Mikayla came home from work giddy with the knowledge that her beloved Braves would once again be in the World Series. She tossed her purse in a kitchen chair and went up to her room to change out of her work clothes. She came back down a short time later wearing a gray Braves jersey and a pair of gray shorts. She fixed herself a cup of hot tea and went out on the porch and made herself comfortable on the swing. Mikayla had brought her Walkman out with her. She tuned it to a popular country station and lost herself in the song…

Sometimes a song can touch a nerve That takes me back to you. When I pick up my old guitar And I play your favorite tune. Every now and then, some little thing I've buried comes bubblin' up. And once in a while, you feel close enough to touch.

I miss you a little since you've been gone A few little memories keep hangin' on. I miss you a little, I guess you could say A little too much, a little too often A little more every day.

When I go by our old house I pretend that you're still there. Waitin' for me on the porch But there's just an empty chair. Wish I could see you one more time Before I drive away. So I could stop and go inside and say,

I miss you a little since you've been gone A few little memories keep hangin' on. I miss you a little, I guess you could say A little too much, a little too often A little more every day.

A little too much, a little too often A little more every day.

The song reminded her of her parents. She remembered what she'd told Tim in the bar, that even after finding out she'd been adopted, she wouldn't trade her parents for anything. Mikayla brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Daddy, I wish you were still here, so you could meet Tim. You'd like him. So would you, Mama. He's very polite, just the way a perfect Southern gentleman should be. Best of all, he likes me for who I am, not what I should or could be and, most importantly, he makes me smile." Quietly, she began sobbing as it hit her just how much she really missed her parents. They'd never actually come out and said that they disapproved of her dating habits, but she could tell that they did. Her parents always told her they'd love her no matter what and had given her the freedom to make her own decisions, even about men, though her dad could be a little overprotective in that area. For that reason, she hadn't brought many men home to meet her parents. It's not that she was ashamed of the men she'd dated, but she knew they weren't good matches for her. She wondered what the meeting between Timothy Michael Bayliss, Robert Benjamin Fitzgerald, and Katherine Devereaux Fitzgerald would've been like. She began rocking slightly back and forth as she thought about what that meeting would be like.

"Mr. Fitzgerald, a pleasure to meet you, sir," she could see Tim walking into her house and greeting her father.

"A pleasure for me as well," her father's deep voice would resonate throughout the house. "It's good to finally meet the man who's making my daughter happy. She's had nothing but good things to say about you." Just then, her mother would appear on the scene. Tall, elegant, always put together Katherine Fitzgerald would come into the room carrying a tray of finger foods. "Katherine, dear, come meet Mikayla's new beau, Timothy Bayliss from Baltimore."

She would set the tray down on a table and glide over to the two gentlemen. "Mr. Bayliss, how nice to make your acquaintance," she would reply in her soft-spoken way. "I've just checked on Mikayla. She'll be down shortly." She would then proceed to sit down ever so gently on the hunter green couch in the sitting area, or, as Mikayla always called it, 'the receiving room.' Mikayla's tears flowed even more now as she knew that meeting would never take place. "Mama, Daddy, I miss y'all so much. It hurts so much to know I'll never hear your voices again. Y'all were the only ones who ever believed in me and had faith in me, except for Felicia, Tara and Penny." She brought her knees up to her chin and began sobbing even harder.

Back at the station, Tim was finishing up some paperwork when a strange feeling overcame him. He got up and walked to over to Penny's desk, where she was just hanging up the phone and making some notes in a file. "Hey, Pen?"

"Yeah, Tim?" Penny looked up at him.

"Did Mikayla seem okay to you when she left?"

"Of course. She left here on cloud nine. Why wouldn't she be in great spirits?"

"I don't know. I've just got this vague impression that something's not right. I can't put my finger on it, though."

"I've still got some work to do on the Grisham case. Why don't you go on over and check on her? I know she'll be happy to see you, no matter what kind of mood she's in."

"You sure she won't mind? I don't want to push my luck." He grinned slightly as a conversation he'd had with Frank came back to him. His partner was describing how solving a crime was like finding love. Pembleton surmised that both came down to just pure, dumb luck, then told Bayliss he wasn't that lucky.

"Tim, trust me on this one. Whatever it is she's going through, I think you're the only one that can get to her. You've touched something in her that's been buried for a long time. I haven't seen her this happy since before her parents died. So, if you think something's wrong, there probably is. Now, get your butt over there and check on your girlfriend already, would ya?"

