{Are you finished yet?} Manchu asked, coming into the kitchen.

{Almost. Don't you touch that!} Dee cried, reaching out and slapping his hand as he reached for a sandwich.

{You're nuts, you know that?} he said, rubbing the back of his hand.

{Certifiable,} was her reply as she continued with her sandwiches. {Are you taking me or not?}

{Your chariot awaits, as soon as you're ready, m'lady,} he said, bowing deeply to her.

{Smartass.}

{Yes, but he is my smartass,} Chu Hua said, coming in through the courtyard door. {Mother printed this out for you, as you requested.}

Dee took the sheets of paper from her, smiling as she looked them over. It was a reverse printed word search that she had spent two days working on. {They look perfect! She used the food dye ink?}

{Just as you asked. Here is the pen you wanted as well.}

{Thank you!} she said, hugging the woman. {Manchu, I just need to put one more sandwich together, get these on the tray, and then we can go. Would you take Tangram's things to the car? Oh, and this. And do not eat a single one!} she warned, shaking a finger at him as she handed him a box of chocolates.

{I won't, I promise. I wouldn't want to ruin this for you,} he said, a note of sarcasm in his voice.

{Chu, smack him for me, but only after he's through putting things in the car,} Dee said dryly.

{I'll take care of him, no worries. Let me help you with that.}

Together, they finished putting the last of the sandwiches together on the tray.

~ ~ ~

{I'll be fine. Go.}

{You certain you don't need any help carrying that?} Manchu asked setting her bag at the door.

{No! I'm fine. I'll call you later, ok?} Dee insisted.

{If you say so. Good luck,} he added, attempting to give her a hug. The tray of sandwiches was in his way, so he settled for a quick peck on the cheek instead, laughing when she scowled at him.

At the door, she knocked by kicking the bottom of it with her foot. The door opened, and she was greeted with astonished looks. Tangram pushed his way in, dragging his bag of toys and disappeared.

"I'm here. Now you go."

There was no argument. In short order, the two men hauled the suitcase in, grabbed their coats and left. She headed into the kitchen, setting everything down for a moment. As she separated things out, she made a pot of coffee. When the coffee was done, she mixed in cream and a small amount of sugar. Placing a filled cup on the tray, she tucked the box of chocolates under her chin, and lifted the heavy tray. She was proud of herself that she made it all the way down the hallway to the door without spilling the coffee, or worse, dropping the tray. The door was standing open, and she looked in.

Eddie had his head down on the desk, music playing from the computer, and he was staring at a framed picture. She watched as he mouthed the words to Willie Nelson's version of "Always On My Mind." Eddie had a scraggly beard, and his suit was dirty and stained. Tipped over next to his left hand was an empty scotch bottle. He made no sign of noticing her as she entered. Even when she set the tray on the desk, he didn't move. Going around the desk, she turned the music off, making a mental note to delete all country music files from his computer later. There was no way she was going to listen to the whine of country music by her own will, and a man as smart as Eddie didn't need to be killing his brain cells with the material either.

Wordlessly, she pulled the tray toward him. Her nose wrinkled, as she smelled the sourness of stale alcohol on him. He finally stopped his mumbling, and looked at the tray.

"I told you, I'm not hungry."

"That's fine. It's why I brought these," she said, opening the box of chocolates and dumping them out. They were little chocolate chess pieces in milk and dark chocolate. "If you weren't going to eat, I figured we could play."

He looked confused, staring at the pieces, and then at the sandwiches. He then noticed that the sandwiches were on wheat or dark rye, all cut and put together to form a chessboard. All 64 squares. Slowly he sat up, and turned. He took one look at Dee, and then picked up the empty bottle, shaking the last few drops onto his tongue.

"You're not real. I passed out again." Eddie let his head fall forward onto the desk. His shoulders shook, and he rolled his head back and forth on the blotter. The bottle rolled from his hand, off the desk, and landed with a hollow clunk on the floor. "Oh, Edward. You need to stop drinking!" he said softly, laughing and whimpering in the same breath.

Dee put her hands in his greasy hair and pulled his head up. "I'm here, you ninny. Look at you." She frowned, running her fingers through the beard. "You look horrible with this thing on your face. Think you can sit up and drink your coffee for me? Hm?" she asked, leaning his head back against her chest, stroking his forehead.

"Why should I forgive you?" he said angrily, pushing her hands away, certain she was just another alcohol and hunger induced phantom. He'd had this argument with such figments a hundred times in the last month.

"Because you're smarter and better than me. You don't let your emotions rule you the way mine rule me. All of this was my fault, and I admit it." She put her arms back around him, holding him against her firmly. "And it's obvious that you like being apart from me as much as I like being apart from you. Ooo-ee-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah."

"You seemed fine with it last... Week?" he asked, uncertain of when he had tried to see her.

"My stubbornness made me stupid. I told you I'm not as smart as you. Li Mei knows that there're times when I need to be physically held down and made to listen. So does Manchu. He used to sit on me until I listened to what he had to say," she said with a soft laugh at the memory. "I realize you didn't know this, so I'm telling you. You did it in the plane when I didn't want to listen."

