An Unchanged Soul
Chapter Two


Disclaimer, etc. in Headers


At last, he was stable.  Doctor Belden had him on
fluids and between her and the orderlies, they'd
cleaned him up and put a gown on him.  Emma had
averted her eyes several times, sure she
shouldn't be seeing what this man had in the way
of... God, she couldn't even think it!  How was
it she could look any man up and down naked as
the day he was born, but this man's looks
unnerved her?  It was like looking at her own
brother, he was so close kin.  By marriage, yes,
but kin still the same.

He was sleeping comfortably now, thanks to the
sedative the doctor administered after they'd
ascertained his injuries were minor.  Minor? 
Almost nonexistent, Emma thought with a chuckle,
as she closed the door on him to walk back to the
desk.  After being chased into a brick wall by a
policeman, then doing the mamba with a car
windshield, he was unscathed.  Not even a bruise,
though she suspected those would appear by the
next day.  He was a little dehydrated and
hypothermic, but that was easily taken care of by
their prompt care.

The small smile of relief at the patient's good
fortune faded, as she realized she had some bad
news to depart.  Not horrible, thank goodness,
but troubling just the same.  He shouldn't have
been anywhere near the hospital at this time of
night.  Of course, in the last few months, she'd
heard vague ramblings among her brothers about
his new assignment for the government.  Covert,
spy-type things that they obviously envied even
while they approached him with big smiles and
easy handshakes.  But they weren't easy around
him, knowing his past through family rumors, some
of which weren't very kind.

Her father stated that anyone could think as they
liked, despite how their new cousin-by-marriage
played it close to the vest.  He liked the man
and made no bones of it.  Emma stood firmly at
her father's side on the issue, simply because
she agreed.  He was intelligent and kind; no
matter what direction he chose to follow, he'd
never slighted her cousin and never would.  First
and foremost, he loved his wife.

Still, the phone call would be difficult.  Emma
knew the news would most likely upset all
involved, one in particular.  And her cousin had
no business being upset these days.  She had
enough to worry about.  Though he wasn't hurt all
that badly, she still dreaded making the call. 
What to say?  Just do it, she scolded herself.

The policeman still hovered in the hallway,
waiting for her patient to awaken so he could
question him.  No ID anywhere in the alley he'd
shot from, and Emma wasn't about to offer even a
hint of information to the officer.  Despite his
most unusual, *naked*, appearance, the man was a
government agent of some sort.  He could have
been on assignment, something really secretive
the police had no business knowing about.  Emma's
cousin needed to know first, the police be
damned.  She cracked open the room door and saw
the man in blue bend over a flame at the end of
the hall; his cigarette would keep him busy for a
few moments, and she slipped off in the other
direction, seeking the peace of the doctor's
lounge to make the call.

A drowsy voice answered on the fourth ring. 
"Hello?"

"Dana?"

"Yes?"  A pause and then, more alert, she added,
"Who is this?"

"It's Emma.  Dana, I'm sorry to wake you -"

Emma heard shuffling noises in the background,
sheets rustling with definite movement.  "Emma? 
What's wrong?"

Dana knew her so well.  She'd always been one of
Emma's favorite cousins; they'd practically grown
up together and while similar in looks, they
shared an even greater bond of love.  Dana was
her idol.  Emma had stayed the course in her
studies because she'd heard the stories of Dana's
bravery and compassion for others.  She could
only hope to be half the person Dana was.  It was
the shadow of Dana's strength she drew on to find
the words to continue.

"Dana, I have something to tell you."

The voice on the other end of the line became
frantic.  "Emma, is it Dad?  Mom?  Charlie?  Tell
me!"  Dana knew that Emma worked the night shift
at St. Joseph's, and had automatically assumed
the news was bad.

So much for emulating Dana's courage.  Emma
swallowed, taking a deep breath as she struggled
with words.  Suddenly, Dana's hitching breath was
replaced by a stern, yet calm voice.

"Emma, you're upsetting Dana.  What is it?"

Startled, Emma's fingers gripped the phone even
tighter, sure she was hallucinating.  "Fox?"

"Yes, Emma.  Take a deep breath and tell me
what's going on."

This wasn't supposed to be.  Of course, the
person lying in that bed beyond those doors
wasn't supposed to be who she thought he was,
either.  It was all so confusing, and she felt as
if she was in way over her head.