"Okay, okay, I'm going." He headed out the door, stopped, then turned around. "Penny, thanks for the vote of confidence." He smiled shyly.

"No problem, Tim. Now, get on out of here so I can finish this file."

Tim went to the parking lot, jumped in his Blazer, and drove over to Mikayla's house. He thought back over the day, unable to think of anything out of the ordinary occurring that might cause his girlfriend to get upset. Tim knew Mikayla was an emotional female, as opposed to Penny. With Penny, who was always calm and cool no matter the situation, you could never tell what she was feeling. Mikayla, on the other hand, was so expressive that, unless she was purposely trying to hide something, you knew immediately how she felt. Tim didn't know whether she'd always been that way or whether it was because of her drinking. As far as he knew, she'd made a concerted effort to stop her drinking. He'd offered her his support on numerous occasions, but she was determined to get through this herself; so, he just stood by and was ready to help whenever she needed him. These were the thoughts running through his head as he pulled into the girls' driveway. He hopped out of his car and tried to walk at a normal pace up to the house. When he got to the porch, he found Mikayla sobbing, curled up on the porch swing. He leaped up onto the porch and knelt down next to the swing. "What happened, Mik? Are you okay?"

She looked up, mascara running down her face. "What are you doing here?"

Tim was embarrassed to admit the true reason, but he said it anyway. "I just had a feeling inside you were upset. I wanted to come over and make sure you were okay." He put a bent finger under her chin and lifted up her head. "Are you?"

"Not really," she sniffed.

"Wanna talk about it?" She nodded and made room for him on the swing. He sat down and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm here now, Mikayla. Whatever's wrong, we can work through it together."

"I--I was just thinking about you and my parents. I heard a song and it reminded me of my mom and dad." She looked at Tim. "They'd like you. I know they would. And the hard part is, they'll never get a chance to meet you." She began crying again and buried her head in Tim's shoulder. He stroked her head and let her cry. He was at a loss for words, not knowing how to react to that statement. Mikayla had a way of doing that to him. She was the most unique female he'd ever met. She lifted her head up and sniffed again. "I know that may not make much sense to you, because I know you didn't have a good relationship with your parents, but my parents meant everything to me. I always held their opinion in high esteem." She stared up toward the sky. "You're the first man in my life since my parents died and, to tell you the truth, the only one worth bringing home to meet my mom and dad." She wiped her eyes and leaned back into Tim's chest. "I so wanted them to be proud of me. Unfortunately, they died before I did anything with my life." She bit her lip to avoid crying again.

Tim was silent. He wasn't like Munch, who had a quip for every situation, or Frank, who always came up with the right thing to say. He always considered himself the silent, sensitive type of person. When he didn't think he had the right thing to say, he just wouldn't say anything. He'd learned that from his dad, who never could say the right thing. Tim could never remember hearing a positive word from his dad. He tried so hard to be the perfect son; to never do anything to make his father mad, but it was no use. It seemed his father was always in a bad mood and never gave his son any encouragement. Tim laid his head on Mikayla's and sighed. "Mikayla, this may not mean very much, but I'm proud of you and I'm sure your parents would be delighted as to how you've turned out."

Mikayla turned her head up to look into Tim's eyes and she began to smile. "Thanks, Tim. I guess I knew they would be, but I just needed to hear someone say it out loud."

He leaned down and kissed her. "Honey, don't you ever forget I'm proud of you. Now, I think I have something that will put a smile back on that pretty face."

"You've decided to root for the Braves in the Series?" Mikayla joked.

"Not a chance, Mikayla," Tim laughed. "I bleed orange and black. But," he said, "I have a little present for you. Consider it a belated birthday present, since I didn't know you on your birthday." He reached inside his jacket pocket, pulled out some papers and handed them to her.

Mikayla opened up the paper, then threw her arms around Tim's neck. "Tickets to the Series here in Baltimore! I love it!" As she stared at the tickets, an idea came to her. "You think Gee would let us off for about a week, if I could get someone to cover for me?"

"Why?" Tim looked at her. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

"Well, I still have some connections in Atlanta, and I thought maybe we could take a road trip and see the games there. I could show you around Atlanta. It would give us a chance to get away, just the two of us. You know, give us a chance to get to know each other better. Sound good?"

