Rick Schlister came into County Hospital through the ER entrance, whistling and happy even for early morning. Carol Hathaway looked up from her post at the front desk to see who was coming in such a good mood. She smiled at this man, even though she didn’t recognize him.

"Can I help you, Sir?" she asked him cheerfully.

"Ah, a vision of beauty" Rick turned to her with a smile. "Every bit as lovely as I imagined from the descriptions I heard. You MUST be Carol Hathaway!"

"And you must be that silver-tongued devil, Rick Schlister" Carol smiled.

"And how would you know that?" He grinned and leaned on her desk on front of her.

"Doug talks about you all the time" she smiled.

"Well, everything he told you is a lie" Rick flashed his smile at her. "Unless it was good! In which case, it’s all true!"

"You ARE a character, aren’t you?" Carol shook her head.

"Well, I’ve been called worse things" he shrugged. "Is Doug here yet?" he smiled.

"No, he’s not here yet..."

"Yes, he is" Doug’s voice boomed out from the doorway. He came into the ER carrying Cassidy in one arm and holding a patch to his left eye with the other.

"What in the world happened to you?" Rick laughed, but on a closer look, took a more serious tone. "Is that blood on that handkerchief?"

"No, Rick! I mopped up ketchup off the kitchen table before I put it to my eye! Of COURSE it’s blood!"

"Your blood?" Rick continued to make light of the situation, getting an annoyed look from Doug.

"No, it’s blood I borrowed from a bum on the street! Of COURSE it’s my blood!"

"Well, what happened?" Rick laughed.

"Doug, are you all right?" Carol was around the desk and reaching for the patch.

"Cass hit me in the eye with the butt end of her bottle. I think she was trying to hand it to me but she missed..."

"Yeah, just a little" Rick laughed.

"Oh, my God!" Carol gasped as she pulled the patch away. "That’s a pretty good hit!"

"Looks like it could use some stitches" Rick took a closer look at it as well. "She got you right on the bone."

"Great! That’s all I need! We’re leaving for NY tonight and I’m going to accept a Humanitarian Award with a black eye!"

"Just tell them it was an unappreciative rescued child!" Rick laughed.

"Take her, will you?" Doug handed Cassidy over to her Godfather. "We better find somebody to take stitches" he signed.

"I’ll page Mark Greene" Carol nodded.

"Maybe she’s gonna be a boxer!" Rick laughed as he shifted Cassidy into his arms. "Did you get him with a cross, a hook, or a jab, Kiddo?" he tickled the baby and she laughed gleefully.

"Come on, Doug" Carol took his arm and started leading him away. "Let’s get you to an exam room."

"Take her up to my office, OK, Rick?" Doug pitched him the keys.

"Yeah, great! Thanks!" Rick caught the keys quickly in one hand. "Come on ‘Lucy Holmes’, " he teased the baby. "Let’s get you in your cage."  He laughed as he started down the hall with her.

Carol led Doug into an exam room and he hopped up onto an exam table. She pulled the patch away from his eye and winced at the swollen and bleeding wound.

"Is it still bleeding?" Doug wanted to know.

"A little" she nodded.

"Is my eye black and blue?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Great" he scoffed. "Just what I need."

"What happened to you?" Mark Greene laughed as he entered the room.

"Cassidy hit me in the eye with her bottle" Doug groaned.

"I think it’s going to need stitches, Mark" Carol reported.

"Well, let’s have a look" Mark pulled up a stool to sit in front of Doug. "She got you good, didn’t she?" he chuckled. "Yeah, it’ll take a couple of stitches to close it up good" he nodded.

"Great" Doug sighed. "I’m going to NY to accept an award with a black eye."

"Wear an eye patch. I hear they’re all the rage in formal wear these days" Mark laughed.

"That might not be such a bad idea" Doug brightened a bit.

"You want Novocain?" Mark asked him. "Or a bullet?"

"I think I’ll take the Novocain, if that’s OK with you?"

"Not a problem" Mark grinned. "Carol? Would you fill the syringe for me, please? Doug? You want to lie down for me?"

"Sure" Doug nodded shortly.

Mark spread the blue drape cloth over Doug’s face and very gently eased the needle into his face. Doug sucked in his breath but otherwise, did not object much to the injections. Once the area was numb, Mark took three neatly done stitches and then put a patch starting just under Doug’s eye.

"All done" he announced as he put his tools back on the tray. "You should be fine. I’ll take the stitches out when you get back, or you can take them out yourself when you think they’re ready."

"Thanks, Mark" Doug sighed as he slid off the table.

"Anytime" Mark peeled off his gloves and started out of the room.

"What time are you picking me up tonight?" Carol smiled up at Doug.

"Plane leaves at 10...I thought I’d get you about 7 and we could get something to eat while we wait?"

"That sounds fine! I’ll be ready" she kissed his cheek gently. "Watch out for flying baby bottles, OK?" she laughed and he grinned sarcastically at her.

"Oh, yeah" he nodded, "Ha ha."

Doug went into his office to find Cassidy playing happily in the middle of the floor and Rick pounding away at a video game on the computer.

"Is this how you plan to spend the time in my office while I’m gone?" he wanted to know. "I thought you were going to HELP me?"

"Oh, I will" Rick nodded. "But, I’ll be battling the aliens once in a while, too!"

"Just keep my keys" Doug told him. "If you want to check out of the hotel and stay at my apartment, that’s OK too. Just clear it with my roommate first..."

"Already have" Rick leaned back and grinned. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem" Doug sighed and sat on the edge of the desk.

"Are you sure you don’t want to leave Cass here? It wouldn’t be a problem to take care of her."

"Thanks for the offer, but, since Jacque and Beth live in New York, I want to take her so they can see her and spend some time with her."

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that." Rick nodded. "That’ll be good. I’m glad you’re not going alone, but, do you think taking Carol with you is a good idea?"

"Yeah, actually, I do. She’s real easy for me to talk to...and I have a feeling I’m going to be doing a lot of talking on this trip."

"Well, good for you. You go for it, Buddy."

"Thanks, Rick. Take care of things for me, OK? I’m trusting you."

"Have I ever let you down yet?"

"No" Doug shook his head. "I hope you don’t mind me telling you it’s gonna be GREAT having you here all the time."

