"Stay in the vehicle, Miss," the deep feminine voice said with authority. Crystal immediately turned around and faced forward, both hands gripping the top of the steering wheel. What if she frisks me? Crystal knew she had rolling papers in her back pocket. Finding those would most surely be enough cause for the policewoman to tear the car apart. Damn damn, this isn't good. She heard her name come over the police radio and the officer respond before walking up to her door. "License, registration and proof of insurance, please."

"Uh ." Crystal shifted in her seat to reach for her wallet, all the while nervously watching as the policewoman shined her flashlight throughout the car's interior. "Um, here's my license. The insurance and registration are in the glove compartment."

"Are there any weapons or illegal drugs in this vehicle, Miss

Sheridan?" The officer's voice sounded familiar to Crystal but she couldn't pinpoint it.

"No." Leaning over and noting that the flashlight beam followed her hands, Crystal reached into the compartment and removed the flimsy plastic sleeve that held the papers for the car. Removing the registration and insurance cards, she handed them over.

"Is this your current address?"

"Um, no. I live in the Terraces." Crystal watched as the officer flipped the license over and scribbled something down on her pad.

"You're required to notify the department of motor vehicles within ten days of any change in address and mark it clearly on the reverse of your license," the officer said, her flashlight still weaving a pattern of light throughout the interior of the car. "Have you had anything to drink tonight?" "No, I'm on my way home," Crystal replied.

"Mm hmm," the officer said noncommittally. A few more notes were scribbled before she put the pad down and took a step back from the car. "Step out of the vehicle, please."

Oh fuck. Taking a deep breath, Crystal unbuckled the seat belt and opened the door. Please let that pipe be waaay under the front seat. She was trying to remember the name of a lawyer when the police officer spoke.

"Aren't you Laura Taylor's new roommate?" Now standing under the street light, Crystal now knew the reason why the voice sounded familiar. It was Alex Duncan, the shortstop from the Falcons softball team.

"Yes," Crystal said happily. The odds of needing a lawyer just dropped considerably. Alex was smiling and leaning against the open door. "I didn't know you were a cop."

"Yeah, it's my job to keep these streets safe at night," Alex replied. "Speaking of which, not a good i.e.to be doing fifty in a thirty five." "Oh, yeah sorry." So much for getting out of a ticket.

"You swear you haven't been drinking?"

"Not a drop." Crystal thought about the bottle sitting on the front seat. "Actually I just picked something up to take home to drink." She motioned at the passenger seat, pointing out what hadn't been visible to Alex's eye before, the whiskey bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag.

"You have a light out over the license plate, by the way," Alex said as she leaned in and removed the whiskey bottle from the bag. "Good thing this seal isn't broken. I would have had to charge you with carrying an open container." Alex returned the bottle to the seat and handed Crystal's documents back to her. "I suppose I can let you off with a warning this time on the speeding but I have to give you a ticket for the defective light." She opened her pad and clicked open her pen. "I'd already started to write it out. No fine if you get it replaced and have this ticket signed by a licensed mechanic or bring it down to the police station to have it checked before dusk tomorrow." Officer Duncan held the pad and pen out. "Signing is not an admission of guilt, only of receipt of your ticket. So you're off work and just heading home to have a few drinks, hm?"

Crystal signed the ticket and handed the pad back to Alex. "Yeah, well"

"Shame I'm on until midnight." Alex stepped out of the way of the door, silently telling Crystal it was all right to get back in the car. "I'd love to buy you a drink sometime," the officer said softly as Crystal walked past her to get into the driver's seat.

"Oh, um yeah." Now that the danger of a search was gone, Crystal smiled at the flirtatious cop.

"I know Laura's number. I'll call you sometime then?"

"That sounds nice," she said, using the same tone she used so many times before on horny men wanting her phone number. "Tell you what. I'm never home. Why don't I give you a call sometime?" Making sure to buckle her seat belt, Crystal tossed the license and other documents on the passenger seat and started the engine.

"There's a speed trap set up near exit six."

"Thanks for the tip. Good night." Crystal began rolling up the window as soon as Alex stepped back. Oh my god, I got away with it. Watching in her rear view, Crystal waited until the police officer was back in her own unit before she pulled away from the shoulder and onto the roadway. That's it. Tomorrow I'm going to clean out the car. The overhead street lights caught the bright white of the ticket sitting on the seat. "Guess I'll be going to the auto parts store too."

