Fire & Ice By: Demonheart (JJ)

Chapter 120 Part 2
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Sébastien had noticed that he had been spotted by several more fans while they walked, but these had kept themselves at a respectful distance and were more than satisfied with a smile and gentlemanly nod.

They had just finished eating the dinner they had prepared together. That had consisted of a natural beef tenderloin sautéed in onion, roast peppers, wild mushrooms and marsala cream sauce and had been served with roasted vegetables and wilted seasonal greens. Dessert had been a chocolate marble cheesecake.

"Cold?" Sebastien questioned when he felt Emma shiver slightly.

"A little." Emma smiled up at him as she nodded.

Sébastien quietly drew in a deep breath and held Emma close while he guided her back into the apartment and lead her to the lounge where the lights were set low and slow romantic music played faintly in the background. He took Emma's glass from her hand and set both of them down on the mantelpiece above the fire before he took Emma into his arms to dance her slowly around the room. He smiled when he felt her arms link around his neck then bent slightly and closed his eyes while they kissed each other gently.

Feeling a just little unsure of himself, he slowly deepened the kiss and sighed elatedly when Emma kissed him in the same manner. Feeling tingles run through him that he hadn't felt it such a long time he thought he'd forgotten what they felt like.

Keeping his eyes closed and his breathing slow, he freed his lips from Emma's. He touched her forehead with his own and opened his eyes to see Emma smiling up at him while she raked her fingers through his hair. He drew in a deep breath and looked at her softly as he moved his hands to the buttons of her blouse.

"You don't want to?" He asked, blinking quickly when he suddenly felt her hands on his, stopping him going any further.

"It's not that." Emma shook her lowered head then raised after taking a deep breath. "It's just that.......that I haven't had much experience."

"You mean you're a virgin?"

"No." Emma laughed a little and watched Sebastien flush a little. "I mean I really haven't had much experience. Darren always said he wanted to wait until we were married and Reed, the guy before him........We only did it twice in the whole eight months were together and he said I was rubbish. I've never been very confident with the way I look naked anyway."

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way you look." Sebastien shook his head and smiled. "That's not what attracted me to you anyway. It's what's in here that counts more than anything else." He continued, laying his right palm on her chest and smiling softly when he felt her heart racing. Taking hold of her right hand and pressing it against his chest. "See. That's what you do to me every time you're near me. Please let me love you as you deserve to be loved and love me just as much in return. That's all I'm asking for."

Tears welled in Emma's eyes while she listened to Sebastien speak, finally seeing nothing of the pain and anguish he'd been put through by Jamie. Knowing that he was speaking from the heart and understanding that he wanted her and no other. Feeling him pull her closer and closing her eyes as he kissed her tears away. Allowing him to take her by the hand, lead her to the master-bedroom and feeling herself tremble in anticipation when he kissed her, his tongue pleading for entry once he'd run it around her lips. Giving him what he wanted and hearing him moan her name after they'd spent a few moments battling.

Opening her eyes to see the blouse falling to the floor, though she couldn't recall feeling Sebastien undo the remaining buttons. Watching his hands move confidently over her body, shaking his head while they moved around her waist and up her back to unhook bra. Hearing herself moan while he trailed soft kisses around her jawline and down her throat. Her hands occupied with undoing the buttons of his shirt and pushing that to the floor.

Wandering what he was doing and opening her eyes when she felt him pull back and watching him drop to his knees in front of her. Her whole body shuddering violently while his hands moved slowly up her legs, carressing every detail of them as he moved under her skirt. Feeling him touching her sex through the already slightly damp material of her knickers. Holding her breath when she felt the flimsy material being pushed to one side and gripping his shoulders hard as he pushed two fingers deep inside her. Lowering her head to see him looking up at her, that same loving look on his face while he used his thumb to drive her higher and higher until her legs began to shake so violently that she had to drop down onto the bed before she collapsed.

Quickly removing the skirt and knickers and tossing them somewhere in the room while she watched Sebastien disposing of his trousers and underwear. Seeing him so hard as he approached and laid beside her, taking his time, carressing every inch of her and kissing her deeply before he rolled her onto her back. Immediately feeling herself tighten around him once he was inside.

Listening to him say that he loved her in French while his hands played with her breasts. Hearing the moan she allowed to escape when he nipped lightly on the hard buds.

"Oh God!" She heard herself whispering when he soothed them with his tongue, his hips moving slowly against hers all the time.

Her hands now occupied with moving over his back, down to his backside to give it a little slap. Watching his eyes widen a little and feeling him pick up the pace as she did so. Soothing the mild pain she'd inflicted, using a featherlight touch to trace circles around his cheeks. Hearing him begging for her to keep doing that while she ground against him. Doing exactly what he'd requested as he drove into her, sending her over so hard that she screamed his name, her fingernails dug deep into his flesh and he followed with long, loud moan of hers.

The two of them remaining locked together, kissing gently until he'd softened and slipped out.

"Vous n'êtes pas des déchets. Vous êtes la plus belle chose que j'ai vu et vous sera toujours. Je t'aime Emma." Sebastien informed with heashake as he rolled onto his back and pulled her close.
Having no idea what he'd said other than he loved her, not feeling the need for a translation, the love he had for her evident from the look in his eyes, Emma smiled broadly and placed a long kiss on his cheek.
"I love you too Sebastien." She sighed as she settled down to sleep beside him.

Hearing him take a long nasal breath and listening to him release it slowly before he placed a gentle kiss on her top of her head and held her a little tighter. Raising her head once she was sure he was asleep to see a single tear rolling down his cheek and gently wiping it away.

"No more." She whispered as she settled back down.

"Oui. Pas plus." Sebastien smiled and gave her quick squeeze.

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Chapter 121

Westholme Prison

Jamie rolled her head on her shoulders as Eva Kendrick and another remand prisoner moved themselves to fill the last space where she was about to sit at the dining-table.

She was being given what the prisoners referred to as 'The Outcast Treatment', usually reserved for women who had abused their children, and at least she knew why. Eva had informed her a couple of days after her visit to the Governor that she knew about what she had done and had given her a choice.

"You either put up with 'The Outcast Treatment' without complaining or I tell the others what you're in for and let them deal with you, it's as simple as that." Eva had smiled while she slipped her right arm over Jamie's shoulders.

"The guards wouldn't let you." Jamie had hissed while Eva gave the top of her right arm a non-too-friendly squeeze, digging her perfectly manicured nails into Jamie's flesh as she did so.

"Oh I think I could persuade the guards to turn a blind eye." Eva had shrugged and inspected the nails on her left hand as she spoke.

Jamie had finally nodded her agreement to comply when she saw the large crowd of prisoners gathered outside the open cell door. Some of the women were huge and she wouldn't have stood a chance if they got near her.

For almost a week now she had been made to stand in corner to eat her meals, no-one had spoken to her unless it had been one of the guards giving her instructions and to top it all the Governor had installed a karaoke machine in the recreation room and she had had to endure various standards and styles of singing coming down the hallway.

She had asked for her visiting order to be sent to her mother. She made her way back to her cell, picked up a very old copy of a celebrity magazine and huffed quietly while she hoped against hope that her mother would come and see her before her trial. She screwed her eyes tight together when she heard Mary Harris's deep, soulful singing voice wending its down the corridor to the strains of Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender'.
______________


Florida

"Come on Lauren keep up!" David yelled as they left the hotel. "Where are we going this morning little Missy?" He questioned up to Stephanie who he carried on his shoulders.

"Goofy's Bounce House." Stephanie chirped.

"Again?!" Lauren questioned.

"Uh-huh." Stephanie nodded and turned her face away from her mother.

"Stephanie what are you hiding?" Lauren asked whilst giggling and trying to look at her daughter's face.

"Nothing." Stephanie shook her head quickly in denial.

"She told Jake she would see him there today." David whispered in Lauren's ear. "Whoops!" He continued as he clamped his hands over his mouth and Stephanie bent herself forward and glared at him.

"You said you wouldn't tell."

"Sorry. It just kinda slipped out." David grimmaced and cowered playfully away from Stephanie.

"And who is Jake?" Lauren queried with her arms folded across her chest.

"The little boy from the suite next door to ours." David nodded with a beaming smile while he slipped Stephanie to the ground.

"The one you caught her kissing at the poolside?"

"I was not kissing him. Not like you and David do anyway. Way gross." Stephanie shuddered and heaved. "He had a poorly and I was just kissing it better." She continued matter-of-factly before breaking into cheery skip.

Lauren laughed as she recalled some of the rides they had been on in the past few days. Stephanie had particularly enjoyed everything in Toontown and Fantasyland. Almost as a family they had all liked Frontierland and Tom Sawyer's Island had been a smash hit with her. Being able to roam, climb and explore on her own had boosted her confidence even more.

She huffed a laugh as she recalled David and Stephanie's antics in the Neverland swimming pool. How she'd covered the top half of her face and watched David stand at the very edge of the pool trying to decide whether to go in or not. How his eyes had flown wide when a group of young children, including Stephanie, had sneaked up behind him, caught him unawares and pushed him in.

David had resurfaced with a devilish smile on his face and his arms spread high and wide. His eyes had narrowed and the devilish smile had remained set on his face as he splashed the whole group with a huge wave of water making all of the children squeal in delight while they ran away. Lauren had shaken her head at him as he heaved himself from the pool. He had shrugged and beamed a playful smile at her while he approached. Then he'd bent over her while she sat on one of the sunloungers, looked at her for a few minutes then laughed after he'd shaken his head and showered her with pool water before dropping a gentle kiss on her lips.

Lauren sighed and shook her head while she thought about how quickly the week had past.

Pulling her purse from her shoulder bag she smiled and nodded when Stephanie came to her side and asked for some money to buy a drink. She smiled and shook her head in exasperation when David reached into his pocket and handed the over a large handful of change.

Stephanie returned quickly, handed her drink to her mother, slapped the change into David's hand and skipped merrily off towards her chosen destination.

"Happy?" David questioned as he pulled Lauren into his arms and held her tight.

"Yeah." Lauren nodded. "Very, very happy." She laughed loudly as she was lifted off her feet and kissed long and deep. "Just a shame it's the wrong time of the month now huh?"

"God damned Mother Nature!" David nodded in agreement as they took seats to watch Stephanie enjoying herself.

Luzerne

"Urs that's not a fair bet." Franky whispered as she pulled him towards a corner of his friend's garage.

"Shhhhh." Urs indicated by raising the index finger of his right hand to her lips. "I want to get one over on Kurt, just this once. Please Franky." He begged with wide eyes and a pleading pout across his mouth. "Besides the bet was his idea." He flicked his eyebrows and smiled.

Franky laughed and nodded. "Ok. I'll do it."

Urs pulled his face into a serious expression and turned to face his friend.

"Ok Kurt." He nodded. "You're on. I bet you one hundred francs that Franky can put that part back together in less than two minutes."

Franky shook her head and sighed as the bet was accepted with a firm handshake.

"Prepare to part with some of that hard earned cash." Kurt sneered playfully while Franky made her way over to the workbench where he had spent the best part of the last ten minutes trying to put six parts of a motorcyle engine back together.

She quickly scanned the parts he had been struggling with then nodded at the blond-haired, blue-eyed man. She picked up the first two parts and nodded at Kurt that she was ready. Biting her tongue lightly between her teeth and working with her usual speed and accuracy she had the part together in under one and half minutes.

"Think you'll find she'll start now." Franky smiled at Kurt while offered the completed part to him.

Urs punched the air and smiled broadly when he saw the astounded look on Kurt's face. "Come on. Let's have it." He demanded with a satisfied look on his face while holding his right hand out.

Kurt scratched the top of his head, then reached into the back pocket of his jeans for his wallet. "I'll...I'll have to owe it you." He shrugged as he showed Urs an empty wallet.

"Typical." Urs tutted and watched Kurt attach the part to his machine.

Kurt shrugged as he stood upright and straddled the bike. He turned the key and looked at Franky skeptically before he gave the kickstart a quick push. His eyes flew wide and Franky giggled as they all heard the classic BMW R75/5 start at the first attempt. Kurt shook his head then smiled broadly and held out a rather oily hand to Franky. He startled when she actually took hold of it and gave it a firm shake.

"Where did you find her?" Kurt leaned into Urs's ear as they watched her make her way over to the sink so that she could wash her hands.

Urs smiled and told his best friend some of their story.

"Keeping this one?" Kurt questioned with a wry smile.

"Definitely." Urs smiled and nodded.

He snatched his head up when heard his parents's car pulling into their driveway. He looked at Franky and nodded in the direction of his family home then laughed as he watched her draw in a deep breath before she moved out of Kurt's garage and across the road.

Urs held Franky around her waist and smiled softly while he introduced her to his family and took the minor berating his mother gave him for not calling-in sooner with good humour. He sighed contendly as he watched them lead Franky to the lounge and giggled quietly when he saw the fuss they made of her. He moved to sit beside Franky and held both her hand and that of his mother while they both told everyone about the kidnapping and what had been done to them.

"You are all ok now though aren't you?" His mother questioned as she stood and made her way to the kitchen.

"Ja. We're fine. We shouldn't have any more problems with them. They're all being held on remand until their trials." Urs nodded as he glanced at her. He grimmaced at Franky then stood and nodded that he was heading in the same direction.

Franky nodded then stood and made her way over to the lounge window where she spotted a small, dark-haired boy struggling to stay upright on his new rollerblades.

"Our grandson." Urs's father laughed and nodded as he came to her side. "Joelle's eldest."

"I can tell. There's a strong family resemblance." Franky nodded. "Do you think he would mind if I offered some help?" She asked while she watched Urs's nephew hit the ground hard. "His positioning is all wrong."

"No. In fact I think he would appreciate it. Some of his friends are very good already. He's been out there every day for the last month, trying to improve his technique and getting nowhere fast."

A door was held open for her and she smiled as she made her way outside and across to the young man. He stood and allowed her to adjust his position and whooped with delight when he skated a few yards down the road, barely wobbling, managing to stop and remain upright. Franky turned back to the window and blushed slightly when she saw Urs and his parents watching with broad smiles on their faces.

Franky and Urs agreed to stay for dinner and talked about what they had been doing during the past few days while they ate Swiss Meatballs served with Egg Noodles. Urs explained that, apart from a couple of trips around the lake on one of the paddlesteamers, a little sight-seeing and dinner at the Palace Hotel in Lucerne, they had spent most of their time just sitting on the porch of his home talking and watching the world go by.

Urs nodded when his mother asked if he had been recognised and told her that the three ladies concerned had politely asked for autographs and photograph opportunities before they smiled at Franky and told her what a lucky girl she was. He giggled while he told them of how Franky had secreted her crutches somewhere and had managed to disguise the broken leg so that questions wouldn't be asked as to what or how it had happened.

They all spent just over an hour talking and drinking coffee after dinner. Urs seeing a stunned look spread across his mother's face when she served up a plateful of Baser Leckerli cookies and he shook his head before explaining that neither of them could eat them because of Franky's allergy, going on to tell her how badly she reacted if she ate anything with nuts in and listening to her gasp when he told her that he'd seen it for himself.

Watching her take the cookies away only to return with a large chocolate Swiss roll instead and watching his father's face light up as she set it down on the table.

"So what do you do for a living Franky?" Urs heard his father questioning after swallowing his first bite.

"Urs hasn't told you?" She asked looking at Urs questioningly and watching him squirm in his seat.

"No. Other than your name he's told us next to nothing. I suppose you're a model or something. You certainly have the looks for it."

"Thank you, but no I'm not." Franky replied with a smile and headshake. "I own and run a motorcyle repair shop. Triumphs, Harleys and the other top of the line makes. That's how Urs and I met. He came to my rescue after I'd crashed my own bike. I fixed his as a thank you."

Urs laughed himself when he heard his father saying that Franky didn't look strong enough to handle such machines then proceeded to tell the elder Buhlers that she could handle them as well as any man, that she could also climb as well as dance and skate beautifully.

"She's even teaching me to skate and I've climbed a rockwall." He boasted with a huge smile on his face.

"You must have the patience of a saint." Urs's father teased before recounting how he'd tried to teach him the basics at least five times. "I bet he's still a lazy climber."

"Yeah. He'll learn to use his legs one day." Franky teased.

"Skating's more fun with Franky." Urs retorted and received a quick jab in the ribs from a blushing Franky, knowing that she knew what he was implying while his parents looked at him quizically. "Never mind." He shook his red-faced head then told them how good she was and about the wonderful performance she'd given in tribute to her mother.

"I've heard that name before." His mother's brow furrowed. "A long time ago and I can't remember where at the moment."

They talked until darkness had descended, exchanged goodbye hugs and kisses then made their way back to the car Urs had rented for the week and waved happily as they pulled away from the house. Moments later they were driving along the long narrow road that would take them back to Urs's lakeside home.

"Your mother got a little upset after we'd told her everything didn't she?" Franky smiled as she turned slightly so that she could stretch her right leg almost straight.

"Ja she did." Urs nodded. "She thought maybe I'd been given enough Cocaine to get hooked. It took me quite a while to persuade her that I hadn't, that everything was fine."

"What else did she say?"

"That she's glad to see me looking so well and that I found you. That she's never seen me looking so relaxed or heard me so animated. She likes you already. Where did Papi disappear to while you were outside?"

"No idea." Franky smiled secretively then showed Urs the CD she'd been given by his father.

"Oh crap." Urs huffed a laugh then shook his head after seeing the 'Conspiracy' album. "Sneaky."

Franky laughed while she changed the Nickelback CD they were listening to and nodded then rubbed her face.

"Tired?" Urs questioned with a grimmace on hearing his untrained voice filling the air.

Franky shook her head and giggled. "How high have you got the heating? It's hot in here."

Urs glanced at the setting and quickly realised he still had it set quiet high. It had been cold when they started their journey that morning and he'd set it at a temperature that Franky found comfortable. He felt Franky gently push his hand away as he reached for the control.

"You keep your eyes on the road." She smiled while she changed the setting.

"It's not that easy with you sitting there." Urs informed quietly then shook his head when Franky asked him to repeat what he'd said.

He coughed and returned his focus to where she indicated. They had just reached a nice straight piece of road, tall mountains surrounding them on each side, when Urs spotted a pair of high set headlights heading in their direction. His brow furrowed when he noticed that they seemed to sway from side to side.

"What's wrong with this guy?" He asked out loud.

The lights were barrelling rapidly towards them and they could hear loud screetches while whatever vehicle approached them continued to move from side to side.

"I think the driver's drunk or something." Franky nodded through the windscreen with her eyes the widest he'd ever seen them go.

Urs knew instantly that Franky was scared and quickly scouted around while he slowed his speed, hoping to find somewhere he could pull the car over to the side and seeing nothing. He sniffed and started to pray quietly while he continued to watch the approaching lights waiting for the inevitable to happen.

"I can't avoid hitting him." Urs yelled with wide eyes and a shake of his head.

The driver's sides of both vehicles clipped each other quiet hard sending the pair of them spinning off the road. Urs’s car, being a lot lighter, spun around at least twice before it left the road and skidded down a small embankment, the driver's side slamming into a thick tree trunk.

Inside the car, Franky's hands flew to her mouth while she watched Urs fight with the steering wheel in an attempt to regain control. They heard the sound of rough ground underneath and tried to brace themselves for impact. Tears welled in both sets of eyes as Urs and Franky looked at each other and mouthed 'I love you'. They felt everything as they were shaken and juddered across soil and grass. As they smashed hard into the tree, Franky watched in horror when the left side of the back of Urs's head smacked viciously hard against the framework of the car.

They both gasped when they came to an abrupt halt and Franky swallowed hard when Urs seemingly smiled at her before his eyes closed and his entire body went limp.

"Urrrrrrs! Nooooooooo!" Franky's pained scream filled the air.

"Urs! Wake up." He heard a voice yelling in Swiss-German.

He couldn't recognise the voice because his head hurt like hell and there was a loud ringing in his ears. The right side of his neck hurt a little and he quickly realised his head was drooping forward and his chin sat on his chest. He had fallen asleep in that very position many times before.

