Bill Duncan wearily trudged up the stairs to his apartment after being on stake-out for three days. He put the key in the lock, yawned and opened his front door. All he wanted was a quick bite to eat and crawl into bed for a week. He heard the shower turn off, cautiously removed his gun from its holster and approached the bathroom door slowly.

Sabrina came out in one of his shirts, wet hair hanging down her face.

"Bri?!" He asked in a stunned voice, automatically reholstering his gun.

"Hi. I needed a shower. Hope you don't mind."

"How did you get in?"

"Um, I broke a window," she admitted, blushing.

"That's all you have to say to me? You've been gone for four weeks. Where the hell have you been?!"

"It's a long story," she sighed, sitting on the couch and brushing the hair from her eyes.

"Try me," he offered, sitting beside her and putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Someone named Blue kidnaped me," she began, pulling away from him.

"This has to do with that damned job, doesn't it? I always knew that one day you'd run into something you couldn't handle."

"Can we talk about this later?" She begged, biting her lip. "I'm really not up to this right now."

"How many years have I been saying that this was just something waiting to happen," he groused.

"Bill," she whispered seductively, putting her finger to his lips. "Shut up." She started unbuttoning his shirt and running her hands along his torso seductively.

"What are you doing?" He asked, startled by her atypical behavior.

"I've really missed you," she continued huskily, snuggling closer to him and nibbling on his ear.

"I've missed you too, but -" he stammered.

"It's late, and I can think of a lot more things we can do than talk," she mumbled passionately, trailing kisses up and down his chest.

"Oh, you can?"

"Mmm-hmm," she promised, unbuttoning his belt and darting her tongue into his mouth.
 
 

The next morning when he awoke he found her curled up in a ball at the edge of the bed and as far away from him as possible. He slid his arm around her shoulders and nibbled her neck. "Good morning. You seemed to be a little restless last night. You sleep okay?"

She shifted away from him uncomfortably, unable to look him in the eyes.

"I haven't slept this good in a long time," he grinned, stretching. "Want some breakfast? I still make a pretty mean eggs benedict."

"I'm not very hungry," she whispered, running a shaking hand through matted hair.

"What's wrong?" He asked, eyes twinkling. "You don't like eggs any more? I can fix something else. Name your pleasure."

"Bill, about last night..."

"Yeah, it was great, wasn't it?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was a mistake."

"A mistake? What are you talking about?" He asked in confusion.

"You don't get it, do you?" She demanded angrily, getting to her feet.

"No, I don't. You break into my apartment after being gone for four weeks, practically seduce me and then turn around and do a complete 180 on me!"

"It takes two to tango, buster! Besides, you won't listen. You never listen. That was the problem with our marriage from the very beginning!"

"What?"

"You wanted a wife who needed a big, strong man to protect her."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"You never thought I could handle the police academy. You certainly didn't think I could work for Charlie Townsend," she ranted, pacing back and forth.

"Wait a minute! I never thought you couldn't work for Charlie. I just didn't want you to get hurt. There are a lot of dangerous people out there."

"No kidding! I was a cop too, you know."

"You were a meter maid."

"That's it! I'm out of here," she snapped furiously, putting on his slippers and storming into the living room.

"Hey, wait a minute!" He called, running after her. "Where are you going?"

"I knew I shouldn't have come here," she muttered, shrugging into his trenchcoat.

"Bri, wait!" He grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. "What's wrong? Just tell me what it is."

"I don't need your help." She practically screamed, pulling away from him. "I don't need anyone's help! Just get away from me." She jerked the front door open and hurried out.

Bill stared after her for a few seconds, totally stunned and wondering what just happened. After a few seconds he pulled on a pair of pants and hurried after her. He got to the front of his building, glanced around in all directions and couldn't find her. He sighed and slowly made his way back to his apartment.
 

About three hours later there was a knock on Kelly's front door.

Kelly threw the door open. "Bri?!" She exclaimed in delighted surprise, hugging Sabrina tightly. "Where have you been?"

"Can I crash on your couch for a few days?" Sabrina queried listlessly, taking a step back from her.

"Well, sure," Kelly answered in confusion. "My house is your house."

"Thanks." She slowly made her way inside and sat on the couch.

"Bill called. He's pretty worried about you."

"I'll talk to him later," she stated disinterestedly.

"You want to talk? I'm a good listener," Kelly offered.

"Maybe later, okay? I'm going to go take a shower and then a nap."

"Uh, sure," Kelly stuttered, taken aback by this atypical behavior. "I don't blame you. You look kinda tired. You go ahead. Help yourself to anything in the closets."

"Thanks," Sabrina mumbled softly as she headed towards the bathroom.

Kelly waited a few seconds until she heard the shower running and then picked up the telephone. "Bill, she's here."

"Thank god! Is she all right?"

"No, she's not all right and I want to know what you did to her?!"

"What I did to her? I found her coming out of my shower at 2am. This morning I asked her if she wanted breakfast and she bit my head off. The next thing you know she's bringing up stuff from when we were married and then she just - left," Bill concluded.