Tim grinned, thinking how much fun they could have. "I've got some vacation time coming, and, we do have a full staff now. I think I could talk him into it."

"Uh, Tim, why don't you let me handle Gee? I have a way with men."

"Excuse me?"

She looked at him slyly. "I got you, didn't I? Besides, I think I can handle a pussycat like Gee."

"Okay, it's a deal. Why don't you talk to him in the morning since he's already left for the day?"

Mikayla was silent once again, thinking about her home. She had so many emotions and thoughts running through her head. She was excited for her team and the possibility of seeing them, but she was also nervous about going away with Tim. They had grown closer through Penny's ordeal, since Tim had been over practically every night. The surprise, at least to Mikayla, was the fact they hadn't slept together since their first date. They'd agreed to get to know each other and they were both comfortable with the decision. She wondered how the trip would affect their relationship. She snuggled closer to Tim and tried to hold back her tears, but eventually cried herself to sleep, with Tim falling asleep shortly after she did.

Tara and Penny arrived home about an hour later. They tiptoed past the couple curled up on the porch swing and went into the house. Tara went to the kitchen and put a styrofoam container in the refrigerator, then went to change clothes. As she passed by Penny's room, she asked, "So, what do you think is up with our charge out there?"

Penny pulled a BCPD sweatshirt over her head. "I'm not sure. I'm guessing she's probably uptight about going away with Tim. She hasn't been back since we moved here, so I'm sure she's nervous." Mikayla had shared her Atlanta idea with her two roommates earlier in the day.

"You're probably right," Tara said, then headed to her room.

"I'm gonna grab a blanket and cover up the lovebirds," Penny shouted to Tara. She grabbed a blanket from the hall closet, went out and started to place it over Tim and Mikayla. As she did, Tim stirred. "Evenin', sleepyhead."

Tim looked up, startled to see Penny standing in front of him. "What time is it?" He mumbled.

"It's about 8 o'clock."

"Guess I'd better head on home, then." Tim started to get up, then realized Mikayla was still asleep, curled up and leaning against him.

"You're welcome to stay over here on our couch," Penny offered. "I know you and the couch were on a first name basis while I was in the hospital."

"Thanks for the invite, Pen, but I really need to get on home. I've got a surprise planned for Mik and I've gotta get started on it."

"A surprise? For our Mikayla?" Tara piped up as she opened the door and overheard the last part of the conversation. "Do tell, Timmy."

Tim shook his head. "Nope, my lips are sealed. Sorry, gals, you'll see it when Mik does." Tim looked down at the sleeping figure next to him. "I guess I should take her inside." As he put an arm under Mikayla's waist, she began to stir. "Mik, honey, time to wake up," Tim said, stroking her hair.

"Mmm, do I have to?" She said groggily.

"Afraid so, sweetie. I gotta be getting on home."

Mikayla reached up, wiped her eyes and sighed. "Okay," she replied as she sat up. "I gotta fix dinner anyway. What time is it, about 6?"

The trio chuckled. "No, honey," Tara said, "it's 8 o'clock."

"I'm sorry, roomies. I'll go in and start dinner now." She stood up and grabbed the blanket.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo," Penny answered, taking the blanket from her. "We stopped by Chili's on the way home. Your chicken's in the fridge."

"Thanks, Pen. I'll be inside in a minute to eat it. I'll walk Tim out to his car." She gave her roommates a secret look that said, "I need to talk. Don't go anywhere." Her roommates signaled their understanding and went into the house. Tim took Mikayla's hand and they walked out to the driveway. "Tim, thanks for listening--"

"Shhh," he said, placing his index finger over her lips. "I enjoy the time we spend together. I'm getting to know more and more about you. I'm looking forward to our trip to Atlanta."

"Me, too," she replied softly as they got to his Jeep. Tim leaned down and warmly kissed Mikayla and she returned it just as warmly. Neither of them wanted to break away but Tim finally drew back. He opened the door and climbed inside. "I'll see you in the morning, cutie pie."

"Okay, Timmy bear. Bye," she said, waving at him as he pulled out and drove away. As he did, he looked in the rearview mirror, noticing how the moonlight shined down upon his girlfriend.

Mikayla stared after the car until she couldn't see it any longer, then slowly made her way up the driveway and into the house. Tara and Penny were already in the living room waiting for her. "Come on, missy, we've already got the popcorn and sodas in here," Tara said. Mikayla shuffled into the living room and plopped down on the floor, then leaned back against the love seat. Tara handed her a can of pop and a couch pillow.

