David was struggling with a pan of frying eggs when the phone rang. "Hello?" he grabbed up the receiver and held it to his ear with a shoulder as he ran back to the stove to stir the eggs. Judging from the way they were browning around the edges, and all the smoke, he was doing something wrong.

"Sounds like you're a little busy?" he heard Katy's voice on the other end of the line.

"Just a little," he told her, turning off the heat and going in search of a plate. Finally finding one, he turned on the exhaust fan and made ready to put the eggs on the plate. Unfortunately, he forgot to use a towel to pick up the pan.

"Dammit!" he yelled, dropping the pan back on the stove. The phone hit the floor. Scrambling for it, he placed it to his ear. "Katy, I'm sorry. I gotta go. I'll call you later." With that he clicked off the phone and ran for the frying pan. This time he wrapped the handle in a towel before attempting to pick it up.

Once the eggs were safely on the plate, he examined them more closely. They were a bit dry, and decidedly browner than was appetizing. He turned and headed toward the trash with the plate. Unfortunately, those had been the last of the eggs.

"Don't throw those away," Tammy appeared at the kitchen door.

"You sure?" David asked, glancing up to greet her. "I already owe you a t-shirt that says 'I survived David's cooking'. Although, the jury is still out as to whether or not it or the painkillers knocked you out yesterday."

Tammy laughed at him. "I think I can handle it. After six months, perhaps I've built up an immunity."

David laughed. "Maybe." Turning he presented the rest of his breakfast offering. "The toast is cold, the juice is probably warm, we won't discuss the eggs. Still game?"

"I'm easy," Tammy told him.

David shot her a look, but said nothing.

"Your office phone rang a few minutes ago," Tammy spoke up as she came to help him with the plates. "I didn't know if you wanted me to answer it."

David frowned. "No," he told her. "There's probably a message. I'll check it later." Then changing the subject. "How's your side?"

"A little tender," Tammy said, "But much better. Just no more wrestling."

"Scouts honor," David told her.

~*~

"Do you have the list?"

"I thought you had the list."

"No, I gave it to you."

"You did?"

"Of course, I did. Remember? In the kitchen, when you couldn't find the--"

"Oh, right," David smiled sheepishly and pulled the list from his shirt pocket. "See, what would I do without you?"

"Run out of eggs," Tammy informed him. "And often."

"Mmm," David agreed, leaning over to start the car. Pausing, he said, "You want to drive?"

"What? You can't find the ignition?" Tammy teased him.

"No," David assured her with a laugh. "That call in my office was from the garage. They say that your car will be ready tomorrow. I thought maybe you'd like to get used to the city before we went to pick it up."

Tammy glanced away from him, wondering at the panicky feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach. "Ah...no, that's okay. I'm...comfortable with you driving." Avoiding the curious glance he gave her, she turned to stare out of the window.

"You don't sound too sure of that," he commented.

"Well… if your cooking is any indication…"

"Ha. Ha." David said dryly.

Tammy smiled, pushing her unease aside. She had been enjoying David's company and didn't want to ruin it by allowing her fears to resurface. Settling back into the seat, she asked which grocery store they were headed for.

David assured her that it was far more than a grocery store. "This place put the super in supermarket."

Tammy could tell by his sarcasm that this was not a plus. "So it's big, huh? One stop shopping."

"If, and that's a big if, you can find any thing. I swear you need a map to find anything in that place."

"Do you always whine this much?" Tammy asked. "Cause if you do, I may have any idea why I put this all out of my mind." David laughed with her, and she could tell he was relieved that they could now joke about the situation. She was glad too.

If she and he could remain friends, such as they had been the past few days, she could be happy. She hadn't missed, however, the longing looks he'd shot in her direction when she went to the guestroom, and he went to the master bedroom alone. Truth be told, she was beginning to feel a few of those longings herself. But technically, she was still getting to know him and she really needed to give it more time. Otherwise, she was sure she would be cheating both of them.