"Didn't you try to follow her?"

"Of course I did! She disappeared in the crowd. I didn't know what the hell to do."

"That doesn't make any sense," Kelly argued.

"The next thing you know I smell something that could have been toxic waste coming out of the bathroom. I go check it out and find a pile of rags in the corner of the tub that looked almost ready to stand up on their own."

"Maybe we should check them out, find some sort of a clue," Kelly mused.

"The only thing I found were some roaches, a silverfish and something that crawled down the drain before I could figure out what it was, but if you still want to see for yourself then you go right ahead."

"Why didn't you call one of us last night?"

"We got...busy," he hedged guiltily.

"You didn't --"

"Hey, she started it. It was really weird..."

"Bill, I do not want to know any of the details."

"No, I mean it was - different. It was like she wasn't really there. I can't explain it."

"Did she say where she'd been all this time?"

"She said something about Blue kidnaping her but she didn't go into any details."

"Mr. Blue?" She whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah. You know him?"

"He's in jail." Kelly heard the water turn off. "Look, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later." She slammed down the telephone and hurried to the linen closet. She'd barely gotten the pillow and blanket on the couch in time.

Sabrina came down a few minutes later wearing a pair of Kelly's pajamas and clutching Bill's shirt. She stretched out on the couch and pulled the blanket over her with her free hand.

"I would have washed that for you," Kelly chided. "Here, let me put it in the hamper."

"That's all right," she objected, hugging the shirt tightly.

"You want some tea or something?" Kelly asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine," she sighed, closing her eyes.

"Okay, you just - get some sleep."
 

A few hours later the telephone rang.

"Hello?" Kelly answered breathlessly, glancing over at the couch.

"Hi, Kel," Kris said. "Bosley just got a tip that Blue's at an abandoned warehouse downtown."

"Okay, I'll come pick you up in about -" she glanced at her watch" - 20 minutes.

"See you soon."

Kelly hung up the telephone.

"Who was that?" Sabrina asked tonelessly, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Kris," Kelly answered, trying to sound nonchalant. Sabrina had fallen into a restless sleep earlier and had been tossing and turning for some time. Kelly'd hoped that Sabrina would have slept through the call. "She said that Bos has a lead on Blue. I was going to write you a note." Sabrina looked more exhausted now than she did when she first arrived. "You just stay here and rest. I won't be gone long."

"Give me five minutes to change," Sabrina announced determinedly.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Kelly observed.

"I'll be fine," Sabrina reassured her. "Do you have an extra gun?"

"Just my 38 from the force," Kelly answered.

"That'll do." Sabrina hurried to Kelly's bedroom.
 

They pulled up in front of the abandoned warehouse.

"Okay, I'll take the front," Kelly instructed. "Bri, you and Kris take the back."

They both nodded and got out of the car.

Kris and Sabrina darted forward and hugged the back wall of the warehouse. Kris heard raspy breathing behind her and spun around, startled.

Sabrina was pressed against the wall as closely as she could, one hand on her chest as she tried not to hyperventilate.

"Bri, what's wrong?" Kris hissed apprehensively.

"I can't do this," Sabrina whispered tremulously, uncocking her gun carefully and thrusting it towards Kris.

"Do what? We do this kind of thing all the time," Kris commented in puzzlement, taking the gun and glancing around nervously.

"I have to get out of here," Sabrina continued in a terrified voice.

"What's going on?" Kelly demanded softly, seeing the commotion and deciding to come investigate.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this," Sabrina pleaded, a wild look in her eyes. "I just - can't..." Without warning she bolted towards the car, barely able to run in a straight line.

Kris and Kelly looked at each other in amazement.

"Bri, wait!" Kelly called, running behind her. Kris followed a few seconds later.

Sabrina started pulling on the door handles frantically. "The doors are locked," she exclaimed in terror. "It's all right," Kelly tried reassuringly.

"Did you see bazookas in there?" Kris demanded anxiously.

"Kris!" Kelly hissed furiously. Two distraught people were more than she needed right now.

"It's not all right!" Sabrina corrected semi-hysterically, tugging on the door handles again with all her strength, eyes scanning the area desperately for another escape route. "You don't understand. The doors are locked and I can't - leave!"

"It's okay," Kelly repeated, trying to remain calm herself. This was just too weird. "Bri, Kris has the keys. Just relax."

Sabrina stopped trying to force the car doors open and just stared at Kelly blankly. "She has the keys?"

Kelly gently gathered Sabrina into her arms and started stroking her back. "It'll be okay," she whispered comfortingly.

"I'm sorry," Sabrina whispered as she started to cry. "I thought I could do this. I really did."

"Shhh, I know," Kelly soothed, feeling Sabrina shaking and hugging her tightly. "It's okay. Kris, why don't you unlock the car? We can come back later."

"But what about Blue?" Kris demanded nervously. This whole situation was throwing her off balance.

Sabrina seemed to be getting herself under control somewhat and she pulled away from Kelly self-consciously, brushing the last of the tears away.