"Emma!"

Mulder was perturbed at her silence, and she
stammered through an explanation.  "F-fox, we
admitted a patient tonight."

"I gathered that," he pressed, his voice terse. 
"Just spit it out, Emma."  She could hear Dana's
soft, worried queries behind him.

"He - it's not one of the family, Fox," she
hastened to assure him, though with his looks, he
most certainly belonged to the Mulders somewhere
along the line.  "He looks like you.  I thought
it *was* you."  There.  She'd said it, foolish
though it sounded.  Sighing, she realized her
bored mind must have conjured up a bit of
excitement, knowing the next time she went into
the ward, she was likely to find some differences
and laugh at her mistake.  "Sorry about this, Fox
-"

"Emma, are you sure?"

His breathless question took her by surprise. 
"Fox, it *can't* be you, you know that.  I think
I'm just tired, that's all."

"Emma, I'll be right there.  Don't let him leave,
okay?"

"He couldn't if he wanted to - wait a minute! 
What did you say?"

"I said I'm on my way."  With that, he was gone.

Emma stared at the receiver in her hand, confused
at Mulder's abrupt decision.  What was going on? 
The man in the ward was most probably a vagrant;
a clean one, yes, but a bum just the same.  Why
would Mulder associate with such a person?  One
who looked a helluva lot like him, granted.  And
his frantic question lent suspicion that he might
just have a connection to the John Doe down the
hall.

Either that, or those stories her brothers passed
around, their suggestions that old Fox may have a
screw loose... maybe they weren't so wrong, after
all.


**********


"Could it be him, Scully?  I mean, really, the
odds against are tremendous, but..."

"Mulder, please slow down."

Scully relaxed a bit at his deceleration, but
worry at his high hopes still gnawed at her
nerves.  Emma's phone call had sparked flame to
an interest of his that until recently had just
been a slow smolder.  Mulder was passionate about
most things, she'd learned in the two years she'd
known him.  Though in the early days, he'd tamped
down his eagerness to explore for fear of scaring
her off, these days he had no such qualms with
her.  Due to her reticence to have his new
theories publicly known - mainly for fear of his
job - he never spoke them aloud except to her.

And this night proved to upset their tidy world
even further.  "You know as well as I do, Mulder
- it can't be him."

"But they never found a body, Scully," he
insisted, taking the turns a bit too fast for her
liking. "And don't say it again - I've heard it
all before."

She bit her lip, gathering her coat closer to her
body.  Mulder, having been exposed to realities
the majority of Americans never dreamed of, had
good reason to suspect anything thrown in his
path.  But he also had the best reason to hope
for miracles - a gaping hole in his life and the
unceasing need for closure.  Whether by logical
or ridiculous means, he wanted answers.  She
hated to see him waste his energy on a false
promise, but she hadn't the heart to deny his
boundless capacity for hope by telling him the
story once again.

"I wasn't going to say a thing.  Except that you
missed the turn back there."  With a small smile,
she grabbed his free hand, watching him slow the
car to a stop at the curb.  "Take it easy,
Mulder.  He'll still be there when we get to the
hospital."

Squeezing her hand in return, he drew a deep
breath, meeting her gaze in the confines of the
shadowed car.  "I'm an idiot, aren't I?" he
murmured, shaking his head.

"No, you're a just a man who believes in the
impossible.  That's one of the reasons I love you
so much."

"One of the reasons?" His attempt at a grin and
his sidelong glance eased the tension of the ride
as he ground the gearshift into reverse, ignoring
the roll of her eyes.  "Do I want to know the
others?"

"Oh, just your manly physique and killer smile." 
Beneath the fur of her rolled-up coat collar, she
gave him an answering smile. "And your way with
women."

He snorted at the last, watching for traffic as
he made the turn from the parking lane onto the
right street.  "Yeah, I have a way with women,
all right.  It involves the Chinese Mafia, a
cabin in the mountains, and a knot on the head." 
His wink was self-deprecating.  "Smooth."

"Maybe not smooth, but original," she replied,
pointing out the hospital parking lot with a
gloved hand before turning to face him.  "Worked
for me, Loverboy."

She waited for his answering quip, but found him
staring at the Emergency Room doors, his face
pale.  His lips were chapped from the cold, and
his fingers curled around the car keys in a
white-knuckled grip.  Without facing her, he
whispered, "Scully, what if it -"

"Isn't him?" she finished, taking up his
dwindling words as her own.  "Then we'll deal
with it, Mulder."