"It’s gonna be great being a team with you again" Rick nodded. "I’ll be going back to California next week and I’ll be gone about 2 weeks. I should be back about the time you leave for Kentucky. You gonna be OK with that?"

"Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m nervous, but excited at the same time."

"You want me to go with you? Because I can come back early if you do."

"No, it’s OK. I’ll be fine. I’m used to going to Kentucky by myself."

"OK. I’ll see you briefly when you get back, then. Have a good trip."

"OK" Doug nodded, going over to pick up Cassidy and get her ready to leave with him again. "We’re going home and pack. I’m wounded so I’m taking the rest of the day off."

"Well, a poor excuse is better than none." Rick laughed.

"Just so you know, Solitaire is on "F1", Battleship is on "F2" and Asteroids is on "F3"." Doug grinned from the doorway.

"Ah ha! So I’m not the only one who sits and plays games in here!" Rick laughed.

"Learned from the best, didn’t I?" Doug waved to him. "All work and no play makes Dougie a DULL boy!"

"Have a good one, Pardner!" Rick waved to him. "Watch out for Punchy, there!"

"Don’t worry!" Doug assured him with a laugh. "I will!"

Doug went down in the elevator and out through the ER, stopping at Carol’s desk. He leaned forward to talk privately to her, with Cassidy patting his face gently.

"What time do you get off?"

"I’m leaving about 3. Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, I just came in to get things ready to leave for Rick while I’m gone. He’s going over my research things so we can go ahead and get started. Then, he’ll go back to California and wrap things up to come back and we’ll already be off and running. I’m going home and pack."

"I’m already packed" Carol grinned. "Packed everything last night! But I do want to make a last minute check."

"OK" He leaned forward and kissed her very gently on the lips. "I’ll see you later."

"Watch out that ‘Xena’ there doesn’t black your other eye!"

"Thanks!" he laughed.

With a short wave and a wink from his good eye, he turned with Cassidy and left the hospital, leaving Carol shaking her head and smiling as she watched him go.

"A weekend trip to New York with Doug?" Kerry raised an eyebrow at Carol. "I’d say the relationship is taking a few giant steps forward, isn’t it?"

"It sure is!" Carol smiled.

"I think that’s great" Kerry smiled at her.

"You do?" Carol was surprised to hear this from someone who knew Doug better than she did.

"Yes" she nodded. "I really do. And I wish you good luck with him."

"Thanks, Kerry! I really appreciate that!"

Carol turned her attention back to her work, but, her mind was already on the coming weekend...in New York...with Doug.

Carol was packed and ready when Doug knocked on her door. She opened the door to find him wearing an eye patch and carrying Cassidy.

"How’s you eye?" She laughed as she picked up her suitcase.

"It’s fine" he nodded. "Can I carry that for you?"

"It’s OK" she shook her head. "I got it. Do you want me to drive?"

"Would you?" he gave her a coaxing look. "I’m still adjusting to seeing out of one eye! I don’t really need to keep it covered, but, it really feels better this way!"

"Then, by all means, do it" she told him.

He helped her put her suitcase in the trunk and he strapped Cassidy into her car seat. Then, he handed Carol the keys and climbed in on the passenger’s side. Carol got in on the driver’s side and they listened to music on the way to the airport.

"Thanks" he told her quietly.

"For what? Driving?"

"Driving, and for coming with me. I wasn’t looking forward to going back alone."

"Well, you know David Morganstern will be there, but I don’t think he’s leaving until tomorrow."

"What I’ll do is arrange for my in-laws to move everything in the apartment into storage. Then, eventually, I’ll have it moved to Chicago."

"You don’t seem very excited about this award."

"It’s just one of those things I don’t see any big deal in" he shrugged. "I mean, I didn’t do it to win an award. I did it because a little kid was sitting out there bawling his eyes out and his mother was hysterical on the bank. I stuck a pole in the water to see how deep it was and I knew I could wade to him. It was really no big deal."

"You put yourself in danger. Flood waters are very swift. Didn’t it occur to you that you could be swept downstream in the current?"

"I had on a life jacket and a harness that five guys in the boat were holding onto the line tied to me. I really felt pretty secure with it."

"And then you got sick?"

"Yep! Peritonitis set in and I was sick as a dog for about a week! But, as far as I was concerned, a little boy was back in his mother’s arms, so it was worth it. I surely didn’t expect an award out of it."

"That’s what makes it so special" she smiled at him.

"Huh" he grunted. "I suppose."

"I think modesty is very sexy" she teased him.

"Do you really?" he chuckled. "Glad that’s one of my good traits, then."

"You have a lot of good traits" she told him honestly. "More than you even know about, probably."

Not used to compliments and never sure how to handle them, Doug simply chucked at Carol’s remark. She smiled over at him and she turned the car into the ‘long term parking’ area of the airport.

They stood in line at the ticket desk, and Carol was holding Cassidy while Doug took care of things with the clerk.

"I wish you would at least let me pay for my own ticket" Carol grumbled.

"You’re doing this as a favor to me" Doug informed her. "I’ll pay for it."

He got the tickets and checked their luggage through, and the three of them went into the boarding area. Passing through the electronic security field and sitting by the window, waiting for their flight to be called. Carol sensed something deep in Doug’s quietness, and she touched his shoulder comfortingly.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah" he nodded. "I’m fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah" he nodded again. "I’m sure."

She understood that he didn’t want to talk, so, she set to playing patty-cake with Cassidy and let him alone. Within minutes of watching the two of them play, Doug began to smile.

"Do the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ with her" Doug told her quietly. "She likes that one."

Carol began to sing quietly the words to the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’, all the while working Cassidy’s hands through the motions in the song. The baby laughed gleefully at the ‘down came the rain’ when Carol swooped her hands downward. Doug noticed several other waiting passengers watching them play and smiling. He knew there was nothing like a baby to make someone smile.

"Flight 721 now boarding for New York" the loudspeaker crackled to life.

"That’s us!" Doug stood up and put Cassidy’s diaper bag over his shoulder.

"Are you ready, Cassidy?" Carol stood up, carrying the baby with her. "This is not her first flight, right?"
"Oh, no! She started flying when she was barely a month old! She’s an old pro at it now!"

"Is that when you started taking her to Kentucky?"

"Yeah" he nodded shortly. "Did I tell you my Dad got a new hearing?" he asked her, handing the tickets to the boarding clerk.

"No!" she brightened quickly. "When?"

