Episode 3.05

Janet, Steve and Kelly by Shari,
Donna, David, Brenda by Heather,
Brandon, Dylan and Gina by DC, Clare and Jake by Blanca, Carly And Lexi by Val, Valerie by Jessica

Gina

At Now Wear This

Gina and Donna were in the stock room, going over a few of the new designs, and which ones Donna wanted Gina to get promo pictures taken of. Gina had been tossing around a few ideas and that’s why she asked Donna to meet her early, before the store opened.

“Let me check the online orders and then we can get to your ideas,” Donna said.

“Well,” Gina started. “The web page is one of the things I wanted to mention. Camille is very pretty and all, but I think it’s time you shot the old stuff, as well as the new stuff, with new models.”

“Who did you have in mind?” Donna asked, expecting Gina to tell her she wanted to do it.

“Well,since Camille worked here when she did the photo shoot I was thinking we could stick with that idea. Use the girls from the store as your models. Turn it into some kind of theme. You and I would be excluded. I’m not sure how that would look with you being the owner and me the promoter. You wear a lot of your own stuff as it goes.”

Donna was a little thrown off by how comfortable Gina was in the sales person position. “We’ll have to run it by the girls, but I think it’s a great idea, Gina.”

“You really like the idea?”

“Of course,” Donna replied. “What else have you thought up?”

It made Gina happy knowing Donna liked her idea. “Well, sit back and let me tell you…”

Brenda

At Melrose Place

Brenda and Kelly were sitting together on Brandon's bed looking at old pictures while Brandon was trying to pack for his trip to DC. From the closet, Brandon smiled to hear them laugh together. How many times how he heard them laugh like that through the bathroom wall at Casa Walsh?

Kelly leaned over to look closer at one of the pictures, "Hey there's David and Donna doing Romeo and Juliet...that was so funny! I remember watching the video."

Brenda laughed along with her and then stopped. "Hey, speaking of David, where is he?"

Kelly made a face, "Romeo didn't come home last night."

Brenda frowned but didn't reply. She looked harder at a picture of her and Andrea in the acting class. Kelly looked over her shoulder, "That's the summer you got the big acting bug. Bren, why aren't you doing any acting here? I mean, you are as close to Hollywood as you can get."

Brandon grimaced from the closet, Don't go there Kel he thought to himself. He knew from Dylan that Brenda had been trying to come to terms with her past and acting had definitely been a taboo subject with her.

Brenda just shrugged, "I don't act anymore. I haven't for years."

Kelly looked surprised, "Why not? You're so talented!"

Brenda shut the book and sat up, "I just don't and I don't want to talk about it, okay?" She got off the bed and walked over to Brandon and gave him a hug. "Please be careful and don't let Dylan do anything stupid."

"Bye Bren," Brandon said as he gave her a hard reassuring hug.

"Bye Brandon, bye Kelly," Brenda said as she walked out. Kelly watched her walk out and then turned to look at Brandon.

"What was all that about?" she asked, concerned.

Brandon zipped up his suitcase before sitting down next to Kelly. "That's something she probably needs to tell you herself and she will...when she's ready."

Donna

At Now Wear This

Donna walked away from Gina and what they were working on when she heard her cell phone ring.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Donna, hi, it's Michael...Michael Mancini," came the voice over the phone.

Donna was pleasantly surprised, "Hi Michael." She looked around to make sure that Gina couldn't overhear her.

"Are you busy?"

Donna shook her head, "Not really. What can I help you with? Do you need more lingerie for your friend?" she giggled as she asked.

Michael laughed back, "Actually, no. She dumped me. But that's not why I'm calling. I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight."

Donna eyes widened as she considered his offer. "Can I get back with you on that?"

"Sure, I'll be at the hospital all day. Have them page me," Michael explained and hung up the phone.

Donna ended the call and slowly walked back over to where Gina was working.

"Who was that?" Gina asked bluntly.

Donna just looked at her and then flung one of her arms over Gina's shoulder. "Sis, have I told you how glad I am that you are back here? Can we go somewhere and talk?"

"Fine by me," Gina responded and began stacking up the papers that they had been working on to leave.

Lexi

At Melrose Place

"Morning," Lexi said grabbing her cup of coffee off the table. Megan had just walked in to talk.

"Hey."

"So, tell me why you came here at 9:30 in the morning on my day off?"

"To talk to you about something."

Lexi remember her phone conversation with Michael, and her thoughts. She sat right up in her seat and brightened. "Sure. That's what a best friend is for, right? What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, tomorrow's Ryan's birthday and I wanted to have a small little get together. I was hoping you could help out, ya know with the decorating and stuff?" Megan asked.

"Sure. Why not!"

Megan noticed her cheerfullness. "Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Lexi smiled. "Actually, the right side for once."

Kelly

At Melrose Place

Brandon had just left for the airport. He refused to let Kelly drive him there, knowing all she would do is cry about how worried she will be about him, and how careful he better be.

Kelly was sitting on their bed, wondering what to do. She didn't want to go into work though she had to shortly. She was really confused about Mr. Lemme's case. He hadn't responded to her but was egar to do some research on his drug, fearing he had something up his sleeve.

Since she had some time, she decided to call Carly to see if she was doing any better since the last time they spoke.

"Hellol," Carly said into the phone, it was apparent that she had just woken up.

"Hey, it's me, Kelly. Did I wake you?"

"No, no. I had to get up anyway. I have the interview for Janet and Steve."

"Oh, you mean the interview from hell?" Kelly and Carly laughed.

"It went that bad??" Carly asked.

"Uh, we did awful...and that interviewer! Jeez, she knows everything!!" They laughed again, "Anyways," Kel continued, "I was wondering, do you want to meet somewhere later? I have to watch Erin so I figured we could get together with you and Zach?"

