Pandoras Box
By Lisa

The board members filed in as Chris tried to read the expressions on thier faces as to what the outcome of thier meeting had been.He didn't gather any hints though ,since thier faces seemed to be set firmly in stone,but he didn't need to wait long either.The chairman of the board called the meeting to order and the small crowd grew quiet in anticipation of their decision.

Rita was asked to stand up. Chris had her hand in his own,and he gently squeezed it,as he smiled his encouragement at her. She stood then,and looked the board members directly in the eye as she faced them.

"The Internal Affairs board has come to the conclusion that ,though Rita Lance may have been involved with her partner at the time,clearly going against this departments regulations,the death of Gina Lawrence was unavoidable and that Seargent Lance acted completely in accordance to the regulations of this department in order to protect her partner. However....It has been decided that,though Seargent Lance may be reinstated,she can no longer be partnered with Seargent Lorenzo,which is noted here that action for this has already been taken.

Billy heard only the first few words,and he knew she had been cleared of Ginas death. His lawyer had promised,but he had failed.....A dark fury seeped into him,and she was agonizingly loud,yelling hurtful words,telling him it was time now..not later as he had planned to...Now!....He had to kill them both...and she was hurting his ears with her high pitched screams. He had to get the gun...and kill them...or she would never stop the screaming....it would hurt forever.

A ruckus arose from across the room. The chairmans attention was diverted to the scuffle that had ensued between Crago,his lawyer and a deputy who had stood against the wall where Crago had been sitting. A shot thundered through the room,and whoever hadn't noticed the scuffle by then,turned now,seeing Crago standing on the table that had been in front of him.Chris and Rita ,who had been quietly lost in thier own silent celebration over the decision,now turned in the direction of the gunshot.The room had frozen,everyone suddenly frightened by the mad man who was hollering and swinging his gun at all of them,telling everyone not to make a move. The deputy who had been shot lied still on the floor, convinced them all to do as he said. Chris could tell by the amount of blood that gushed from his chest,that he was either already dead or soon would be. No one made a move,but Chris could hear the soft crys from behind him,and he knew they were Frannys.Still holding Ritas hand in his own,he gave it another squeeze.

Now that he had everyones attention,Crago jumped off the table,striding over to Chris,a menacing smile on his face. He didn't say a word as he grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out of his seat,thrilled to see his hand being torn out of Ritas'.Chris heard a quick muffled scream from her as Crago put a gun to his head.

Chris caught her attention with his eye,trying to calm her,to tell her to do nothing just yet.It wasn't the right time....and she wondered if he was thinking clearly now,or if maybe he was just trying to protect her.She questioned him with her eyes,and looking into them,she knew his answer.

She leaned back slightly,relaxing a little,or at least trying to. Harry leaned forward and patted her shoulder,as Billy led Chris back up to the front of the room,where the board members sat fearfully frozen .

Rita sat watching,never taking her eyes off Chris.It was hard to believe he wold be alright when she saw the deputy lying on the floor.

"It's time now Lance....time for your boyfriend to die...just like you took Gina away from me,I'm gonna take him from you....Your not going to have anything left when I'm through with you....no more fish...no more Chris."

He laughed now,and Rita was sure she could hear the devil himself in his voice" I even picked out the tombstone for him....did you approve of my choice,Seargent Lance?

She understood his meaning,and inside she was seething with fear and hate,not sure which was stronger at the moment,but she controlled her emotions,and refused to give Crago the reaction she knew he wanted from her. Chris caught Cragos meaning as well,and he knew that Crago was more dangerous then he at first thought.He could see Rita knew that too now,and he sensed her fear, but was proud of the stregnth she showed.

Billy was dissapointed in her reaction,and he let her know it by cocking the gun ,as it was pointed right at Chris' head.

"No! Billy...please don't do it." Rita cried dessperately.

