Buried Hearts

Let our love take wing
Some midnight, round midnight
Let the angels sing for your returning
Let our love be safe and sound
When old midnight
comes around."

Dixie finished the song to a generous round of applause. The Magic Carpet Jazz Club was packed to capacity. The club's owner and Dixie's brother-in-law, Ted Harrison was thrilled that 'Marie Ireland' was back in his club. Ever since Dixie, as Marie Ireland, performed at the annual Fireman's Ball and asked to sing at the club again, the club had gotten a steady stream of fire fighters, doctors, nurses, police officers and anyone else who had been at the ball as well as their friends and relatives. Word of mouth in this business was everything!

"Thank you. I'm going to take a break now." she said with a smile. "I'll be back in half an hour."

She stepped off the stage to another round of applause as the combo began playing some light jazz. Kelly Brackett motioned her over to the table that he was sharing with Joe Early and his date Joyce. She moved through the audience and into Kel's arms.

"That was beautiful Dixie!" he said as he kissed her. "Just like the singer!"

When they came up for air, they realized that Joe and Joyce were looking at them with rather bemused expressions. With the look of two children caught at being naughty, they separated and sat down. Kel motioned for the waiter who automatically brought Dixie a club soda with a twist of lime.

"That was terrific as always, Dixie," said Early.

"Right!" said Joyce. "Joe told me how good you were and I see that his praise didn't begin to cover it!"

Dixie blushed under the weight of the praise and threw an appreciative glance at the white-haired doctor sitting across from her.

After some more small talk, Dixie resumed her place on stage and finished the show. Afterwards, Kel drove her home.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As he walked her to her door, she said, "You want to come in for some coffee or something?"

"You have no idea how much I'd like that, Dix," he said as he put his arms around her waist. "But I've got to catch a flight to Cancun at 7 a.m. and I don't think I should."

Dixie's hands slid up his lapels, the diamond on her left hand glittering in the moonlight. She reached up and kissed him, running her tongue along his lips until he opened his mouth and allowed entrance. They stood like that for quite a while, mouths locked together, tongues dancing until Kel finally pulled back. His face was flushed and he was breathing quite a bit faster.

"Dixie, if I don't leave now, I won't be able to and I won't make my flight."

"I've got an alarm clock," she purred. "I can take you to the airport in the morning. No one says you have to miss your flight."

She gave him one more kiss and turned to unlock her front door. She felt his arms snake around her waist and his lips on the back of her neck and she smiled, knowing surrender when she felt it.

As soon as they got into the front door, Kel grabbed her and kissed her with a passion so strong it surprised both of them. She barely managed to close the door before they were moving to the bedroom. She was so overcome, she wondered if her legs would support her for such a long distance. Kel, sensing this, and without removing his mouth from hers, swept her clean off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.

He gently lowered her onto the pillows, never letting his lips leave hers as he lowered himself on top of her. He started moving his hands over her body--everywhere he could reach. He became aware of her fingers undoing the buttons on his shirt and he quickly helped her to eliminate the annoying piece of cloth. Then he decided turnabout was fair play and just as quickly divested her of her dress.

She moaned softly as she felt him settle between her legs. She ran her hands down his body until she reached the waistband of his trousers. She unbuttoned them and slowly lowered the zipper. He rolled off of her long enough to remove the offending pants and underwear. He moved back to her and allowed himself the pleasure of removing the rest of her undergarments.

Now that they were both as naked as the day they were born, they made love--two people merging together until one is indistinguishable from the other. Bringing each other to the heights of ecstasy and falling back into the warm afterglow of each other’s embrace.

“I love you,” Dixie murmured as she drifted off to sleep.

“Love you too,” he whispered as he tightened his embrace and followed her into dreamland.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The alarm went off much too soon and Dixie got up to make coffee while Kel got in the shower.

As they went out to the car, Kel realized he still had to go back to his apartment to get his suitcase and airline tickets. He broke several land speed records getting to his place and then to the airport. Dixie just hung on for the ride.

When they got to the passenger drop-off area, Kel handed his bags and tickets to a skycap to be checked in. Then he turned back and hugged Dixie.

