Author's note 1: I don’t own the Trixie Belden characters.

Author's note 2: Nobody asked for it, but this is a prequel to the Mystery of the Missing Mystery (which takes place eight years after this one). It tells the story of the last vacation the Bob-Whites took together, the summer after Brian, Jim, and Dan graduated from high school. There's no mystery involved, since I can't write mysteries to save my life. -Also, it's not exactly a sequel, but it's set a month after Dan visited the Hotel California, where he fixed the tainted timeline. Brian and Jim are 18, Dan turns 18 in the story, Mart is 17, and Trixie, Honey, and Di are 16. Back home, Bobby Belden is undergoing some drastic changes; he'll be nine when the B.W.G.s get back.

Author's note 3: This is dedicated to Moon-Spinner, who is hopefully somewhere working on Aliens (and I don't mean that movie with Sigourney Weaver).

Oh, yeah -- the title refers to nothing more than the transferring of Trixie's focus  (romantically speaking) from Jim to Dan, and has nothing whatsoever to do with certain … professions.

Trixie Belden found herself wondering how in the world she had managed to get herself into trouble … again. Especially since, this time, she really had been minding her own business.

She had stopped in at Wimpy's to get a bite to eat after staying late at school to get some help from her math teacher. The other B.W.G.s had taken the bus home, leaving her with the club station wagon. She'd gotten her driver's license three weeks earlier, but this afternoon was the first time she'd been allowed to drive by herself. Heady with the sense of freedom the car afforded her, she'd called to tell Moms she shouldn't wait dinner for her, then had wandered innocently into her favorite diner, only to come face-to-face with the business end of a six-shooter.

"Over there!" barked the masked gunman, shoving her toward the huddled group of hostages against the far wall. She stumbled a bit as she landed next to a young mother and her wailing daughter.

Trixie's blue eyes flashed angrily. "You won't get away with this!" she warned him. Cliched perhaps, but a necessary part of any hold-up.

"Oh, no?" The man chuckled evilly and began to remove his ski mask. "But I already have, my dear Miss Belden." He laughed again at the shocked look on her face. "What's the matter, little girl? You didn't expect to see me again?"

"Pierre Lontard!" Trixie couldn't believe her eyes. "But - How?"

Suddenly she realized that the hostages were forming a circle, enclosing her within their grinning, leering ranks.

Lontard's voice rose above the growls of the crowd. "We've waited a long time for this, Trixie. Now we will have our revenge!"

She noticed familiar faces in the group of people advancing on her - Blinky, Pedro, and Big Tony, Oliver Tolliver, Luke, Jonesy. The young mother she'd spotted at first was in fact Thea Van Loon, and her blanketed bundle was a bloodthirsty shark. Trixie backed away, certain she was about to be killed by these people bent on revenge - people she had helped capture and put in jail.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked, sounding braver than she'd have thought possible. "My friends will save me. They know where I am!"

Pierre Lontard threw back his head and laughed, and this sound of genuine amusement was more chilling than all the practiced evil chuckles she'd ever heard. "Oh, don't worry, my dear. Of course they do," he purred, stepping forward to touch her face. "In fact - " he snapped his fingers and someone scurried off to do his bidding - "we have one of them here with us. But I'm afraid the prognosis is not good. You see," he whispered, a small smile playing about his mouth, "we know how to punish you for what you've done to us." His lips were practically caressing her ear as he finished with, "And it's much worse than killing you, I'm afraid."

Trixie's heart thumped in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. There was no mistaking Lontard's meaning. One of her friends was here, hurt (Please let them only be hurt!), all because of her.

Was it Honey? Had she come here to meet Trixie and been captured? Poor Honey would be terrified! Or maybe it was Jim, hoping to surprise Trixie by waiting for her in town. That would be just like him.

She almost couldn't bear this feeling sitting on her lungs, making her swallow great gasps of air just to stay upright. Could it be Diana back there behind Lontard? Oh, what would they have done to a prisoner as beautiful as Di? Or her brothers - please don’t let it be Brian or Mart!

The crowd parted and a body was tossed on the floor at Trixie's feet. It was undeniably just a body - there could be no life left in the limp form. Every part, every piece, looked broken.

Trixie dropped to her knees, seizing the dead hands, sobbing uncontrollably and becoming more panicky every second because she was suffocating on her own grief, and thinking just one thought, over and over, 'He can't be dead, he can't be dead!'

"Dan," she whispered. Please, no. "Dan."

"What?"

Trixie sat bolt upright in her sleeping bag and searched frantically for the source of the voice she'd just heard.

Dan was lying not six feet away from her, on the other side of Mart and a little farther away from the remains of the campfire than the others. He was up on his right elbow, staring at her in the darkness.

"You okay?" he whispered when she didn't respond.

Trixie swallowed. "Fine," she told him quietly. "Sorry." She lay back down and waited for him to do the same. After a couple of seconds he did.

Trixie's hands began to shake as she tried to fight off the aftereffects of the nightmare and get back to sleep. She felt restrained in her sleeping bag, and wanted nothing more than to rip it open and jump up and scream. When she could feel herself on the verge of hyperventilating, she sat up quickly once again. Taking a deep breath, she looked around at her sleeping friends. Everyone was fine. Brian and Mart were on either side of her, Jim on the other side of Brian, Honey and Di near him.

She turned back to Dan and found him sitting up and watching her. "What's the matter, Trix?"

Trixie sighed and extricated herself as quietly as possible from the bag. "I'm fine," she answered shakily. She walked past him and stopped at the edge of the trees surrounding their campsite. She stared off into the woods.

"Bad dream?" Dan dropped a flannel shirt onto her shoulders and came to a stop beside her.

"Oh, yeah." She shook her head and slipped her arms into the shirt. The sleeves dangled down to her knees. "I was back in school, about to take a Math test," she told him with a smile.

Dan grinned. "Ouch. That'll keep you up nights." He looked around, but didn't seem to know what else to say. "Are you going to be able to get back to sleep?" he finally asked. "It's a little after 4:00."

Trixie smiled guiltily at him. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Dan. Why don't you go lie back down? I'll be fine."

"How about some coffee?" He ignored her suggestion and led her to the RV. "We'll just hang out in here until everyone else gets up."

They stepped up into the vehicle with no further arguments. Trixie had no desire to turn down the offer of some company at a time like this.

"I'm glad everyone decided to sleep outside last night," she commented as she seated herself at the table in the kitchenette.

Dan didn't look up from the camp stove, where he was preparing the percolator. "Me, too." He finished up and lit the burner, then joined her at the table. "But I gotta tell you, I think I may choose to pitch my tent in here from now on, if you know what I mean." He rolled a kink out of his neck and grinned at her. "If I'd stayed out on that ground much longer I don't think I'd've been able to move come daylight."

"I hear you," Trixie said with a laugh. "I wonder if everyone will come to the same decision. If they do, we'll have to draw straws each night to decide who gets to stay in here."

They talked companionably about the road trip the group had adventurously embarked upon just yesterday morning. It was a last hurrah for the Bob-Whites as a whole, since Brian, Jim, and Dan had just graduated from high school and would be heading in different directions in the fall.

As they talked, Trixie absentmindedly began to roll up one of the sleeves of the shirt Dan had given her. "You think we'll get as far as California?" she asked him as she patted the cuff into place on her left wrist and started on the second sleeve.

"Why not?" Dan reached for her arm and took over from her clumsy left-handed attempts. "We've got almost two weeks. Should be plenty of time, I would think. There." He finished the job and pushed her arm back across the table. "You sure have short arms."

Trixie took what she hoped was a discreet deep breath as he released her hand. "I prefer the term 'petite,' if you don't mind," she said with a smile. "How long will that coffee take?" Not the smoothest of subject-changes, but good enough.

Dan eyed the percolator. "Not bubbling yet." He turned back to Trixie with a serious expression. "So what really had you so upset?"

Oh, nothing, she thought. Just that apparently my worst nightmare is losing you.

Trixie waved the question away. "Nothing, really. Just a nightmare. Someone died."

"I take it I was the unlucky SOB?" Dan laughed at her expression. "You did wake up saying my name," he reminded her. "What happened - wood-chopping accident?"

Trixie laughed too loudly and put a hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry, they can't hear us." Dan gestured in the general direction of their sleeping friends as he stood to fill two coffee cups. "If you want milk, I think there's some in the cooler."

As she set about preparing her coffee - two sugars, a tablespoon of milk, one test sip, then another sugar - Dan shook his head in fond exasperation. "Why don't you just start out with three sugars, instead of going through this little routine every time?"

Trixie ignored him. "I hope we stop at least a couple of times at RV parks. It'd be nice to have electricity. Why in the world you boys chose such a mode of travel is beyond me." When Dan just grinned, she went on. "I mean, why spend all this money on a giant RV, if we're just going to be camping out at state parks every night? We could have just taken the station wagon!"

Dan laughed at her mounting frustration. "Because it's an RV!" he explained not very helpfully. "It's the biggest, most obnoxious thing we could think of! And it's called the Trickster." He shrugged. "How could we not rent it? I'm just sorry we're not allowed to paint over the name and replace the -ck with an x. Continue that long and glorious tradition of naming your vehicle after your old lady."

