The next morning, Angie walked in with a happy smile on her face.  “Hi, Rol.  How are you doing?”

“Better.  I’ve been grounded, though.”

“Grounded?”

“Yeah.  No therapy for two days.  Doctor’s orders.  He wants me to give my body, specifically my heart, a break.”

“Ah.  Well, Doctor knows best.”

“So . . . did you have a good time last night?” Rollie asked, then wondered why he wanted to torture himself by hearing about Angie’s date.  It was obvious by her attitude that it had been a good one.

“We had a great time, talked for hours.”  There was a big grin on Angie’s face.

Rollie felt what was left of his heart shatter into dust.  He gathered up the remnants and managed to turn up the corners of his mouth into something with a passing resemblance to a smile.  “That’s nice.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the door.  “Hello, sailor.  Come here often?”

The Aussie’s eyes opened wide as Lucinda walked into the room.  “Luce!”

A huge smile split the actress’s face.  She ran across the room and threw her arms around Rollie in a tight hug.  “Oh, Rollie.  It is so good to see you.”  She drew back, blinking tears from her eyes.

“When did you get here?” the Aussie asked, delighted.

“Last night.  Angie picked me up at the airport, and we went out on the town.  Well, not really.  Angie wanted to bring me right over here, but I convinced her that it would be more fun to do it this morning.  We got some pizza, went back to her apartment, and chattered like magpies for hours.”

Rollie’s gaze went to Angie, who was looking very pleased with herself.  “I thought that Angie went out on a date last night.  She didn’t tell me that you were coming.”

“Yeah, Angie told me about your mistaken idea.  You can blame me for her not telling you I was coming.  I made her promise that she would keep it a secret.  I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you sure did.  How did you get away from the prison wardens?”  In one of her more recent e-mail letters, that was how Lucinda had described the producer and director of the movie she was working on.  They had been making the lead cast work six days a week almost since the beginning of filming, allowing Lucinda no chance to visit Rollie.

“The prisoners rioted.  Doug, Raymond, and I all flat out refused to leave our trailers until they put an end to the six-day-a-week thing and gave us all a four and a half day weekend so that we could have a decent break.  Poor Doug--he’s my leading man--was going absolutely nuts.  He’s a newlywed and hadn’t seen his wife in a month.”  Lucinda sat on the bed.  “So, Mister Tyler, you will have the pleasure of my company for three and a half days.”

Rollie didn’t know what he was happier about, the visit from Lucinda or the knowledge that Angie hadn’t gone out with Evan last night after all.  The fact that Angie might still go out with him some other night dimmed Rollie’s happiness in those regards.

“I think I can survive that,” Rollie commented, straight-faced.

Lucinda’s smile faded away.  “Are you doing okay, Rollie?  Angie said that you collapsed during your therapy yesterday.”

“Yeah, but it was my own fault.  I pushed myself too hard, and my body let me know it.”

“Well, according to Angie, you have been cooped up in this place for far too long.  I intend to change that.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“Oh, I’ll think of something, don’t you worry.”

The door opened, and Stacey stuck her head in.  She smiled when she saw Rollie sitting up in bed.  “Rollie, I am so relieved that you’re all right.  You scared me half to death yesterday.  I feel responsible for what happened.  I failed to see the warning signs that you were in trouble.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Stacey.  It wasn’t your fault.  If I wasn’t so pig-headed I would have stopped myself.  Stacey, this is Lucinda Scott.  She’s a friend visiting from L.A.  Luce, this is Stacey Waters.  She’s my physical therapist.”

The two women exchanged greetings, Lucinda looking the therapist over quite closely.

“I understand that you won’t be coming to therapy for a couple of days,” Stacey said to the Aussie.

“Yeah, doctor’s orders.”

The therapist nodded.  “Well, I can’t stay, I’m afraid.  I have to get back.  I’ll look forward to seeing you on Monday, Rollie.”  She turned to Lucinda.  “It was very nice meeting you.”

“Do all the therapists here look like that?” Luce asked after Stacey had gone.

“Not hardly.  My first therapist could probably beat up a gorilla,” Rollie told her.

“Ah.”  The smile returned to Lucinda’s face.  “Now, back to getting you out of here.  How would you like a day out on the town?”

“I’d love one, but the doctors would never go for it,” Rollie said.

“Who says the doctors need to know?”  She looked the Aussie up and down.  “You will need to bundle up, though.  It’s cold out there.”

“Luce, you can’t be serious.  Even if you could sneak me out of here, it wouldn’t take long for them to realize that I was gone.”

“Well, we can worry about that second thing once we get back.  As for the first problem, you just leave that in my capable hands.”

Lucinda got a blanket, which she put on the seat of the wheelchair.  Rollie put on his robe and slippers, then the two women helped him into the chair.  They then left the room, trying to act casual.  They took the elevator down to the first floor.  As Rollie and Angie waited by the elevator, Lucinda looked around the corner.

“There are over half a dozen doctors and nurses between us and the main entrance,” she told them when she got back.  “We can’t get out that way.  We’ll have to take a side exit.”

They strolled down the hallway in the direction they thought might lead to a way out.  After a minute or so, they saw a sign pointing toward an exit.  Unfortunately, when they reached the door, there was a doctor standing a few feet from it, looking at a chart.

“I think this is my cue,” Lucinda said.  “You two pretend like you’re talking, then scoot past when I distract him.  I’ll meet you outside with my car.”  The actress smoothed her hair down and sashayed toward the doctor, her hips swaying.  “Excuse me,” she called to the doctor, using her most sultry tone.  “I seem to be lost.”  She moved around the doctor, making him turn toward her so that he would be facing away from Rollie and Angie when they went past him.  “I was looking for room 156, and I guess I got turned around.”

As Rollie and Angie snuck by, they saw the doctor smile and run his eyes over Lucinda appreciatively.  “I’m afraid that you went in the wrong direction.  156 is at the other end of the hospital.”

“Oh, dear.  Well, I never was very good at directions.”

“Would you like me to show you the way?” the doctor asked invitingly.

As Rollie and Angie slipped out the door, they heard her politely turn him down and ask for directions.

Outside, Angie pulled the blanket out from under Rollie and wrapped it around him.  A few minutes later, Lucinda pulled up in a rental car.  She and Angie helped Rollie into the back seat, then stowed the wheelchair in the trunk.

“I feel like a kid cutting school with his buddies to go play,” Rollie commented with a grin.

“And play we shall, though you, of course, will have to take it easy,” Lucinda said.

“Well, I can’t really go anywhere dressed in pajamas, a robe, and a blanket,” the Aussie reminded her.

“Yes, we will have to take care of that, won’t we.”  She drove downtown to a men’s clothing store.  She found out Rollie’s pants, shirt, and shoe size, then disappeared inside.

“She’s just as wacky as always, isn’t she,” Rollie commented fondly.  He turned his attention to Angie.  “I bet you were just about laughing your head off letting me think that you were going on a date with Evan Grant when you were actually picking Lucinda up.”

“Evan?  What made you think that I was going out with him?”  Angie’s eyes narrowed.  “Rollie, were you listening in on us?”

‘Oops,’ Rollie thought.  ‘I’m in trouble now.’  He adopted a sheepish smile.  “I couldn’t really help it, Ange.  You were talking right outside the door at first.  I couldn’t help but overhear him ask you out.”

“Uh huh.”  Angie was still looking at him closely.  “And what if I had gone out on a date with Evan?”

Rollie’s eyes dropped from hers.  “It’s your life, Ange.  If you want to go out with Evan, then you should.  He seems like a nice guy.”  Somehow, he had managed to keep his voice steady and the hurt out of it.

Angie did not reply.  She turned back around in her seat and stared out the front window, an ache growing in her heart over Rollie’s words.  He seemed not to care if she went out on a date.  She had hoped that he would show some sign of jealousy, say something that would show her that he didn’t like the idea of her going out with someone.  Maybe her dream that Rollie could love her the way she loved him really was hopeless.

They remained silent until Lucinda returned bearing a large bag.  She got in and handed the bag to Rollie.  “There you go.  Pants, a pullover sweater, shoes, socks, and a nice warm coat.”

“Luce, this really wasn’t necessary,” the Aussie said.  “You’ll have to tell me how much this cost so that I can reimburse you.”

“Not a chance, Rollie.  Just consider these to be a belated Christmas present, though I do have another present for you, and for Angie, back at my hotel room.  I guess we now have to take you someplace where you can change.  Can you manage by yourself or do you . . . need help?”  There was a mischievous gleam in the actress’s eyes.

“I can manage just fine on my own, thank you very much,” Rollie assured her.  “Just find some vacant alley someplace, and I’ll change in the car.”

An alley was quickly found.  Angie and Lucinda got out of the car and turned their backs toward it to give the Aussie some privacy.  After a couple of minutes, the actress began slowly turning her head toward the car.

“Eyes front, Luce,” Angie said sharply.

Lucinda sighed and turned away from the car.  “I was just going to peek.  You can’t say that you’ve never been curious about what Rollie looks like in his underwear, Angie.”

“He’s not wearing any underwear, Luce,” Angie said straight-faced, then almost burst out laughing when the actress’s eyes just about popped out.

“He isn’t?”

“No, he isn’t.  I didn’t bring any underwear when I brought him those pajamas.”  Angie could tell that Lucinda really wanted to peek now, and she had to admit that she did, too.

“I see.”  The actress made a show of fanning her face as if she needed cooling off.  “Are you sure I can’t peek?”

Just then, Rollie called to them, saying he was ready.  A faintly disappointed frown turned down the corners of Lucinda’s mouth.  Then she smiled.  “He will have to change back out of those clothes before we go back to the hospital,” she whispered.

Angie slapped her arm.  “Shame on you.”

They got back in the car and turned toward Rollie.  After all the weeks of seeing the Aussie in hospital gowns and pajamas, it seemed strange to Angie to see him fully dressed.

“So, where to, Rollie?” Lucinda asked.  “This is your day out, so it’s your choice.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t care.  Just being out of that hospital is like a holiday.”

“Okay, how about if we hit a mall?  It’ll be nice and warm in there, and we can just wander around all the shops.”

“Sounds great.”  He gave a suggestion on which mall, saying that a new electronics store had just opened up there that he wanted to check out.

The three of them strolled around the mall, Angie and Lucinda taking turns pushing Rollie’s wheelchair, the Aussie occasionally doing it himself.  When lunchtime approached, they headed over to the food court.  Angie was careful to get Rollie something that he was allowed to have.

Rollie was having fun.  Wandering around the mall with the two women, he was able to take his mind off Evan Grant and the fact that he was going to have to return to the hospital in a few hours.

After lunch, they resumed their circuit of the mall.  They found the electronics store and, as Lucinda shopped next door at a clothing store, Rollie and Angie had fun checking out all the fascinating devices that the new store had.  They left an hour later with half a dozen computer games for Rollie to play, as well as some new PDA software that had just come out.

Throughout their time in the mall, Angie kept a close eye on Rollie, looking for any sign of fatigue or discomfort.  It was around three in the afternoon when she noticed that the Aussie was beginning to look tired.

“I think it’s time that we head back,” she said.

“Just a little longer, Ange.  I’m okay,” Rollie said.

“Rollie.”

