Zoom in on Agnes and Bert, sitting at a desk in Blue Moon.

Agnes: As all of you know, Moonlighting ended tragically last week. We have had a lot of demands for the show tonight, and hopefully, all of you enraged fans out there will understand that the writer really was only doing what she thought necessary. Please, no more violent mail, ok?

Bert: Agnes, all she wanted us to do was remind them what happened last week.

Agnes: Right, anyway.............Mr. Addison and Ms. Hayes have been living together for about a month now, and with the Christmas season coming, they decided to go to the Hayes' for the holiday. *Clip of David and Maddie on the plane* then, Mr. Addison and Ms. Hayes went out to dinner, and Mr. Addison proposed! *Clip of David on his knee, slipping the ring onto her finger*

Agnes becomes very sad and her voice gets quiet.

Agnes: On their way back to the Hayes' residence, they blew a tire *Clip of Maddie and David standing by the car, David kicks it*

Bert: Some bastard came up behind them with a gun, when Ms. Hayes wouldn't give him her ring, he shot her and ran away. *Clip of Maddie crumpling to the ground* Mr. Addison ran with her all the way to the hospital, but he got there too late. *Clip of David watching the monitor as it flat lines* And that's where we stopped last week.

Agnes is crying silently. Bert hugs her and says softly;

Bert: Roll the credits, please.

MOONLIGHTING OPENING CREDITS

Letting Go

Part 2

David sat up on the hard bench seat and rubbed his red, puffy eyes. No sooner had he stopped rubbing them than the tears overwhelmed him again. He put his face in his hands and cried silently.

It was too soon, too soon for her to be taken from him. Five years wasn't enough, not for them, not by a long shot.

Had it really only been five years? It seemed so much shorter.

It couldn't have been five years since she had walked into his office and fired him. Five years since they had been tied up together and threatened with a sausage. Five years since he had so unknowingly fallen in love.

As he sat on the bench in the waiting room, he prepared himself for the calls he would have to make. The call to Maddie's parents had already been made, but the snow was so heavy that they couldn't get out of the house. He needed to call the office, tell them.......tell them what?

Maddie was dead. Dead.

He hated that word. It was so final, and it made David shudder to think that he'd never hear her laugh, never hear her sing, never see her glare or the way she always looked at him after he said something stupid. Never again would he experience her temper, or the heat of her glare.

He cried harder as he sat all alone in the hospital waiting room, his tears soaking his clothes.

She was gone.

~ ~ ~

The arrangements for the funeral were made, the eulogy written, the decision that the tombstone would simply say: Madolyn Hayes 1950-1989 Beloved daughter and partner.

As David stood in the Hayes' living room after the burial, sipping a glass of wine, he looked around at everyone.

"Maddie would have hated this." he muttered to himself, setting his glass down on a nearby table. All of the people around him were crying, David's were the only dry eyes in the house. He couldn't cry anymore, he had already out cried himself. He looked at the basket of red roses sitting by him and plucked one from it's space.

Making his way to the door, David grabbed his coat and walked out, ignoring all of the looks of pity he received as he got into the limo and told the chauffer to drive.

As they reached the cemetery, David swallowed the lump in his throat and got out of the limo, thanking the driver and telling him to go, that he'd just walk back.

Walking slowly along the rows of tombstones, David felt his heart rise in his throat. She was here, among all of these people now. She didn't belong here.

He found himself standing before her a couple of minutes later, and the tears all at once flooded his eyes and obscured his vision. Her name stood out, as if mocking him with it's finality. David reached into his pocket and took out the ring, gently rolling it back and forth between his thumb and forefinger.

He knelt down in front of the tombstone, placing the simple red rose on the grave. He traced her name and then the date, not noticing the tears that were dripping down his chin. He mumbled as he knelt on the newly filtered earth.

"Please don't leave me. I love you." it became a chant as David cried and the wind blew, and suddenly there was someone calling his name.

"Mr. Addison....Mr. Addison? Are you ok?"

Through a thick fog, David made out a figure standing beside him. Not knowing who she was, he jumped up and ran after her.

~ ~ ~

As the tall thin man before her swayed unsteadily on his feet, Sabrina Walters, candy striper, touched his upper arm to try to steady him, "Mr. Addison?" she tried once again to raise the man out of his deep sleep.

His eyes popped open and he stared in confusion at Sabrina. She stared back, captivated by the emotion in the green depths of his eyes.

