Almost two hours later, David pulled the car to a stop in a field near a deserted cross roads. Tammy looked around the area and turned a skeptical eye on him. They had gone sight-seeing over what felt like most of the city, most of the places having some tourist value. The significance of this latest spot, however, was completely lost on Tammy.

"I give up," she said.

David smiled at her and pulled a large basket out of the trunk. It's delicious aroma's had been teasing Tammy for the past 30 minutes, but David would not allow her to open it. He had picked it up at La Lira on the tail end of their sight-seeing excursion.

"Finally we get to open it," she said, no longer caring that they were in the middle of nowhere. Despite all the junk they'd eaten earlier in the day, she was ready for the food.

"Yes, Ms. Impatient," David found a blanket in the trunk and spread it in the field. He carefully began to pull cartoons of food from the container. Tammy oohed over the feast and began to help him.

Later, hunger completely sated, they lay across the blanket. Tammy lay on her side, playing with a bit of grass. David lay on his back, his arms folded behind his head, staring at the blue sky.

"La Lira is a great place," Tammy told him. "Their food is wonderful."

"That's why, my dear," David said, "It's probably your favorite restaurant."

"Yeah, it will--" Tammy turned a suspicious eye on him. "Wait a minute. It already is my favorite restaurant? David, do I sense an ulterior motive?" She felt too warm and fuzzy to be angry with him.

"Guilty," David admitted unabashedly. "I knew you loved it, so that's where I got lunch."

"You sneak!" Tammy tossed an empty water bottle at him. David ducked slightly, but laughed at her. "What else where you up to?" she asked him. "All of those places you took me…"

"Oh all right," David rolled toward her. "Since I'm caught, I may as well 'fess up. Yes, the Italian restaurant was your favorite, as I've already let slip. But, it was also the place I proposed."

Tammy gasped, touched. That had been incredibly romantic. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes," David assured her. Then continued, ticking off all of the places they have visited and their significance. Tammy felt herself going all mushy inside and there was precious little she could do to stop it. But David wasn't finished with her.

"The Zoo is where you first told me you loved me. Right in front of the polar bear exhibit."

Tammy laughed at that, fighting the wetness that threatened in her eyes. "Whatever caused me to choose such a spot?" she tried to joke.

"Didn't matter to me," David assured her. "I was so gone over you woman that it was music to my ears no matter where we were."

Tammy gave up and let the tear fall. David smiled, and gently wiped it away. She vaguely wondered whatever had possessed her to think that she could resist this man. "Okay," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "What about this place? It's a deserted road."

"Oh no," David spoke softly, his gaze locked in hers. He ran a gentle finger along the side of her face. "This isn't just any road. This is our cross roads."

"Our cross road?" Tammy asked, confused, mesmerized.

"First kiss," David told her.

Tammy felt the breath go out of her. "First kiss?" she whispered the question.

"Yes," David murmured back, his eyes dropping to her lips. "Yes…" he murmured again, his words almost a litany guiding her to answer in kind to his unspoken question.

Tammy did not disappoint him.

Their lips touched and a raging fire sparked between them. David did not kiss her chastely, as he had before, but took her mouth in a feverishly building passion. Tammy gave in completely. There was no more denying that she loved this man. She couldn't remember him, but still she loved him. It was a conundrum, and she didn't care.

The sound of a passing automobile pulled them from their passion-drugged stupor. Tammy gazed up at her husband stunned. "Take me home, David. Please, take me home."

~*~

David was sure that no picnic was ever cleaned up as quickly as his and Tammy's had been. They'd tossed their lunch remains into the basket and climbed into the car.

They'd shared a final passionate kiss before he'd turned the car around and headed back toward the city. Once awakened, Tammy's passions ran hot. Throughout the drive, she tormented him by running her hand along his thigh or running her lips along the back of his hand.

By the time they were inside the house, it was all he could do to get the door locked, before they were in one another's arms. They did eventually make it up the stairs.

Later, David lay beside Tammy in bed, his head propped up on one elbow. She was so beautiful. And there was something he desperately needed to tell her. As he lay watching her, her eyes opened and she smiled a Cheshire grin.

"Come here," she commanded, pulling him toward her.

David was barely able to pull away moments later when they broke the kiss. "I have to tell you something," he said, taking both of her wandering hands in his. One look at the fire in her eyes and he nearly put of what he needed to say. But, closing his eyes, he gathered his strength. After they had become so intimate again, he felt a fraud to keep the truth from her.

"Tammy, there's something very important I need to tell you."

Tammy stopped her provocative motions and listened to him. Something of the seriousness of his tone must have gave her pause.

David opened his mouth again to speak and he heard the phone ringing in his office. A quick glance toward the clock told him that it was nearly four p.m. A sudden memory struck him.

"Oh Lord, Tammy. I've got to go!" He hopped out of bed, and then turned back toward her. Confusion was written all over her face. "I was supposed to sign off on a contract today… I completely forgot. I'll be back in an hour and we'll pick up right where we left off," he promised.

Dashing back to the bed, he gave her a passionate kiss of infinite promise. "Don't go away," he said and then he quickly dressed and was gone.

~*~

Tammy turned before the full length mirror, taking in her appearance. She wore one of David's blue oxford dress shirts. It fell to just above her knees, emphasizing her small stature. Her hair was a tangled mass, evidence of the way she and David had spent the last few hours. Her eyes sparkled with happiness, and her lips curled into a satisfied smile. She wore nothing beneath the shirt. Perhaps she would remain this way until David returned.