"Just unlock the damned doors and let's go, all right?" Kelly snapped. "We can talk about this later."

"All right," Kris sighed, unlocking the doors to the car and getting into the driver's seat.

Kelly and Sabrina piled into the back seat and they drove off.

They drove in silence for the duration of the trip and got to Kelly's house.

"I'm going to call Bosley and let him know we're back," Kelly announced, trying to sound normal. "Kris, would you make some sandwiches?"

"Sure," Kris answered readily, glad to have something to do. "Bri, what are you in the mood for?"

"I'm not very hungry, thanks," she mumbled, sitting on the couch and huddling into herself.

"You sure? I make a pretty mean chicken salad," Kris tried enticing her.

Sabrina shook her head, swallowing hard. "I'm sure."

"You make a pretty mean margarita too," Kelly pointed out, trying to lighten the tension.

"Yeah, but margaritas don't go with chicken salad," Kris countered with a grin.

"Spoil sport," Kelly teased, smiling faintly. She glanced over at Sabrina who seemed fairly oblivious to what was going on around her. She and Kris shrugged their shoulders. "I won't be long," Kelly finally said, headed to her bedroom for some privacy.

"Okay, two chicken salad sandwiches and three iced teas coming up," Kris announced, trying to sound cheerful and hoping for some kind of response. After a few seconds of silence she went into the kitchen.

Kelly came back about 15 minutes later and found Kris in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the sandwiches. "Where's Sabrina?"

"In the living room," Kris answered.

"No, she's not."

"She was there a few minutes ago."

They both hurried to the front of the house, threw the door open and scanned the street frantically, not seeing anything. Kelly sighed and closed the door.

Kris spied a piece of paper on the table. "Kelly."

Kelly hurried to her side, grabbed the paper and read it. "'I took your extra keys to my place and some cash. Don't worry. Bri,'" she read.

"Kelly, this is eerie. It's like she's...possessed or something. What'd Bosley say?"

"I didn't get a chance to say too much. I didn't want to be gone too long."

"I don't know about you but I need a drink," Kris stated with certainty, heading towards the bar. "You want something?"

"Scotch double," Kelly answered.

The next day Kris, Kelly and Bosley were all at Townsend Investigations recapping.

"I'm telling you, it was like something out of the twilight zone," Kris concluded.

"Are you sure you aren't just over-reacting?" Bosley asked.

"You weren't there, Bos," Kris answered. "She just freaked. I thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown right there."

"Sabrina?!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"If I weren't there I wouldn't have believed it myself," Kelly agreed. "Something's seriously wrong. I still think Bill has something to do with it."

"Who's Bill?" Kris asked curiously.

"Her ex," Kelly answered darkly.

"Did you try calling her house?" Bosley suggested.

"Yes, we tried calling her house," Kelly said with exaggerated patience. "We're professionals, Bos. We both tried several times and kept getting the machine. I drove by last night and saw her car still in its parking space."

"Maybe we should try to break in," Kris reflected.

"I thought about that," Kelly replied honestly, sorely tempted herself. "She's already on edge. That might really send her off the deep end."

"What if it's already too late?" Kris said lowly.

"Remind me not to put you in charge of morale!" Kelly exclaimed. "Don't even think like that."

"Kelly, she's not herself," Kris stated reluctantly. "We don't know where her mind is right now."

"I already checked the morgue," Bosley interjected.

They both glanced at him fearfully.

"She's not there," he added hastily. "Look, give her a few days. You know that she won't say anything until she's good and ready."

"Did the feds say why they didn't let us know that they let Blue out?" Kris demanded sharply.

"They said it just 'fell through the cracks' and they were 'sorry for the inconvenience'," he answered derisively.

"Uh-huh." Kelly got to her feet and marched towards the door. "Kris, I think we should check out the warehouse."

"That's a good idea," Bosley agreed. "I'll stay here and see what else I can find out."
 
 
 

Kris and Kelly were standing alongside the warehouse again. "Okay, I'll take the front, you take the back," Kelly instructed as she pulled out her revolver. "You ready?"

Kris nodded nervously, taking out her weapon as well and feeling an uncomfortable sense of deja vu.

Bill Duncan came up from behind them.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Kelly hissed furiously.

"One of my informants said that Blue might be hiding here," he answered, glancing at Kris. "Hello."

"Hi," she ventured tentatively.

"Look, why don't you go home? We have everything under control," Kelly tried.

"There's no way you're keeping me out of this," he countered. "I'll take the front. You two take the back. We go in in two minutes." He slipped forward before they could protest.

"Was that Bill?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, that was Mr. Super Cop himself," Kelly muttered. "Okay, we may as well get this over with."

Kris glanced at her watch, counting off the seconds. "Okay...time!" They both burst into the back door while Bill crashed through the front.

It was completely empty.

The next day Bosley was standing in the foyer of the China Peace restaurant in Century City when Sabrina walked in.

"Thanks for meeting me here, Bos," Sabrina greeted softly, glancing over her shoulder fearfully.