He sighed, turning to look at her with haunted
eyes.  "I meant... what if it is?"

Leaning closer, she pressed a light kiss to his
mouth, soothing away the lines deepening his
cheeks.  "Then we'll deal with that, too.  We
beat Chang, didn't we?  Piece of cake."

Mulder chuckled, opening his car door.  He helped
her out on his side, gently grasping her by the
waist to steady her.  Now grinning, he said,
"Hate to remind you, Scully... but we never found
*his* body, either."

"Were you born this paranoid or is it an acquired
taste?" she said softly, linking her arm in his.

Gently steering her toward the double doors, he
carefully sidestepped patches of snow and ice as
he chuckled, "Me?  Paranoid?  Please."

Glancing up at his profile, she saw his face
harden as they got closer to the hospital, and
knew he was bracing himself for disappointment. 
When they reached the brightly-lit overhang, she
stilled his progress, making him look down at her
with a sure touch of his chin.

"Don't worry so," she murmured.  "It'll be okay."

Nodding, he seemed to relax, opening the door. 
She walked past him, praying for an easy
resolution to the night.  But an inner voice told
her it wasn't in the cards; she felt as if their
world was about to be turned upside down.


**********


He really was beautiful, Emma thought as she sat
by his bedside.  And though he had Fox's strong
jaw and distinctive cheekbones, his nose wasn't
quite so unique and his lips were just a bit
thinner.  In a face that looked as if it were
untainted by years of war and stress, it made a
pretty picture, indeed.  She wished for him to
awaken, so she could have a good look at his
eyes.  They were what ultimately urged her to
phone Dana - their liquid depths had seemed to be
pulled straight from Fox's face.  Even in the
shadows of the street, she'd seen the uncanny
similarity.

What was keeping them?  She fidgeted in her seat,
wanting them to arrive and prove her wrong.  Or
prove her right - whatever.  But they had to
hurry; soon, he would wake up.  Once deemed fit
by Doctor Belden, he could leave, never to be
seen again.  Or worse, he could be pronounced
unfit because of his nakedness on the street, and
shipped to the psych ward with undue haste.  No
one in the Emergency Room relished the idea of
dealing with a crazy man.  She'd seen many bums
committed before they knew what was happening; it
was the county's way of dealing with most
vagrants.

A deep breath from the bed drew her attention
from her clasped, tight hands.  With eagerness,
and a little bit of dread, she looked up, words
of comfort already on her lips.

"It's okay," she murmured, bringing a hand to his
jerking arm.  "You're all right."

His eyes flew open and he gasped, tensing under
her touch.  Almost wild with fright, the glassy
gaze whipped about the room, as if he expected
all of it to collapse beneath him into dust. 
"The light!" he cried, squeezing his eyes shut.

Emma quickly switched off the lamp, casting the
room into shadows, the only light a ghostly cast
of the moon over the bed from the window.  "It's
okay," she said again, sitting back beside him. 
A trickle of apprehension fluttered in her chest;
Dr. Belden had performed the usual examination,
and had said nothing about vision problems.  But
maybe this was the onset of something they hadn't
anticipated.  "I'll get the doctor."

At last, he seemed to get his bearings, grabbing
her hand.  "No!  I'm fine."  He hesitated,
cracking open his eyes to look up at her.  "The
light hurts my eyes, that's all.  Where am I?" he
croaked, squinting as he tried to get his
bearings.

"The hospital," Emma supplied softly, lowering
herself back into the chair.  He really was
handsome, she thought.  And now that he was awake
and talking, she found herself trembling with
reaction, which wasn't good at all.  She had to
stay professional.  Slowly pulling her hand from
his, she created a bit of distance, saying with
what she hoped was the usual medical concern,  
"Do you remember how you got here?"

His fingers curled into the sheet, becoming
white-knuckled as he struggled to reply.  After a
few moments, he sighed with frustration.  "No."

"Easy," she crooned, tucking his hand under the
blanket.  "You had a little run-in with the
pavement - but you're fine.  You were very
lucky."