"Sure, that'd be great. We can meet at that arcade Zach's been bugging me to go to."

"Great, how about three-three-thirty?"

"So late?"

"Yeah, I have to go to work, go talk to Brenda and pick Erin up."

"I thought I saw Brenda leaving Brandon's apartment not long ago?"

"Yeah, but I need to meet her to discuss this plan I have for David and Donna."

"Oh, okay. Alright, I'll see ya later, then."

"Great, good luck with the interview!"

"Thanks. I have a feeling I'm gonna need it..."

Carly

At Melrose Place

Carly groaned and awoke to take a shower after Kelly's wakeup call, but she sat down and began to cry on the living room couch. She had made sure Zach was sleeping, but she couldn't contain her hurt feelings any longer. She sobbed and sobbed on her pillow until she barely could breath.

A second later the doorbell rang. "Damnit," she whispered looking at herself. "That must be Ms. Taint." She opened the door and put a smile on. "Hello."

Ms. Taint saw right through it. "Good morning. Why, are you okay?"

"Uh...well I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"I see. Well I'm sorry to hear that but lets get started."

"Ok." Carly led her into the kitchen and pulled out two chairs.

"Well can I start with a few questions about Steve Sanders?"

"Sure."

"Tell me everything you know about him," she replied bluntly.

"Well I've known him after he got his degree in college and he was my boyfriend. We dated for 5 months until I had to move back to Montana to help my dad recuperate from an operation. He was always a fatherly figure to my son, Zachary and still is," Carly said confidently.

"I see. You have a son?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Just at that second loud heavy metal music started blasting from Zach's room.

"Excuse me," she said and smiled. She walked into Zach's room and whispered "Turn that down, damnit." As Zach turned the music down, she turned around to go back into the kitchen and saw Ms. Taint standing there, watching.

"So you're not married?" she asked seeing Carly's unstability.

"Uh...no."

"Well how is it raising a child on your own? Tell me everything."

Carly could tell that Kelly was right. It was the interview from hell.

Donna

At Melrose Place

After leaving the store Gina and Donna spent the morning at Gina's apartment going over some stuff from work, unpacking and just catching up. Donna had filled Gina in on everything that had transpired between her and David since they had last talked.

"And to top it all off, today is our anniversary," Donna told Gina sadly.

Gina pulled her sister into a hug, "I'm sorry, I really am. It is truly David's loss. So tell me more about this Michael guy. Is he cute?"

Donna nodded, "Yea, he's really cute and seems nice. I just don't know if I am ready to date anyone. I still love David."

Gina shook her head in disagreement, "But you can always use more friends. You don't have to marry the guy, just go out to dinner with him. It could work to make David jealous."

Donna smiled, "You're right. I would like to get to know Michael better. Hold on, I'm going to call him right now...before I lose my nerve!"

Gina smiled and walked into the bedroom to give Donna some privacy. Donna dialed Whilshire Memorial and asked them to page Dr. Mancini. A few minutes later, he came to the phone.

"Mancini here," Michael said in a no nonsense tone.

"Hi Michael, it's Donna."

"Donna, hi..."Michael said in a deep voice. "Tell me that you'll meet me at the Armani Cafe at eight."

Donna laughed, "I will."

"Great, now I have to run because I have a patient waiting on me. Can't wait to see you," he said and hung up.

Donna smiled at his abruptness. He was so different from the rest of the men she had ever dated, older and professional. She was glad that she had agreed to go out with him, she was looking forward to it.

Brenda

At Melrose Place

Brenda laid on her bed thinking about what Kelly had asked her. She hadn't meant to snap at her the way she had. She had given up acting years ago but it still hurt to think about and she sure didn't want to talk about it.

She reached over and picked up the phone and dialed Kelly's cell phone.

"Hello," Kelly answered.

"Hey, it's me Brenda. Are you busy?"

"Hi Bren, no, I'm not busy. What's up?" Kelly asked.

"Well, first I wanted to apoligize for this morning. I didn't mean to get upset, I just can't talk about any of that right now," Brenda tried to explain.

Kelly smiled, "It's okay, just know that I am here for you if you need me."

"I know."

Kelly got serious, "Actually, I am kind of down today myself."

"What's wrong?"

"Well first, I can't help but be worried about Brandon and Dylan..." Kelly sighed.

Brenda had to agree, "Yea, me too."

"And then today is supposed to be Donna and David's first anniversary. I just hate that they haven't worked through this. Every day that goes by they just seem farther and farther apart," Kelly explained.

Brenda nodded her head, "Yea, my last attempt at bringing them back together backfired and I promised Dylan that I wouldn't interfere anymore."

Kelly smiled, "Dylan's out of town."

Brenda smiled back, "What did you have in mind?"

"Meet me at the Peach Pit at 1 and I'll tell you," Kelly said and hung up.

Brenda smiled and then grabbed her coat to go to work.

Carly

At Melrose Place

"Yes, Steve, learned everything from me."

"That's good. What about Janet?"

"Well I've known her for about six months and she's really a great mother. She values Maddy's life, as much as hers."

"Ok. Well I just have one more question. How do you know this? You've only known Janet for a short amount of time."

Carly didn't know how to answer this question. "Well we've gotten really close."

"I see." Ms. Taint gathered her bag and clipboard and got up. "Goodbye then."

"Bye. By the way I love your coat!" Carly said trying to smooth over her mistakes.

"Oh this old thing? I got it at a thrift shop."

Ouch! Carly thought as Ms. Taint walked out. She instantly picked up the phone and called Janet.

"Hello?"

"Hi Janet. I'm soo sorry but my interview went bad." Carly began sobbing about everything. "Oh, I'm sorry I let you down."

"Carly, calm down its ok. Relax, I'm sure it went fine," Janet said not being so sure herself.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, what could you have done wrong?"