The doorbell rang, interrupting her happy musings. Glancing quickly around the room, she picked up the nearest article of clothing that she could find--the jeans that she'd worn that morning.

She opened the door to find a lovely, darkly exotic woman standing there. "Hello Tamellyn," the woman said. The voice was one from a dream, or a nightmare.

Tammy felt as if her world tunneled. She reached out a hand and grabbed for the wall. It's sun-drenched warmth strengthened her, provided a bit of stability in the storm that she felt was sure to come.

"I don't think you remember me," the woman continued. "I replaced you in the training program when you left ACI. Like you, I worked under David. Very closely under David. We were very, very good friends. Some might even say more than friends. Amazing how I keep replacing you, isn't it?"

Tammy's head swam. Memories, emotions and voices were rushing at her like the wind. "I…know…you," she managed.

"Oh really?" Katy questioned. "Who am I?"

Tammy struggled. "K…K…"

"Ka-te-na," Katy said the name as if she were speaking to someone who was not operating at normal mental capacity. "Can you say that?" she spat.

When a moment later, Tammy hadn't responded. Katy continued. "Okay, whatever. Look, I see David isn't here right now. Give him my love would you?" With that the woman turned and walked back to a shiny red Ford and drove away.

Tammy stood in the middle of the sidewalk utterly lost. "Katena…" she breathed fearfully and then she remembered nothing else.

~*~

David pulled into his drive way to find that the garage had returned Tammy's car. The tow truck was just pulling out of the drive.

David parked his car along the street and got out to sign the necessary papers and to take possession of Tammy's now repaired vehicle. After sending the garage employee on his way, David ran back to his car and scooped up the bouquet of flowers that he'd bought for Tammy.

A smile spread across his face as he headed up the drive. Nothing could stifle his good mood, not even the scene that had gone down at ACI. Katy had not taken his signing off her training very well. And she certainly hadn't appreciated the transfer to a neighboring branch. David didn't care. Katy was an excellent worker, but she really needed to refocus her attentions. He knew that her presence had bothered Tammy, and only recently he'd begun to understand why. He wished that he had listened to her earlier.

As he neared the door, something brought him up short. It took half a second to realize what was wrong: the front door was partially open. A sliver of fear ran down his spine. Moving quietly, he pushed the door all the way open and stepped inside.

"Tammy?" he called softly, leaving the door open behind himself. His worry and anxiety grew out of proportion as he continued to search the house. Tammy was nowhere to be found.

Frantically, David called everyone he could think of. If many of their friends thought him odd for asking such a strange question, they didn't mention it, only promised to call if they saw Tammy. Elaine was as worried as he was and promised to look out for her daughter in case she came to Valuma. And the police had told him that it was too soon to file a missing persons report.

When night began to fall, David panicked. Unable to remain in the house any longer, he set out to search the neighborhood. Having just found his wife again, he couldn't bear the thought of losing her. He would go door to door searching for her if he had to.

As he wandered through the darkening streets of the quiet little neighborhood all he could think of was Tammy. The way she'd looked at him. The way she'd touched him. The way she'd smelled.

Time dragged on, and he began to feel hopeless. He started knocking on the doors near his home. None of the neighbors remembered seeing anything. Eventually, out of options, he returned home.

He walked to the bottom of the steps where he'd caught her that day when she fell; he walked up to their bedroom where they'd made love only hours before. He then walked to the kitchen, reliving the memories of the recent breakfasts that they'd had there. The living room, the patio. He walked out into the shadowed backyard where they'd gardened together. A cloud covered the moon, leaving the yard darker than usual.

With a heavy heart he beseeched the night sky. "Please let her come back to me. I can't live without her."

As if alert to his pleas, the cloud continued its path across the night sky, gradually uncovering the moon. It's muted light once again shown on the earth. That was when David noticed an unusual lump near the patch of dirt that he and Tammy had worked.

"Tammy?" he called, then when the bundle moved, more loudly. "Tammy!"

He cradled her in his arms and carried her gently back into the house. Settling on the floor just inside the patio door, he engulfed her in his arms, trembling nearly as much as she.

"Oh Tammy," he groaned, drawing her closer.

"David?" she looked up at him, her red-rimmed eyes filling and spilling over. "I remember everything."

"Everything?" David asked, something cold settling in his gut.

"Everything." she nodded.

"The baby?" David asked, full of shame.

"Yes," she nodded, her lower lip trembling.

"I'm-I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you... I--"

"S'okay," Tammy said. "I know."

David began to speak gently. "I'm happy that you have your memory back, but I'm sorry to at the pain that it's causing you."

"I'm sorry I worried you," Tammy told him. "It's just when it started coming back I was so confused. I started walking, and the more I walked the more I remembered until eventually I remembered everything. And then I came back here. Back home."

"Do you know what triggered it?"

"No. It's all sort of fuzzy about how it started."

David's arms tightened convulsively around her. "Well, I don't care how it happened. I'm just glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back," Tammy said. Then pushing back from him, "I love you, David."

"I love you Tamellyn Brinkman. With all my heart."

Tammy's eyes dropped from his gaze to his lips, and David had the distinct impression that she was ready to catch up on a little lost time. He was in complete agreement.

"One more thing," Tammy held off his kiss.

"What?" David asked, a drugged look already in his eyes.

"You need to get rid of Katena."

"Already done, my love. Already done."

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