"You were having a bad dream, I thought that maybe you would appreciate...." her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard, having a hard time talking under the gaze of such powerful emotion.

David brought a hand to his head and rubbed his eyes, "I was dreaming?" he asked, his voice husky from sleep.

Sabrina nodded, fiddling with the ring on her ring finger, "You were shouting. I've never heard such an awful sound before."

He moved his hand down and covered his chest over his heart, "Dream." he repeated, sitting down heavily on the bench behind him.

She nodded again, kneeling beside him, "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee maybe?" she asked, in the hope that with a little caffeine in his system, he might lose the lost look on his face.

David shook his head, "No, I'm ok." he raised his head to look in her eyes, "Have they said anything about her?"

Sabrina winced, "It's touch and go." she whispered, instinctively placing her hand over his on his knee, "But they think she'll be ok."

He studied the young lady in front of him, she couldn't have been more than seventeen, but there was something in her eyes, "Maybe some coffee would be a good idea." he said with as much of a smile as he could muster.

Sabrina let go of his hand with a small pat and walked over to the coffee machine, flipping the switch to turn it on. As she was waiting for the coffee to brew, she thought about what little she knew about the couple that had come bursting through the hospital doors just hours before.

The woman she recognized from old magazines her mother had kept. She was the Blue Moon Shampoo girl turned private eye. The man she had never heard of, but she knew by the forms that he was her partner and fiancé, and she knew from the emotion in his eyes that he had a great passion for the woman that lay dying just feet away from him.

And she knew that it must be killing him to not be able to do anything.

The small beep ripped her away from her thoughts, and Sabrina turned back to the coffee machine, pouring a cup of coffee for him. Leaving it black, she carefully carried it back to him.

"Mr. Addison?"

David's head jerked up at the saying of his name. He stared into her brown eyes and shivered; they were so unlike the blue ones he was used to looking into.

Sabrina pushed the cup of steaming hot liquid into his hands and pulled back, kneeling once again in front of him.

David stared dumbly down at the warm black liquid in the small cup, "Thank you." he said, looking up into her eyes.

Sabrina took a breath and patted him on the shoulder lightly, "Is there anyone I can call for you?" she asked quietly.

David shook his head, “I called her parents, but the snow is too deep and they won’t be able to get here for another couple of hours.”

She nodded, "I'll keep her in my prayers, Mr. Addison." she said with a small smile.

David smiled at her, "Maddie would appreciate that."

Sabrina grasped his hand briefly and then walked away, wiping a tear from her cheek.

David leaned back against the back of the rock hard bench and sipped the inky liquid, cringing slightly at the taste. Getting up, he walked over to the coffee counter and emptied about five sugars into the cup, stirring it with a straw.

He wasn’t going to risk falling asleep again. He shuddered as he recalled the realness of the dream, everything had been so lifelike.

Taking a sip of the coffee, David cringed again, now it was sickeningly sweet. Muttering an oath, he threw the Styrofoam cup into the trash can.

He wandered around the waiting room, growing more agitated with each passing minute, until he had had enough waiting. Grabbing his jacket from the bench, he threw it on and walked over to the nurses station, “I’m going to leave my beeper number....” the sentence trailed off as the nurse nodded her understanding.

Not smiling for fear that it would look frightening, David walked out of the room.

~ ~ ~

He wandered the halls of the hospital, not knowing what else to do, but knowing that he couldn’t sit still anymore. Without realizing it, David found himself in the maternity ward.

Not sure what the effect of babies on him would be, David proceeded through these halls with caution. He came to the viewing window and stopped, mesmerized by the tiny humans on the other side of the glass.

He looked down at his watch and his eyes widened at the date. It was December 16, how could they have forgotten? How could he have forgotten?

“A year and a week.” he muttered as he stared at the infants.

It had been a year and a week since that day at the baby shower. That awful, terrifying day. David could still feel her body tremble as she sank to the floor, and the look in her eyes. He knew that the look had mirrored his own.

Confusion, hurt, anger, and the most terrifying of all; pain.

Her pain. His pain. Their pain. It all mixed together to cause one huge plethora of pain.

David didn’t know how long he stood there, but he did notice the nurse when she came to retrieve a baby. She gave him a weird look and he decided he’d been there long enough. Giving one last longing look at the babies, he started to walk away.

