Episode 6

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Episode 6

Scene 1:

Noah saw them from across the parking lot, giggling and talking to a couple of guys who were obviously much older than they were. He shook his head and waited for a moment to see if Piper and Dinah used their heads for a change. When they made a move to get in one of the guys' cars, he made up his mind to stop them from being complete idiots. Fairly running across the lot, he called out Piper's name. She turned her head, confused, before catching sight of him. She grabbed Dinah's elbow and held her back from climbing in the car.

"Hey guys," he said more to the men they were with than to them. Noah looked them both over, figuring them to be a few years older than he was. "How you doing? Taking these girls for a ride?"

"Not that it's any of your business," the nearest one to him replied. "But yeah, we are." Noah nodded and frowned at Piper who had the decency to look ashamed. Dinah, on the other hand looked ready to punch him.

"You're right it isn't. But I thought you should know, these two girls...no matter what they told you, are Seniors in High School."

"Noah!" Dinah cried her mouth dropping in surprise. He glared at her, daring her to say something else, but she fell silent as the two men stepped away from them.

"How do you know?" The talker questioned.

"Because I've known her," he said pointing to Piper, "for about two years. And where ever she goes, that one goes," he added pointing to Dinah.

"We didn't know. Come on Jay, let's go," the talker muttered flashing Dinah a dirty look and climbing in the car. As the car started and roared away, Noah turned to them, his arms folded across his chest, waiting for an explanation. He wasn't their guardian by any means, but he wasn't about to let two stupid kids make a dumb decision.

"What did you do that for?" Dinah snapped.

"Excuse me? You were about to do the dumbest thing I have ever seen you do. You should be thanking me," Noah replied coldly. He turned to Piper and shook his head. "I thought you were more responsible than Dinah. You should have known better."

"Are you mad?" Piper asked, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Who cares if he's mad!" Dinah yelled whirling on Piper. "We were doing fine without him. We can take of ourselves."

"Shut up Dinah. How did you two get into Richmond anyway?"

Piper's eyes dropped to the ground. "Dinah has her brother-in-law's car," she confessed. "We skipped school and went for a drive. I guess it just got out of hand."

"Maura is going to kill you Piper," he warned shaking his head. "When she finds out about this, oh man, you better hope she's in a good mood."

Piper's head jerked at that. "You're not going to tell her are you?"

"No, you are," he answered. Dinah snorted as she turned to walk away. "And you are telling Dr. Gennaro! If you think what you two did today was cool, you are out of your mind. You could have been in an accident, or kidnapped by those two guys, or god knows what else. If you don't tell them I will. Now go get your car, because I'm following you back to the Glen." Dinah stomped to the Firebird without replying and waited for Piper.

"Noah, please...," she started but he cut her off.

"Don't Piper. What you guys did was wrong. It's one thing to cut, but you can't just go with strange guys regardless of what Dinah says. It's dangerous...and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. I want you to tell Maura because you have to understand that when you do something like this, you've got to be held accountable."

"I thought you were my friend!"

"I am, that's why you have to tell her. Because I care about you and I don't want anything like this to ever happen again. Now go on, your partner in crime is waiting." Piper backed away from him before turning and walking slowly to the Firebird. Sure, he thought, she's mad now, but she'll get over it. He was absolutely sure he'd rather see Maura ground her than some strange man beat the crap out of her. He did the right thing.

Scene 2:

The wait for a table was longer than he thought it was going to be. Rick checked his watch again, impatiently. If he didn't know better, he would think that Maura was making him wait on purpose, but then she wasn't hostessing today. That was saved for a petite brunette who looked as frazzled as could be. After watching a few more people get seated before him, he approached her, looking at the name tag on her apron.

"Hi...Joanie. I've been waiting here a while. Isn't there anyway, I could get a table?" He asked, smiling flirtatiously. Joanie looked up at him over the rim of her glasses.

"Well, you will as soon as I have a table open for you," she replied rolling her eyes and motioning to a man who had come in after him.

"Wait a minute," Rick said exasperated. "I was here first."