"I'll call you as soon as I get in."

"I'll be waiting," said Dixie as she returned the hug. "At Rampart. I go on duty in a couple of hours."

"Are you sure you can't come down later for a long weekend? The hotel says it's no problem to extend my stay."

"Kel, what with the flu going around my nursing staff, it's all I can do to take a coffee break let alone fly to Cancun. You just go to your conference, buy me a nice souvenir and I'll pick you up here when you get back."

One more hug, a quick kiss and then Kel gave a couple of dollars to the skycap, retrieved his tickets and ran for the plane. Dixie smiled and shook her head. She moved around to the driver's side and headed back home to change clothes for work.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Later that evening, Dixie was sitting at the base station doing paperwork and wondering why Kel hadn't called yet, when Roy and Johnny approached her.

"Hey Dix!" said Johnny casually as he approached. "Long as we're here, how 'bout some supplies?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, Johnny." said Dixie as she took his list from him with a slightly annoyed expression.

"What's going on today, anything exciting?" asked Roy as he looked around the unusually quiet ER.

Dixie shook her head. "Not much. Besides that little girl you guys brought in, most of the stuff through tonight has been pretty mild."

"Dixie, let me ask you something," said Johnny. "If a person says to you...."

"Don't even start with that again Junior." Roy rolled his eyes and looked at Dixie. "He swears this married woman on one of our runs today was hitting on him. I say she was just being friendly."

"Just being FRIENDLY? How are you today? That's friendly. That ain't what she said. She said...."

'Squad 51, what's your status?'

Johnny gave an impatient sigh as Roy acknowledged the call and they both waved at Dixie as they headed back to the squad.

Dixie turned back to her paperwork as the telephone rang.

"Rampart Emergency, Miss McCall speaking."

"Hey, Beautiful."

"Kel! You finally got there! Everything okay?"

"You really need to find a way to join me, Dix! This place is gorgeous. And the bed is awfully big for just one person."

She smiled, "I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything. I had two more nurses call in sick today. At least it hasn't been busy tonight."

"All I want is for you to try," slight pause, "and succeed!"

Suddenly, on Kel's end of the phone, there was a cacophony of bells and buzzers.

"Kel!" Dixie shouted into the phone. "Is everything okay? What is that?"

"It's nothing, Dix. When I checked in, they said they were testing the fire alarm system and if I heard it go off, just ignore it until I'm told otherwise."

"That's a relief. I wouldn't want that big bed to burn. At least not if it's not us igniting it." she said with a sly smile.

"Dixie, you are too much! Thanks for that. I'll never get to sleep tonight now!"

Suddenly, Dixie heard what sounded like an explosion.

"Kel? What was that? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure what that was. Hang on a minute."

Dixie heard the sound of the phone being put down. Then she heard a door open and Kel's voice at a distance asking 'what the hell was that?' She tried to make out an answer, but she couldn't. Then she heard Kel pick up the phone again.

"Dixie, I've got to get out of here. That fire alarm wasn't a false alarm after all. The fire started downstairs and I'm only on the second floor here. I've got..." There was an audible click as the line went dead.

"Kel? Kel? Are you okay? KEL?!?!?!?" She pulled the phone away from her ear when she heard the dial tone.

She was still staring at the receiver when Dr. Joe Early approached her. "Dixie? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

She started and looked up. She hung up the phone and said, "Kel just called."

The white-haired doctor smiled. He knew about their engagement and was looking forward to being the best man.

"Oh, is that all." Then he noticed her pale complexion and worried expression. "That isn't all, is it? What's wrong, Dix?"

"While I was talking to him, there was a fire alarm. He thought it was a false alarm because the hotel told him they were testing the system. It wasn't a false alarm, though. The line went dead as I was talking to him."

"I wouldn't worry. The fire probably knocked out the phone lines. I'm sure he got out safely. He'll call you back as soon as he gets the chance."

Dixie smiled, "You're probably right, Joe. Thanks."