"Any time," Bosley commented, trying to sound normal while taking in her appearance: face drawn and pale, dark circles under her eyes and her normally slender frame was even thinner.

The hostess showed them to their table and then left.

"I've heard their General Tsao's Chicken's pretty good," Bosley offered, trying to put her at ease.

"I'm not very hungry," she admitted, eyes darting around the room. "I just - need to talk to you."

"Do you want to go somewhere more private?" He offered sympathetically, seeing how distraught she was.

"No," she refused quickly. "If I do this in private I'll fall apart. I'll be okay here." She grabbed the water glass and took a few sips to fortify her nerves.

The waitress came over to take their order.

Sabrina shook her head quickly, the thought of food making her stomach churn.

"Chicken Lo Mein," he decided quickly.

The waitress nodded and left.

"You remember Mr. Blue, right?" She started, staring at the top of the table and absently tracing the pattern of the table cloth. "He had some of his goons grab me on the way to the airport. He has a new boat, you know." She paused for a second, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to continue. "Turns out he wasn't too happy that I busted his little operation in Hawaii two years ago. He said that he'd had a really good thing going then, and it took him a little time to figure out just how he wanted to get back at me and at Townsend Investigations. He decided to turn me into a drug addict."

"What?!"

She cringed and held up her hand. "Bos? Please let me just - say this, okay? It's hard enough."

He nodded, seeing the struggle she was going through.

"I'm not sure how long I was there but I managed to get away. I don't remember how. The first few days were so hard. I didn't even know where I was..." her voice trailed off as the images assaulted her.

"Where did you go?" He asked incredulously, taking her hand.

"Don't go there, okay?" She glanced at him with desperation in her eyes. She jerked her hand out of his. "I can't even think about - I can't..." she closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

"Hey," he reassured her gently. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

She flashed him a wan smile. "After a while I thought I was all right. I'd just put it behind me like I do everything else, you know? But I can't eat. I can't sleep." She glanced at the top of the table again and fidgeted uncomfortably. "I guess Kris and Kelly told you about the warehouse."

He nodded warily.

"It wasn't one of my finer moments," she chuckled ruefully. "I thought I'd be okay at home. I live in a security building. I just needed a little more time to get myself together."

The waitress chose that moment to bring over the food. She glanced at them curiously and then left.

Sabrina wrapped her arms around herself and glanced at him with haunted eyes. "I'm so scared," she confided in a trembling voice. "I heard a car backfire last night and thought someone fired a shot through my window. I had the cab driver circle the block three times until I felt safe enough to come in here."

"Did you see anyone?" He asked softly, glancing around.

She shook her head. "I know it sounds paranoid," she admitted self-consciously.

"No, it doesn't," he corrected reasonably. Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Oh, great!"

"What's wrong?" Sabrina asked fearfully, following Bosley's gaze. She saw Bill Duncan striding purposefully towards them. Her stomach cramped violently and she bolted for the ladies room.

Bill turned to follow her.

Bosley frowned, tossed a $20 from his wallet and intercepted him. "What do you want?"

"I have to talk to Sabrina," Bill stated.

"What are you doing here?" Bosley asked through gritted teeth.

"Look, let's wait for her to come back," Bill offered reasonably. "That way I don't have to explain everything twice."

Sabrina came out of the ladies room pale and shaking.

Both Bill and Bosley went to give her a hand and she shied away from both of them. "How did you know I'd be here?" she whispered, looking at Bill.

"I was watching your apartment," Bill admitted. "I did a little checking on this Blue character. He's a nasty piece of business. It's a good thing I was there because you were being followed."

"Did you get them?" Bosley demanded.

He shook his head ruefully. "They got onto Coldwater and must have turned off at one of the side streets. I got the phone number of the car service you used and they told me where they'd dropped you off. I think you should go underground until we get these guys."

"I was thinking the same thing," Bosley agreed thoughtfully. "I'll call Charlie..."

"You can stay at my place," Bill interrupted.

Sabrina's eyes opened wide.

"I'll stay at the station house and out of your way," Bill continued before either of them could say anything. "No one you know will find you there. We're divorced. It'd be the last place anyone would look." He took her hand and squeezed it affectionately. "It makes sense and you know it. Come on, you owe me. The glazier's already fixed the window."

"I'm sorry about the other day," she blushed, looking away.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled.

"Bri?" Bosley asked hesitantly. "It's up to you."

"You won't be there?" She asked Bill in trepidation.

"I promise," he sighed in relief, afraid that he'd be arguing all day. Lord knows she could be stubborn when she wanted to be. "Just give me an hour to pack a few things and I'll be out of your hair for the duration."

She nodded.

"All right," Bosley agreed reluctantly. "We'll check in with Charlie and let him know where we'll be."

They all left.
 

Two days later...

Bill's house had been set up as a mini-command center. Bosley had a business telephone installed with several different lines to coordinate the search.

Bill came in carrying a suitcase. "Where's Sabrina?"

"So much for your promise to stay out of the way," Bosley groused icily, looking up. "She's resting."