"You're right. Well I have to go," Carly said not wanting to 'spill the beans' about Mark. "Bye."

"Bye." Janet hung up the phone. "That was weird."

"What?" She walked over to Steve who was typing on his laptop.

"Carly. She broke down hysterical on the phone."

Steve got nervous. "You think the interview went bad?"

Janet put her hands on his shoulders and then removed them. "Don't even think it."

Clare

At Now Wear This

Clare walked into Now Wear This and saw Brenda siting behind the counter reading a magazine.

"Hi," Brenda said looking up from her magazine, "Its good to see you around here again....How was your date with Jake the other day?"

"It was good."

"Good? Just good?" Brenda said disapointed in Clare's answer.

"Well, yeah, it was a lot of fun....we went to the beach and had dinner...It was very romantic."

"How romantic?" Brenda asked.

"Lets just say I didn't need to worry about what clothes I wore afterall," Clare said giving Brenda a big mischievous smile.

Kelly

At KTPR

Kelly and Megan were busy finishing up some paperwork. They were going through the list of all past clients who still hadn't paid bills.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Megan said, putting a folder down, "Ryan's birthday is tomorrow and I want to have a little party this weekend. I was hoping you and Brandon would come?"

"We'd love to! Thanks for the invite!"

"Oh, great! Just do me one favor?"

"What?"

"Make sure you invite Donna and everyone else? I didn't have time to send out invitations. I just decided to do this last night."

"No problem. Alright, I have to go. Brenda is waiting for me at the Peach Pit"

"Okay."

"You can just go home. No work here to be done!"

"Great. I'll walk out with you."

Valerie

At the Police Station

"Ms. Malone, I'm glad you made it. I'm Detective Sims," he said leaning over to shake her hand, "Please have a seat," he motioned. Valerie just smiled politely.

"Now as you know your friend, Clint Mills, was recently released on bail from our custody, but already has a trial date set for sentencing. He has pleaded guilty but is offering very few leads on who he associates with. I'm curious as to what you have to say about his, shall we say, private business?"

"And what, shall we say, private business are you talking about?" Valerie asked with sarcasm.

"Cute. Now let's not even begin to play games. Mr. Mills has already confessed that you are part of it. He has agreed to testify that you are one of his many prostitutes. He told us all the kinky details about how everything is ran, he has given us a general description of each of "his girls" and much, much more," Detective Sims smirked at the look on Valerie's face as she heard the words coming out of his mouth.

What was he talking about? She was no prostitute. Clint and her had meaningless sex in the back-seat of his car. Nothing more than that. Why would Clint claim she was a hooker?

"But Mr. Sims--"

"Detective Sims," he corrected.

"Detective Sims. Sorry. But that is complete trash. There's no way in hell I am a prostitute. I do know Clint, and if that's a crime then I'm guilty, but I am not one of his so-called "girls". I'm sorry but you have the wrong woman."

"Is that so? Then why do I have a witness who can accurately testify that you and Clint were together, intimately might I add, less than a month ago. by some warehouse down in Malibu? Said that something was exchanged between the two of you beforehand? A little coincidental, don't you agree?" he fired back.

Now she was definitely in a bind. She clearly remembered what had been exchanged between the two of them and there was no way she could tell him. Admitting to doing illegal drugs wasn't the smartest thing to do at the moment.

"Listen, I don't have to explain myself. I'm not being charged with anything so you have no business interrogating me like this. If you don't mind I'll be on my way right about now," Valerie stood up and gathered her purse.

"Yet," said Detective Sims.

"Excuse me?" Valerie asked.

"Yet. You aren't being charged with anything yet. Keep that in mind. Have a good day Ms. Malone," Detective Sims smiled with a look of satisfactory on his face as Valerie left the room.

Brenda

At the Peach Pit

Brenda talked with Nat while waiting for Kelly to arrive at the Peach Pit. They were laughing at an old story when Noah walked in. Both Nat and Brenda stopped laughing.

"Hey, don't let me ruin your fun," Noah said to them both. Nat smiled an uncomfortable smile and walked away.

"Hi," Brenda said to Noah softly.

Noah looked down, "It's good to see you smiling, anyway." Brenda nodded.

"So, how have you been?" Noah asked.

"I'm okay. I miss you."

"Yea, well you know where I live...pretty much right next door," Noah said.

Brenda smiled and nodded her head in agreement, "Yea, well, maybe we could talk sometime." She knew that she had feelings for him and that she couldn't run forever from them.

"I'd like that..."

Kelly walked over to them and sat down on the stool next to Brenda, "Hi guys, am I interrupting?"

Brenda turned away from Noah to face Kelly, "Hi Kel, no we were just finishing up here. Noah, I'll call you."

Noah gave her a long hard stare and then looked away. He nodded and walked back into the After Dark.

Kelly laughed, "I was interrupting."

Brenda shook her head, and then sighed, "Not really. So, anyway, what did you have in mind for tonight?"

"I think we should thrown them an anniversary party!" Kelly said.

Brenda looked doubtful, "But they're separated."

"What better way to remind them of what they are missing?"

Brenda slowly nodded her agreement. "Do we have enough time to throw something together?"

Kelly reached into her bag and pulled out her planner. She started to make a list of what they needed. "Can you talk to Noah about reserving a table?" Brenda nodded. "And I'll call everyone and invite them. Maybe Janet could pick up some stuff for us this afternoon, like the music, I'll call her...shoot, I have to run. You call her. I have to pick up Erin. Call me later!"

Brenda laughed as Kelly scrambled out the door and turned back around to gather her things, run a few errands for tonight, and eventually head back to Now Where This.

Jake

"Smoking or non-smoking, sir?"