"Urs, please don't move." The voice spoke in Swiss-German again as he tried to lift his head. "Can you remember what happened?"

"Big car. Accident." Urs moaned. "I tried to......to......Fran..ky!" He yelled and tried to move out of his seat.

"Please don't move Urs. Franky's ok. Just bruised and has small burn on her face from the airbag going off. She's more worried about you than herself. She's waiting up on the roadside with my girlfriend, Mara."

"Kurt? That you?" Urs questioned with his head still down.

"Ja! It's me. It's ok, I saw everything. I watched you leave your parents's place and followed you so that I could give you that money I owed you. Listen to me. There's no way this accident was your fault." Kurt informed as he laid his left hand on Urs's right shoulder.

"Other driver?" Urs groaned and raised his right hand and gave Kurt's a gentle squeeze.

"Don't you worry about him." Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head as the image of what he'd seen filled his eyes again.

The SUV that had hit Urs's vehicle had spun off the road so hard that the unrestrained driver had been whipped from his seat. His body had impacted very hard into a tree and his neck had obviously been broken. Kurt assumed he had died almost instantly when he saw him and he had turned his head away quickly when he had smelled the strong aroma of alcohol. A quick glance into the man's vehicle had revealed two bottles of Brandy. One empty, the other almost full.

Kurt had done all of his checking while he was on his mobile to the emergency services. He hadn't been able to get a signal from where Urs's car had ended up. He had got a free-moving Franky out of the car quickly but, as he wasn't sure how bad his friend was hurt or what he would need to do to help him, he had decided to leave him where he was. After he'd checked that Urs was still alive he had ran up the embankment to check the other driver. Having seen that there was no hope for the man he had ran as quick as he could back to Urs and had tried talking to him.

"Can you tell me where you're hurt Urs so that I can tell the paramedics when they get here?" Kurt asked gently.

Urs moaned again and ran his right hand diagonally across his torso from his left shoulder down towards his hip then slowly moved his hand over his stomach to his left hip.

"Nowhere else?"

"Just here." Urs indicated where he'd hit his head.

"Ok my friend. It sounds like they're almost here." Kurt nodded as he snatched his head up on hearing sirens not too far away.

"Kurt?" Urs sniffed and allowed a small sob to escape.

"Ja? What's wrong?"

"Erm...It's still nightime? Right?" Urs questioned with a hard swallow.

"Yeah! It's still quite dark, you were only unconscious for a few minutes." Kurt confirmed.

"But......But you....can....still see something?" Urs sniffed loudly.

"Sure I can see something. I can see the lights from your car stereo for a start." Kurt huffed a laugh and nodded. "What are you trying to tell me Urs?" He asked with a tone of concern.

Kurt moved his face in front of Urs's and made sure his eyes were open. He waved his hand very close to his face and had to stifle his gasp when Urs didn't blink or flinch away from him.

Urs sniffed when he felt Kurt's breath on his face. He allowed the tears that had flooded his eyes to escape while he stared straight ahead into nothingness.

"I can't see Kurt. I can't......" Urs screwed his eyes tight together and made a grab for the t-shirt Kurt wore under his open motorcycle jacket. A loud sob escaped and Urs clenched his jaw tightly as he spoke. "I...I...I can't see anything. I'm blind."

"Ok. Ok." Kurt nodded and raised his left hand to his mouth. "Try to relax and I'll go and bring Franky back down here." He smiled, slowly eased the grip Urs had on him and moved to leave the car. He stopped when Urs tightened his hold.

"Nein." Urs shook his head slightly. "Please.....Please don't tell her Kurt." He startled slightly when he heard the back door of the car open, felt some weight enter the back seat and hands were placed on each side of his head.

"It's ok. It's just a paramedic." Kurt placated while his right hand gently eased the grip Urs had on him. "I have to leave the car to let the other one get a good look at you." He informed with another gentle squeeze on Urs's right shoulder.

Urs swallowed hard, nodded his compliance and listened while Kurt gave the paramedics what details he knew. He poked his head back into the car and informed that he would go to the roadway and call his parents.

"Just promise me you won't tell Franky." Urs requested again. "Kurt?!" He yelled towards the cool breeze he felt on his face from the open car door. "Kurt. Kurt Please. Please don't tell her." He requested through his tears before he sank into unconsciousness again.

___________


"Where is he? Can I see him yet? What happened?" Franky heard the woman standing in front of her questioning while she tried to shake the images of an unconscious Urs lying restrained on a backboard from her head.

Hours seemed to have passed already and she'd heard nothing. She snapped her head up and saw Urs's mother looming over her and trying to smile through her tear-filled eyes.

"Err.....They're still examining him. They won't let anyone in yet." Franky sniffed as his parents sat down on either side of her.

"Kurt said something about a large vehicle hitting the car."

Franky nodded. "A big black thing. One of those erm....SUV's the American's call them. He was all over the road. I don't know, maybe the driver was drunk. Urs tried everything he could think of to avoid hitting him but it wasn't possible. That road is so narrow, we were going to hit at some point." Franky closed her eyes and swallowed hard

"Are you ok?" She heard his father questioning from her right side. "You haven't done any more damage to your leg have you?"

Franky smiled and shook her head. "No. It's fine. I've just got a bruise in a rather embarrassing place."

Franky opened her eyes when she felt Urs's mother suddenly spring from her seat and watched her as she walked over to the window.

"This is all your fault." She nodded whilst looking out of the window and folding her arms over her chest. "If Urs had never met you, he wouldn't be here and in this position now."

"It wasn't my idea to come here." Franky whispered while she shook her head and allowed her accumulated tears to fall.

She watched Urs's father stand and make his way over to his wife and listened while he told her that he understood that she was worried about their son but wasn't being fair to Franky. She hadn't asked to be brought to this country and it was an accident that had put the pair of them in this situation. She wiped her eyes roughly and watched as Urs's mother nodded then buried her face into his father's chest. She returned the smile his father gave her and nodded. She covered her face with her hands, threw her head back and drew in a few deep breaths.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Franky heard his mother apologising as she sat back down beside her. "Has anyone called Seb, David or Carlos yet? I'm sure they'd want to know."

"Not yet." Franky shook her head. "I'll go and do it now." She continued as she reached for her crutches and brought herself upright.

She had just started to head for the door when it was opened and a tall, dark-haired female doctor walked in.

"How is he?"

"I'm sorry Frau Buhler, he's asked me not tell what injuries he's sustained. He wants to tell you himself."

Franky smiled and watched Urs's father shake his head and roll his eyes backwards.

"You can see him now, but only two and time I'm afraid." She informed in almost perfect English while she smiled at the small group.

Franky watched Urs's parents stand and head towards the door.

"I can wait if you....." His father offered.

Franky shook her and smiled. "No. You go. I really have to make those calls."

She smiled again as she left the small waiting room where they had all been placed and turned left. She stood and thought for a moment then quickly remembered her way to the exit. She moved quickly passed a small group of journalists that had gathered near the entrance, found a secluded spot and made herself comfortable. She pulled her mobile from the pocket of her jeans, found the number she wanted and breathed deep while she dialled and waited for a reply.

"Where is it?!" Sébastien yelled while throwing their clothing around looking for his persistenly ringing mobile.

"Here." Emma smiled as she tossed it across the bed to him.

Sébastien smiled and thanked her. He looked at the screen and furrowed his brow when he saw Franky's name flashing at him.

"Franky?" He answered quizically.

"Hey Seb. I'm sorry to call so late." He heard her reply with an audible sniff.

"Franky is everything ok?"

"Erm....Not really. No." He listened while she drew in deep breath before speaking again. "Erm......How quickly can you get to Luzerne?"

Sébastien's eyes flew wide on hearing the question and he leapt from the edge of the bed where he'd placed himself to take the call. Forgetting that he was naked, he started to pace quickly up and down the room.

"What's happened Franky? Are you ok? Is Urs ok? Why do you need me to come to Luzerne?" He closed his eyes and swallowed hard while he waited for her answer. Then listened carefully as she told him what had happened.

"Merde! How badly is he hurt?"

"I'm not sure. His parents are with him at the minute."

Sébastien closed his eyes and nodded. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Have you called David and Carlos yet?"

"Ok. No I haven't called either of them yet. I'm going to when I've finished speaking to you."

"It's ok. I'll do it." Sébastien huffed his breath out. "You get back to Urs and try not to worry."

"Ok. Thanks Seb." He heard Franky sniff as she hung up.

Sébastien closed his mobile and raised his head to see Emma packing very quickly.

"I heard everything." She sniffed as he looked at her quizically. "You had the loudspeaker on."

Sébastien nodded then flipped his mobile open to make three more phone calls. He had to raise his voice quite high so that David could hear what he was saying and he felt himself blush when he heard the profain language Carlos used.

He paced once more while he waited to find out if he could get on commuter flight to Switzerland. A heavy sigh of relief escaped when he was told that there were two seats available and if he wanted them he would have to be at the airport within the hour. Sébastien nodded while he gave his credit card details for the tickets then hung up and called a taxi.

Sébastien and Emma arrived at the airport with very little time to spare. They ran through check-in and almost threw their suitcases onto the conveyor belt. Emma noticed that Sébastien's right hand was tapping nervously against his leg while they waited for their documents to be checked. She took hold of it in both of hers and smiled softly when Sébastien turned his head and looked at her quizically with tears brimming in his eyes. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and sighed to supress her own.

___________


"Ja." Urs closed his eyes and nodded. "I'll see you..." He paused to sniff and swallow hard. He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "I'll see you both tomorrow." He smiled when he felt his mother give him a tight hug goodbye.

"You sure there's nothing else wrong?" He heard her questioning as she pulled away from him. "Other than the seatbelt bruising I mean."

Urs turned his head towards her voice and smiled as he shook his head. "No. Other than that I'm fine, just tired."

He rested back into the pillows and listened carefully while his parents left the room. How he had managed to fool them both into thinking that he was all right he didn't know. He heard the door handle being pushed down again and set his face into a stoic expression as Franky entered the room. He drew in a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do.

"Where have you been?" He snapped.

"Getting myself checked out and making a phone call." Franky informed as she sat herself in the chair his mother had just vacated. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Just some bruising from the seatbelt. I'll be fine." He hissed back, his voice sounding terse as he spoke.

"What about your head?"

"I have a nasty bump there that's all. A mild concussion, that's why they're keeping me in overnight."

"Oh good." Franky sighed, took hold of his hand and squeezed it tight.

"Who did you call?"

Urs kept his breathing slow while he questioned her. He sighed heavily while he stopped the urge to hold Franky’s hand as tight as she was holding his and to pull her up to him so that he could hold tight to her. He couldn't do that, he wouldn't do that, much as he wanted to. He loved her too much to lumber her with his disability. He knew he had to do something to make her leave him.

"I called Seb. He's calling David and Carlos before he comes here."

"What for?" Urs snapped harshly again. "Did I ask you to do that? Did I say I want any of them here?"

"Urs!" Franky exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Urs sniped again and snatched his hand from her grasp. "It wasn't your place to call Seb."

"Wasn't my....." Franky began.

"I would have called them all tomorrow. There was no need to panic like that. You've probably got them worried senseless over nothing." He nodded sharply, folded his arms across his chest and turned his head away from her.

"I'm sorry." Franky sniffed. "I just thought they should be told as soon as possible. So did your mother."

They sat in silence for a few minutes neither of them sure what to say to each other. Urs kept his head turned away from her while he breathed slowly and deeply and he fought to control his emotions.

"I want you to leave." He said suddenly without moving from his position on the bed.

"What?!"

"I said I want you to leave. Go to the house, get your stuff and go home." He informed with a loud huff.

"To England?"

"Of course England. Do you call anywhere else home?"

"What about you? What about us?" Franky questioned from his right side.

"There is no us, not anymore." Urs shook his head. "It’s over. We're done."

"You don't mean that?" Franky sniffed.

"Yes I do." Urs snapped quickly.

"Look at me and tell me that." Franky demanded whilst laying her right hand on his thigh.

"No!" Urs shook his head quickly. "Just go Franky. Go on. Get out. Leave me alone." He continued as he flicked his head in the direction of the door.

"Ok. If you're sure that's what you want." He heard her gulp then allow a small sob to escape.

"That's what I want." He hissed in reply.

He listened carefully as Franky struggled to her good leg. He closed his eyes, swallowed hard and bit his bottom lip hard when he heard her breath stuttering and the long, loud sniffs she took. He gulped when he heard the door handle squeak as it was pushed down once more and listened as it opened. He heard the sound of Franky's crutches crossing the threshold then turned his head back level with door as it closed slowly behind her.

He felt the sting of tears and allowed them to stream unimpeded down his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn’t want to. I need…..I love....Gott!." He sobbed as he wrapped his arms around his chest and held himself tight.

He eased himself over so that he lay on his right side, closed his eyes and continued to cry audibly while he waited for sleep to come. His eyes flew wide and he startled when he felt a hand on his left cheek.

Sébastien managed a half-smile when he saw Carlos and Karen waiting in the arrivals area of Zurich International Airport. He and Emma walked over to the couple and Sébastien gently laid a hand on Carlos's shoulder. Carlos snapped his head round and attempted a smile as he pulled Sébastien in a quick hug.

"It will take David a while to get here, no?" Carlos questioned as he released Sébastien.

"A few hours." Sébastien nodded his confirmation while they all picked up their luggage and headed for the exit.

Carlos hailed a taxi and nodded at Karen when she asked him if he was ok. All of them thanked the taxi driver after he'd loaded their cases then made themselves comfortable in the seats. Carlos looked at Sébastien quizically once he'd given the driver their destination.

"Why are we going to Urs's home?"

"Franky called me back. Seems the local press is on the case already. She said there was a small group of them waiting outside the hospital. Besides which the doctor doesn't want Urs to have any more visitors tonight. We can get some rest and freshen up when we get there." Sébastien smiled.

Carlos nodded and settled back in his seat. He hung his head and covered the top half of his face with his right hand while he took some long, deep breaths. He felt Karen's right hand slip into his left and smiled when she gave it a comforting squeeze. He lowered his hand slightly and watched Sébastien wrap his right arm around Emma's shoulders and hold her close.

Everyone closed their eyes but no-one slept while their journey to Luzerne continued.

___________


Urs breathed deep and immediately caught the aroma of Franky's favourite perfume.

"What are you doing back?" He questioned sharply as he rolled onto his back, hitched himself upright and quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. "I told you to….to leave me alone."

"I never left." Franky replied calmly and completely ignored his last statement . "Did you really think I would?"

"I watched you....."

"Don't lie!!" Franky snapped. "I'm not stupid Urs, don't treat me like I am. You can't see can you?" She asked calmly.

"Yes I can." Urs replied in very clipped tone. “Just leave me alone Franky.”

Franky sighed in frustration. "Urs please don't. I know you can't."

"I can." Urs protested again.

"Prove it then. Read to me from this." Urs heard paper rustling in front of his face as she spoke .

"No!" Urs swung his right arm wildly but failed to connect with anything. He gulped audibly when he realised that he had proved her right with that one move. "How did you know? I told Kurt not to tell you." Urs shook his head then turned it away from her.

Franky drew in a deep breath and perched herself to sit beside him on the bed.

"He didn't tell me." She informed as she raised her right hand and turned his head back towards her. "Why are you doing this Urs? Why are you trying to push me away?" She questioned gently whilst hooking a finger under his chin and raising his head to meet hers.

"I...I...It's for the best Franky, for both of us." Urs sniffed and nodded when he felt a tissue sweep gently over his cheeks. "Please go. Y..." He paused to take a deep breath, swallow hard to try and stop himself from trembling. "You would feel nothing but pity for me eventually and I couldn't bear that. I…I lo…I love you too much to burden you with this. It wouldn't be fair."

"It's permanent then?"

Urs shrugged slowly. "I don't know yet. They can't tell me that until tomorrow. I have to see an Optomotrist for tests and I'll probably have to have some sort of scan done, but I don't know for sure."

"Oh Urs. You idiot. You can't make a decision like that without having all the facts in front of you." Franky tutted at him and wiped his eyes again. "Even if you are permanently blind it's not the end of the world and you can't go making my decision for me. You can't know what I would feel. I love you no matter what life throws at us. Don't you know that yet?"

Tears continued to roll slowly down his face as Urs nodded slowly with his eyes closed.

"I know, I'm sorry." He apologised and allowed a small whine to escape while he made a grab for her right arm.

He could feel his bottom lip trembling uncontrollably while his right hand moved up her arm. He started to shake a little as his hand tracked across her upper chest towards her left arm, before it slipped down to her waist where it stopped. He quickly moved his left hand to a similar position on the right side of Franky's body, slowly slid his arms around her and gently inched her closer to him.

"I'm sorry." He murmured as he lowered his forehead to her right shoulder. "I'm just sc..."

"More than a little scared about what these tests and scans are going to reveal?" Franky whispered the question when she heard that Urs was struggling to finish what he wanted to say and was shaking more than he had when Jamie had held them captive.

"Mmmm. Ja. A little." Urs nodded quickly. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. It's understandable." Franky spoke softly and kissed his head. "I know you can get through this and I'm here for you no matter what, ok?"

Urs squeezed her a little tighter and nodded again. “I know. But what am I going to do if it is permanent Franky? What are you going to do? I know I'm not going to be able to ride motorbikes or horses again. Am I going to be able to carry on with my music? I couldn't..... ”

"We'll find a way. We'll find a way around all of that. Let's just see what the tests say before you start thinking like that. Don't push me away when you're hurting." Franky pleaded with her fingers on his lips. "Now try and get some sleep. I'll still be here in the morning. I'm not going anywhere until then. Ok?"

Urs nodded, breathed deep and continued to do so to calm himself while he kept a tight hold of her. He gasped when he felt Franky's arms find their way across his shoulders and a soft smile played across his lips when he felt the fingers of her right hand glide into his hair so that she could cup the back of his head and hold him tight to her. He slowed his breathing, felt his eyelids grow heavy and allowed himself to relax while he listened to the soft shushing sounds coming from Franky's mouth and, for some reason he couldn't fathom, felt comforted by the feeling of being rocked lightly.

Franky closed her eyes and breathed deep while she held him and fought hard to hold back her own tears.

"David. Calm down. She's done the best she can at such short notice. It's not her fault it's going to take us so long to get there." Lauren shook he head at him whilst she continued throwing their clothes haphazardly into the suitcases.

David dropped down onto the bed and huffed out a very long breath before he spoke.

"I know Lauren, but over eleven hours to get from here to Zurich then the jou........." His voice trailed of as he lowered his head, continued to mumble something to himself while he stared at the floor for a few minutes. "I know. I can hire a jet again. That would get us there quicker." He said as he suddenly snatched his head up.

"By the time flight plans and things have been filed, I think not." Lauren shrugged. "It will probably take almost as long if not longer."

"Arrgh! You're right." David growled as he recalled the few times Sébastien had grumbled about all the paperwork that had to be done just to take a recreational flight. "Ok Darlene I'll take those seats. He nodded at the young woman who stood with a mobile pressed against her right ear waiting for his response.

He stood and listened to Darlene confirming the booking, only taking the phone from her to give his credit card details after which he returned to helping Lauren with the packing.

"Right your tickets will waiting at check-in. You transfer on arrival at Manchester International Airport and the car is ready and waiting at the hotel entrance to take you to the airport." Darlene smiled as she slapped her mobile closed.

"Already?!" David exclaimed.

Darlene shrugged. "It's my job to get things moving as quickly as I can when one of guests has an emergency."

David smiled as he nodded and thanked her. He turned his head quickly when he heard the sound of the last suitcase being locked.

Lauren smiled softly and watched a troupe of bellboys filed into the room, grabbed a couple of pieces of luggage each and headed towards the lift. Lauren took one last quick look around to check that they had everything then smiled when she saw David lifting a very tired looking Stephanie into his arms. She smiled a little broader when Stephanie wrapped her arms tightly around David's neck and buried her face into his shoulder.