"In a few more weeks" the clerk validated their boarding passes and handed them back to Doug. "I’ll be going down there for it. It you could, I’d like you to keep Cass for me while I’m gone. It should just be one day and maybe one night."

"That wouldn’t be a problem at all. I could stay in your new apartment so she’ll be in her own bed."

"That’ll be great. Thanks." He smiled at her and slipped his arm around her shoulder. "I’m sure Cass will appreciate that as much as I will."

The three of them took their seats from the direction of the flight attendant and took off their coats to get comfortable Carol held Cassidy on her lap while Doug took his daughter’s coat off her. Then, he sat down beside Carol and he knew to anyone who didn’t know, they looked like a family. He smiled at that thought and balanced the baby on his lap.

"Eee bee pie!" Cassidy babbled, waving her arms up and down. Carol looked over at Doug for an explanation.

"Itsy Bitsy Spider" Doug grinned at her.

"And she’ll be a year old when?" Carol smiled.

"Next month" Doug chuckled. "I hope my Dad is home by then."

"Are you planning a big birthday party?"

"Oh, sure! You’ll all be getting invitations at the hospital real soon" he chuckled, thinking. "I hope she has a little more hair by then" he toyed with the tiny tuffs of hair growing out of his daughter’s head. "She has a darling little white dress that Kate bought right after she was born. She can wear it for pictures and then it comes off so she eats cake in nothing but her diaper because I know the first thing she’s gonna do is plunge both hands straight into it!" they both laughed. "Won’t you, Sweetheart?"

"Pie?" Cassidy looked at him with a long face.

"OK" he nodded and began working her hands and singing the song softly to her.

"I hope I get to meet your dad" Carol smiled at him. "I think it’s wonderful that you have stood by him all these years."

"He’s my dad" Doug shrugged. "And what he did, he did for me. There was no way I was going to forget that or turn my back on him." Doug paused in thought, still playing with Cassidy. "There’s some other things I want to tell you about, when we get to New York, OK?" he looked over at Carol.

"Don’t think you have to, OK?" she smiled softly at him.

"I want to" he nodded. "If we’re going to enter into a relationship together, I don’t want any secrets between us. OK?"

"OK" she nodded.

Inwardly, Carol thought of secrets of her own that maybe she should tell him, but she wasn’t sure she was as ready to talk as he seemed to be.

Doug looked out the window as the plane landed at JFK Airport in New York to see snow blowing softly outside. It made his already melancholy mood even darker but he tried not to show it much as he and Carol went through the terminal to the baggage claim and waited for their bags. He stood watching the luggage come down, with his mind already on opening the door of his apartment. He still was not sure what he was expecting when that time came. Bags collected, Doug hailed a cab and gave the driver the address, watching out the window as the cab went slowly through the city traffic.

Carol knew by the look in his eyes that Doug was troubled by all of this. Since she knew words would not be the best thing to offer him, she simply reached over and clasped her hand around his, squeezing it lightly. He looked over at her and smiled, squeezing her hand as well. He was nervous and he wondered just how much it showed to her. Carol thought it was wonderful the way so many people they passed in the apartment building said 'Hello, Dr. Ross" or "Good to see you, Dr. Ross" as Doug passed by. He seemed to be not only easily recognized but well liked, and Carol liked that. Doug put the key into the lock of the penthouse suite he had lived in for five years before leaving and heading west. He hoped the fact that he took a deep breath before opening the door didn't show. Carol followed him in and he tried to cover his nervousness by talking to Cassidy as he carried her with him.

"Hey, Cass, do you remember this place? Huh? You and Daddy used to live here..." he turned quickly to Carol. "Do you smell flowers?"

"Yeah" Carol took in a deep breath. "I do."

"So, it's not my imagination, then?"

"No, I can smell them."

"Good" he breathed a sigh of relief. He went into the drawing room to find a huge bowl of fresh cut flowers in the center of the coffee table. "Looks like Beth has been here" he smiled.

"I'm guessing Caitlyn liked fresh flowers?" Carol smiled as she took off her coat.

"Yeah" Doug took off his coat and laid it over the back of a nearby chair. "She used to stop at the market every day and get flowers for the dinner table." Carol took his coat off the chair and draped it over her arm with hers.

"Where's the closet?" she asked him.

"Behind you" he motioned. He sat Cassidy down and started taking her coat off her, handing it to Carol for her to hang it up with the others.

"This is a nice place" Carol nodded as she looked around.

"Yeah, I'll show you around" Doug told her as he looked at the card with the flowers. 'For Doug and Cassidy[.]' Beth's handwriting was on the card. Welcome Home.' he smiled weakly and returned it to the envelope. "I was right" he turned to Carol. "They're from my mother-in-law."

"That must be where Caitlyn got her love for flowers, then, huh?"

"I'm sure. Beth's an incredible woman" he chuckled a bit. "You'll like her. We'll see them tomorrow at the awards ceremony. My father-in-law is presenting."

"I'm looking forward to it" Carol nodded.

"OK, I'm gonna put her down for a nap and then you and I can look around the
place, OK?"

"Sure" she nodded.

Doug carried Cassidy to the nursery. Carol followed along behind him and looked in at the pink and yellow teddy bear print wallpaper with a white antique crib in the center of the room. Doug lifted his daughter over the rail and tugged off her rompers
and shoes before laying her down.

"Get some sleep, little one" he leaned down and kissed her gently. Then he left the room with Carol, paying no attention to the fact that Cassidy was immediately on her feet, standing in her crib, with her hands on the top rail. Before he could start showing Carol around the apartment, however, the phone rang.

"Excuse me" he nodded to Carol.

"Sure" she smiled.

She heard Doug answer the phone and say 'Hello, Beth' so she knew it was his mother-in-law calling. While he talked to her, Carol walked slowly around the apartment, just looking at things. There were pictures...so many pictures. There were pictures of Doug in and out of the hospital. There was a photo of him playing touch football in Central Park with Rick Schlister chasing him. There was a photo of him in his office at the hospital, sitting at his desk. Carol made note of several awards on the wall behind him, but she couldn't make out what any of them were. There was a photo of him with Caitlyn and Cassidy, moments after the baby's birth, and he was looking down at her in awe with tears in the most loving eyes Carol had ever seen on a man. But the picture that caught her eye was one of him with Caitlyn. He had his arms wrapped around her from behind at a picnic somewhere. The look on her face was one of surprise and delight as she peered her eyes up at him. Under the photo were the words "I Can't Picture Me With No One Else But You" from the Statler Brothers' song 'Pictures'. Carol smiled as she thought of how the chorus of that song went...