"Non-smoking please," Jake said as he followed the man to a table towards the back of the restaurant. As he was sitting down, he noticed a women that looked quite familiar to his ex-wife, Colleen, across the room. He looked closer but couldn't see her face. He could see one of the waiters pull the chair out for her and watched her sit down. He was still not sure if it was her.

A few minutes later, a man came over to her and sat down in the chair across from her. He tried to get a better view of her face to make sure it was her but her back was turned towards him so he couldn't see. Throughout all of his dinner, he stared at their direction but still couldn't see her face...

Valerie

At the Peach Pit

Val had spent the remaining of her morning trying to track Clint down. She hadn't even known where to begin. He wasn't listed in the phone book and she had no idea where he worked, if he even did that. But somehow she did. Wonder of all wonders she found him eating lunch at the Peach Pit. She saw his car parked outside and rushed in.

"There you are. I've been expecting you. Please, have a seat," Clint smiled at her as if her as if he was on top of the world. He was awfully happy considering he would most likely be in jail soon.

"What the hell do you have up your sleeve, huh?" Val demanded, "I want to know word for word everything that you told the cops from the day you were brought in, until now. And don't even try and lie to me. You've obviously been doing enough of that."

"OK, you win. You want the truth, so I guess I'll give it to you, this time at least. I simply told the police that you were the main thrill. You know, the one girl every guy dreamed about. You brought in all the money, you did all the dirty work. You were "IT". And that's all you need to know," Clint smiled sweetly at her again.

"And you did this why? Tell me Clint. Tell my why you woke up one day and decided to lie and ruin my life, because I'm really dying to know," Val spoke loudly, trying not to make a scene here of all places.

"Oh, it's simple really. See I'm a loyal kinda guy. I couldn't give the real names of my girls. And when they came across your name in my little black book, why, you were my window of opportunity. Don't take it too personally. I normally wouldn't have done it, but when they mentioned all the good things that would come from me talking, I couldn't resist.

"And what kind of good things are you talking about?" Val asked.

"The usual. I talk, there more lenient on my sentencing. In this case, a lot more lenient. I think it's called plea bargining or something like that. I may get nothing but community service and be put on probation. You can thank Detective Sims for that one."

Valerie couldn't believe it. For the first time she was actually speechless. It all made sense to her now.

"But what if I tell the truth, huh? Blow your cover. Get you and your little detective friend in trouble. Then where would you be?" Val tried to sound confident but they both knew it was a weak argument.

"Oh my dear, that's already taken care of. There's no way outta this one. Nice try though," Clint playfully tickled her cheek. "Until we meet again...." he winked at her and left.

Clare

At Now Wear This

"Why don't you come to the After Dark tonight?....You can invite Jake," Brenda said when she saw that Clare wasn't looking too convinced.

"Somehow I'm not too sure Jake would want to go...he doesnt really like parties or stuff like that....he's just like Dylan," Clare said thinking. "I'll call him and ask him though."

Carly

At Melrose Place

Carly opened the door to her apartment and walked out to go meet Kelly. Zach was in the backseat reading a magazine. She got in the car and drove to meet Kelly. When she got to the arcade, she and Zach went inside. Zach saw Erin and Kelly getting quarters and rushed over to them. Carly followed, slowly.

"Hey Zach," Kelly said.

"Hi. Hey Erin."

"Hey. Wanna go play? Kelly gave me some quarters for us and I heard your mom gave you some too."

"Yeah she did, sure," Zach said and smiled.

"I think he likes her," Kelly said and laughed.

"Yeah me too," Carly said walking up to her. Kelly hugged her and said, 'Hey. I'm so sorry. Let's talk." Kelly led her over to the Foodcourt built in the arcade. "So how are you doing?"

"Good. Better than I was. I really appreciate you calling."

"Will you stop that!" Kelly said and threw her hands up in the air. "Are we friends?"

Carly looked at her strangely. "Yeah."

"Then why do you think this is an inconvience or that I'm just trying to be nice? I'm not, Carly. I'm trying to be a friend. You don't have to appreciate it." Kelly paused. "Although it does feel good."

Carly laughed. "Okay. I understand."

"So when is Amy leaving?"

"Today, I think. I lost track and I really don't care."

"That's good. You're moving on. You'll get through this, don't worry. I'm the expert on this. When Brandon cheated on me with Emma, I was shocked. She was one of my good friends! Things were too perfect as he used to say..."

Carly thought about that. "Things were too perfect in our relationship. Maybe that's why."

"Well it's still his fault," Kelly said feeling she had said the wrong thing, and feeling bad. "That dog should've told you how he felt."

Jake

Jake was still sitting down at his table, sneeking peeks over to the table where the women was still sitting with the man. She looked so familiar yet so different.

What would she be doing here? he kept asking himself in his head, And where is my son, David?

After a few more minutes of wondering and looking over to the table, the women stood up and left with the man, hand in hand. Jake still didn't get to look at her face. He was really confused and very curious. He felt like following her out to see if it was her or not but decided not to instead.

After they had left, Jake started thinking about what would happen if it really was Colleen. He thought about Clare and about his son David and how it would affect both of their lives.

Just then his cell-phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was from Now Wear This.

"Yeah," he said.

"Hey Jake," Clare said on the other side of the line.

"Hi, whats up?"

"I need a date...for the After Dark....are you up for it?"

"Sure, why not? Count me in."

"Ok great....meet you there around 8?"

"Sounds good."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

Lexi

At Sterling Conway

The phone at Sterling Conway rang and Lexi answered it. It was Amy. "Hey."

"Hi. Carly found out about me and Mark. She totally cursed me out and Mark did too. He supposedly left her this romantic note." She rolled her eyes.

"Ohh. Well I'm beginning to think you shouldn't have done it." Lexi was trying to be nicer.

"What do you mean? You're the one that drove me off the edge!. 'Go for it Amy', 'Who cares about Carly?'"