"You'll have to show me some of those relaxation exercises." David smiled at Lauren through tear-filled eyes as they entered the lift.

Lauren huffed a quick laugh before she nodded, took hold of his left hand and gave it a firm squeeze. She quickly checked Stephanie and smiled when she saw that she was fast asleep.

The lift announced its arrival at the ground floor and the three of them were whisked through the reception area to the car so fast that it made Lauren's head spin. Before they could blink they were in the air and flying over the Atlantic.

______________


Franky blew out a long breath when she finally felt Urs relax into sleep against her. She gently removed his arms from around her waist and held him by the shoulders while she lowered him back into the pillows. She shook her head and sighed heavily at the thick diagonal bruise she could see across his torso. A nurse had told her that he had stubbornly refused to wear one of the hospital gowns, which had caused at least two nurses to flush bright red when they had walked into the room where he had first been placed.

Smiling softly she pulled the sheet up over him making sure that it came to rest just below the muscles of his chest. Knowing that he hated having his arms covered, she eased them out and arranged them so that his hands rested lightly on his thighs.

She startled slightly when she heard a small groan escape from his mouth. She grunted a small laugh as she watched his head turn to the right then giggled when she heard the little grunts and groans he made as he snuggled the right side of his face into the pillows.

"I won't be long." She whispered and dropped a gentle kiss on his left cheek. She shook her head when his cheek twitched under her gentle touch.

She retrieved her crutches, quietly left the room, made her way outside passed the remaining reporters and headed towards the same secluded spot she had found before. She pulled her mobile from her pocket, quickly found Sébastien's number and was just about to press the dial button when she was roughly spun around to find herself face-to-face with the owner of a pair of very intense grey-blue eyes. She gasped when their owner stepped close and slowly backed her up so that she was firmly pressed against the outside wall of the hospital.

She gulped as a tobacco-stained left hand was placed on the wall close by her face.

"What do you want?" She asked while the man looked her up and down and pulled his face into a cock-eyed smile. "I don't have any money on me." Franky shook her head.

She listened as he spoke and quickly realised he was speaking to her in German.

"I don't understand." Franky shook her head.

The man laughed and raised the laptop he carried in his right hand so that she would be able to see the screen indicating the headline.

'MORDERISCHEN DIVO BETRUNKEN EM STEUER'

Franky looked at the writing in front of her but could only make sense of a Urs's name and that of the group.

"I don't understand it." She shrugged at the man who stood smirking in front of her.

He stood almost as tall as Urs, had short black hair, looked like he had been to bed for a week in the clothes he wore and reeked of cigarette smoke.

Franky listened carefully while he repeated his request. She shook her head and told him that she didn't understand once more. Her head snapped round to her left when she heard the voice coming from that direction.

"He said he wants an exclusive interview with Urs or that will be his paper's top story tomorrow evening." Kurt informed as he moved to stand at Franky's side and glared at the man who eased himself away from Franky a little.

"I don't know him." Franky shook her head at the man.

The reporter laughed out loud, turned the laptop round and twiddled with the control. He sneered again as he turned the screen back to Franky.

"Wirklich?" He questioned and raised his right eyebrow at her.

Franky looked at the screen and watched the photographs flash across the screen. There were pictures of her and Urs as they kissed each other on the paddlesteamer, a few more showed her straddling him on the porch of his lakeside home with a large blanket wrapped around them. Even though she knew nothing had happened when they had done that, she immediately knew the man was inferring they had been making love and what he would do with the pictures. She slammed the laptop closed when she saw the final photograph. It showed her, still sitting astride Urs with her arms around his neck, her head thrown back, her eyes closed and her mouth open as if gasping for air with his face buried into her chest.

She and Urs had been breathless, but not from them making love. Urs had tickled her unmercifully and had laughed along with her for her teasing him about his dislike of dancing in public. The picture had been taken seconds after she'd apologised and said she wouldn't tease him any more. It was all too clear to her that other connotations could be implied. She huffed out a breath and turned to see a look of fury spreading across Kurt's face.

"I want to know what that report says first before I make a decision." She glared at the man.

The reporter smirked once more and twiddled with his laptop again. He became so absorbed in what he was doing he missed the furtive look and the cognizant smile that passed between Franky and Kurt. He turned the laptop towards Kurt but kept a tight hold of it while he allowed him to read.

"Basically it says that tonight's accident was Urs's fault. That he was the one driving drunk and that he killed that asshole in the SUV." Kurt continued to glare at the man while he translated for Franky. "It goes on to say that there is nothing really wrong with Urs and that the hospital is covering up for him to allow him to sober up."

"That's a downright dirty lie." Franky hissed at the reporter.

She listened as he spoke once more.

"Get him the interview and he'll change the story." Kurt translated.

Franky glared hard at the man who stood before her. "Ok." She nodded. "Give me your number. I'll call you with a time."

She watched as he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small business card, which he handed to her with yet another smirk.

She and Kurt watched him walk confidently away whilst whistling loudly then turned to look at each and smiled.

"You go make your call. I have a little 'business' to take care of." Kurt beamed a smile as he started to follow after foul man.

"Thanks Kurt." Franky wrinkled her nose and nodded while she tore the business card into tiny pieces, dropped them into a nearby waste bin and returned her attention to her mobile.

"Hi Franky." Sébastien smiled as he answered his mobile.

"Hi Seb. Are you at the house yet?"

"We've just arrived." He nodded in reply while he unlocked the door with the spare key Urs had given him in case he ever felt like a little piece and quiet providing it wasn't in use. "David and Lauren are going be a while though. Long flight." He replied as Emma, Karen and Carlos followed him into the lounge room and made themselves comfortable on the large L-shaped chocolate-coloured leather couch

"Mmmm. I know."

"Have you been able to see Urs yet? How is he?" Sébastien questioned when he heard her sigh heavily.

"Yes I've seen him. Erm.....You might want to put me on loudspeaker so that the others can hear." Franky sighed again.

"Ok." Sébastien nodded and did as Franky had requested.

He placed his mobile on the coffee table then sat back down beside Emma. He gave her a quick smile then looked to Carlos who sat in a similar position beside Karen and he quickly noticed that everyone wore a sombre look on their faces.

"Ok Franky. You're on loudspeaker."

They all looked at each other when they heard Franky taking a deep breath and swallowing hard before she spoke.

"He's ok. He has some bruising from the seatbelt and a mild concussion due to banging his head on the frame of the car. He has nasty lump on one side of his head, but he's ok." She sighed.

"Is there something else Franky?" Carlos questioned as he moved towards the phone, somehow sensing she hadn't told them everything.

"Yes....Yes there is." Franky sniffed. "Erm....He's erm....Oh God I really don't want to do it like this....not over the phone."

"Franky? What is it? What's wrong? Please tell us." Sébastien started to shake slightly as he questioned her and immediately felt Emma squeezing his hand.

Franky swallowed hard again. "Ok erm....He's got a problem with his eyesight. He erm.....He can't see anything at the minute. He's blind.."

Four stunned faces stared at the phone and listened to Franky sob as she fought to control herself.

"Non!" Sébastien yelled suddenly. "How did that happen? Is it perm....." He stopped questioning when he felt Carlos's hand on his arm and raised his head to see the Spaniard sniffing back tears and shaking his head him.

"Not now Seb." Carlos whispered as he glanced at the mobile. "She's in enough distress. Give her a moment or two."

Sébastien closed his eyes and nodded quickly as Franky's crying continued. She cried for almost five minutes before she managed to regain some measure of composure and started talking again.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed. "Erm.....They're not sure if it's permanent or not yet. He's got to see a specialist in the morning and he needs to have some more tests before they can say for certain."

"Do you want us come to the hospital now?" Carlos questioned as he looked towards Karen. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close when he saw the tears streaming down her face.

"No. No. Thanks for the offer Carlos, but they won't let anyone else in to see him tonight. He's asleep and resting comfortably now anyway." She huffed a very small laugh and they heard someone talking to her.

Sébastien listened carefully to the voice and a small smile spread across his face as he spoke. "Is that Kurt's voice I heard Franky?"

"Yeah. He's erm.....He's just been having a quiet word with a nasty little journalist." Franky huffed another laugh.

They listened as Franky handed her mobile over to Urs's friend and asked him to explain what had happened.

"Bastardo!!" Carlos yelled loudly, quickly followed by Sébastien with the same word in his native tongue.

"Don't worry guys. He won't be bothering either of them again." Kurt chuckled.

Carlos and Sébastien chuckled slightly in reply and thanked him for taking care of Urs and Franky. They both smiled when they heard him sniff as he handed the phone back to Franky.

"I'm going to go back to Urs now guys. I'll see you all in the morning. Try not to worry too much. Ok?"

"Ok Franky." Sébastien nodded as he reached for the phone.

They all wished each other good night, Sébastien ended the call and settled back into the couch with his arm wrapped around Emma's shoulders. Each of them became lost in their own thoughts while they digested the news that had just been delivered.

____________


"You're sure Mara knows what to do with that?" Franky questioned as she nodded at the now battered laptop that Kurt was busily forcing underneath his motorcycle jacket.

"Yeah." Kurt nodded and wrinkled his nose. "She's waiting up for me so that she get to work on it as soon as I get back. By the time she's finished it'll be like those photos had never been taken."

"Thanks for the heads up about Urs by the way. Why don't his parents know?" Franky queried with a furrowed brow and a quizical look.

"He hasn't told them?" Kurt questioned open-mouthed.

"I don't think so."

"Damn him! He said he would." Kurt threw his crash helmet to the floor.

"Don't worry I'll make sure he tells them in the morning." Franky placated by placing a hand on his arm.

"I should have made him promise shouldn't I?" Kurt smiled.

"Uh-huh. Maybe you should have." Franky nodded and started to head back to the hospital entrance. "Crap! The camera!" She exclaimed as her head snapped round to face him again.

"This you mean?" Kurt beamed in response as he held up a powerful digital camera and its memory card. "Great minds think alike huh?"

Franky nodded and smiled. "Dare I ask what you did with him?"

"Best I keep that to myself but let's just say he learned his lesson the hard way." Kurt winked as he slipped his crash helmet over his head and kicked his motorbike to life.

Franky laughed a little as she watched the man she had taken an almost instant liking to, roar off into the night. She turned back into the hospital and continued her journey back to Urs's room.

She sighed quietly and smiled softly when she saw that he still appeared to be sleeping peacefully then pulled an easy chair as close to the bed as she could get it. She made herself comfortable and slipped the fingers of her right between those of his right hand and watched a gentle smile spread across his face when he curled his hand, raised their hands to his chest and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.

She closed her eyes and smiled softly as she slowly drifted off sleep.

____________


"I'm sorry sir you won't be able to use that while we're in flight." David heard a gentle British female voice whispering in his right ear.

"Huh?" He questioned with his brow deeply furrowed as he snatched his head round to face her.

"The mobile." She nodded at his left hand.

David looked to where she indicated and his eyes widened slightly when he saw that he was subconsciously flipping the switched off instrument over in the palm of his left hand.

"Sorry. Completely forgot." He smiled as leaned to his right and slipped the ultra-slim model into the pocket of his jeans. "Is this thing fitted with phone?" He asked the slim, blue-eyed, auburn haired woman who still stood by his side whilst nodding around the plane.

She bit her the left side of her bottom lip as she replied. "Yes it is, but we had a little problem with one of our passengers on the last flight and it ended up broken. We can't get it fixed until we get back to England."

David hissed a few choice curse words, which made the young woman blush bright red.

"Sorry." He apologised. "Urgh! This day is just going from bad to worse." He mumbled as he threw his head backwards to look at the base of the luggage locker above him.

"If you need to call someone that urgently I could ask the captain if we could patch you through in some way." She offered.

David moved to stand then suddenly remembered Sebastien telling him that all air traffic communication was recorded and slowly resumed his seat whilst shaking his head and thanking her for the offer. He looked at his watch and tried to calculate how much longer they had until they landed in Manchester.

"Another five hours yet I'm afraid." The air hostess informed quietly.

David nodded and leaned forward to look at the woman and child asleep in the two seats in front of him.

"Try and get some sleep David." He heard Lauren requesting. "I know you're worried. I am too, but please try. Time will pass a lot quicker if you do." She cracked one eye open and smiled up at him.

David returned the smile, settled himself back into the first-class seat and stretched himself out. He closed his eyes and tried using the relaxtion technique Lauren had shown him just after they boarded. He breathed slowly and deeply while he recalled the first time he had met Lauren and fell asleep within a matter of minutes.

____________


"There has to be some way of contacting him." Carlos yelled while he paced up and down in front of the lounge room fire.

"There is one way." Sébastien shrugged.

"Which is?" Carlos stopped pacing and raised a quizical eyebrow.

"We could call the plane."

"Then let's do that." Carlos nodded as he reached for the house phone. "Meirda! We don't know what flight they're on do we?"

Sébastien pursed his lips together and shook his head then said it would probably not have been a good idea to do that anyway as all communications were recorded.

A tirade of Spanish expletives filled the air before Karen stood up and she stopped Carlos from pacing by placing her hands on his shoulders.

"There's nothing any of us can do for now. I suggest we all try and get some sleep." Karen smiled as she turned her head to look at three tired faces.

Sébastien and Emma nodded in agreement and headed off upstairs to one of the bedrooms. It took a little more pleading from Karen to make Carlos follow suit.

They found that although both rooms contained a bed, there appeared to be no covers bar a large cosy looking blanket placed neatly folded on each. Too tired and emotionally drained to remove their clothes, each couple kicked their shoes off and snuggled up together under the blankets.

Karen shook her head and smiled when she heard Carlos snoring. "Not tired my butt." She huffed as she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

The following morning.

"Don't worry about it. Kurt took care of him." Franky instructed after telling Urs about the reporter whilst searching through the bag that his clothing had been put in. "Ah! Slight problem honey."

"What?" Urs frowned.

"Looks like they cut the t-shirt to get it off you."

"I hope you're joking that was one of my favourites."

"I'm not." Franky shook her head and laid the wrecked t-shirt on the bed in front of Urs and watched as he brushed his hands over the fabric. "Looks like you'll be making the nurses blush for a little while longer."

Urs blushed himself as he snorted a laugh then cursed in virtually every language he spoke before he flumped back into the pillows and pouted.

"So I need to add a t-shirt to the list?" Franky questioned as she perched herself back on the bed.

"Please. I'm not wearing one of those gowns. An old t-shirt will do." Urs huffed and nodded. "How bad is it Franky?" He asked while he indicated the bruising on his chest.

"Well I'm no expert, but it doesn't look too bad to me, just very red and sore-looking at the minute. Why? Does it hurt much?"

"No. Not much." Urs shook his head and smiled. "Just reminds me it's there every time I breathe." He opened his mouth to speak again then stopped short.

"What's wrong?"

"The other driver. What happened to him Franky? They wouldn't tell me last night." Urs shook his head.

Franky drew in a deep breath, took hold of both of his hands and held them lightly in her own.

"I'm not going to lie to you. He died at the scene Urs but it wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong so don't go blaming yourself." She informed when she heard him sniff loudly "He should never have been on the road anyway. I was right. He had been drinking. Kurt found two large bottles of Brandy in his car and a police officer said he absolutely reeked of alcohol. A blood test revealed he was almost three times over the legal English limit."

Urs drew in a deep breath and nodded. "His name?"

"Peder......"

"No! I didn't want him to d........" Urs yelled and shook his head then felt Franky's fingers on his lips.

"Shhhh. I'm sorry." Franky breathed deep and took hold of his hands again. "His name was Peder Hlasek. From what the police have found out so far, it looks like he was trying to track down his ex-wife. She'd left him after suffering years of physical abuse. They think he planned to kill her and her new boyfriend, they found a loaded gun in the glovebox and pictures of the two of them together. I'm not saying he deserved to die, but you have no reason to feel guilty either. I know you did everything you could to avoid hitting him, it just wasn't possible on such a narrow road."

"I know. Thank you." Urs nodded and felt his hands being squeezed. "You're leg's ok isn't it? I'm sorry I forgot to ask last night but I did hear you fidgetting a lot."

"It's fine. Just my butt that's bruised." She informed and heard a quick laugh escape from Urs before he apologised.

"I shouldn't be laughing. We could both be dead because of that idiot."

"I know. I have to get going."

Franky let go of his hands, smacked her thighs and reached for her crutches. She turned her head to look at the time on the clock that hung above the door.

"Gott that thing's annoying." Urs complained whilst nodding towards the doorway.

"The clock you mean?" Franky laughed. "It does tick pretty loud doesn't it?"

Urs nodded. "I suppose I'll just have to learn to ignore it. Which isn't going to be easy." He smiled wryly and rocked his head from side-to-side in rythmn with the loud ticking of the second hand before laughing.

"Mmm." Franky laughed. "Right I'm going to get gone for while. I won't be long." She smiled as she dropped quick kiss on his lips. "Your parents will be here soon, no more hiding it. You tell them the truth, ok?" She requested as she nodded at him and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind his ear.

"Ja . Ok." Urs nodded then suddenly reached for one of Franky's hands.

"And I'll be back in time for that." She nodded as she watched him chew on his bottom lip and swallow hard. "Love you."

"Love you too." Urs nodded once more, gently kissed the back of her hand before he released it and listened with a broad smile on his face as she left.

The door re-opened and he heard the sound of high heels clicking towards him. He felt the mattress give on his right side when his unknown visitor sat down. His eyes flew wide when two hands touched his cheeks and pair of warm, moist lips that he instantly knew weren't Franky's met his own in a kiss. His eyes flew even wider when he heard the door opening again.

______________


Doctor Marissa Sommers rolled her head on her shoulders and sighed as she flipped through the notes of the patients that had been transferred to her care from the accident and emergency department overnight.

"Ok guys. Who's the culprit this time?" She asked as she held up a file and looked at the rest of the staff questioningly.

Being a newly-qualified doctor meant that she had been the butt of a few jokes from the more experienced members of staff. They had so far managed to slip the names of three famous people into her tray and she'd spotted every one of them. She felt the joke was becoming a little stale now but still managed to take it in good humour.

"It's no joke this time Mazzy." A tall, shaven-headed man replied with a shake of his head as he stepped forward. "He really is here and he's your patient."

"Nice try Timo." She smiled sweetly and pushed the file back at the man who always managed to keep a straight face while one the group’s jokes was being played out.

"Take a look in the file if you don't believe me."

Marissa looked at him, opened the file and read the notes. Okay so they had his physical and personal details right. She continued to read but glanced at Timo skeptically every once in a while. She swallowed hard when she read that he had been involved in a road traffic accident and lifted the information sheet to look at the photographs that had been taken of his injuries.

Her eyes flew wide and she sprayed the mouthful of coffee she had just taken from her mug over the floor when she recognised her famous patient. She fanned herself with her hand as she felt her cheeks redden.

"Ouch! That looks nasty." She sucked air as she showed Timo the pictures.

Timo wrinkled his nose and nodded. "He's gonna be pretty sore for a while."

Marissa returned to the notes and her hand flew to her mouth when she read of his other problem.

"Think you can stay detached and professional?" Timo questioned when he saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

Marissa quickly wiped her eyes, swallowed hard and coughed. "Guess I'll find out in a few moments." She nodded as they heard the commotion coming from one of the private rooms and looked down the long corridor to see where it was coming from. "Make that now." She yelled as she started heading towards the noisy room.

"Finally." David yelled as their taxi pulled up outside Urs's house.

He waved and gave Sébastien a small smile as he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch with Emma by his side. He noticed that Sébastien sniffed before returning a similar smile and moving towards the taxi. David paid the driver and quickly followed Lauren and Stephanie from the vehicle. Sébastien greeted him with a quick hug then moved to the back of the taxi to make a start unloading the luggage.

"What's going on Carlos? Seb is awfully quiet. Urs is ok isn't he? He didn't get hurt bad did he?" David asked as the Spaniard stepped in front of him.