[Oh, sometimes it's so much fun to be reminded of how we used to look and what we used to do, and each time we make a mem'ry I'm reminded I can't picture me with no one else but you!]

She went on along through the hallway, looking at all of the awards on the walls that belonged to Caitlyn. Awards from college. Awards from the AMA for her work. Her first (and only) Mother's Day card was framed and placed outside the nursery. There was a picture of the two of them dancing at some formal affair.

"My brother took a lot of those pictures" Doug came up behind her quietly.

"Photography is sort of a hobby of his."

"I didn't' know you had a brother" Carol turned, not startled, to smile at him.

"Half brother. You'll meet him soon. He'll be coming to Wisconsin to train for a race."

"A race?"

"Yeah, he's a formula one race car driver."

"That's a dangerous occupation. Good thing he has a doctor for a brother!"
Carol laughed. "Is he any good?"

"He's pretty good" Doug nodded. "Won enough races to be considered a celebrity. He makes a decent living at it."

"How old is he?"

"He just turned 28 a few months ago."

"Do you get along with him?"

"Yeah, we're pretty close."

"Your mother's child?" Carol wasn't trying be nosy, she was just genuinely interested. Doug shook his head.

"My father's."

"Does he visit your father in prison, too?"

"No. I don't think he even knows he's there. It's something we never really talked about, but we're going to have to if Dad gets out and comes to stay with me. That's one of my 'trump' cards to play with Chris when he gets here."

"Chris? Is that his name?"

"Chris Kilpatrick" Doug nodded. "Ever heard of him?"

"Who hasn't!" Carol laughed. "He won the Italian circuit last year!"

"I wouldn't have taken you for one to keep up with auto racing!" Doug chuckled.

"David was a huge car freak. He used to follow it. And I picked up things here and there."

"Well, you're right. That was Chris!"

"What's he training for? Indy?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna be part of his team."

"The team doctor?" Carol gave him a knowing smile and Doug raised an eyebrow.

"Good guess."

"PIE!" they heard Cassidy suddenly screaming from her room.

"What the hell....?" Doug darted to the nursery quickly with Carol two step behind him. "What is it, Cass?" he entered the room to find the little girl jumping up and down in her crib and pointing wildly to the wall, all the while screaming loudly.

"PIE!" she pointed desperately. "PIE!" Doug looked to the wall to see a tiny spider spinning a web in the corner. He took one of her story books and aimed it to hit just about the time Carol came into the room behind him.

"Doug! NO!" she shouted, but, it was too late. He had already killed the spider with a SPLAT of the book. Cassidy immediately began to cry and Doug looked confused. "You weren't supposed to kill it!" Carol scoffed at him as she lifted his daughter into her arms, trying to comfort her tears. "She just wanted you to know it was there!"

"How do you KNOW these things?" Doug shook his head.

"I'm a woman" Carol shrugged.

"Well, what am I going to do now? Go out and buy her a tarantula or something?"

"I'll handle it" Carol told him. She carried the little girl through the apartment to her suitcase in the living room. Balancing Cassidy in her arms, she opened the case and fished in it until she found SPINNER, the beanie baby spider. It was something she never traveled without as it was a psychological good luck piece. "Here, sweetheart, You can play with this one until Daddy buys you one." She handed the spider to the baby, instantly silencing her.

"What's that?" Doug gave the toy a suspicious look.

"It's a Beanie Baby" Carol gave him a nonchalant air.

"Is it safe? Anything she can pull off and put in her mouth or anything?" Doug tried to look at the toy, but Cassidy was busy waving it in the air. "At least if she hits me with this, she won't give me a black eye!" he laughed.

"Would I give it to her if there was anything she could put in her mouth?" Carol gave him a annoyed tone. "It's perfectly safe. We'll buy her one when we go shopping."

"Who said anything about shopping?"

"You don't think I'm going to come to New York and not shop, do you?" she
chuckled.

"Do I have to go?" he groaned.

"That's a silly question! Of course you do!"

"I was afraid you were gonna say that." Carol only laughed at his remark. "OK, let me get a few things in her bag and we'll go, OK?"

"Sure" she nodded and laughed as he started away.

Doug went into the nursery and stuffed a few extra diapers into Cassidy's bag. He kept thinking about the first time he opened the door and started in. In his mind he could vision Kate, running through the apartment from the kitchen, a dish rag on her shoulder, smiling and happy to see him, throwing herself into his arms, hugging and kissing him. It was a scene he had repeated every evening for three years.. Once, he had asked her why she always did that and she played a record for him. The song was 'Lovers and Wives' by Jack Jones and once he heard it, he understood.

[Hey, little girl, comb your hair, fix your make-up. Soon, he will open the door. Don't think because there's a ring on your finger you needn't try anymore. For wives should always be lovers, too! Run to his arms the moment he comes to you. Day after day there are girls at the office and men will always be men. Don't send him off with your hair still in curlers you may not see him again.]

He remembered that Kate once told him men like women who can be a lady in public and a whore in the bedroom. Although he would never quite have labeled her a 'whore' in any terms, she always kept him satisfied.

"Ready?" Carol broke his trance from the doorway.

"Yep!" he zipped the bag and put it over his shoulder. "We'll take the train into town." he told her as he followed along behind her to the closet for their coats.

"I can't believe you just left everything here - furniture - clothes - everything."

"Well, when I left I wasn't sure I wasn't coming back. Beth looked in on things from time to time and I think her other daughter stayed here for a while..."

"You have a sister-in-law?" Carol smiled as he helped her on with her coat.

"Yeah, Kendra. She lives in New Jersey but she works here in New York. I think she stayed here a while with her daughter."

"And your brother-in-law?"

"Only met him once. They're divorced. Kendra works for a PR firm. His name is Gerald and I think he's in Florida now." He opened the door. "Let's go!"

"I changed her, so, she's fresh!" Carol patted Cassidy's bottom.

Doug didn’t understand what it was about women and shopping, but Carol seemed to love it as much as he remembered Kate always did. He never knew Kate to go out that she didn’t come back with at least two shopping bags full of treasures.