Trixie snorted and spat her coffee back into the cup. "Your old lady?!"

"Well, then, our old lady," he said with a smile. "Club president and all that. To get back to your original question, Mart and I just figured Honey Wheeler needed to know what it was like to travel in style - like a real hillbilly. She'll thank us someday."

"Oh, she already thanks you. Honey loves this sort of thing," Trixie assured him.

They talked for a while longer, but the conversation lagged as they both grew tired. Finally Dan suggested putting out the lantern and trying to grab about an hour of sleep.

"Fine by me," Trixie yawned. "I'm not even gonna bother pulling out the bed, though. I'm just gonna lie on the couch." She chose the corner of the couch nearest her and made good on her statement.

Dan settled back in the opposite corner and closed his eyes. He listened to the sounds of Trixie drifting off to sleep and thought about how near she was. Time was, she would never have felt safe bedding down next to him. He suspected her dad and brothers still wouldn't like it - and he knew how Jim would view it. Trixie was his 'special girl,' as Jim had so succinctly put it. A year ago - heck, even a month ago - Dan would have worried about stepping on Jim's toes, but it just didn't seem to matter anymore. Dan would be leaving for basic training in six weeks, although none of the other B.W.G.s knew that, and he just didn't want to waste the time being concerned about offending anyone. He figured if they didn't trust him by now, they never would.

Trixie mumbled something and turned her face to the cushions, apparently already asleep. No trust problems there, Dan admitted. She may have been the first to accuse him and the last to believe him when he had first arrived from New York City, but Trixie was his friend. She'd brought him into her club, stood up for him more than once, and had never wavered in her loyalty. Dan wanted to make sure he never did anything to disappoint her.

When Mart yanked open the door an hour and a half later, Dan and Trixie sprang into upright positions and stared at him.

"We've been looking everywhere for you guys!" Mart stomped up the steps. "They're in here!" he called over his shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Dan rubbed at his eyes and stood up. "How many places could you have looked, man?"

Trixie giggled tiredly and stretched. "Did you check in every sleeping bag and under every rock?"

Mart scowled at her. "Seriously, what are you doing in here? I thought we agreed that everyone would sleep together. I mean, that everyone would sleep outside!" Mart's face reddened as he corrected himself, then he scowled again. "Shouldn't you put a shirt on?"

Dan shrugged. "Probably. Trix, can I have my shirt back?"

Trixie unbuttoned the article of clothing and handed it over to Dan, sharing a grin with him at Mart's expense. Dan had buttoned it halfway up and was in the process of unrolling the sleeves when the other Bob-Whites, led by Jim, entered the RV.

Honey was rubbing her arms vigorously. "Is someone going to make coffee?" She nudged Trixie down the couch and sat beside her. "Did you sleep in here all night?"

"No, just about an hour," Trixie told her around a yawn. "We both woke up and couldn't get back to sleep outside."

Jim sat on the other side of Trixie and stretched his arm across the back of the seat. "Boy, not me," he said happily. "I slept like a baby, out there under the stars."

Brian grumbled something and stared sleepily at the percolator. "How long does this thing take?" he asked Dan.

"Just a couple of minutes. Is anyone hungry?" Dan took a visual survey of the inhabitants of the cramped quarters and came away with two yesses and three nos. Brian just continued to watch the coffeepot.

"Well, Mart," Trixie announced, standing abruptly, "since you and I are the only hungry ones, why don't we make breakfast? We can cook over the campfire so we're not in everyone's way." She deserted the RV so fast no one else had a chance to say anything.

"Okay." Mart shrugged. "Sorry Di," he said as he disengaged her arms from around his middle. He kissed the top of her head. "You guys relax in here. Trix and I will take care of everything."

When he joined his sister outside, Mart just watched as she stacked some logs and put a match to them. As soon as she had the fire roaring he cleared his throat. "Forgetting something?" he asked. He raised a sarcastic eyebrow - the worst kind - and prepared to laugh at her for forgetting the food.

"Mart!" She frowned at him. "Why didn't you bring out the food? I've got the fire all ready."

"Here, guys." Brian joined them, with bacon in one hand and a skillet in the other. "We can use the bacon grease to do eggs, once this is done."

Trixie took the items gratefully. "Now where is that thing of Jim's? That thing for setting the skillet on?" she wondered, perusing the ground near the fire.

Mart picked up the "thing" and set it over the flames. "It's called a Philip platform," he informed her. "And it's not Jim's - it came with the Trixster."

"What did you just say?" Trixie demanded. "Did you just call it the Trixster? It's the Trickster, not the Trixster!"

Mart held up his hands defensively and raised his eyebrows innocently at Brian. "Sorry, sorry. Can I do the bacon for you, Tricks?"

"Darn it, Mart!" Trixie shook her skillet angrily. "Just - just - " She tried blubbering for a while but ended up laughing along with Mart.

They were acting like the best of friends as Brian headed back to the camper for his coffee, shaking his head over the apparent manic-depressiveness inherent in the almost-twins' relationship. (Only Brian could think in those terms so naturally. He had been studying for medical school since he was eight, after all.)

Jim came out just as Brian went inside. "Dan's thinking maybe we should stop at the next RV park and hook up for showers," he told Mart and Trixie. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

Trixie nodded as she tended to the bacon. "I could definitely use a shower," she admitted.

"You know, it occurred to me," Jim said as he rolled up his sleeping bag, "that we're going to have to stop at a laundromat or something. I don't know about you guys, but I really didn't bring all that many clothes. And since we're just sleeping in our jeans and stuff …" He made a face.

Mart made a similar face. "We're gonna get stinkier quicker, is that what you mean?"

"Pretty much." Jim shrugged and started on Honey's sleeping bag. "But I guess there's really no avoiding certain … unpleasant side effects of camping, is there?"

Trixie wrinkled her nose as she began turning the meat over and discovered that it had cooked much faster than she had anticipated. "Mart, could you - " she grunted a little as Mart picked the skillet up and held it above the fire for her. "Thank you. I don't think I should have built such a tall campfire, huh?" She finished flipping the meat and stood up. "I hope everyone likes their bacon extra-crispy."

"It's not so bad," Mart assured her. "This side may be … slightly blackened, but the other side'll be fine. "I'll just hold the skillet here for a minute. You might as well go get the eggs."

The other Bob-Whites were more than satisfied with the meal Mart and Trixie presented them with.

"I think you guys should do all the cooking on this trip," Diana told them. "These eggs are just heaven!"

Honey agreed, but added, "And that was all of them, believe it or not. If we're going to eat like this, we're going to have to stop at a store every day!"

"Fine by me," Dan declared. "I need fresh pastries."

"I heard that!" Jim took a swig of his orange juice. "Those week-old powdered donuts just don't get it done for me."

Mart happened to be stuffing his mouth full of powdered donut. "More for me," he mumbled.

"That's gross, dude," Brian told him. "You just dropped chunks everywhere."

"Ssssorry." Mart swiveled his head sprinkler style as he sprayed the word and the rest of his donut Brian's way.

While her brothers settled things the old-fashioned way - with fists - Trixie addressed the others. "So we're heading to an RV park, then?"

"Yep." Honey expertly removed dangerous objects from the field of play, grabbing Brian's plate before Mart's booted foot kicked the spot where it had been. "I think there's one a couple of hours away."

Dan yanked the percolator back just as Brian's flailing arm made a beeline for it. "Whose turn is it to drive?"

"Yours," Jim informed him. "Scheduled copilot is Trixie, but I don't think it really matters since we're not going far." They had all agreed before starting out on the trip that every driving shift would have a designated copilot, whose job it would be to watch the pilot's back, so to speak - to read the map, to keep an eye out for unexpected roadblocks, and to keep the driver awake if necessary.

"No, I'll do it," Trixie said quickly. "At least it should be easy. Come on, guys," she told her brothers. "Brian wins, game over. Let's get out of here."

Brian triumphantly dragged Mart to the camper in a headlock while everyone else made short work of cleaning the campsite and stowing their gear.

"Ready?" Dan looked around from his vantage point behind the steering wheel to make sure everyone was aboard, then pulled on the ridiculous conductor's cap he insisted on wearing while he drove the RV. All of the boys had matching ones.

"I wish I had a pull horn on this baby," he told Trixie sorrowfully. "What's the point in driving something this big if you don't have a pull horn?"

Trixie rolled her eyes at him. "The horn on this thing is bad enough as it is. Every time someone hits it I feel like I'm in the General Lee, jumping a creek in Hazard County." She smiled at Dan's grin. "I suppose that was a big selling point to you, wasn't it?"

"You better believe it, sister. I'm telling you, I think we should seriously consider changing our name to the Billy-Bob Whites."

Trixie screamed with laughter. "I vote we take off our shoes and socks at every public stop," she suggested. "And maybe we should find a giant mud puddle somewhere and drive straight through it!"

"I think I'll pop a few holes in the muffler, too - give us a nice down-home sound. What do you guys think?" he asked everyone in the back. "Holes in the muffler?"

"Huh?" They all stared blankly back at Dan.

"Never mind." Dan sighed for Trixie's benefit as the others went back to their respective conversations. "I guess no one else has our vision."

"Guess not," she agreed. She dug through the cooler between their seats. "You want a Mountain Dew?"