He laughed at her. "Come up here,Seargent Lance...I'm gonna give you a chance to do something you never gave me...I will allow you to beg me for his life."

She didn't know if he was serious or not.Sitting there ,seeing him watching her expectantly,she slowly rose,and took a step.

"Right there is fine....Now,get down on your knees,and beg me to spare your partners life" He shrugged his shoulders"maybe I will,maybe I won't"

Chris shook his head. He knew Billy Crago had no plans to allow him to walk out of there alive,and if he was going to die,the last thing he wanted to see was his Sammy reduced to begging for his life.

But she did,and she did it well,causing Crago to realize how much he could really enjoy himself with these two.....the fun he could have. Maybe he wouldn't kill Lorenzo just yet. He might be able to play with Rita for awhile,take a few of Lorenzos treasures from him,while he watched. Hell,why not, he decided. Rita Lance was a beautiful woman..the likes of her he had never experienced before,and this was probaly his only chance.As long as he was in control,why not?He began to tell Chris all about the things he would do to her and he demanded that Rita come to him.

Rita was slowly rising ,afraid of what he would do to Chris if she didn't do as he ordered her to,when sudenly from the corner of her eye,she saw Cindy edging herself out of the seat,and take aim. Crago was too busy tormenting Chris with his plans to notice. The gun she had was a godsend,but Rita could see that Cindy wasn't going about taking Crago down as she should,and it was Chris' life that was at stake should she miss.

She tried to grab for the gun as discreetly as possible,but her actions caught Caps' attention,and Cindys' as well,and suddenly she aimed,and fired,too ambitious to let Rita Lance be the one who took this guy down. Concern for Chris caused Cap to yell a warning,but it was a warning that came too late,and Rita screamed as she saw Chris hit in the upper chest. She lunged towards Cindy,who had lowered the gun now,and only stared at Chris,seeing the mistake she had made.Grabbing the gun away from her hand,Rita didn't waste another second and took aim at Crago,who was now holding a still standing,but bleeding Chris in front of him. Rita was afraid that he would finish what Cindy had foolishly started,and her arm trembled as she held the gun onto Crago.Chris's eyes met Ritas',communicating in a way only the two of them could understand. She nodded,knowing what she had to do,but knowing what he would do as well,and she fired.Chris ducked and rolled away. She usually never missed,but,the gun Cindy had fired had skipped a bullet for some reason,and she was left standing there cursing inwardly as Crago lost the little grip on humanity he seemed to have,and turned his gun on her,laughing at her predicament.He would have shot her then,but he was still holding out hope that he could get control again,and still treat himself to her.Instead he turned his gun to the police commishioner,intending to show the others in that room that he meant buisness here. He was not one to mess with.

The police commishioner who had been completely still before,turned petrified now,as he saw Crago put the gun right between his eyes and then a shot was fired. Chris purposefully knocked over a chair ,causing Crago to turn at the sound,and that was his mistake.Rita aimed and fired and this time she didn't miss. Crago lied on the floor,a few feet from the man he had killed earlier,with a bullet to the head.It was over.

The room soon began to stir ,as everyone who had feared for thier lives were anxious to get away now,to get help. Rita was immediately at Chris' side,seeing that he was leaning over in pain,and supporting himself with the table. He looked deathly pale,and she could see he was loosing alot of blood. Cap helped her to lower him to the floor and called for an ambulance,while Rita sat with his head in her lap,trying to keep him awake. He was loosing conciousness fast,and Fran kept telling her to keep talking to him,while she took his pulse.

"Chris....please hold on...help is on the way....it's gonna be okay....your gonna be fine" She cried,as she begged him to stay with her......"Oh please Chris ...you have to hold on....I love you so much." Chris heard her sobs and tried desperately for her to fight the darkness that tried to envelope him,but soon he had no choice,but to give in to it.

"I love you Sammy" he told her,hoping that they wouldn't be his last words to her as he finally lost his grip on her hand.