"Let me take Cass and buy her a few things" Carol pleaded with him.

"She doesn’t need anything" he shook his head.

"Babies ALWAYS need things!" Carol protested. "Please? Let me buy her some things?"

"OK, let me give you some money..."

"I don’t want your money" she shook her head. "I want it to be from me, OK? I love to buy things for little girls!"

"Well, OK. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"I’ll probably still be in the infant department. Just come there."

"OK. I’ll be back!"

They went their separate ways, Carol heading for infant wear, and Doug in search of a Beanie Baby spider.

An hour later, he returned to find Carol waiting for him with a shopping bag at her feet and his daughter in her arms. Cassidy reached for him when she saw him and Carol smiled.

"Looks like you guys had some fun" Doug chuckled.

"We did! I hope you’ll like the things I picked out for her!" Carol beamed enthusiastically.

"I’m sure I will" he nodded with a smile. "And look what I found!" he reached into a bag and pulled out a black and red Beanie Baby spider, holding it up for Cassidy. But, Carol snatched it away quickly.

"My, GOD, Doug! Where did you get that?"

"In a bin with a bunch of other Beanie Babies" he gave her a puzzled look. "Why?"

"That’s not SPINNER" she told him, shaking her head. "How much did you pay for this?"

"I don’t know...about ten bucks. Why?"

"Then, somebody didn’t know what they had. That is WEB, and he’s worth about $250!"

"Geez! I’m sorry! Should I take it back and trade it?"

"No, I will buy it from you! We’ll just go back and buy her a SPINNER."

"You don’t have to buy it from me" he smiled at her. "You can have it" he chuckled as they started off together. "I didn’t know you were so into Beanie Babies."

"I’m not really, but, I pick up talk at the hospital. I think some of them are really cute."

"I bought Cass some real cute dresses!" Carol told him as they started away. I have yet to see you put one on her..."

"There’s a good reason for that!" he chuckled. "She doesn’t have any! At least not any that fit. My Mom bought her some when she was little...so did Kate...and Beth...but she’s outgrown them all and I’m not the best judges of dresses for little girls."

"Well, we’ll just have to teach you, ‘Dad’!" she teased him. "I had so much fun! Everybody told me what a cute little girl I had and everything!" Doug just smiled at her bubbling. He enjoyed seeing her so happy.

After stopping to pick up the correct Beanie Baby for Cassidy, and Carol taking her to the ladies room to change her, the shoppers came upon a commotion in the middle of the store. People were crowded around and girls were chattering enthusiastically.

"Wonder what’s going on?" Carol looked at Doug.

"I have no idea" he shook his head. "Let’s see if we can get closer and find out." He craned his neck above the crowd to get a better look, and he smiled. "Wait here" he told Carol as he reached into his wallet and took out a card. "This could be fun."

"What’s going on?" Carol asked him as he stepped away.

Doug eased his way through the crowd without pushing to come to the top of it. There, in the center, signing autographs as quickly as things were handed to him, was Chris Kilpatrick. He was signing whatever was handed to him without even looking up. Doug reached his side and handed him the card.

"How would you like that signed, sweetheart?" Chris just assumed his admirer was a female.

"How about ‘To My Brother’, ‘darlin’?" Doug teased him. Now, Chris looked up. And he was more than delighted to see Doug standing in front of him.

"Doug!" Chris grabbed his brother in a bear hug. "What are you doing here?! It’s great to see you...."

"Good to see you, too, Bro, but what are YOU doing here?"

" Long story! I’ll tell you later."

"I’m counting on that!" Chris nodded and then turned to face his admiring group. "OK, folks, that’s all the freebies for now!" There were disapproving groans spring up from the crowd. "Now, now!" Chris told them. "Duty calls! This man is family! And I don’t get to see family very often!" The crowd broke up until only Carol and Cassidy were left standing nearby. "Is that the baby?" Chris smiled. "My God, she’s grown!"

"You didn’t expect her to?" Doug chuckled.

"Who’s the babe holding her?" Chris motioned to Carol. "You got a woman, Bro?"

"Yeah" he nodded. "This is Carol Hathaway" he led Chris over to Carol and Cassidy. "Carol, this is my brother, Chris Kilpatrick."

"Very nice to meet you" Carol smiled.

"The pleasure is ALL mine" Chris took her hand in his and eloquently bowed and kissed the back of it in gentlemanly fashion.

"Oh, knock it off!" Doug playfully slapped his brother’s shoulder. "We’re in America! Not King Arthur’s Court!"

"Hey, just because YOU are a barbarian doesn’t mean everybody is!" Chris shot back with a smile.

"Chris?" The three of them heard a voice with a heavy accent coming up behind them.

"Over here, honey!" Chris waved his hand.

Doug turned to see a very petite, young brunette coming toward them with a smile and a shopping bag. She was wearing a red jumpsuit and black boots. Her raven hair was long and wavy and she had the most dazzling dark eyes Doug had ever seen. She came up beside Chris and kissed his cheek gently.

"Doug, Miss Hathaway," Chris nodded. "I’d like you to meet Ariela D’Marcus..."

"THE Ariela D’Marcus?" Doug asked her. "Three time Wimbledon champion and defending French Open champion?"

"That would be the one!" Chris nodded, and smiled, pleased that Doug kept up enough with sports to recognize the name. "Honey, this is my brother, Doug, and his friend, Carol Hathaway. And this..." he lifted Cassidy out of Carol’s arms. "Is my darling little niece, Cassidy!"

"Oh, she is a cute baby!" Ariela smiled and cooed at the baby. "It is so nice to meet you, Doug. I’ve heard so much about you!"

"Likewise, Ariela" Doug nodded.

"And it is nice to meet you, also, Carol." Ariela nodded with a smile to her. Carol nodded as well.

"Now, what’s the story, Bro?" Chris looked at Doug.

"I came back to clear out the apartment" Doug told him as they started walking along together..

" No!" Chris gave him a horrified look. "You can’t do that!"

"What do you mean I can’t do that? I have no choice! I have a job in Chicago now, so, I have no use for the apartment and the lease is up!"

"Well, can’t you renew it or something?"

"I’m sure I can, but, why would I want to?"

"For me! I love that place, Bro! I’ll take over the lease on it!"

"We’ll talk about this later, OK?"

"OK...how long are you here for?"

"Just a couple of days..."