"No he's fine." Carlos whispered in his ear as he gave him a quick hug. "Some news Franky delivered last night has just hit him a little hard."

David nodded then followed the two men into the house. He made himself comfortable in the lounge, smiled at Karen as she handed him a mug of coffee and listened carefully while Carlos repeated what Franky had told them the night before.

"Aww man. No way." David shook his head and covered his face with his hands.

"Why didn't you call from the plane?" Sébastien snapped from his position near the window.

"The phone was broken that’s why." David sniped back.

"Pfft! A likely story. You could have called from Zurich airport." Sébastien hissed again.

"For your information Seb, my mobile is dead and I was busy trying to find a taxi so that I could get here as soon as I could once we landed. You know how stressful a long haul flight is and that I don't handle them very well."

"Should have gone to Disneyland, Paris then shouldn't you?"

"Will you two please stop arguing?" Emma and Lauren requested as Carlos moved himself between the bickering pair before punches started flying.

"Stuff you Frenchie. I ain't no psychic. I didn't know this was going to happen. Did I?" David snapped back.

Sébastien balled up his fists, glared at David and tried to force his way passed Carlos.

"That's enough. The pair of you, stop this!!" Carlos yelled as loud as he could with his hands on their chests, looking from man to man and shaking his head. "It's not doing anyone any good."

"Please you two, you're scaring Stephanie." Lauren yelled as tears threatened to make their escape.

David and Sébastien turned to look at the child and backed away from each other when they saw her burying her face into Karen's shoulder.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves. Fighting in front of a child." Karen shook her head while she comforted the little girl. "It's ok sweetheart they've stopped now." She informed Stephanie whilst rocking her and stroking the back of her head.

Karen stood with Stephanie still in her arms and started to head for the kitchen when they heard Franky's voice at the still open door.

"Well?" She questioned loudly as she looked sternly from Sébastien to David and back again.

Neither man spoke but each of them lowered their eyes and swallowed hard, the look on her face telling them that she'd seen and heard everything.

"I've got enough on my plate worrying about Urs without having to come back to this." Franky huffed and shook her head while she moved into the lounge and dropped onto one end of the couches.

Sébastien sat down on her right side and glanced at her as he lowered his head. David stood off to her left with his head hanging. Carlos stood in between the two men blowing out a deep breath.

"Desole Franky." Sébastien sighed heavily and glanced at her again as he apologised.

Franky turned her head to look at him then flicked her eyes toward David.

"I'm sorry David. It was wrong of me to be like that." Sébastien shook his head as he stood up and extended his hand.

"It's ok. I'm sorry too Seb." David smiled and pulled him into a quick hug.

"How is he? Any improvement at all?" Carlos questioned while he and David perched themselves on the chunky wooden coffee table and Sébastien resumed his previous position.

Franky sighed heavily and shook her head. "No."

"Can we see him today?" Sébastien questioned.

"Later on. His parents were just arriving when I left and he's got to see the specialist later. I've just come back to get myself cleaned up and to collect a few things he wants." Franky nodded then smiled. "Here. You three can sort this little lot out between you while I go and get a wash. You should find everything in the master bedroom." She smiled as she pulled a piece of paper from her jeans and handed it to Carlos.

"Need any help?" Lauren questioned with a smile as she stood and moved to Franky's left side.

"Just a little." Franky nodded.

"Karen and I will take care of Stephanie." Emma smiled as she nodded.

Franky laughed out loud when three men gently pulled her to her feet, Lauren passed her the crutches and they all followed her to the master bedroom. Lauren followed Franky into the bathroom, helped her to remove her clothes and gasped when she saw the large bruise at the top of her right thigh.

"It's ok Lauren. I've had it checked out." Franky smiled.

"It's a doozy isn't it?" Lauren sighed.

"Won't be wearing short skirts for a while will I?" Franky shrugged and raised both eyebrows. "Come on let's get me cleaned up and back to the man I love."

Lauren nodded her head, smiled and set about helping Franky to take an all over wash. Twenty minutes later she was clean and had fresh clothes on. Karen had brushed her hair and tied it back into a low-set ponytail.

Carlos, David and Sébastien had found everything that Urs wanted and had packed it neatly in a small holdall.

They informed Franky that, as it was such a nice day outside, they had decided to accompany her back to the town centre and would pass their time looking around Luzerne while they waited for her to call. A taxi big enough to accomodate all eight of them was ordered. It soon arrived and quickly took them to their destination.

"Take your hands off my son." Urs heard his mother's voice yelling. "Urs what the hell are you doing letting her kiss you like that?"

"Oh No. Oh Gott No! Please. Not like this. Please not like this." Urs screwed his eyes tightly together as the lips were snatched away from his.

He could hear the sound of two people breathing hard on his right side. He breathed deep and immediately recognised his mother's favourite perfume but there was another, slightly heavier one that rose just above that. He breathed deeply through his nose but he couldn't recognise this perfume. He knew it wasn't Franky's, it was far too musky for her liking.

"What are you think....?" His mother stopped short when she saw her son's eyes flicking rapidly from side-to-side but looking like they weren't registering any images. She waved her hand in front of his face and closed her eyes when she saw no reaction.

"Oh No! No, no, no. No." Urs fidgeted on the bed and breathed rapidly through his nose. A little whine escaped from the back of his throat when he felt the slightest of breezes in front of him.

"Shhhh. It's ok. It's all right Urs. It's all right." He heard his mother's voice soothing as she moved her right hand to the back of his neck and gently pulled his forehead onto her shoulder while her left arm slipped around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry Mami." Urs shook as he apologised in his mother tongue and felt his mother's arms holding him tight.

"It's all right. We suspected you were having problems with your eyesight last night." She whispered. "We were hoping you would tell us what it was before us left. Did you really think you could keep something like that from us for very long?"

"No. I'm sorry for even trying." Urs shook his head vigorously against her shoulder before raising it and giving his eyes a quick wipe.

"Is it permanent? Does Franky know?" His mother whispered again as her hands moved to cup his face.

Urs sniffed and allowed a small sob to escape. "I don't know yet. I have to see a specialist later today." He paused to take a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Franky knows."

His mother continued to comfort him while his father spoke angrilly to his mystery visitor.

"What do you want with him anyway? Haven't you caused him enough heartache?"

"I heard about his little accident. I thought I would pop in to see him and let him know I've changed my mind. I want him back. He loved me once, he will do so again."

Urs snatched his head round but kept it lowered as he immediately recognised the voice of his ex-girlfriend.

"No I won't Erika." Urs laughed . "I should never have got myself tangled up with you. I have someone new in my life. Someone who loves me as much as I love her, if not more."

"You mean that woman that left here on crutches?" Erika laughed. "You can't love her. You said you would always love me."

"Oh yes I can and I do." Urs nodded and smiled broadly. "Franky's worth a million of you any day of the week." Urs informed sarcastically as he raised his head and almost turned his face to meet hers. "She loves me for the man I am. Unlike you, she's not with me for the fame of being my girl. So you can just turn your ass around and pop back out. Go on get out and leave me alone. I don't want you here."

He heard Erika huff lightly before she spoke again.

"Look at me Urs, please look at me." She requested softly.

Urs turned his head and did his best to look directly at her.

"I've changed baby. I'm not selfish bitch I was a few weeks ago. I know deep down you do still love me." She oozed sweetly.

"No. No I don't" Urs shook his head slowly. "I don't love you Erika and I know now that I never did. I love Franky now. Accept it and go find another idiot to cheat on. I wouldn't give up Franky to take you back if you begged and pleaded on your knees for the rest of your life."

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you looking at me properly." Erika questioned, ignoring Urs's statement and the furious looks his parents gave her while she perched herself where Franky had recently been seated. She furrowed her brow then waved her hand in front of his face. Her eyes flew wide when she got no reaction

"No way. You're blind!!! No way I'll be seen with a blind man." She yelled loudly as she headed for the door and ran from the room.

"What's going on in here?" He heard another female voice questioning loudly as the door flew open.

"Nothing." Urs replied with a confident smile and a rather loud laugh.

He composed himself and took a few deep breaths as the female voice spoke again. She introduced herself, informed him that he would be under her care during his time in hospital and that she would like to examine him once she had retrieved his notes. Urs nodded and listened as she left.

"Just tell us one thing Urs." He heard his mother questioning from his right side.

"What?"

"Please tell us that Franky is sticking by you whatever happens. We couldn't bear to see you like you were over Erika again." She asked as she took hold of his hands in her own.

"Ja." Urs sniffed and nodded vigorously. "Ja she is. Why do you ask?"

"We saw her as she was leaving. She just seemed to be in a bit of a hurry."

Urs nodded. "She was. She's gone to get herself cleaned up and to fetch a few things for me. She wants to be back for when I have to see the specialist."

"Would you mind if we were there too?" His mother questioned with an audible sniff

Urs huffed a small laugh then breathed deep as he shook his head. "No, of course I don't mind. I want you there."

Urs took a few deep breaths then told them both what he'd done the previous evening. How he had promised Kurt that he would tell them about his problem and how he had tried to make Franky leave him. He shrugged when he heard his parents tutting loudly and could just imagine them both shaking their heads at him.

"I've really got a good one this time haven't I?" He asked them both with a broad smile.

"You sure have my boy, you sure have." His father confirmed with a gentle squeeze on his left forearm while his mother took hold of his right hand and held it tightly while her left hand wiped his face.

Urs smiled and huffed a quick laugh when he felt his mother rest her right cheek against his and she whispered something about lots of beautiful grandchildren in his ear.

"All done?" Lauren questioned as David ducked his head and stepped from the tiny flower shop they had found.

"Yeah." David nodded sadly and returned his wallet to his pocket then informed her that he had sent Darlene a display of flowers the shop called "Dolly Mixture" as a thank you for all of her help. He attempted a smile and glanced at Stephanie while he told her that it contained Roses, Carnations and Freesias in very bright colours.

"Can we go to that park now mummy?" Stephanie asked as she looked up at Lauren and completely ignored David.

"In a minute. Sure." Lauren sighed and crouched down in front of her daughter. "Stephanie. Look at me please." She requested as the little girl turned her head away. "Please don't do this." She requested, turning Stephanie's head back to face her and hooked a finger under her tiny chin to make Stephanie look at her. "Why won't you talk to David or look at him?"

"'Cos he swored, he said that naughty F word and him and Sebstan was going to punch each other. They was so angry with each other. I didn't like those nasty, horridible faces." Stephanie sniffed and wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand.

"Yes he did swear in front of you and he's been told off for it hasn't he?" Lauren nodded as she watched David walk a few steps in front of them.

She closed her eyes when he stopped walking, turned to face her without his usual smile on his face, rammed his hands into pockets and leaned his back against the side wall of the flower shop and waited for them with his head down.

"Uh-huh." Stephanie nodded.

"And didn't I explain why David and Seb nearly hit each other?" Lauren questioned.

Stephanie nodded. "You said it was just 'cos they is upset and worried about what happened to Urs."

"That's right." Lauren nodded. "And do you remember how upset you felt when you were worried about Daddy?"

Stephanie nodded again. "Oh it hurted! Here....." She tapped at the middle of her chest. "....such a lot, I just wanted to cry for the longest time." She shook her head vigorously.

"So who do you think is feeling just like you did right now?" Lauren's eyes widened as she asked the question.

"David." Stephanie bit her bottom lip and glanced to where David stood. "Sebstan and Carlos too?"

"Sébastien and Carlos too." Lauren huffed a small laugh as she nodded.

"So David needs cheerding up?"

Lauren nodded then brought herself upright as she watched Stephanie run the few steps to David. She smiled when Stephanie held her arms up asking to be picked up. She sighed as a sad looking David lifted her slowly from the ground and Stephanie wrapped her arms round his neck squeezed just a little too hard then gave him a kiss on the cheek. She watched as David screwed his eyes tight together and breathed deeply.

"You ok?" She asked quietly as she came to his left side.

"Yeah." David sniffed and he nodded. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that, especially in front of Stephanie."

"No you shouldn't have, but it's over with now. Just don't do anything like that again. Ok?" Lauren asked as she took hold of his hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

David nodded while Stephanie whispered something into his right ear and he immediately threw his head back and laughed out loud.

"What did she say?"

"She apologised for ignoring me then said if she heard me use that word again, she would wash my mouth out with so much soap and water I would be blowing bubbles for weeks." David informed through his laughter.

Lauren threw her head back, shook it and continued to laugh as they made their way over to the park.

___________


"Ok. I can do this. Detached and professional." Marissa said to the large piece of wood that loomed in front of her. "Deep breath." She took one and released it slowly. "And here we go." She whispered as she pushed the door open and strode confidently into the room.

She smiled while Urs introduced his parents and coughed as he laid back so that she could get a good look at the bruising. She touched his chest near his shoulder and startled when he shivered.

"Geeze where have you had those hands? You're fingers are freezing." Urs asked through a laugh.

"Sorry." Marissa blushed bright red, quickly moved her hands away and started rubbing them together to warm them up a little.

"How's it looking?" Urs questioned as her hands returned to their examination.

"Not too bad." Marissa nodded, moving gently towards his right hip. "Slightly more painful there?" She questioned when she heard him hiss.

"A little."

"Not surprised." Marissa nodded and indicated for his parents to take a look. "It looks like that's where the clip snapped against you." She smiled when she heard his father suck air. "And the rest is looking ok too." She informed while she ran a quick hand over the bruise that had been caused by the lapstrap. "Can you sit up now I'd like to take a quick look at your eyes?"

"I thought the specialist was doing that." Urs stated as he raised himself up.

"He'll do a more detailed examination later. This is just quick one, like you had when you were brought in." She informed while she pulled an ophthalmoscope from the pocket of her white coat and inched a little closer to Urs. "Can you turn the lights off please?" She asked his father before she proceeded with the examination.

Just managing to keep her breathing under control and trying to stop her heartbeat from racing, she asked him to move each of his eyes up, down, to the left, to the right and finally straight ahead while she used the instrument that would allow her to get very close.

"Something wrong?" She asked as she pulled away from him and saw that he had a small smile spreading across his face.

"I could see a tiny light. I couldn't see anything but total blackness last night."

"Ok." Marissa nodded. "Don't get too excited. I'll just make note of it." She continued and reached for his notes. "I'd like to try just one more thing before I go." She informed, pulled out a small torch and switched it on. She covered Urs's right eye with her left hand and flicked the torch up and down in front of his left eye.

"Can you see anything?"

Urs nodded. "A small, fairly bright light flicking up and down."

"Ok. And now?" Marissa asked as she changed the direction of her flicking.

"Side to side." Urs smiled.

She repeated the process with his right eye then asked for the lights to be turned back on. She watched him blink rapidly as the harsh flourescent lights flickered to life and smiled.

"Well done and thank you." Urs said as she stood to leave.

"Sorry?" Marissa asked looking at him quizically.

"For remaining detached and professional." Urs smiled. "Not many other Ubers would have been able to control themselves had they been put in the same situation."

Marissa coughed and felt herself blush bright red. "How did you know?"

"Those nurses should talk really quietly when they're gossiping." Urs laughed as he nodded towards the door.

"Yes they should. I'll come and talk to you again when Doctor Gelotti has seen you." Marissa nodded and laughed as she pulled the door open and left his room.

She allowed the door to close quietly behind then quickly drew in a deep breath and slowly blew it out.

"Phew! How the hell did I just get through that? What a shame I can't tell anyone." She frowned as she whispered to herself. "Like anyone would believe me anyway." She tutted and flicked her chin skyward.

She rolled her shoulders backwards, stood erect and walked confidently to the nurses's station and smiled while she handed Urs's notes to a smiling nurse.

"You managed it then?" Timo grinned as he came to her side.

"Of course. What made you think I wouldn't?" She grinned then stuck her tongue out at him.

Timo laughed and nodded as he watched the small, hazel-eyed, auburn haired woman pick up the notes for her next patient and stride confidently towards his room.

"Tell me what you're thinking?" Emma requested while they sat side-by-side at a table in a little lakeside café that they'd found.

"That I shouldn't have snapped at David like that, especially in front of Stephanie." Sébastien closed his eyes and shook his head. "That was totally out of order wasn't it?"

"Yes it was." Emma nodded. "Don't do it again or you'll have me to deal with rather than Karen and Lauren if you do."

Sébastien shuddered and swallowed. "Ok. I'll be a good boy from now on." He laughed.

"What else is playing on your mind?" Emma giggled.

Sébastien shrugged. "Just all sorts of questions. How's he going to cope Emma? He's not going to be able to go on tour again?"

"Who says he isn't?" Emma asked whilst looking at him with a stunned expression. "Andrea Bocelli tours."

Sébastien tutted and rolled his eyes into his head. "What am I saying? Argh! Of course he'll be able to tour, we would just have to work around him wouldn't we?"

Emma nodded and laid her right hand gently on his left. "But let's wait and see what the specialist says before you go thinking like that."

"You're right." Sébastien nodded as he wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulders and pulled her close. "Told you it was beautiful here didn't I."

"Yes you did. It's absolutely stunning." Emma nodded and closed her eyes when she felt Sébastien relax for the first time since they had received the news about Urs.

She smiled when his left cheek rested against the top of her head and she heard him breathing normally once more.

___________


"You're very quiet?" Karen observed while they strolled sedately arm-in-arm around one of the old parts of Luzerne. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing much." Carlos shrugged and furrowed his brow for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Don't fib." Karen asked whilst giving him a quick playful nudge with her shoulder. "I can virtually hear the cogs turning."

Carlos turned his head to face her and gave her a quick cock-eyed smile. He sighed heavily.

"Talk to me. You were the one complaining about Seb bottling things up a few weeks ago and now you're doing it."

"Just lots of 'What if' questions." Carlos nodded. "What if it is permanent? What if he can't cope? What if he decides....." He suddenly stopped speaking as Karen placed a finger on his lips.

"Stop thinking like that until you know for sure." Karen shook her head. "If it is permanent, you're all close enough to be able to figure out ways to deal with it."

"You're right." Carlos closed his eyes and nodded. "What time did Franky say he had to see the specialist?"

Karen checked her watch. "Any time now."

Carlos removed his mobile from the pocket of his jeans and looked at the screen. "Just checking I have a good signal." He shrugged as they headed towards an ancient wooden covered bridge that crossed the Reuss river.

They kept a tight hold of each other, refused to be hurried along by the masses and took their time to enjoy the paintings inside.

"What's the problem?" Franky asked as she stood in front of a cleaner, freshly-shaved Urs.

He sat with his legs dangling over the side of the bed dressed in a plain white t-shirt, black jeans and his trainers with his arms wrapped lightly around Franky's waist, his hands gently cupping her bottom.

"The wheelchair." Urs shook his head. "Do I have go in that? I can walk you know."

"I know you can." Franky smiled while she finished tying his hair back off his face. "But it’s a long walk from here to Doctor Gelotti's office and it’s a bit of an obstacle course according to Doctor Sommers. Don't forget the furthest you've managed so far is to the bathroom and back."

"I made it on my own." Urs pouted.

"Amid much banging into things and cursing because you wouldn't accept the help your father offered. It's a good job he understands how stubborn you are." Franky informed with quick kiss on his lips. "You poor mother didn't know where to put her face a few minutes ago."

"I'm not stubborn, just independent." Urs laughed then huffed.

"But you're in need of little help right now, so take it when it's offered and don't be afraid to ask." Franky insisted as she held his face in her hands.

"Ok." Urs nodded reluctantly with his eyes closed while he took a deep breath and huffed it out quickly. He pouted and wrinkled the right side of his nose. "And I'll use the wheelchair, but just for this one time." He tutted and grumbled loudly as he released Franky and slowly felt his way into it.

With Franky walking on her crutches on his right side and his parents on his left he was quickly whisked to Doctor Gelotti's office by an orderly. He answered a seemingly never-ending stream of questions whilst he was given the most thorough eye examination he had ever had. Once this was complete, amid much umming, ahhing and a little tutting from the afore-mentioned doctor he was taken for a scan of his head then returned to his office.