"No Chris...Please hang on...You can't leave me...you promised me, Chris...You promised me!" By now,she was almost blind with her tears and she felt someone pull her away as two other cops now came to his side. She realized she was in Georges' arms now,and she stood watching as the two cops yelled for everyone to get back,and Cap led the way for the paramedics who were right behind him. Within moments,Chris was laoded onto a stretcher and into an ambulance and Rita climbed in with him,taking his hand and begging him to hold on.

Three hours later,she was pacing the floor of the waiting room,anxious for word of how Chris was doing. He had been taken to surgery and so far no one had come out to inform her of his condition. She paced the floor,in between prayers and tears . Cap and Fran sat watching her.They were just as concerned about her as they were for Chris. She looked as if she was going to loose it at any moment.

Finally,a man in green scrubs approached the worried group. He called for the captain,and Cap stood, and guided Rita along with him to speak with the doctor.The rest of the worried group sat waiting and watching.Whatever the doctor told them caused Rita to double over,and Cap grabbed her by the arm and lowered her to the couch that was behind her.She looked up to the doctor and listened as he finished speaking , tears rolling down her cheeks. Then the doctor turned and left,and the rest of the group that had been watching several feet away ,made thier way over to find out Chris' condition. Fran came right to Ritas side,and took her into her arms,as she looked up to her Heshy,fearing the worst.

"Chris is going to be fine. The doctor says the bullet missed his heart and lungs,and caused no internal damage. He lost alot of blood ,but he should be fine now."

Cheers went up among the anxious group. Rita ,who had been crying with the tremendous relief that had overwhelmed her,now began accepting the hugs and congrats from from the others and soon a smile appeared on her face.An hour later,she was sitting by Chris' side,holding his hand .

It was two days later,as Chris was being released, that they learned of thier fate. Cap came strolling into Chris's room as Rita was packing his bag,anxious to take him back to his apartment,where she had again been staying.

"Well,Lorenzo...Lance...You two did it again.You have somehow managed to get through this by the narrowest of margins,....again." He shook his head,a grin he couldn't hide from them on his face. He was still too thrilled with the news he had recieved earlier that day.

"What do you mean,Cap" asked Chris,noticing the smile on his captains face.Rita came to stand beside Chris now.

"Well,it seems that the board had another meeting yesterday concerning you two" Chris and Ritas eyes met,as Cap continued on. "They were quite impressed seeing you both in action the other day. They have never seen two cops who are so in tune with one another,and they feel a great team would be wasted if they enforced the rules and split you two up.They were also very impressed with your arrest rate ,and with your own personal files.The police commishioner is eternally grateful and feels that it was your partnership that saved his life. He says that it must be your relationship that makes your partnership so rare,and so they have decided to keep you both as partners after all,.....providing that you don't flaunt the physical aspect of your pairing around the department like a couple of teenagers."

Chris laughed."...We wouldn't do that...would we Sammy?....Are you serious,Cap...we're back to being partners again? What about Cindy?"

Cap looked at them both over his glasses."Yeah...well I just better not catch any mushy stuff while your both working...you got that...because I will be watching.....I just got my best team back again and I'm not about to let you two take them away from me...Got that?...As for Cindy...she no longer works for PBPD...I filled them in on her all her little shananigans and that was it...they don't want anyone like that working in this department,and niether do I . As far as I know,she may have lost her career entirely." Cap let out a sigh "But that need not concern you both now....she deserves whatever she gets."

"Chris smiled. " I agree....she shouldn't be a cop anyway. It just may end up saving her life in the long run."

"Or someone elses' " Rita softly added. Chris gave her hand a gently squeeze,understanding that she was still pretty upset about the fact that twice now Cindy had almost killed him.Rita was usually sympathetic towards those who seemed off balance,but now there would be no feelings of sympathy,or forgiveness and understanding from her this time. When it came to her almost loosing Chris again by,she held a grudge that couldn't be broken.