Eddie reached up, putting his hands on the arm she had holding him up, wanting her arm there, yet considering pushing her away again. He kept his eyes on her, wondering what she was going to do next. It was usually at this point that the phantom would disappear. He even fancied he could smell the peach oil Dee wore this time around.

Not caring how dirty and smelly he was, she bent her head and kissed him. His mouth tasted terrible, but as she kissed him, something happened. For the first time since she had met him, Edward Nigma cried, clinging to her arm so tightly, his fingers were sure to leave bruises. It didn't matter to her.

"Hush. I'm here. It's ok now," she soothed, moving to stand between his knees, pressing his head to her chest.

"You left me," he sobbed, sounding like a little boy. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, one hand knotting in her shirt, the other taking a hold of the long braid that ran down her back. "You left me!"

"I know. And I was wrong. I came back to apologize and hope that you'll forgive me." She stroked his unkempt hair. "Eddie, I made a horrible mistake. I'm not proud of what I did, how I acted, and especially how I treated you. You deserve better from me. At the time I needed to prove that you have my trust and understanding the most, I let you down. Li Mei told me what you told her, and Benny and Trigger told me everything else. Women have mistreated you. What that bitch Pam did to you was rape. I didn't want to believe you, because why would a woman ever rape a man? Especially Pam. Men are the rapists, not the other way around. Right? At least, that's what I thought. But she conveniently 'forgot' to tell me that she used her pheromones on you. I should have known."

He looked up at her, eyes red rimmed, nose running. She wiped his face and nose with the edge of her shirt, and then reached over to pick up a sandwich. Dee put it to his lips, and smiled when he took a bite, and then chewed as he hiccupped. After the first bite, he quickly devoured the small sandwich, eating ravenously. She silently fed him more, making certain that he actually chewed before swallowing. He washed it down with gulps of coffee, and as he ate, his tears subsided.

"That's better," cooed Dee, petting his face. "Eddie, what I did made me look like those others. That was wrong. I'd be lying if I said that I had only just realized that. I knew it a while ago, but I refused to listen to myself. That was stupid. You have a past. I knew that before I met you, and I shouldn't keep letting it get in the way. I need to accept it, because it's part of you."

Though he was still chewing on the last sandwich she had put in his mouth, she now pulled him up. She didn't need to tighten her hold on his hand, for he refused to let go of her. Down the hall, she led him, and into their bedroom. He started to panic when she pulled her hand free, walking into the bathroom without him. Hurriedly, he followed. Dee turned the shower on, and then turned to face him.

"I want you to get yourself cleaned up, understand?"

Eddie nodded, not wanting to speak, lest it break the spell. Hallucination or not, he wanted this to continue.

"Good. Now let's get you out of those clothes. I'll leave something for you on the door," she said, pulling his jacket off, and unbuttoning his shirt. "I don't suppose any amount of dry cleaning will save this suit." She paused, tossing the clothing he handed her over her arm. She wanted to wince at the sight of how his ribs were clearly visible. He'd always been a thin man, but now he was too thin. "Only when you have showered, shaved, and brushed your teeth do I want to see you again."

Watching her close the door, he finished what was in his mouth, and then climbed into the shower. Repeatedly, he washed himself, dissolving the grime and odor from his body. He still wasn't certain if Dee was actually there. He lost count of all the times in the past few weeks he had hallucinated that she was there, urging him to eat and stop drinking. All those times he had ignored the phantoms. This time, she had kissed him. She hadn't done that before in his visions, and this apparition felt solid.

While she waited for him to get cleaned up, Dee changed out of her now dirty shirt, and into a fresh one. After washing her hands in the kitchen, she then took a look around the warehouse. Everything was new and clean. There was a new couch that was much nicer than the previous one. The new carpet begged to be walked on barefoot, so she obliged it. She grinned as it tickled her feet as she shuffled through the thick pile, laughing aloud at the sight of Tangram wiggling around on the carpet next to the couch.

"Daddy did a good job, didn't he?" she said, giving him a quick scratch before continuing her tour.

It was when she returned to the bedroom that she actually took stock of the changes there. On just about every surface sat a plethora of candles, all sitting in holders that she recognized from Chinatown. There were new dressers, and when she opened them, she found all the clothing neatly folded and put away. Only her dresser was almost empty. What her dresser contained was items that she had left behind in the second suitcase. She sighed, saddened by the nice clothing she had lost. That was forgotten quickly when she took in the new bed. It had been there that night he had brought her home from the Iceberg, but she had been in the wrong frame of mind to notice the changes he had made.

"Oh!" she gasped, walking over to it. She ran a hand over the smoothly polished, cool wood of the posters. Taking a seat near the top, she lost herself as she traced the scrollwork on the headboard with the tip of a finger.

Edward exited the bathroom, tucking in the tails of his clean shirt into clean slacks. As he buttoned his cuffs he stared at Dee who remained in her place on the bed. His mind now cleared, refreshed from the food and drink she had given him, he saw that she was indeed there. On top of his dresser was a little box, which he now picked up, removing the repaired necklace from it.