"Hmmm. Some minor damage in the optic ........" Doctor Gelotti trailed off while inspecting the pictures, his speech becoming incomprehendible. "Probably caused by the knock to the head. Nothing too serious." He heard the doctor muttering quietly in German.

Resting his chin on his chest, keeping his eyes tightly closed and breathing deeply Urs nervously questioned the doctor.

"Well. How does it look? Am I going to get my sight back doctor?" Urs asked while he held Franky's left hand tightly in his right and his mother's right in his left. His father stood behind him with a comforting hand resting on his left shoulder.

"Es gibt noch einige kleinere schäden in den sehnerv chiasma. Das ist, wo die sehnerven gemeinsam vor der trennung wieder auf und führt zu dem gehirn. In meiner stellungnahme Herr Bühler mit ein wenig ruhe und zeit, ja. Sie sollten eine vollständige genesung. Ich kann ihnen nicht sagen, wenn sie verstehen, aber sie werden sehen, wieder. Sie müssen einige dunkle brille tragen zum schutz ihrer augen von hell leuchtet, während sie und ihre heilen zu helfen, müssen einige mit herumfahren. Haben sie freunde und familie bereit, ihnen helfen? " Doctor Gelotti informed, his face remaining set like stone while he spoke.

"Ja. Viele von ihnen." Urs nodded slowly as tears eased their way down his face.

"I'm so sorry." He heard Franky whispering and sniffing at his side.

Urs leapt to his feet when he suddenly remembered that she only spoke the few words of German he had taught her and that he hadn't bothered to ask one of his parents or anyone else to translate for her. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Franky I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I wasn't thinking." He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "It's going to be ok Franky. It's going to be ok. He said I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be fine. He said there's some damage to some part of the optic nerve. He can't tell me when my sight's going to come back and I'll have to wear dark glasses until it does, but I'm going to see again. I'll just need some help with getting around in the meantime." He informed with a huge smile on his face.

Franky turned her face to look at his parents then closed her eyes when she saw them smiling broadly through their own tear-filled eyes while they nodded, confirming what Urs had told her.

"Oh thank God." Franky sniffed as she flung her arms around Urs's neck.

She rested her forehead against his shoulder, curled her fingers in his hair and cried while he pressed his right cheek against the side of her head and took several deep, cleansing breaths. He swallowed audibly and she could feel her shaking with every sob while he rocked her gently from side-to-side.

"I suppose I'd better go and make those calls then?" Franky sniffed as they pulled apart and Urs sat back down in the wheelchair.

"No Franky." Urs shook his head. "I want to tell them myself but I will need your help finding the numbers."

"Ok." Franky nodded, took the large dark glasses the doctor handed her and slipped them over his eyes.

"They feel huge and ugly." Urs complained while he felt them.

"Mmmm. They are, but they kinda look cool on you." Franky giggled.

"That's what I love about you, you know." Urs informed as he raised his head so that he looked like was looking up at her. He took hold of both her hands and held them close to his chest. "You always seem to know the right things to say. Thank you."

He heard Franky sniff and smack her lips together lightly and knew straight away that he had made her blush. After listening to Doctor Gelotti tell them what to expect over the next few days, this time in faultering English, Franky walked by his side again and both of them said a happy goodbye to his parents before they found a way outside. Once they had found a quiet spot Urs stood and waited while the wheelchair was moved away. Franky found the first number for him and handed him the phone.

Urs wrapped his free arm around her waist and held her tight to him while he waited for the call to connect. "I love you Franky." He whispered as he dropped a quick, soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you too." Franky nodded and closed her eyes while she buried the right side of her face into his chest and tucked her head under his chin. She listened while he made the calls, finding the numbers for each one and took some deep cleansing breaths of her own while he talked.

Urs smiled when he'd finished then turned himself so that he and Franky were standing face-to-face. He raised his hands to gently cup her face and sighed heavily when he felt moisture under her eyes.

"No." He shook his head vigorously. "No more. No more tears." He sniffed while he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, gasping a quick breath when he heard her hiss as he caught the burn on her face. He smiled as their arms wrapped around each other then pulled her into a gentle kiss that became deeper and more passionate with each second that past.

"No more tears." He said again as he released her and pressed his forehead to hers.

"Ok. No more tears." Franky sniffed then raised her right hand, removed the glasses and gently wiped his face.

The couple stood wrapped in each other’s arms, holding each other tight and breathing deeply as wave upon wave of relief washed over them.

"Well? What do you think?" Erika questioned the man who stood by her right side.

"I think you're right." The man replied with a nod of his head while he looked at the screen on the back of his camera and scanned through all the photo-graphs he had just taken. "I think he is. Otherwise, why would he need her to do that for him?" He continued as he connected a cable to his laptop. "Do you know who she is?"

"His latest girlfriend. She won't last long though, he's only seeing her on the rebound from ditching me." Erika smirked confidently while she nodded.

"Oh. A double whammy then?" The man laughed.

"When do I get my money?"

"Once I know what my editor thinks to........" He stopped when he felt someone tapping him lightly on the shoulder. He drew in a deep breath and turned to face whoever it was that stood behind him.

"Hand it over." A smiling mousy-brown haired, green-eyed, slim woman dressed from head to toe in black biker leather's demanded while she held out her gloved left hand.

"Hand what over?" The man questioned with his camera in one hand and the other end of a USB cable in the other.

"The camera and its memory card." The woman continued to smile.

"Pfhaa! And if I refuse little lady?"

"Then you'll have me to deal with."

The man heard a deep, gravelly voice coming from his right. He looked up at the man who had grabbed hold of the hand that held the cable. He could see that the man was very muscular, towered over him and he knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he decided to put up a struggle.

"Hello Erika." The new man laughed.

"Kurt! What are you doing here? How did you know?" Erika gulped in recognition.

"Protecting a friend's privacy. I knew you couldn't be trusted from the moment Urs introduced you to me when you were dating him. Something about you I just didn't like." Kurt smiled sarcastically. "I saw you leaving the hospital. I spotted that sneaky look on your face and decided to follow you to see what you would do and surprise, surprise you didn't let me down, did you Erika?"

"Now don't be like that Kurt. I'm only trying to make a little money. Surely we can come to some arrangement." Erika oozed while she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "How about I give you half of what I make on those pictures?"

Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You want more." Erika started to fume.

"No." Kurt shook his head once more. "I just want that memory card. If you want to erm....'make a little money' as you put it, why don't you go find yourself a job? You had one before you met Urs, I'm sure they'd welcome you back at the chocolate shop with open arms."

"Because it won't pay enough to pay my debts off, that's why?" Erika hissed in response.

"Ahhh, so that's your reason. Still a selfish bitch, aren't you?" Kurt glared hard at her in response. "Well I'm not going let you do that to my friend and his new girl." Kurt shook his head and turned to the photographer. "Now do I get that memory card or do I have hurt you to get it?" He questioned with a smile.

"No. Just let me go and I'll give it to you."

Kurt smiled and shook his head. "You hand the camera over to my girl, she'll do what needs to be done."

The photographer shook as he handed the camera over and watched as Mara twiddled with the buttons and deleted all of the pictures he had just taken from the camera's built-in memory and from the memory card.

"All done?" Kurt questioned as the camera was handed back.

"Yes lover." She smiled as she slipped the memory card into her jacket pocket.

"I need that." The photographer protested.

"Ah ah ah!" Kurt wagged his finger and smiled. "Don't even try that. She isn't stupid. She knows you can recover deleted data from a memory card."

Kurt and Mara smiled and held hands as they started to walk away.

"Bye Erika. Maybe I'll see you at that chocolate shop some time. Take care now." Mara giggled as she turned and gave her a sarcastic little wave.

Erika glared hard at the couple and huffed loudly before she balled up her fists and screamed loudly.

"Do you know where that woman works?" The photographer questioned while he rubbed at his wrist.

"I neither know nor care." Erika grunted as she turned and stormed away.

"Oh well, on to the next story. There's bound to be something bigger and better about to break somewhere." The photographer huffed, retrieved his equipment and headed away from the hedge where he and Erika had secreted himself.

"Thanks again Kurt." Urs smiled when he heard the creak of motorbike leathers as his friend stood to leave.

"No problem. I'll keep an eye on Erika, make sure she doesn't try and make any more deals." Kurt nodded. He took hold of Urs's right hand and gave it a firm shake. "You will let me know when your sight comes back won't you?"

Urs closed his eyes behind the glasses and nodded. "Sure and you make sure you thank Mara for me."

"I will. I knew that job she has in electronic data recovery would come in handy one day." Kurt laughed. "Good job I trust her too huh?"

Urs laughed as he nodded and listened to Kurt say goodbye to Franky before he left. He heard the sound of several footsteps approaching and subconsciously reached for Franky's left hand with his right. He startled slightly when he felt her right hand give his a gentle squeeze. He gave her a quick smile then turned his face in the direction of the door when he heard the squeak of the handle being pushed down.

"Well?" He heard Sébastien's voice demanding gently from his left hand side and imagined him chewing on his bottom lip while he waited for an answer.

Urs stood and turned his head slighty. "It's ok guys. I'm going to be fine. I'm going to see again." He informed as huge grin spread across his face. "It's just going to take a while."

He startled slightly but managed keep hold of Franky's hand as he was yanked into a tight group hug which lasted for several minutes and sniffed audibly when he felt three hands patting him firmly on the back. He pulled Sébastien's right arm from around his neck when he heard him sniffing and swallowing hard.

"Please don't Seb." Urs whispered while he shook his head.

He smiled again when he felt Sébastien's head nod against his own then slowly eased himself away from his brothers and sat back down in the easy chair he had been seated in just before they arrived.

"Have they said how long it’s going to take to come back?" David sniffed and perched himself on the side of the bed.

Urs shook his head. "No. They can't tell me that but I will get my sight back. I can already see light and dark shadows if they're close enough."

"What about getting around? How are you going to manage? Franky won't be able to help much. Not when she's on crutches." He heard Sébastien stating.

"That's where I'm going to need your help. No pressure guys, but I'm going to need someone to guide me until my sight returns. It'll take too long to learn how to find my way around with a cane and there wouldn't be much point anyway." He swallowed hard and squeezed Franky's hand again while waiting for their responses, which came quickly.

"Of course." He heard Carlos cough as he replied and imagined him giving a smile and a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm in too." David confirmed and he shook his head while he pictured the beaming smile he wore on his face.

"Moi aussi." Sébastien informed with a gentle squeeze on his left shoulder.

"Have they said when you can leave?" David questioned cheerfully.

"Not yet." Urs shook his head. "I'm hoping it won't be too long though. I'm going stir crazy in here." He shrugged then smiled.

"We saw Kurt on the way in." Sébastien began. "He smiled and said hello but he looked absolutely furious. Is there some sort of problem?"

"Erika." Urs pursed his lips together and nodded.

He breathed deep and told them what Erika had been up to and what Kurt and Mara had done to protect his privacy. He listened while Sébastien and Carlos swore profusely in their native tongues and Franky grunted a laugh. He heard David grumbling something uncomprehendible under his breath and asked why. He nodded when David said that he was trying to watch his language in front of Stephanie.

"Maybe we should offer Kurt some sort of security position when we tour again." Sébastien mused.

Urs laughed out loud and shook his head. "He would never accept." He continued to giggle to himself as he spoke.

"Why not? He's very observant. I'm sure he would do a good job." Carlos queried.

"Oh he is and he would do a very good job, of that I have no doubt. But he would never accept because he won't leave Mara for such long periods for one and he's absolutely petrified of flying for the another." Urs informed with small laugh.

"Him! He's scared of flying?" David questioned through a grunted laugh.

"Ja. He goes into a blind panic at the very mention of it. He's tried all sorts of things to try and get over it but nothing has worked." Urs nodded.

"Awww, poor guy." He heard Lauren, Karen and Emma sigh almost as one.

"In the meantime, have you given any thought to issuing some sort of press statement about what happened and the condition you're in?" Franky questioned quietly.

Urs shook his head and furrowed his brow. "No. You know how I feel about things like that."

"I know...." Franky placated him as she started to speak. "..but it would put an end to all the rumours, speculation and misinformation that's flying around. And it would put a stop to Erika's games as well."

"True." Carlos sighed.

"You know she's right Urs." David informed.

"You can't expect Kurt to keep and eye on Erika all the time either. It's not fair on him or Mara, Urs." Sébastien shrugged in agreement with Franky.

Urs pondered the idea for a few moments before he spoke. "I'll think about it." He nodded.

Urs looked towards the door on hearing the handle squeak and smiled broadly when he heard Doctor Sommers speaking.

"Well now Mr Buhler, how would......you......like.....to.....go....."

"Something wrong doc?" He heard David questioning while everyone else tried to suppress their laughter.

"Hmm......Huh?....No......No I'm err......I'm fine. Now erm...Where was I?" Doctor Sommers coughed nervously and continued walking towards Urs. He saw a shadow move across his line of vision and sensed the doctor sitting on the bed beside him.

"Quite a sight in real life, aren't they?" Franky giggled at Urs's side.

Doctor Sommers beamed a huge smile while she nodded. She took a deep breath and quickly huffed it out before she turned to look at Urs.

"How would you like to leave the hospital tomorrow?" She questioned.

"Tomorrow?!" Urs questioned in surprise.

"Sure. I don't see why not. Providing that I'm happy that you're confident with someone guiding you then you can leave the hospital and go back to your home or return to England. It's really up to you." She informed with an unseen smile. "I have an instructor ready and waiting outside."

"Ok. I'll give it try." Urs nodded and stood up.

He blew out a long breath while he waited for the instructor to enter the room. He was introduced to a man named Rhett whose accent he was a little unsure of and he furrowed his brow trying to pinpoint it.

"I know, a weird name for a Liverpool lad." Rhett laughed and shook his hand. "My mother's fault, she has this thing about 'Gone With The Wind'. Cries every time she watches it and she absolutely loves Clark Gable. Now then would you prefer to be lead on your right or your left?" He questioned brightly.

"I'm not sure." Urs shook his head.

Rhett moved to stand on Urs's right hand side and postioned his hand on his left elbow.

"That feels uncomfortable." Urs shook his head and lowered his hand while Rhett moved to his left side and repeated the procedure.

"That better?" Rhett questioned.

Urs nodded and smiled and listened carefully while Rhett told him keep his grip light, to keep his arm relaxed, to hold his arm at roughly ninety degrees and close to his body, to listen carefully to what he was saying and to let him set the pace.

Keeping his left arm relaxed, Rhett spoke to Sébastien, Carlos and David. "One of you or all three?" He questioned. He nodded and smiled when all three stood. "Ok. If you're ready, here we go." He informed as he stepped forward. He jerked back a little when Urs didn't move with him.

He turned his head to see Urs shaking a little and watched as Franky came to his free side and pressed her cheek against his while she whispered very quietly in his ear.

"Come on Urs. I know you're nervous, but you can do this. I know you can." She smiled and dropped a quick kiss on his cheek.

Urs faultered for a moment or two and swallowed hard several times. Eventually he drew in a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok. Ok. Ready when you are." He sniffed then smiled at his current guide.

Rhett stepped forward again and smiled broadly when Urs went with him. He glanced quickly over his shoulder and nodded to himself when he saw a smile of confidence slowly spreading across Urs's face. After warning him that the door was coming up he stopped, pulled it open, lead Urs through it and turned right. The pair were quickly followed by David, Sébastien and Carlos, who watched and listened carefully, to everything that Rhett did.

All four women and one little girl moved to stand at the doorway and watched as the group strode confidently down the long hallway. Franky's eyes flooded with tears, her right hand flew to her mouth and she smiled as she watched them turn a corner.

"You look tired." Lauren whispered from her right side.

"So do you." Franky smiled in reply.

"They're probably going to be a few hours. I suggest we get some sleep while they're gone." Karen yawned as she finished speaking.

"I'm not tired." Stephanie moaned.

"Me neither." Emma shook her head. "I managed to catch forty winks while we were at the lake. I could watch her for you Lauren. Take her for something to eat perhaps? There's a nice pizza place across the road from the hospital."

Lauren nodded, gave Stephanie a quick kiss, told her not to talk about Urs while she was out with Emma and told her to be a good girl.

"'Cos I never know who is listening, right mummy?" Stephanie asked while she made the motion of zipping her lips.

"That's right honey." Lauren nodded and waved as Stephanie walked through the door holding tightly to Emma's hand.

She turned to see Franky snuggling down on Urs's bed. Karen was making herself comfortable on the easy chair which left a cozy looking couch that no-one had spotted when they first entered, for herself. She quickly made herself comfortable and drifted off to sleep within seconds.

"Where are we?" Urs asked as he walked half a pace behind Sébastien while holding lightly onto his right elbow.

"Why? Door." Sébastien replied as he took a two more steps then stopped.

Urs paused and listened to the door open. "I can smell something." He sniffed again as he was lead through the door and a few steps down corridor. "Are we down near the kitchens?"

"Smells like it." Sébastien breathed deeply as they heard Rhett tell them to stop. "Is that strudel I can smell?"

Urs beamed a huge smile and nodded.

"How did I do?" Sébastien questioned when Rhett moved in front of them and asked them to stop.

"Very good." Rhett nodded. "At least he didn't go arse over....sorry....base over apex when we came down that last flight of stairs. You just need to slow your pace a little when you're doing that. Ok?"

"I'll remember that." Sébastien nodded as he stepped away from Urs and allowed Carlos to take his place.

"What time is it?" Urs asked after taking hold of Carlos's arm.

Carlos checked his watch and informed him of what the time was.

"Wow! We've been at this for over an hour already." Urs calculated quickly. "Carlos, why the hell are you shaking?"

"I'm not." Carlos denied quickly.

"Liar." Urs coughed as quietly as he could and tilted his head to one side.

"All right, I am." Carlos nodded. "I'm just a little nervous about doing this in case I get distracted and you trip or fall. There are some very pretty nurses around here amigo."

Urs laughed and shook his head when he realised what he meant. "I'll tell Karen if you do." He whispered as he leaned into Carlos's ear.

He listened as Carlos grumbled a few Spanish expletives before he started laughing. Urs indicated that he was ready to move off, drew in quick deep breath and started to walk confidently just behind his friend.

"This doesn't look......you know......from back there does it?" Urs asked as he flicked his head to where David and Sébastien were walking.

"No." Carlos laughed and watched Urs redden a little. "Have you thought anymore about what Franky said? Fourteen steps up." He asked when they paused at the bottom a flight of stairs. "About making some sort of statement to the press." He continued as they started to climb together.

"Still thinking about it." Urs shook his head when they reached the top and Carlos lead him correctly through another door.

Just over another hour of walking down corridors, avoiding stretchers, wheelchairs and a seemingly never-ending stream of obstacles in the process and learning how to direct Urs into a chair followed before Rhett stopped them and smiled again.

"Just a slightly earlier warning that you're approaching a door and you'll do fine."

"Si, I understand." Carlos nodded as he stepped away from Urs and allowed David to take his place.

"How do you feel about taking a walk around the gardens?" Rhett asked while Urs took hold of David's arm. "It's ok. That area's totally private. No-one will see you." He continued as he saw the apprehensive look on Urs's face.

"Ok. I could do with some fresh air." Urs smiled whilst nodding at David that he was ready.

David took a couple of strides and almost dragged Urs to the floor.

"Man, I'm sorry." David huffed as Rhett came to his side.

"Don't worry about it. Usually happens when someone with a long stride guides someone with a shorter one. You just need to shorten your stride and slow your pace if you don't want that to happen. Try again."

David drew in a deep breath and took slightly smaller and slower steps as they moved off again.

"You know that's not the only decision you're going to have to make. Fourteen steps down." He informed as they stopped at the top of a flight of stairs and started to walk down them.

"What else is there?" Urs shook his head.

"Are you staying here or going back to England? The girls have got their jobs to get back to for Monday and we're supposed to be making a start on recording the next album." David stopped walking when they reached a small landing. "Fifteen steps down again."