"So...you two....it looks as if finally the dust is settling....Rita has been cleared and reinstatated,Crago is dead,and your secret is out,accepted and your back to being partners.What more could you ask for? "

Well...I could start by getting out of here...Come on...where is that nurse with my discharge papers?" Chris whined,and Rita laughed,as she teased him about his impatience.

Cap was smiling,as he watched his two seargents gaze into the others eyes. Things had been wound up nicely,and he for one was glad to put it all behind him. He couldn't wait to get home and tell Franny the good news.

Thier voices could be heard through the closed door. Everyone was hiding ,and the lights were off. It had taken Chris almost a month to plan this for Rita,but with the help of Cap, Fran,and a few other friends,everything had gone smoothly and it was time now for Chris to give Rita his surprise.They had all arrived earlier that morning to prepare for when Chris brought Rita there.The men brought in all of the the furniture,and placed it while Franny supervised,and Taylor and Diana put away the household items. Withing three hours,Ritas new home looked wonderful and cozy with all the new things Chris and Franny had spent hours deliberating over ,wanting to be sure that it all would meet Ritas' approval. Later that afternoon,they began preparing for the surprise housewarming party that Chris wanted to throw for her.

Now,the moment had arrived. Chris had taken Rita out to a baseball game ,and on the way home he had stopped off at the cemetary where he had ordered a new headstone for Ritas father. It was alot nicer then the cheap one that had been given him,and it said what Chris knew Rita would have like for it to say all along.He had asked them to engrave one of the cherished nursery rhymes that she remebered reading with him on it .

Donald J Fontana

Beloved father.......

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes

Smiles awake you when you rise.

She had gotten pretty emotional when she saw that,and he knew then just how much his deed had meant to her.He took her into his arms,letting her cry happily on his shoulder,and wondered what her reaction would be for the next surprise he had in store for her later that night.

He had blindfolded her so that she wasn't able to see anything.He led her by the arm on the way into the house , but she had stumbled on a step,and started laughing at herself ,which caused her to stumble yet again,bringing on even more giggles,and by now she was almost hysterical with laughter. Chris tried to act nonchalant about it all,but he was having a hard time,seeing her so happy,and trying not to let her mood affect his own. She was making him laugh,but that didn't help the situation they now found themselves in.Her laughing so much was making it hard for him to loosen the knot he had tied around her head,.....which of course only brought on more giggles from her.

"Sammy...please try and keep still. I'll never get this off ya if you don't...Sammy...Stop it now."

But she was still laughing,and her leaning forward ,clutching her stomach wasn't helping him at all.

" Ouch.....Chris...I can feel it getting tighter...your making it worse." She complained,but she could still not stop herself from laughing either.

"Fine,Sam...You'll just have to stay like this forever...your the one making it worse you know. I'll just have to cut it off."

"Oh no you don't Sam" Rita demanded,still through the new round of giggles that came over her. "Your not getting near my hair with a pair of scissors!"

"Then stop laughing Sam...I'm serious." Chris whined now. His surprise was not going as planned,and what was worse was knowing that everyone was waiting for them inside. He hoped they could not hear what was going on.Cap would have new material to last himself at least another three months.

"Oh..poor baby. Come here...I want to kiss you with the blind fold on anyway" She turned in his arms and pulled him to her...."how about we just keep it on ...you can put one on too if you'd like.....think of the fun we could have..."

Chris looked at her ,shaking his head,though he had to admit it wasn't a bad idea actually. "No,Sammy....not now...we have to get it off....Now come on,turn around,and this time keep still......I mean it."

Finally Rita settled down enough and he could undo the knot on the scarf. He kept the scarf covering her eyes though as he opened the door,and quickly too away the scarf,"Hold on,I'll get the lights".