The Aussie looked at the blonde’s expression and sighed.  “All right.  I guess I am kind of tired.”

They headed back toward the hospital, stopping in another alley on the way so that Rollie could change back out of his clothes.  It took longer for him to change the second time, and he admitted to himself that he was more tired than he had thought he was.

Lucinda pulled the car up to the door they had exited from.  After helping to get Rollie back into his wheelchair, she opened the door and peeked inside.  “The coast is clear,” she said.

As Angie wheeled the Aussie into the hospital, Lucinda drove off to park her car.  Rollie and Angie managed to make it to his floor without being stopped by someone wanting to know where they’d been.  Both of their hearts sank, however, when they came around a corner and saw Mark Langford.  The doctor saw them at almost the same time.

“Where have you been?” he asked.  “I’ve been looking for you for an hour, and I found out that you weren’t in your room at lunchtime either.”

“Um, we were just wandering around,” Rollie said, trying his hardest not to look or sound guilty.  “Angie got me something to eat for lunch, so don’t worry.”

“I see.”  Mark leaned forward and examined the right wheel of Rollie’s chair closely.  The Aussie followed his gaze and saw a black smudge that looked like grease or oil on it.

“Interesting smudge there,” the doctor commented.  “I wonder how it got there.  Someone must have tracked in some grease from outside.”  His eyes rose to meet Rollie’s.

“Uh . . . yeah, could be,” the Aussie replied.

“Well, you had better go back to your room now.  You need to get your rest.”  Mark began to walk away, then stopped and turned back toward the Aussie.  “I would advise that you not go wandering again, Rollie, unless you stick to this floor.  Understand?”

“Yes, Mark, I understand.  It won’t happen again.”

“Good.”  The doctor turned away again and continued on his way.

Both Rollie and Angie breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to Rollie’s room.

“So much for doing this again,” the Aussie said after Angie had helped him into the bed.  “I’m lucky Mark isn’t putting a lock on the door.”

A short time later, Lucinda walked in carrying the bag of computer games.  “That was fun.  We should do it again before I leave.”

“That’s not going to happen, I’m afraid,” Rollie told her.

“Why not?”  She studied his and Angie’s expressions.  “Did they figure out you’d left the hospital?”

“Yeah, I’m afraid so.  If I tried sneaking out of here again, when I got back I’d probably be chained to the bed and have an armed guard stationed outside my door.”

“Party poopers,” the actress muttered.

“Hey, I’m just happy I got out of here for a few hours.  It was great.  Thanks, you guys.”

“We had fun too, Rol.  It was really good having you with us,” Angie said.  She glanced at her watch.  “Oh, shoot!  I’ve gotta run.  I need to take the completed footage of the bridge gag over to Brenner Special Effects.  I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and I’ll bring some food back, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Lucinda said.

Rollie and Lucinda spent the next hour and a half talking about what had been going on in their lives since they’d last seen each other, besides the obvious things, of course.  Eventually, the conversation came around to relationships with the opposite sex.

“I’ve been dating this guy, Joe Gallagher, for a few weeks now,” the actress told him.  “He’s the key grip for the movie.  We have lots of fun.”  She scanned the Aussie’s face.  “How about you?  Are you still seeing Dani Vandenglas or do you have a new girlfriend?”

“Neither.  I haven’t seen Dani in a good five, six months, and I haven’t been seeing anyone else either, nor will I be.”  Rollie silently cursed.  He hadn’t intended to speak that last part out loud.

“What do you mean?”

Rollie frantically tried to think of something to say.  “Uh, well, for one thing, it’s going to be quite a while before I get out of that wheelchair, even after I’m released from the hospital.”

“Well, it just so happens that I know a certain someone who would love to go on a date with you, even if you are in a wheelchair,” Lucinda announced slyly.

“Who?” Rollie asked, his heart rate increasing.  Could she be talking about Angie?

Lucinda shook her head.  “As blind as ever, aren’t you.  Haven’t you seen the way your physical therapist looks at you?  Just give me the word, and I’ll drop a few hints her way that you’d be interested in going out when you get out of this hospital.”

“Oh,” the Aussie said, surprised that Stacey felt that way toward him and disappointed that it wasn’t Angie whom Lucinda was talking about.  “Thanks, Luce, but I think I’ll pass.”

Lucinda’s eyes widened in surprise.  “You’re kidding.  She’s pretty and seems like a nice girl.  Why wouldn’t you want to go out with her?  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.  I just wouldn’t be interested in dating, that’s all.”

The actress sat in the chair beside Rollie.  “Okay, something’s going on here.  The Rollie Tyler I know isn’t going to suddenly just not be interested in dating anymore, especially if a lady let him know that’s what she wanted.”  She subjected the Aussie to an ocular dissection, making him squirm with discomfort.  “Spit it out, Rollie.  This isn’t some silly nonsense about you not being physically fit, is it?”

“No, that’s not it,” Rollie said, not looking directly at her.

“Then what is it?”

“Luce, please.  Just drop it, okay?” the Aussie pleaded.

The teasing look on her face disappeared and was replaced by one of concern.  “This is serious, isn’t it.  Rollie, whatever it is, you can tell me.  I swear to you that, if you don’t want me to tell anyone, it will never leave this room.”

Rollie studied the earnestness of her expression, realizing that the actress meant what she was saying and was really concerned about him.  His determination to keep his feelings a secret wavered and fell.

“Please tell me, Rollie.  Why don’t you want to date?” Lucinda asked gently.

The Aussie’s eyes closed, and he sighed.  His gaze met Lucinda’s.  “Because I’m in love with Angie,” he answered softly.

He saw Lucinda’s expression change to shock, then amazement, then, finally, realization and acceptance.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see this.  I’m usually pretty good at spying things like that,” she said.

“I’ve gotten pretty good at hiding it.”

“How long have you felt this way?”

“I woke up to the fact shortly before I was shot, but I now know that I’ve been in love with her for a very long time.”

“And she doesn’t know you feel this way?”

The Aussie shook his head.  “No.  I’ve never told her.”

“But why?”

“At first, it was because I was too scared to.  Then, after I was shot, I decided to wait until I was well.  I wanted to be able to stand before her on two strong legs when I told her.  But now. . . .  There’s this doctor named Evan Grant.  They’ve talked quite a few times, and he’s asked her out.  I really think that she’s interested in him.”  He couldn’t quite keep the pain out of his voice when talking about the handsome medical student.

Lucinda’s hand came out and took his.  “You’ve really got it bad, don’t you.”

Rollie gave a short, humorless laugh.  “Yeah, I do.  There isn’t going to be anyone for me except her.  I’ll love her for the rest of my life.”

“You should tell her, Rollie.”

“I can’t, Luce, not if I know she doesn’t feel the same way.  I don’t want to do anything to hurt our friendship or make Angie uncomfortable.”

Lucinda smiled at him tenderly.  “I think I understand, Rollie.  Okay, I won’t push you to tell her, and I promise you that I won’t tell anyone about this.  But I want to tell you something.  I was in love with someone once, but I was nervous about telling him, so I almost didn’t.  Then I lost him.  I will always be glad that I did tell him, because, if I hadn’t, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.”

Rollie tightened his fingers around hers, knowing that she was talking about Rick.

A little while later, Angie came back with dinner, and the three of them ate together in Rollie’s room.  The Aussie was nervous at first, fearing that Lucinda would let something slip, but the woman was proving herself to be a fine actress.  No one would ever guess that she knew the truth about his feelings.

The two women stayed until the end of visiting hours, promising to return in the morning.  After they were gone, Rollie laid in bed, thinking about what he had told Lucinda.  He was surprised to realize that it felt good to have someone to confide in about his feelings.  He just wished that it could be Angie.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO -- TRUE FEELINGS

As promised, Angie and Lucinda arrived the moment visiting hours began.  A few minutes later, Mira and Frank stopped by to tell them that they had gotten a response to the image of the killer’s face.

“His name was Lionel Udell,” explained Mira.  “The FBI has had him under suspicion for quite some time concerning several murders.  They never had enough to pin on him, though.  Interestingly, it seems that a certain arms dealer, one that specialized in the kinds of weapons preferred by professional assassins, came up missing at just about the same time you witnessed the killing in the alley, Angie.  It was suspected that Udell had purchased weapons from him in the past.  I think we may just have found out who the murder victim was.”

“This is great news,” Angie said.  “Now we don’t have to wonder anymore about who that guy was,”

“Yeah.  The FBI was very happy to close their file on Udell.  They told me to thank you for your help.  You know, you’re getting quite a reputation with them, Rollie.”

“Yeah, Rollie.  You’d better watch it or they’ll start getting to be as much of a pest about asking for your help as we have,” added Francis.  “By the way, we came over yesterday to give you the news, but you weren’t in your room.”

“Yeah, Angie and Lucinda smuggled me out of the hospital and took me out on the town, well, actually just to the mall.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.  Unfortunately, Mark Langford figured out that I’d gone AWOL, so there’s no chance that it will be happening again.”

The two detectives stayed for a few more minutes, then headed back to the station.

“So, the case is closed, right?” Lucinda asked.

“Yeah, that’s what it looks like,” Rollie said, a slight frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?  You don’t look all that happy about it,” Angie said.

“Oh, I’m happy, I’m happy.  It was just a lot easier than it usually is.  A part of me is having a hard time believing that it’s really over.”

“You’re becoming paranoid in your old age, Rol,” Angie said.

“Who’re you calling old?” the Aussie asked, his face a picture of affronted dignity.  “I’m in the prime of my life.”

“You got that right, you gorgeous hunk of man,” Lucinda purred.

“Well, I’m glad to see that somebody appreciates me.”  Rollie wrapped an arm around the actress’s waist.  “Hey, Luce.  How about a date with an old wheelchair-bound Aussie?”

“Mmm.  Love to, Rollie.  I’ll pencil you in on my calendar.”

Even though Angie knew that they were just joking around, she couldn’t stop the brief flash of jealousy that went through her at the thought of Rollie and Lucinda going out on a real date, especially since she knew that he had been attracted to the actress when they first met.

Just then, the door opened, and Doctor Grant walked in.

“Hi, Angie, Rollie.”

“Hi, Evan,” Angie greeted with a smile.

Lucinda’s eyes traveled up and down the doctor’s form.  So, this was the guy who was making Rollie’s heart break.  Well, something would have to be done about that.

“Are you going to introduce me, Angie?” she asked.

“Oh, uh, Evan, this is Lucinda Scott.  Luce, this is Doctor Grant.  He’s a medical student.”

Luce stepped forward and took the doctor’s hand, smiling brightly.  “Hi.  So you’re a med student, huh?  I’ve been considering a part as a med student in an upcoming movie project.”

“You’re an actress?” Evan asked, returning the smile.

“Yes.  In fact, I’m in the middle of a movie project now.  I’m one of the leads.”

“Really?  That’s fascinating.  What’s the name of the movie?”

“Murder by Moonlight.”

“Well, I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.”  Evan looked back and forth between Lucinda and Rollie.  “Are you and Rollie. . . ?”

“Involved?  No, we’re just friends,” Luce told him.  “Say, I would really love to pick your brains about life as a medical student.  If I do take that part, I’d like to have some background knowledge on what it’s really like.  Perhaps if you have some time today, we could get together.”