"Okay, gal talk time," Penny said. "What's up, sweetie?"

Mikayla wrapped her arms around the pillow and sat her chin on it. "Well, this may come as a shock to y'all, but I'm terrified about this trip. I mean, I really, really like Tim and I don't want to screw this up. I don't know if y'all know this or not, but Tim and I haven't--you know--since our first date. We decided to take things slow, so it's not that I'm mad because we haven't had sex. I'm just worried about what will happen on this trip. Oh, I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm probably overreacting and babbling on about nothing."

Penny leaned over and placed an arm around Mikayla. "Mik, you know what I think? I think you're scared of getting close. You've never really let yourself, for one reason or another, relate on an intimate level with a man. Tim's the first one to break down that wall you've built around yourself and you're wondering where this is headed. Let's face it, your life has been completely turned upside down and twisted around these past couple of years and believe me, I understand that completely. I know you're used to having a set plan for everything and you're beginning to find out that's not always possible. Is any of this making any sense?"

Mikayla nodded and laid her head on Penny's shoulder. "You're right. I think I'm afraid of getting too close to Tim and then having him taken away from me. I know in here," she said, pointing to her head, "that's a ridiculous idea, but," she pointed to her heart, "I can't seem to get the message down to here. For such a short distance, it sure takes a hell of a lot of time for things to travel from your brain to your heart. You know what else I'm terrified of? That once he sees me back in Atlanta, in my 'own element', he won't ever want to see me again, and I don't think I could take that." It took every ounce of strength Mikayla had to not run into the kitchen and straight to the liquor cabinet. She knew just a little sip and her nerves would settle down, but she'd made a firm vow to stay away from liquor as much as possible, so she grabbed her pop and took a gulp.

Tara scooted over next to Mikayla. "Honey, that's not irrational at all. I know exactly where you're coming from. Don't you remember back when Mikey and I first started dating, how nervous I was?" Mikayla nodded. "And, we're still together. You've just got to believe that your relationship with Tim is strong enough to make it through anything, okay?"

Mikayla sniffed. "Okay. Thanks for putting up with me."

Penny laughed and gave her a hug. "No prob, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Right," Mikayla laughed. "Now, I guess I need to head off to bed and plan how to approach Gee to ask for vacation time." She got up and went into the kitchen to get her dinner out of the refrigerator. "Night, gals," she said as she took the dinner out of the microwave and opened the door to the loft.

"Night, Mik," her roommates replied, then they, too, headed off to their rooms. When Mikayla was sure Tara and Penny were entrenched in their rooms, she quietly made her way back down to the kitchen. She silently opened the refrigerator door, slid out a beer and went back up to her room. "Just one, to help me sleep," she said to herself. Before she knew it, the one had turned into three. "Okay, I have to stop now, otherwise I'm going to look like crap in the morning and everyone will know I was drinking," she thought right before she went to sleep.

Mikayla got to work early the next morning and had Gee's cup of coffee ready for him when he arrived. "Good morning, Lt. Here's your coffee and your morning newspaper."

"Thank you, Miss Fitzgerald," Gee replied, taking the cup and paper from her. "To what to I owe this honor?" He asked as he went into his office.

"Can't a secretary have her supervisor's coffee ready for him without having an ulterior motive?" She questioned as she followed him into his sanctuary.

"Any other secretary but you, Mikayla," he grinned. "I believe the only request you vocalized before accepting this position was for someone else to make the coffee."

Mikayla sat down in a chair across from Gee. "I never could hide anything from you, Gee," she laughed. "I have a favor to ask."

"Go ahead, I'm listening," Gee replied, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, as I'm sure you know, the World Series starts Saturday. Tim was sweet enough to get tickets for us for the games here in Baltimore. And, since games three through five will be in Atlanta, I was wondering if it might be possible for Tim and I to--"

"Tim and you would like a week off to attend the games in Atlanta, am I correct?"

"Right on the mark, sir," she replied sheepishly.

"I could be persuaded to grant your request. If, in return, you would bring me back a memento."

"You name it, Lieutenant, and it's yours."

"There's a quaint little Italian restaurant in northwest Atlanta that serves ravioli so delectable you'd sell your soul for a taste of it."

"That wouldn't be Romano's, would it?"

"You've heard of it?"