"Sure." He took the proffered can with a nod of thanks. "Did you bring any music?"

Trixie was already reaching for her collection of CD's. She chose Queen's Greatest Hits and popped it in.

"We need to karaoke sometime. Hey Mart!" Trixie called back to her brother. "Give us your best Freddie Mercury!"

Mart declined, insisting he couldn't do a proper impression without his skintight unitard.

"Oh, well," Trixie sighed. "He does a great Freddie Mercury," she told Dan.

***

The Bob-Whites rolled into the Edith M. Bunker RV camp just about lunchtime. While Jim and Brian made arrangements with the manager to hook up to some electric and water, the girls made a beeline for the skanky public restroom. Mart and Dan leaned against the Trickster and discussed their temporary surroundings.

"This place reminds me of something out of Mad Max," Mart said.

Dan glanced around. "Beyond Thunder Dome?"

"Of course Beyond Thunder Dome! What did you think I meant?" Mart shook his head in disgust.

"Yeah, I guess," Dan conceded with a shrug. "I can see Tina Turner here. Here come Jim and Brian." He raised his voice a little as the dynamic duo approached. "We got a berth?"

"Number 109," Jim answered. He consulted the cheap photocopied map the manager had given him. "It's somewhere over there…" He gestured in a vague way toward the far end of a gravel lot.

"Beyond Thunder Dome, right?" Brian asked. He looked confused when Mart and Dan laughed. "What? The chick said it was somewhere between Thunder Dome and Coruscant, didn’t she, Jim?"

The four fine fellas finally got the oversized vehicle where it was supposed to be, then remembered Trixie, Honey, and Di, who had been wandering around for the last five minutes trying to find the Trickster. The two groups found each other in front of the brown waterhole described on the map as a "picturesque lake."

"Why, this is just perfect," Mart said. "It says here you keep anything you catch in this-here pond. We eat tonight, kids!"

Jim shook his head. "I'm thinking we're not going to catch anything but dysentery in that, Mart. But hey, if that's your thing…"

"I am hungry, though," Honey announced. "Should we just do sandwiches, or should I make something?" She wiggled her eyebrows and reminded them in a slightly sing-songy voice, "We've got electricity, you know."

The B.W.G.s voted unanimously for grilled cheese sandwiches, which was a waste, really. Seriously, what good was electricity if they were just going to use a skillet and a camp stove? But they were able to throw some Tater Tots in the oven, so that was cool. And while the food was cooking they took turns using the shower.

"Are we gonna stay hooked up here for a while?" Mart asked as they finished up lunch.

"We paid for 24 hours," Brian informed them all, "so we might as well stay overnight. Maybe we could check out a movie or something tonight."

Jim nodded. "The manager said there's a theater about ten minutes away by foot. Or we could get in some exercise - this place supposedly has a seven-mile trail around here somewhere."

"Methinks a ten-minute walk to the movie theater is plenty of exercise for one day." Mart turned to Di. "So how 'bout it, Toots? Wanna see what's playing?"

"Sure," Di agreed happily. "As long as it doesn't have Russell Crowe, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meg Ryan, Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, any of those annoying actresses with the choppy hair, Tom Cruise, or Leonardo DiCaprio in it."

"Or Britney Spears," Honey reminded her quickly.

Di frowned distastefully. "Or Britney Spears," she echoed.

"Then it's agreed," Dan said as he rose from his seat and tossed his wadded-up paper plate in the trashcan. "We'll walk to the theater and pray for something with Peter Sellers in it."

 ***

"What is the matter with you, man?"

The angry whisper came from somewhere off to Honey's right, in the general area of the boys' sleeping quarters. 'Quarters' being perhaps too strong a word, since Brian, Jim, Dan, and Mart were all stuffed into the dining section. They had removed the tiny table and were sacked out on the floor, where they each had roughly two centimeters of space. The girls, meanwhile, had pulled the couch out into a bed and were sharing it quite comfortably.

Honey couldn't tell who had spoken, or whom it was now responding with grunts and what sounded like pillow-poundings. She squinted toward the front of the camper and watched in amusement as two heads popped up next to each other.

"Cut it out, dude!" Could have been Dan, but she wasn't sure.

"You cut it out!" Definitely Jim.

"I'm not doing anything! You keep shoving your elbow up my a-- rear end." Whoever it was lowered his voice after the near-swearing. "Just scoot back a little."

"Guys." Honey's calm whisper caught their attention immediately. She could see now that it was Dan. "There's plenty of room over here."

"Uh, yeah, we know, Honey," Jim explained impatiently, "but we can't exactly share the bed now, can we?"

"Well, why not?" Honey swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Not all of you, of course. One of you."

"No, thanks." Jim turned her down without a moment's hesitation. "It just wouldn't be proper, sis."

Dan jumped up. "Proper, shmoper," he said as he grabbed his pillow and stepped over bodies.

Jim watched in shock as Dan made himself comfortable on the bed.

"Dan," he began warningly.

Brian stirred and sat up. "What's going on?" He noticed Honey settling back down against her pillow, but he hadn't noticed that Dan was settling next to her. "Everything okay?"

"A-okay," Dan answered.

Brian sat up straighter. "Is Dan - ?"

"Yes." Jim shared a look with Brian.

"Look, guys," Dan told them, "I'm not moving. I promise I won't rip off anyone's clothes in the middle of the night, or have improper dreams. And Honey, I promise I won't fart in bed. Good enough?"

"Fine," Honey giggled. "Go to sleep, everyone."

"Ahh," Dan sighed happily as everyone lay back down, "the joys of being the only guy here without a girlfriend in this bed. I think I'll stay here every night."

 

"What is it with you and Trixie and this bed?"

Dan opened his eyes to find Mart standing over him. He turned his head and saw that Honey and Di had vacated the premises, and that he and Trixie were indeed alone - together - in the bed.

"Where'd Honey and Di go?" he mumbled.

"Left." Mart flopped down between his sister and Dan and closed his eyes wearily. "They're walking to that Mom and Pop general store we saw yesterday, to get food for breakfast. Jim and Brian went with them."

"How long ago did they leave?" Trixie asked from the depths of her covers.

"Five minutes." Mart's eyes were still closed as he suggested, "Maybe you should make some coffee while they're gone."

No one said anything for a long time. Dan had just about managed to fall back asleep when the four early-morning shoppers returned.

"Donuts! I got donuts here!" Di tossed a bag of what was presumably donuts onto the bed. "And bagels!" A package of bagels followed the donuts. "And don't forget the eggs!"

Mart, Dan, and Trixie sat up quickly. "No eggs!" Dan shouted.

"We're up, we're up." Trixie tripped over the shoes on the floor as she made her way out of bed. She caught herself on the wall. "Where's the coffee?"

"I'll have it ready in a minute," Honey promised, hustling to get the job done.

"So how'd you sleep, Dan?" Brian asked darkly. "Any dreams?"

Dan was busy trying to fold the bed into a couch and he answered, "Nope. Not even any proper ones. How was the floor?"

Jim gave him a hand with the final shove and slapped some cushions into place, then took a seat. "It wasn't bad at all once we had a little more room, was it, Brian?"

"Speak for yourself, Jim," Mart told him semi-bitterly. "You didn't have someone's elbow up your butt all night."

"Well anyway," Di interrupted before the accusations could fly, "Maybe tonight we can find someplace to camp outside again. There's plenty of room in the great outdoors."

"I agree." Honey popped open a can and began laying biscuits on a cookie sheet. "We came on this trip to camp, so let's camp. Who wants gravy?"

"Did you get any sausages?" Mart asked, trying to peer over Brian's shoulder as he packed the cooler with ice and their new food purchases.

Di answered in the affirmative and set about cooking the little pieces of pig leftovers.

"Ooh, did you find that fat-free gravy?" Trixie asked eagerly. "I love this stuff! It's so much easier to make than homemade - and I think it tastes better." She tore open a couple of packets and mixed them with water, all the while marveling over the convenience of it.

Jim and Dan had been sitting on the couch watching the goings-on silently, trying to stay out of the way of the breakfast crew, but Mart was making no such attempt. He moved from girl to girl, inspecting their work and asking if the coffee was done yet. Finally Di told him to hit the road.

"It's not that you're bugging me, Sweetie," she said with a smile. "But I could use a little room here. Maybe you guys can go talk to the manager or something, huh?" Her glance took in all the boys. "We need to tell her we're checking out."

"Why do we have to go?" Dan wanted to know. "Me and Jim are fine over here. Send Mart and Brian."

"Dan," Di admonished him. Her tone said, "you silly boy, never invite a vampire into your home; it renders you powerless." Or something like that.

Dan got up reluctantly and followed Mart out the door. Brian and Jim tried to weasel their way out of going by keeping quiet and not moving, but Honey gave them a look. They went the way of the other two.

"Finally." Di poured herself a cup of coffee and dropped into a seat on the couch. "I thought living with Terry and Larry was bad. Honey, how did Dan get into bed with us? I just about screamed when I rolled over this morning and landed in his chest."

"I know!" Honey exclaimed with glee. "I saw you! I wish you could've seen the look on your face, Di."

The two giggled over the incident, but Trixie said with a touch of irritation, "Your sausages are burning, Di."

