Disclaimers - See Part 1 for disclaimers.

Chapter Twenty

Lee ambled down the hallway, a familiar face now to many of those she greeted cheerfully. Rounding the corner to Marika's office, she saw the lawyer and Rhi conferring over something at the assistant's desk. She took a moment to appreciate the body language between the two, as the blonde rested her hand on the back of Rhi's chair, brushing against the small woman's shoulder. For her part, the assistant leaned toward the lawyer, keeping her eyes fastened intently on her boss' face.

Clearing her throat loudly as she approached, Lee was amused to see the two jump apart, a slight flush rising on Marika's fair skin.

"Hey, wage slaves! The day's over. It's time to play," Lee boomed, grinning at her friends.

"God, Lee! You scared me out of a year's growth," Marika complained good-naturedly, even as she smiled a welcome.

"Aw, you don't want to be any taller anyway," Lee observed with a smirk, eyeing the lawyer and her smaller assistant who was now standing beside her. When Marika rolled her eyes, she chuckled and asked, "So how's it going, Lady Mouse?"

"Great. You're in a good mood today, considering it's Monday," Rhi observed.

"And why not? It's been a beautiful summer day in the best city in the country. Danny's with his Dad on their annual fishing trip, so Dana and I have the house to ourselves this week; and I even talked her into going out for a nice long ride on the Suke yesterday. Really, can life get any better?" Lee perched on the corner of Rhi's desk, hazel eyes sparkling with joie de vivre.

Marika eyed her with affectionate suspicion. "Uh huh. And you just came by to share the joy?"

"Nope. Came by to see if you two would like to join me at the Tudor Rose for a bite and a brew." Lee looked hopefully at her companions.

"What happened to you and Dana having the house all to yourselves?" the lawyer asked with a smile. "I wouldn't think you'd want to waste any of that free time."

Lee scowled momentarily. "Well, she got stuck on evening shift until tomorrow, but after that, we have four days to play." Her face cleared, and she asked, "So? What about it? Can I tempt you into joining me?"

"Sure, I'd love to," Marika said. "Rhi?"

The assistant shook her reluctantly. "No, thanks, but I brought my gear with me and I'm heading over to the Y."

Lee pouted a little. "Aw, are you sure? I was going to tell you guys all about the wedding plans." She shook her head in amusement. "Dana's got everything planned down the nth degree." A thought occurring to her, she sat straighter. "You do know you're invited, right, Rhi?" She saw the quick exchange of glances between her friends.

Rhi turned to her with a shy smile.

"Um, actually, Marika asked me to go with her a couple of weeks ago, and I said yes."

Beaming, Lee looked at the lawyer teasingly. "Couple of weeks ago, eh? My, wasn't that remarkable foresight on her part." She nodded approvingly as Marika just shook her head and turned to her office.

"I'll shut down my computer, grab my purse and be right with you."

Lee looked back at Rhi who sat down at her desk and began to close her files in preparation for leaving. "Are you sure you won't come?" she wheedled. "You could always go to the Y afterwards."

Rhi shook her head slowly. "I'd like to, Lee, but I'm meeting David at seven thirty, and I'd really like to get a swim in first. Feeling a big sluggish after these weeks off." Looking up, she smiled apologetically. "Can I take a rain check?"

"Sure," Lee reassured her. "No problem. We can even walk partway together."

Marika returned then, and the three women left the office, taking the elevator to the street level. They walked down the sidewalk, chatting casually as they maneuvered around the five o'clock crowds disgorged from their cubicles and offices. They'd just reached the corner, when Lee heard her name called. Turning, she saw a familiar face as a foot patrol cop approached her with a friendly wave.

"Hi, Al. How's it going?" Lee said amiably. She and the cop had served together as military police officers at CFB Calgary years before, then left to enter civilian life within six months of each other.

"Good. Hey, it's great to see you," Al said. "Me and the Cap'n were just talking about you the other day, wonderin' how the hell you were doing."

Lee's ex-commanding officer, Marc Manion, had also jumped ship shortly after she and Al had left, and transferred directly across to the Calgary police. The big woman remembered him with affection. He'd come to her quietly one day, warning her--in those less enlightened days--that she was about to be investigated as to being a lesbian, and giving her a chance to put in her release voluntarily.

