“Well, I'll be damned. What are you doing here?” Even in her state of near collapse, she could see that his eyes were a deep blue, and it was wonderfully comforting just seeing him there.

“I work here, or did you forget?”

“But isn't it late for you to be here?”

He nodded and watched the look in her eyes. She was happy to see him too, but she was too exhausted to move. “Move over. I'll drive you back to your hotel.”

“Don't be silly. I'm fine. I just have to …”

“Look, be practical, Mel. With the President here, when you wrap yourself around a tree in this car, they won't even give you a Band-Aid in the emergency room. Everyone in the whole place is rallying around him. So let's save ourselves a big headache, and let me drive you home. Agreed?” She didn't have the strength left to argue with him. She just smiled like a tired child, nodded her head, and slid over. “That's a good girl.” He glanced at her to see if she'd object to the term and was relieved that she didn't. She just sat there looking glazed and didn't seem to object to his taking over. He drove expertly through the L.A. traffic, which was still heavy at that hour, and glanced over at her from time to time. At last he spoke again. “You okay, Mel?”

“I'm just beat. I'll be okay with a little sleep.”

“When do you have to go back?”

“Not till six o'clock tomorrow morning, thank God.” And then she sat up a little straighter in her seat. “Do you know anything I should know about the President's condition?” But he only shook his head. “Shit, I hope he makes it.”

“So does everyone else in the country, so do I. You feel so helpless with something like this. But actually, you know, he was damn lucky. It could have been all over right away. In fact, from the X rays I saw it was damn close. He came within a hair of losing his life, or his mind, or at best his ability to ever move from the neck down. If the bullet had ricocheted a little differently than it did …” He didn't have to finish the sentence. The surgeons working on the President were his friends, and he was painfully up-to-date.

“I feel so damn sorry for his wife. She's being so brave, and she looks as though she's just barely hanging on to her last shred of hope.” She wasn't a young woman, and the last two days had been a terrible strain on her.

“She has a heart problem, you know. Only a slight one. But this is not exactly what the doctor ordered for her.”

Mel looked at him with a tired smile. “At least you're around in case she has a problem.” And she was suddenly very grateful that he was around for her too. She realized now that she would never have made it across the obstacle course of the freeway. She said as much to him as they pulled up in front of her hotel.

“Don't be silly. I wouldn't have let you drive like that.”

“I'm just lucky you were there when I came out.” She felt slightly revived, but only barely. And she hadn't figured out that he'd been waiting for her, having foreseen the problem. It was something he had wanted to do for her, and he was glad that he had. “Thanks so much, Peter.” They both got out of the car and he looked down at her.

“Will you get into the hotel all right?”

She smiled at the care he took of her. No one had been that preoccupied with her in years, if ever. “I'm fine. I can walk. I just can't drive.” But she would have, if she'd had to.

“I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Quarter to six?”

“I can't let you do that.”

“Why not? Normally, I'd be there by six thirty. What difference does half an hour make?”

“Really, I can drive myself.” She was almost embarrassed by the attention, but he held firm.

“I don't see why you should have to.”

And suddenly she had a thought. “How are you going to get home from here?”

“Don't worry about that. I'll grab a cab back to the parking lot and pick up my car. Me, I'm wide awake. You're the one who's dead on your feet.”

“Oh, Peter, I didn't mean to …” But she yawned and cut off her own words and he laughed.

“Yes? Is there anything else you'd like to say to your public?” He was teasing and she was sorry she was so dazed by her long day.

“Just thank you.” Their eyes met and held for a moment outside the hotel. “And it's nice to see you again.”

“No, it isn't, you can't even see. For all you know, a perfect stranger just drove you home.” He guided her gently toward the door of her hotel and walked her into the lobby.

“All strangers should be so nice.” She mumbled softly.

“Now be good, and go up to your room and get some sleep. Have you eaten?”

“Enough. All I want now is my bed. Come to think of it, any bed will do.” The floor was even beginning to look good. He pressed the elevator button for her and propelled her gently inside and before she could say more, he stepped back.