"I ate there at least once a week while growing up. I'll be more than happy to bring back some ravioli and sauce for my favorite Sicilian," she said.

"Then, by all means, you and young Bayliss have a splendid time on your vacation." Gee's face glowed at the prospect of enjoying a fine Italian meal.

Mikayla leaped up out of the chair, ran around the desk and hugged him. "Thanks, Gee. What did I ever to do deserve to work for such a splendid man?" But Gee didn't answer. He was off somewhere partaking of a Sicilian dinner. Mikayla left his office and bounced back to her desk, mentally making a list of what to pack for the trip.

Tim looked up as he heard Gee's office door open. By the look on his girlfriend's face, he knew Gee had agreed to give them the time off. He nonchalantly strolled by on his way to the coffeepot and stopped at Mikayla's desk. "So, are we on?"

Mikayla grinned. "We're on, Tim. Start packing your bags."

Monday Morning

"Okay, all my Braves have to do is win all three games and we'll be champions--again," Mikayla had been unbearable to live with all day Sunday after the Braves beat the Orioles 12-5. To add to everyone's dismay (except for Kay's, who'd spent all weekend gloating), Mikayla had caught one of the Braves home run baseballs and had shown it to everyone she met. God help them if the Braves won the Series!

"Fitzgerald, are you conveniently forgettin' our guys won the first game?" Lewis reminded her as he waved the sports section in front of her face.

"Lewis, babe, I told you we'd let the birdies win one game," Mikayla snipped, lightly slapping him on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to pass along your good wishes to my guys."

"Okay, the car's all packed, sweetie," Tim said. "You ready?"

"Let's head 'em up and move 'em out," Mikayla grinned. "Bye, y'all. See ya in a week and try not to have too much fun without us, kiddos." She took Tim's hand and the couple walked out, Mikayla chanting like an indian brave all the way.

The pair had agreed that Tim would drive the first leg, then Mikayla would take the second half of the trip into Atlanta. Mikayla settle back into her seat and watched the scenery go by. To look at her, one would think she couldn't be any happier, but her insides told another, completely different story. She was still apprehensive about the trip and had finally decided to just talk to Tim about it. Mikayla was going to wait until they were a couple of hours outside of Washington, D.C. to start the conversation. They passed the time listening to the radio and the two of them sang along to the songs on the oldies station. She stared off through the windshield, her arms crossed across her chest.

Tim had been watching his girlfriend since they left Baltimore. She tried to sing as though her heart was in it, but he could tell her mind was elsewhere. She wasn't singing with true emotion in her voice. He'd discovered that whenever something was troubling her, she'd scrunch down in her chair and cross her arms, like she was doing now. He'd learned a lot about her during Penny's hospital stay and had discovered that they had quite a few things in common. For instance, they both hated mornings, though Mikayla had a much better time of hiding it than he did. Everyone in Homicide knew to stay away from "Bayliss the Bear" until he'd downed at least 2 cups of coffee. Of course, that wasn't counting the cups he'd partaken of before even arriving at the precinct. Mikayla, however, always managed to be chipper and bouncy the second she hit the door at work. Also, though she didn't always show it, she did have a soft and sensitive side to her. That had become more apparent the longer she worked in Homicide, especially when a child was involved. She had a 'mother hen' instinct about her. If a child appeared at the stationhouse, whether as a victim, a suspect, an eyewitness or as a tagalong, Mikayla had a way of calming them down enough so they could be of assistance to the detectives. Afterwards, she just waved her hand and replied, "oh, it was nothing. I'm just doing what I can to help y'all out." He remembered hearing a song on the radio that talked about when you knew you loved a woman and one line stuck in his brain: "When you can see your unborn children in her eyes." He could still picture the exact day he'd had that vision…

*****

Frank was the primary and he'd been the secondary on the case. A woman had been brutally murdered in front of her three children, ages 10, 6 and 4. All the clues pointed to the estranged husband: he'd been seen at the house that day, she had a restraining order against him, and his prints had been found everywhere. He denied everything, of course, but that was before Pembleton and Bayliss had him in the box. Frank knew that if he had some additional ammunition, such as witnesses to the crime, he could nail the SOB. It was obvious the girls, at least one of them, had seen the murder take place, but neither he nor Tim could get anything out of them. "Why don't you let me try?" Mikayla had offered, but Frank argued that since she wasn't a detective, any statement they made would be inadmissible. "Detective Pembleton, if they start to say anything even remotely relevant, I'll stop and come and get you. I'll even talk to them in the box. That should help them become more at ease." With Tim's help, the two of them convinced Frank to allow Mikayla to talk to the three girls, but he wanted to take it to Gee for final approval. Gee agreed on the condition that Frank and Tim be at the window so they could detect when the conversation turned to the crime. Mikayla brought the girls into the box. "Why don't we get to know each other? My name's Mikayla, but if you'd like, you can call me Mik or Mickey. You know, kinda like Mickey Mouse? Do y'all like Mickey Mouse?" The two oldest girls nodded.

