A/N:

Hey, I'm being very ambitious and trying to write two stories at the same time, so I'm afraid updates won't be as regular as they ought to be. I hope you like this, I'm not so sure where it's heading as I'm writing without a plan so feel free to offer suggestions! Reviews would be much appreciated!

~

Darcy was so excited that her stomach had been fluttering for the past two weeks. It had taken almost a month of organising, of rearranging dates and events but finally, fingers crossed, there was about to be a reunion of the Terrible Three. She was braiding her hair loosely when her flat-mate, Celia stepped into her bedroom,

'Great dress.'

'Thanks,' she examined the small black swirl of chiffon, 'I thought it was sweet.'

'Sweet?' Celia laughed, 'hardly the word I'd use. Fucking sexy, is more like it. Still, it looks wonderful...where are you going?'

'Out for dinner with some old friends, people I haven't seen for ages.'

'Well,' Celia fished through her jewellery box, 'you'll certainly blow them away. I don't suppose any of them happen to be mouth-wateringly, sexy single men do they?'

Darcy laughed,

'They both are. But that's inconsequential, we're just friends. I can't wait...'

'Well, feel free to ship one my way,' Celia held out tiny garnet studs, 'try these.'

Darcy slipped them in obediently,

'Done. What do you think?'

'You'll knock them dead. So, what are they called?'

'There's Ryan Morrow, you've probably heard of him.'

'The lawyer?'

'Yeah. He did that case recently.'

'I know.'

'Yeah. Him. And Chase. He's a cop.'

'Oh yeah?'

'He doesn't talk about it much. Top secret, hush, hush and all that.'

Celia laughed,

'They sound like a pair.'

'Yeah. Actually, I've got a picture...'

'Cool. Let's see.'

Darcy handed over a large, framed photo,

'It was taken at some party at University. Ryan was incredibly drunk,' she grinned, 'Chase was being stalked by an obsessive freshman.'

'And you?'

'I was having the time of my life,' Darcy said simply.

Celia examined the photograph, Darcy was in the centre of the photo, smiling widely, toasting the photographer. It looked like a movie shot, each of the three, young and good-looking. There was a man on both sides of her, one had his arm possessively around her waist, his fair face split by a wide smile and a lock of blond hair falling in one eye,

'That's Ryan,' Darcy said proudly, 'he was always was such a perfect student, its quite nice to have a picture of him drunk.'

Celia laughed,

'He's cute.'

Cute could not be used to describe the other man in the picture, although no taller than the fair, angelic-looking Ryan, his sturdier build and dark, intense looks were striking rather than handsome. And unlike Ryan, instead of looking at the photographer, his gaze was fixed on Darcy and his arm was over her shoulders.

'And Chase,' Darcy smiled, 'it's funny. They were both adored by all the girls. The good girls all wanted to marry Ryan and all the bad girls wanted to sleep with Chase.'

'Did you ever?' Celia asked curiously, thinking she wouldn't mind either of the men.

'Of course not,' Darcy looked horrified, 'nor Ryan. I mean, I love them both but we're just good friends.'

'You crazy woman,' Celia laughed, setting the photo down slowly, 'I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off either.'

'You'll have to meet them sometime,' Darcy said, checking her appearance one last time, 'well, I'd better go or they'll be waiting.'

'Have a great time.'

'You too.'

Darcy kissed Celia's cheek then pausing only to wrap up warm, she grabbed her purse and rushed out the door.

~

Chase was hoping that he'd break tradition by arriving on time, it had been a long running joke between them that whilst Ryan arrived too early, Darcy on time, he was always late. He crossed the road, swearing at a careless driver who drove recklessly through a puddle. As he stepped onto the pavement and approached the restaurant, he heard his name being called, in a voice so familiar that he stopped and turned at once,

'Darcy,' he said, smiling.

She gave a little shriek and running a few steps, jumped into his arms,

'Chase!' she screamed.

He laughed, lifting her up to kiss her warmly on the mouth,

'Hey babe.'

She grinned as he set her down

'I've missed seeing you so much. How are you?'

'I'm good,' he shrugged, 'what about you?'

'Wonderful,' she beamed.

'I'm not surprised. I read your books.'

'Really?' her eyes lit up, 'you do?'

'You look surprised,' he said dryly, 'I do know how.'

'Chase,' she shoved him as he set her down, 'I know that. Don't be insulting. I just didn't think you'd like the books I write.'

'Never said I liked them,' he teased.

To his horror her face fell,

'It was the ending of Dark River, wasn't it? I knew it didn't work. I should have changed it!'

'Hey, hey,' he frowned, taking hold of her arms, 'Darcy. Stop it.'

She sighed,

'I've stopped.'

'Your books were great. Really. And brave,' he lifted her chin, 'extraordinarily brave.'

She smiled softly,

'I'm sorry. I just...no one likes that book.'

'Bullshit,' he announced, 'everyone likes the book except your father.'

Her eyes widened,

'How did you....'

He raised his eyebrows and she fell silent, 'I see.'