An awful beeping filled the air and David felt his heart stop. He took off running down the hall, back towards the waiting room he’d left almost an hour before.

~ ~ ~

Sabrina met him at the door, smiling, “The doctor would like to see you, Mr. Addison.” she said, giving him a pat on the shoulder, “Congratulations, by the way, I hear you’re getting married.” with that, the young woman walked off down the corridor, whistling.

Doctor Majors came out of the double doors, weary looking. He peeled a latex glove off of his hand and sighed, "Mr. Addison?"

"How is she?" he asked before the doctor could utter another word.

Majors smiled, "She's going to be fine."

David let out a sigh he didn't know he'd been holding in and rocked back on his heels, "I can't thank you enough." he said, shaking the doctor's hand, "Can I see her now?"

He started towards the doors without waiting for an answer. The doctor grabbed David's arm as he was walking by, "Mr. Addison," he pulled him back to face him, "Aren't you curious about the baby?"

David stared at him, perplexed, "Baby?"

The doctor ran his non-gloved hand through his hair, "You didn't know." he said.

David's confusion slowly began to fade to shock, "She's pregnant?" he asked with a growing happiness. The joy was overcoming him.

Major's shook his head, "I'm sorry, Mr. Addison." he said softly, "We had a hard enough time saving her....a child....there wasn't a chance."

"How far along was she?" David asked, his voice almost inaudible.

"She was about four and a half weeks." he replied.

David nodded slowly, "Has she woken up at all?"

"Yes. She knew about the baby. Mr. Addison, it might be best not to mention it to her right away, she was extremely upset when she awoke. But she asked for you."

David smiled sadly, "Thank you, Doctor." he paused, “Would you please call her parents? I just want to....” the sentence trailed off and the doctor nodded.

David mumbled a 'Thank you' and disappeared through the double doors.

~ ~ ~

She was lying on an icy cold table. The frostiness sunk into her bones and seemed to reach into her soul. Maddie tried to sit up, only to fall back at the agonizing pain the movement had caused her.

"Ms. Hayes, please lie still." a voice sank through the fogginess and Maddie felt confusion overtake her. She picked up her head and attempted to open her eyes.

The pain came over her again and Maddie lay back down, breathing heavily, "David." his name rolled off of her lips as the blackness invaded her once again.

~ ~ ~

David walked through another pair of double doors and stopped when he saw her. She was deathly pale, and David was reminded of his dream as he walked the rest of the way into the room.

He stood about four feet from her, looking over her body carefully, taking in every inch of her. The body he had so recently held against his own seemed to have shrunk a dozen sizes since the last time. The table made her seem even more fragile than David had come to realize that she was.

Walking the rest of the way to the bed, he saw the traces of red in her hair and shuddered. His dream came back to him full force and thankfully, there was a chair behind him. Landing heavily in the before mentioned chair, David gasped for breath.

It had been too real, nothing like anything that he'd ever dreamed before. He shook his head and carefully picked up Maddie's hand from the bed, bringing his head down and resting it against the soft flesh.

Saying a prayer of thanks, David kissed her hand and rested his forehead against the bed, slipping easily into a light sleep.

David had no idea how long he'd slept, but the next time he woke, Maddie's parents were standing behind him, worried looks adorning their usually jovial faces.

He stood and hugged his future mother-in-law, then turned and hugged her husband, "She's stable." he whispered, "They think she's going to be fine."

Mr. Hayes motioned David out of the room and into the hall, "How is she really?" he asked, his heart in his eyes.

David smiled faintly, "She's going to be fine, Mr. Hayes." he said firmly, "She's got to be fine. We're getting married next month."

For the first time in seventy-two hours, David Addison smiled for real, "Why don't we all go down for a cup of coffee?" Mr. Hayes suggested, "You look like you could use some."

David nodded and waited in the hallway as he went to get Mrs. Hayes.

"She's going to be fine." he mumbled to himself, the smile not leaving his face.

~ ~ ~

Maddie felt as if a Mack truck had run over her a couple hundred times. She didn't even attempt to move, not wanting to set off another bout of agonizing pain.

She took inventory of her wounds, trying to clear her mind of pain so that she could tell what was hurting her and where.

There was a dull ache going through her head, but it seemed far off, so she ignored it. The pain in her legs and stomach was more intense and she paid the most attention to that.

Suddenly, Maddie remembered all of the previous night's exertions and she slowly picked up her left hand.