Di waved a hand. "Oh, turn 'em, will you, Trix? So, Honey… what happened?"

Honey peeked into the oven to check on her biscuits, then joined Di, in both the coffee and the sitting on the couch. "Jim and Dan kept hitting each other - "

Di's eyes widened in surprise and she swallowed a gulp of hot coffee too quickly. "Hitting each other?"

"I mean, in their sleep," Honey hurriedly explained. "They didn't have enough room on the floor, and they knocked into each other every time they moved."

"Oh." Di looked a little disappointed.

"So I said one of them could share the bed."

"And let me guess," Trixie said over her shoulder. "Jim said it wouldn't be proper." She rolled her eyes slightly, but then immediately felt ashamed. At least Honey and Di hadn't seen. "And he's right. Can you imagine what our parents would say?"

"Oh, Daddy," Di said in a high-pitched and excited voice, "we had the greatest time on our vacation. We saw the Grand Canyon, and Mt. Rushmore, and the Golden Gate Bridge. And guess what, Daddy? Me, Trixie, and Honey slept with Dan!"

"Diana Lynch!" Honey tried to scold as she practically doubled over with laughter.

Trixie simply screamed the scream of the delightfully scandalized.

"Oh! My biscuits!" Honey rushed to the oven still bubbling with laughter and pulled out the items in question.

Di, as satisfied with herself as one can only be when one has tried to be funny and has succeeded, sedately removed the sausages from the skillet onto a plate. "Gravy done, Trix?"

"Yep." Trixie dug through a drawer and came up with a ladle. "Everything's ready."

"And the boys are back," Honey announced, peering through the window. The last of her giggles died away as she added, "They've got someone with them."

Trixie and Di crowded around Honey. "Who is that?" Trixie asked.

"I don't know," Di answered, "but he's not too hard on the eyes, is he?"

All three girls smoothed their hair. Honey and Di performed booger checks on each other, then followed Trixie out the door.

"Hey guys, this is Rick," Brian announced. "Turns out he's from Sleepyside, too. He's looking for his dog."

Rick laughed. "You make it sound like I came all this way following his trail, Brian." He had a smooth, polished voice.

"You're on vacation?" Honey asked politely.

"Yes, Miss - "

"Wheeler, Honey Wheeler." Honey stepped toward him and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Rick shocked them all by bringing Honey's hand to his lips. When he straightened up he smiled intimately at her. "The pleasure is all mine, Honey." Now he looked around at everyone and explained chummily, "Yes, I'm here on vacation, just as you are. My dog, Robert, is traveling with me. But I'm afraid he's gone missing."

"You don't sound too worried about it, if you don't mind my saying so," Di said rather rudely. When Rick turned the power of his gaze onto her alone, she dropped the attitude and asked with a shy smile, "Does he run away often?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he does." He reached for Di's hand with a questioning glance.

"Diana Lynch," she told him quietly.

"Miss Lynch." Rick performed the same ritual with her as he had with Honey.

"So," Mart interrupted loudly, "he'll probably show up soon. Come on, Di." He grabbed her hand and steered her toward the camper. "I'm starving. It was nice to meet you, Rick." The door closed noisily behind them.

"Well, um…" Honey seemed embarrassed by Mart and Di's exit. "Can we offer you something to eat? We made…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed Rick was staring at Trixie.

He stared for a long time, seemingly mesmerized by Trixie's face. Brian, Honey, Dan, and Jim looked on in amazement. Finally Rick's mind seemed to catch up with his ears and he turned to Honey with a start. "Uh, no, no thank you, Honey… I've already eaten. If you all would excuse me." He turned abruptly and walked away.

"Well." Brian looked down at his sister in amusement. "I guess Trixie's got an admirer. Or should I say, another admirer?"

Jim laughed and put an arm around a red-faced Trixie. "And who can blame him? Now let's all get back inside before Mart eats all our breakfast."

As Trixie allowed Jim to lead her to the door she nevertheless stole a glance toward the other side of the lot, where Rick had disappeared to. Then she made eye contact with Dan and quirked her mouth in a "huh, that was weird" sort of way. Dan gave her small smile and a shrug in return.

 

The boys had settled things with the manager, so the Bob-Whites left as soon as they'd finished breakfast and taken showers. Brian was in the driver's seat and Mart was his co-pilot.

"I wonder if 'Rick'" Mart said the name with distaste, "found his dog yet."

Brian chuckled at Mart's tone of voice. "I don't know. Maybe old Robert fell in the picturesque lake."

"Who names their dog Robert, anyway?" Mart demanded. "And how come I never heard of Rick before? Sleepyside's not that big, you know."

"You sound like Trixie, trying to make a mystery out of the guy. Sleepyside may not be big, but we don't really know anyone beyond our own circle. Oh, sure, there's the occasional newcomer introduced as an old family friend or something, like Mrs. Elliot or old Brom, but there's a lot of folks we don't know. Maybe Rick lives on Hawthorne Street," Brian suggested.

"Yeah, I guess." Mart stared out the window. "The guy just bugged me."

Honey, Trixie, Di, Dan, and Jim were gathered around the table playing poker and having a conversation along similar lines as the one up front.

"He was kind of weird," Di was saying. "Who names their dog Robert?"

"Give me two cards," Dan told Honey. After she'd dealt them to him he said, "He sure did have an eye for the ladies, though, didn't he?"

Jim snorted as he arranged the cards in his hand. "Trix especially. I thought he was going to start drooling any minute."

Trixie reddened. "Oh, please! Honey, I need a card, if you don't mind."

Di and Honey exchanged laughing glances but didn't make fun of Trixie. Once everyone had their new and improved hands Di announced, "I bet five Cornnuts." She slid her wager to the middle of the table.

"I'll see that bet." Jim chose his five smallest Cornnuts and put them in the pot.

Dan raised it by two Hershey's Kisses, and Trixie added three Starbursts (all yellow). Honey folded.

"Mine, all mine." Jim raked in the booty (right there in front of everyone!) after his full house kicked butt. "Di's deal."

"Did you notice, though," Jim wondered as Di went about her business, "that he never did give us his last name? What part of Sleepyside did he say he was from, Dan?"
Dan frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think he did, actually."

"Well, that's odd," Honey declared. She stopped for a second to arrange her hand and discard two undesirables, then added, "Sounds like he had something to hide."

Di waited patiently for Jim to decide on the bet. After she'd contributed her two Rolos and dealt the second round, she suggested, "Maybe Rick wasn't on vacation at all. Maybe he followed us here."

"No way." Jim shook his head. "If he'd followed us we would've noticed him before now." He laid his cards face down on the table. "I fold."

Dan quickly shoved a Snickers bar into the pot. It seemed like a valuable wager, but Jim knew Dan hated Snickers bars. "Yeah, we were definitely alone that first night, when we slept outside."

The three girls considered the cards in their hands before deciding they didn't have enough to beat Dan. They folded and Dan sighed. He'd been hoping to lose the candy bar.

"What do you think, Trix?" Jim asked as he shuffled the cards. "Is he up to something mysterious?"

Everyone around the table smiled. Everyone except Trixie. "No," she told him flatly. "Do you guys mind if I sit this round out?" She headed for the back of the camper and sank down into the couch.

The others went back to the game feeling sort of like dogs that had just been yelled at. They didn't think Trixie was mad because of the "mysterious" comment, but she was definitely upset about something. Jim hoped it wasn't because she was thinking about Rick.

They stopped for lunch at a restaurant in a city called Franklinton. First stop for the girls, naturally, was the bathroom. As they checked their reflections in the mirror Honey decided to ask Trixie what was wrong.

"Trixie," she said. "What's wrong?" (Told you.)

Trixie replied as she strategically placed some concealer on her face. "Nothing. I'm just really tired." She borrowed some mascara from Di and added, "I haven't been sleeping well."

"Really?" Di asked in disbelief. "I haven't slept so well in ages." She checked her teeth one last time, made sure there was no toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe, then led the way out of the bathroom and toward their table.

Honey grasped Trixie's hand in a brief but sympathetic squeeze before she slid into the chair between Brian and Jim. Trixie sat across from them, next to Dan. Mart was on the other side of Dan, and Di plopped down next to Jim.

"We ordered appetizers," Mart told them. "Cheese sticks and potato sk -" he broke off abruptly and stared incredulously at the entrance. "Well, would you look at who just walked through the door - Rick's here."

Rick spotted them just seconds after Mart's announcement - probably because they all whipped their heads in his direction and stared.

"Why, hello, there!" He strode confidently past the hostess stand and to the Bob-Whites' table. "Isn't this a crazy coincidence?" He pulled out a chair and sat next to Trixie.

"It sure is." Jim half-stood and reached across the table to shake Rick's hand. "Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"If you're sure no one minds." Rick smiled happily around the table and ignored the glare from Mart.

After the waitress had brought the appetizers and taken everyone's orders for lunch, Trixie spoke up. "Did you ever find Robert?"

Rick hastily wiped at the marinara sauce running down his chin and said, "Mm, oh, yes, yes, I did. Right after I left you all, as a matter of fact. He was being held hostage by a little girl in a red trailer. She seemed to think he was her dog," he laughed.