"You don't look like Mickey," the littlest girl said. "More like Minnie."

Mikayla grinned. "Well, thank you…now, wait a minute, how can I thank you if I don't know y'alls names?"

"I'm Cassie," the little girl giggled nervously. "You sound funny, too. Don't sound like us."

She picked Cassie up and sat her on her knee. "That's cause I'm not from here, Cassie. I'm from Georgia; it's a long way from here. Cassie's a pretty name. I bet your sisters have pretty names, too. Can you tell me what they are?"

Cassie nodded shyly. "That one's Ginny," she said, pointing to the 6-year-old, "and she's Carrie. Can I touch your hair? It's pretty."

"Sure you can, honey," Mikayla said. She swallowed back tears as Cassie petted her hair. If she could have seen Tim then, she would have seen him about to cry, as well. He'd never seen a gentler scene take place in the box. This was such an unusual occurrence that everyone who wasn't busy was standing at the window watching the scene unfold. "Why don't y'all come over here and stand a little closer, okay? One of you can sit on my other leg, if you'd like? I don't mind." Ginny ran up and sat on Mik's other leg. Carrie stood next to Ginny and placed an arm around her sister's shoulder. "In a minute, two policemen are going to come in here and talk to you. Is that okay, Carrie? Ginny? Cassie?" She looked directly at each of them as she said their names and all three silently nodded. "Their names are Frank and Tim and they're good friends of mine, so you can trust them." The two oldest girls still didn't look too sure, so Mikayla came up with an idea. "Why don't we pretend like they can see us and we can wave at them, okay?" Mikayla started waving at the window and the girls soon joined in. Mikayla formed the words "you can come in now," hoping that Frank and Tim would catch it.

Tim looked over at Frank. "That's our cue, partner." Frank nodded and the pair went into the box. The girls wouldn't let go of Mikayla, however, and would only talk if she were allowed to stay in the room with them. Frank and Tim let her and, eventually, the detectives got the information they needed to book their father for murder.

*****

"Okay, Mikayla, what's up?" He finally said, noticing Mikayla had woken up from a catnap.

"Why do you say that, Tim?" She replied, twisting in her seat to face him.

"I've known you long enough to pick up on some of your little quirks. One thing I've noticed is, when you have something on your mind, you sink down in your chair and sit with your arms crossed. That's the way you were posed when you fell asleep. So, I'll ask again, Mikayla, what's up?"

"I was thinking about all the trips I've made down here over the years. This will only be the third time I've been here that my parents haven't been here to meet me." Mikayla began reminiscing out loud. "To me, home was always a haven away from the stresses of the world. No matter what the situation was that brought me down here, once I arrived home I felt nothing but peace and contentment. I guess it's because I knew my parents loved me and I always felt enveloped in that love while I was at home."

"Sounds like heaven on earth," Tim said, a twinge of envy seeping into his quiet voice. He knew Mikayla needed to get some things out of her system, so he tried to keep his childhood difficulties out of the way.

Mikayla, however, sensed something going on underneath Tim's calm demeanor. "I'm sorry, Tim. I know I make it sound like I had a perfect childhood. I know I was very blessed to have had parents like that for almost 35 years, and it hurts me to no end knowing that others weren't as fortunate."

"It's okay, Mik. I like hearing your stories about your childhood. It helps me picture what you were like."

"Pretty much like I am now, except shorter," Mikayla joked.

"Ha, ha, Mik. Tell me some more about you visits."