She knew he'd pulled strings to protect her, and she'd never forgotten his kindness or his genuine regret that he was losing one of his best people. Lee had always suspected that was one reason he'd left the Forces: he was unable to square his conscience with the periodic anti-gay witch hunts his department had to conduct, now a lamentable part of military history. He'd even tried to recruit her for the city police, but she'd preferred the independence of the private sector. They occasionally still had a beer together, though, and she'd watched with approval as he rose through police ranks.

"How is Marc doing?" Lee asked with genuine interest. As Al launched into a description of their ex-CO's current activities, Rhi tapped her lightly on the arm and jerked her head down the street. Lee nodded and smiled her farewell as the small woman left the trio and walked to the corner.

The big woman broke into Al's monologue long enough to introduce Marika and was quickly absorbed back into the officer's reminiscing, when all of sudden she heard the squeal of tires and a scream from the lawyer, who was staring horror-struck beyond her.

Spinning, Lee saw Rhi sprawled on the sidewalk, people rushing to her side as a large tan car sped off down the street. Marika took off running, reaching her assistant as she struggled to sit up.

Instantly, Lee turned to Al, who was already on his radio, calling in a description of the car and the direction the careless-or drunk-driver had fled. Nodding in approval, she hastened to where her friends were both sitting on the sidewalk, Marika tightly clutching a shaken Rhi.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lee heard Marika ask frantically.

"Yeah," Rhi mumbled. "He just missed me."

"Damned fool came out of nowhere!" The businessman helping Rhi to her feet shook his head in disgust.

An incensed young woman who'd retrieved Rhi's gym bag for her, added, "Never even slowed down. The bastard just kept going!"

Al strode up, his radio chattering. Surveying Rhi, standing in the protection of Marika's arm, he said, "They've sent a unit after him, ma'am. Do you need me to call EMS?"

Rhi shook her head, glancing ruefully at the raw palm of her right hand where she'd hit the pavement. "No, thanks. It's nothing a bit of home first-aid won't take care of."

Al began to gather statements from excited onlookers, as Lee moved close. Gently she asked, "Can you tell me what happened, Rhi?"

The small woman shuddered, and Lee saw Marika's arm tighten around her shoulders, offering her comfort and support. "I'm not sure I know, Lee. I'd started across the street-I had the light," she stated firmly, looking a trifle defiant. When Lee nodded her understanding, she continued. "I was thinking about you guys going to the Tudor Rose, and I suddenly made up my mind that I wanted to go too. So I turned back, and I kind of sprinted for the sidewalk because the crossing light was stale and I was worried about you guys leaving without me. The next thing I knew, I heard the sound of a car right behind me, and I jumped without thinking. Geez, I felt the wind as it roared by."

Suddenly pale, Rhi looked up at Lee with wide eyes. "If I hadn't changed my mind, he would've hit me!"

Lee soothed her. "But he didn't, Lady Mouse. You're all right, and that's all that matters." She brushed a hand affectionately over Rhi's cheek and smiled at her. Getting a shaky half-smile in response, she looked up into angry, slate-gray eyes. She could see that Marika was struggling to contain her own fear and fury for Rhi's sake, and she laid a hand briefly on the lawyer's shoulder before making her way over to where Al was talking to witnesses and taking notes.

Waiting patiently until he was done, she looked at him expectantly.

He sighed. "Dunno, Lee. This is a weird one. One witness is sure she saw the car parked just down the block before the accident. Says it looked to her like it was deliberate. Another guy says the driver was weaving all over the road, and he's sure he was drunk. Hopefully the guys will nab him. Got a partial plate on him, anyway; but the description of the driver was pretty vague. Dark hair is about all everyone agrees on. Guess he was hunched over the wheel."

Lee nodded. It was a start. "Al, will you do me a favour, and let me know what happens with this. The victim is a very good friend of mine." She handed him her business card and he took it, tucking it in his shirt pocket.

"No, problem, Lee. Now, I gotta talk to your friend for a few minutes, so if you'll excuse me." He made his way back to where Rhi and Marika were talking quietly. Lee watched the lawyer straighten at the officer's approach, keeping one protective arm over Rhi's shoulders.

She turned and gazed speculatively down the street that the tan car had used as an escape route. Turning the events over in her mind, she tried to make sense of it. She wanted to dismiss it as a simple, barely avoided, hit and run, probably by a drunk driver, but the witness' statement about the apparently deliberate nature of the near accident bothered her. Who would try to hurt Rhi? And why?

Pushing the thought to the back of her mind for the time being, she went to rejoin her friends, the fine summer day having lost all its lustre now.