"Well, we've all been there, am I right?" Dan said with a hearty chuckle. "Held hostage in a red trailer, I mean." He clapped Mart and Trixie, on either side of him, on their respective backs. "But enough about us, Rick. Where in Sleepyside are you from?"

"Oh, excuse me." Rick pretended to be choking on his cheese stick. He wiped at his mouth with a napkin (Trixie's, unfortunately), then took a long sip of water. "I'm actually from just outside of Sleepyside," he said finally.

"North or south?" Jim wanted to know.

Rick smiled frostily at the redhead. "North or south of town, you mean?"

"No, no," Mart told him. "He means, who were you rooting for in the Civil War?"

The smile Rick directed toward Mart was way below frosty. "I'm east of Sleepyside, if you must know. Little town called Ossining."

"And what did you say your last name is?" Honey asked.

"Martin," Rick said impatiently. "Look, if you guys want me to leave -"

"Of course we don't," Trixie interrupted, placing a hand on the man's arm. She admonished the others with a look. "We're just curious, is all. Oh, look, here comes our food."

The meal was a subdued affair. Everyone tried to be as inoffensive as possible, so not much interesting conversation took place. Dan attempted to get them all involved in a game of "telephone", but it never really caught on. When they finished eating Rick beat a hasty but polite retreat.

"I don't expect we'll see him again," Mart said happily as they settled into the RV once more.

"Probably not," Trixie agreed. Then she sighed. "Where to next?"

Jim answered from the driver's seat that they were heading to a state park.

"Which state?" When everyone laughed she asked, "What? I wasn't paying any attention - are we into Illinois yet?"

"I'm sorry, Trixie," Honey apologized. She was Jim's co-pilot, and had a road map spread out before her. "I wouldn't have known, either, if I hadn't just seen a sign. Yes, we're in Illinois. Here's the park Jim's talking about." She held up the map and pointed to a spot on it.

"Well, I guess that's just as good a place as any," Mart commented. "Does anyone know how to work this thing?" He indicated the tiny tv they'd brought with.

"Oh, sure, Mart, it's real simple," Di said cheerfully. "You see that button there, the one that says 'on'? You just press that."

Mart slapped a hand (Trixie's, unfortunately) to his forehead. "Well why didn’t I think of that? I meant, where's the cable that hooks it into the VCR? We can't watch anything but tapes, you know."

Di handed him the missing link and he and Dan set about finding a movie to kill the time. They selected Shawshank Redemption and settled into the couch with a bag of Doritos.

"So you still think Rick's not following us?" Di asked Trixie quietly. They were sitting at the table putting a puzzle together.

Before Trixie answered she noticed Brian glance up from his book, Heroic Doctors of the Serengeti, and prepare to listen in. She raised her voice so he wouldn't have to strain his ears. "No, I don't think he's following us," she said. "I think he's just taking a road trip, and he happens to be on the same path as us."

"That's quite a coincidence, don't you think?" Brian queried.

Trixie recognized his query with nothing more than a shrug. Okay, well maybe a little more, because she said, "Not if he's heading to California and he used Expedia's website to get his driving directions."

"I guess." Brian sounded unconvinced, but he went back to his book.

Di frowned prettily. (How else could a violet-eyed beauty frown?) "I don't get it, Trixie. Usually you're all over a mystery - what gives?"

"I just don't think there's a mystery, that's all." Trixie didn’t look up from the puzzle.

Predictably enough, they met Rick at the park that evening. His camper pulled in as they were preparing to have after-dinner coffee around the campfire. Trixie was the only one in the group who seemed surprised to see him step down from the cab.

"Hey, all!" Rick said cheerfully. "Can I join you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "So," he went on as he sat next to Trixie, "long time, no see, huh?"

"Yeah, man, it's been too long," Dan told him. "Can I get you anything?"

"Nope." Rick fell to staring at Trixie, a smile fixed on his face. "So how long do you guys think you'll be out here? On vacation, I mean?"

"Oh, you know," Brian answered vaguely. "A while. What about you?"

"Same, same." Rick seemed willing to give them just about as much information as they were going to give him. At least Brian's question had produced one positive result - Rick had stopped gazing at Trixie and was now smiling happily into the fire.

"Well you know, Rick," Jim said after a few seconds, "it's pretty late. We were all hoping to get to bed soon. Maybe we'll see you later?" He stood and offered his hand to Rick. When the man reluctantly took the hint and rose, Jim told him in all insincerity, "It was nice to see you again."

They shook hands and Rick finally headed to his own RV.

"The girls are sleeping in the camper tonight," Jim declared firmly as soon as Rick's door had shut.

"I think we all should sleep in the camper," Honey countered. "Or better yet, let's pack up and move on. There's got to be another park around here somewhere."

Di nodded her agreement. "Even if we have to drive all night, we should. That guy gives me the creeps."

Brian and Jim had an eye contact consultation, then agreed to the idea of hitting the road. Mart volunteered to drive.

Trixie and Dan remained seated as the others bustled about getting everything together. They eyed each other rather suspiciously, each wondering what the other was thinking.

Dan waited until everyone else had vacated the campsite and was busy over at the Trickster before he asked Trixie what was up.

"Hey, Trix," he asked, "what's up?" (What'd I tell you?)

"Nothing. What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"Great. Guess we're both fine, then." She quirked a smile at him. "You think there's anything wrong with Rick?"

Dan studied her closely. After a minute or two, he put down his magnifying glass and said, "Nah. Not unless you call having an interest in cute blondes 'wrong.'" He shrugged. "Personally, I don't."

"We're all set over here," Brian announced. The others were already settled in, with Mart behind the wheel. "Put out the fire and let's go."

Trixie and Dan covered the wood with the sand they carried for just such emergencies, and the flames died of suffocation. They boarded the Trickster with no further ado, and the Bob-White Flight commenced.

 

The drive from Illinois to Iowa was uneventful. At one point Mart ran over a playful Irish Setter, but it got right back up and trotted off happily. He missed it the second time because it disappeared into the woods along the side of the road.

A little later, Brian spotted strange lights hovering in the sky, and they lost about three hours according to their watches. One second they were driving along, pointing at the lights and screaming in terror, the next they were driving along, nude and hairless, wondering where the time had gone.

And then about two miles from the border an Illinois state trooper, angered by Honey's dropping a dirty diaper out the window, opened fire on them. Luckily Mart was able to use the Trickster's jets to outrun him before there was any actual bloodshed. (The fake bloodshed was unavoidable.)

They decided to pull over at a rest stop somewhere in Iowa. Fortunately, they were somewhere in Iowa, so they didn't have far to go.

"I guess we're all sleeping in the camper. I call the bed!" Mart practically pushed Brian down in his haste to vacate the front seat and make it to the back.

Arguments ensued, of course. Jim wanted the girls to have the bed, Honey wanted the boys to have the bed, Mart wanted Mart to have the bed … Finally a compromise was reached. In exchange for Honey promising to never as long as she lived, ever ever suggest again that all four guys share one bed, Brian and Jim allowed Mart to bunk with the girls. He was told to sleep on the very end, closest to Trixie, but no closer than five feet at any given time. His bundled-up sleeping bag was placed between them.

"Everyone comfortable?" Di asked. She looked around at the arrangement and smiled. Brian and Jim were on the floor and Dan was in the co-pilot's seat. Trixie and Honey were snuggled down in the center of the roomy bed, already drifting off. "You okay, Mart?"

Mart tried to turn his head to answer her, but his neck movement was restricted, seeing as how he was pressed up against the wall of the camper. It would have been okay if his backside had been the one facing said wall, but it was his face mashed up in there. Jim and Brian had insisted.

"I'm cool," he said, sounding like he said, "Mmmf fool."

"Well - good night, everybody." Di sighed happily and lay back, soon joining Trixie and Honey in dreamland. For her part she would have preferred Neverland, Michael Jackson's ranch, but she had to go where the lead characters went.

Trixie dreamt again. This time she saw Dan leaving for parts unknown, giving her a jaunty wave and a salute (and a giant wooden spoon, but that really doesn't speak to the meaning of the dream). After he left she tried to call him back, but she couldn't find him anywhere. She woke up crying.

Brian happened to be up, reading Gray's Anatomy, and he heard her quiet sniffles. He put his bookmark, a paper doll of Honey which he'd found on the internet, into the appropriate spot - his wallet. Then he folded down the corner of his page and shut the book. "Is that you, Trix?" He asked. He'd grown up with those intakes of air - he'd know them anywhere.

"Brian?" Trixie raised her head slightly. "Yeah, it's me."

"You okay?"

She lowered her head again. All that work for nothing. "Yeah. Go to sleep."

Brian, not the most discerning of men, shrugged and did so. It was after four in the morning, so he figured it was about time.

Jim Frayne lay silently on the floor, hearing Trixie's quiet crying and her brief conversation with Brian. Trixie had been more than subdued the past couple of days, not talking much to anyone, least of all him. The only one she seemed interested in spending any time with was Dan - and Jim didn't trust Dan. At least, not with Trixie.

He had almost decided to get up and talk to her when Dan unexpectedly (but quietly) opened the door and climbed out of the vehicle. He was only outside for a couple of minutes when Trixie snuck out of bed and followed him.