Early gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze as he went to answer Squad 51 calling in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was dark when Kel came to. The air was thick and the hole in which he was buried alive was extremely stuffy. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was aware of a small hole just above and behind his head. The hole, he realized - as he got a whiff of fresh air from that direction - was to the outside. He reached out to try to expand it into something he could get through. His own private hole-in-the-ground was just large enough for him not to be able to reach the hole without moving his entire body - something he didn't want to do in case he had more severe injuries. However, since he couldn't hear anything resembling a rescue effort from where he was, he felt that to get out, he'd have to help himself.

He slowly sat up. As he did, a wave of dizziness and nausea swept him and he turned and vomited what little he had in his stomach.

'Concussion, definitely,' he thought to himself. He gingerly tried to move his legs into a position to allow him to stand. That's when he realized his left leg was trapped. He tried to make out what was holding his leg in place, but it was too dark. He reached down and felt several beams around his leg. Fortunately, they weren't cutting off his circulation, but they were just tight enough to prevent him from removing his leg.

Kel sighed and lay back down. He hoped they'd find him soon.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dixie tossed and turned in her bed. She sat up and looked at the clock --3:45 a.m. Realizing she wasn't going to get any sleep that night, she got out of bed, put on a robe and headed for the kitchen. When she got to the kitchen, she found some herbal tea and put the kettle on to boil. She placed a tea bag into a mug and watched the kettle not boil for a few minutes when she remembered to turn the stove on.

'What's that about a watched pot?' she thought to herself as she padded out to the living room. She sat down and turned on the TV. She almost immediately regretted doing it.

After a few moments of some cheesy late-night horror movie, a newscaster broke in to the broadcast.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this news bulletin. A fire at the Holiday Inn Cancun has caused the entire structure to collapse. The building, converted to a hotel in 1972, was built before there were structural regulations for buildings of this type." Dixie gasped as the television showed footage of the burning hotel as taken from a helicopter. "It is believed the fire started in the kitchen and spread rapidly throughout the hotel taking out the building's main support beams fairly quickly. So far, there are 258 injured, 139 missing and 15 dead - although that number is expected to climb. There was a medical conference scheduled to begin tomorrow at the hotel and there were a number of American doctors present in the hotel for said conference. Among them, Dr. Kelly Brackett,” Brackett’s photo appeared behind the anchorman. "A prominent figure in the Los Angeles medical scene, Dr. Brackett lobbied the state legislature in favor of the Paramedic program and is considered instrumental in the establishment of that program. At this time, he is listed as missing."

Dixie gasped and clutched at the sofa cushions. Suddenly, the sound of the teapot whistling brought her back to reality. She walked to the kitchen in a daze, poured the water into the mug and replaced the kettle without even looking. After a minute, she went to the phone and dialed.

"H'lo?" came a sleepy voice.

"Joe? It's Dixie. Look, I'm sorry to wake you, but I had to talk to somebody."

"Dixie?" Early sounded a bit more awake. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

"I couldn't sleep so I went to watch TV. There was a newscast about the fire in Kel's hotel. The entire building collapsed. Joe, Kel is missing. He never got out of the hotel." Dixie's voice broke.

"I'm coming over, Dix. I'll be there in half an hour." Joe said just before he hung up the phone.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kel awoke with a start. He started to sit up, but his head--using the medium of splitting pain--told him that it probably wasn't such a good idea.

'Not good to sleep with a concussion.' Said the doctor in him.

'But I'm so tired! I can't stay awake forever.' Said the patient in him. 'Come on! Just a little nap?'

'You just had one! You know if you go to sleep, one of these times you won't wake up.'

Finally, he realized that he was having a full-blown argument with himself and losing. He tried to focus on sounds from outside--to see if there were any rescue workers out there. He couldn't hear anything. He decided to focus on more pleasant thoughts to try to pass the time.

Dixie

That helped. He filled his mind with images of her. Those beautiful blue eyes that expressed a world of emotion with just a look. That soft blonde hair that he loved to run his fingers through. That beautiful mouth. The mouth that could kiss him with such passion. Could whisper beautiful thoughts into his ear. Could dress down an entire nursing staff with one word. Such a contradiction was his Dixie. At once a consummate professional and caring nurse. A performer with a voice of silk and a sensuous, loving woman.