The diamond was gone from her finger.

Tears prickled under Maddie's eyelids and she placed the same hand over her abdomen. The baby was gone. Their baby was gone.

David hadn't even known. She'd never told him. Maddie felt the guilt pour over her. She'd done it again. Without even realizing it, she'd repeated her past mistake.

She hadn't told him for fear of him rejecting her. Being angry with her for getting pregnant again. She had kept it from him, not thinking about David's feelings, or the baby, for that matter, but for her own selfish reasons, she hadn't told him.

And now it was too late. She would never know if he would have been happy or not. And it was her own damn fault.

"Strike two." she whispered.

~ ~ ~

David left the café earlier than the Hayes, saying that he wanted to check on Maddie. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, he took a detour to the chapel.

He poked his head in the door, and, upon seeing no one was in there, walked the rest of the way in.

Feeling a little awkward and foolish, David kneeled at the altar and made the sign of the cross on his chest before reciting the Lord's prayer. Then, taking a deep breath, he started;

"I know I don't have the right to ask for anything. The last time I was in a church, it was to throw a wedding, and even that wasn't with good intentions. So I'm not really sure why I'm here.

"That's not true, I know exactly why I'm here. You've got two of them now, whether the first one was mine or not, they were both hers. I know that you know I had a little sister, and she's with you too. I guess I'm here because I want to know that there is someone up there looking out for the three of them. And my mother.

"I know you must get a lot of people in here feeling sorry for themselves, and I'm no exception. Why did this have to happen again? Do you have something against us being happy?

"I can't stay with her after this. I had a hard time staying the first time, but now this has happened....I could have saved her, if I had given him the ring.....But I suppose that doesn't really matter. Knowing that I could have done something and didn't, I just can't look at her everyday knowing that.

"I guess I'm here for forgiveness too, because I know she won't. So please help her to understand."

He bowed his head and made the sign of the cross again, "Thank you."

Nodding his head toward a statue of Christ, David walked out of the chapel, wiping the lingering tears from his cheek. He wearily climbed the remaining two flights of stairs and continued his journey down the melancholy white walls until he came to room 1194.

Knocking lightly just in case she was with the doctor, and getting no reply, David opened the door and walked in, careful to be quiet once he saw she was still asleep.

Maddie was almost in the same position she had been in when he'd left her only minutes before. Now, though, her left hand was placed over her abdomen.

David blinked back the tears that were coming easier and easier these days and muttered to himself, "Strike two."

~ ~ ~

The early morning sunlight filtered through the dark hospital room, creating shifting patterns on the far wall. Maddie opened her eyes and resisted the urge to stretch her tired and aching muscles.

How long had she occupied this bed? It felt like she hadn't moved in over a year.

Stretching her head carefully to the side, Maddie saw David curled up in a nearby chair, a couple days growth of beard on his face.

Trying to sit up proved futile and she sank back to her pillows with a sigh of pain. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and blinked them back.

"I am not going to cry." she voiced aloud to the room, jerking David out of his sleep with a cry of alarm.

"Maddie!?" he jumped out of the chair and rushed the two feet to the bed, almost falling on it when he got there.

She reached out a hand to steady him, "Slow down, I'm fine." she winced as the pain hit her, "I think. How long have I been in here?" she looked around her.

David punched the nurses button on the table, "First things first......."

A few seconds later, a nurse came into the room and smiled, "She's awake! That's great. Now if hubby will leave the room, we'll take some tests and see how you are."

David and Maddie exchanged amused looks, "We're not married." they replied at the same time, smiling at each other.

The nurse shrugged, "Can't win them all." while throwing an assessing glance David's way.

Maddie felt jealousy flare, "He's engaged." she replied, her voice tinged with venom. The nurse grinned and turned away, checking the IV that was hooked to Maddie's left arm.

David blew Maddie a kiss and stepped out of the room. Leaning against the wall, he collected his thoughts.

Would she want to talk about the baby? This would be number two that they had lost. They hadn't exactly grieved for the last one, which David still regretted, would they be able to grieve for this one? How was he going to tell her he was leaving?

He cringed, she was going to be hurt and angry.

Closing his eyes, he hit his head on the wall, "What is it they say? Third times the charm or some shit like that." he said to himself.

"Mr. Addison? You can come back in now." the nurse stopped him, "Are you really engaged?" she asked with a smile.