Jim was stunned. It was the only thing that saved him from letting on that he was aware of the proceedings. He watched without moving as Trixie slipped on her tennis shoes and a sweater, then stepped over Brian and out the door. Then Jim closed his eyes in a vain attempt to hold back tears.

"Dan?"

Dan was standing a few feet from the camper with his back to it, stretching his arms behind him. The front seat was better than the floor for personal space, but it played havoc on his shoulder muscles. He smiled when he heard Trixie's voice.

She stood beside him in her giant blue sweater and pajama shorts and smiled up at him. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

 

You've got that right, Dan thought to himself as he looked down at her. Jim and Brian would have one collective fit if they came across them in such a suspicious-looking situation.

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked her.

"Sort of. I guess I'm just not used to being so cramped." She took a look around at all the trucks and cars at the rest stop with them.

Dan followed her gaze and they both watched a trucker climb down out of his cab and head for the john. He flicked a cigarette into the grass as he passed them.

"That'd be an interesting job, wouldn't it?"

"What, being a truck driver?" Trixie asked. "Yeah, I guess it would. You'd certainly get to see the country."

"No degree required, no sitting in an office all day…" Dan shook his head slowly. "You'd be your own boss."

Trixie laughed. "But you'd have to sleep in your truck. After just a couple of days of doing that, I'm prepared to never do it again."

Dan had to agree. Living in such close quarters with people he called his best friends was making him think Army life would be a breeze.

Trixie's next question startled him somewhat. "What do you want to be when you grow up, Dan?"

"When I grow up, huh?" He laughed a little. "Cop, I guess, just like I've always said." He sighed, wishing for just a moment he could tell Trixie about his law enforcement "career" in high school. That was behind him now, though, and he didn't want to think about it. "Why, are you changing your mind about becoming a detective?" he asked.

Surprisingly she didn't say no right away. She thought about it for a few seconds and told him honestly, "Maybe. Maybe I just need to find another mystery to get my interest back up. I don't know." Right now all she could think about was the nagging feeling that Dan was going to leave and not come back.

"Hmm." Dan stared down at her with a half-smile, half-frown (it was a difficult expression to pull off, but he managed it beautifully). "Well, maybe Rick'll turn out to be your man. Everyone else thinks he's pretty mysterious."

"I'll grant you that he's weird," Trixie admitted. "But he's not a bad guy. I'd stake my reputation on it."

They headed back into the RV as the sun was coming up, and woke everyone with obnoxious shouts of "Rise and shine! Daylight's a-wastin!"

Dan had become accustomed to all the different morning faces by now. Di woke up with a bright smile, with a cheerful greeting for everyone. Honey always stretched luxuriously before ever opening her eyes, like a baby in its crib. Mart treated wake-up calls like they were Bobby on a bad day: they didn't exist. And Brian's first question was always about coffee.

When he got around to looking at Jim, expecting to see the customary good-natured grumbling, Dan stopped in surprise. Jim's grumbling this morning was in no way good-natured - it seemed downright hostile. And if Dan didn't know better, he'd think it didn't have much to do with morning, either. He wondered if Jim and Trixie had had a fight last night, and that was why she'd come outside.

Hoping to see Trixie's reaction to Jim's mood, Dan faced north and real sudden-like turned left (Trixie was west of Dan's position). She seemed to be ignoring her boyfriend.

"How about going to a nice restaurant for breakfast?" she asked everyone. "I'll drive."

They chose a place called The Greasy Spoon, mostly because they figured nobody there would mind their unwashed, unkempt appearance(s). Breakfast was grits and taters, covered in eggs and gravy. And, they'd been right about being unwashed- they fit right in with the other patrons.

 

Of course, Rick showed up again. Brian spotted him just as they were leaving the restaurant. They considered trying to hide from him, but … Well, you can't exactly hide a large yellow house-on-wheels. Di, who was driving, settled for blowing the Dukes of Hazzard-style horn and speeding away.

"Next stop: Nebraska," she called back to her passengers. "How far do we have to go 'til we get to the border, Mart?" she asked her co-pilot.

"Hour, hour and a half." Mart put down the map and began leafing through a Triple-A guidebook. "Hey, here's a crazy idea," he said to her. "Why don’t we stay in a hotel tonight? Nebraska hotel rooms don't seem to be all that expensive."

Di definitely liked the idea. She couldn't wait to have a shower in a real bathroom again. And room service! Not to mention a bed to herself. "Find one with a pool," she ordered him. To the back of the vehicle she shouted, "We're staying in a hotel tonight!"

Cheers erupted from behind her. Mart thought he heard a cork pop, and he wondered idly if Dan had gotten into another bottle of Chateau Briand.

They found a nice five-star hotel out in the middle of Nebraska's largest cornfield, and were checked into their rooms by 4:00. They were down to the pool by 4:05. After about an hour of swim and horseplay (Regan had made them promise to do at least 10 minutes of horseplay a day, to keep in practice for shows and whatnot), they all lay around on lounge chairs and beach towels.

"What were you saying, Dan," Brian asked, "about that place you stayed on your road trip last month?"

Trixie wasn't paying much attention as she let the warm sun lull her into drowsiness. Her fitful nights were catching up with her. With half an ear on Dan's story about livin' it up at some hotel in California, she closed her eyes. She woke up fifteen minutes later with the uncomfortable feeling she was being watched.

Trying not to appear too much like she'd just woken up, Trixie decided to ease her lounge chair into a sitting position, the better to watch the goings-on. Everyone else was still talking, though not as animatedly as before, and she didn't think they'd noticed her somnolent state. They were all semi-somnolent themselves.

She adjusted the bar on her chair skillfully, at the same time keeping an eye on her surroundings (also skillfully). Someone was watching her, and she meant to find them. Trixie tossed her hair a little as she leaned into the lounger, hoping to subtly see the area off to her right. When she did so the unsecured bar at the back of the thing fell out of its notch on one side, spilling her painfully and horribly onto the sidewalk at Mart's feet.

Mart, of course, hooted. Brian snickered, and Honey and Di burst into uncontrollable giggles. Dan went with a manly chuckle, and Jim chose an amused grin. Everyone else around the pool - an old guy with a really good tan, but only below his ankles; a portly woman in a string bikini; four sets of twins, of assorted ages and genders; and three red-haired men with freckles and hands on their hips (Don't ask me how I knew they had freckles on their hips!) - stopped what they were doing so they could stare at Trixie.

"Another illustrious display from our resident shamus," Jim said as he reached a hand down to help her up. He was smiling but he asked if she was hurt.

"No, I'm fine." Trixie stood up, red-faced and disgusted with herself, and grabbed her towel and her flip-flops. She stuffed her feet into the toe wedgie-makers as she apologized to the group.

Honey was immediately sympathetic. She rose from her prime location, beside Brian in his swimming trunks, and prepared to go back to the room with Trixie. "What are you sorry about?" she said as she donned her own tennis shoes and cover-up. "It was an accident, Trix."

"Besides - " Di was on her feet and modestly attired now, too. "I'm just about ready for dinner, as soon as I grab a quick shower and a change of clothes."

They made arrangements with the boys to meet in about a half-hour. Trixie was enormously grateful to her friends for coming with her. The boys had decided to relax around the pool for a little while longer, and she just knew they were all waiting to burst into laughter about her fall. She could just see the picture she would have made if Di and Honey had stayed with the boys - slinking off by herself, her shoes spanking her feet in their haste to get away. She probably would have lost her towel, too.

"They must think I'm the biggest idiot," she grumbled to her friends once they were on the elevator. "I am forever falling around both of them."

"Who, Brian and Mart?" Di giggled. "Yeah, I think they've got it figured out by now you're a klutz."

Honey couldn't help but smile a little as she remembered the out-of-the-blue drop onto the sidewalk. She had been lazily talking to Brian about his upcoming school year at Duke, and the noise from Trixie's mishap had jerked them both wide awake. The look on Brian's face, at once embarrassed and amused, had been priceless.

"No," Trixie was answering Di unhappily. "Brian and Mart have seen me do far worse, I'm afraid. I'm talking about Jim and Dan." She sighed. "Remember the time I tripped over my chair in the library, Honey? Dan was so ashamed of having to haul me to my feet, he could hardly get out of the building fast enough."

Trixie's mournful tones and the picture she was painting was too much for all three of the girls. They were falling all over themselves laughing when the elevator stopped at their floor. As they stumbled out into the hall they were accosted by a familiar voice.

"Fancy meeting you all here." Rick stood right outside their door, a happy grin on his face. "Tired of staying in the camper, I see."

 

"Trix! Over here!"

Trixie followed the sound of Mart's voice and spotted him on a sofa in the lobby. He'd been reading a newspaper, but he put it down as she approached. "Where are Honey and Di?" he asked.

"Di's doing her hair and Honey's still in the shower. Where are Brian and Dan and Jim?" She did what she had come to do in the first place - grabbed a cup of complimentary coffee - and sat next to Mart.

"Last time I saw Dan he was flipping through the channels. He still hasn't changed out of his trunks. Brian and Jim?" he shrugged. "I assume they're getting ready for dinner."

"Not anymore," Brian said as he entered the sitting area, his hair still wet from the shower. He was wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt (and of course tennis shoes). "Is that coffee fresh, Trix?"