That was his cue for them to all jump out and yell surprise,at least that had been the plan. Instead, the first thing either of them saw was a room full of people laughing thier heads off the moment they walked through the door,though some of them were still trying to yell surprise through thier laughter.

Rita was very surprised, as much as she would have been with the other plan....,though now she also started up her own laughter all over again...while all Chris could do was roll his eyes,and shake his head,as he watched her and everyone else in the room dissolve into a fit of giggles.

Finally,when everyone had calmed down,Chris took her by the arm,and led her through the house,explaining to her that he knew she had dreamed about having a real house with a yard,and an ocean view.....and now she owned it. This was all hers. He led her to a large fish tank that stood against the wall in the back of the living room.,and she stood in awe, watching the fish as she tried to get a grip on all the emotions that overwhelmed her. Chris continued leading her from one room to another,constantly reminding her that it was all hers. When he had finished the tour,he guided her back into the living room where everyone was waiting in anticipation of another surprise he had up his sleeve..

"Check out this sofa,Sammy. It's very comfy." He patted the seat next to him,and she down,wondering when everyone would stop watching them. This was geting embarrassing,she thought,but she was also too happy to really care.

Rita looked at him and her eyes were glistening with the tears of happiness that he kept bringing to her."Thank you Sam.....I just can't believe all of this....I mean that you did all of this...." She caught his eyes with her own,and they spoke more to him then she could say right the.Chris was amazed at the love he saw in her eyes,and he decided now was the time for the other surprise he had planned.

He dropped to one knee on the floor in front of her taking her left hand into his own,and she looked on, shocked at what he was doing.....again,trying so hard to control all the tears of happiness he was bringing to her.

"Rita...."I would do anything for you....and I know you would do the same for me...but would you ....Sammy....Will you marry me?" And then he placed a small box into her trembling hands. The tears that had only been trickling down one by one before now were now pouring forth ,as she saw what lay in the box. It was a beautiful friendship ring,like the one he had given her a while before,but this time,the ring held a diamond heart in it's center. Rita couldn't speak,her voice was so overwhelmed with emotion,and she answered him instead by nodding yes,and leaning into him for a hug .

"Yes...Sammy? You 'll marry me..really?"

"She was finally able to speak," Yes.Sam... I would love to marry you."

While they kissed,and everyone was applauding and yelling thier congratulations,Franny stood off in a corner,beaming a smile from ear to ear as she realized that she now had a wedding to plan.

Chris escorted Cap and Fran,the last of the guests,to the door. They had stayed after the party to help clean up the new house,and then the four of them had talked late into the night,until the day had finally taken it's toll on Rita and she fell asleep.."Thanks Fran,for everything...and for helping to clean up...You know....if you wern't already married..." he teased her and Cap,who stood at the door.

"Oh,posh,Christopher...You are just saying that...We all know who owns your heart.She has you wrapped around her little finger,young man."

Chris laughed. " She does now,huh." Chris nodded his head,grinning from ear to ear."I'm a lucky man."

Cap couldn't help acting as the father in all of this. "Just make sure you remember that,and you'll be as happy as I am. Woman like Fran and Rita...they are a rare find,Chris."

Chris agreed. " I already know that,Cap. I learned from the master on how how to find a great lady." Chris shook his friends hands." Thanks Cap,Fran...you too. You both have been great to both of us....and we really do appreciate it all."

Fran leaned over to Chris and placed a kiss on his cheek."I'm just so happy for you two."

Cap patted Chris on the shoulder as he pretended to pry Franny off of Chris. "All right you two...Come on Fran,it's late. We have to get going now. All this mushy stuff is giving me a headache.

Fran turned to her husband now" Oh,my poor Heshy....'

They left and Chris closed the door behind them and locked the door.He could hear Franny telling Cap she would give him some aspirin when they got home,and Cap reminding her that it had better be Tylenol, because that other stuff upset his stomach too much.

Chris laughed as he quietly walked over to the sofa.