He nodded, "Yep, I'm bought and paid for."

"Well, as I said, can't win them all." she sighed, "You can come back in now."

David walked back into the room and stopped, watching her for a moment. She looked thinner, paler, but she looked alive. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched as her chest rose and fell, rose and fell.

"David?" her voice jarred him out of his thoughts, making him jump.

He smiled and walked the rest of the way into the room, taking her hand, "How are you feeling?" he sat in the chair next to the bed, never letting go of her hand.

Maddie sighed, "I'm ok." her eyes filled with tears, "I guess they told you......" unable to finish the statement, she gestured to her stomach.

David winced and nodded, slowly, "Yeah, they told me." he stood, only to seat himself on the side of her bed, "You should have told me." he said quietly, looking into her eyes.

Her bottom lip quivered and the tears overflowed onto her cheeks, "I know." she whispered, unable to break eye contact. She laughed suddenly, a dry, unhappy laugh, "Maybe this is some kind of sign."

He shook his head, "We're starting to think alike." he laughed a laugh identical to hers, "I was thinking we should just call the whole thing off."

Maddie jerked her head up to stare at him, "Call it off?" she sounded saddened by the fact that he would even propose something like that, "You want to just give up on something that's taken us five years to perfect?"

David ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Hell, I don't know. It just seems like we can't get anything right, and I'm tired of it, you know?"

"Can I have my ring back?" she asked quietly, dreading the answer.

He looked up, smiling, "Yeah, you can have your ring back." he kissed her lightly on the lips, he stood and dug into his pocket, removing the ring. He slipped it onto her finger.

David smiled sadly and kissed her again, making it last longer, "I love you." he whispered as she drifted to sleep a couple minutes later.

She smiled in her sleep and tightened her grip on his hand.

~ ~ ~

"When can I go home?"

The doctor furrowed his brow and flipped through Maddie's charts once more, "I think you'll be out before Christmas." he said with a smile.

Maddie sighed irritably, "That doesn't answer my question. Christmas is seven days away." she complained.

David patted her hand, "I thought you said everything was fine?" he asked, confused.

"It is, everything is healing quite nicely, but we want to make sure there are no infections or anything like that." he sighed and looked through the papers again, "I'm thinking they'll want to discharge you in about a day or so." his beeper went off, "Shoot, I'll be back in a few minutes."

They both nodded as he walked out of the room. Maddie leaned back into her pillows and sighed, "I want to go home." she muttered.

David laughed, "I know." he suddenly looked sad and Maddie squeezed his hand.

"Something wrong?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head, "No, nothing wrong. Just thinking." He got up from his spot on the side of the bed, "I have some shopping to do, I'll be back in a little while, ok?"

Without waiting for a response, David exited the room, leaving Maddie confused, "Do I have a choice?" she wondered aloud.

~ ~ ~

When David returned two hours later, he was showered, shaved, and in clean clothes. He walked into Maddie's room hesitantly, not wanting to disturb her if she was asleep. His smile faltered when he saw she was sitting up in the bed, reading, but he got control before she could see, "It's alive." he said jokingly as he took a seat by the bed.

Maddie set the book down on her knee and smiled, "Yeah, I feel like I've been asleep for the better part of a year."

He nodded, "Well, you were asleep for a long time." he said dumbly.

"David, is something wrong?" she asked with a hint of a frown.

"No, why would you ask that?" David replied, not looking her in the eye.

Maddie shrugged, "No reason, just wondering."

Their conversations were much like this for the next day, until Maddie was discharged, then it got worse. David became distant and the usual playfulness was gone. Every time she thought they would finally go beyond kissing, he would pull away, make some excuse, and leave the room.

Christmas was coming up soon, only two more days, and it wasn't getting better. Maddie had been out of the hospital for almost a week now, and David still refused to touch her. He slept in the guestroom without complaint, and had even gone so far as to lock her out.

When she questioned him, he shrugged it off and said it was out of habit.

They never locked doors at home. Most of the time, the doors were left open out of carelessness, but never locked. Confused and hurt, Maddie ignored his hesitance and went on like she was fine.

Although the scar on her chest was healing, inside, she felt deep depression. The loss of another baby was hard enough, but now she and David were acting like strangers, and the reason was a mystery.

Christmas descended upon the Hayes' household with none of the usual cheer the holiday brings with it. There were no carols, no eggnog, and no happiness.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes tried their hardest to get the two younger adults into the spirit, but Maddie and David were both too stubborn in their own misery to come out and join in the holiday frolic.