"He’s here to accept an award!" Carol spoke up quickly, causing a quick and stern look from Doug.

"An award?" Chris smiled. "Another one? What’s this one for?"

"Humanitarian award" Doug mumbled. "You remember when I rescued that kid off the concrete island during the floods last spring?" Chris nodded. "It’s for that."

"I’m telling ya, Doug, you’re the only guy I know that can get a reward out of everything he does!" Chris laughed and slapped his brother on the back.

Chris Kilpatrick was not yet 30 years old. He was about as tall as Doug with sandy brown hair and dazzling blue eyes. He was fun loving and didn’t take too many things in life seriously except for Ariela D’Marcus. There was no competition between him and Doug and in the later years of their relationship, they had learned to love each other very much. Chris was an international celebrity and he enjoyed the attention he generated where ever he went. He handled the media like a dream and usually got a kick out of reading anything printed on him, especially ridiculous gossip. And he and Ariela generated plenty of that. An ‘item’ for over a year, they created a media frenzy where ever they went together. She was always at his races and he was always in the stands with her manager at her tennis matches.

"Tell you what, Bro, we have plans for tonight, but, maybe I can get together with you sometime tomorrow? Before your big banquet? So we can talk, OK?"

"OK" Doug nodded. "Call me, OK?"

"That’s a can do, Bro!" Chris reached to hug him again and Doug returned his gesture affectionately.

"Ariela" Doug reached to hug her as well. "I’m glad I got to meet you."

"I think you will see more of me in the future" she smiled. "Good to meet you, and you, too, Carol,"

The two of them slipped away with a wave, Chris with his arm securely around Ariela. Doug and Carol stood watching them go with a smile.

"He seems like he’s very nice" Carol commented quietly.

"He’s an idiot" Doug chuckled. "But, he’s a nice idiot."

"Ariela is beautiful, isn’t she?"

"She sure is" Doug nodded. "I understand she does some modeling when she’s not playing tennis. I can surely see why, now that I’ve met her."

"She seems nice, too. They make a nice couple."

"That they do" Doug nodded. "And I know another nice couple that better be getting out of here before the store closes!" he chuckled and put his arm around her, noticing that Cassidy was now asleep on her shoulder. "And get this little one to bed."

With Cassidy tucked away in her crib and sleeping soundly, Doug and Carol rested on the sofa in front of the roaring fireplace. As Doug stirred the fire, Carol broke the ice for conversation.

"What time do you have to hook up?" she asked him quietly.

"Whatever time I decide I’m ready" he chuckled. "I’m not on a time table with it tonight. I don’t have to get up early or anything tomorrow." He paused carefully. "I thought you could sleep in my bed and I’d sleep out here..."

"You’re kidding, right?" she laughed a little. "I kind of thought we’d sleep in the same bed together!" he turned and looked at her with a sheepish grin. "I mean, after all, it won’t be the first time, right?"

"No" he smiled and shook his head. "I guess not. I just wasn’t sure how you felt about it."

"Well," she went to the floor beside him and wrapped her arms around him. "Now you know." She kissed him sweetly and he savored the taste of it by closing his eyes. "I liked your brother" she told him, quickly changing the subject.

"He’s a wild one" Doug chuckled. "But, he’s a good guy. We get along OK."

"His girlfriend is sure beautiful" Carol sighed. "I wish I looked like that."

"Why?" he smiled at her. "I think you’re every bit as beautiful as she is."

"Oh, please!" Carol laughed. "I don’t even come close."

"That depends on the eye of the beholder" he smiled and took her face in both his hands, kissing her very tenderly. "You’re good to me. And you’re good to my daughter. That’s more than I’ve found in any other woman I’ve been around since I lost my wife."

"Who couldn’t love that little girl" Carol smiled. "Although, I do have a confession to make."

"Confession!" he chuckled again. "I love confessions! I’m not a Priest, but, I’ll listen anyway!"

"About a year ago, I tried to adopt a little girl just a little older than Cassidy is now. She was abandoned in the ER because she had A.I.D.S. But she was so beautiful and such a sweet little girl. I thought I could be a good mother for her because I am a nurse and I knew how to take care of her. I petitioned for her and they let me take her and keep her in my home. I bought baby furniture and baby clothes and I was in heaven. And then it all fell apart." She looked so sad, Doug’s heart went out to her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "They found out I had been addicted to pain killers just a little while before and they said I wouldn’t be good for the child. They thought I might do something like that again and hurt her." Carol looked at her feet and blinked her eyes. "I would never have hurt that child" she shook her head.

"Of course you wouldn’t have" he agreed with her, gently kissing her hair. "Why were you taking painkillers?"

"Oh, it was an injury. Mark prescribed the first ones for me. David renewed them for me. I suppose I shouldn’t have been such a baby about the pain. If I could have known what it was going to cost me I would never have touched them" she sighed and shook her head.

"How did they find out? That’s not something that’s normally asked or plunged into in an adoption check."

"David told them" she sighed again. "He told them I was a drug addict and they turned me down. They never even gave me a chance to explain my side of it, they just said no." Her eyes filled with tears. "I loved that little girl so much. Nobody wanted her! Nobody but me! And they wouldn’t let me have her!" She began to cry softly and she covered her face, ashamed to cry in front of him. But, Doug took her hands away and pulled her into his arms, hugging her comfortingly.

"It’s OK" he told her. "You’ll have a little girl of your own someday. I know she won’t take the place of that one, but, nobody will ever be able to take her away from you." He kissed her forehead gently and smiled at her. "I know how much it hurts, though. When Kate died, and the DA thought I killed her and he tried to have Cass taken away from me I remember how I felt." Carol gave him a horrified look.

"Why on Earth did the DA think you killed your wife?"

"When Cass was born, I took out insurance policies on both of us - big ones. I did it for Cass, in case anything would happen to Kate and me, she would be taken care of. When the DA found out about the insurance policy, he was sure I had killed my wife for money..."

"That is insane!" Carol scoffed.

"Happens every day" Doug ticked his head. "Especially in a town like this! Anyway, he petitioned the court to have Cassidy removed from my custody. I had to go to court and everything. I’d already lost Kate...now I was faced with losing the only thing still left in my life that gave me the courage to go on."