He smiled as he studied her, she still looked like a high-school student sneaking out late,

'You look good, Darcy.'

She coloured slightly,

'You think? I was just thinking you made a pretty handsome picture yourself.'

He laughed in genuine amusement,

'Thanks, Darcy, real nice of you to say so. Fact is I don't know when I last brushed my hair, my nose has been broken twice over the past three years.'

Darcy shook her head,

'Come on,' she walked towards the restaurant, 'that didn't stop every girl in town from trying to sneak her way into your bed.'

Chase grinned,

'And damn but some of them were hot.'

Darcy laughed, her eyes widening when she caught sight of Ryan,

'Look!'

She darted past the astonished waiter and flung her arms around Ryan as he rose to his feet,

'Darcy,' he kissed her cheek, 'you look beautiful. It's been too long.'

Chase grinned at his friend over her head,

'Hey Ry.'

'Chase,' Ryan nodded, 'I took the liberty of ordering drinks for you. Should be on their way.'

'You're an angel,' Darcy started to unwind the scarf, 'are we late? I ran into Chase outside and we got talking.'

Ryan held out her chair,

'How have you been?'

'Fine, fine,' she shrugged, 'what about you?'

'Good,' he smiled, 'I've been working hard.'

'So I hear. The newspapers adore you.'

'And everyone loves you,' Ryan smiled, 'Darcy Seaton, what was it The Times said? The most incredible young novelist of our generation...or something similar.'

'Oh don't be silly,' she lowered her voice and grinned at the two men mischievously, 'you two know that The Homeland is just an autobiography really.'

'I didn't like the ending,' Chase said suddenly, forcing himself to look at her face when she removed her coat to reveal the dress underneath. Perhaps not such a high-school student after all.

Darcy frowned curiously,

'Why not?'

'It was pessimistic. You came from that and rose above. Your protagonist sinks straight back into it.'

'Yes,' Darcy said sagely, 'because she didn't have friends like you. Now, Lord knows where I'd be without you two.'

Ryan smiled,

'Thank you.'

The waiter arrived with the drinks,

'Are you ready to order?'

'Certainly,' Ryan glanced at the other two, who nodded, 'I'll have the ??'

'Wise choice, sir. Ma'am?'

She looked with a smile,

'What do you recommend?'

The waiter smiled at her warmly,

'I recommend the grilled artichoke and grapefruit salad'

'Then the salad it is.'

Reluctantly the waiter turned to take Chase's order, as he walked away he glanced back regularly to smile at Darcy. Ryan groaned,

'Damn it, Darcy,' he suppressed a laugh, 'you have them dropping at your feet like flies.'

Her eyes widened with indignation,

'Don't be silly. He was just being helpful.'

'Hmm,' Ryan turned to Chase, 'so?'

'So?'

'Are you seeing anyone at the moment?'

'How could I?' he said lightly, 'Darcy has ruined me for all other women.'

Darcy laughed,

'Stop it, you two. Be serious. Chase tell us!'

'No,' he shook his head, 'there's no one at the moment.'

'Ryan?'

'Well, I was with that woman....Melissa.'

'The singer?'

'Yeah. But it's a casual on-off thing, nothing serious. But what about you Darce?' Ryan raised his eyebrows, 'there's been plenty of speculation.'

'No one,' she said quietly, 'not at the moment. There was one guy...' her voice trailed away.

Chase frowned,

'The bastard...'

'Hey,' Darcy laughed, secretly delighted by his immediate bias, 'you don't even know what happened?'

'No,' Chase admitted, 'but I'm sure its his fault somehow.'

'His name was William Heath, he was a doctor. Wealthy, good background etc .'

'So what went wrong?'

'He thought my writing was hobby, something that entertained me. I was expected to drop it in order to hang on his arm at functions, to play the obedient, adoring girlfriend. And I'm more than that. He didn't like it when people recognised my name and not his. It came to a rather pathetic end.'

'He left you?' Chase asked, his tone implying that should she answer yes, William Heath's body is likely to be found the following morning.

'No, no. He proposed to me in front of everyone, but stated that I would have to give up my writing. I refused and that was it. Finished.'

Ryan studied her thoughtfully, leaning back as their meals are set before them,

'Men are bastards.'

She laughed, the sound making the love-sick waiter gaze at her wistfully and smile,

'Not you two.'

'Chase is hardly angelic,' Ryan argued.

Chase smiled wickedly, his dark eyes lighting up with mischief,

'Wouldn't want to be.'

'No,' Darcy leaned closer, 'ok, mystery man, what's going on in your life at the moment.'

He leaned closer and whispered deeply,

'If I told you that, I'd have to kill you.'

Darcy laughed out loud and kissed his cheek,

'No, seriously!'

He shrugged,

'I'm still doing undercover, though now I do my own research etc.'

Darcy frowned,

'You mean you're in charge?'

'I...Kind of...I guess.'

'You guess?' she beamed, 'well done,' she kissed his cheek, 'so what's your official name now?'

'Special Agent Chase Nyman.'

She wolf-whistled,

'Well wow!'