"Ya know what, forget it."

"I need a ride to the airport."

"I'll call a cab. I'm sorry I can't be there to board you but I have work to do." Floods of papers started coming out of the fax machine and Lexi rang over. "Amy I have to go. Bye." She hung up. She looked at the first paper. It was the information she had requested on that guy, John, who was snooping in her office a few weeks ago. He was six feet tall and was free of criminal record. She picked up another paper and read the words "John Inc." She wondered what they meant and continued to read them.

Steve

At The Beat on the Street

Janet walked over to Steve, who was making photo copies on the photo copier. "Hey, did you talk to David yet?" she asked, in a near whisper.

"No..not yet. But I will."

"You better. Listen, I gotta run," she said and started walking away.

Steve grabbed hold of Janet's arm, "Wait. Where are you going?"

"To the store...for tonight. Brenda asked me to pick up a few things."

"Like what?? Isn't everything they need already at the club?"

"Not a copy of Donna and David's wedding song!" she started walking away again, but he stopped her.

"Hey, that's are wedding song, too, ya know!"

"I know, and I love it. That's why I am getting a copy for us too!" They kissed, "Now, I am leaving. Go talk to David!" She walked out of the office.

"Silver?" Steve asked, walking back to his desk.

"Yeah?" David replied, not looking up from his computer.

"Don't you think it's time you patched things up with Donna?"

David looked up, "What?"

"You heard me. Why don't you go see Donna tonight?"

"What for?"

"I don't know...just to talk. I hear she was really upset when you brought Jen to the store."

"So...?"

"So, don't you think you should apologize?"

"Not after she cheated on me."

"David, you're just as bad as she is. Everyone knows you and Jen are sleeping together."

"Kelly tell you that? Or was it Brandon?" David said rudely.

"Doesn't matter, how I know, David. What matters is that you're married. Married. Doesn't that mean something to you?"

"Why don't you ask Donna the same thing?" he said getting even ruder.

"What if I already did...?" Steve, said lying. This sparked David's interest and made him lose the rude attitude.

"What did she say?"

"What do you think she said?"

"Sanders, just tell me!!!" he said aggrivated that Steve was beating around the bush.

"That she loves you and there's nothing she rather do that work things out with you and be your wife."

"Really?"

"Silver, would I lie to you?" Steve said convincingly, "Think about it...Think about Donna..." And with that, Steve walked out of the office, definitely leaving David with a lot of things to consider.

Valerie

At the Beach Apartment

"Hello, Jen. Ya there yet? I guess not. Well, call me when ya get the message. Later." Val hung up the phone. She had been trying to get a hold of Jen ever since she had gotten home from the Peach Pit. She was dying for advice. She didn't know what to do.

Get a lawyer maybe? But lawyers, good lawyers at least, were expensive. Money was getting low. She had no job and spent most of the money she had on drugs or at bars. Although her and Jen hadn't been going out as much as usual, it was still added up pretty quickly.

She had been sitting on pins and needles ever since she left the detectives office. She really was trapped. She just hoped and prayed that it wouldn't turn out to be such a big deal. Detective Sims did say that he knew all about Clints "girls". Clint admitted himself that he didn't give out their real information. That meant that there were others out there like her, used by Clint and now paying the price. If there was some way for her to just contact one or two of them then maybe they could come together and get the real truth out.

Val realized that was close to impossible. She knew absolutely nothing about Clint, except that he was a lying, conninving bastard. And that was enough to turn Val towards the bottle to drink her problems away.

Brenda

At Now Wear This

Brenda dialed up Donna's number and waited for her to answer. Finally she did.

"Hello?" Donna said into the phone.

"Hey, it's me. I need your help," Brenda told her, lying.

"What kind of help?" Donna asked.

"Well, I need you to come to the After Dark tonight."

Donna made a face, "Tonight? I can't come tonight."

"Why not?"

Donna did not want to tell Brenda about her "date", at least not yet. It just didn't seem right. "I just can't."

Brenda decided to beg, Donna had to be there tonight! "Please, Donna. I really need to talk to you."

Donna's couldn't turn down her friend. "Okay, I will come but it won't be until later. Is that okay?"

"That'll be fine," Brenda replied with relief. "I'll just see you there."

David

At the After Dark

Noah was writing out some bills for the club when David came into the office. "Hey man, what are you doing here? Noah asked.

"I don't know, just can't stay away from the place," David replied as he laid down on the couch in the office.

"Gotcha," Noah said and continued what he was doing. "Are you coming here tonight?"

"I wasn't planning on it," David replied. "Why the sudden interest in my plans?"

"No reason. You going out with Jennifer?" Noah asked.

David sat up, "Nope, it's my anniversary. Wouldn't seem right."

"Why don't you come up here tonight. We have some good music planned. Brenda told me that Donna was going to be here."

"Really?" David seemed really interested. "Well then maybe I will. I would like to see her tonight."

Noah nodded his agreement, "Good, then I'll see you later?"

"Yes, you will," David said as he jumped up and headed out of the office. Noah watched him walk out before he picked up the phone to call Brenda. He explained to her that he had gotten David to agree to come to the After Dark that night.

"Great," Brenda told him. "Thanks for all you help Noah. We wouldn't have been able to pull this off without you."

"Just save me a dance tonight, okay?"

"You've got it," Brenda replied before hanging up the phone.

Lexi

At Sterling Conway

Lexi walked out of her office to go to Megan's when her cell-phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hi Lexi, it's Michael."

"What do you want?"

"It's about Donna. Do you know what kind of food she likes? I wanna make sure the Armani Cafe will be good."

Lexi couldn't help herself. "Michael, she's going to break your heart."

"Lexi, don't start with that crap again," he said bluntly.