He nodded. "Kelly asked me to drop off a few of her things. She thought it might make her feel a little better."

"That's fine. Thanks."

Bill shifted on his feet for a minute. "I have a lot of contacts with the LAPD and the Feds, as well as a few underground sources," he began.

"That's great," Bosley acknowledged dismissively. "Just give me whatever leads you get and we'll investigate them. I'll let you know how it turns out."

"Nope. Sorry. I want in," Bill countered.

"Look, I don't have time for this. We don't have any time for red tape, search warrants, or any of the other bureaucratic nonsense that goes along with the LAPD, all right? We don't need your help."

"Hey, man, what's your problem?" Bill demanded.

"What's my problem?!" Bosley exclaimed furiously, getting to his feet. "You really don't get it, do you? All your snide comments about what she does for a living have finally come true. You must be feeling pretty good right about now. This is something you can keep throwing in her face for the rest of her life." He took a deep breath and tried to calm his temper. "She's under enough stress right now. She doesn't need you to add more on the pile, all right?

"Her job stresses her out, not me!"

"I've seen her after she comes back from one of your dates," Bosley corrected.

"What are you talking about? We have a great time. Besides, I don't believe she'd say anything about our relationship, whatever it might be, to you or anyone else."

"All she ever says the next day is that she's fine, and almost nothing else for days at a time."

"I didn't know..." Bill trailed off, stunned. "You don't understand. I really care about her."

"Of course you do, as long as she's what you want her to be. You can't let her be herself so she pretends to be someone she's not to make you happy, then spends the next few days afterwards second-guessing her life."

"Look," Bill said after a few seconds, feeling like a bucket of ice water was poured over him. "Both of us want the same thing. Right now we're reinventing the wheel. If we work together we can get Blue that much faster. I'm a good cop and I have a lot more resources than you do."

"He's right," Sabrina agreed quietly from the bedroom doorway, the circles under her eyes more pronounced. She was wearing one of Bill's pajama tops.

Both men glanced at her in surprise, neither having heard her enter.

"Bill's a great cop," she continued. "And he's got pretty good connections."

"Thanks," Bill said with a grin. He took a step towards her.

She backed away from him quickly, flinching. "This is your big chance. You can get on your white horse, get the bad guys and rescue me all in one shot."

"Hey, it's not like that," he ventured in a hurt voice.

"Of course not. Just - go, please?" She sat on the couch wearily, sitting as far away from everyone as possible.

Bill took one glance at her and then left.

"How much of that did you hear?" Bosley asked uncomfortably, forcing himself to stay where he was.

"Not much. I just heard some voices. I couldn't sleep anyway." She absently started rubbing her arms, pajama sleeve sliding up.

He glanced down and saw her slightly bluish veins standing out slightly against her skin and froze.

"What's wrong?" She glanced at him curiously, then followed his gaze and blanched. She jerked the fabric down as hard as she could and clamped her hand over the sleeve. "I know it looks pretty bad but it doesn't really hurt," she whispered woodenly, turning away from him.

"It just...took me by surprise for a minute. That's all."

"I can't do this any more," she whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "This isn't me. I'm scared all the time. I can't even think straight any more. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I'm tired of the nightmares, of jumping whenever the phone rings. I'm just so...tired. I want this to be over."

"What do you mean over?" He asked anxiously.

"I want things to go back to the way they were before, but they can't. I don't even know if I can ever work again," she confided hoarsely.

"I think you'll feel better if you let some of it out, Bri," he offered. "I've checked around and got the name of someone who's supposed to be the best in her field in situations like this."

"I thought I could talk to you..." she trailed off in a hurt voice, unable to look him in the eye and biting her lip.

"Of course you can talk to me," he reassured her quickly. "But other than that one time you haven't said a word about what happened after you got away from Blue and it's eating you up inside."

"I - can't..."she choked out, feeling as if there was a steel band around her chest, stealing her breath away. She started rocking back and forth

"You're my family and I care about you," he continued softly. "I'm always here for you. You know that. I just thought that there might be some things you wouldn't be comfortable talking about to someone you know. You can talk to her or not. It's your call. Just promise me that you'll think about it, all right?"

"Bos, would you hold me?" She begged in a shaky voice. "Just for a little while?"

He gathered her in his arms and held her close, stroking her gently.

She leaned against him and closed her eyes.
 

* * * * *
 

The telephone in the car rang.

"Yeah?" Marco answered testily. He'd been driving around for two days with no clue as to where Sabrina could be hiding.

"I just found out something interesting," Blue answered. "Did you know that she's got an ex-husband?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I heard they were pretty chummy. Go to his place and work him over a bit. See if he knows where she is."

"This sounds like a long shot, boss."

"Is that so?" Blue asked condescendingly. "You got any better ideas?"

"Uh, no, sir. You're the boss."

"And don't you forget it either. Get over there right now. Here's the address..."
 

* * * * *
 

The telephone rang shrilly. Sabrina jumped to her feet and pushed herself into the corner of the wall and stared out the window, heart feeling like it was about to explode out of her chest.