“Actually, I’m on break now.  I came by to see how Rollie was doing.  I’d heard about what happened day before yesterday.  I’m going to go grab something to eat.  Would you like to join me?  I’ll warn you now that being a med student isn’t as exciting or wonderful as it’s often made out to be on TV and in movies.  It’s a lot of hard work, long hours, and nasty duties.”

“Well, that’s what I want to hear about,” Lucinda said.

Evan turned to Angie.  “Would you like to join us?”

“No thanks, Evan.  I think I’ll stay here.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later, then.”  He and Lucinda left the room together.

“I’m surprised you didn’t want to go along,” Rollie commented.

“Well, I’ve already heard bits and pieces of Evan’s life as a med student.  I don’t know if I could take him going into detail about projectile vomiting, stitching up the results of bagel accidents, and twenty-four hour stretches with no sleep and a hundred cups of coffee.  I already get enough of blood, guts, gore, and all-nighters in the F/X business--even if the blood, guts, and gore aren’t real.”

Rollie grinned, delighted at Angie’s comment.  Maybe she wasn’t as interested in Evan as he thought she was.

Angie studied the Aussie’s face.  Should she come right out and ask him or just keep silent?  What if he confirmed her fears?  Angie decided that she had to know, one way or the other.

“So, what’s with you and Stacey?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, Rol.  You’d have to be blind not to see that she’s coming on to you.”

“Then I guess I’m visually handicapped because I didn’t see it.  Lucinda told me the same thing yesterday.”

“Well, now that you know, are you going to ask her out?”

Rollie stared at Angie, wondering why she wanted to know.  It was probably something to do with her usual attitude whenever he got involved with someone.

“No, I don’t plan on asking her out.  I’m not interested in her like that,” he said.  For a moment, he had the urge to tell Angie that she was the only woman he was interested in, but he curbed it.

Angie remained silent for several seconds, and the Aussie could have sworn that he saw a smile flit across her face.

“Well, let her down easy, Rol.  We wouldn’t want her to start torturing you during your therapy,” she said.

Rollie smiled.  “I’ll do that.”  He grew serious.  Though he knew that what he was about to ask could lead to things that he wasn’t ready to reveal, he decided that it was a question he had to know the answer to.  “Ange, have you ever wondered why you and I never seem to find anyone whom we stay involved with for more than a few weeks?”

Looking startled at the question, Angie just stared at him for a moment.  Then she sat on the edge of the bed.  “Yeah, I’ve wondered about it.  I’m twenty-five years old, and I haven’t had an even remotely steady relationship since I was in college, and, even then, my longest stretch with a guy was three months.”

Rollie laughed shortly.  “Well, look at me.  I’m thirty-three, and the only relationship that I’ve ever had that could have gone anywhere was with Taya, and look how that turned out.”

“I guess that you and I are both just unlucky in love.”

“Yeah.”  Rollie paused.  “Maybe that will change someday.”

“Maybe it will.”  Angie searched his eyes.  “Would . . . you like to have a permanent relationship with someone?”

Rollie’s gaze left hers to look out the window.  “You know, it’s funny.  If you had asked me that question a few months ago, I would probably have said no.  It’s not that I had no desire to find somebody I could spend my life with.  It’s just that I was satisfied with the way things were.  I had my work, my friends, and y--” Rollie cut himself off, paused, then continued.  “I thought that was all I needed.”

“And now?”

The Aussie turned back to her.  “Now, I see how wrong I was.  I want my work, but I also want someone to wake up next to every morning.  I want her to be there with me every day and night.  I want someone who wants to be with me because she loves me, not just because she’s attracted to me or is looking for a good time.  I don’t want someone who just comes to see me when they’re in the area.  I don’t want someone who will go away someday and never come back.  I want. . . .”  ‘I want you,’ he finished silently.

Angie looked at Rollie and realized that he was talking about more than just a relationship with a woman.  Almost everyone he’d ever loved had either died, gone away, or, in the case of his father, never been around much in the first place.  She was the only person who, after all these years, was still with him, just as he was for her.

“What about you, Ange?” the Aussie asked.

“Me?  I . . . I want the same things, I guess, a steady relationship with someone who loves me and whom I love.”

“So . . . what kind of guy would you want to find?” Rollie asked, trying not to sound nervous, trying not to let it show how important her answer was to him.

‘I don’t have to find him, he’s right before my eyes,’ Angie told him silently.  Aloud, she said, “Well, um, first of all, somebody who wouldn’t expect me to give up working if we got married, somebody who respects me, who understands me.  I’d want someone who loves me for who I am and is willing to accept all of me, not try to change anything.  He’d have to be like me, a guy who loves and enjoys life completely, somebody who could make me laugh and I could have fun with, do things with, somebody that I share some interests with.  I’d want someone who is a good person, whom I could be proud of, a guy who isn’t self-centered or selfish.  I’d want a friend, a companion, and, well, you know.”

“A lover,” the Aussie murmured.

“Yeah.  That part is kind of important in a romantic relationship.”

Rollie had been watching Angie’s face as she talked, hoping to see some sign that he was the one she wanted, but he had seen no hint of that.  He sighed silently.  The Aussie thought about what she had said, wondering if Evan could give her all that she wanted.  What about him?  Could he give her those things?  If they got together, he would never want or expect her to stop working.  Just the opposite.  He wanted her to continue working with him.  He already respected her, more than anyone else alive.  Did he understand her?  Certainly not everything, but he did understand who she was and what kind of person she was.  He and Angie could have great fun together, they already did.  It would be even better, though, if they were romantically involved.  And they did share common interests.  They were already friends.  As for being lovers. . . .  What would it be like between them?  Would they. . . .

Rollie’s thoughts faded off as a sudden image leapt into his mind, an image of him and Angie making passionate love in his bed.  The image was so real, so intense that it was like a memory of something that really happened.  He could feel her in his arms, her bare skin touching his, her body melded with his own.  He could hear the sound of her breathing, her soft moans, her cry as they came to completion.  It was incredible.

“Rollie?  Rollie, what’s wrong?”

Angie’s concerned voice cut through his thoughts.  His gaze focused on her.  There was an expression of worry in her eyes.

“What happened?  You just spaced off, and there was this really strange look on your face,” she told him.

“I. . . .”  What was he going to say?  “Every once in a while, I have flashes of memory of things that happened while I was comatose.”

“And you just had one?”  There was an odd note in Angie’s voice.

“I don’t know.  It was confusing.  It couldn’t have really happened.  I think it was just a dream or something.  I wonder if you dream while you’re in a coma.”

“A d-dream?”  Angie’s voice was definitely an octave or so higher than it should have been.

“Yeah.”  The Aussie searched her face.  “Did something happen while I was in the coma?”

“Well, uh, lots of things happened.  You know that.”

“Nothing unusual?”

Angie was starting to panic.  She was well and truly backed into a corner.  How was she going to get out of it?  “Well . . . did Doctor Ridenhour tell you about the time that your EEG went all haywire?”

“He mentioned something about an unusual change, but he didn’t go into details.  What happened?”

“They don’t really know.  Your EEG just suddenly went off the chart.  It was like that for quite a while, I guess, then did an about-face and dropped very low.  Ridenhour said that it looked like some kind of extreme subconscious brain activity.”

“Subconscious.  Like when you dream,” Rollie mussed.

“Um, yeah.  What. . . .” Angie cleared her throat nervously.  “What was it that you remembered?”  She was feeling as tense as a piano string.

Careful to keep his voice calm, Rollie replied, “It doesn’t matter.  It was just a dream.”  ‘A dream more amazing and wonderful than anything I’ve ever felt before,’ he said to himself.

“Oh.”  Angie managed to keep the disappointment out of her tone.  Just a dream.  Would he say that if the dream he remembered was the same as the one she had?

The door opened and Jack Traber walked in.  “Hey, Rollie.”

“Jack!  Great to see you,” Rollie greeted, shaking the man's hand enthusiastically.

“You,, too.  So, how’s the best F/X man in the business doing?”

The Aussie smiled at the comment.  “Doing better pretty much every day.  So, is this just a social call or do you have news on White Light?”

“A bit of both.  I’ve convinced Brian Adderly, the movie’s creator, that you’re still the man for the job, despite all that’s happened--that is if you’re going to be well enough by the time filming starts.”

“One way or another I’m going to do that movie, Jack, even if they have to wheel my hospital bed from set to set.”

The producer chuckled.  “Yeah, and I can just picture that,, too.  Knowing you, you’d probably hook an engine and a remote control system on it like the Vindicator had and scare everyone half to death with it.”

Rollie and Angie laughed at the image of the Aussie sitting in a hospital bed wearing the Vindicator controls and zipping around the studio, terrorizing crew members.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Rollie said, grinning.  “I’ll have to work on it.”

Jack stayed for around forty minutes, chatting about White Light and other upcoming projects.  After he left, Angie turned to Rollie.

“Rol, I know that you want to do White Light, but do you really think that you’re going to get out of here in time?”

“I’ve got to try, Ange.  It’s important to me.”

“Is it because of what you remember about. . . .”

“Dying?  Yeah, it is.  I know that what’s in the script isn’t like what I remember, but I still need to do it.”  He smiled.  “Besides, we need the money.  The stuff that my medical insurance won’t cover is going to take a huge bite out of my savings account, maybe even wipe it out.”

“Tell me about it.  It isn’t cheap spending time in a hospital.”

A moment later, Lucinda walked in, smiling happily.

“Hey, Luce.  So, did you learn all there is to know about the trials and tribulations of being a med student?” Rollie asked.

“And then some.  I sure couldn’t do what Evan does.  I’d wash out in the first week.  He’s an interesting guy.”

“Yes, he is,” Angie agreed.

Lucinda glanced at Rollie, whose face had clouded up at Angie’s comment.  Okay, time to get things out in the open about Doctor Grant, she decided.  Her main reason for going to lunch with him hadn’t been to find out about what it was like to be a medical student.  It had been to see how much the young doctor liked Angie.  She’d found out that there was an attraction.  Evan had asked several questions about Angie.  But Luce had gotten the impression that there were no deep feelings, at least not yet.  Now, it was time to find out how Angie felt.  She just hoped that the blonde didn’t confirm the Aussie’s beliefs.

“Are you and Evan going to go out, Angie?” the actress asked.  “He seems interested in you.”

Angie shot a glance toward Rollie, who was watching her intently.  “Well, he’s nice, but, um, I don’t think so.”

“Oh?  Why not?”

“Luce, is the word ‘personal’ even in your vocabulary?”

“I think I’ve heard it somewhere.”

Angie sighed loudly.  “He’s fun to talk to, but I’m just not interested in him in that way, okay?”

Rollie squashed the huge smile that was threatening to split his face in two.  He wanted to jump up and dance around the room.  This was the best news he could have gotten--well, almost the best.  So, Angie wasn’t interested in Evan.  That didn’t mean, however, that she was interested in him.

Angie watched Lucinda, wondering why the actress looked so pleased.  She turned to Rollie to see what his reaction to her announcement was, but didn’t get the chance.  The door again opened, this time admitting Mark Langford.  After Rollie had introduced him to Lucinda, the doctor focused his full attention on the Aussie.