*****************************************************

Gao pulled smoothly into the metered parking spot, turned off the engine and exited the tan Pontiac without a second glance. Unhurriedly, he strode away, subtly peeling off thin, latex gloves and tucking them into his pocket. Blending with the pedestrians, he heard the sirens over his shoulder as he moved briskly away from the stolen car.

His blank face and unremarkable appearance gave no indication of the thoughts roiling in his mind. The hit and run had been a spur of the moment plan based on the Chameleon's orders the previous day, and he regretted that in his desire to execute her orders swiftly, he hadn't fully thought things through.

He shook his head slightly, stepping around a middle-aged woman walking a leashed Pomeranian. Gao wasn't an executioner by profession, but he'd accepted the boss' instructions without qualm. He hoped that once the small companion was out of the way, the Chameleon would lift the surveillance order for the lawyer, and his life could return to normal. His only regret was that the hasty plan had failed, but as he walked down the sidewalk and turned the corner, the glimmers of a new plan began to form...one that would keep him from direct involvement.

*****************************************************

Doubling up her thin pillow, Rhi propped it behind her head as she stretched out on her narrow bed. She rubbed her tired eyes and yawned. After her near miss earlier that evening, Marika and Lee had insisted on walking her over to the downtown clinic that Dana worked in. There, the stocky nurse had cleaned and dressed Rhi's scraped palm, even as she teasingly chided her young friend over her recent propensity for getting wounded.

Once Dana had finished, her two guardians had insisted on taking her for dinner at the Tudor Rose. She'd excused herself long enough to call David from the pub and explain why she'd be postponing the evening's driving lesson. He'd been horrified to hear of the accident, but she'd assured him it was just a case of a careless driver not watching the streets.

When Rhi had hung up the pay phone and turned to walk back to their booth, she'd been amused to see two sets of eyes fastened unblinkingly on her. She'd chided her babysitters for worrying too much, but in truth, she'd been warmed by their concern. Marika had driven her home several hours later, and had insisted on waiting to watch her go in her back door. Rhi had just shaken her head in exasperation, but hadn't protested. Thankfully, Hettie had been out with her friends, so Rhi hadn't had to run the gauntlet.

She'd read until her eyes were too heavy to stay open and then gotten washed up for bed. Now dressed in her threadbare pajamas, she relaxed as she opened her bankbook for the umpteenth time. Rhiannon reread the numbers she knew by heart, then set the passbook down and picked up her passport. Flipping idly through the pristine pages, she imagined the stamps of many countries there, but this time it was just a small, blue booklet-not the magical key to freedom and distant lands it had always been for her.

Sighing, Rhi set the passport beside the bankbook. She was too tired to think things through at the moment. Tucking her left hand behind her head, she turned off her lamp and let her bandaged right hand fall onto the passport and bankbook. It was still hot in her room, the day's heat lingering even though the sun had gone down. She'd left her door open partway to increase the draft coming in the open windows, but it did little to stir the sluggish air. Shunning the blankets, Rhi let herself drift off to sleep, smiling slightly as her last thought was of Marika's arm around her shoulders holding her tight.

Hours later, a fit of coughing woke Rhiannon from a deep sleep. Confused, she opened her eyes, only to find they stung from the thick smoke gathering in her room. As understanding sunk in, she bolted to her feet and ran to her door, yanking it open to find the hallway filled with smoke and flames licking their way up the walls.

Screaming her aunt's name, she tried fruitlessly to awaken and warn her until she was driven back into her room by the heat and smoke. Slamming the door, she retreated, coughing hoarsely, until she bumped into the bed frame and half fell on the mattress. Struggling to sit up, she felt the discarded bankbook and passport under her hand. Jamming them into her pajama pocket, she ripped the sheets and coverlet off the bed, praying that the frayed fabric would hold her.

Quickly knotting them together, she dropped to her knees and crawled towards the open window. The smoke had thickened in the brief time since she'd awakened, and glancing fearfully across the room, she could dimly make out an eerie orange glow under the door. An ominous crackling overwhelmed her hearing as she made her way rapidly across the floor.

Rhi could barely make out shapes now, but when she bumped into the leg of the table, she knew the windows were right above her. Scrambling to her feet, she slid across the tabletop, pushing the microwave and wok out of the way, ending with her head hung out one of the open windows, sucking huge gasps of air into her oxygen-starved lungs even as she was conscious that thick reams of smoke were being drawn steadily out those windows. Eyes tearing uncontrollably, she fumbled to knot the bedding around the narrow bit of wall separating the two small windows.