Trixie grimaced and shook her head. "No. Where's Jim?"

"He went to go round up Dan." Brian sat in the pleather armchair nearest Mart. "He should be here soon."

Trixie informed Brian of the whereabouts of Honey and Di, and the three Beldens settled in to wait comfortably.

"Did you forget your key, Mart?" Dan said with a laugh when he heard the knock at the door. He was surprised to see Jim on the other side when he opened it. "Hey, man, what's up? I'm almost ready to go," he went on as he let Jim into the room and turned to hunt for his shoes.

"Were you on the phone a second ago?" Jim asked. "I tried to call your room to let you know I was coming over, but it was busy."

"Uh, yeah …" Dan struggled with his shirt as he pulled it on over his head. "I called the front desk. I was getting a, uh, list of nearby restaurants."

"Oh, good. What'd you get?" Jim waited patiently near the door while Dan hung up his wet bath towel and stuck a room key in his back jeans pocket. "Anything decent?"

Dan indicated that Jim should lead the way, then followed the redhead out the door. "No, man," he told him as they headed down the hall and to the elevator, "the guy who answered the phone said there's some brochures and stuff out in the lobby. I guess we have to find our own restaurant."

The elevator took forever to answer their summons. The two waited for it in a somewhat uneasy silence. Finally Jim decided to ask Dan something.

"Dan," he said, "I want to ask you something."
"Okay."

"What were you and Trixie talking about last night? At the truck stop?" Jim sounded right on the edge of anger.

"Huh?" Dan was actually a little surprised. He didn't think anyone had been up the night before. "Uh, I don't know, man … We talked about the life of a trucker … what we want to do when we grow up… " He frowned at Jim. "Why?" As if I don't know.

Jim maintained eye contact with him for 4.7 seconds before smiling and looking away, specifically to the just-opening elevator doors. "No reason, really. Just trying to figure out what's wrong with her lately." He shrugged and punched the button for the ground floor. "I thought maybe she'd discussed it with you, but I guess she's not talking to anyone." He sounded extremely relieved to know his girlfriend's problems were still festering.

They both looked at Trixie first thing when they got to the lobby. She was laughing with Brian about something, seemingly without too many worries on her mind. Honey, Di, and Mart were checking out restaurant pamphlets and menus.

"We ready to go?" Brian stood when he saw Dan and Jim approaching. "Mart, did you find a good place?"

Trixie jumped up, too. "Actually, Brian, we're still waiting on someone." She blushed as she said this, and Honey came to her rescue.

"We ran into Rick upstairs," she told the boys, ignoring their surprised and displeased expressions, "and invited him to join us for dinner."

Mart was in the middle of a loud and unfriendly complaint when Rick arrived on the scene.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Rick smiled somewhat obnoxiously at Mart, then had the nerve to bow slightly. "Are we ready to go to dinner?" He offered his arm to Trixie.

Trixie hesitated, knowing that to take Rick's arm would be frowned upon, to say the least, by the boys, but that to refuse to take it would be an insult to Rick. She glanced at Jim and noted that he looked extra sullen tonight - he seemed to be forbidding her to touch Rick. As sort of an automatic reflex she checked out Dan's take on the sitch. He was holding the door for everyone. Trixie didn't know who she was defying when she accepted Rick's offer: Jim for acting like he owned her, or Dan for not caring enough to see what she did.

"And the next thing I knew, we were dancing a conga-line in the middle of Saks Fifth Avenue, to the tune of My Heart Will Go On!" Rick punched the air in front of him, narrowly missing Honey's nose. "Celine Dion is one helluva line dancer, let me tell you."

Di and Honey nodded vigorously.

"That's a fascinating story, Rick." Dan leaned forward, his chin resting on his fist. "And just how far did you say the elephant got before they caught him?"

Rick took a bite of Brian's breadstick. "New Jersey. It was a wild couple of days." He suddenly and violently seized … the waiter's attention. "Garcon! Czech, please! Ha, ha, ha! Kidding! Check please!"

James Winthrop Frayne II, or Toby Metcalf as his friends down in Texas called him, insisted that the bill be brought to him instead. Pulling out the credit card Mr. Wheeler had given him for emergencies, Jim quickly took care of business.

"Well, Rick," Brian said as he helped Honey into her jacket, "I guess we'll see you later."

Rick bounded out of his chair and tried to help Trixie into her jacket, but was stopped by Di saying, "That's my jacket! See? It's purple."

"So it is, Miss Lynch." Rick apologized for the mistake and quickly hunted up the powder blue sweater Trixie had purchased in White Plains for ten dollars. "Here's the powder blue sweater you purchased in White Plains for ten dollars," he told Trixie.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"So, I understand we're all going to see a movie?" Rick sounded excited.

"Well, we're going to see a movie," Jim said slowly. "I didn't know anyone had asked you. Yet," he rushed to add when he saw his adopted sister's horrified reaction to his tactlessness.

"That was the first time," Rick replied happily. "And I'd love to. So what are we seeing?"

Dan put a completely heterosexual arm around Rick's shoulders. "How do you feel about…Colin Firth?" he asked as he led him out the door.

"Yum."

Honey and Trixie lay in bed that night discussing the evening. Di was out on the balcony with Mart and a six-pack. Of Pepsi. (And it was actually more like two six-packs, if you counted Mart's abs.)

"Rick sure seems to have a soft spot for you, Trix," Honey said.

"Doesn't he, though? Too bad it's all an act."

Honey rolled over to stare at her friend. "What in the world are you talking about? Everyone has noticed."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "It's so obvious, Honey. Rick has no interest in me. If anything, he's got his eye on Dan."

Honey screamed long and loud. Finally Trixie ran to the bathroom and filled a cup with water. When she threw it on Honey's face the screaming stopped.

"Please explain," Honey said calmly. "Do you think he's gay?"

"Not at all. In fact, I think I saw him looking up Di's skirt."

"Like that's hard to do," Honey muttered, checking over her shoulder first to make sure Di hadn't come back. "So if he's not gay, why the interest in Dan?"

Now Trixie checked over her shoulder before answering. "Well," she whispered, "I've noticed a lot of strange things about Dan. Listen: have you ever wondered why he hardly ever comes on vacation with us? And then when he does, like to New York City and the Mississippi River, something really big happens? You know, world-class jewel thieves and gun runners. And how when he's around, the police always treat him like one of their own?"

Honey nodded. "Of course. But I thought that was just because he looks so trustworthy, with his long hair and leather jacket."

"I thought so, too, at first," Trixie admitted. "But when I was going through his underwear drawer the other day, helping him pack for the trip, I found what looks like a paycheck stub. It was signed, Uncle Sam."

Honey sat in stunned silence.

"You know what I think?" Trixie asked. "I think Dan's parents were circus performers. I think they wanted him to be one, too - but Dan has other plans. I think he's an undercover agent for the U.S. government!"

GASP! Honey said.

"An undercover agent!" Mart scoffed, an ugly sneer spreading across his scarred face.

Trixie and Honey whirled. "Mart! What are you doing here? And where did you get that scar?"

(Oops, my bad. I meant 'his scared face.')

Trixie and Honey whirled. "Mart! What are you doing here? And why are you so scared?"

Mart chuckled. "Me, scared?" He grabbed a pillow off Trixie's bed and advanced menacingly on Honey. When he reached her he sat on the side of the bed and sang her a lullaby. As Honey's eyes drifted closed Mart whispered, "I just came to get a pillow for Di. See you guys."

"Night, Mart," Trixie told her almost-twin as he disappeared out the sliding door.

 

The only thing that saved them all from killing themselves the next day, driving through Wyoming, was watching Brian try to run Rick's tiny camper off the road. They finally made it across the border and threw an impromptu party. A couple of hours later, the pinata long destroyed and the sparkling grape juice gone, Dan looked around.

"Say, Brian…"

"Brian!" they all shouted.

"It sure is great to be out of Wyoming. Where are we now?" Dan peered out the window, eager to set eyes on a beautiful new state. "Nevada? New Mexico?" He squinted a little, trying to make out something in the distance.

Unfortunately, there was nothing in the distance. They were in Utah.

The gang voted unanimously to stick Road Man in the CD player and move. And move they did. They were out of Mormon territory by sundown and on their way to Nevada, home of the world's tackiest city. Mart was so excited he could hardly breathe.

"Head between your knees, Mart, head between your knees." Brian watched anxiously as his brother slowly regained some color in his face. "We're almost there. Jim says it's only another couple hundred miles."

Di knelt beside Mart, rubbing his back. "Did you remember to bring your nickels, Sweetie?"

As the others were distracted by Mart's weakness, Honey motioned Trixie over to the tiny toilet area. Dan, unfortunately, was using the life-size toilet at the moment.

"What?" Trixie hissed. "Do you know how suspicious we must look over here?"

"Oh, don't worry," Honey said, "everyone's so concerned about Mart they're not watching us. Jim's so worried, he's not even watching the road!"

"I guess you're right. So what's up?"

Honey paused for a moment, as if she were a little confused. "Well," she said finally, "I guess I'm a little confused. If you're right about Dan's parents being circus performers, and about Dan being an undercover agent, I'm just wondering: why is Rick so interested in Dan? Is he another agent?"