"Shhh," Bosley soothed. "I'll get it." He picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hi, Bos, it's me."

"Hi, Kris. What's going on?"

"Not much. Just wanted to check in...see if you had any leads."

"No, nothing yet."

"Bri okay?"

"She's hanging in there."

"Did Bill get there?"

"Yes, he was here." He answered coldly.

"What happened?" Kris asked, picking up on the tone of his voice.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Okay. Kelly and I are going to check out one or two more leads and then stop by with dinner. Chinese okay?"

"That's fine," Bosley sighed. He hung up the telephone and glanced over at Sabrina again. "No leads yet," he reported, forcing himself to sound normal as he turned on the kettle. "I could use some tea. How about you?"

She nodded weakly.

He went into the kitchen and came back in a few minutes with two mugs and a plate of sandwiches. "Here we go. It's going to be a few hours until they get back."

She eyed the plate and swallowed. "I'm not very hungry."

He put her mug and the plate on the table.

"Bosley? I don't want to stay here any more. Can we go someplace else?" She pleaded shakily.

"What's wrong? Do you see something?" He walked over to the window and looked out, not seeing anything. "I don't think Bill'll be back any time soon."

"Please?" She begged, voice cracking, hugging herself and peering out the window nervously. "I'm just - not comfortable here any more."

"I'd have to check with Charlie to see if he can find us a safe house," he answered carefully, trying to keep her calm.

"Thank you," she whispered in relief. She picked up the mug of tea and taking a few deep sips.

"Would you do something for me?"

She glanced at him curiously.

'Try to eat something. I'll call Charlie in the meantime. Deal?"

She thought for a few seconds, then nodded and gamely reached for one of the sandwiches, nibbling at the crust.

He smiled at her encouragingly and picked up the telephone.
 

* * * * *
 

Marco pulled up about a half block after Bill's apartment house and parked, mentally debating the best way to enter without being seen. He was watching the rear-view mirror as unobtrusively as possible when he saw Sabrina and Bosley come outside. He grinned, pulled the gun out of his pocket and got out of the car. He crept up behind them silently and hit Bosley professionally with the guns' butt, knocking Bosley to the ground.

Sabrina stared at Bosley's prone form, blood pouring from his forehead.

Marco grabbed her arm and jerked her forward while pointing the gun at Bosley. "It's your call. You come with me quietly or I'll shoot him right now."

Sabrina stared at him wide-eyed, then nodded.

He dragged her to the car, shoved her inside and drove off.

Bosley managed to roll over and note the license plate before losing consciousness.
 

* * * * *
 

Marco shoved her into the house violently. "Hey, boss! I'm back!"

Sabrina glanced around in a daze. The stress of the past few days as well as the lack of sleep made it hard to concentrate.

"Well, hello, again," Blue greeted cheerfully as he made his way down from the top of the stairs.

Sabrina spun around, startled.

"You look a little nervous," he chuckled. "I have something that'll make you feel better...help you relax." He pulled a syringe out of his pocket.

Her eyes fixated on the needle and she unconsciously licked her lips, pulse racing. For a few brief seconds she wanted that injection more than anything. She mentally shook herself and started backing away from him.

"Don't worry," he placated soothingly. "I know you're hurting. I've been told by reliable sources that this is the most powerful stuff on the market right now. Just relax."

Marco came up from behind her and held her in a bear hold.

She struggled as hard as she could, trying to break his hold.

"I thought you'd be dead by now," Blue continued, slowly advancing towards her, "or at least so wasted that you wouldn't be a threat. Well, baby, there's no way you're testifying against me. I'm not going back to jail and that's all there is to it. This'll either send you over the edge forever or kill you." He stood before her with a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Marco, hold out her arm."

Marco grabbed her arm and forced it forwards.

She marshaled all of her remaining strength and flipped Marco over into Blue. Both men crashed to the ground.

She turned and ran towards the front door, tripping on the rug. She sprawled on the floor, wind knocked out of her. She tried to get to her feet and failed.

Blue and Marco slowly advanced towards her. "That wasn't very nice," Blue growled, pulling out his gun and Marco following suit. "I wanted to do this the easy way, but this'll work just as well."

Sabrina closed her eyes and curled up into a ball.

"Freeze!"

Both men spun around.

Kris burst in through the front window, Bosley from the front door, Bill and Kelly from the rear, all with guns drawn.

"Get away from her. Right now!" Kelly shouted furiously, quickly assessing the situation.

Marco and Blue lowered their guns.

"Put 'em on the ground...slowly," Bill instructed.

Marco and Blue did as instructed, knowing the drill.

Sabrina opened her eyes and hesitantly reached up to gingerly touch the bandage on his temple.

Kelly saw the syringe that had fallen to the floor during the commotion and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"How did you find me?" Sabrina asked breathlessly.

"We found Bos on the sidewalk," Kris explained. "He gave Bill the plate number, Bill put out an APB and here we are."

"We're getting out of here right now," Bosley decided, helping Sabrina to her feet and taking her outside.