"I know how you must have felt. When they came to my house and took that little girl away from me, I felt like they ripped my heart out! She was pleading over the social worker’s shoulder, crying and reaching for me, calling out ‘Mama! Mama!’ over and over." Carol shook her head. "I don’t think I ever cried so much in my life as I did that night" she looked up at him sadly. "They didn’t take her away from you, did they?"

"No" he shook his head. "Luckily, one of the social workers was one that had worked with me when I was on ER rotation. She knew I was no threat to any child, much less my own. She testified in my behalf and the judge let me keep her with regular follow ups. When the DA confirmed he didn’t have enough evidence to charge me with anything, they dropped the case completely."

"What about the DA? Did he drop his case?"

"He kept it open. He was convinced I was a killer. But, he recently dropped it. When I had that wreck in Chicago? He found out the steering had been tampered with, just as the brakes had been tampered with in Kate’s wreck."

"Somebody was trying to kill you?" Doug nodded slowly. "Well, doesn’t that scare you that they’re still out there someplace?"

"It did, until they weren’t out there anymore" he chuckled. "The man’s son had been a patient of mine in the ER before I switched over the research.. The boy was too far gone when they brought him in anyway, but his father insisted I do whatever I could and I did but it was no use. He died anyway and then the father held me responsible. I guess all the guilt got to be too much for him because the DA informed me just recently that he killed himself."

"That’s terrible" Carol shook her head. "It’s all so sad."

"It happens" Doug sighed. "And more than I like to think about sometimes. It’s another reason I gave up working in the ER. It just kills me when kids die on me." Carol didn’t know the words to say, so, she just held his head close to her and kissed his hair gently.

"I can understand that" she told him softly. "But children need someone like you on their side in a place like the ER. Have you ever considered returning to rotation there?"

"No" he shook his head. "And not just for that reason. I don’t want to work 12 hour shifts anymore. I have Cassidy to care for. And my physical abilities aren’t up to schedules like that. My ER days are over!" he chuckled. "Besides, I can help kids just as much in research as I can in the ER. It’s OK." he smiled as he looked down at her. "You look tired" he told her lightly.

"I am" she nodded.

"Why don’t you go take a shower and get ready for bed?" he offered.

"That sounds like a good idea" she nodded. Then she kissed him gently as she got to her feet. "What about you?"

"I’m fine" he shrugged.

"You don’t need a shower?" she smiled, almost devilishly, with what she was thinking.

"I’ll take one later" he told her.

"Why waste water?" she tempted him.

"Thanks for the offer" he chuckled. "But, I don’t think so."

"OK" she nodded. "But, if you change your mind, you’re welcome to join me."

He chuckled as she disappeared out of the room and into the bedroom to shower in the master bathroom. He went through the hallway to the bedroom, to set up his cycler. When he walked in and looked at the bed, the first thing he noticed was that it wasn’t turned down. That alone told him things were different now. Kate had always turned the covers on his side of the bed down for him so that he would have a warm place to crawl into whenever he came home. He sighed heavily as he sat on the edge of the bed, the thoughts and fears he had harbored about returning there slowly starting to diminish. He had wondered if he would be able to feel Kate’s presence in the apartment. He couldn’t. He had wondered if he would hear her voice or her laughter trapped within the walls. He didn’t. He had wondered if he would be able to smell her perfume. He hadn’t. He slowly began to realize that his vivid memories of Kate were fading, and that scared him a little. Although he wanted to get on with his life, he was still afraid to let her go completely.

Then he thought about Carol in the shower. He could hear the water running across the room from him and it made him smile. He thought about the warm water trickling down her nearly perfectly shaped naked body and her hands sliding soap over her soft skin. He could hear her voice telling him ‘if you change your mind, you’re welcome to join me’ over and over in his mind. He stood up slowly and peeled off his shirt, tossing it aside to a chair in the corner of the room. He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants, tossing them on the chair with his shirt. He padded softly across the room in just his boxers and opened the door to the bathroom slowly. He could see her silhouette on the shower walls and he suddenly began to ache from the rise of passion in his body. He went over to the stall door and pecked at it lightly.

"Is that invitation still open?" he asked her in a quiet voice.

"Of course it is" she pushed the door open and smiled at him.

He peeled off his boxers and stepped into the shower with her, unable to take his eyes off her. Even with her hair wet and matted to her head, she looked beautiful to him.

"Wash your back?" he asked her in a hushed voice.

"Sure" she nodded.

She handed him her body gel and he squeezed some of it out onto his hands, rubbing them briskly together to work up a lather. Carol turned her back to him and he placed his hands on her skin, gently rubbing the soap onto her and massaging her at the same time with his strong fingers.

"Ummmmm" Carol smiled at the relaxed feeling she was getting. "That feels good. I hope you’ll let me return the favor."

"I’m counting on it." he chuckled.

He took a handful of her hair to pull it off her shoulders and her back so he could wash her, but he couldn’t resist kissing her neck. The feeling of his mouth on her skin tickled and she laughed quickly.

"Hey! What are you now? A vampire?"

"Doctors take blood too" he told her with a smile.

"Yeah?" she turned to face him now. "Do they still give mouth to mouth, too?"

"Only when they don’t have any other equipment" he told her.

"It’s an emergency, Doctor" she told him in a hushed voice. "I can’t breathe."

"What a coincidence" he told her hoarsely. "Neither can I."

With the water rippling over both of them, he locked his arms around her and kissed her so deep and hard he was sure he they would melt together that way. She returned his passion with her mouth, and by locking her arms around him, pulling him so close to her he felt their skin was going to bond into one. When she felt his erection against her legs, she took her hand and gently guided him to her, never letting up from kissing him, and never turning him loose. Before he made contact inside her, however, he reached to turn off the water. Then he opened the shower door and reached around to get her towel off the rack. He wrapped the towel around her and held it in his hands, looking deep into her eyes and he smiled.

"You know I’m not responsible for whatever happens after this, don’t you?" he teased her.

"I’ll take full responsibility" she assured him with a smile.

"I do love you, Carol" he assured her. He didn’t want her to think he was overcome with memories of being back in his old apartment or of his life with Kate. He wanted her to know she was the soul focus of his affection.

"I love you, too" she told him and he smiled. "I’ve loved you since the moment you came into the ER. There was just some instant attraction."

"Me too" he nodded. "With you. And the more we’re together, the more I know it." He rubbed her shoulders briskly through the towel. "Come on" he smiled at her. "Let’s get out of here."