"No, Michael, it's true. Brenda told me about Kelly and her's plans to get Donna back together with her husband, which I might add is a cutie, David Silver."

Michael thought about it. "Forget it, Lexi!"

"Michael, I'm just trying to be your friend!" She really was. She didn't want him hurt again.

"You're a liar, Lexi, and you always have been."

"I'm not lying."

"Goodbye," he said not quite hanging up yet.

"Bye. Italian."

"What?" Michael yelled confused.

"Donna. She likes Italian food." Lexi hung up the phone and sighed as she walked back into her office and sat down.

Carly

At the After Dark

Carly walked into the After Dark and saw Kelly sitting down at the bar. She rushed over to her. "Sorry, I'm late. Are they here yet?"

"Nope...no one is," Kelly said and took a sip of her diet coke.

"Ok good." Carly sat down and saw Noah coming down his office stairs.

"Hey Carly, what can I get ya?" he asked coming behind the bar.

"I'll have a glass of white wine. Whatever you recommend." Noah looked at her. She realized what she had said. "Oh I'm sorry!"

He laughed. "It's ok."

"Have White Zinfandel," Kelly said.

"Ok." Noah gave her her drink and saw Brenda walk in. They went into a the corner of the room, sat down at a table and started talking.

"So did this afternoon's talk help?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah. But for some reason I'm just really down."

"Don't worry. It'll pass soon enough, and who knows, maybe you'll hear from Mark."

"Maybe...." Carly's words drifted off in their conversation.

Brenda

At the After Dark

Brenda was tired by the time she reached the After Dark. She had kept busy getting all the details ready for the party. She felt good when she walked in and saw all their friends sitting around talking and laughing. Noah smiled at her from across the room. He had really came through for them today, inviting David and everything. They really did need to sit down and talk sometime soon.

Brenda pulled out a chair at the table next to Kelly and sat down. She listened with sympathy as Carly finished up her story about Mark. Kelly turned and gave her a smile.

"Is there anything left that I need to do?" Brenda asked.

"I don't think so. Now we just wait for the guest of honors to show up," Kelly explained.

Brenda laughed, "Well, thats easy enough...hopefully. I'm going to run next door for a moment and talk to Nat."

Brenda walked into the Peach Pit and spotted Gina sitting at the counter. "Gina, hi."

"Oh hi, Brenda," Gina replied with a tired smile.

Brenda walked on over to her. "We're having a little surprise party for David and Donna's anniversary. You should come join us."

Gina frowned, "Is Donna and David coming?" She knew that Donna was supposed to be meeting Michael at 8 that night.

"They both said that they would," Brenda explained.

Gina shrugged, "I guess I could come over, thanks for inviting me."

Brenda smiled, "Sure. Have you heard anything from Dylan?"

"No, he said that he would call when they took off but I haven't heard anything yet."

Brenda nodded. "C'mon, let's go see what everyone is doing." They walked into the After Dark together.

Donna

At the After Dark

Donna searched through her closet looking for something to wear out with Michael that night. She didn't have time to buy anything new and she really didn't need to either. She had a whole closet full of dresses that she rarely got to wear out.

She pulled out a black dress and held it out for inspection. It had always been one of David's favorites. She decided to wear it.

Donna showered and put on her make-up. She spent a lot of time on her appearance, trying to get her hair to look just right. She couldn't help but feel sad, knowing that this was her and David's anniversary. And he hadn't even called or anything. That was why she had agreed to go out with Michael, to try to make the best of the situation. She couldn't bear to sit home and cry all night.

When the door bell rang, Donna took one last look in the mirror. She was halfway to the door when she remembered that she was meeting Michael at the restaurant and that he wasn't picking her up.

She opened the door with a confused look and was even more confused to see David standing there with a bouquet of roses.

Lexi

At Sterling Conway

Lexi walked out of her office and into her car. She started the engine and drove to the local Party store. She went inside and gathered together a few decorations for Ryan's party. Blue and green balloons, plates, cups, streamers, and of course, birthday hats. She was trying to help Megan out, and of course Ryan. She piled all the items on the counter and heard her cell-phone ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Lexi. It's me, Megan."

"Oh hey. Guess what, I'm at the party store getting decorations. Ryan's favorite color is blue right?"

"Yeah, thanks for remembering. But anyway, I need a favor."

Lexi smiled, this was another opportunity at being a nice person. "Sure, what is it?"

"Okay on the other 'bad' side of Beverly Hills, my cousin owns a party place and I called in to get the reservations for the cake. Do you mind picking it up for me?"

"No not at all. What time?"

"6:00. They close at 6:30 so don't be late."

"Okay, bye."

"And, Lex?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." They hung up and Lexi paid for the decorations. The total came to $77.50. Whew, thats a lot of money for decorations for some party, she thought.

David

At the Bungalow

Donna just stood at the door, staring at David. "What are you doing here?"

David smiled uneasily, "These are for you," he said as he held out the roses. "I couldn't let today go by without seeing you."

Donna reached out and took the flowers, "Thank you, they're really pretty. Hold on, let me put them in water."

David followed Donna into the house. He noticed that she was all dressed up, "Wow, you look great. Are you going somewhere?"

Donna thought fast, David didn't have to know the whole truth. "I was meeting a friend for dinner but that's not until later," she replied as she arranged the roses in a vase.

"Okay, good. So, how are you?" David asked.

Donna smiled at him, "I'm okay, I really am. I mean, it's been hard and I miss you but I'm okay."

"I miss you, too. I've been doing a lot of thinking..." David began.

Donna hoped that this was the moment that she had been waiting for, the moment when he said that he wanted to come home. "Yes?"

David continued, "And I don't want all of this to ruin our friendship Donna. Maybe we are better as friends but that's not something that I ever want to lose. We've been through way too much for that."