“Rollie, there could be a little situation brewing that you need to know about.”

“What’s that?”

“It has to do with Doctor Ridenhour.  I understand that he wanted to run some tests and you refused.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well, he’s been talking to the hospital bigwigs, trying to get them to talk you into changing your mind.  He’s a very influential man who has a lot of friends that are large contributors to this hospital.  I think you’ll understand why Administration and the board of directors would want to keep him happy.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid I do.”  The Aussie sighed.  “I don’t understand why he’s so adamant about running those tests.”

“I don’t know either.  Rollie, whatever your decision is, you know that I’ll support you on it, but is there a chance that you’d change your mind about this?”

“No.  I’ve made my decision.  I’m not going to be somebody’s guinea pig.”

Mark nodded.  “That’s all I wanted to know.  Don’t be surprised if one of the suits comes to visit soon.”

“They’ll get the same answer.  Thanks for the warning, Mark.”

After the doctor had left, both Angie and Lucinda wanted more details on what the tests were that Doctor Ridenhour wanted to run.  Rollie told them what he knew.

“I don’t blame you for saying no.  I wouldn’t want somebody poking around in my head either,” Lucinda told him.

“He couldn’t cause trouble for you, could he?” Angie asked.

“I don’t see how.  What’s the hospital going to do?  Throw me out?  Raise the rates on my medical charges?  They might get a bit testy when I refuse, but they’re not going to do anything.  Doctor Ridenhour is just going to have to learn to live with disappointment.”

The visit from the “suit” came Monday morning, before Angie and Lucinda arrived.  Rollie was in his wheelchair sitting in front of the window, studying his latest creation.  The tiger paced back and forth across the floor, its lithe, beautiful body looking almost real enough to touch.

The Aussie’s attention on the hologram was distracted by a startled exclamation from the doorway.  He turned to see a man in a business suit staring at the tiger, his face looking somewhat pale.  Rollie flipped a switch on the holographic projector, and the cat disappeared.

The man stepped forward.  Clearing his throat, he held out his hand to the Aussie.  “Mister Tyler?  I’m Graham Hutton.  That was . . . very interesting.”

Rollie smiled faintly.  “Just a part of my work.  Sorry it startled you.”

“Well, I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting a tiger in the room when I walked in.  I understand that you’re in special effects for the movies.”

“Yeah.”  Rollie studied the man.  “Let me guess.  You’re here about Doctor Ridenhour.”

Mister Hutton’s eyebrows rose in surprise.  “I see that you’ve already been told about this situation.”

“Yes, I have, and I’ll tell you right now that nothing you say is going to make me change my mind.”

“I see.  I’m sorry you feel that way.  Your cooperation would be to the benefit of this hospital.”

“Mister Hutton, forgive me for being blunt, but I don’t think that Doctor Ridenhour gives a damn about what would be good for this hospital.  He wants something, and he’s just trying to use you to get it.  Is that really what you want?”

The man looked at him for a long, silent moment.  “Putting it like that, it would be pretty stupid for me to say anything but no, but things are a lot more complicated than that.  Doctor Ridenhour has a lot of influence with a lot of important people.  If he really tried, he could cause problems for us.”

“I can’t say that I’m very fond of the man, but I wouldn’t think that he’d really do something to harm this hospital.  He seems pretty dedicated to medicine.  How about if I talk to him?  I might be able to convince him to lay off.”

Graham Hutton smiled in relief.  “That would be appreciated, Mister Tyler.  We’ll ask him to come see you later today or tomorrow.”

As Hutton was leaving, Angie and Lucinda walked in.  The blonde watched the man go, then looked at Rollie.

“Uh oh.  That was the visit Mark warned us about, wasn’t it.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Unfortunately, now I’m going to have to face Ridenhour again and try to get him to back off.”

“Oh joy.”

The neurologist didn’t show up that day, so Rollie was able to enjoy the day with Angie and Lucinda.  When it came time for his therapy, Luce told him that she’d go take care of some things while he was at it, knowing that her presence there would probably make him self-conscious.

His therapy went well, though he did not push himself as much as he usually did.  If he’d tried, Stacey would have put a stop to it.

Rollie had felt a bit uncomfortable working with Stacey at first, knowing what he did about her feelings toward him, but, after a few minutes, he was able to put it aside.  Eventually, he’d have to let her know that there could be nothing between them, but now was not the time.

That evening, Rollie, Angie, and Lucinda ate dinner in his room and quietly chatted.  Tomorrow afternoon, the actress would be leaving on a plane to go back to LA, and the Aussie knew that he was going to miss her.

As she and Angie were getting ready to leave, Lucinda suddenly bent down and kissed Rollie’s cheek.  “We’ll talk about things tomorrow, okay?” she murmured.

Rollie nodded and smiled up at her.  He looked at Angie to see a puzzled frown on her face.  “Goodnight, Ange.”

“Night, Rol.”

Angie walked with Lucinda to her car.  As they got to it, she finally broke the silence that they’d kept while walking.  “Talk about what?”

The actress paused in the act of putting the key in the door.  “Just something that Rollie and I were discussing while you were gone on Saturday.”  She finished unlocking the door and opened it.

“I see.”  Angie felt her jealousy flare up again.  What had they been talking about that they didn’t want her around for?  The blonde decided not to ask.  “Goodnight, Luce.”

“Goodnight.  See you tomorrow.”
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE -- GOOD NEWS

Angie and Lucinda showed up together the next morning, the actress having turned in her rental car.  The three friends spent the morning talking.  Lucinda had called her agent from the hotel the previous night and had learned that she was being considered for a prime role in a new movie.  Needless to say, she was bubbling with excitement.

It was about an hour before she and Angie would have to leave for the airport, when the actress turned to the blonde and said, “Angie, I am just dying for a cup of coffee.  Is there any way that you could run down to the cafeteria and get me one?”

Angie stared at Lucinda, suspecting that the coffee run was just a way to get her out of the room so that Lucinda and Rollie could talk privately.  “Yeah, all right.”  She got up and left, feeling a little hurt that they were keeping a secret from her, but, at the same time, curious about what it was.

A few seconds after the door closed behind Angie, the actress crept over to it and peeked out.

“What are you doing?” the Aussie asked.

“Just making sure she really left.”

“You think that Angie would listen in at the door?”

“Why not?  I know I would,” Lucinda admitted with a smile.  She came back and sat on one of the chairs.  “So, what are you going to do?  You know now that she’s not interested in Evan.  Are you going to tell her how you feel?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her, Luce, but not now.  I still don’t want to say anything until I’m back on my feet.  And, no, I’m not going to change my mind, so don’t give me that look.”

The actress pouted.  “You’re no fun.”  She sighed.  “All right, I guess I can be patient, but you have to promise me that you’re not going to chicken out and that you’ll call me after you tell her.”

“I promise, Luce, on both counts.”

Angie returned a few minutes later with the coffee.   She stared at Rollie and Lucinda narrowly.  When she’d walked in the room, they had been laughing about something.

The final hour went by too quickly.  Before they knew it, it was time for the women to leave.  Lucinda gave Rollie a long, tight hug.

“I’m going to miss you even more now that I’ve seen you again.  You take care of yourself, Rollie, and get well real soon.  I’ll be back to visit when I can, I promise.”

“It’s been great having you here, Luce,” Rollie told her softly.  “And thank you . . . for everything.”

The Aussie watched the two women leave, suddenly feeling lonely.  He shook it off and got to work on a new computer project.  He’d been at it for around fifteen minutes when Doctor Stanley Ridenhour walked in.

“Mister Tyler,” the man greeted, somewhat stiffly.

“Doctor Ridenhour.”  Rollie motioned toward one of the chairs.  “Please sit down.”

The doctor settled on the chair.  “I understand that Mister Hutton came to speak to you yesterday and was unable to change your mind.”

“Yes, that’s right.  And, now, I want to know why you are so insistent that I take those tests.”

“Because I think you can help me find some answers.”

“Answers about what?”

“About the influence that the subconscious mind has over the human body and how we can train it to help not only in healing, but also in overcoming pain, weight loss, and so many other things.”

Rollie shook his head.  “I told you before that you won’t learn anything from me that would help you.”

“I disagree.  I think that your remarkable progress is due, in part, to some ‘help’ that you’re getting from your subconscious, which, considering the fact that you do not practice meditation, yoga, or anything else of the kind, is quite amazing.”

“And this idea is based on that incident that happened while I was comatose?”

“In part.”

“What if I told you that I was just having a dream?” the Aussie asked.

“A dream?”

“Yes, a dream.  That’s all.”

“You remember the dream?”

“Vividly, and without telling you what it was about, I can say that it was very intense and . . . stimulating.”

“Well, a simple dream would not account for what I saw on that EEG readout,” Ridenhour told him.  “No, it was something a great deal more than a dream that caused your brain waves to do what they did.”

“Why is this so important to you?  Are you just hoping to make a name for yourself?”

The doctor stared at him.  “All right, Mister Tyler, I’ll tell you the truth.  Yes, I am an ambitious man.  I don’t pretend otherwise.  I want to be the one to discover what I’m searching for.  But, before you judge me, I’ll tell you another reason why this is important to me.  Around nine years ago, my brother was in an accident.  He suffered extensive brain damage.  He was comatose for four months.  When he finally came out of it, we found that he could neither speak understandably nor move his limbs.  He was also suffering substantial metal impairment.  He was in therapy for two years, but he was never able to regain even half of his former mobility, his speech remained garbled, and he was unable to take care of himself because he lacked the ability to figure out how to cook his own food, to groom himself, or even when it was time to use the bathroom.  He’s presently living in a full-care nursing home.

“Back then, our knowledge of coma, brain injuries, and recovery from them was far less than what it is now, but we are still greatly limited in what we can do for a brain injured person.  While my brother was in rehabilitation, I tried to find alternate methods to aid in his recovery.  Eventually, I became interested in the study of the subconscious mind.  My interest turned into an obsession, and I guess that the original reason why I started the search in the first place got lost somewhere down the line.  However, my continued research is not only because of my desire to be a pioneer in my field.  I want to find a way for brain injured people to recover more fully from their injuries so that fewer people will have to go through what my brother does each day of his life.”

Rollie realized that he had misjudged the doctor.  He had thought that ambition was the only reason for what the doctor was doing, but he now saw that there were other, deeper reasons as well.

“I’m sorry, Doctor Ridenhour, but I can’t give you what you want.  I could take your tests, but they wouldn’t help you, not anymore.  I doubt that they would ever have been able to help you.  I don’t know what caused that change in my EEG.  I don’t know why my recovery has been faster than normal, except what I told you before, that it’s because I’m fighting as hard as I can to beat this and have people helping me through it.  And, also, it might be because I have a very strong reason why I have to make a full recovery.  There’s nothing more to it than that.  There can’t be.”

The neurologist nodded and rose from the chair.  “I apologize for causing you trouble, Mister Tyler.  I won’t bother you again.”

Feeling a little guilty, Rollie watched the doctor head toward the door.  “Doctor Ridenhour?” he called as the man put his hand on the handle.

The neurologist turned back toward him.  “Yes?”

“I can tell you one thing, though it isn’t going to give you your answers.  But first, I want to know something.  How did you know that I spent time with the Aborigines?”