His tongue darted out to lick his lips, and Emma
reached for the glass of water by the bedside,
curling a hand behind his head to help him drink. 
"Thank you," he whispered, seeming to become more
aware as he blinked away the cobwebs.  As she
pulled away, he suddenly took hold of her hand,
his eyes widening.  "Red?"

She thanked the dimness for hiding her furious
blush.  His fascinated, hopeful gaze made her
heart trip, and she gave him a small smile. 
"Yes, it's red," she replied, speaking of her
hair.  "Not the most flattering -"

"You made it out okay." His heavy whisper tugged
at her chest.  "You're okay."

"Of course I am."  Something about his emotional
face, his husky voice, told her he may still be a
bit rattled.  "Why wouldn't I be?"

"The Nips... all around us.  But if I'm in the
hospital and you're here, too, then I'm not dead,
am I?"

"The Nips?"  Good grief, he was talking out of
his head.  A flash of warning made her take a
step back, but he held on, coming up to one elbow
as he pressed forward with his explanation.

"The Japanese.  Where the hell are we, anyway? 
Manila?" He closed his eyes, lying back as a wave
of dizziness hit him.  "Where's my uniform?  I
have to get back to my unit."

She eased her voice into a cajoling murmur.  His
war talk was distressing, but not all that
unusual, given the knock he'd taken.  "Sir,
you're at St. Catherine's Hospital in Annapolis. 
You were hit by a car a couple of hours ago in
front of this hospital.  Can you tell me your
name?"

"Maryland?"  Those eyes snapped open once again,
nearly taking her breath away with their
intensity.  "What the hell am I doing in
Maryland?"

"Sir, if you'd just tell me your name, maybe I
could find out -"

"Sam?"

Emma snatched her hand away at the hoarse
interruption, glancing at the man silhouetted in
the doorway with a relieved upturn of her lips. 
Before she could greet Mulder, the man in the bed
came up on one elbow, his gaze pinpointed past
her to Dana's husband.

"Fox?  What the hell am I doing -"

"Sam!"

With a broad smile, Mulder brushed past a stunned
Emma to grab the man he called Sam into a hug.

"Whoa, Fox.  I'm okay, I'm okay."  Cautiously,
Sam's arms came up to return the enthusiastic
hello, his face hidden in Mulder's coat.  Emma
caught sight of Dana's slight form in the door,
and moved out of the room in response to her
wordless beckoning.

As Emma gave the reunion one last look, she
whispered, "What is this?" to Dana, who pulled
the door closed behind them with an equally
shocked lift of her eyebrow.

"Let's leave them alone for a while, okay?" Dana
said, pulling off her gloves.  "Anywhere we can
sit and talk?"

Emma took in Dana's fatigue in a glance and
curled her arm through her cousin's.  "Sure.  The
doctor's lounge has awful coffee, but maybe I can
scrounge up some tea."

"Tea would be wonderful, Emma.  Lead the way."


**********


"So you see Emma, your call took us quite by
surprise."

"I'll say," she muttered, still not sure if she
could believe the fantastic tale she'd stumbled
into.  Dana being rescued by Mulder's brother,
who took a bullet meant for her... then being
presumed lost in Laguna Bay when the transport
carrying him sank unexpectedly.  It was spooky
enough to be featured on "Lights Out".

Sipping at her coffee, she met Dana's equally
dumbfounded look, the questions pouring from her. 
"But if he was presumed dead, where has he been
all this time?  Why didn't he try to let anyone
know where he was?  Is this man even Mulder's
brother?  He could be an axe murderer for all we
know."

"You're asking me?  Emma, I'm as much in the dark
as you are.  Hopefully Mulder will be able to
find out what's going on."  Dana sighed, leaning
back in the lumpy couch, one hand sliding against
the faded leather to disappear at her back.

"You okay?"

A small, tired smile curled her cousin's lips. 
"I'm fine.  Just not used to midnight runs to the
hospital.  Good practice though, isn't it?"

As she scanned Dana's face, Emma noticed the
shadows of fatigue on her cheeks, along with the
concerned dart of her eyes to and from the lounge
door.  She hated to make Dana worry so,
especially in light of her advanced pregnancy. 
It hadn't been easy for her at all.  A
miscarriage in the early days of her marriage had
almost devastated them both, as had the next
she'd suffered a mere nine months into the union. 
On doctor's orders, they'd waited a while to try
again.  And even then, the risk remained that
Dana wouldn't carry to term.  Her slight stature,
coupled with the physical trauma she'd suffered
in the internment camp, had left her body an
unwelcome vessel for a growing baby.  Emma prayed
every Sunday morning in mass for the child, as
well as for Dana.