"Mom, help me!" The unconscious plea escaped her lips as she tugged desperately on the makeshift escape rope, praying it would hold. When it did, she instantly swung her legs out the window. As she began her clumsy descent, she heard calls from below, and in the distance, the growing sound of sirens. Eager hands reached to assist her just as the bedding parted and she dropped the last few feet. She found herself being helped away from the house by the burly, unemployed machinist who lived across the alley with his wife and six kids.

"My aunt!" Rhi gasped, turning to look back at the house where flames could now be clearly seen shooting out from under the eaves and dancing across the roof. "Did she get out?" She looked pleadingly at the big man. He steered her to the edge of the alley and gave her into the care of his wife, who was huddled with a gaggle of neighbours watching the old, yellow house go up in a roaring conflagration.

"Shit. It's like settin' a haystack on fire," the machinist spat. "All the damn houses around here ain't nothin' but fuckin' tinderboxes."

"My aunt?" Rhi pleaded, knowing that if Hettie were still in there, she didn't stand a chance.

"I'll go 'round the front and see if I kin find her," her rescuer assured her, nodding at his wife who laid a comforting hand on Rhi's arm.

Rhi shivered and wiped her sleeve across stinging eyes. She could hear the fire trucks screaming up in front of the house and saw the flashing lights through the smoke and flames that rose from the crumbling structure.

She felt desperately sick, but couldn't drag her gaze from the disintegration. The strobes at the edge of her vision contributed to the nightmarish feeling as she was transported back to an earlier fire---the one that had destroyed her childhood. Hypnotized by the destruction, she never even noticed the return of the machinist with her aunt and one of the hen-house, Eugenia Carter, in tow.

It wasn't until Rhi heard her aunt's full-throated shriek of fury that she turned to see the big woman bearing down on her like a ship under full sail.

"YOU! You're the one who brought this down on my house!" Hettie shrilled, lashing out at her niece furiously and catching a stunned Rhiannon across the head with one hand.

The startled machinist instantly stepped between them, pushing the boiling woman back a few steps. Shoving at his broad chest and trying to sidestep him, she screamed, "You killed your mother, and now you're trying to kill me! You're evil, girl, EVIL! Staying out all night, doing God knows what---You brought His wrath down on my house! You're damned, Anne Davies! Have been since the moment your ungrateful carcass was dumped on my doorstep. I shoulda known you'd bring your curse with you..."

Her rant was cut off by a deep, angry voice. "Hettie Walker! That's enough!" David stepped forward and, after quickly scanning the dazed Rhiannon, turned to confront the furious woman who withered noticeably under his stern expression. "I know you're upset right now, Hettie, so I'll save the lecture on your unchristian attitude, but I suspect you'll find this tragedy had little to do with God and more to do with man's carelessness."

Turning his gaze on Eugenia Carter, the priest asked, "Can you take Hettie home with you?"

Hettie's friend nodded wordlessly and began to lead the distraught woman away. As she walked away, Rhi heard her aunt begin to wail and bemoan the loss of her precious things. Mrs. Carter comforted her loudly, which only seemed to increase the volume of Hettie's lamentations.

"Jesus, I'm sorry, kid," the machinist apologized uneasily. "I found her standin' out front with her friend, and I jus tol' her you was out back. I din't know she'd hit ya."

"It's all right, Jack," David said, as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around Rhi's trembling shoulders. "Look, I'm going to take her back to the rectory with me. Would you let the fire captain know that both inhabitants got out safely, and where he can find Hettie if he needs to talk to her?"

"Sure thing," Jack nodded eagerly. He headed off to circle around to the front of the house, dodging firemen and jumping over hoses.

With infinite gentleness, David coaxed his silent friend away from the scene. Rhi leaned gratefully against his tall, thin form as he led her down the alley, avoiding the stones for the sparse grass as much as he could to spare her bare feet.

"I'd loan you my shoes," he joked lightly, "but you could fit both of your feet into one of them, so I don't think you'd get too far."

Rhi managed to summon a small grunt, but lacked the energy for more. David seemed to understand and didn't try to force any conversation, supporting her quietly as the noise of the fire, firefighters and onlookers faded behind them.

Ten minutes later they reached the church, and David steered her to the rectory door. Unlocking it for her, he placed a large hand on her back and guided her inside. She turned automatically towards the kitchen, but stopped two steps inside, staring at the small table she'd sat at many times as if she'd never seen it before.