“I did some digging into your background.  When I learned that you were from Australia, I dug even further and found out about your time with the aborigines.  In my studies, I’ve come across references to Aboriginal practices that sounded as if they delved into the subconscious mind.”  The doctor paused.  “So, what were you going to tell me?”

Ignoring the irritation that had arisen in him upon finding out that the doctor had dug into his personal life, Rollie said, “Just that you might be on the right track.  When I was with the Aborigines, they taught me about how the powers of the unconscious mind can influence and regulate matter.”

“Matter?  As in the human body?” Ridenhour interrupted excitedly.

The Aussie nodded.  “They even believe that it is possible to affect another person’s health through negative thoughts, as well as the opposite.”

“Do you believe what they taught you?”

Rollie shifted uncomfortably.  “I did once, but I left that world behind a long time ago.”

“Do they heal themselves with these powers they believe in?”

The Aussie smiled faintly.  “I once saw an Aboriginal man who had a headache wrap around his forehead a belt made of his wife’s hair, which she had worn around her waist.  He sat for a few moments, concentrating, and the headache disappeared.”

“A belt made of his wife’s hair?  What’s the significance of that?”

Rollie’s smile grew.  “Well, in this case, she was the one who caused the headache in the first place.”  He was surprised when the doctor laughed.

“So, what you’re saying is that, by the teachings of the aborigines, it is very possible to heal oneself through the subconscious and maybe even the conscious mind.”

“They believe so, yes.”

“Thank you, Mister Tyler.  You’ve given me some food for thought.  Tell me.  If I went to Australia, would the aborigines teach me these things?”

Rollie shook his head.  “No.  If you gained their trust, they might tell you about them, but they wouldn’t teach you how to do them, even if you could learn.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“If you want to learn more about Aboriginal beliefs and practices, there are a couple of books I could recommend.”

“Certainly.”

Rollie wrote down the names and gave them to the man.

“Thank you, Mister Tyler.  Good day.”

After the doctor had left, Rollie sat and stared out the window.  What he had told Ridenhour was only a small part of what he had seen Aboriginal people do and what he had been taught when he was among them.  Some of what he had learned he had never shared with anyone, not even his mother.

The Aussie pushed those thoughts out of his mind.  That was another lifetime ago.  What he had learned and seen was no longer a part of his life, and he didn’t want it to be.

Yet again, Rollie’s thoughts went back to the dream.  It was hard for him to think of it as a dream.  It seemed so real.  The emotions that came to him as he remembered it were unlike anything he’d ever felt.  He’d never experienced anything like that with a woman before.  It was incredible.  He wished with all his heart that it hadn’t been just a dream.

Attempting to fill his mind with other things, Rollie returned his attention to his computer.  He was working on the schematics for his improved “sniffer” when Angie returned.

“Hi.  Did Lucinda get off okay?” the Aussie asked.

“Yep.  The flight actually left on time for a change.  Anything happen while I was gone?”

“As a matter of fact, something did.  I had my visit from Doctor Ridenhour.”

“Uh oh.  How did it go?”

“Pretty good.  I found out that the doctor isn’t as much of a jerk as we thought he was.”  He told Angie about what the neurologist had revealed to him.

“That’s too bad about his brother.  So, everything’s all settled then?”

Rollie nodded.  “I won’t be bothered about the tests anymore.”

“That’s a relief.”  Angie sat in silence for a few moments.  “Okay, Rollie, what’s the big secret?”

“Secret?”

“Yeah.  What did you and Lucinda talk about that you didn’t want me around for?”

Rollie felt himself tense up.  Why did she have to ask that?  Why couldn’t she just leave it alone?  “Angie. . . .”  His voice failed him as his brain froze up.

“Is there something going on between you and Luce?” Angie asked.

“No, of course not,” Rollie replied, surprise in his voice.  “Even if there was, we wouldn’t hide it from you.”

“Then what is it?”

“I can’t tell you, Ange, not yet.  Please don’t ask me to.  I promise you that I will tell you, but not now.  I just can’t.”

Angie searched his face closely.  “All right, Rol.  I won’t ask again.  But you’d better keep your promise.”

“When have I not?” the Aussie commented with a smile.

More weeks passed.  Rollie continued to make remarkable progress in his rehabilitation, each day bringing him closer to the moment he would get out of the hospital--and the moment he would admit the truth to Angie.  She never again mentioned the “secret,” apparently accepting that Rollie would tell her in time.

Evan Grant kept visiting for a while, but after Angie made it clear that she was not interested in going out with him, the visits grew less frequent until they finally stopped completely.  The Aussie was not the least bit unhappy about that.

During his therapy, Rollie had been careful not to encourage Stacey into thinking that there could be something between them, but he hadn’t come right out and told her.  He hadn’t known what to say.  The therapist had not said anything to him about going out, but little things she had said made him suspect that she was thinking about it.  He knew that he was going to have to talk to her eventually, but he didn’t want to hurt her.

It was now mid-April, and Rollie was able to walk around fairly well with the use of a cane, which delighted him to no end.  His endurance had also vastly improved.  For several days now, he had been bugging the hospital to release him, but they kept saying not yet, and the Aussie was getting worried that he was not going to get out in time for White Light.  The first day of filming was drawing awfully close.

Rollie was standing beside his bed, doing some stretching exercises when Doctor Langford came in.  Mark watched him, shaking his head.

“I still can’t get over how quickly you’ve progressed.  I have to say that it’s very satisfying to see.”

The Aussie smiled and moved over to a chair to sit down.  “Well, I’d be even more satisfied if you’d let me out of here.”

“As it just so happens, you’re going to get your wish.”  A grin appeared on the doctor’s face.

“What?  You’re releasing me?”

“That we are.  Tomorrow morning.”

Rollie burst out with an ear-to-ear grin.  “That’s great!  You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“Oh, I think I’ve got an idea.  You’ve made no secret of the fact that you’re tired of our hospitality.”

“Wow.  I’ve got to call Angie, and Mira, and Frank.  And I need to call Jack to tell him that I can do White Light.”

“Whoa now.  I said that we’re releasing you from the hospital, not giving you license to go jumping right into work.  It is way too soon for that.”

“Mark, I think you know me pretty well.  You know how much I love what I do.  What better therapy is there than to do the things that I love, things that exercise my mind and my body?”

Mark shook his head.  “It’s just too soon, Rollie.  You remember what happened the last time you pushed yourself too hard.”

“Yes, I do, and I swore that would never happen again.  I’ve come a long way since then.  I’m a lot stronger now.  I promise that I will take it easy, Mark.  I won’t push myself too hard.”

The doctor gazed at him for several seconds, then sighed.  “All right, Rollie.  Knowing you, you’d probably do it regardless of whether or not I gave you permission.  I’ll give you clearance to work.  But I’m going to tell you right now that when I see you next, if I see any indications that you’re overdoing it, I’ll have you back in here so fast that the bedpans will ring from the sonic boom.”

The Aussie grinned.  “Thanks, Mark, and I’ll keep that in mind.”

As soon as the doctor left, Rollie called Angie.  “Hey, Ange.  When are you coming over?”

“In a couple of hours.  Why?”

“Um, well, I have some important news.”

“News?  What news?”

Rollie smiled, anticipating Angie’s reaction.  “I’ll tell you when you get here.”

“Rollie!” the blonde exclaimed in exasperation.

“See you in a couple,” the Aussie said, then hung up.  “Well, that should speed her up a good half-hour.”

He was wrong.  Angie strode into the room less than an hour later.  “All right, wise guy.  What’s the news?”

“Oh, just that I’m being released tomorrow morning.”

Angie grinned delightedly and gave him a hug.  “That’s great!”

“And that Mark gave me permission to go back to work,” Rollie finished.

“You’re kidding.  I didn’t expect that.  Did you bribe him?”

“No, I just swore on my life that I would take it easy.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll be making sure you keep that oath, buster.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“Have you called anyone else yet?”

“No, I decided to wait until you got here.”  Rollie picked up the phone and called Frank, who happened to be with Mira.  The detectives were delighted with the news, saying they would come over that night for a little “getting out” party.  Rollie then called Jack Traber.

“Hey, Jack.  You won’t have to go looking for another F/X company.  I’m getting out of the hospital tomorrow.”

Jack gave out a whoop of delight.  “This is great!”  There was a pause.  “Are you sure you’re well enough to work, Rollie?  I wouldn’t want you to force yourself if you’re not ready.”

“I’m fine, Jack.  I’ve been given a green light to go back to work.  I’m still undergoing therapy, but I’ll make arrangements to have that done early in the morning, before we come in.  I hope you won’t mind a wheelchair-bound F/X guy rolling around your sets, though.  I’ll try not to knock anything over.”

“Hell, Rollie, you can come in the hospital bed, if you want to.  I only want the best in the business for this picture.”

Rollie was wearing a broad grin as he hung up.  It was going to be great to get back to work.

Angie called Joyce to tell her the good news, then Rollie wrote an e-mail to Lucinda.  That afternoon during his therapy, the Aussie told Stacey.

“That’s good news, Rollie,” she said with a smile.  “I bet it hasn’t come soon enough for you.”

“You’re not kidding.”

After the session was over, Stacey asked, “Have you made arrangements for your therapy to continue after you get out?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you about that.  Is there any way that I could find a therapist who would be willing to come to my place early in the morning for my therapy?  I could rent whatever equipment would be needed.  We’re talking really early, though, like 5:30.  It has to be that early because of work.”

“You’re going back to work this soon?”

“Yeah, I got the okay, with a warning to take it easy, of course.”

“I should be able to find someone for you,” Stacey told him.  “I wish I could do it myself, but it wouldn’t work with my schedule here, although I could request to be put on a later shift.”

The Aussie glanced at Angie.  Immediately, she saw that it was time for her to leave Rollie and Stacey alone.

“Hey, Rol.  I’ve gotta run.  I’ll be back later, okay?”

“Sure, Ange.”  He turned back to Stacey.  “Would it be all right for you to leave here for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

They went back to the Aussie’s room, Rollie dreading the moment they would get there, yet knowing he couldn’t put this off any longer.  When they arrived, he wheeled over to the window and asked the therapist to take a seat.  “Um, Stacey, I don’t. . . .  I mean, I. . . .”

A hand was laid gently upon his.  “Rollie, it’s all right.  You don’t have to say anything.  I already know.”  The woman sighed.  “I usually know when a guy is interested in me in that way, and you never gave me any signals that you were.  I kept hoping that things would change, but now I can see that won’t happen.”

“Stacey, I’m really sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize.  You can’t pick and choose whom you do and don’t feel that way about.  It doesn’t work that way.  You are a terrific guy Rollie, and the woman you do choose is going to be one lucky lady.”  Stacey smiled softly.  “I’d love to get together with you sometime, just for lunch or a cup of coffee.  How about if, when the day comes that you don’t need that cane anymore, you give me a call, and we can have lunch together and a little celebration.”

Rollie smiled.  “I’d like that.”

The therapist stood.  “Well, I have to get back.  I’m glad that I was the one to be your therapist, Rollie.  It was wonderful meeting you.”

“Thanks, Stacey.  I’m glad that I met you,, too.”  The Aussie watched her leave, feeling a touch of sadness.  Is this how it would be when he told Angie he loved her?  Would he then come to know without a doubt that she didn’t feel the same and never would?