She looked so peaceful,he almost didn't have the heart to wake her,but he couldn't help himself. He still had other plans for them and he had been looking forward to them all day.

"Sammy" He whispered into her ear.She opened her eyes sleepily,and smiled at him....."Hey,sunshine.,you awake?" Chris wrapped his arm around her shoulder,as she sat up straighter.

"I am now" she smiled." Hey....Are we finally alone ?"

"Yes" he replied,as he scooted himself under her and encircled her with his arms.

"Oh...really....hmmm....that's nice." She murmered,settling back into his arms.

"Hmmm....so what do we do now."Chris looked around the room,pretending to be looking for something to occupy them.

"Oh...I don't know....you don't have any ideas?"

"Well" Chris slid his hand down her chest and then down between her legs. " How about this....You like that?"

"Oh,yeah...I think I do."she whispered,turning in his arms and laying herself on top of him",face to face with him,looking longingly at his lips.What about you...do you like this?" She kissed his lips,then lowered her kisses.

Chris nodded."Yep....I do...I like that alot. You know what...I think I saw a bedroom up there..."He brought his lips to hers,kissing her deeply.She pulled away then.

"Oh really(kiss)..I bet it has a bed then...do you think?"Her lips found thier way back to his now,and after another moment,he broke away from her.

"It just might(kiss)...what do you think we go upstairs and see(kiss)He stood up quickly now,pulling her with him.

"Oh...okay...if you insist".She leaned into him,wrapping her arms around his neck,her lips finding there way again to his.

"I insist." His voice was heavy with his desire. Chris let his hands wonder down her back then lifted her up.Rita wrapped her legs around his waste and he carried her up the stairs that way,while she buried her lips into the flesh of his neck and drove him crazy.That night they didn't get any sleep,instead taking the time to christen her new bed,and then the shower,as Chris explained to her how important this ritual was when one bought anything new and brought it home.

Chris woke the next morning to find Ritas side of the bed empty. Getting up ,he pulled on his shorts and went looking for her. He found her outside on the deck that overlooked the ocean.She stood watching as the sun rose to begin another new day. They had the entire weekend ahead of them,and she was looking forward to spending it it in her new home,with the man she loved,and who loved her. She had never been so happy in her entire life,but she still found it hard to accept. That she would be so blessed was what scared her now. She felt that all this could so easily be taken away in the blink of an eye....nothing lasted forever.....

Chris watched her quietly for awhile from inside,struck by the beauty of the moment.seeing her in the suns first morning rays,as she gazed out into the ocean. She amazed him more then anyone or anything ever had,and he couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten so lucky to have been sent this angel from Heaven.God had looked down on him and smiled,he thought.

He wanted to make her as happy as she made him,and yet,he saw a certain sadness in her,despite everything he had done yesterday to take that all away.He knew it would take time.She wasn't used to being loved or loving so feircely,and it was frighteneing to know that ones happiness was so dependent on another life.

He went upstairs for the last gift he had for her,one he had never gotten around to surprising her with last night.He opened the jewelery box that had cost him a weeks salary in itself,finding it through the internet.It was one like she had before.It had been the only thing she had of her mothers and it had burned in the fire. Chris remembered how much she had cherished it,and though he couldn't replace all of the jewelry that had been in it,he had been able to replace the one thing he knew she had quietly missed. He remembered the day she had been searching through the remains of the fire,looking for something. She didn't tell him what,but he had finally realized what she was missing.

He walked back downstairs, out onto the deck,where he found her sipping coffee now. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Good morning sunshine"

She tilted her head up for a kiss. "Mmmm.Morning Sam....Coffee?"

He sat down across from her. "Sounds good." She reached over to pour him a cup,and as she did,he placed the jewelry box in front of her.When she set the cup down,she focused her attention on what he had been doing.She froze,staring at the box.

"This....is ...this was....my mothers jewelry box...how....this was burned?" she asked,looking up into his eyes.