While he had showered, he thought things over. She was offering the olive branch this time, taking all the blame. He knew it wasn't all her fault. It took two to tango, as the saying went. The moment Trigger had phoned him at the Iceberg, he should have told Dee about it. He had panicked, however, and listened to Trigger. The blame couldn't be shifted to Trigger, because Eddie knew that Dee appreciated the truth, and it was ultimately his decision not to tell her what was going on.

Running his tongue over his freshly brushed teeth, he walked over to her. Sitting behind her, he said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her. She turned her head, smiling at him.

"You look handsome," she said, picking a bit of toilet paper from where he had covered a nick.

No words. You're better off without words right now, he told himself, cautiously returning her smile.

With care he fastened the necklace around her neck, touching the silver question mark as it floated in the hollow of her throat, where it belonged. She smiled, and touched the charm as well, as if to say she accepted it. Then he kissed her, tentatively at first. Then again. She melted into his arms, and he tipped her back onto the bed. Now he tasted good, sweet, and she took advantage of it. A month was far too long for her to go without kissing him! Right then, she vowed never to go that long without him again. Not if she could help it.

"Eddie? Eddie, you haven't said anything to me for too long. Say something?" she begged.

"You punched Pam that night. Twice. Good for you. She deserved it," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. "That's behind us now. We're ok."

"You'd take me back this quickly? After what I've done?"

His face lit up as he teasingly echoed her earlier words. "I'm smarter and better than you. Ooo-ee-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah."

She laughed, fingers locking in his wet hair, and pulled him down for another kiss. "Ooo-ee-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah," she replied. "Would you do one more thing for me?"

"Anything, Kitten. Just so long as you don't leave me again."

"I'm not going to leave, so long as you let me stay," she smiled, tracing his lips. With another kiss, she added, "Make me feel beautiful."

The grin on his face grew. Taking that as a yes, she began unbuttoning the shirt he had just put on.

"You made me get dressed, just so you could undress me?" he asked.

"I was going to wait, but we're here now, aren't we?" she asked, kissing his jaw. She quickly had him down to his boxers, and she knelt on the bed in front of him. "By the way, you're going to need this."

He looked confused as she handed him a pen. It all became clear as she pulled her shirt off. Across her torso, right under her breasts, was a word search. She gave him a wink as she wiggled out of her pants, and displayed her thighs to him. Down each was part of the word list. He looked the words over, reading them as he licked his lips. "Betrayal", "indiscretion", "harlot", "tiger", "riddles", "onus", and "flowers" were just some of the words on the list.

"I don't understand," he said as she draped her legs around his waist so that he could better work on the puzzle.

"Solve the puzzle, and you will, silly man," she purred, lying back in the pillows.

Eddie had no idea what she was up to. All he knew was that he had never been this excited about the idea of solving a puzzle, or foreplay in his entire life. Here was a woman that he found beautiful, and she was laying on the bed in front of him, wearing nothing but lace underwear and a word search. This was one of the things he loved about her: Her ability to be sensual and seductive, without being trashy and cheap. He found himself torn between doing the puzzle, and fulfilling her original request. But this was all part of it, wasn't it?

"Go slow," she giggled as he hurried to circle a word, remembering to cross it off the list on her left thigh. "I'm not going anywhere."

The felt tip made her break out into goosebumps as it trailed across her skin. Throughout it all, she laughed and smiled like never before, teasing Eddie as he worked. The look of intense concentration on his face amused her. His hands didn't want to remain steady, but he finally finished, slowly drawing a line through the last word.

"There." He capped the pen, and then leaned over to kiss her.

"You're not done yet, puzzle boy. There's one more thing for you to solve."

Frowning, he looked down at the puzzle. He had found all the words she had listed. He looked at her thighs, and turned her over. Just in case, of course. Turning her back over, he concentrated on the puzzle again.

The leftover letters, fool!

Ah! That's where her final puzzle had to be. She propped herself up on her elbows as she watched him print out each letter on her belly. When he finished, he looked the letters over.

"'No matter what'?" he asked.

Dee nodded, smiling as she sat up, wrapping her legs securely around his hips. "No matter what. No matter how badly we fight. Even when it's my fault because I won't listen to you. Or if you screw up. I'll still love you through it all." Laughing quietly she wiped his cheek dry. "Don't cry again, Tiger. Once was enough today, and I just might cry with you this time."

Embarrassed, he tried to turn his head. She hugged his head to her chest, nuzzling the top of his head.

"Crying isn't a bad thing, Eddie. It's a great man who can express that kind of emotion. It's a boon, not a failing. You're not weak because you shed tears. You'll always be strong to me, no matter what. Always be my hero."

He laughed now, raising his head. "I'm supposed to be the one with the lines, not you. I was the one who was supposed to throw the whole romantic welcome home for you."

"Well, that wasn't exactly romantic, was it? I can go back to Jiaoshu's, and you can come get me if you like," she teased, acting as if she were going to get up.

"No, no, no, no!" He pinned her down to the bed with his body. "I'm not letting you go anywhere. Not for a good, long while."

"Is that a promise, or a threat?"

"That's a promise. One I intend to keep."
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