Donna's heart sank, still he was here, that was a start. "I agree, David. If I thought I had lost you entirely, I don't know what I would do."

David smiled in relief as he took a seat on the couch. Donna snuck a look at the clock as he seemed to be making himself comfortable.

Lexi

Lexi walked out of the "Beverly Hills Diner". She went there for dinner after picking up the cake. She had to walk a while, about six blocks, before she got to her car. The ground was disgusting and so was the area. Filled with graffiti, and gangsters walking around.

Lexi was wearing a short, black, thin strapped-dress. She walked across the street and was walking along the road. She cut through the back of a shopping center that was next to a dumpster, thinking it would be faster. She felt someone touch her, so she turned around. No one was there. She shook it off and hurried to her car. She was almost out of the lot and near her car when someone grabbed her. She screamed but it was cut off by a man covering her mouth.

"Shutup, bitch."

Lexi kicked him with her heels and started to run the other way.

"Oww," he yelled. He ran after her and grabbed her, but not before she got a scream in.

"You ho, shutup!" He punched her in the mouth and carried her over to the dumpster. He went behind the dumpster and threw her on the floor. Her head hit the pavement really hard and she started to scream. He hit her again, and she shutup.

Lexi was never one to do as she was told, but in this case she would change her manner. The pain was just too much.

He started to unzipper her dress but the zipper was stuck. "Damnit," he said and pulled a knife out of his pocket. He cut the back off and pulled it out of his way. He started kissing her chest and said "Don't make a sound or I'll hurt you," he showed her the knife. "Don't make me."

He started kissing her and was about to unsnap her bra when Lexi tried to get to her feet. "Damnit." He grabbed her and pulled her down, but let go right before she dropped so her head hit the pavement, hard. She screamed loudly and grabbed the knife and threw it. She pushed him off of her and held her dress together. She began to cry as he chased her. She finally got on the main road, and he ditched her. She couldn't find her car and someone saw her wounds.

"Oh my god!" A young man ran over to her, in his teens. "Are you ok?"

"What does it look like," she said crying, weak at the knees, filled with dizziness. She realized her head was bleeding from the back.

"I'll get help."

She handed him her cell-phone. "Call Whilshire Memorial. Page Michael Mancini," she just barely got out.

"Sure. Come on." He led her into a small black car and helped her into the backseat and took off.

Valerie

At the After Dark

Driving around at night had always calmed her down, that's why on this particular night, she was in her little black BMW convertible in downtown Beverly Hills. She passed the After Dark and was surprised to find only a few cars, all belonging to her now ex-friends.

That's when she remembered what day it was: the day of David & Donna's one year anniversery. She started to smile but immediatly caught herself. Who cares, she shrugged. They have a problem with you and you have a problem with them.

Still, she longed to go inside and be a part of the group again. But they didn't approve of her drinking and partying so it's not worth it, she thought to herself. Finally she couldn't resist. She was dying to know what she was missing.

She quietly opened the door and sneaked inside. After owning this place for a few years, she knew where all the shadows would cast and how to hide. She could hear them talking about how they were in highschool, how David had proposed, etc. She smiled. Her eyes started filling up with tears.

Before she had moved back to Beverly Hills, all she had ever wanted was to be accepted by them. And when she finally was, she threw it all away. She realized that it finally was too late. She had to accept who she was.

She started walking out. As she was unlocking her car she heard the door open. Noah walked out carrying a bag full of garbage. "Val, what are you doing here?" Noah asked, confused but not demanding.

"Nothing, I'm leaving,"

"That'd probably be for the best..."

"Yeah, it would," she said as she looked into his eyes and tears started falling from her face.

Donna

At the Bungalow

"You know sometimes I really miss college," David was telling Donna. Donna nodded, wondering what time it was but not wanting to look at her watch.

"Why do you say that?" she asked him.

David smiled, "I really miss some of those video projects that we had to do. Remember when we did that Real World spoof...about Tuck and his roommates?"

Donna had to laugh, "That was so funny. Kelly got drunk on the watermelon!"

"And I kissed you..." David said, looking into Donna's eyes.

"Yes, yes you did. Clare didn't like that too much," Donna replied.

David smiled, "It was always you Donna. Clare, Camille...none of them mattered to me. No one did but you."

At that moment Donna stopped watching the clock. She was no longer worried about meeting Michael or making it to the After Dark to meet Brenda. She leaned back and decided to enjoy her anniversary with David

Lexi

At Whilshire Memorial

Michael was in his office. It was 10:45 and he had given up on Donna a 1/2 hour ago. She hadn't even called.

He got up and started to walk out of his office when he heard "Paging Dr. Mancini. Paging Dr. Mancini. URGENT! URGENT!" He dropped his paperwork and ran out of his office. He went up to the front desk. "Linda, what's wrong?" He hadn't gotten an 'URGENT' page in a long time.

"Dr. Mancini, its Ms. Sterling." Michael's heart skipped a beat. "What about her?"

"She's hurt, badly. She should be hear any moment."

"Oh my god! What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything. I know she is a friend of yours."

He put his hands on the desk, getting in her face. "Linda, I asked the woman to marry me." In that split second, he realized just how Donna felt about David.

Brenda

At the After Dark

"When did David and Donna get together for the first time?" Carly asked. Brenda and Kelly looked at each other. They really had no idea.

"It just seems like they have always been together," Kelly explained.

"And even when they weren't together, they really were," Clare commented, speaking from her own experience with David.

Steve jumped in, "They really started dating our junior year but I think Donna had liked him long before that. She just didn't want anyone else to know!"

"Why not?" Janet asked.

Steve laughed, "Well, lets just say that David was kind of a geek."

Brenda smiled, "And he was a year younger than the rest of us."

"He was a geek!" Kelly added, laughing.

"Wow, they've been together a long time," Carly commented.