David came around in front of her and took her hands. She finally focused on him, and realized he was wearing a pajama shirt with jeans and runners on his sockless feet. The glimmer of a small smile began as she took in his disheveled appearance: his thin blonde hair sticking out at all angles, his glasses slipping down his large nose, and a light stubble over his normally close shaven cheeks.

"How did you know?" Rhi asked curiously, realizing that it had felt perfectly natural for him to show up when she needed someone.

"Tupper called me as soon as he heard the ruckus, and I ran the whole way there," David replied, squeezing her hands lightly. "Look, why don't you go grab a shower? You can use my robe-it's hanging on the back of the door. I'll make some tea, and we'll sit and talk a bit, okay?"

Rhi grimaced at her soot-stained arms and nodded her agreement. He released her hands, and she turned to the hallway, making her way to the bathroom. Once there, she shook her head at the dirty face looking back from the mirror. Stripping off her pajamas, something dropped from her pocket, and she stooped to pick up the bankbook and passport she'd grabbed in her frantic flight from her room. She held them for a moment, realizing that was the only thing she'd salvaged and wishing she'd at least thought to grab her wallet.

Sighing, she set them aside, reminding herself that she'd gotten out safely-and that was all that counted. Suddenly eager to be clean, Rhi pushed the shower curtain aside and climbed into the tub. She let the hot water sluice over her, blasting the first layer of grime off her body before picking up the soap and determinedly scouring away the last reminders of the fire.

When Rhi finally turned off the water and got out of the shower, she was deeply grateful that she could no longer smell the stink of smoke on her body. Toweling dry, she even managed a wry chuckle as she wrapped David's robe around herself. It dragged on the floor, the sleeves came down to her knees, and she felt like the smallest of the seven dwarfs, lost in the voluminous fleecy folds.

Picking up the remains of her possessions, she padded out of the steamy bathroom. Rounding the corner to the kitchen, Rhi saw David sitting at the table, toying idly with the teapot in front of him. He glanced up at her approach and began to grin widely.

"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up, Ichabod," Rhi grumbled amiably as she set her dirty pajamas by the entrance and slid into the chair opposite him. She watched in amusement as the priest gamely tried to suppress his chuckles, finally losing the struggle in a burst of laughter. The young woman joined in, letting some of the stress wash away in shared hilarity.

Still snorting, David poured a cup and pushed it across the table to her. It was only as he poured one for himself that Rhi noticed a third cup sitting in front of him. Tapping it, she raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"I called Marika while you were in the shower," he answered her unspoken question. "She's on her way over, and she's bringing some clothes for you."

Rhi considered that, wondering for an instant whether she should resent his interference, and then realizing that she was very glad he'd called her friend.
She laid the passport and bankbook on the table, tapping them with one finger.

"This was all I saved," she said ruefully, picking up her cup and inhaling the scent of the tea gratefully.

David looked at the documents, and picked up the passport. With a quick glance to ensure he had permission, he flipped through the blank pages before setting it carefully back on the bankbook. Taking up his own cup, he took a swallow before asking, "Want to tell me about it?"

"It?"

The priest smiled knowingly at her patent disingenuousness. "Must be pretty important to you if that's all you grabbed in your escape."

She shrugged. "Well, it was more an accident that I had them on my bed. I was looking at them before I fell asleep, so when the fire happened, I just grabbed them on my way out."

"Uh huh. Any particular reason you were looking at them before you went to sleep?"

David sipped at his tea patiently as Rhi considered whether to answer him. Without any conscious decision, she began to talk to her friend.

"I look at them most nights and dream about the day when I will have enough money to use that passport." She shifted slightly in her chair, leaning forward and staring at him intently. "I'm going away from here pretty soon, Ichabod. I've had it all planned out for years. First I'm going to Wales. I was born there, in Aberystwyth, when my parents were back visiting my Dad's family. I can remember Dad talking about his family all the time when I was little. I vaguely remember meeting an uncle or a cousin that came over for a visit, but I've never met the rest of them. Dad and Mom always planned to take me there again when they could afford it."

"So you want to visit your family there?" David prompted gently.

"I want to know why they abandoned me to Hettie," Rhi shot back, the old anger rising again. "She's the only living relative Mom had, but Dad had a whole gang of them. Why didn't one of them take me?"