"Crap! I hadn't thought about all that." Urs shook his head. "And Franky's going to be looking for new equipment for the new garage isn't she?."

"Uh-huh. Door and three steps down." David informed as Urs felt a cool breeze hit his body.

Urs tutted and huffed while David lead him slowly down a long path until they found their way into the garden and into a seat. He breathed deep and smiled when he picked up the scent of Roses, Jasmine, Chrysanthemums and other highly scented flowers. He snatched his head up when he heard the sound of running water and listened a little more carefully when Rhett asked him where the sound was coming from. He listened once more and almost pointed straight at the water fountain off to their right. Behind him and to the left he heard birds nesting in the trees.

"I can hear a plane." Urs informed a few seconds before the others heard it and they looked up to see one flying overhead.

"How do you think we did?" David questioned Rhett with an audible gulp.

"Well Urs, you managed to find your way around the mocked-up house on your own and your friends haven't caused you any harm. No bumps or bruises on you that weren't there before." He smiled as he gave Urs a quick elbow on the arm. "And you haven't ended up going headlong down the stairs. I think you'll manage pretty well and I'm going to recommend to Doctor Sommers that she allows you go home tomorrow." He informed with a nod and a smile. "I have several contacts in England if you get in to difficulties, you would only have to call me and I would be able to get someone more experienced with you pretty quickly."

"Can you give me a few minutes? I need to think about what I want to do." Urs requested. He smiled when he heard all four men walking away from him. He muttered quietly to himself in German while he thought.

"Make a statement to the press? Stops Erika and takes the pressure off Kurt, but will probably cause pandomonium on our website." He cocked his head quickly to the side. "What's more important to me? My friendship with Kurt of course." He nodded to himself. "Ok that's one decision made. Stay here or go back to England? Hmmm." He pursed his lips again. "Staying here means Mami can help me like she wants to while I recover and the guys would have to stay as well. It would also mean we would all be separated from the girls. We wouldn't get any work done on the album and would probably drive each other nuts within days. Sheesh! What a decision?" He tapped the thumb of his right hand against his pursed lips while he continued to ponder that problem. "I wonder." He mused to himself as he turned his head to where he could hear his friends talking and shouted for Sébastien. He asked him to dial his mother's number then shooed him away while he put his prosposal to her.

He smiled when she and his father agreed that they would return to England with him and that they would stay until his sight returned. They would discuss where they would be staying once he had spoken to Franky. After hanging up, he called the others back over to him, told them of his decisions and smiled as he asked Sébastien to guide him back.

"Shhhhhh." He heard when the door to his room was pushed open. "Franky, Lauren and Karen are all asleep." Emma informed while she handed a very sleepy Stephanie over to David.

She smiled at Sébastien as he lead Urs over to where Franky lay then watched as he laid a hand on her shoulder and gently woke her. Carlos crouched in front of Karen and slowly roused her. David perched on what little space there was beside Lauren and smiled softly as she woke.

"Did he handle it ok?" Emma questioned while Sébastien stood in front of her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Just fine." Sébastien closed his eyes and nodded as tears of relief rolled slowly down his face. He smiled when he felt Emma giving him a gentle squeeze.

Saturday mid-morning

"You're sure you want to do this yourself?" Franky asked while she and Urs stood facing each other

They stood in small room waiting for another room a few doors away to fill with members of the press. A small television had been set up in there so that she could watch and listen to the press conference Urs had called.

"Yeah!" Urs nodded holding her hands lightly in his own. "Is everything ready for when I've finished?"

"Oui." Sébastien nodded. "The cars are packed and waiting in the staff car park ready to take us to the airport where a large private jet is fuelled and ready to fly all of us back to England."

Urs swallowed hard and nodded just as the door opened.

"Ready?" Doctor Sommers asked quietly.

"As I'll ever be." Urs huffed a nervous laugh as Carlos came to his side and waited for him to take hold of his arm.

He smiled when Franky and his mother gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and told him to keep calm. He nodded then indicated that he was ready to move. Carlos nodded and stepped forward, this time giving enough warning that they were approaching the doorway. Sébastien and David followed close behind.

"You wish me to translate?" Urs's father asked once the women had made themselves comfortable in front of the television.

"Please." Franky nodded.

She listened and focused on the small screen while she watched all four men make their entrance. She bit her lip when she heard an audible gasp go up from the gathered members of the press. She smiled when Carlos lead Urs perfectly to the middle seat of a set of five that had been set up. She breathed out the breath she'd been holding when she saw Urs nod after Carlos had whispered something in his ear. Sébastien and David took seats to Urs's right while Carlos took the one to his left. Doctor Sommers took the seat next to Carlos. She took a deep breath almost at the same time as Urs and closed her eyes lightly when he started to speak. She could hear the sounds of cameras as they clicked rapidly and lights flashed incessantly.

"He's just thanked them for coming and told them that he's called them here to put an end to all the rumours and speculation regarding what happened in the accident." Urs's father smiled as he translated from German to English.

"Two nights my car was involved in a collision with an SUV. The collision caused my car to spin out of control, leave the road and my head to hit the doorframe of my vehicle when the car smashed into a tree. As you can see, my injuries are not that serious. I have some bruising across my torso caused by the seatbelt. I also sustained an injury to my head which has left me......"

Urs paused to take a breath and compose himself.

"The injury to my head has left me temporarily blind. I have undergone several tests and examinations and I am expected to make a full recovery in time. Again, thank you for coming. I would be grateful if you would now give me some privacy so that I can heal. Thank you."

Urs sighed with relief as he finished speaking and a multitude of questions were launched at him.

"Is it true you were drunk when you were driving?"

"No." Doctor Sommers answered for him. "Blood tests showed that Mr Buhler had not had a drink that night."

"Isn't it true that you are lying? Isn't it fact that you are completely blind and will never see again?"

"Again. No." Doctor Sommers spoke again. "Mr Buhler has told you the truth. He sees lights and shadows at the moment but, as he said, tests and scans have shown that his sight will return in time."

"When are you leaving hospital and where are you going to recover? Are you going back to England?"

"I'm not sure what I'm doing yet." He shook his head and coughed lightly while he fibbed.

"Is this going to affect the recording of the group's next album?"

"I don't see why it should." Urs shook his head and smiled. "My voice isn't damaged."

"Have you decided what songs you're going to record?"

Sébastien suddenly leaned in front of Urs when he saw the frown on his friend's face.

"With all due respect, this press conference was called to set the record straight about Urs's medical condition, not to discuss our plans for the next album." He smiled politely and resumed his seat.

"Thanks." Urs whispered quietly.

"Is it true your latest girlfriend was in the car with you and that she broke her leg in the accident?"

"Yes she was in the car. No, she had already broken her leg." Urs shook his head as he stood, took hold of Carlos's arm again and flinched slightly when lights flashed once more.

"What's her name?"

"Who is she Urs? Who is she?"

"Where is she?"

"Where did you meet her?"

"What does she look like?"

"Is she pretty?"

He heard several more reporters asking questions about Franky as he was lead back to the room where she and everyone else waited. 'No.' He thought to himself and smiled softly at the last question he heard. 'No. She's beautiful, stunningly beautiful inside and out.' He closed his eyes behind the glasses and sighed.

"I never want to do anything like that again." Urs informed as he blew out a very long breath and allowed Carlos to manouver him into a chair.

"Me neither. I need a stiff drink after that." Doctor Sommers groaned and closed the door behind her. "Security has requested we wait here while they get all of the reporters out of the building before we take you down to the cars."

Urs stood and crooked his finger in Doctor Sommer's direction. He held his right hand out for her to shake and smiled when she took hold of it quite firmly.

"Thank you for all your help and for coming in on your day off." Urs nodded as he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against her cheek.

"Ok! Now I reeeally need a stiff drink." She replied with a small laugh as he pulled away and slowly let go of her hand.

Moments later they were all lead to down to the staff car park where two people carriers with dark tinted windows were waiting. From there they were quickly whisked to the jet and each couple made themselves comfortable next to each other before they lifted into the air. Once airborne, Urs removed his seatbelt and the dark glasses then leaned forward and rubbed his face hard with his hands.

"Still tired?" Franky questioned as she rested her right hand on his left forearm.

"Mmmm. A little. I didn't sleep too well last night did I?"

"No." Franky shook her head and watched Urs yawn.

Ignoring the noisy conversation coming from around them, the couple made themselves comfortable in each others arms and closed their eyes while they waited for sleep to come. Urs was soon sleeping soundly with his arms wrapped around Franky's shoulders and her head tucked under his chin. Franky felt a blanket being laid across them and opened her eyes to see Urs's mother smiling back at her.

"I'll try and keep them quiet." She informed whilst nodding towards the back of the plane.

"Thank you." Franky nodded and re-closed her eyes then slowly drifted off to sleep.

England

"Don't check your emails very often do you?" Franky teased as they sat at the glass computer table together.

Franky sat on the leather office chair while Urs had managed to perch himself on one of the bar stools behind her.

"You know how crap I am with computers. How many are there anyway?" Urs asked as he lowered his head towards the sound of her voice and smiled wryly.

"Let's see. Your 'inbox' is full." She scrolled to the bottom of the page. "The oldest one is dated the day before we left, there's the odd few each day until just after you made your announcement this morning and there's loads after that."

"Read some to me." Urs requested. "Please."

"Urs.....I really don't think I should. I wouldn't feel right." Franky shook her head and looked up at him.

"Please Franky, just the first one or two from today. I can always change my password."

"Ok." Franky nodded, opened the first email and read it to him.

She turned to look at him as she finished and quickly noticed that his bottom lip trembled slightly. She opened the second one and was halfway through reading it when he reached his arm over the chair, squeezed her right shoulder and asked her to stop.

"Having a little trouble dealing with the love and support you're being shown?"

"Ja. A little. I didn't expect that sort of reaction."

"How about I go pay a visit to the Den instead? See what's happening there." Franky suggested.

"Yeah. Ok." Urs replied quietly while he nodded lightly.

"Hmmm. Lots of 'it can't be trues', a few 'I don't care what it says on the homepage. It's not true.', then it looks like they've picked up on a newsreel from somewhere 'cos there are some screen caps from this morning. Then we move into the realms of 'Oh my God. What's he going to do? Anyone know who this new girlfriend is? That sort of thing."

Urs turned the bar stool to the right and sat with his forearms resting on his thighs twiddling the dark glasses around in his hands while his head hung quite low. He heard Franky turn her computer off then listened as she moved to stand in front of him.

"What's wrong honey? All those emails show that your fans obviously care about you and I thought you said no more tears." She asked while she gently wiped his eyes.

"I know. I know but maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe I should have kept it quiet, private." Urs sighed heavily as he reached forward, found Franky's hands and held them in his own.

"And just how long do think you would have got away that?" Franky questioned, moved her right hand from his gentle grip and slowly stroked his face with the back of it. "Were you planning on keeping yourself cooped up here or at your place until your sight comes back?"

"No." Urs shook his head. "I'd be found out sooner or later won't I? Probably in a couple of days. Especially since we're going to be back in the studio on Wedn.........Oww!"

"Urs! What's wrong?"

"Arrrgh! My head where I got whacked." Urs replied as he raised a hand to the affected area. "Remember Doctor Gelotti said I might get sudden, intense headaches especially if my.....my blood pressure went up." He reminded as he closed his eyes tight and gripped the hand he still had hold of very tight. "He didn't say it would hurt this much though. Mein Gott it hurts so bad Franky. It feels......Gott." He groaned.

"And he told you what to do if it happened didn't he?" Franky soothed him by lightly rubbing his back while he buried his face into her neck.

Urs nodded lightly and managed to force a quick "Hmmm." through his lips. He swallowed hard and took several deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth until he felt the pain subside. He raised his head, opened tear filled eyes slowly and blinked rapidly.

"Phew!" He breathed out heavily. He furrowed his brow as he reached his left hand out in front of him. "Bl....Blue."

"Urs? Are you ok?" Franky questioned with a loud sniff.

"Blue. I see blue Franky. It's very, very blurry, but I can, I can see blue." Urs laughed a little as he spoke.

"Can you tell me what shade of blue?" Franky asked nervously.

"Sky blue." Urs nodded while knocking tears from his cheeks.

"Oh my God" Franky's free hand flew to her mouth. "Urs, I'm wearing a sky blue t-shirt."

Urs reached out again. This time he touched what he could see. The soft sky blue material, covering Franky's upper half. He slipped both arms around her, pulled her close and lifted his head slightly. He felt a huge smile spread across his face and moved his hand to touch Franky's hair.

"We heard the shouting. What's going on? Is everything ok?" His mother asked as she and his father flew into Franky's kitchen.

Urs snatched his head round to the direction of her voice.

"Bright pink." He laughed again. "You're wearing bright pink Mami."

"You can see the colour of my jumper?"

Urs nodded and beamed a huge smile at his mother.

"Ok. Calm down. Let's not get over excited. Can you tell what colour I'm wearing?" He heard his father placating then questioning as he moved to stand in front of him.

Urs ran his eyes up and down the length of the shadowy figure that was his father's body then shook his head dejectedly.

"No I can't." He huffed and dropped his arms from Franky's waist.

"Remember Doctor Gelotti said it might happen this way, that you might be begin to see the brighter colours first. The fact that you can see what you can is still good news." Urs heard his father sniff in front of him.

Urs closed his eyes and nodded quickly. He smiled as his parents informed him that they were tired and were going to make their way up to Lauren's room if it was ok.

"Shall we go up too?" Urs questioned as he turned his attention back to Franky.

"I'm not that tired." Franky shook her head.

"Sleep is the last thing on my mind at the moment." Urs growled into her right ear while he nibbled lightly on its lobe.

He smiled when he heard her groan at the back of her throat and moved his lips lightly over her jawline until he found her hungry mouth. She stood almost breathless in his arms as they broke apart and gasped for every breath she took while he moved his hands to gently hold her face in them. He kissed her softly then gently turned her round and indicated for her to head for her bedroom. He smiled even broader while he felt his way from the kitchen, through the lounge and over to the stairs. He only stumbled once as he climbed them and giggled as he did so. He followed Franky through her bedroom door, locked it behind him and quickly found his way over to the bed where he immediately sensed she stood waiting for him where he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Urs. We can't." Franky whispered with breathless moan as he pulled back from another kiss, feeling his arousal against her thigh.

"Why not?"

"Because your parents are next door."

"So. They were outside my room Friday morning. You didn't let that stop us." Urs returned with a giggle, imagining her blushing as his hands slipped under the t-shirt.

"You are terrible."

"Well. It's not like they're going to hear anything this time."

"I can't hear anything." Franky shook her head then stood quiet for a few moments when she saw Urs raising a finger to his lips. "Oh."

"So much for feeling tired huh?"

"Mmmmmn."

"Now. Where were we?" Urs asked, finally removing her top and dropping it to the floor.

Feeling those now familiar tingles run through his body as Franky worked at ridding him of his shirt. Closing his eyes when she lightly touched the bruising before kissing it with the lightest of touch of her lips, surprised when he felt no pain. Instead becoming more uncomfortable in his jeans and hearing a long moan escape from the back of his throat as she relieved the pressure.

"You got anything I can blindfold you with?" He asked after swallowing hard. "I've heard it's supposed to heighten all the senses."

Listening to Franky search through her nightstand drawer and place something long in his hands. Informing that it was black, silk scarf while he tied it around her eyes.

"You're sure you can't see anything?"

"No." Franky laughed nervously. "Though I don't know how I can prove it."

"Mmmmn. It's all right. I believe you." Urs smiled, his hands finding the fastenings of her skirt, dealing with them quickly and dropping to his knees, tugging the item down and allowing her to step out of it while his hands moved over her stomach and on upwards towards her breasts. "Come down here."

"Ok." Franky nodded and carefully knelt down on the woolen rug.

Feeling Urs's hands slip around her waist once more, using his fingers to track the path of her spine while his tongue demanded entry into her mouth. Gentle vibrations running through her body while he teasingly made love to her mouth, his tongue slowly flicking back and forth, making her moan before he kissed her firmly, the two of them engaging in a long battle that left them both breathless as they pulled apart and moved to lay down on the rug.

Urs disposing her knickers on the way down, then quicky shedding his own underwear and holding her against him, kissing her again. Another moan escaping from him when she trailed her fingers up his left thigh. A gasp being heard through a hard kiss when she took hold of his manhood, instantly growing harder.

His free hand finding her breast instinctively. His thumb moving slowly back and forth over the hardened bud before he broke the kiss and moved his mouth there to suck, nip and sooth. Adjusting himself so that he could reach the other one. Knowing that he'd pushed her to orgasm already when he felt her body shudder and arch against him, her fingers curled tight in his hair.

Placing featherlight touches across every inch of her abdomen as he trailed his way down to her pubis. Burying his togue as deep inside her as he could go and dragging he tongue slowly through her womanhood before he used it to tease her clitoris. Nipping and kissing lightly, usuing two fingers to push onwards.

Hearing her beg to have him inside her and already more than willing to oblige, Urs rolled onto his back, taking Franky with him and entered her quickly once she was comfortable. Holding her hips, guiding her to a rythmn that matched his own hip thrusts. Neither of them breaking the rythmn as Urs's hands moved back to her breasts, tweaking the nipples hard and feeling Franky grip hard around him with every stroke.

"Oh God Urs........I'm going to..........Ohhhhhhhhh! I love you." She growled over his ragged breathing, her fingernails digging deep into his shoulder as she came, clenching tight around him.

Hearing much the same come from himself as his hips thrust upwards hard one final time, remaining there until he'd released everything then gently pulling her down on to lie on top of him. Still feeling no pain while he kissed her and traced her spine again.

Neither of them moving off the floor until they'd regained their breaths. Urs helping Franky stand up once he'd found his feet and removing the blindfold. The two of them settling down in the middle of the bed, giggling when the heard the sound of some very loud music coming from the next room.

"You are asbolutely terrible." Franky informed with a loud laugh on seeing a smirk on his face.

"They're not playing it to cover what they're up to." Urs shook his head and laughed. "I should know, they only do it when one of us is around with our partner. I have to wrap a pillow around my ears if no-one is with me when I go home."

"Oh poor you." Franky laughed. "I used to thank God for headphones and had the volume up loud."

"Mmmmmn. Kiss me good night." Urs asked and felt Franky move her lips against his in a light, slow kiss. "And wake that way in the morning angel."

"Ok honey." Franky sighed, kissing him the same way before snuggling against him.

The two of the continuing to carress each other until they'd fallen into a deep sleep from which they wouldn't wake until very late the next morning.

"So Urs was right?" Emma asked as she stood from loading more laundry into Sébastien's washing machine and turned it on. "It is chaos on the website?"

"Yes. I've got loads of emails asking if it’s true." Sébastien nodded while he closed his laptop. "I still think he's done the right thing in telling, though he's probably thinking the opposite right now. It will soon calm down."

"At least we all got home before it hit the tv stations over here. I suppose tomorrow is going to be pretty chaotic?" Emma smiled as she sat down at the small table Sébastien had bought for the kitchen.

"I suppose it will. Unless another more important story breaks overnight." He smiled quickly and blew out a breath.

"What was that noise for?" Emma questioned on hearing the hissing noise he made.

"I didn't think I would be able to do it Emma. I wasn't sure I would be able to guide Urs around as well as I did. It gives you a whole new perspective on the world when you have to do something like that for someone." He nodded while looking at the tabletop.

"I suppose it does. You would certainly have to be more aware of the world around you."

Sébastien nodded then suddenly threw his head back and laughed out loud.

"Share the joke." Emma insisted as she yawned loudly.

"The look Doctor Sommers had on her face the first time she saw us all together. It was quite funny."

"Hmmm. Almost been there and done that one myself haven't I?" Emma yawned again. "Oooh, excuse me."

Sébastien turned his head and looked at her quizically for a moment. He nodded as he remembered the look she had had on her face when she'd walked into his hospital room and saw Urs and David with him. Her eyes had flown wide, her face had flushed bright red and he had noticed that she had swallowed hard several times while she had approached him.