"Oh what is that horrid noise?" Crystal shouted as she stepped into the townhouse. The music was coming from Laura's bedroom and as the stripper listened to a few bars, she recognized it as one of the Carpenter's signature songs. Finding the door to Laura's room open, Crystal knocked lightly on the jamb and stepped inside. "Why are you listening to such depressing music?"

"It's not depressing, it's thought provoking," the writer defended as she shut the tape player off.

"Sure, if you're thinking of killing yourself." Crystal walked over to the short file cabinet and sat down atop it. "How ya doing?" "Hello yourself and I'm fine." Laura gestured at the monitor. "I think I got over fifteen pages done so far. It's been a most productive day." "Good for you."

"What's that? Refilling your stock?"

"Yeah well" Crystal set the whiskey bottle on the floor, out of Laura's sight.

"Yeah." Laura let the subject drop. "So how was your day? You look like you've been playing in a dirt pile. Make sure you spot soak those stains with detergent before you put them in my washing machine."

"You're the only person I know who worries about keeping your washing machine clean." Looking at her roommate, Crystal noticed Laura's drawn face and puffy eyes. "Did you take a nap today at all?"

"I didn't have time. Those ideas you gave me yesterday were just what I needed to bring Bobbi and Julie together." Laura stretched in her seat, rolling her head from side to side until she heard a satisfying pop. "I'm almost ready for them to have their first kiss."

"Oh yes, let's get them into bed as soon as possible," Crystal said teasingly. "I think you need a break. Tell you what, I'll make dinner tonight." "You know how to cook?"

"Bite me," Crystal replied, hopping off the file cabinet and retrieving her bottle from its hiding place. "Come on, you need to get away from this depressing music."

As they made their way down the stairs, Laura continued to defend her musical tastes. "The Carpenters aren't depressing. And melancholy music is the perfect setting for the scene I'm working on."

"I hope it isn't a love scene," Crystal quipped as she stepped into the kitchen. "So what are you in the mood for? I know nothing that resembles real food." She opened the refrigerator and glanced at the contents of each shelf. Oh, I didn't know she had green olives hidden in here, Crystal thought to herself, making a mental note to come down later and help herself to a few. "What's this thing that looks like a burger?"

"It a veggie burger."

"How do you cook it? Just like a regular one?"

"Pretty much. I add some fried onions and cheese for flavoring."

"Sounds good. I have a piece of cube steak in here somewhere" Crystal moved jars of unidentifiable concoctions around but her meat was nowhere to be found. "Where is it?"

"I moved it away from my leftover rigatoni. Look on the bottom shelf in the back."

"Of course, why didn't I see it before?" Crystal said sarcastically, moving the baskets of fresh berries out of her way to reach the steak. "Do you have onions and cheese?"

"Cheese is in the dairy compartment on the door and the onions are in the bottom drawer."

Crystal found the ingredients and placed them on the counter. Opening several drawers turned up the good cutting knives. Laura had buried herself in the newspaper, leaving the blonde to her own thoughts. As it did so many times during the day, Crystal's mind went back to the past. It shouldn't keep hurting so much. Picking up the knife, she began slicing the onion. I know what Jenny wants. She wants me to break down and tell her what he did like that's going to make any kind of difference. The force of the knife through the onion increased and Crystal soon felt stinging tears come to her eyes. With her back to Laura and her fingers covered with onion juice, she let the tears fall, knowing it would be worse if she tried to rub her eyes. Bet this would make her happy, seeing me cry like this again. Sniffing and rubbing her cheeks against the upper sleeves of her shirt, Crystal shoved the knife away and scooped the slivers on onion into the frying pan. I miss you Patty. I really need a hug. A small half sob escaped her lips, the onions no longer to blame for the tears.

"You okay?" Laura asked from the table.

Crystal sniffed and lowered the temperature of the burner. "Uh yeah, strong onion, I guess." Everything else could wait a few minutes. "I'm going to step outside for a smoke." Lowering her head and looking away from Laura, Crystal quickly made her way out to the deck.