"Back when I lived in New York City, it seemed like I came home every weekend. When I wasn't in school, I was off auditioning for plays, commercials, movies, and television shows, and getting rejected--a lot. So, I'd go where I knew I'd be accepted. 'Back to Tara,' as Scarlett O'Hara would say, only in my case it was back to 'heaven.' You were correct when you said it sounded like Heaven on earth. That's the impression my dad wanted to convey to everyone who entered the premises. So, I'd come home after getting turned down for what seemed like the umpteenth millionth time. Mama and Daddy would be waiting for me on the porch. Mama would be holding out her arms to hug me and tell me everything would be all right. Daddy would be standing right behind her with his hands on her shoulders. They'd let me cry, then we'd talk about the audition and try to figure out what I could learn from it. About then, Daddy would excuse himself and go out to the stables to saddle up the horses."

"Horses? Just how big is this place, anyway?" Tim was beginning to feel a bit insecure. Lord, there's no way he could compete with a mansion.

"Well, I'm kinda--ashamed to talk about it, but I guess you need to know. Did you ever see Gone with the Wind?" Tim nodded, not sure he wanted to hear what was coming next. "Think of Twelve Oaks before Sherman's march to the sea and that's 'La Isla Bonita'--the Beautiful Island. It's been in the family for generations. "There, that's out in the open," she thought. "Let's see how he handles that and we'll go from there."

"What have I gotten myself into?" Tim thought to himself.

"I know, you're probably wondering what you've gotten yourself into," Mikayla said. "I never told you before because I wanted, no, needed to know you liked me for me, not for my money. Too many times I've had guys interested in me only for the money and I've reached a place in my life where I don't want to play those games anymore. I just got so tired of people taking advantage of me because I'm such a trusting person, sometimes a little too trusting, so I get hurt easily. I'm sorry, Tim, I didn't mean to deceive you. That was the farthest thing from my mind." Because I'm in love with you and I don't want to lose you, she thought to herself. "If you ask, I'd give up all my money and belongings to stay with you."

Tim was silent as he mulled over this new development. For him, it shed a new light on her. It was one explanation for her drinking; she thought she had to drink to fit in and it probably helped her to forget about the money. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he loved her no matter how much she was worth. To him, no amount of money could chase him away from his 'queen of the south.' This would just be another obstacle for them to work through, and with the strength of their love, they could and would make it. He pulled the Blazer over into a rest area and parked. "We need to stretch our legs and, also, I have something I need to say." He helped her out of the car and they walked along the sidewalk through some trees until they came to a cement picnic table. They sat down and Tim took Mikayla's hands in his and held them. "Mikayla, honey, you have made such an impact on my life. You are the most unique female I've ever met. I just adore your sense of humor and, yes, even your flirtatiousness. What I'm trying to say, Mik, is that I love you. I don't care if you have enough money to buy Buckingham Palace or are on welfare, the amount of money you have doesn't matter one iota. I love you for you and I know that whatever problems come our way, we can work through them together." He brought Mikayla's hands up to his face and kissed them. He looked over at Mikayla and saw her eyes filled with tears.

"Tim, you don't know how much that means to me. You are the most real person I've ever met. I've seen the way you deal with people and I admire your straightforwardness. I think I've been in love with you ever since I saw you at the copy machine that day. You looked so helpless and so darn cute, I couldn't resist those eyes. You know, the eyes are the windows to the soul."

"My sentiments exactly. That's one of the strategies I use when questioning a suspect. I look into their eyes and can usually tell if they're lying or not."

"Oh, really, Tim?" Mikayla said, leaning forward and staring into his eyes. "So, what do you see in mine?"

Tim stared into her big, deep brown eyes. "Hmm, let me take a look. I see someone who's playful, spirited, demonstrative, caring, loves life, puts her heart into everything she does, loves her job, and worships her boyfriend."

Mikayla laughed. "Well, everything but the worships part. More like, is madly in love with him and adores him."

Tim smiled. "Okay, I can live with that." He glanced at his watch. "Well, Mik, guess it's time to hit the road."

"My turn to drive, Timmy. Let me have the keys," Mikayla said, holding out her hand. Tim, however, had something else in mind. He grabbed Mikayla's outstretched hand and pulled her into him, then planted a kiss on her lips. In response, Mikayla put her free hand behind his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. Finally, she broke away. "Let's stop before this gets out of hand, honey." Tim sighed and started to pout. "Now, Timmy, don't be upset. We'll make up for it later on, okay?" She grinned mischievously as she reached into Tim's jacket pocket and grabbed the keys, then ran to the car. Tim followed behind, Mikayla started the Blazer and they resumed their journey.