The priest reached a calming hand across the table, and Rhi felt the anger subside under his soothing influence. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"Anyway, from there, I'm going to start traveling. I'm used to living cheap, and I've got a decent nest egg to fall back on. I'm not afraid to work, and I even thought I could pick up some extra money by drawing for tourists in the summer months. I'll stay in hostels or camp out where I can. I've got it all worked out in my head, even down to exactly what I'm taking with me."

David nodded in understanding. "How far are you going, and how long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Well, my maps are burnt up now or I'd show you some of the places I'm planning to go; but as to how far...pretty much wherever the winds and inclination take me, David. And I'll be gone until I'm ready to come back...if ever. I can tell you I'll never live with Hettie again."

The last was said so emphatically that the priest had to smile. Then his smile faded and pale blue eyes fixed on Rhi sadly. "I'll miss you."

Rhi ducked her head for a moment and then met his eyes steadily. "I'll miss you too, Ichabod. You've been a good-if very unexpected-friend."

They looked at each somberly, and then David asked, "What about Marika?"

Distracted, the young woman ran her finger around the edge of the teacup. Her friend had asked the very question that had been echoing in her mind every night. Troubled, she looked up. "I don't know. I...don't know."

She shrugged helplessly. Her dream of escape was so old and deep-rooted. Her feelings for the blonde lawyer were so new. She wasn't even sure if she understood them, or if Marika reciprocated them. She didn't know how to balance the two or solve the inherent conflict, so she'd been trying not to think about it too much, preferring to live in the present and let the future take care of itself.

They were silent for long moments, and then David sighed. "Well, I'm glad you saved something anyway. The church has an emergency fund that I have discretionary use of, and I'll help you get some things together."

He held his hand up when she began to protest and shook his head sternly. "No, not this time, Rhiannon Davies. You've nothing left, and I'm not about to let your pride stand in the way of me helping you, got that!?"

Rhi couldn't help smiling, and she subsided with a chuckle. "All right." She smirked mischievously, "But I'm paying you back some day!"

He looked at her with a little grin. "If you wish to make a contribution to the church fund at some future date, I certainly wouldn't deny you that right." Sobering, he added, "I really am sorry that you lost everything, but I'm so deeply grateful that you got out safely."

"Thanks." She patted his hand gratefully. "My stuff wasn't all that great, but I am sad to lose my pictures." Wistfully, she considered all the drawings that had covered her walls. "Strange, I lost my folks to a fire, and now I've lost all my pictures of them to another fire. Ironic, eh?"

"Can you draw your parents again?" the priest asked gently, sympathy clear in his voice.

Rhi nodded. "Yeah, I haven't forgotten how they looked. In fact, that's how I first got started drawing. We lost all the family photos in the fire, and I didn't want to forget Mom, so I started drawing her over and over. Found out I actually had a talent for it. Then when Dad died...well, it took me a while to stop being mad at him, but eventually I started drawing him too."

David looked at her steadily. "Do you want to talk about them?"

Rhi looked at him sharply, but he wasn't pressing or prying, simply offering her the option to tell him if she wanted to. Did she want to? She'd never spoken to anyone about what had happened all those years ago. Even when her teachers had referred her to various counselors, she'd clammed up and refused to open up until the counselors had given up in exasperation and defeat. But this was her friend. She'd already trusted him with her dream of flight...Could she trust him with the events of that horrible year?

She studied him, remembering how she'd thought him the homeliest man she'd ever seen when she first met him. Now she saw the kindness and compassion in those pale eyes. She saw the lines of experience and laughter in his thin face. And she saw that he genuinely cared...about all people, but most especially about her. She wondered for an instant how his wife could've abandoned such a gentle, wonderful man, but set the thought aside. Rhi knew, as much as she'd ever known anything, that she could trust this man...this priest...this friend.

"Yeah, Ichabod. I want to talk about them."

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

She began. "I was ten years old..."

At that moment, they heard a car pulling into the driveway. Rhi grinned ruefully and said, "Hold that thought." Going to open the door, she watched as Marika hurried up the pathway. The lawyer didn't hesitate for a second. She swept Rhiannon into a hug, and the small woman absorbed the sensation hungrily, burying her face gratefully against her friend's chest as her own arms went around the slender waist and tightened convulsively.

They stood in the doorway, rocking slightly in the lengthy, mutual embrace until Marika pulled back. Rhi reached up and lightly brushed away the dampness on the lawyer's cheeks. They looked at each other and then an expression of dismay crossed the blonde's face. Holding Rhi at arm's length, she stared.