Steve reached over and squeezed Janet's hand. "I think my favorite David and Donna story was right after David proposed and Donna was thinking about it."

"I don't think that I have heard this story!" Brenda exclaimed.

"Well, its a good one," Kelly told her.

"He had Dylan and I meet him at the Beach Apartment in the middle of the night to write 'I love Donna' in the sand for her to see. It took all night but we made it," Steve continued.

Kelly was laughing hard, "Yea, except somehow the last letters got erased and it ended up saying 'I love Don'!"

Everyone at the table started laughing. "Well it was the thought that counts," Noah said.

"It must have worked because Donna said yes," Janet pointed out. Everyone had to agree.

Lexi

At Whilshire Memorial

Michael was pacing up and down the halls of Whilshire Memorial. He saw Lexi come in on a stretcher. "Lexi!" He yelled to her and ran up to her. A nurse was bringing her into intensive care.

"Dr. Mancini, she has a two inch skull break. It's cracked down the middle, She had said her head was hit on the pavement but she can't remember. She blacked out in the ambulence for two minutes. Dr. Ames said she should be able to remember after surgery."

"Oh my god...."

"Dr. Mancini, we have to get her in an intensive care unit soon."

"Okay, follow me. This floor, intensive care unit three." They rushed into the room and put her in a bed. They gave her novicane and she fell asleep. They would have to wait for surgery.

Jake

At the After Dark

Jake walked into the Peach Pit After Dark and immediately saw Steve, Janet, Brenda,Clare and a few others sitting at a table talking. He walked over, gave Clare a kiss and said hi to everyone else.

"Hey man," Steve said shaking Jake's hand

"Hey," he said.

The new O-Town song "All or Nothing" came over the speakers and all of a sudden the dancing floor was full of couples. Clare pulled Jake's arm onto the dance floor too. Jake thought he should tell Clare about thinking he saw Colleen but when he tried to, Clare cut him off.

They started dancing and Clare rested her head on his shoulder. He tried to tell her again.

"Clare, I was trying to tell you something before."

"What's wrong?" she said lifting her head and noticing a different tone in Jake's voice.

"I think I saw someone today at a restaurant."

"Who?"

"Colleen.....my wife."

Donna

At the Bungalow

Donna had opened a bottle of champagne for them to share. David followed her to the kitchen. "Hey I just thought of something. Isn't it tradition to eat the top of the cake, from your wedding, on your first anniversary? I mean, isn't that we saved it for?"

Donna looked at him, "Yes it is."

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a foil wrapped package. "Isn't this it?" Donna nodded.

David carried it to the counter and started unwrapping it. Donna watched him from over his shoulder. It was hard as a rock. "I guess we'll have to wait for it to thaw out," David suggested.

Donna looked doubtful, "That could take days. Maybe we should microwave it."

"Okay," David agreed. He grabbed a plate and put it in the microwave on defrost. "Hey, do you care if I turn the stereo on?"

Donna smiled, "Of course not, but you took all the good CD's"

"I'm sure that I can find something," David reassured her. Donna's heart filled with joy as she watched him walk across the room. This anniversary was turning out to be better than she had ever hoped.

David

At the Bungalow

"Do you want to dance?" David asked Donna when she joined him in the living room.

"Sure." David ran to the light switch and flipped it on low, casting a soft light around the room. She joined him and he took her in his arms. They fit together perfectly. They moved slowly to the music. David sighed, breathing in her smell. Donna had tears in her eyes but she wiped them away before he noticed. She knew that this was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.

After the song was done David pulled her into the kitchen, "Let's see about this cake."

They both peered into the microwave. "Do you think it's done?" Donna asked.

David pulled it out, "Looks good to me." He got a knife out and cut off two pieces. "Wait, first a toast." David grabbed their champage glasses and refilled them. He handed one to Donna and then thought a moment.

"To Donna, my best friend. Whenever I start to question who I really am, I just need to look in you eyes to remember," David clinked his glass to hers and took a sip. Donna did the same, her heart pounding.

"Now it's your turn," David told her.

Donna also thought a moment, there was so much that she wanted to say, needed to say, but she wanted to keep it simple. "To David, on our first anniversary, and hopefully not our last!" was all she managed to get out.

David cracked up laughing. "You're crazy, absolutly crazy." Donna smiled at him.

"Now the cake, let's feed it to each other like we did on our wedding day," David suggested. Donna agreed. She took her piece and held it up to David to take a bite. David did the same but got some on Donna's nose. She made a face at him and smashed his piece into his face making a huge mess.

David looked shocked, "Okay, now you're going to get it!"

Donna took off out of the kitchen, "David, no! Not in this dress! You'll ruin it!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before..." David said just as he caught her. He grabbed her hands and stopped for a moment, looking in her scared eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, hard, getting cake all over her face in the process. They continued kissing and made their way over to the couch.

Brandon

At Dylan's Place

It was late at Dylan’s house. The lights were on and Brandon’s mustang was parked around back. That was a strange sight since both Brandon and Dylan are supposed to be in Washington D.C. right now.

Inside, Brandon and Dylan sat side by side. They hadn’t spoken a word in hours. They haden’t moved either. That was because of the two sets of hands cuffs attached to one another’s leg, and wrist.

From another room came a voice Brandon knew all too well. “Sorry you missed your flight, boys.”

They both stared back at him, each with a look on their face saying how unimpressed they were by the comment, or the situation. Dylan had just woken up from the hit he took from the stun gun.

“Thought you said there was nothing to worry about,” Brandon said.

The man with the voice from the other room stormed in and fired a shot into the ceiling. “No talking, Walsh!”

Peter Kanis glared back at the two men. This was a situation that neither Brandon nor Dylan knew how they would get out of. And if they did, would they be alive to retell their daring escape?