"I couldn’t agree more!"

He stepped out of the shower and then reached to scoop her up into his arms. She laughed, but then she got a concerned look on her face.

"Should you be doing this?" she asked him, thinking about the catheter in his stomach.

"It’s fine" he assured her. "You’re not that heavy" he smiled, and kissed her sweetly, holding her in his arms ever so carefully.

He carried her out of the bathroom and across the floor to the bed, laying her down on top of the covers. He couldn’t take his hands off her. And he couldn’t stop kissing her. She was enjoying his attention, and kissing him back, caressing him with her own hands, but, her mind kept thinking of other things...things she was concerned about for him.

"Are you sure we should? In this bed?" she looked deep into his eyes to let him know she was only concerned about his feelings. After all, his previous relationship had been much more serious than hers.

"Why should it matter?" he smiled at her. "It’s not like I’m doing anything wrong. My wife if not going to come in and catch us or anything." His tone was soft and honest."

"What about hooking up?" Carol’s next concern was for his physical well being.

"I can do manuals tomorrow. It’s not a big deal" he leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "Now, shut up before you kill the mood" he told her playfully.

"Not going to happen" she told him with a smile.

She took his hands and guided them to her bare breasts. And when he touched them, she felt her own excitement start to jump inside her. She reached between his legs and fondled him gently, guiding him to her and beckoning him in. He responded positively and the sensation of his body inside hers was a thrill Carol knew she had never experienced before the way she was feeling with him. Not even David West, a man she had tried her best to convince herself she was in love with, made her come alive the way Doug Ross did. She couldn’t stop kissing him. And she couldn’t take her hands off him. She knew she never wanted this feeling to end. And his responses to her told her he was feeling the same pleasure he was giving her.

The room was dark and quiet when Carol rolled over on the bed. Her arm rested quickly against Doug’s body, curled up beside her. She laid awake, just looking him. His hair was tousled about his head. His arms were firm and rippled with muscles in his biceps. She reached out and just ran her fingertips along the surface of his skin and she knew she was smiling. This was the feeling she had waited her whole life for. This was the man she was looking for. She threw the covers off her and pulled into his shirt. Then, she walked around the bed and turned on his machine. Pushing the buttons and following the instructions, she took a box of dianeal stored in the closet and checked the expiration date. It was still good, so she pushed it across the floor and loaded it onto his machine. She reached carefully under the covers to unravel his catheter from the tape he kept it pinned up with and attached him to the machine, starting his cycle. She carefully touched his hair and leaned down to kiss his cheek before she walked quietly out of the room.

She walked across the hall to the nursery and saw Cassidy was awake. She was standing up in her crib and fussing lightly, but, not crying. Carol smiled in the doorway and as soon as the little girl caught sight of her, she reached her arms out to her. Carol went in and lifted the baby out of her crib, holding her to her shoulder, and patting her bottom gently.

"You need a clean diaper, sweetheart?" she asked her in a pleasing voice.

She carried her to the changing table, taking off her sleeper and cleaning her up before securing a clean diaper around her. Then, she took a fresh sleeper from the table and put it on the baby.

"How about a nice bottle, huh?" she spoke softly to the baby, who kept looking at her with wondering eyes.

"Uh ba" Cassidy cooed at her.

"OK" Carol smiled, and kissed her cheek gently. "Come on with me."

She carried the baby with her to get her bottle and warm it for her. Then, she pulled the rocking chair from the nursery with her back over to the master bedroom. She sat with the baby in her arms and offered her the bottle, which Cassidy took almost readily.

"That’s a good girl" Carol smiled down at her. Cassidy looked up at her with trusting and caring eyes while she sucked happily on her bottle.

"She is a good girl" Carol heard Doug’s voice. She looked up to see him sitting on the foot of the bed, just watching them.

"I didn’t mean to wake you" she apologized.

"I’m a light sleeper" he shrugged. "Thanks for hooking me up."

"No problem" she assured him. "I thought it would be better than you having to do manuals all day tomorrow. You should be off about ten or a little after."

"That’s fine." he nodded. "Did she wake you up?"

"No, I just woke up. After I hooked you up, I went to look in on her and she was awake. So, I changed her and got her a bottle." she paused in thought. "Are you nervous about the award ceremony?" she wanted to know.

"No" he shook his head. "I’ve been to them before. Nothing to it. I’ll just get up and say thanks, take the award and sit down" he chuckled.

"I really love this apartment" she told him. "I can see why Chris wants you to keep it."

"I think Chris is getting serious about Ariela. I wouldn’t be surprised if he marries her soon."

"Really?"

"Really" he nodded. "He’s never dated a woman more than about 2 months before. He’s been with her over a year. I think it’s getting serious. And if it does, I look for him to want to settle someplace and I knew New York is where he’ll want to stay. I’ll have Beth take care of everything with the lease. I’ll talk to Chris and see what he wants to keep and have the rest sent to Chicago." He smiled watching her rock the baby. "God, you are beautiful" he told her.

"Oh, Doug" she scoffed. "My hair isn’t combed, I don’t have on any make-up, and I have on one of your shirts. I couldn’t possibly be ‘beautiful’!"

"You are to me." He told her honestly.

"Thank you" she blushed with her embarrassment.

"No" he smiled and shook his head. "Thank you."

"For what?" she smiled.

"For making me feel alive again" he told her.

He leaned over to her and kissed her tenderly, with Cassidy’s watching eyes on him every step of the way.

"I love you, Carol. I’m not afraid of that now. And I’m going to prove it to you right now."

"Shouldn’t I put the baby back to bed first?" she grinned at him.

"Not for this" he shook his head. He reached his hand to his ring finger and began to wiggle his wedding ring off.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Carol gave him a careful look.

"I’ve only been this sure about one other thing in my life" he smiled at her. "I have no doubts about what I’m doing. I just needed to be sure you felt the same way. And coming here with me, and what you gave me tonight, I have my answer" he nodded with a grin. Then, he slipped the wedding ring off his finger and laid it on the table beside the bed. "Bring my baby and come over here" he told her softly.

Carol got up from the rocker and carried Cassidy with her to sit beside Doug on the bed. He put his arm around her and looked lovingly down at his little daughter with a smile on his face. He felt a lump in his throat, but just for a minute. He knew he had his future...and his world right there in his arms.

To Be Continued...