"What in heaven's name are you wearing?" Marika asked in amazement.

"The Friendly Giant's housecoat," Rhi replied wryly. "Not like I had a lot of choice."

Marika smiled. "Well, I can do something about that-not that you don't look adorable."

She turned and quickly returned to the car as Rhi unconsciously beamed. The lawyer returned with a plastic bag and handed it her companion. "Here, I think you'll find something that'll fit you a bit better in there."

Rhi smiled her thanks, and left Marika with David in the kitchen as she went to change. She found underwear, shorts, a tee shirt, and sandals that were much too long, but still wearable. Dressing, she surveyed herself in the mirror and shrugged slightly at her now more conventional appearance. Hanging the robe back up on the door, she returned to the kitchen to find her friends deep in serious conversation.

They both looked up at her approach and Rhi noticed how tired they looked. Glancing at the kitchen clock, she saw it was almost two in the morning. Feeling slightly guilty, she said, "Look, I'm keeping you guys up..."

Before she could go any further, both of them were shaking their heads vigorously as David pushed out her chair and indicated she should take a seat.

"Don't be silly, Rhi. It's hardly your fault that your home burnt down in the middle of the night," David insisted as the young woman sat down. "Now, I believe you were about to tell me about your parents."

Glancing at Marika, Rhi didn't see any hint of surprise, so she assumed that David had briefed her while she'd been changing. Having made the decision to open up, she knew that these two, above all others, would listen lovingly and non-judgmentally. David topped up their cups, and she began again.

"Okay, well, like I was saying, I was ten years old. We lived in Toronto, in one of the poorer inner city neighbourhoods, quite close to the railway tracks. Dad worked the night shift as a baker, and Mom worked days in a dry cleaning place. Looking back, I know we didn't have much money, but I never felt the least bit deprived as a kid. Mom and Dad were great about finding things to do in the city that didn't cost much money, and when I think of my childhood, I remember laughing a lot, and feeling loved and safe. My Dad was a real comic. He'd come home in the morning just when we were having breakfast, and he'd tell us stories of all the people at the bakery. He'd make us laugh so hard that Mom and I would leave for work and school with tears in our eyes."

Rhi paused to take a drink and noticed her audience was fixed intently on her. She smiled at them, and resumed her story.

"I can remember Dad dancing me around the kitchen while I stood on his shoes, but he really loved to dance with Mom. They'd turn up the radio and I'd sit on the counter clapping as they danced and danced." She smiled wistfully at the memory. "Dad worshipped the ground Mom walked on. He would tell me the story of how he'd come to Canada on a visit as a young man. He was with some buddies in a park and he saw a vision of a goddess, picnicking with her friends. Said as soon as he set eyes on Mom, he knew he was going to marry her. And he did. Mom used to laugh and say it was only because he was so annoying that she finally said 'yes' just to shut him up, but I knew she loved him too. Her eyes used to sparkle when she heard him at the front door."

Rhi glanced at Marika and saw a yearning look in the gray eyes watching her. They looked at each other for a long moment before the younger woman took a deep breath and went on.

"Mom used to baby-sit for some of the people in the neighbourhood, and one night she was looking after this little kid who just wouldn't settle down. I think he was teething or something. Anyway, Dad was at work, Mom was occupied with the cranky baby, and when it came time for bed, she didn't have time to read me my usual stories. I was mad at her, and I stomped upstairs to my bedroom..."

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"Stupid baby!" Rhi muttered as she slammed the door behind her. The little girl knew she wasn't really being fair, but she loved story time with her mother and hated to lose it because of some squalling brat.

Rhi burst into her room, grabbing the cage and turning back to the door. She was driven back by a blast of heat and stared in fright at the flames now visible in the hallway. Whimpering, "Mommy, help me!" she backed away, terrified. She cast her gaze frantically about the room, seeking an escape. She ran to the window, but couldn't get it open. Sobbing now, she rolled under the bed, pulling Elrod's cage with her. She could feel the heat of the approaching flames as she choked and gasped for air, when she heard the sound of the window breaking. Within moments, strong hands pulled her out from under the bed, and still clutching the cage, she was carried to the window. Over the fireman's shoulder, she could see the flames begin to engulf her bed, and then she was outside, being carried down a ladder.

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In a flat voice she barely recognized as her own, Rhiannon said, "When Mom realized we'd gotten separated, she gave the baby to a neighbour and ran back into the house. She didn't make it out a second time. Someone called Dad at work, and he rushed home. I'll never forget his scream when they told him that Mom was inside."