Bill slipped a pair of cuffs on Marco.

"Hey, lady, I'm unarmed," Blue protested nervously, not liking the look in Kelly's eyes.

"No, you're not," Kelly corrected, keeping her gun trained on Blue and cocking the trigger. "Kris, you see a gun, don't you?"

"Kelly, what are you talking about?" Kris asked in confusion. "I don't see anything."

"There's no gun," Blue stammered, holding his open hands towards her. "See? No weapons. Go ahead. Search me. I give up."

Bill, finished with Marco, glanced over and stood in front of Blue.

"Get out of the way, Bill," Kelly snapped. "He's dangerous. Don't you see the gun in his hand? It'd be self-defense. We'd save the state the cost of a trial and everything works out perfectly."

"Kelly, you to know that you couldn't live with yourself if you did this," Bill pointed out, moving behind Blue to prevent a possible escape attempt.

"Then you don't know me at all, Bill Duncan," Kelly countered firmly. "He almost killed one of my best friends. I could live with myself just fine."

"What about Sabrina?" Kris spoke up.

Kelly froze and her gun lowered a fraction.

"She'd never forgive herself if you did this," Kris pressed.

"Kelly, I know how you feel," Bill added gently. "I feel the same way, but we both know that it still doesn't make it right."

Kelly realized reluctantly that they had a point. "Fine," she finally sighed, uncocking and lowering her gun.

"I knew you'd never be able to shoot," Blue chucked derisively. "You don't have the guts."

Kelly walked up to him and before anyone knew what happened gave him a perfect right cross that sent him flying across the room, unconscious.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Kris asked in awe.

Kelly smiled faintly and strode outside.
 

The next day all the Angels, Bosley and Bill were at Townsend Investigations.

"Nice job, Angels. Bosley," Charlie said after they'd concluded. "Bill. I'd like to thank you for your assistance."

"No problem, Charlie," Bill said.

"You won't have to worry about Blue any more, Sabrina," Charlie promised. "This time he's being tried for attempted murder. He won't be getting out any time soon."

"Thanks, Charlie," Sabrina said from her position on the couch.

"He won't be going to a federal prison, this time," Bill added. "He's going to the state pen. I can keep an eye on him there."

"And I have friends on the parole board," Charlie concluded. "He'll be gone for a long time. Good work, everyone." Charlie rung off.

"Bri, can I talk to you for a few minutes...alone?" Bill asked uncomfortably.

Kris and Kelly looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"I have a couple of errands to run, anyway," Kelly acquiesced, seeing Sabrina not refuse outright.

"I'll come with you," Kris added hurriedly. She and Kelly both left.

Bosley glared at him. "I have paperwork to do."

"Bosley?" Sabrina said softly, glancing up at him. "It's okay."

"All right," Bosley surrendered reluctantly. "But I'll be right outside." He went out of the office.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days and there's something I need to tell you," Bill began hesitantly, staring at his shoes.

She grabbed the pillow from the other end of the couch and clutched it to her, absently playing with the fringes. She thought she'd have had a few days of peace before he'd start with the helpless female routine again.

"You're the most independent woman I've ever met. That's one of the first things that attracted me to you," he confessed. "That and the cute little wiggle you have when you walk."

She glanced up at him shyly, blushing. This certainly wasn't what she was expecting.

He cleared his throat and forced his mind back to the matter at hand. "The truth is that I couldn't handle you being a cop. I kept hearing things like 'Hey, Duncan. You'd better take shooting lessons from your wife', 'I bet it's real interesting at home when your wife can do hand to hand better than you can'. Then you graduated in the top 1% of your class," he continued, not looking up. "When I heard you got assigned to traffic I went and complained to the CO. You were the best cop I'd ever seen. All you needed was a little experience."

Sabrina stared at him in amazement.

"He told me to mind my own business and kicked me out of his office. Then you went to work for Charlie Townsend," Bill continued ruefully. "Boy, if I wasn't worried about you on the force that really sent me over the edge. Even the few details you'd shared with me made me a nervous wreck. I know that you can handle anything you put your mind to." He looked up at her then. "All I kept thinking was that I'd get a phone call one day saying you'd been killed on some cockamamie case." He paused for a minute, clearing his throat. "I never thought you'd think I doubted you or your abilities, and for that I am sorry."

She sat there silently, trying to take everything in.

"I just thought you should know that I'm behind you 100% and I'll support whatever decision you make from now on." He concluded as he squeezed her shoulder affectionately before walking towards the door

"Bill," she called hoarsely.

He glanced over at her.

"I've missed you, too," she said in a quavering voice, reaching up and taking his hand.

Bill grinned.

"I'd like to take you to dinner to thank you for everything. What do you say?"

"I'd like that a lot," he admitted.

"I'll call you, huh?"

He nodded and left.

Sabrina clutched the pillow tightly to her, trying very hard not to cry.

Bosley came in after a few seconds and studied her. "You okay?"

She nodded.

He went to the bar, poured her a scotch and brought it to her.

"Thanks," she whispered, taking a sip.