She stood, taking Dana's cup of now cold tea. 
"Maybe Fox Junior here will go easy on his Mom
and make his appearance on my normal shift."  She
normally worked three to eleven; it gave her time
to see to her Dad's needs during the day, and
enough sleep at night to still function during
those hectic hours.  "That way you can be asleep
by midnight."

"Fox Junior?" One slim eyebrow arched; Emma had
spent many an hour in front of her bedroom mirror
trying to imitate the gesture that was more like
movie star than nurse.  When she'd said as much
to Dana one time in a longing sigh, Dana had
laughed and said she was far from being Bette
Davis or Joan Crawford.  Emma thought she put
those two to shame.  "Mulder would divorce me,
Emma."

"I doubt that.  He tells Dad all the time you're
the best thing that ever happened to him."

Dana scooted to the edge of the couch, giving
Emma a wry grin.  "Well, he wouldn't think so if
I named his son Fox.  Believe me."

Emma helped her to stand.  "So, you two picked
out any names yet?"

"Christina if it's a girl," Dana said softly,
giving Emma a solemn glance.

Mulder's parents had died in a tragic car
accident earlier in the year; Emma nodded at the
homage they'd decided upon, even if it was common
knowledge Fox's parents were anything but loving
toward their oldest son.

"And William if it's a boy?" Emma prompted,
thinking Mulder's father would have the same
respect and remembrance.

Dana's eyes filled with tears.  "Sam.  We were
going to name him Sam."

Oh, dear, Emma thought.  She'd done it now.  In
Dana's face she could see hesitant happiness,
with a good measure of concern.  Mulder had
embraced the man in the room down the hall with
certainty, but Dana wasn't so sure.  After all,
she'd never met the man.  Emma herself had been
skeptical even in the face of Mulder's hearty
acceptance.  If 'Sam' turned out to be just an
uncanny look-a-like, Mulder would be crushed. 
And in turn, Dana would bear the weight of his
grief like it was her own.  No way would she fail
to share in his pain.

"God, Dana.  I didn't mean to make you cry.  It's
him, it has to be.  Mulder wouldn't take to him
like that unless -"

"Mulder sometimes wants to believe too much,
Emma."  Dana took Emma's hastily produced
handkerchief and sniffled into it.  "God, I can't
let him see me like this."

"Why not?  You're pregnant, for Pete's sake!"

"He has enough to worry about besides having to
hover over me like a nurse.  He does that too
damned much already."

"Dana!"  The Scully men weren't known for their
tolerant attitudes toward female independence of
any sort, and cursing was strictly forbidden. 
Emma had known that at the tender age of six,
when she'd found herself with a mouth full of
Lifebuoy after mimicking her father's "Hellfire
and save the matches!"

"Oh come on, Emma.  You might fool Uncle Mike
with that good little angel stuff, but it's me,
remember?  How many dirty words did we find in
the dictionary at summer camp?  Thirty-eight?"

"Fifty-two.  We counted even the ones that
sounded dirty."

Together, they began to chuckle, Emma leaning
close to whisper conspiratorially, "Farkleberry."

"Uvula," Dana supplied, just as covertly.

"Sexton."

"And your favorite, Dana - pussywillow."  They
dissolved into laughter, Dana hanging on to
Emma's hand as she cradled her belly.  It took
several moments before either was sober enough to
stand upright, their eyes twinkling with mirth
and remembrance.

Sniffling together now, they quieted slowly, Dana
pulling back to say, "Great.  Now I have to pee."

"Peony?"

Warning flashed in Dana's face, though her lips
trembled with the need to suppress more laughter. 
"Don't start."

"Sorry," Emma said, taking a deep breath. 
"Ladies restroom is the third door on the left
down the hall.  If Mulder comes out, I'll come
get you, okay?"

She watched Dana leave, her smile waning.  Dana
was strong, but inside she was soft as a kitten. 
The trick was to get past that tough outer shell;
but once pierced, it released a flood of emotion. 
Emma knew she hated to show just how vulnerable
she was.  The only person besides Emma who had
enjoyed the true measure of Dana's depth and
sensitivity was Charlie.  And now Mulder, she
supposed.  But Emma knew Dana needed a more
feminine ear now and then, and she vowed to make
more time to visit her cousin in the future.