True to David's word, the store was immense. Tammy couldn't imagine how this ever could have been a favorite place of hers. It took ten minutes to even find the eggs. After they'd made their grocery selections, David had disappeared into the computer department.

Tammy wandered around the area, and into a neighboring department. Rows of books on audio greeted her. She continued along the isle until she reached the paper books. Several titles caught her eye, and she wondered if she might have read them in the past two years. As she passed a section of mysteries, she continued on, telling herself it would be just awful if she began reading the thing then suddenly got her memory back just before she finished it only to discover she'd read it already.

Laughing to herself at the ridiculousness of the idea, she paused before another section. A large white and blue caught her eye. "The Joy of Parenthood" was plastered across the cover in pink letters. Her smile faded away and she found herself staring transfixed at the book. She blinked slightly when a voice sounded behind her.

"Wha...David?" she turned startled eyes on her husband. Confusion blanketed her mind, and she was finding it difficult to put two words together.

"Are you all right?" David was beginning to worry in earnest. His brow furrowed, and he placed the package he'd been carrying on the floor and placed an arm around her protectively.

"Uh...yeah," Tammy said and shuddered. Whatever was bothering her was hard to shake, and it had something to do with books or that one book in particular. She wasn't sure, she only knew that she wanted to get away.

David's frown deepened, and he looked toward the book to which her eyes continued to stray. Some emotion crossed his face that Tammy found difficult to understand in her present state. It didn't help.

"David?"

He looked at her for several moments, and then directed her out of the department. "I think we should go home," he said.

"Okay," Tammy nodded.

~*~

David helped Tammy out of the store and to the car. He'd seen the book she was staring at and it scared him. Was she remembering that she had been pregnant? Was that why the book had caused her to act so strangely? Perhaps it was time for him to tell her the truth about what else had happened to her during the accident. But how?

As he drove home, contemplating that very thing, Tammy's mood seemed to lighten. She teased him about his silence, and he responded with a weak smile. They arrived at their home far too quickly.

Upon entering, the phone was ringing. He quickly unlocked the door and answered it.

"Hello?" He glanced toward Tammy as she put away their packages. She smiled back at him, and began to start dinner. He returned her smile. His smile faltered at the greeting Katy gave him over the line.

"Oh, right," he said into the receiver, quickly turning away from Tammy in an attempt to mask his embarrassment. Katy was really beginning to call him at home a little more than was proper. He would have to say something to her about it. But not in front of Tammy. "Listen...uh, I think I have that in my office. Why don't I call you back when I get upstairs."

"Work," he told Tammy, backing out of the kitchen. "I'll be back in a minute." Tammy waved at him without looking up. He paused. Something else was wrong aside from what had happened at the store. Could she have...?

"Tammy?" he started back into the kitchen.

"Go on and make your call," she told him, smiling.

~*~

Tammy turned as David disappeared out of the kitchen. She wondered at the way he'd reacted when he'd answered the phone. Telling herself she was imagining things, she pushed her worries aside and got on with the matter of cooking.

Nearly thirty minutes passed before David returned downstairs and despite both their attempts to make conversation, it was as if a damper had been put on the evening.

When they'd finished eating and cleaned up, David had pulled out the photo albums. In the time that they had known one another, they had taken quite a few pictures and seemed to have many friends. Tammy recognized some of the names from cards that she had received.

Bedtime arrived, and Tammy was more exhausted than usual. She smiled a polite goodnight to David and disappeared into the guestroom. David waved good night, and Tammy noticed that his longing look was not present. She frowned, feeling oddly bereft without it.

~*~

David put away the photo albums and sighed. It had been a difficult evening. He hadn't been able to work up the nerve to tell Tammy about the baby, she had seemed so tired. Besides that, he suspected that she was afraid to drive. He just couldn't add to that. He'd arranged with the garage to have the car delivered. And then tomorrow, when Tammy was more rested, he would tell her.

To make matters worse, Katy also had been difficult. Tomorrow morning he would go in and sign off on her training and then she would be free to act on her own. There was nothing else he could do but go to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.