"Want to talk about it?" He offered compassionately.

"Not right now," she admitted, still trying to sort it out in her mind. "Can we go to lunch? I'm a little hungry."

"Sure," he agreed. "Name your restaurant. My treat."
 

Six weeks later they were all at Catalina Island for Bill and Sabrina's remarriage. The girls were all sharing a suite. They spent the night reminiscing and talking about the future. Sabrina crashed at about 2am while Kris and Kelly stayed up all night.

"What do you think?" Kris ventured.

"I have a good feeling about this," Kelly answered. "He's changed a lot from when I first met him."

"I've never seen her so happy," Kris added.

"Me either. The therapy seems to be helping, too. At least she can sleep better at night." Kelly glanced at her watch. "I'd better wake her up. She's not what you'd call a morning person at the best of times."

"I'm going to see if Bosley's okay," Kris chuckled. "I think he's more nervous than Bill is."

"I don't blame him," Kelly smiled. "I'll see you in a little while."

Kris left.

Kelly went to the bedroom door, knocked and walked inside. "Bri, wake up. It's time to get ready." To her surprise there was no one there. She heard retching coming from the bathroom and hurried to investigate. She found Sabrina kneeling before the toilet bowl. She knelt beside her and put her arm across Sabrina's shoulders.

After a few minutes Sabrina slowly straightened, groaning. She was white as a sheet.

"You okay?" Kelly asked worriedly. "You look terrible."

"Thanks a lot," Sabrina muttered.

Kelly placed her hand on Sabrina's forehead. "You don't have a fever. Why don't you get back into bed and I'll call a doctor."

"No," Sabrina protested weakly. "It usually passes in about an hour or two."

"An hour or two"? Kelly repeated in amazement. "How long has this been going on?"

"About two weeks," Sabrina admitted uncomfortably, slowly getting to her feet and making her way into the bedroom. She lowered herself into a nearby chair and closed her eyes.

"Maybe it's that pineapple strawberry thing you had last night," Kelly commented thoughtfully.

"Ohhhh, don't mention food right now!" Sabrina blanched, gulping as the nausea threatened to overtake her again. "It's just stress."

"Stress?! Maybe it's your subconscious telling you to call off the wedding. It's not too late to change your mind."

"It's probably some virus. I've been pretty tired lately."

"There's no such thing as a morning virus."

"Oh..." Sabrina trailed off thoughtfully, not having given it much thought before. There had been so much happening in her life recently. The walls slammed down in her mind as firmly as the ones at the Brinks vault.

"Well?" Kelly prodded, trying not to sound too impatient.

"It's a virus," Sabrina insisted stubbornly.

"This won't go away by itself, you know. Unless you know of a 36 hour bug that only lasts for two hours every morning for 14 days."

The telephone rang, startling the both of them.

Sabrina grabbed the receiver, grateful for the distraction. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Angel," Charlie's voice said. "I'm sorry I can't be there to help you celebrate in person, but I did want to offer you my congratulations. I'm very happy for you. We all are."

The nausea that had been in the background hit her full force and she lurched for the bathroom unsteadily, dropping the telephone in her haste. She barely made it inside before she started throwing up again.

Kelly grabbed the receiver before it hit the floor.

"Angel? What's wrong with Sabrina?"

"She'll be okay, Charlie," Kelly said quickly, glancing towards the bathroom. "It's just wedding day jitters."

"Ah..." Charlie trailed off knowingly. "Well, I'm sure you've got a lot to do to get ready. Have a wonderful time."

"We will." Kelly hung up the telephone and hurried to her friend's side.

After a few minutes Sabrina leaned against the bathroom wall and hugged herself, trembling. "What am I going to do?"

Kelly gathered her in her arms and hugged her. "The first thing you're going to do is relax."

"Easy for you to say," Sabrina muttered unhappily. "This is just my luck."

"This could be a good thing."

Sabrina stared at her in disbelief.

"No, think about it," Kelly continued, soaking a washcloth and helping her clean up. "You told me that you weren't sure if you wanted to come back to work after everything that's happened. When do you come back from Paris?"

"Two weeks from tomorrow."

"Fine. If you're not feeling better when you come back we'll make an appointment with the doctor to see what's wrong. Fair enough?"

Sabrina nodded.

"You lie down for a little while. I'll call Kris and tell her we're running late. She can keep everyone occupied until you're ready. I can't believe Bill hasn't noticed anything. He's a pretty good detective. Besides, you're not exactly quiet, you know."

"He's been working nights," Sabrina answered, blushing.

"I'm going to call room service and order some tea and soda crackers while you get back into bed."

"Ohhhhh..." Sabrina's stomach rolled at the thought of food.

"They'll help," Kelly reassured her.

"I think I'll stay here for a little while," she groaned, leaning her head to rest against the wall.

"Okay. I'll go lay out your suit and come back in a few minutes."

She nodded, closing her eyes and taking some deep breaths. "Kelly? Thanks for everything."

"Any time. That's what friends are for." She went out of the bathroom with a smile.
 

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