"Yes, but the rest of your party isn't," she replied haughtily leaving the waiting area. He crossed his arms across his chest, fuming. Of course, this was Maura's doing. God, she could be bitter, he thought. Well, he wasn't going to take it any longer. He grabbed a waiter walking by and asked if Maura was around.

"Yes," the waiter admitted. "But she's in a terrible mood. I don't think you want to talk to her."

"Yes," Rick answered nodding his head firmly. "I do." The waiter shrugged and told him to wait for a moment, walking to the bar area. Rick craned his neck but couldn't see anything. When the waiter came back, he had a smile on his face.

"You’re lucky. Maura said to have a seat at the bar and she'll be right over to you."

"Thanks," Rick replied in a cursory tone. He made his way through the crowd and climbed onto one of the barstools waiting for her. Connie's must do much better business than he had originally thought. Of course, it was centrally located and from what she had said back in their college days, was practically an historical landmark. He saw her by the cash register, her hair pulled off her neck in a clip. She nodded at him and approached him, an uncertain look on her face.

"Hi Rick. Danny said you wanted to see me," she said as a way of greeting.

"Well, I wanted a table actually," Rick replied. "But talking to you is an added bonus."

"That's great Rick. I'll get you a table. Are you eating alone?"

He let her question hang in the air between them. For some reason, he got the feeling that she was asking more for herself than out of curiosity. It made him smile, thinking that. Maybe she did carry a torch for him after all these years. She was always full of surprises.

"No," he answered at last. "I'm meeting one of my editors for lunch. But I can cancel if you'd like to join me."

"No, thanks. I'm a little busy right now. Maybe another time," she said and then added hastily, "when I have time." Rick nodded, deciding not to rush her. She obviously wanted to talk to him. She was just fighting herself. Same old Mo. "Come on, I think I see a table over there."

He followed her to the same table he had met Jillie at and made himself comfortable. Phoebe appeared at the doorway a few moments later and he waved her over. He could see Maura's eyes on Phoebe as she wound her way through the tables and wanted to laugh. Yes, Maura was interested in what he was doing. And he was interested in what she was doing, that was apparent. Perhaps there would be a time and a place to discuss that. But right now, he had work to do.

Scene 3:

Jude sat in the gazebo, staring at the gorgeous view the Mason Estate offered. It had been a interesting morning to say the least, what with Jamie's arrival and subsequent offer. Jamie was loyal if he was anything though and the offer was a compliment. He would do anything for Jamie, they were like brothers after all. But this.... Jumping into the fray of Mason Enterprises might be asking too much of Jude.

He wasn't a Mason, a fact Hallie Lennox wasted no time in pointing out whenever he arrived for a visit. But Gwen was his aunt and she always insisted that he be treated as a Mason. Even Uncle James before his death had told him he was more Mason than Dane was. Whether that was a compliment or not, Jude had no idea. Uncle James was a rigid man with the younger Masons and to hear Jamie tell it, at times he was a bit tyrannical. Dane was an all right guy. He just liked his wine and women a lot more than work.

He took a drink of the ice tea that sat next to him. There certainly wasn't anything for him in Washington. Not without his job and not without Cynthia. But the job and Cynthia were history as far as he was concerned. You couldn't have an affair with the boss' wife and expect to stay in your position, especially if your boss was a Senator. Of course, there were other jobs to be had in D.C. At this stage of the game, though, Jude Fontaine had had enough of them.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned in his seat. Jamie smiled and climbed the steps to the gazebo. Jude motioned to the seat across from him and let a silence fall between them. They both knew Jamie wanted, no needed, an answer. After a moment, Jude broke the silence.

"Did I tell you why I left Washington?" Jamie shook his head. "Well, see there was this woman named Cynthia. Beautiful woman. Smart. Funny. Great mind, really knew what she was talking about," he continued. "I guess you could say I loved her. Or she loved me. I don't know. It was messed up, though. See, Cyn was married. Very married."

"Uh oh," Jamie muttered.

"Yep. Married to the boss. Well, she told him about us in the heat of an argument one night. The next day, he gave me a choice. Leave gracefully and quietly or very publicly and very messy."