"She's worn you out hasn't she?" Sébastien questioned as he watched Emma's eyelids start to droop. "Stephanie I mean."

"Hmmm. Lauren said she was little firecracker. I don't know how I kept up with her. I'm exhausted." Emma nodded.

Sébastien stood, moved to her side and gently lifted her into his arms. Emma closed her eyes and sighed as she snuggled her head into his shoulder while he carried her upstairs. By the time they reached the master bedroom, she was almost asleep and Sébastien only just managed to rouse her enough to get her to take her own clothes off. He smiled as she slumped down into the pillows then moved round to the other side of the bed, stripped down his boxers and slipped into the bed beside her. He bit his lip lightly as he spooned himself tightly against her and dropped a quick kiss on her cheek before settling himself down to sleep with a happy and contented smile on his face.

________________


Westholme Prison

"Turn it up." Jamie heard one of the other remand prisoners demading while she leaned against the back wall of the recreation room.

She raised her head slowly from the old copy of a society magazine that she was reading and furrowed her brow slightly after looking at the images that flashed across the screen. She kept her face straight and bit the inside of her bottom lip lightly while she scanned the faces of her fellow prisoners.

Several sat in stunned silence, disbelieving what they were seeing. A few had tears in their eyes. Two more actually cried as the newsreader continued to read the report. Even the few women who sat in the farthest corner of the recreation room and who weren't fans stopped playing their games to listen to what was being said then shook their heads as another story began.

Jamie dropped her magazine to the table and asked a guard to take her back to her cell.

"That means I'll have to lock you in on your own for fifteen minutes." The guard informed as she looked at her watch.

Jamie shrugged nonchalantly, walked back to her cell and made herself comfortable on her bunk as the door was locked firmly behind her. She turned to face the wall, buried her face into the pillow and broke down into hysterical laughter.

She stayed that way until she heard the cell door being unlocked again, then bit her lip to suppress her laughter when she heard a sniffing Eva climb slowly onto the bed above her. She wriggled on the bed and grunted a couple of times, pretending to be asleep.

Eventually she managed to compose herself and fell asleep with a malevolent grin on her face.

____________


"All right that's enough young lady." Lauren smiled as she swung her into her arms. "It's late. Time for bed."

"Ok." Stephanie yawned and buried her head into her mother's shoulder. "Mummy. Urs is really going to be all right isn't he?"

"Of course he is honey." Lauren smiled softly as she settled her into the spare bedroom. "You go to sleep now. It’s been a busy few days."

Lauren stood up from where she had perched herself on the bed and moved over to the window. She smiled while she watched Stephanie snuggle further down into the covers. She turned back to the window, gripped the curtains in her hands and was just about to pull them across when she spotted a torch beam flicking about in the back garden. She startled slightly as David came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Something wrong?" He questioned on seeing the worried look on her face.

Lauren nodded out of the window. "Look. Can you see that?"

Just as she spoke the torchlight disappeared.

"See what?" David questioned while he looked through the window.

"There was a torchlight out there a minute ago heading towards the back fence. Why isn't the security floodlight working?"

"I don't know." David shrugged. "You're sure you saw something?"

Lauren nodded. "Positive."

"Ok. I'll go check." David smiled as he released her, bounded out of the room, ran quickly down the stairs and out of the back door.

Lauren remained at the window and watched David search the garden by the light of his own torch. He seemed to find something and followed a trail to the back fence. She watched as he looked for a way to try and see over the fence and shook her head when he huffed in frustration at not being able to find anything. He turned and made his way back up the garden and into the house.

Lauren closed the curtains and quickly made her way back down to meet him as he entered the lounge.

"Anything?" She questioned.

"Only some very faint footprints and the security light has been smashed. Probably someone looking to rob the place." David yawned loudly as he shrugged. "Let’s go to bed. I'm all over the place. My body doesn't know what country it’s in never mind what time or day it is."

Lauren huffed a small laugh then smiled and allowed him to lead her up the stairs to the master bedroom. They both yawned loudly while they removed their clothes then snuggled down together under the covers.

"Love you." David informed as he wrapped his arm around Lauren and held her close to him.

He yawned once more and closed his eyes as Lauren tucked her head under his chin.

"Love you too." Lauren whispered while she listened to him breathing.

David quickly drifted off to sleep. Lauren shrugged as her eyes closed and she slowly drifted into an uneasy slumber.

"Phew!! That was close." He huffed to himself as he grabbed the front of his black woolen balaclava and pulled it off.

Sitting high up in the branches of the ancient oak tree, he shook his head, reached into his back pocket and retrieved his mobile. Breathing hard he dialled the contact number he had been given.

"It's me.......No I didn't get it.......Because someone neglected to call me and tell me the owner had come home today that's why not.........I can't.......'Cos there's a woman and a kid in the house with him.........No! I'll do it myself. I know where it is.......I'll watch the place for a few days, see what their routine is like.......Don't worry, I'll get it......It's not like they're going to find it themselves is it now?.......Three days......Ok,Ok. If I can't get at it by Wednesday night we'll go with your plan."

He hung up and returned his mobile to his pocket. He pulled the balaclava back down over his face, blew out a long breath, placed a pair of night vision goggles over his eyes and settled himself down for the night.

_______________


"You! Nervous? I don't believe a word of it." Karen grunted a laugh as she dropped down next to Carlos with a pile of envelopes in her hand.

"It's true. I was." Carlos nodded and gave her another cock-eyed smile. "I have never had to concentrate so hard on where I was walking. Looking out for any hazards in front, to the sides, above." He shook his head and waved his hand nonchalantly in various directions as he spoke. "It's hard work." He yawned.

"Gives you a whole new appreciation of the world I suppose." Karen smiled and started opening her mail while Carlos nodded his affirmation. She grumbled at the first few she opened. "Bills." She huffed. "Why do they always seem to come at once?"

She sighed and dropped the pile of letters onto the coffee table. There wasn't much else apart from the work that had been sent to her.

"I suppose it's going to be pretty rough for him until his sight comes back?" Carlos questioned as he snaked his right arm around Karen's waist and pulled her close.

Karen shrugged. "He's going to have good and bad days I should imagine and it sounds like those headaches he might get are going to be awful too."

"They are." Carlos nodded and shuddered.

Karen turned her head and looked at him quizically. "He's had one already?"

"Si." Carlos sighed. "In the men's room at the hospital just before the press conference. I've never seen him in so much pain and there was nothing I could do to help him."

"Except be there for him if Franky's not around." Karen smiled. "Did he tell her?"

Carlos closed his eyes, pursed his lips together and shook his head. "But I did." He smiled wryly.

"He shouldn't do that. He shouldn't keep things secret from her." Karen sighed and shook her head. "She'll catch him out sooner or later."

"Si, I know. That is why I told him not to do it again."

"When do you go back into the studio?"

"Wednesday. Tomorrow we are meeting at David's to put the finishing touches to some of the songs we want to record. Monday and Tuesday we haven't decided yet." Carlos yawned.

"I think you mean today for that meeting." Karen smiled with a nod at the clock on her mantelpiece.

"2:13am. Dios! Where did today go?" Carlos questioned as he stood and gently pulled Karen up from the couch.

Wallking hand-in-hand, they yawned back and forth at each other as they made their way to the bedroom. Clothing was quickly removed and dropped to the floor with indifference before they both slipped quietly under the covers. Karen sighed contentedly as Carlos wrapped her in his arms as they drifted off to sleep. Even the sound of his cacophonous snoring would not keep her awake this night.

Wednesday

"Please." Urs pleaded while he held Franky around the waist and dropped delicate little kisses on her lips.

"I can't." Franky laughed and shook her head at the playful pouty look he was giving her. "I have things I need to do and what about your parents? I can't leave them here on their own."

Urs smiled and shook his head. "I've given them directions to 'Devil's Drop', they've packed a picnic lunch, hired a car and they're spending the day up there. Please Franky, come to the studio and see how it's done."

"I can't." Franky repeated. "I really have to start looking for equipment for the new garage, I've got to pay that insurance cheque into my account and......"

"And, and, and." Urs interupted with his head wobbling from side-to-side on his neck. "So you'll have to go into the city anyway. The studios have internet access and your bank is just down the road, so why not travel with us?" He continued, moving close enough to whisper in her ear. "I won't ever blindfold you again if you don't."

"Spoilsport. That's bribery."

"I know and I'm getting damned good at it, aren't I?" Urs returned as he pulled back, a huge grin on his face.

"Please Franky. He'll be cranky all day if you don't." Sébastien smiled over Urs's right shoulder, wondering why her face was so red.

"And the last thing we need on our hands is a cranky Swiss. He's not a pretty sight when he's like that." David beamed over Urs's left shoulder whilst shaking his head.

Franky folded her arms across her chest and grunted a laugh while she scanned the three smiling faces in front of her.

"And Seb and I could always use someone on our side when he won't admit he's messing up the Spanish or French lyrics." Carlos smiled as he moved to stand in front of Urs.

Franky grunted another laugh as she covered her face with her hands, shook her head and allowed a long, low-pitched scream to escape.

"All right. I give. I give. Geeze you guys don't make it easy for a girl to say no." She laughed and held up her hands in surrender. "I just need to get my lap........" She sighed as a grinning Sébastien pulled her computer from where he'd secreted it behind his back. ".....top." She finished with pursed lips and shook her head once more before they headed out of the door, down the short driveway to the waiting people carrier. "I really don't believe I'm doing this." She shook her head as David made himself comfortable next too her while Urs felt his way into the seat in front with Sébastien seating himself next to him and Carlos taking the seat nearest to the door.

"Has he had anymore headaches?" David whispered to Franky as the vehicle eased away from her driveway.

"I've had three. I can answer questions myself you know. I'm blind not dumb!" Urs snapped as he snatched his face round to glare at David.

"Sorry." David shrugged.

"Hey, that's enough. It's a hard adjustment for them too remember." Franky placated as she reached forward and gave Urs's right shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Urs nodded and raised his right hand to his shoulder so that he could hold Franky's hand lightly. "Sorry David. But not much has changed other than the duller end of the colour spectrum becoming a little clearer." He informed with an attempted smile.

He rested his forehead against the darkly tinted side window of the vehicle and swallowed hard. He had tried hard not to let it show, but he had been so nervous about this day coming and was glad that they had managed to persuade Franky to come with them. He only hoped he could get through the day without losing his temper or breaking down in tears in front of all the people who worked at the studio. He hoped they wouldn't treat him any differently, he was still the same person after all, he just couldn't see properly at the moment. He took a couple of deep breaths but continued to hold the tips Franky's fingers and pressed their hands lightly against his cheek while he listened to the conversation she and David were having.

"Another one?" Franky questioned.

"Yep. That's the third one since we got back on Saturday." David nodded.

"You found anymore footprints?"

"Nope. I looked really carefully but didn't find a single one. Lauren swears someone is watching the house from woods at the back. She says she's positive she saw the glint of light on glass the other day, but I haven't seen anything." David shrugged.

"And you still can't think of anyone who would be watching the house?" Franky questioned with a shake of her head.

"From that distance, other than the press, I don't have a clue." David shook his head. "I'll call the police if it carries on."

Franky nodded then listened as the conversation between the four of them lightened. She gulped audibly when the people carrier stopped to turn right into the car park that ran under the recording studio. Several members of the press and a few fans stood on the pavement waiting for the vehicle to turn. She heard a few loud bangs, saw several flashes as the vehicle turned and blew out a long breath as she turned her head to look through the rear window and watched the door coming back down.

Twenty minutes later she found herself comfortably set up in a large lounging area opposite the studio where the four of them were scheduled to record. She set up her laptop and moved quickly from site to site looking for the equipment the new garage would need. Two and a half hours past before she had to raise her head.

"How's it going?" She asked as the four of them stepped into the room.

"Great." Sébastien nodded as he guided Urs to a seat next to Franky. "We have almost three tracks down already."

"The producer thinks we're all on something. It's going that well." David giggled.

Franky nodded then turned to look at Urs. "So what are you doing now?"

"Taking a break. I need some fresh air. You wouldn't believe how hot it gets in there." Urs informed as he stood up. "You coming?" He questioned with a smile as he took hold of David's elbow and look down in Franky's direction.

"No. I'm not even a third of the way through yet." Franky shook her head. "I'll stay here and get some more done."

She smiled when Urs cupped her face with his free hand, gave her gentle kiss on her right cheek before he left with the others. She returned to her laptop and listened intently to the noises she heard eminating from the street entrance. She smiled when she heard several female voices asking Urs how he was feeling and saying that they hoped he would recover his eyesight soon.

Standing and turning to kneel on the chair she was seated on, she stuck her fingers between two slats of the blind and looked out of the window. She smiled and shook her head as she watched the group of women step back and allowed them all to pass and continue their walk.

"Damn. The bank." She exclaimed with a snap of her fingers.

Having turned her laptop off, she retrieved her handbag and crutches and made her way out of the room. She stopped a member of staff and asked if there was another way out of the building.

"No, you'll have to go out through the front door. If you come with me they won't suspect a thing." The young woman smiled. "It's ok. I know who you are. My lips are sealed." She nodded when she saw the slightly pensive look on Franky's face. "Don't worry. I know how they all about their private lives." She winked.

Chatting as though they were work colleagues, Franky and the young woman walked through the main doors without raising a hint of suspicion. They walked a few yards down the road together and arranged to meet in half an hour outside the bank.

"About time." He whispered to himself while he watched the people carrier drive away and he lowered himself from the tree.

Moving quickly, but very quietly, he ran across the large field of corn that separated the woods from the back of the houses. He took a quick glance over the top of the fence before he propelled himself over it. Sticking to the most secluded areas of the garden he made his way stealthily to the back door. He smiled and shook his head when he noticed that the kitchen window had been left on the latch.

"You ain't gonna like this matey but I think it's better than a home invasion by a couple of thugs, especially when there's a kid living here." He huffed lightly to himself.

Using the wheelie bin to help him climb, he quietly entered the home and ran through the house to disable the burglar alarm.

"Cheep ass rubbish." He laughed to himself as he looked at the control panel.

Rubbing his gloved hands together he ran up the stairs and swung himself round when he reached the top of them. He opened the door to the master bedroom and smiled when he saw that very little had changed since his brother had sold the house to the American. He shook his head as he recalled how he had had to control himself when his brother had passed on that little nugget of information. Had he not been in prison at the time of the sale, there would be no need for him to be doing this right now.

"Oh well, not much I can do about it now." He sighed he sighed while he quickly calculated.

He smiled when he located the position he needed, he climbed onto the bed, balled up his fist and turned his face away before he punched the ceiling as hard as he could. He reached through the hole he had made and smiled broadly when he found what he was looking for. He stepped down from the bed, sat on the edge and bit his bottom lip lightly as he opened the small black cloth bag and tipped the contents into his left hand.

"Hello my beauties." He grinned as he looked at the collection of large clear stones.

He picked the largest one up and admired its cut and clarity while he held it between the thumb and index finger of his right hand. He tipped the stones back into the bag, tied the string together and tucked it into the inside front pocket of his black bomber jacket. He exited the property the same way he had entered.

He ran through the field again, through the woods he had known since he was a child and out onto the main road. He sighed when he saw the long black car parked a few yards up the road. He walked up to the vehicle and knocked lightly on the back window and looked around furtively until he heard the sound of an electric window descending.

"You got it Tyrel?" A gruff voice questioned through a thick cloud of cigar smoke.

"Sure did." Tyrel nodded as he reached into his jacket, retrieved the black bag and passed it through the window.

He waited for a moment then heard his companion chuckle quietly to himself as a large white envelope was passed back through the window.

"Enjoy your retirement Tyrel." The gruff voice laughed as the window zoomed back up.

Tyrel laughed to himself and ripped the envelope open.

"Now that's what I call a job well done. Getting paid once to help Anthony Strawson nick the damned diamonds in the first place and a second time to retrieve them. Damn I'm good." He smiled confidently as the cash stuffed envelope was tucked securely into his jacket. "Now then, retirement. Hmmmm. I've always liked the cold better than the heat. Maybe I'll give Switzerland a try." He laughed to himself as he opened a stick of chewing gum and pushed it into his mouth.

In the master bedroom of David's home something on the floor sparkled brightly in the sunlight that flooded the room.

______________


"What do you mean you're kind of glad Franky didn't want to come out?" David asked while he watched Sébastien and Carlos walking off towards the local Starbucks.

"There's a little jewellery shop just round the corner. They had a bangle in the window the other week and I was considering buying it for Franky. I hadn't quite made up my mind whether I should or I shouldn't....." Urs paused to breath deep and compose himself when his words started to stick in his throat. ".....until now."

"Can you remember what it looks like?" David questioned with an unseen beaming smile.

Urs nodded and allowed David to guide him following his directions.

"Remind me to go into that shop when I can see again." He smiled and pointed off to his left as they passed the open door of a shop that mainly supplied motorcycle helmets and leathers.

"Like I'll need to." David huffed playfully in response.

They turned left into a narrow street and stood at the kerbside while David checked that the way was clear for them to cross. They walked a few more yards further down the road before Urs spoke again.

"There should be a little shop around here. A really old-fashioned looking place. It has a black door and two large windows with trays of jewellery in them."

"It's just over here." David nodded and lead him a little further.

Urs closed his eyes to think for a moment. "In the left side window there should be a large display of white gold bangles."

"Yep. Got them."

"I think it’s the fifth one from the right, that should be a diamond set white gold crossover torque bangle."

"You swallowed a jeweller's dictionary or something?" David joked while he counted.

"No." Urs laughed. "I remembered the description the woman behind the counter used when I asked to have a look at it the last time I was here."

"I think I see the one you mean, but she'll know for definite, right?"

Urs shook his head. "She won't be there, she only works Fridays and the weekends. Describe the one you see."

"It's a fairly plain open-ended eighteen carat bangle with two quite large diamonds on each end. Nothing fancy, just plain and simple."

"Sounds like it." Urs smiled broadly as he nodded. "You'll have to be careful when you step through the door because there's quite a step down into the shop." He informed as David lead him towards the doorway.

David pushed the door open and entered with care. He smiled as he looked around the place. But for the modern displays, the loud buzzer above the door and jewellery it looked rather like something from a hundred years ago. He lead Urs over to the counter and gave the small bell that sat there a couple of quick smacks.

"Hellooooo! Anyone back there?" He questioned when he heard a noise coming from behind the curtain at the back of the counter.

"Won't keep you but a min......" He and Urs heard a young man's voice inform.

"Ok." David replied as he started to whistle and looked through the glass of the countertop while they waited. "They've got some really nice pieces in here." He informed while Urs drummed his fingers impatiently on the glass.

David raised his head when he sensed someone standing behind the counter. His eyes flew wide and he gulped audibly when he saw what was being pointed at his face.

"Don't move." A very deep voice ordered confidently while its owner sneered at the two men in front of him.

"Crap!" David whispered just before he gulped again.

"David! What's going on?" Urs questioned when he heard two clicks and felt his friend stiffen.

"Just be quiet Urs, please just be quiet." David requested while reached his right hand round to give the one Urs held on his left elbow what he hoped was a comforting squeeze.

"Whoops! I'm.......Gabe!" Franky exclaimed as she bumped into her friend's large frame. "What are you doing here?"

"Just putting some money into the wedding account. You?" He smiled as they walked towards the bank's entrance together.

"Paying the insurance cheque in." Franky grimmaced.

"A good payout?"

Franky smiled and wobbled her head on her neck.

Gabriel laughed and nodded. "When do we go back to work? My brain is frying spending all that time at home."

"I was going to call you about that later. I should be ready to open up again by Monday, but I'm going to need some help with the new equipment before then."

"Just give me a call. I can't wait." Gabriel rolled his eyes into his head. "I heard about what happened. How is he? And more importantly how are you?"

"He's fine. He's coping pretty well." Franky nodded with her eyes closed. "You know me, bullet-proof." She joked.