The objects of his thoughts came in around fifteen minutes later.  “How did it go?” she asked.

“As well as it could, I guess, though I still feel rotten.  Why is it that we end up feeling things for people who can’t return it?”

“I don’t know.  It would be nice if we only fell in love with people who could love us back, but it just doesn’t work that way.”

“Yeah.”

That evening, Mira, Frank, and Sarah came over.  The kids had been left with a babysitter.  Frank and Sarah had not dared tell them where they were going.  If they had, there would have been no way for them to get out of the house without the kids.  Rollie promised to visit the girls within the next few days.

The conversation started out light, with talk about things in the news and such, but eventually ended up on the subject of the four months Rollie had spent there in the hospital.

“I have to say that, after seeing you that night you were shot, then the coma, I can’t believe that you’re already getting out of here,” Frank commented.

“Yeah, well, only someone as stubborn as Rollie would completely ignore what the experts say and beat their most favorable estimate by half,” Angie said with a fond smile.

“Less than half,” Rollie corrected with a grin.  “It was a little over three months ago that Ridenhour told me that it would be at least another eight months.”

“Yeah, but you’ve still got a long way to go before you’re fully recovered,” Angie reminded him.

“By this time next month, I will be completely out of that wheelchair,” the Aussie declared confidently.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Angie responded.

“Neither would I,” Mira and Frank said simultaneously.  Everyone laughed.

After Mira, Frank, and Sarah had left, Angie just sat and watched Rollie for several seconds.

“What?” he finally inquired.

“Nothing.  I was just thinking the same thing Frank had.  It’s so great seeing you up on your feet, walking around, even if you do need the cane to walk.  When I think about that night. . . .”  Angie’s gaze dropped from his for a moment, then returned.  She smiled slightly.  “I’m just glad that you’re the stubborn man that you are.”

Rollie smiled softly and gave her hand a squeeze.  “Ange, you know that secret I didn’t want to tell you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll be telling it to you soon, just a few more weeks.”

“And will I like this secret?”

The Aussie grew serious.  “I hope you will.”

On her way home, Angie thought about what the secret might be.  Was Rollie going to take her on vacation?  No, they would be working on White Light.  A vacation wouldn’t be possible for a good two or three months.  What about a new movie project?  No, that couldn’t be it.  There would be no reason for secrecy about that.

Suddenly, an idea came to her.  Of course!  That’s what it was.  The secret was Rollie making her a partner.  He probably wanted to wait until he was completely well again before telling her about it.  Angie smiled.  She would have to make sure to pretend to be surprised when Rollie revealed his “secret”.  She wouldn’t want to disappoint him by letting him know that she’d found the papers.

Angie went to bed with a smile on her face.  Tomorrow, Rollie would be coming home, and the loft wouldn’t feel empty when she went there anymore.  Tomorrow, they could start getting their lives back to normal.  Angie sighed and snuggled into the pillow.  Tomorrow was going to be a great day.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR -- HOMECOMING

Angie glanced over at Rollie as she pulled onto Brewery Lane.  There had been a smile on the Aussie face from the time she’d arrived at the hospital.  That smile was even bigger now.

“You’re going to split your head in half if that smile gets any bigger, Rol,” she commented with a grin of her own.

“I don’t care,” Rollie declared.  “It is so good to be home.  It feels like forever.”

“Yeah, it does to me, too.  So, I suppose this is the end of the peace and quiet around here.”

“You bet it is.”

Angie parked the car, then got the wheelchair out of the trunk.  She started to help Rollie into it, but he waved her away.

“I can handle it on my own now, Ange.”

Angie watched as he got out of the car and into the chair.  Once he was settled, she smiled into his eyes warmly, thinking that, not so very long ago, he would have needed her help.

Angie opened the door, and they went in.

“Lights, Blue!” the Aussie called out, very pleased to be speaking those words again.

As the lights came on, the silence of the loft was broken by a loud cry.

“Surprise!” yelled at least twenty people as they jumped up out of hiding places around the loft.

Rollie’s mouth dropped open, then turned up in a grin.  He looked up at Angie.  “You did this, didn’t you.”

“I only made the phone calls.  Joyce, Mira, Frank, and Sarah did the rest.”

“Uncle Rollie!  Uncle Rollie!” cried a trio of voices.  Three little whirlwinds flew across the room and pounced on him at the same time.

“Hey, there’s my girls!” the Aussie said happily, returning each hug and kiss with one of his own.

“Are you all better now, Uncle Rollie?” six year old Jessica asked.

“Almost.  I’ll be all better soon.”  Rollie looked up at the huge “Welcome Home” banner and all the smiling faces of the people around him, feeling like he could jump out of his wheelchair and go dancing around the room.  “In no time at all,” he said softly.

“Hey, Rollie!  Great to see you back home.”  Jack Traber came forward and shook the Aussie’s hand.

“It’s great to be home, and it’ll be even better when I get back to work.”

“That’ll come soon enough.  For now, just enjoy being out of that hospital.”

“Oh, I intend to, believe me.”

Joyce came up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “Welcome home, Rollie.”

“Thanks, Joyce, and thank you for helping put this party together.  I should have suspected that Angie would come up with something like this.”

Joyce chuckled.  “Well, she didn’t expect there to be this many people who would make it, not with such short notice.  Neither did I.  You have lots of good friends, Rollie.  That’s a wonderful thing.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Everyone else there took turns greeting the Aussie and telling him how happy they were to see him out of the hospital.  Afterwards, Rollie went where his nose led him and found a table full of snacks and finger food.  He reached a hand out toward a platter full of sandwich wedges.

“Ah ah ah, Rol,” came Angie’s voice.  “Just because you’re out of the hospital doesn’t mean you can go back to eating whatever you please.”

“But, Angie, this is my coming home party,” the Aussie whined.

“So?  That isn’t going to make any difference to your body.”  She examined the sandwich wedges, then picked up a couple.  “Here.  You can eat this kind.”  She grabbed an apple off the table.  “And you can have this, too.”

“Well, you’re a real wet blanket, aren’t you,” Rollie grumbled.

“That’s a requirement for all nursemaids.”

“I think I’m considering firing you from that position.”

“Fine with me.  You’re a real handful.  I think I’d rather babysit triplets.”

A moment of silence passed, then Rollie and Angie both burst out laughing.

“So, how do you intend to keep me from pigging out on whatever I please while you’re not here?  Or do you plan on moving in so you can pester me twenty-four hours a day?”  As the Aussie spoke the words, he couldn’t help but think that he really liked the idea of her being there all the time.

“No, I expect you to be on the honor system--and I’m also going to make sure there’s nothing in this place that you shouldn’t eat.”

“Gee, thanks for the trust, Ange,” Rollie said sarcastically.  Then a grin suddenly came to his lips.

“What?” Angie asked.

“Oh, I just thought of a word, that’s all.”

“What word?”

The Aussie’s grin grew.  “Delivery.”

The blonde threw up her arms in exasperation.  “I give up!”  She walked off toward Joyce.  Rollie chuckled and started munching on his sandwiches.

The party went on for a couple of hours, then, gradually, everyone left until only Joyce, Jack, Mira, Frank, Sarah, and the kids were left.  They all helped Angie and Rollie clean up.

“Well, I have to head off, too, Rollie,” the producer said.  “So, we’ll see you at the studio a week from Monday, right?”

“I’ll be there, Jack.  Thanks for everything.”

“We should go, too,” Frank said a couple of minutes later.

“Do we have to, Daddy?” Natalie asked.

“We wanna stay with Uncle Rollie,” little Bethany pipped up.

Jessica nodded her head in agreement.  “Can’t we stay?”

“Uncle Rollie has to get some rest, girls,” Sarah said.  “Remember that he just got out of the hospital.”

All three children pouted in disappointment.

“Hey, munchkins, I promise to come and visit soon, okay?” Rollie said.  “Now, come give me a hug and kiss goodbye.”

The girls gathered around him, gifting him with hugs and kisses.  Rollie and Angie went with everyone to the door.

“Don’t overdo it now that you’re home, Rollie,” Mira told him.  “We don’t want you to end up back in the hospital.”

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that, Mira.  I have a feeling Angie here is going to keep me on a tight leash.”

“You got that right,” the blonde confirmed.  She and the Aussie said goodbye to Mira and the Gattis.

“Rollie, I forgot to tell you that Linda and Mark wanted to come, but they had the afternoon class to do,” Joyce said as she prepared to leave.  “They were wondering if you might like to come over to the center next week for a visit.  They said that before class on Friday would be a good day.”

“Sure.  I’d like that,” the Aussie said.

Alone together in the loft for the first time in four months, Rollie and Angie went to the lounge.  The blonde sat on the couch as the Aussie parked his wheelchair beside it.  Rollie’s eyes moved around his home.  Everything looked great to him.  Just then, Bluey came walking up.

“Hey, Blue!  Great to see you, Boy.”

The electronic dog barked, his tail wagging.  Rollie bent down and picked him up.  “Were you hiding someplace so you wouldn’t get stepped on?”  His question was answered with another bark.

“I actually think he missed you, Rol,” Angie said.  “Whenever I was here, he kept wandering back and forth and turning his head toward the door as if waiting for you to come in.”

The Aussie smiled and patted the robot.  “Did you miss me, Boy?  Well, I missed you, too.”

“Oh, before I forget, all your phone messages are saved onto the computer, and there’s more e-mail, too,” Angie told him.  “It’ll take you hours to go through them all.  I also did some shopping last night and stocked your fridge.”

“I suppose it’s too much to hope that there’s a big, juicy hamburger in there.”

“Keep dreaming, Rol.”

The Aussie gave a huge, theatrical sigh.  “You’re torturing me, you know that?”

“Yes, I do,” Angie replied.  “Well, I think it’s time that you took a nap.”

“A nap?  Angie, I’m not a three-year-old.  I’m also not tired.”

“Rollie, you promised that you would get all the rest your body needs, and I happen to think that you need to lie down and get some rest now.”

A feeling of irritation arose in the Aussie.  “Ange, listen.  I am not going to start taking afternoon naps just because you think I need to.  I’m not tired, okay?  Besides, once we start work on the movie, I won’t be able to drop everything and go take a nap in the van whenever you think I need rest.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Rollie knew they had been a mistake.  A look came to Angie’s face that made him wish he could take them all back.

“Fine.  Do whatever you want to,” the blonde said, the anger on her face reflected in her voice.  She stood.  “Well, since you don’t want me telling you what to do, I’ll leave you to yourself.”  She grabbed up her coat and strode toward the door.

“Angie, come on.  Don’t be like--” the door slammed behind her, “that.”

With a sigh, Rollie wheeled around the loft aimlessly.  It was clear that Angie had been keeping the place clean for him, yet another thing that he owed her for.  He owed her for so much.  So, what does he do?  Gets testy with her when she was only expressing her concern for his health.

Feeling like a jerk, the Aussie went to the staircase leading to his bedroom.  He looked up toward the second floor.  Funny how it never looked that far up before.  With another sigh, he slowly stood and started making his way upstairs.