"You chose the first one," Jamie said softly. "I didn't know."

"I didn't tell many people. Gwen knows. I'm telling you because you know me. And you know that I'm not the bad guy."

"I know you're not, Jude," Jamie said but Jude held up his hand.

"Let me finish. I wanted you to know because I'm going to say yes to your offer. But Hallie's going to fight you on it. You know how she feels about me. And she's got a very competent boyfriend there to back her up...not to mention a name I don't have. If you're willing to fight her, I'll stand by you. But she'll come after me."

"I can handle Hallie. I want you on my side, Jude. Hallie has no claim to ME and she knows it. It's mine and it's Ellen's." Jamie offered his hand to Jude. "Are we a team?"

Jude stared at the hand being offered to him before clasping it firmly, sealing the deal. "Just like when we were kids. It's you and me, all the way."

Scene 4:

Maura stared at the red head heading towards Rick's table for a moment before forcing herself to look away. It was none of her business, period. She turned her back and tried to forget the way he had assumed a casual relationship with her again after so many years. He certainly had nerve. If it were the other way around, she wouldn't be so easy to forgive. But then. she thought miserably, he doesn't know the whole truth either.

"Are you Maura?" A deep voice asked, breaking her reverie. She turned back around to face the voice, surprised by the man who stood there. He was well dressed and self assured, a fact that was not lost on most of the women in the Diner. He had strange sea green eyes that mesmerized and held her. He was certainly a newcomer to Connie's.

"Yes," she replied after a moment feeling self conscious about her appearance momentarily before chastising herself for caring. "May I help you?"

"Yes," the man replied looking around. "Where's Dinah?"

Maura frowned at his question shaking her head slightly. "I have no idea. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm sorry," the man said tapping his forehead lightly before offering his hand to her. "Galen Gennaro. Dinah's my...sister-in-law." Maura's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Gennaro..."

"Dr. Gennaro. Look, she was supposed to pick up my daughter from school and she never showed. I called the high school and they said she wasn't either."

"But why would I know where she's at?" Maura asked puzzled.

"Because she's joined at the hip with your sister. Wherever Piper is, Dinah is."

"Piper...," Maura said trailing off. Piper skipped school? That was so unlike her. There had to be a mistake. "Piper would never skip school, if that's what you're insinuating Dr. Gennaro. I don't know where Dinah is, but it's really none of my business."

"Miss Conlan, let me explain something to you. Dinah borrowed my car this morning before school. She never got to class. Your sister does what Dinah says, that is a pure and simple fact. Now, I'm assuming from your responses you have no earthly idea where they are. But if you see them, you better hide them, because I am seriously pissed."

Maura's mouth fell open at his words and took an unconscious step back. "Dr. Gennaro, maybe something bad happened," she started rushing to the girls' defense. "A car accident...God forbid. You can't go around accusing the girls of something you have no proof they've done!"

He looked ready to reply when he caught sight of something behind her. She turned and saw Piper and Dinah looking absolutely miserable with Noah looming over them as he tied his apron. leave it to Noah to find them, she thought as she followed Dr. Gennaro to the girls.

"Where have you been?" He demanded of Dinah. She exchanged a look with Piper before answering in a meek voice.

"Richmond."

"What?! You drove to Richmond in my car and left my daughter scared and frightened at school? How could you?" Dr. Gennaro shot at her. She flinched but held her head up.

"I'm sorry, Galen. I forgot about Mia." Maura saw Noah shake his head and nudge Piper who kept her eyes downcast. As irresponsible as Maura thought their actions were, she was not about to dress Piper down in front of a crowded restaurant.

"You forgot? Dinah, I trusted you. I thought you were different than your sister." Dinah's eyes flashed angrily.

"I am! I didn't mean to forget. I'm sorry. But I'm not like Kelly. I made a mistake Galen, that's all. I would never hurt Mia," she cried. "I hate you Galen. I'm not Kelly and you have to quit treating me like I am!" Tears streamed down Dinah's face but Galen's face was impassive. She turned and fled through the kitchen with Piper calling after her.