Much against his better judgment, Kel drifted off to sleep again. This time though, he had wonderful dreams.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Half an hour later, there was a knock on Dixie's door. When she opened it, Joe came in and immediately drew her into a comforting hug. She surrendered to the embrace and let the tears she had been trying not to shed flow.

"It'll be okay, Dixie. He'll get out of this okay. This is Kel, remember." Joe hoped his voice didn't betray the doubt he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I hope you're right, Joe." she said as she sniffled and pulled back. "You want a cup of coffee or something?"

Joe gave her a kind smile and a handkerchief. "Coffee sounds great. Thanks, Dix."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next day at Rampart, Dixie spent every available moment in front of the TV in the doctor's lounge. There was almost constant news coverage of the Mexico disaster. The newsmen were identifying every American as they were pulled from the wreckage. Kel's name had not been among them. The death toll had climbed to 27 and the longer it took to dig victims out, the higher it would get.

Johnny and Roy came into the lounge to get coffee (Dixie wasn't concentrating enough to make coffee at the base station).

"Hey Dix!" said Johnny. "What's on? Oh, the Mexico disaster. Yeah, that's a real shame about that."

Dixie barely looked up. "Yeah, a shame."

"Dixie?" Roy looked concerned. "Is there something wrong? Anything we can do?"

Dixie sighed and shook her head. "Thanks, Roy. There's nothing you can do. Dr. Brackett was at that hotel for a conference. He's listed as one of the missing."

"Oh my God," Johnny whispered. He went over and sat down next to Dixie on the couch. He put an arm over her shoulders and she leaned into him, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Dixie, if there's anything you need . . . " began Roy.

"Yeah," said Johnny. "Just call us and we'll be there for you."

Dixie sighed and sat up again. "Thanks guys. I'll call you if I hear anything. I suppose I had better get back to work."

Johnny stood up and gave Dixie a hand up. They walked out to the base station together. Dixie took Roy's supply list and mechanically began to gather the things for the paramedics.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Back at the station, Johnny and Roy were unusually quiet. Usually this meant they were fighting. This time, however, the other men could tell that it was something else. When they were spoken to, they gave simple answers--never speaking more than necessary. Not even Chet could get a rise out of Johnny.

"Geez, Gage! You look like you just lost your best friend!"

If looks could kill, the looks thrown at Chet by both Johnny and Roy would not only have killed Chet, but severely mutilated him as well. He immediately found Marco's chili the most fascinating thing in the world.

Finally, Captain Stanley could take no more. "Roy? John? Is something bothering you? You know if there is, you can always come to me about it. We can go to my office and talk if you'd be more comfortable there."

Roy looked at him, "Sorry, Cap. It's just that Dr. Brackett was at that hotel in Mexico that collapsed and he's still missing."

There was a stunned silence as the men digested this little piece of information.

"God, Johnny! I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think…"

"S'alright Chet. You didn't know,” said Johnny.

Suddenly, Chet jumped up and ran out of the kitchen. He had several traps to undo before Johnny found them. The Phantom never hits a man when he's down.

Captain Stanley looked at his paramedics, "You guys gonna be okay for the rest of your shift? I know the Doc was...is a good friend of yours." He mentally slapped himself for that little lapse. "I can call in a couple of replacements if you feel you need to leave."

Johnny and Roy looked at each other.

Finally, Roy spoke up. "Cap, if it's all the same to you, we'd rather stay busy. We'll be okay on our runs. We'll try to stay out of everyone's way in the meantime."

"Okay, but if you change your minds, you can always come see me."

Johnny gave a half-hearted smile, "Thanks, Cap."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next three days were sheer torture for everyone involved. Dixie withdrew more and more into herself as more time passed without hearing that Kel had been found. By this time, there was no way he could be alive. The death toll had reached 57 and was still expected to climb. There were still 42 people missing. Rescue officials were considering them dead already. After all, who could survive 72 hours buried alive?

Johnny and Roy were calling Dixie constantly for updates until she finally told them to stop calling because they were driving her crazy - not all that hard to do in the circumstances.