Angie had only gone about three blocks when the anger started to fade.  Rollie’s objection to taking a nap had only been natural.  He was, after all, a grown man, and she had to admit that she had treated him as if he was a child that needed to be told to go to bed.  So, why had she gotten so angry?

Angie examined her feelings carefully, and the answer soon came.  During these months of Rollie’s recovery, he had needed her, really needed her.  No one has ever needed her that much before, and she had to admit that it had felt good.  Now that he was getting close to being completely recovered, that need was no longer there, and, though she was happy that he was getting well, she missed the feeling of being needed.  And so what does she do?  Goes off and leaves him to fend for himself when he was probably going to need her help getting up the stairs.

Angie suddenly felt like a jerk.  She felt even worse when she glanced in the back and realized that she’d forgot to take Rollie’s cane and suitcase out of the car.

Turning the car around, she headed back to the loft.  Grabbing the suitcase and cane off the back seat, she walked in the door.  Her eyes glanced about before she heard the sound of footsteps on metal.  Angie turned to her left and looked up to see Rollie making his way up the stairs.  He was taking it slow, moving at about half the speed he had before getting shot, and he was resting some of his weight on the railing, but he was doing it, all on his own.

Abruptly, Rollie paused, turned, and looked straight down at her.  Their eyes met.  Angie set the suitcase down and silently climbed the steps.  She drew up beside him.

“I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize, Rol.  I know you’re not a child, and I shouldn’t treat you like one.”

“You’re just concerned about my health, Ange.  I had no right to act like I did, especially after all that you’ve done for me.”

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence.

“Would you . . . like some help or would you rather make it on your own?” Angie asked tentatively.

Without a word, the Aussie held up his arm.  Angie slipped underneath it and walked with him the rest of the way up the stairs, lending him her support.  She suspected that Rollie didn’t really need it, and the fact that he was letting her help him because it would make her feel better made Angie smile inside.  Rollie Tyler was definitely not perfect, but there were a lot of times when he could be the sweetest man on Earth.

Her arm still around the Aussie’s waist and his still draped across her shoulders, Angie opened the door and went with him to his bedroom.  He sat on the bed.  Instead of releasing her, Rollie pulled her down beside him.  He looked earnestly into her eyes.

“Ange, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.  You have been so much help to me.  I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You would have done fine, Rollie,” Angie murmured.

“No, I wouldn’t,” he said, then silently added,  ‘I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.’  Though he could not remember everything about those moments when he was dying, he knew it had been thoughts of Angie that had given him the strength to come back.  And it had been his love for her that had made him fight so hard to get better.  He had always been a fighter when it came to illness or injury, stubbornly refusing to let anything keep him down for long, but he had never fought as hard as he did these last few months.

“Rollie, you’re too stubborn to have let getting shot keep you down.  I know you.”

“Yeah, you do, better than anyone else.”  He paused.  “But you don’t know everything.”

“Oh?  What, for instance?”

The Aussie looked deeply into her eyes.  As had happened so many times before, he had the sudden desire to tell her how he felt.  But then, he thought of the wheelchair sitting at the bottom of the stairs, and the feeling faded.  No, not yet.  He couldn’t tell her while he was dependant upon that chair.  He just couldn’t.

“Things that I’ll tell you about someday,” he replied softly.

Angie made a small growling noise in her throat, then she sighed.  “I suppose I can’t expect you to tell me everything.  I mean, it’s not like I don’t have any. . . .”

“Any what?  Secrets?  So, what secrets do you have?  You already blabbed the one about having a crush on me when you were a kid, which, by the way, I found extremely interesting.  What other juicy little secrets are you hiding?”

“Things that maybe I’ll tell you about someday,” Angie told him, a smug look on her face.

“Touché ,” Rollie said.  He gave a small sigh.  “Maybe I will rest for a little while.  I don’t want to be tired tonight.”

“Why?  What’s happening tonight?”

“We’re going out to dinner, that’s what.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.  And don’t you dare say that it’s too soon to be going out for dinner.  If I could follow you and Luce around a mall for half a day after that stupid stunt I pulled all those weeks ago, I can certainly go out to dinner now.”

Angie opened her mouth as if to object, then closed it.  “All right, we can go to dinner.  I suppose you already have the restaurant picked out.”

“Yep.  And before you ask, yes, I’m sure they’ll have something on the menu that’s on that very short list of things that won’t make me drop dead.”

The Aussie took his shoes off while Angie pulled down the covers on the bed.  He slid beneath the covers and looked up at her as she tucked them in around him.  “Maybe I won’t fire you as my nursemaid after all.  I kind of like having you tuck me in.”  He then blushed to the roots of his hair upon realizing what he’d said.  “I-I mean. . . .”

Angie laughed softly.  “You are so cute when you’re embarrassed.”  It was then Angie’s turn to blush.

Rollie’s eyes widened.  “You think I’m cute?”

Angie moved hastily toward the door.  “I put your cane there by the night stand.  I’ll be right downstairs if you need anything.”  She slipped out the door and quietly shut it behind her.

The Aussie lay staring up at the ceiling for a moment.  ‘She thinks I’m cute.’  He found himself irrationally pleased by that knowledge.  He closed his eyes, a smile on his face, and let himself drift off to sleep.

“I’ll sure be happy when I can drive again,” Rollie said as they made their way to the restaurant.

“Why?  Is there something wrong with the way I drive?” Angie asked, a warning note in her voice.

“No, of course not,” the Aussie quickly told her.  “It’s just that I like to drive, and I miss it.”

“Well, I bet the pedestrians don’t miss you being on the road.”

“Ha ha, very funny.  I’m an excellent driver, and you know it, Angela.”

“Sure you are.”  Angie hid the smile on her face.  Yes, Rollie was a very good driver.  His time as a stuntman had given him driving skills and reflexes that the ordinary driver didn’t have.

She pulled into the parking lot and found a place to park in the handicapped zone.  They had gotten a temporary permit, despite Rollie’s strong objections.  It wasn’t until Angie had pointed out how hard it would be to get his wheelchair out of the car if they had to park in a regular space that he had acquiesced.

The dinner was pleasant, despite the Aussie’s complaints that he couldn’t order what he really wanted.  They talked mostly about the upcoming project.

“Jack told me at the party that this guy, Brian Adderly, who owns the rights to White Light doesn’t want us to use CGI for the tunnel sequence,” Rollie said.

“What?  Why?”

“Because he wants to actually see the tunnel while it’s being filmed.  He wants to make sure the ‘feel’ is right.”

“But how are we going to do that?  That is a pretty complex effect.”

“I have some ideas.  I remember an old TV show where they made this tunnel of ice that revolved.  They used it again in a later show, and it’s one of the attractions at Universal Studios in California, or at least it was when I went there years ago.  Of course, the biggest challenge will be to get the right effect for the walls, but I’ve got some ideas on that, too.”

“Does this Adderly guy realize how much more expensive this is going to be?” Angie asked.

“Yeah, but since his company is the primary backer, it’s his money he’s wasting.”

“You know, that name sound kind of familiar.”

“It should.  His father was Wilfred Adderly.”

“The producer?  Didn’t he die around seven or eight months ago?”

“Uh huh, and junior got all his money, which was a right hefty sum, from what I’ve heard,” Rollie said.  “I guess Brian decided to take over the family business, though he hasn’t ventured into producing yet.  Jack said the kid’s really green, almost no practical knowledge about the business.”

“Oh joy.  And we’re going to have to deal with him telling us how to do things?”

“Afraid so, at least with some things.”

Angie sighed.  “So much for a pleasant shoot.”

“Well, maybe it won’t be so bad.”

They finished dinner and paid the check.  On the way back to the car, Rollie noticed a commotion in the distance.  Two teenagers dressed in gang colors were harassing a third, younger teenager who wore no colors.  The Aussie stopped and watched, a frown coming to his face.

“What are you looking at?” Angie asked.  Her eyes followed his and saw what was going on.  “No, Rollie, just stay out of it.  Please?  I’ll call the police, and they can deal with it.”

Just then, one of the gang members punched the younger kid in the stomach.  The boy sunk to his knees, gasping for breath.  Anger arose in Rollie, and he wheeled quickly toward the teenagers.

“Rollie!” Angie called.  When he ignored her, she gave an exasperated sigh and went after him, dialing 911 on her cell phone.

“Hey!  Why don’t you leave the kid alone,” Rollie called when he was about twenty feet from the boys.

“This ain’t none of your business, so why don’t you just get out of here,” said the shorter of the two gang members.

The Aussie continued forward until he was within a few feet of the teenagers, who were both Hispanic, as was the boy they’d been harassing.  “Not until you let him go.”

“Yeah, and what are you going to do, cripple?  Hit me over the head with your wheelchair?” the kid who had punched the boy in the stomach asked, sneering.  The other gang member laughed.

Angie came up beside Rollie.  “The cops are on there way, Rol.”

“Bebé!  Muy bonito” the taller teenager said.  “So, are you going to beat us up for your cripple boyfriend?”

Angie threw a curse at him in Spanish.

The kid said something back in the same language, leering at her.  By the look on Angie’s face, whatever he said hadn’t been polite.  He then looked at Rollie.  “Or maybe I’ll just cut up your boyfriend for you, eh?”  A switchblade appeared in his hand.  He took a couple of steps toward the Aussie.

Suddenly, Rollie rolled forward, knocking the kid to the ground.  He then somehow managed to lift the right wheel of his chair off the ground and slammed it down onto the arm that held the knife.  The gang member screamed in pain.  The other kid jumped forward toward them.  Angie whirled around and kicked him in the knee, then slammed her fist into his Adam’s apple.  He went to his knees, clutching his throat, gagging.  She then swung her knee up into his chin, hard.  His head snapped back and he fell backwards, his eyes glazed.

At that moment, they heard the sound of sirens.  Moments later, a police car screeched to a halt a few yards away.  The cops jumped out, drawing their guns, then halted when they saw the scene before them.

“What’s going on here?” one of them asked.

“These two were beating up that kid over there.”  Rollie nodded his head toward the boy, who was sitting huddled beside a car.  “Then this one came at me with a knife.”  He pointed at the switchblade, which was lying on the ground where the kid had dropped it.  The teenager who’d had the knife was screaming at him in Spanish and clawing at the wheel of the wheelchair.

“I don’t understand Spanish,” the Aussie told him.

“He said you’re breaking his arm, Rol,” Angie explained.

“Oh.”  Rollie rolled back, releasing the gang member’s arm.  One of the officers immediately came forward, kicked the knife away, and hauled the kid to his feet.

Both gang members were cuffed, read their rights, and put in the squad car.  A second police car had arrived by then.  Rollie, Angie, and the boy who was being beaten were questioned.  It turned out that the boy was the younger brother of a rival gang member whom his assailants had a grudge against.

“You’ll all need to come down to the station to file charges and fill out some forms,” one of the officers told them.

“Yeah, we know.  We’ve been through this a few times before,” Angie said with a sigh.

“No, I don’t want to press charges.  I just want to go home,” the boy said, clearly scared.

“If you don’t press charges, they’ll be back out on the street tomorrow,” a cop told him.

“And if I do, they’ll be out in a couple of days anyway, then they’ll come after me.”