"Settle a rumour for me then." Gabriel requested as his eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"The story going around among our biker friend's is that the Triumph and not your Harley that went up in the explosion. Please tell me it wasn't."

"No. The Harley. I told you I would be taking the Triumph that day. Don't you ever listen to a word I say?" Franky flicked her eyebrows.

"Yes." Gabriel clutched his fists together. "Sorry Franky, you know my feelings about that bike. It's like my baby after spending all the time with your Dad helping him restore it."

Franky laughed and nodded. "I know."

"You going to replace the Harley?"

"I want to." Franky nodded. "I've been looking but I haven't found one that's really caught my eye yet."

"Seen the new place just round the corner? They've got one I think you'll love." Gabriel beamed.

Franky checked her watch and smiled when she saw that she had plenty of time to spare. She walked by Gabriel's side to a new Harley Davidson dealership just around the corner from the bank. She listened while he spoke to the salesman and smiled wryly when he looked at her quizically.

"Ok. I'll show it to her, but she'll never be able to handle a bike that size." He sneered while looking Franky up and down.

Gabriel and Franky laughed as they followed him to showroom. Franky's eyes flew wide when she saw the 1450cc Road King Classic. She smiled broadly while she ran her hands over the machine. Everything was right about it even down to the custom paint job.

"It's perfect. I'll take it." Franky nodded as she perched herself against the seat.

"My dear. It takes years of practice and a great deal of skill to han......" The salesman smarmed.

"Argh! Here we go." Franky shook her head and rolled her eyes into her head.

"I'll take care of him." Gabriel smiled and pulled the salesman to one side.

Franky returned to inspecting the bike and smiled secretively to herself when she ocassionally raised her head to watch Gabriel and the salesman. She laughed when she heard the salesman ask. "Not big Frank's daughter?", after which he almost fell over himself, quickly adjusted his attitude and proved very helpful while they settled the deal.

She and Gabriel left the showroom and made their way back to the bank. Franky smiled when she saw the young woman she had arranged to meet, waiting for her.

"Been having fun?"

Franky smiled broadly and nodded enthusiastically while she bid goodbye to Gabriel and thanked him for his help. She told her all about the motorbike she had just bought as they made their way back to the studios. She continued to smile, settled herself back into the chair and started planning a routine for the rink's Christmas show.

_________________


"Good." The man who held the revolver at David's face nodded while he looked the two men up and down. "You. Take the glasses off." He hissed at Urs.

"What for? I ca...." Urs began.

"Just do it Urs." David whispered without taking his eyes off the man.

"What's happening David?" Urs questioned quietly as he pulled the glasses from his face, folded them up and placed them on the countertop.

"Looks like we've walked in on an armed robbery buddy. There's a revolver pointing at my face and I can see.............that it's loaded." David whispered again.

"What?" Urs snapped his head up. "Oh hell!"

"That's enough talking." The robber insisted while waving the gun around. "Be quiet the two of you."

Keeping the gun aimed towards David, the robber took he few deep breaths and furrowed his brow while he thought for a moment.

"Wallets." He demanded as he nodded downwards. "Move slowly."

David kept his eyes focused on the man's face while he reached into his back pocket and pulled his wallet out. He turned his head slightly and breathed deep while he watched Urs do the same. He took hold of Urs's wallet and laid it on the countertop next to his own.

"The jewellery too." The robber sneered while he opened Urs's wallet and removed just sixty pounds of cash. He repeated the process with David's and smiled when he found over one hundred pounds in there.

David removed his watch and the ring from his left hand and watched as the man stuffed them into the pocket of his jeans.

"I'm not wearing anything." Urs swallowed hard and he showed him both wrists.

"Silver or Platinum?" The robber questioned as he looked at either side of David's head.

"Platinum." David closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Those too?" He questioned.

The robber nodded, held his hand out and smirked when David handed over the earrings his sister had bought for him the previous Christmas. His favourite earrings.

"Let's see. Mobiles?" He questioned.

David pulled his from his pocket, fumbled slightly while he removed the SIM card and tossed it over his shoulder as the robber instructed.

"Nice model. You. Let's have yours too." The robber hissed as Urs.

"Don't have it on me." Urs shook his head.

"Liar! Hand it over." He spat as he aimed the gun at Urs's head.

"I'm telling the truth." Urs insisted, biting his bottom lip hard and patting his pockets.

David watched the man carefully and tried not to make any audible sounds when he saw the smirk spread further across his face.

"You can't see can you?" He questioned Urs with a laugh.

Urs fidgetted nervously at David's side and slyly dropped his hand from his elbow.

"Can you?!!" The robber spat loudly making Urs startle violently.

"No." Urs admitted in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Thought not. My grandfather's blind, I could tell from the way you moved." He huffed a laugh. "You." He snapped as he returned his attention back to David. "Take six big steps back from your blind friend."

"No." David shook his head.

"Now!" The robber yelled as the gun was aimed at Urs's head once more.

"Ok. Ok." David raised his hands quickly as he agreed to comply.

He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and continued to nod his compliance while he started to step backwards. He opened his eyes to see that the robber had moved from behind the counter to stand on Urs's left side. He watched as Urs was grabbed harshly by the tops of his arms and spun round to face him.

"Now, we're going to leave together." The man informed as he clamped his left hand around Urs's throat and squeezed slightly. "And you're not going to give me any trouble, are you?" He whispered and Urs felt cold metal on his right cheek.

"No." Urs shook his head and screwed his eyes tight together while he tried to control his anger, knowing that it would do no good to try and fight the man and someone could get seriously hurt.

"Good. Now then, you stay there and your friend won't get hurt."

Urs gulped when he felt the robber's right elbow rest on his right shoulder. He stumbled slightly as he was pulled backwards towards the door. He could feel himself shaking while he fumbled for the door handle and slowly pushed it down. His swallowed hard when he felt the man climb the step whilst keeping a firm hold of his throat.

He coughed slightly as a little more pressure was applied and his right foot struggled to find the step behind him. After a moment or two he found it, pushed himself upwards so that his back was once again pressing against his captor's stomach. The arm that held the gun was returned to its position on Urs's shoulder and his eyes flew wide when he heard the robber huff a little laugh just before he discharged the gun once.

"David!" Urs yelled when he heard something heavy hit the floor in front of him. "What did you do? What did you do?! Why did you shoot?" Urs yelled even louder as he started to struggle violently against the hold the man had on him.

"I warned him not to move."

"David!" Urs shouted once more while the robber heaved him through the open door onto the pavement. "David answer me!!" He yelled once more as he leaned forward and tried wriggle free. "David!!!" He shouted once more as tears started to stream down his face.

He felt a hard smack to the left side of his head just before he groaned, everything went completely black and he crumpled to the floor.

"Franky, what's the Spanish for rabbit?" Sébastien questioned as he and Carlos crashed back into the room.

"Conejo. Why?" Franky giggled her reply while she watched Carlos chasing Sébastien around the room.

"Because that's what Carlos looked like when he heard a car backfire down one of the side roads a few minutes ago. A scared little conejo." Sébastien teased from the back of one of the comfortable chairs while his body zigzagged first one way then the other.

Franky's mouth flew wide and she laughed loudly as Carlos stepped onto the seat and launched himself at Sébastien from the other side of the chair while he let fly with a tirade of Spanish expletives.

"Conejo." Sébastien teased once more as his butt hit the floor hard and the pair wrestled for a moment or two as each of them tried to gain the upperhand.

Carlos eventually won and had a giggling and protesting Sébastien flat on his back

"Take that back." Carlos laughed as straddled Sébastien's chest, pinning him to the floor.

"Non." Sébastien shook his head and tried to wriggle free.

"Take it back or....." Carlos grinned devilishly while he flexed his fingers.

"Non. You don't know where I'm ticklish anyway." Sébastien shook his head and smirked while continuing to wriggle.

"Don't I?" Carlos questioned with a quick flick of his eyebrows. "Let's try...." He smiled once more as he reached backwards and ran his fingers lightly up and down the front of Sébastien's thighs.

Sébastien bit his bottom lip hard and grunted loudly through his nose while he fought to control his laughter. He didn't manage to hold it back for very long and suddenly laughed out loud.

"All right." He gasped for breath. "All right. I take it back. I take it back."

Carlos patted Sébastien's face gently, quickly brought himself upright and offered a hand to help Sébastien up as the door opened.

The three of them shook their heads when Franky's escort popped her head around the door and asked if they had seen anything of David and Urs. She looked at her watch and said she would give them another five minutes to return, they were only a couple of minutes late at the moment. She snatched her head up and looked towards the window when they heard the sound of sirens and saw the flashing of blue lights whizzing past the building.

_________________


"Urs!"

He heard a familiar accent shouting his name and he was being shaken gently.

"Urs, come on man. Wake up."

"David!" Urs startled as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. He blinked rapidly against the flashing blue light. "How? He shot you didn't he?" Urs asked as he started patting the squatting American down and gave him a quick inspection.

"Yeah he did." David hissed as Urs's right hand caught the wound on his left arm. "It's just a graze. It hurts like hell, but it’s just a graze."

"Show me." Urs demanded.

"It's right he.....What did you just say?" David asked as he looked at him with a slightly stunned expression.

"I said show me." Urs asked again. "Oh my God! Ha! I can see again. I can see David."

"Yeah very funny Urs."

"Honest." Urs insisted as he grabbed at David right arm. He looked around and tried to think of a way to prove that he had regained his sight. "The police car. Its registration plate reads FD87 RPT"

David took a quick look towards the vehicle and nodded. Still a little sceptical he waved his hand back and forth in front of Urs's face. He gasped when Urs blinked rapidly, grabbed hold of his wrist and stopped him.

"Please don't do that. It's so bloody annoying." Urs's smile broadened while he looked at his friend properly for the first time in days.

David stood and offered a hand to help Urs up.

"What a sight to greet you? My ugly mug staring back at you." He sniffed and pulled Urs into a quick hug.

"What happened?" Urs asked as he pulled away and quickly wiped his eyes.

"I saw someone through a gap the curtain and realised they had a phone in their hands. He nodded when I mouthed the word 'police' to him." David nodded while he spoke. "I took a step forward to distract the guy that had hold of you and he fired. I saw your shoulders twitch and heard you sniff quietly just before he pulled the trigger and the bullet nicked my shoulder. I heard you shouting but I knew I had to keep quiet, I didn't want him to come back into the shop and finish the job. I'm sorry if I made you think I'd been seriously hurt by doing that."

"No." Urs shook his head. "It's ok, I understand."

"My favourite Superman t-shirt is ruined now though." David laughed as stuck his index finger in the hole in the top of his sleeve and waggled it about. "Hey they got him." He smiled as he nodded up the road.

Urs turned around and smiled when he saw two policemen with a tall, skinny, dark-haired man in handcuffs. Both he and David watched as the man was forced into the back of the police car. They smiled and nodded politely when one officer approached them and asked them to identify the items that had been found on the man.

An ambulance arrived soon afterwards and both men allowed the technicians to give them a quick examination. Urs paced up and down impatiently near the ambulance while he waited for David to have his wound cleaned and dressed. As soon as he was finished and Urs had agreed to get his eyes checked again, both of them ran at a full sprint back to the studio.

Urs ran up to the reception desk and drummed his hands across it on the way to the stairs. "Love the new hair colour." He smiled at the receptionist.

"Thanks Urs." She replied without looking up from her computer screen.

Her head suddenly snatched up and round to meet Urs's beaming face as he turned his head over his shoulder and gave her a slow blink.

He continued to run up the stairs, turned right and headed towards the room where he knew Franky would be. He stopped at the door, took a few deep breaths before he flung it open and walked quickly to stand himself before her. He smiled softly as she raised her face to meet his. He reached down with one hand, removed the laptop from her knees and set it down on the coffee table. Blinking back tears and swallowing hard, he took hold of Franky's hands and gently pulled her to her feet.

"Urs? What's go......?" Sébastien began only to be shushed by a smiling David.

"Urs? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Urs shook his head and smiled while his eyes moved slowly over her face. "Nothing at all."

Franky breathed deep through a slightly open mouth while Urs cupped her face in his hands, smiled and felt every detail of her face while he continued to look at her. He smiled through his tears and gasped for a few breaths before he spoke again.

"I'd almost forgotten how beautiful you are." He sniffed and placed a very firm kiss on her lips.

"Urs? Can....." Franky closed her eyes and swallowed hard while she took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and started her question again. "Can you see me?"

"Ja." Urs replied almost breathlessly while he nodded quickly. "Ja! I can. I can see again Franky. I can see." He sniffed as he pulled her into his arms and buried his face into her hair while he cried quietly.

He kept his eyes open and smiled when he felt the fingers of Franky's right hand curling tightly in the hair at the back of his head. He remained in that position and started to rock Franky gently from side-to-side while he listened to Carlos, David and Sébastien leave the room to allow them a little privacy.

He slowed his breathing down and slowly eased himself back from Franky.

"I love you." He whispered as he shook his head and smiled while he gently wiped her tears away then moved his left arm around her waist while his right hand slipped slowly up her back until it reached the back of her head. He held her that way for a few seconds then breathed deep, closed his eyes and kissed her slowly and gently for a long, long time.

Almost half an hour past before David knocked on the door and coughed loudly as he poked his beaming face around it. Franky huffed a laugh and blushed furiously as she glanced away from Urs. The pair nodded almost at the same time and indicated for the others to come back in and everything would be explained.

Ten weeks later

Urs smiled as he watched Franky leave her seat at the table he had booked in the private dining-room at Ramone's restaurant to head for the bathroom. She was wearing the dress Sébastien had paid for again, having worn it for the first time when he'd taken her out to dinner in Luzerne, and a matching pair of evening sandals. The diamond bangle he had brought for her sat on her right wrist and was complemented by a matching pair of ear-rings that the shop's owner had thrown in for free.

He sighed as he recalled the events of the past few weeks. His parents' joy when he told them that he had got his sight back. A check-up had confirmed that everything was back to how it was before the accident. He giggled to himself as he remembered how hard they had both laughed, then cried after he had shown them Lauren's DVD of Franky skating.

He shook his head as he recalled how patient Franky had been with him while she helped him to reply to all the private emails he had received without reading a single one herself. He still wasn't fully up to speed with using a laptop, but he had improved considerably over the past few weeks..

They had recorded the new album in almost record time and it had been released five weeks ago. Their producer had been left wondering what was up with the four of them, they had sung so well and had barely argued over who was singing which part. He felt that this was the best work they had ever done and he had told them he had a really good feeling about this album. He'd been right too, it was already number one in the States and Australia, at number two in most European countries, three in others and currently at number seven in the Far East, the last continent it had been released in.

Franky had had her cast removed three weeks ago and her leg was almost as strong as it was before thanks to the physio-therapy routine Emma had devised. She only had to wear a heavy duty support bandage when she skated. His ice-skating lessons had resumed almost immediately and he was now good enough to dance a simple routine with Franky.

He huffed a quick laugh to himself as he remembered returning from promoting the album, not finding Franky at home or at the garage, knowing instantly where she would be. Those three weeks away from her had been torture. How he'd stopped himself making his way onto the ice when he arrived at the rink he didn't know, only the sight of watching her skate to Josh Groban's 'When You Say You Love Me.' had done that. To see her finish the dance with a Butterfly jump and turn it into a very fast Scratch spin had taken his breath away and she'd been totally oblivious to him being there until he'd cheered loudly. His laughed a little louder, recalling how hard he'd hit the ice after stepping onto it without skates on. He could swear there was still a bruise there, though Franky said she couldn't see anything. He coughed to regain his composure after recalling how long they'd made love for once they'd reached his apartment. Those three hours seemed to have flown by.

His eyes widened as he recalled the first time he had seen Franky's new Harley and how he'd laughed and nodded when he had seen the custom fire design on it. Her new garage was doing better than the old one ever did and she had hired two new mechanics and a secretary to take care of the day-to-day paperwork. She still insisted on doing the books and the payroll herself. She was hoping to persuade Gabriel to take over the day-to-day running of the place so that she would have time to visit him while they were on tour, but he was currently on honeymoon, would be for the next two weeks and she flat out refused to disturb him.

He coughed and reached for his water glass when he remembered the trials they had had to sit through over the past ten days. Kevin, Kie and Owen pleading guilty to their cirmes, Anthony and Jamie denying everything despite the massive amount of evidence against them.

Though they'd all admitted to hitting Anthony in their statements, he himself had denied it and had refused to press charges against them. He smiled as he pictured how strong Franky had kept herself through all of it, tears had rolled down her cheeks several times while she gave her evidence but she had kept herself composed. She had only broken down into tears once the sentences had been handed down. Kevin and Kie had received a total of ten years each while the others had been given life. Jamie had screamed like a banshee, swearing revenge as her guards dragged her from the dock to return her to Westholme Prison where she would live out the rest of her days. The only night Franky had cried herself to sleep had been that one and she had done so whilst wrapped tightly in his arms once they were safely back at her home.

Her home. He laughed. It felt like his home too now, he was so comfortable there. Lauren and Stephanie had virtually moved into David's house and he could scarcely remember the last time he had spent the night at his own place without Franky by his side.

A little confusion had arisen from the break-in at David's place and no-one could figure out where the diamond, that Stephanie had found whilst playing trampoline on the bed, had come from.

One young police officer had made tentative connection between the house's previous owner, his brother and the man thought to be responsible for the theft of a large haul of diamonds a year before David had bought the house, but his theory had been totally dismissed by his superior because he knew how much Tyrel Walker hated Anthony Strawson and couldn't even begin to imagine the two working together.

As no-one had claimed the two karat asscher cut sparkler, it had legally become David's property and he had had it made into an eighteen carat yellow gold solitaire engagement ring for Lauren and she had accepted the proposal he had made while on a trip to introduce her and Stephanie to his parents and the rest of his family.

"That little girl is going to get spoiled rotten." He whispered to himself.

Sébastien and Emma were getting along very well too and he had noticed that they did seem to get through a lot of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. She hadn't taken the step of actually moving into his home at the moment, but she did spend most of her free time there.

Her sister had married Glenn just two days ago in a very quiet ceremony at one of the churches in the nearest village. A cloudy blue tea length matte satin dress with chiffon sash had been the style and colour of Emma's chief-bridesmaid's dress. The other five bridesmaids had been similarly dressed, their colour being a lighter artic blue. Slipping Sébastien into the church at Brett's side had been relatively easy for them to manage and he had told them how stunned he had been to see Emma in her dress.

Sébastien's nightmare about the stabbing had only ever resurfaced once, at the very beginning of Jamie's trial and talking about it with his counsellor had helped him to deal with it. He had told Urs that morning that he had proposed to Emma the night before on a walk through the park and she had almost fainted when he did so, but she had accepted. A simple platinum band set with seven alternating pale blue and white round cut diamonds now graced her ring finger

Carlos and Karen were currently on their way back from Spain following a visit to introduce her to his family. Carlos had called him just before he left for the restaurant to tell him that she had accepted the proposal he'd made after they had spent the night dancing at one of Madrid's top Latin style nightclubs. An antique eighteen carat yellow gold ring set with a light yellow two carat oval cut diamond adorned Karen's left hand.

Carlos's hand had healed very well and as soon as his cast had been removed, Karen had taken him to 'Devil's Drop' and had been his climbing buddy while he took the easiest route up the rockface. Though he enjoyed climbing, he never seemed to stop complaining about the harness being too tight.

"Just me left then." He whispered to himself as his right hand reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small gold box that held the ring he had selected for Franky.

He kept this hand in his lap as the door opened and Franky made her way back in. She smiled as she sat down and returned to eating her strawberry tiramisu dessert.

Urs breathed deep and looked at Franky softly while he took hold of her right hand in his left. He gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb while he moved his cupped right hand slowly onto the table.

"Franky I....." He began then stalled. "You know how much I love you and I think you feel the same about me."

Franky raised her smiling face to meet his then lowered her eyes to quickly scan the table. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yes I do." She nodded, then raised her left hand to cover his right. "Please don't do that."