Joe stuck close to Dixie. He knew that when Kel's body was found, the emotional dam would crack. Someone would need to be there to pick up the pieces. He was also having a tough time dealing with his friend's disappearance. Joe and Kel had been friends for a long time. The only thing that was keeping him from cracking himself was his knowledge that Dixie needed him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Come on Kel, you're not just going to give up on me, are you?"

Kel blinked in the darkness. "Dix? Is that you?"

She stretched out on the ground next to him, "Of course it's me. You were expecting the Pope?"

He looked over at her. She appeared to be softly glowing--her pale blue dress hugging her figure even as the skirt spread over the ground. She was so beautiful.

"I must be hallucinating."

"Of course you are. But that's not such a bad thing, is it?" She reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes.

"If you're an illusion, why could I feel you touching me?"

"Kel, are you familiar with the phrase 'never look a gift horse in the mouth'?"

"Yeah."

"You can explain it away as a draft from that hole up there, or you can believe I'm here to look out for you until they can dig you out."

"I like the latter choice."

"Good, then stop thinking about it."

"Dixie? I'm so thirsty. It rained yesterday. I got a little bit of water, but it wasn't enough."

"Of course it was enough. You're still alive aren't you?

"Am I?"

"You wouldn't be thirsty if you were dead."

"Good point. I'm glad you're here. Don't leave me, huh?"

The image of Dixie smiled. "Never. I love you too much to leave you. Just make sure you don't leave me, okay? I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'll try. I love you too Dix."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next time Kel woke up, he was aware of people speaking rapid Spanish above him. He tried to call out, but started coughing instead. He turned his head and coughed up blood.

'Great, first a concussion, then dehydration, now pneumonia - what else?'

Suddenly, the pain in his leg made itself known again. 'I had to ask!'

"It's okay, Kel. I'm here. You have to yell. They won't hear me. It'll hurt your lungs like hell, and probably take whatever strength you have left, but it's our only hope!"

Kel looked up at the apparition in front of him. She was so beautiful. Her radiated a soft white light that made her seem downright angelic. He saw the diamond ring on her left hand and then closed his eyes.

"Kel! Don't you do this to me! You've got to wake up! Please! Don't leave me..."

Kel kept his eyes closed, took as deep a breath as his aching lungs would allow and yelled.

"HELP! I'M DOWN HERE!" He was overcome by another coughing fit. When it had stopped, he was aware that the Spanish he was hearing was getting louder. He heard a dog being brought closer and knew it was almost over. He closed his eyes and slipped into a blissful oblivion.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mike Morton was in the doctor's lounge when the newscaster broke into the afternoon talk show that was on.

"We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you this special report. For this report, we'll be going to our correspondent Jill White in Cancun who has been covering this story. Jill? What can you tell us?"

"Well Harry, he's being called 'El Hombre Milagro’ or 'The Miracle Man'. Dr. Kelly Brackett, prominent Los Angeles physician, was found just over an hour ago after being buried alive in the rubble for more than three days. He apparently had been trapped in a small pocket in the debris. There was a small hole that allowed air and rainwater in to help him survive. At this time, he has been taken to the hospital where he was listed in serious condition. From Cancun, I'm Jill White. Back to you, Harry."

Morton was on his feet and out the door of the lounge before he even realized he was moving.

"DIXIE! THEY FOUND HIM! HE'S ALIVE! THEY FOUND HIM!"

Dixie met him halfway, her face half hopeful, half doubtful. She wanted to believe so badly that it was true, but she was afraid of the let down when it proved to be wrong.

"Mike, what are you saying?"

"I just saw it on the news. They're calling him the ‘Miracle Man’! He's alive! He's in serious condition, but he's hanging on!"

"Where's Dr. Early?"

"I think I saw him heading into treatment 2. You want me to tell him?"

"I'll do it. Thanks Mike!" Dixie's eyes were shining as she hugged the young doctor and then ran to find Early.

As she walked into treatment 2, she found Joe giving a child a tetanus shot after she stepped on a nail in the playground.

"You're not going to play in the park barefoot anymore, right Cindy?"