“See you in the morning.”

She would have objected, but the doors closed, and the elevator deposited her on her floor. And all she had to do was walk to her room, open the door, close it again, and make it to her bed. All of which she did, feeling like a zombie. She didn't even bother to take off her clothes, she called the operator before she passed out, and left a wake-up for five o'clock in the morning, and the next thing she knew she was asleep, and the phone was ringing.

“Five o'clock, Miss Adams.”

“Already?” Her voice was hoarse and she was still half asleep. She had to shake herself awake, as she sat up with the phone in her hand. “Have you heard any news? Is the President still alive?”

“I believe so.” But if he weren't, they would have called her from the hospital, or the network in L.A.

Mel hung up and dialed the local station. The President was still alive, and there was no news since the night before. His condition was stable but still critical. She headed for the shower after that. It was too early to even order coffee. And then she went downstairs to stand outside the hotel at twenty to six, feeling that she should have insisted the night before that Peter not pick her up. There was no reason for him to chauffeur her around. It was silly really. But at exactly five forty-five, he picked her up, and opened the car door for her (he looked wide awake) and as she slid in beside him, he offered her a thermos of coffee.

“Good God, this is the best limo service I've ever had.”

“There are sandwiches in that bag.” He pointed to a brown paper bag on the floor and smiled at her. “Good morning.” He had correctly guessed that she hadn't eaten the night before, and he had made sandwiches himself to bring to her.

“It sure is nice having a friend in L.A.” She took a big bite of a turkey sandwich on white toast, and sank back gratefully against the seat of the Mercedes with a cup of coffee in her hand. “This is the life.” And then she looked over at him with a shy smile. “Somehow, when I left here two weeks ago, I didn't really think we'd see each other again. Or at least not for a long time.”

“That's what I thought too. I'm sorry it has to be over something as serious as this. But I'm glad you're here, Mel.”

“Know something?” She took another swig of the steaming coffee. “So am I. That's awful to say, given why I'm here. But I don't know …” She looked away for a moment and then back at him. “You've been on my mind a lot since I went back, and I wasn't sure why. Maybe coming back here will help me sort that out.”

He nodded. He had had the same problem. “It's difficult to explain to you what I've been feeling. I keep wanting to call you to tell you things, to give you the latest news about Marie … or a surgery we just did … or something one of the children said.”

“I think you've just been terribly lonely and I opened a door. Now you don't know what to do with it.” He nodded, and Mel looked thoughtful. “But the funny thing is that neither do I. You opened a door for me too, and I kept thinking of you when I went home. I was so glad when you called me that first time.”

“I didn't have any choice. I felt that I had to.”

“Why?” They were both looking for answers they didn't have.

“I don't know, Mel. It was actually a relief to know you were back. Maybe this time I'll find what I'm trying to say.” … or maybe I won't dare say it….

But Mel dared to ask the most difficult question. “Does it scare you?”

“Yes.” His voice almost trembled and he didn't look at her as he drove. “It scares me a lot.”

“If it's any consolation, it scares me too.”

“Why?” He glanced at her in surprise. “You've been out there on your own for years. You know what you're doing. I don't.”

“That's the whole point. I've been out there alone for fifteen years. No one has ever come too close. If they did, I ran off. But there's something about you … I don't know what to make of you, and I was so damn drawn to you when I was here before.”

He stopped the car in the parking lot of Center City and turned to face her. “You're the first woman I've been attracted to in twenty years, other than my wife. That scares the hell out of me, Mel.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. But it does. I've been hiding since she died. And all of a sudden I'm not sure I want to anymore.” They sat in silence for a long time, and Mel broke the silence first.

“Why don't we just wait and see what happens. Not push anything. Neither of us has risked anything yet. You've made a couple of phone calls, and I'm out here because the President was shot. That's all there is to it for now.” She was trying to reassure herself as much as him, but neither of them was convinced.

“Are you sure that's all there is to it?” His eyes were gentle and she smiled at him.

“No, I'm not. That's the trouble. But maybe if we take it slow, we won't scare ourselves half to death.”