Maddie woke on Christmas morning with a smile on her face, not because it was Christmas, but because in just a few short days, they would be leaving Chicago and going home. She had never wanted to go home as much as she did then.

Maybe once they got back home, everything would just fall into place, like a nicely put together puzzle. Jumping out of bed, she threw on her robe and a pair of fuzzy slippers and headed downstairs for a cup of coffee before the opening of the presents.

~ ~ ~

David stood in the kitchen, sipping the hot coffee and going over his thoughts. What would her reaction be when he told her he was leaving? Or staying would be a more appropriate word, he supposed.

It wasn't that he didn't love her, or didn't want to be with her. But she was so much better than him.

He didn't deserve her.

He looked around the kitchen. "Look at this place." he said aloud, "How could I ever think that I belonged here?"

"David?" Maddie said from the doorway.

He started guiltily and turned around, "Merry Christmas." he mumbled, wondering if she had heard his little question to himself.

She didn't reply, just walked up to him and hugged him. He set down his coffee mug and wrapped his arms around her, smelling her hair.

Maddie winced in pain as David pressed a little too hard against her chest. Hoping he hadn't noticed, she forced a smile to her face.

But David had noticed and, cursing under his breath, he pushed her away gently.

"David....." she started, reaching out to him again.

He shook his head, grabbed his mug, and exited the kitchen, leaving Maddie standing by the sink, tears streaming down her face.

"Merry Christmas." she said to the empty room, hugging herself, "And a Happy New Year."

~ ~ ~

"I wish you'd stay a little while longer, at least until New Years." Mrs. Hayes said as David loaded their luggage into the waiting cab.

Maddie hugged her mother, "The business won't run itself, Mom. Besides, I have to get back to pay the rent on the office or we won't have a business to run."

She hugged her father a little longer than necessary, wanting to give the impression of being fine, but not quite succeeding, "I'll call when our plane lands." she whispered, kissing him quickly on the cheek.

David hugged Mrs. Hayes and shook Mr. Hayes' hand before climbing in the taxi and telling the driver to take them to the airport.

Maddie leaned her head against the window and sighed, wishing the cold glass were David's shoulder. They pulled into the airport about fifteen minutes later. David got out and opened Maddie's door while the driver got their luggage.

"Hey, leave the gray suitcase and carry-on, ok?" David said to the driver, "And just wait here while I help the lady with her luggage." the driver nodded and shut the trunk.

David began to walk toward the departure gate. Maddie was close behind him.

"David, what are you doing?" she repeated it until they were standing in front of the gate and he finally stopped.

He turned to Maddie, "This is where I get off, Blondie." he said, looking her in the eyes.

She shook her head, "What are you talking about, this is where you get off? We're going to miss our plane."

It was David's turn to shake his head, "You're going to miss your plane, Maddie. I think I'll stay here a while." he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "It's been fun, I'll never regret a minute of it."

"Fun? The last five years have been nothing but fun for you? David Addison, you are being an ass. Now come on." she pleaded with a look so sad in her eyes that David found the only thing he wanted to do was gather her into his arms.

He shook his head again, this time to clear it, "Not this time, Maddie. You go on home, tell the kids I miss them, and that I'll write."

"Yeah, you'll write, call. David, you've done nothing wrong....please, come with me." she whispered, trying once again to persuade him.

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "I love you, Madolyn Hayes."

Maddie dodged his lips, pulling back, "If you love me so much, then why are you doing this?" she asked with venom, "You know what?" pulling the ring off of her left finger, she flung it at him, "I don't need that, and I certainly don't need you."

They stood there staring at each other for the next few seconds until her flight was called again, which seemed to jar Maddie out of her daze. She turned and started for the gate without a second glance.

"Maddie." he called her name and she didn't turn, just kept walking, "Maddie!"

Finally she turned around, tears in her eyes, "I hope you find what you're after, David. And I hope it brings you more happiness than I could." she turned and handed her ticket to the stewardess and started into the tunnel, away from him.

David stood and watched the plane take off, wondering if she was looking out, and wondering if she could see him.

Shaking his head again, David turned and walked out of the airport to the waiting cab. Climbing in the back, he patted the top of the bench seat in front of him, "Holiday Inn please."

The rain started to fall, exactly in sync with his tears.