The 5 year old stuck her thumb in her mouth and shook her head. Early smiled, handed the child back to the mother and turned to see Dixie smiling bigger than she had in 4 days.

"Joe, how would you feel about a trip to Mexico with me?"

"They found him?"

"Not only found him, but found him alive! He's just hanging on in a hospital in Cancun."

"What are we waiting for? I can be home, packed and ready to go in two hours."

"My replacement just got here. I'll call the airlines and see if I can get us a flight out today. I'll call you when I have a flight."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dixie and Joe arrived in Mexico and were in a taxi, halfway to the hospital when they realized they had no place to stay.

"We'll see him first, then we'll worry about where we're going to sleep."

"No argument from me, Dixie." said Joe with a smile.

When they got to the hospital and found someone who spoke English, they explained who they were.

"You are here to see our Hombre Milagro? You must be the Dixie he was calling for in his delirium."

Dixie caught her breath. "Yes, I guess I am. How is he?"

The dark man sighed, "He is not so good, Senorita. When he was found, he had a concussion, broken leg and was starting on pneumonia in both lungs. This is not including the dehydration and exposure."

Dr. Early spoke up, "I'm his doctor. What treatment are you giving him?"

"His leg is set and X-rays showed no skull fracture. We are using IVs to re-hydrate him as well as administer a full range of antibiotics to combat the pneumonia."

"Can we see him?" Dixie asked.

"Of course, Senorita. This way please."

When they got to the ward, Dixie was shocked to see so many members of the press camped out in the waiting rooms.

The Mexican doctor just shrugged. "Is not every day you meet a man buried alive for 4 days."

Dixie and Joe followed the man past the rows of beds until he got to one near the far end of the ward. Both American doctor and nurse gasped at the sight in the bed before them. The normally healthy, robust, strong man they were used to seeing wasn't there anymore. In his place, was a pale, thin, sickly looking man with a cast on one leg and IVs coming out of both arms. He had oxygen flowing from a nasal cannula and his eyes were closed.

Dixie went over to the chair at his bedside while Early studied the chart that was hooked to the foot of the bed. She gently ran her fingers over his face, down his shoulder and arm until she came to a hand. Carefully, so as not to dislodge the IV, she picked up his hand and held it between her own two hands. Slowly, his eyes opened.

She was there again. She said she'd never leave him and she didn't. He smiled slightly. She kissed his hand and reached out with one hand to brush a lock of hair from his forehead.

He felt her holding his hand. "This is the nicest hallucination I've had yet,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

Dixie and Joe looked at each other.

Hallucination?

Dixie looked back down at Kel. "It's not a hallucination. It's real! You're safe. I'm here. I'm real!" To prove her point, she leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips.

When she sat up again, his eyes were open a little wider, "Dixie? You're really here? It's really over?"

"Yes, it's over! Thank God!" said Early from the foot of the bed.

"Joe? You're here too? This must be real. I never fantasized about you."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or relieved!" said Early with a chuckle.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Joe and Dixie stayed in Mexico until Kel was strong enough to be taken back to Los Angeles. The Mexican government picked up the tab partially to try to make up to the American doctor for the trauma he had suffered and partially to thank him for turning what could have been a disastrous event for Mexican tourism into a more positive experience. Miracle Men are hard to find, after all!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The welcome home party for Kelly Brackett was held at The Magic Carpet Jazz Club. Everyone who could get off work from the hospital or fire department was there. It was a fantastic party. Dixie got up to sing a song just for Kel:

"You'd be so nice to come home to.
You'd be so nice by the fire.
While the breeze on high
sang a lullaby
You'd be all that I could desire.

Under stars chilled by the winter
Under an August moon burning above
You'd be so nice,
You'd be paradise
To come home to and love.

Under stars chilled by the winter
Under an August moon burning above.
You'd be so nice
You'd be paradise to come home to
And love."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After the party, Kel and Dixie went back to her apartment where they made love again and again throughout the night.

As they were lying in the afterglow, Kel ran his fingers up and down the arm she had resting on his chest. When his fingers found the engagement ring, he stopped.

"You know something Dix? We really should set a date."

End.