The shuffle of feet to her right brought her head
around; Mulder met her inquisitive look with a
wry shake of his head.

"He says he wants to leave.  He hates hospitals,
you know."

"Don't we all?" Emma said softly.  "Dana's in the
restroom.  Let me tell her you're back."  She
paused on her way out, adding, "I don't think
Doctor Belden will let him go just yet, Fox." 
She was practically bursting with curiosity, but
good manners forbade poking into Mulder's family
business.  Not that it ever stopped *her* family
from prying, but she vowed to show more respect
for one's privacy than her father and brothers
ever did.  She nodded at the policeman still
hovering at the end of the hall.  "Besides, I
don't know if the officer will let him go that
easily."

"Just leave that to me.  I'll tell him it's a
matter of national security."  Mulder grinned,
and she had no doubt he had the pull to make the
accident disappear in the eyes of local law
enforcement.  "Emma?"

She turned, arms crossed over her waist.  Mulder
always made her slightly nervous, as if he was
always looking underneath her skin for what laid
beneath.  He did that to everyone, she knew. 
She'd recognized it from the moment she met him,
so had her father.  In his case, however, he gave
as good as he got.  Mike Scully was born with
pure Irish grit flowing through his veins.  Emma
felt the same within herself at times, but
realized the need for temperance.  Still, it
didn't mean she allowed others to get the better
of her.  Just meant she exercised her brain more
than her brawn, what little she had of that.

At her silence, Mulder continued.  "I'd
appreciate it if you keep this to yourself for a
while.  Sam doesn't know how he got here, and
he's confused, to say the least."

"I wouldn't tell anyone, Mulder.  That's not my
place."

"Thanks."  His sheepish grin relaxed her a bit. 
"Sorry if I implied the opposite."

"That's okay.  It's been quite an evening, hasn't
it?"

"Sure has," came the reply behind her.

Mulder covered the distance between him and his
wife in two steps.  "Scully - it's him.  It's
Sam."

Dana put a soothing hand on Mulder's arm.  "Are
you sure?"

"As sure as I can be.  He knows me, Scully.  He
knows Mom and - damn.  How do I tell him about
Mom and Dad?"

"There's lots of time for that," she said, her
look calm yet guarded.  "We need to be sure,
Mulder.  Is there any way we can be sure?"

Mulder faced Emma.  "Did you take x-rays?"

"A few.  Mostly of the chest.  He showed no
symptoms of broken bones so we didn't -"

"Take a few more.  Sam broke his left collarbone
when he was eight.  Should show up on an x-ray."

"Mulder."  Dana's tone spoke of the need for more
proof.  To his credit, Mulder didn't argue.

"I know, I know.  I'll get his fingerprints from
the Department of Defense.  Might take a day or
two more with the holiday, but that will settle
this once and for all."

"Okay."  Dana started buttoning up her coat.  "I
guess it's no use asking if you're going home
tonight?"

"Umm..." He was suddenly at a loss, glancing from
Sam's room to Dana with guilt.  Still, it was
obvious he didn't want Dana driving home alone.

It was the perfect time to butt in.  "Take Dana
home, Fox.  I'll make sure Sam doesn't go
anywhere while you're gone, okay?"

For a second, he let relief soften his face. 
Then he looked at Dana once more.  "Scully, I
don't want to leave you alone, but I can't let
Sam -"

"I understand," his wife broke in gently, laying
a hand on his fidgeting arm.  "Take me to
Missy's.  I can bunk there for as long as I have
to, she won't mind."

Dana had given up school a month ago, on doctor's
orders.  Since then, Mulder had practically
driven her nuts with his constant hovering, never
leaving her side except to work during the day. 
Emma knew the time would eventually come when he
insisted she have a full-time babysitter.  She
couldn't wait to see the fireworks that would
cause; Dana hadn't yet had enough of his
smothering concern.  But when she did, look out.

"Go on," Emma said, already making her way to
Sam's room.  "It's so slow here tonight, I was
about to fall asleep, anyway.  Take your time.  I
can sit with him until you get back."

Like that would be any hardship.  Already, the
man intrigued her to no end.  A little voice told
her this was just the beginning of an adventure
of a lifetime.



End Chapter Two