"It's one just like it,Sammy....Go ahead and open it."

Rita gave him a startled look. "Chris....no...I can't...you've done so much already for me."

"Open it Sammy....This ...this is from me...the rest,the house,all of it....that's for us, for when we're married....and your insurance will cover alot of it....now open it,please...."

Chris watched as she lifted the lid,and saw the only peice of jewelry that the box contained. Inside was a beautiful gold guardian angel pin,the exact one he had given her a year before.It's edges were a bit browned,but this seemed to have given it even more meaning now."Oh Chris...." she looked up,and he saw the tears in her eyes . He usually hated to see her cry,but lately he had begun to enjoy the way the tears of happiness made her eyes glisten and light up.

"I thought it was destroyed in the fire......that it was gone forever...How did you find it?"

Chris came over to her,standing her up and taking her seat himself ,then pulling her onto his lap. "I looked for it...and I had the workers keep thier eye out for it also also"

"But why?...I mean...how could you know this was what I missed most?"

Chris smiled." I know you,Rita...and I saw you searching for it the day after the fire when we were there...Remember when I first gave this to you?"

"Yeah" she wiped tears away and smiled. You told me it was a guardian angel to watch over me"

"And you told me that you thought that was what I was.When I told you to keep that angel close to your heart,you told me you did,remember?....I wanted you to have it back again...to remind you I'm always here for you...no matter what."

"Oh Chris....I will remember...always....and thank you for finding it for me again"

Chris pinned the angel onto Ritas robe,then smoothed some wind blown hair away from her face. " I love you Sammy."

Rita wrapped her arms around his neck then, and gazed into his eyes,sure that she would never reach the bottom of thier blue depth,and happy immerse heself into them.

"I love you too Sam."

The spent all that Saturday playing in the ocean and christening the rest of the house,until Cap and Fran called and insisted they go to dinner with them.This time,when Chris and Rita enterd Trinkles,they were arm in arm. The foursome had a lovely evening,eating steak and lobster,and toasting with a bottle of the best champagne,as they talked about setting a wedding date.After dinner,Chris and Rita danced most of the dances. Their mood wasn't dimmed at all when they realized that the hostess who had greeted them had been Cindy. Chris had only wrapped his arm around Ritas shoulder and led her away to the table that had been pointed out for them.

As the restaurant was about to close for the evening,Chris excused himself and made his way over to the band.A few minutes later the manager announced the last dance,and bid his farewell to the patrons,as the band began to play the music Rita caight the song,and looked quickly to Fran,wondering if she had anything to do with it.Fran pretended to look innocent,before she stood and asked her Heshy for a dance.

Chris walked over to Ritas chair,and took her hand. " May I have this dance,Sammy" He smiled his most charming smile at her,and suddenly she didn't care who had arranged it,she only wanted to have this last dance with Chris.

Chris led her to the dance floor,and as Save the Best for Last played on,and he held Rita tightly in his arms,he winked over her shoulder to Franny,who winked back at him.

Unnoticed by the foursome,Cindy quietly seethed ,as she stood at her podium in a corner of the restaraunt,watching Chris and Rita dance.

Finally the song ended and the patrons began filing out.Chris and Rita payed Cindy no attention what so ever,preferring to just let things be now. Harry had gone ahead to retrieve he car due to a rain shower outside. As Fran passed Cindy,she looked her in the eye." I told you..what goes around comes around." and then she left,following the others out the door,pleased as punch with herself. Her plan had worked out nicely,unknown to the others...and though she knew it was spiteful,she couldn't help herself.She had warned the woman anyway,she tried to reason her guilt away now. Anyone messes with my family...they mess with me.

She shrugged these thoughts off as she got into the car now,another thought occurring to her. 'So, you two. Have you decided on a date yet?......When is the wedding?"

The only answer she got were fake groans and lots of laughter.

The End

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