She didn't even realize she was crying until a gentle hand wiped softly at her cheeks with a tissue. Looking up, she saw Marika use the same tissue to dab at her own eyes.

David gazed at her with infinite compassion. "Rhi, it's okay to stop..."

She shook her head. "Not much more to tell, Ichabod. Elrod died a few days after the fire. Same day we buried Mom actually. Dad got an apartment, and he switched jobs so he could be home in the evenings and nights with me. But...it was like everything good had gone out of his life. I never heard him laugh again. I tried so hard..."

Her voice trailed off as Rhi recalled the endless days she'd tried to take her mother's place, cleaning the sparse home, doing her best to cook her father meals, talking to the mostly silent man as they sat across the table from each other. One time she'd even tried to coax him into dancing, but he'd only gently pushed her away, telling her 'maybe later.'

"One morning, he left for work at the usual time. I went to get my school lunch, and I saw that Dad had forgotten his, so I ran after him. I was half a block behind him and gaining when I saw..."

Rhi stopped there, barely able to voice the horror she'd seen. In a scarcely audible voice, she said, "He stepped right into the path of a city bus. They tried to tell me later that it must have been an accident, that he wasn't paying attention, but I knew."

Her friends shifted uneasily until David softly asked, "You knew what, Rhi?"

Dark anguished eyes rose to meet his. "I knew he didn't love me enough to live for me. He walked into the path of that bus deliberately because he couldn't stand life without her one more moment. He didn't even last a year without her."

"I'm so, so sorry," Marika murmured, the tears again rolling freely down her pale cheeks. "To have that happen to a child...and for you to see it..."

Her voice far away, Rhi looked beyond them to a past she'd never spoken of until this night. "I always wondered if losing Dad was my punishment for killing Mom."

There was an outcry of protests, and she shook her head. "No, it's okay. I do understand that I was a kid, and I reacted without thinking. That it killed my mother was a horrible accident." She looked at them wryly, "Mind you, when I got dumped with Hettie, I was pretty sure THAT was my punishment."

Her weak attempt at humour failed to wring the smallest smile from her friends, and she just shrugged. Looking up at the wall clock, she noted it was almost three now.

Marika followed her line of sight and, closing her hand over Rhi's, said, "I'm taking you home with me. You can stay with me as long as you want, you know that."

"Yeah," David chimed in. "I was going to keep you here, but I figured it might arouse less comment from the small minded in the parish if you stayed with a female friend."

Rhi couldn't help a small burst of laughter at the irony, and she could tell by the priest's tiny grin that he was well aware of it too. Stretching a little, she nodded her head.

"I'll take you up on that offer for a few nights, boss, but I'll get cracking on finding a new place in the morning."

Marika shook her head, but stood when Rhi did. David picked up her documents and handed them over, before walking the women to the door.

"Call me tomorrow?" he asked.

Rhi smiled wearily. "You mean today, but yeah, I'll give you a call later on, okay?"

David opened his arms hesitantly, but Rhi willingly moved into them for a hug.

"Thanks, Ichabod," she whispered fiercely, squeezing him hard. He hugged her back for a long moment, then released her. Turning away, she missed the exchange of understanding looks between the priest and the lawyer as she headed out the door.

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The brothers stood watching the smoking remains of the yellow house. The smaller of the two men sidled over to a fireman rolling up a hose.

"Hey, pretty bad one, eh?"

"Yeah," the tired firefighter grunted. "Least there was no loss of life this time though."

Engrossed in his task, he missed the startled expression on the speaker's face and never noticed when the man trotted back to his bigger companion.

"Shit! What are we gonna do?" the bigger man hissed at his brother.

"Shut the fuck up, Eddie! I gotta think. C'mon, let's get outta here."

The two men crossed the street. When Eddie went to mount the stairs to their home, Pike shook his head.

"Nah, not a good idea. Let's get outta here for a coupla days."

Eddie stared at his older brother. "He ain't gonna be happy, Pike."

"Tell me somepin' I don't know, ya idiot," the smaller brother snarled. Turning, he stalked over to the brand-new pick-up parked behind their Harleys.
Without waiting to see if his brother followed, he climbed in and started the engine. The truck was already backing up by the time Eddie swung himself into the cab. Pulling carefully out of the driveway, Pike navigated around the pumper truck and drove slowly down the street.

Continued in Chapter 21