Ryan grinned at his friend,

'Not bad! You should have said before.'

Chase shrugged,

'Doesn't mean anything. Just a name.'

Darcy shook her head,

'No self-deprecation allowed at my table.'

'Your table?' Ryan laughed, 'since when?'

'Don't you remember,' Darcy announced laughingly, 'I always ruled.'

~

It was only when the waiters began to cast meaningful looks in their directions and start placing chairs on tables, that the three realised that they ought to think about leaving. There was a brief argument over the bill until they finally decided to split equally though Ryan and Chase made various grumbles about threats to their manly pride which Darcy laughed off. There was then a brief argument as to who would have the honour of escorting her home while they stood in the rain,

'I can get home on my own!' Darcy said, rolling her eyes, 'it's just a short walk.'

'How long?' Ryan questioned.

'Just half an hour. It's busy and everything.'

Chase looked at her,

'I'll walk her back Ryan.'

'Are you sure? I could...'

'It's fine.'

Ryan bent and kissed Darcy, hugging her tightly,

'I'll see you soon. Call.'

'Yeah. Take care,' she smiled.

'Love you,' he winked.

Chase and he exchanged manly nods and one-armed hugs before he flagged down a taxi and slipped in, lifting a hand in parting. Chase turned to Darcy,

'Lead the way.'

She smiled,

'It's very sweet of you to walk. But completely unnecessary.''

'I've worked,' he said simply, 'with the scum of the earth. I've stood with men who wouldn't hesitate in raping you, beating you and robbing with you not a hundred yards from here.'

She turned to him, startled,

'Chase!'

He looked down,

'All I'm saying is don't be careless, Darce. I got enough to worry about with out worrying about you wandering dark streets.'

She was troubled by his serious tone and intense state and nodded hastily,

'Okay, Chase. I'll hire you as my personal bodyguard and you can escort me everywhere.'

His frowning mouth curved upwards and he smiled reluctantly,

'Damn it, Darcy, do you take anything seriously?'

She smiled and nodded,

'Lots of things. But tonight is special and I am determined to be light-hearted and cheerful.'

He smiled, taking her hand,

'Okay. I'm sorry for dampening the mood.'

She shrugged,

'I suppose I might bring myself to forgive you.'

'How generous of you, Miss Seaton,' he drawled.

'I'm a very generous person,' she retorted, 'The Times says so.'

'Well,' he smiled slightly, 'if The Times says...'

~

'Well,' she stopped outside the elegant, exclusive apartment block, 'this is it.'

'Very nice,' he said, thinking of his poky studio flat, 'pool?'

'Two. And a gym,' she laughed, 'I don't like it though. Paranoid wives of billionaires telling me I'll never find a husband unless I lose some weight.'

He glanced at her slender frame,

'Don't.'

'I couldn't,' she admitted, laughing, 'you saw how much I ate.'

He smiled,

'It was actually kind of nice to see a woman eat.'

She coloured,

'Oh. Can't help my appetite.'

He realised belatedly that he had offended her, he had never had her skill with words and had found that his blunt manner could often caused offence,

'Darcy,' he sighed, 'what I mean is that most women just poke at their food. Makes a man wonder that if they haven't got an appetite, they're hardly going to have a hunger for much else. You get me?'

She laughed suddenly,

'So if a woman eats a lot you figure she's into sex.'

'Especially if she looks like you,' Chase smiled, 'makes you wonder how she burns it all off.'

Darcy laughed, realising that he was trying to makes amends for the early remark, she hugged him,

'Not sex. A four mile run every other morning.'

'Damn,' he cursed, 'you just bust all my fantasies.'

'Sorry,' she put on an expression of mock-sympathy, 'let me make it up for you. I've got a really sweet, pretty, single flatmate sitting upstairs.'

Chase laughed,

'I'll take a rain-check. I've got to collect a new assignment tomorrow morning.'

'So I guess I won't be seeing you for a while.'

'Not for another couple of months. But I'll let you know when I'm done.'

'Take me dancing.'

'It's a date,' he stepped back, 'I'll call.'

'You do that,' she studied his face, filled with a sudden anxiety, 'be careful. You are careful?'

He nodded,

'Of course.'

She nodded slowly,

'Okay. Well....I'll see you soon. Take care of yourself, Chase.'

'You too,' he winked at her. He was walking away when she turned,

'Chase!'

He turned,

'Yeah?'

'Please. Be careful. For me.'

'Hey,' he smiled encouragingly, 'we've got a date. And have I ever let you down?'

'No, Chase, never.'

'Then stop worrying,' he said lightly, 'you got better things to do with your time.'

'I suppose,' she said, determined to match his light tone, 'I got books to write.'

He laughed,

'Then go write them, baby.'

'I'm off,' she hurried up to the stone steps, unlocked the front door. But there was a strange tug at her heart and she turned again. Chase was walking down the street, his unique arrogant stride that put off potential attackers, a hardened wariness to his expression that turned away careful thieves and that mysterious elusiveness that meant he can slip into the shadows within a second. After a moment, she stepped inside and shut the door.