn't fair.

Suddenly, the doctor stepped into the waiting room and A.J. looked up, Mitzie?

"Mr. McLean?"

A.J. nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

The doctor looked around the empty waiting room, raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I'm afraid we couldn't save, ah, Mitzie." The doctor held out a paper lunch bag. "You requested the remains if need be, and well, the needs be this."

"Mitzie!! NOOOOOO!!!" A.J. wailed sorrowfully, loudly. "Why couldn't you save Mitzie!!"

The good doctor rubbed his ears, winced and glared at A.J. "Dammit McLean, I'm an optomitrist, not a miracle worker! That thing fell from thousands of feet in the air and you think they're unbreakable?"

"Aww shut up A.J.! You've got like, two BILLION pairs of sunglasses!" Nick said from his chair, his voice thick with sarcasam. He snagged a Twinkie. "Ged ober iht!"

"Get over it?!?" Clutching the bag, A.J. turned to the doctor. "Is it okay for me to kick his ass?"

"Outside of my building and I'll send you my bill."

A.J. snarled at his quarry, "Run Nick, run."