The officer said nothing, knowing that the boy was right.  Assault charges would only keep the two teenagers in jail for a day or two before their fellow gang members bailed them out.  Once they did get out, the chances were good that they would come seeking revenge against the boy, and there really wasn’t any way that the police could protect him.

“Please, I just want to go home now,” the boy said again.

The cop sighed.  “All right, but if you change your mind, just come down to the station, okay?”  The boy ran off across the parking lot.  The cop watched him disappear into the darkness, then turned to Rollie and Angie.  “What about you?”

“Oh, don’t worry.  We’ll file charges,” the Aussie assured him.

“Well, that’s something.  Thanks.”

Rollie and Angie went down to the station and filled out all the necessary forms.  Angie tried not to think about the fact that the last time they did this was when she’d nearly been raped.

On the way back to the loft, she looked over at Rollie, who was sitting silently in his seat, looking out the side window.  “How did you learn to do that with the wheelchair, Rol?”

“You mean lift the wheel off the ground?  Harper showed me how to do it and a few other tricks.  I practiced in my room when you weren’t there.”

Harper was a paraplegic man who’d been undergoing therapy at the same time as Rollie.

Angie shook her head.  “Almost anybody else would be satisfied just to learn how to make a wheelchair go where they wanted it to.  Leave it to you to want to learn how to do stunts with it.”

The Aussie smiled.  “Well, I thought it might come in handy.”  He paused.  “All right, go ahead and say it.”

“Say what?”

“You know what.”

“You mean about what a dumb stunt that was that you pulled?  You could have gotten hurt or worse.  You should have waited for the cops, Rol.”

“Yeah, I could have waited, but what if they’d really hurt that kid or killed him?  I couldn’t take that chance, Ange.”

Angie gave a loud sigh.  No, of course Rollie Tyler couldn’t do the sensible thing and wait for the police.  Of course he had to leap right in, putting himself at risk.  What else would she expect from him?

“One of these days, rushing in like that is going to get you ki--”  Angie stopped as she remembered that his habit of rushing in to save people had already come very close to getting him killed.

“Been there, done that,” the Aussie said, only half joking.  “By the way, those were some pretty smooth moves you made with that other guy.  I see that you remember everything you learned in the self-defense class.”

“It’s a good thing I did, otherwise you would have gotten your butt kicked.”

“Yeah, I know,” the Aussie said quietly.  He then turned back to the side window.

Angie looked over at him.  “Is something wrong?”

“No, everything’s fine.”

They drove in silence the rest of the way to the loft.  When they got out of the car, Rollie refused to get in the wheelchair.  Instead, he made it to the door with the help of his cane while Angie pushed the empty chair alongside him.  Even after they were inside, he still wouldn’t use the chair.  He walked over to his office and sat behind the desk.  Angie parked the wheelchair a few feet away and sat across from him.

“All right, Rol, what is it?  And don’t tell me everything’s fine.”

“It’s nothing, Ange.  It’s getting late.  You should go home and get a good night’s sleep.  Once we start White Light, a full night’s sleep may be harder to come by.”

Angie watched him as he seemingly became absorbed in whatever he’d brought up on the computer screen.  She could tell that something was bothering him, but he clearly did not want to talk about it.  With a silent sigh, she got up.

“Is there anything that we need to get started on before filming begins?”

“There are a few props that we could work on, but the way that the shooting schedule is, we shouldn’t have to worry.  I am going to have to start working on the material for the tunnel walls, though.  It might take a while to get it right, and we’ll be shooting those scenes in five and a half weeks.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

The Aussie nodded.  “Night, Ange.”

“Goodnight.”

After she was gone, Rollie returned his attention to the computer.  He spent several minutes searching on the Internet before finding what he was looking for.  He then sat staring at the Web page he’d loaded, not really seeing what he was looking at.  A few more minutes passed before he turned away, grabbed his cane, and slowly walked to the stairs and climbed them.  In his bedroom, he sat on the bed and looked at his cane for a long time before getting dressed for bed, using the bathroom, and turning out the light.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE -- CURIOSITY

Rollie searched for something he could eat for breakfast that wouldn’t get him into trouble with Angie.  Looking at the boxes of cereal, he suddenly recalled what he had shoved behind one of them.  He pulled out the papers and looked at them.  He’d thought about the documents several times while in the hospital, but had known that it wasn’t a good time to tell Angie about his plans to make her a partner.  Should he tell her at the same time as he told her how he felt?  Would she think that he was offering her a partnership only because he was in love with her?  He didn’t want her to think that.  Unfortunately, there was a good chance that she would.

Rollie took the papers over to his office and stuck them in the file cabinet under P.  He’d have to decide what would be the best way to handle things later.  Angie would probably be showing up soon.  The comfort of his own bed and the quiet of the loft had made him oversleep, despite the nap he’d taken yesterday afternoon.

“You’re getting lazy, Rollie,” he told himself aloud.

The Aussie made his way back to the kitchen and settled for a glass of orange juice and toast.  Angie walked in the door just as the toast popped up.

“Is that all you’re eating?” she immediately asked.

“Yes.  I would have fixed bacon and eggs, but I want to keep my skin all in one piece.”

“You can eat eggs, Rol.”

“Really?  Are you sure?  I’ve already been at Death’s door once.  I sure wouldn’t want to tempt fate again,” Rollie said sarcastically.

Angie’s mouth twisted into a sarcastic smile.  “Just go sit down, wise guy.  I’ll fix the eggs.”  She watched over her shoulder as the Aussie walked over to the couch, leaning heavily on the cane.  “Why aren’t you using the wheelchair?”

“Because I don’t want to.  It’s time that I start doing without that thing.”

Angie turned toward him.  “It’s way too soon for that.  You just got out of the hospital yesterday.”

“Yes, that’s right.  I am out of the hospital, and that means that if I don’t want to sit in that chair, then I don’t have to.”  He got up and moved toward his workstation.

Angie watched the Aussie make his slow way over to the workstation and sit down.  She had expected Rollie to resist using the wheelchair now that he was home, but his flat out refusal surprised her.  Clearly, something was still bothering him--and it was time to find out what it was.  She walked over to him.

“Okay, I want to know what’s bugging you, Rol.”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that.  Something’s been bothering you ever since last night.  Now, what is it?”

“Maybe it’s something that I don’t want to talk about,” he told her quietly, then focused his entire attention on the computer screen.

“Fine.  Be that way.”  Angie strode upstairs to the cleanroom.  Angrily, she sat down and started working on a project that she’d been putting off, thinking that if Rollie wanted eggs, he could fix them himself.

After a few minutes of doing nothing but stare at the screen, she realized that she wasn’t going to get anything done.  She just kept wondering what was going on with Rollie.  She could hear him at the computer, doing something.  She had a feeling that whatever he was doing had something to do with what was bothering him.

Feeling only slightly guilty, Angie punched in a few commands on her keyboard which enabled her to see what was on Rollie’s screen.  She stared at what was revealed.

“What in the. . . .”  She immediately went back downstairs.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean ‘what do I think I’m doing?’” He studied her expression, and a look of realization came to his face.  “Damn it, Angela, you had no right to spy on me.”

“Nevertheless, I want to know what kind of stupid idea you’ve got in your head.”

As Rollie stood, Angie knew that she’d made a big mistake.  There was anger in his eyes, anger toward her.

“What I choose to do with my personal life is none of your business, so just stay out of it,” he said.  He then pushed past her and climbed the stairs to his bedroom far faster than his physical condition should have allowed.  Angie winced at the sound of the door slamming behind him.

She stood unmoving, not knowing what to do.  Angie knew that what had just happened was her fault.  She shouldn’t have pushed him, and she shouldn’t have spied on him.  That was the worse thing she could have done.  So, what was she going to do now?  There really was only one thing that she could do.

Hesitantly, Angie went up the stairs.  She opened the door and peeked inside.  Rollie’s bedroom door was closed, which was not a good sign.  He usually left it open.  Angie walked up to it and quietly knocked.  There was no answer.  Knowing that she was probably making another mistake, she opened the door a crack and looked inside.  Rollie was sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over, his head in his hands.

Not making a sound, Angie went to him and sat down beside him.  “Rollie, I am so sorry.  Please forgive me,” she whispered.

For several seconds, the Aussie didn’t move, then his hands dropped from his face, but his eyes did not meet hers.

“What I did was wrong, and stupid, and totally inconsiderate,” Angie continued.  “You have every right to be mad at me.  I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t.” Rollie said.  His gaze lifted to hers.  She saw remorse in his eyes.  “It’s my fault.  I shouldn’t have acted the way that I did.  “I’m s--” He was silenced by Angie pressing a finger to his lips.

“No, don’t apologize.  Not everything is your fault, Rol.  I’m the one who’s to blame--this time.”  She gave him an encouraging smile.  He smiled back faintly, then his arms came around her, and they hugged each other tightly.

As they drew apart, Angie placed a kiss on his cheek.  She then stood and headed toward the door.

“Ange?”

“Yes?”

“I have to do it.”

“What?”  Angie came back and sat down beside him.

“You wanted to know what’s been bothering me, why I was looking at that Web site.  Well, last night, when we were giving our statements at the police station, I got to thinking about what would have happened if you hadn’t been there to help me.  There’s no doubt that I would have been in big trouble.  I wouldn’t have been able to fight that other guy.  Then I started thinking about what would happen, what I would do if those gang bangers suddenly decided to come after us.  I wouldn’t be able to protect you.  Even if I wasn’t in that wheelchair, I couldn’t protect you.”

Angie’s immediate response was to say that she didn’t need his protection, but she knew that would be the wrong thing to say.  “Because you don’t know how to fight?” she asked instead.

“Yeah.  It’s never really bothered me that I couldn’t fight worth a damn.  Like I told you that other time, it wasn’t something that I ever wanted to learn how to do.  But things are different now.”

“Why?”

“I can’t explain why.  They just are.”  Rollie’s eyes ran across her face.  Maybe it was stupid that, now that he knew how much he loved her, he felt this strong need to protect her from any threat that might come their way.  Always before, though he had worried about her safety whenever she got involved in something dangerous and had sometimes been downright terrified for her when things went wrong, he’d always been confident that she could take care of herself.  But now, even though she was even more capable of protecting herself, he still felt like he had to be able to fight off any danger that came her way.  But it was more than the fact that he was in love with her.  He’d known for months how he felt about her.  There was a lot more to this than that.  Being shot and coming so close to dying had really showed him how quickly and easily life can be taken away.  Then there was what Loubar and Ralph Lambert had done to her.  She had been hurt, terribly, and he never wanted that to happen again.  There was also all the helplessness and weakness that he’d felt throughout these months of his rehabilitation.  Last night, all those things had fused together into this feeling that he had to do something.

Angie placed her hand on his cheek.  “Rollie, I understand why you feel that way, really I do.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.  I need to confess something myself.  During these months that you’ve been recuperating, I’ve felt . . . well, kind of like a mother wanting to protect her child from harm.”

Rollie made a face.  “Ange, you may not be aware of this, but the last thing a guy wants to hear from a pretty woman is that she thinks of herself as his mother.”

Angie laughed and lightly slapped his arm.  After a moment, she went back to being serious.  “Every day I worried if you were getting enough sleep, if you were eating right, if you were overdoing it with your exercises.  I even worried about you feeling lonely or unhappy.”