Trixie suddenly looked shame-faced. "I've been thinking about it, Honey, and Mart's right. It's just crazy to think Dan works for the federal government." Then she brightened. "But I do think he grew up in the circus. And I'm pretty sure that Rick was sent here by the Ringling Brothers, to try and convince Dan to come back to the fold. Let's not forget about how he taught Spartan to dance."

"That's right! Dan must be a highly desirable animal trainer," Honey surmised. She missed the way Trixie's eyes had glazed over at the phrase, 'highly desirable.' "Well," Honey continued, raising her voice so as to appear unsuspicious, "you're right about this little toilet, Trix. It sure can flush!" She pushed the 'waste removal' button and smiled innocently at everyone.

Dan came out of the bathroom and tossed a magazine on the table. "John's free." He glanced at Trixie and Honey, huddled over the little john, and narrowed his eyes. Something was going on with those two.

"Hey," he said, "what's going on with you two?" Could they suspect that he was a former federal agent, and that Rick was an agent, assigned by Mr. Belden to keep an eye on Dan until his eighteenth birthday, which was three days away, and at which point Dan would legally cease to be Mr. Belden's responsibility (insofar as his position as Dan's superior made him responsible)?

Trixie blinked. Dan looked awfully thoughtful about something. "Nothing," she said warily. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing."

"Okay. Then let's watch The Sound of Music." Trixie popped the tape in and soon they were all singing happily about dog bites and bee stings.

Jim pulled up outside the Mirage Hotel and Casino just before two the next morning. He found an extra large parking space and turned off the engine, then turned around and shouted, "Everyone off!"

There was no one else in the RV with him. Jim looked out the window and saw the other six Bob-Whites, dressed in evening wear, already walking through the revolving doors of the Mirage. They each carried bank bags full of nickels.

Jim sighed. Then, pulling out the credit card Mr. Wheeler had given him for emergencies, he went in search of a tuxedo shop and a Coinstar machine.

Inside the casino Trixie whipped out the ID card Dan had fashioned for her, and presented it to the doorman.

He bowed. "Welcome to the Mirage Hotel and Casino, Mrs. Molinson. Enjoy your stay."

She stepped through the flashy archway and into the world of excitement beyond, where she waited for Honey (Miss Sippi, Miss I. Sippi) and Di (Mr. Wayne Newton) to join her.

"Isn't this so exciting?" Di squealed as she looked around at all the slot machines.

The girls found three machines together and set about losing their money. Honey smiled happily as she pulled again and again on the lever, watching anxiously for the pictures to match up. This was what a club treasury was for!

Mart and Brian strolled over after a while, fresh from the craps table. "Any luck?" Brian asked the girls.

Trixie held up a bucket and showed her brothers the quarters she'd won so far. "This should get us drinks at the next Coke machine," she said proudly. "What about you two?"

"Brian's got a stack of chips this high," Mart stretched his hands about two feet apart, "over at the chip-changing window. I lost everything."

"Aw, honey," Di said soothingly, not looking up from her money-grubbing machine. "You can share mine."

Mart grabbed a handful of silver and ran.

"Where are Jim and Dan?" Honey asked Brian.

Brian shifted a little uncomfortably. Then the wedgie pulled out and he answered. "Dan's playing Roulette, and Jim hit the Blackjack table. They both seem to be doing alright."

Just then Honey's machine began screaming and flashing, and a jackpot poured out. Jumping up and down wildly, Honey threw her arms around Brian's neck and screamed in his ear. Trixie and Di helped them gather the winnings, and they all decided to pack it in for the night.

Mart came back just as they filled the last bucket. The frown on his face told them he hadn't done any better the second time around.

"Let's go get Dan and Jim," Trixie suggested. "Then maybe we can get something to eat."

They decided to have breakfast at Quark's bar, mostly because Mart wanted to play Dabo with a Klingon - and let's face it, where else can one play Dabo with a Klingon? Over raktajinos and plum puffs they decided that they'd thrown enough money away in Vegas, since Mr. Wheeler's emergency credit line was only good for another $10,000. Mart and Di had sort of been hoping for a peek at one or two of the cheap 'n easy wedding chapels, but Brian hustled them back to the camper and the group was off without further delay.

 ***

"So the nun says, 'twenty bucks, same as downtown.'" Brian put down his martini glass and stared soulfully into Honey's eyes. "Or anyway, that's how the story goes. So did you bring your bikini?"

"Yeah. You?" Honey tossed back a shot of Jack Daniels.

"Cut!"

The two would-be actors dropped their silly accents and Mart dropped his pants at Dan's direction. They were testing out Jim's new camcorder by making a movie for the kids back home. Di had penned it, hoping it would be an inspiration for all the alcoholic hookers on Hawthorne Street. (Including Larry Lynch, who'd been there for two months.)

"That's great," Dan congratulated them. "But I'm going to need to see a little more skin from you, Brian. Honey, you're doing great."

Honey blushed modestly and stubbed out the cigarette she was smoking. "You make it easy."

"Hey, guys?" Trixie called from the driver's seat. "Am I crazy, or is that Rick up there?"

Everyone squoze into the space between the two front seats to get a look out the windshield. Sure enough, Rick was standing on the side of the road holding out his thumb hitchhiker-style. Trixie started to slow down.

"You're not stopping, are you?" Jim demanded. "You should never pick up a hitchhiker, Trixie!"

"It's not like he's some stranger," she retorted, braking not two inches from the man's toes. Marsha Brady would've been proud.

"Well isn't this a nice surprise?" Rick kissed Mart on the cheek. "You guys are my guardian angels, I swear. Can I catch a ride with you?"

"Where's your camper?" Jim asked. "And Robert?"

Rick chuckled. "Exactly. I stopped to take a leak, and the next thing I knew Robert was tearing off down the road. He tossed this out the window." He held up a silver-studded dog collar. "So unless someone takes pity on me I'm stuck here. Ha, ha."

***

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Di asked worriedly, looking out the back window at Rick. "He looks so … forlorn. Should we have let him come with us?"

Brian stepped down hard on the accelerator. "Just forget about it, Di. He'll be fine."

"Get off, Brian!" Trixie shoved him away from the steering wheel. "I'm trying to drive here, you know."

"So how far from California are we?" Jim asked.

"You're the copilot, man," Mart reminded him. "What does the map say?"

Trixie pointed to the sign they were passing. "Welcome to California," she read snottily. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah. Why do you suck?"

Brian gave Mart a high-five for his witty zinger, then suggested that perhaps they should stop soon for a dinner break.

"And let's not forget that tomorrow's Dan's birthday," Honey reminded them all. She raised her eyebrows at Dan and he thought, What, like I didn't know?

"So we'll need to do a little shopping," she finished. "Why don't we find a nice hotel near a nice strip mall and have a nice evening?"

"That sounds nice," Di agreed.

"Speaking of sounds…" Brian peered out the mini-blinds on the back window. "Did you guys hear that?"

A loud knocking could be heard coming from the rear of the camper.

"It's Rick!" Jim shouted incredulously.

It was indeed Rick. He was hanging onto the ladder at the back of the RV, windblown and rumpled, but wearing a grin as big as all outdoors. When he saw that they'd discovered him the grin grew even wider.

"Mind if I come in?" he yelled.

They all agreed, some more grudgingly than others, that Rick had earned a free ride. So Jim promised him that if he could make it inside the vehicle while it was still moving, he could stay. He did. (Don't forget, he was a highly trained federal agent.)

Mart joined his sister at the front of the RV a minute later, chased up there by Rick's gathering hands. "How's it, Noni?" he asked irrelevantly.

"Mart, can I ask you a question?"

Trixie's serious tone intrigued Mart. "I'm intrigued," he told her, leaning closer. "But technically you already asked me a question."

"Then can I ask another?"

"Number two," he said in a sing-songy voice.

"Mart!" she barked. "I'm going to ask you a question!"

"Right after I run to the little boys' room," he said, hopping away. Dan slid into the seat after he left it and looked at Trixie intently.

"You can ask me anything, Trix," he invited her.

"Isn't this weather beautiful?" she said with a fake laugh. I can't ask him my question, she thought. It's about him.

It must be about me, Dan thought. Just play it cool, Dan.. "Weather? Did you know they have wonderful weather in the circus?"

Poor Dan, thought Trixie. So much fear, so much pain - and all hidden from the world. Don't worry, I won't spoil the secret of your true background. "Your parents were in the circus, weren't they?" Shit.

"You know -" he began.

"Who wants Terkey?" Rick popped his head into the forward cabin and offered Trixie and Dan bites of his snack. "Half jerky, half turkey…muy delicioso."

"No thanks," Trixie said, turning back to the road.

"I wouldn't say no," Dan replied.

"Whew!" Mart returned from the bathroom and evicted Dan, who would've almost died rather than go into the back, where the others were shouting about the smell coming from the latrine area.

Mart buckled up, then turned to Trixie and admitted candidly, "I sure don't remember eatin' that! Hey," he added eagerly, "is that Terkey?"

They decided on a nice family restaurant for dinner. As Trixie parked in the handicap RV spot she said, "I can't believe what great time we made. It's only 5:30."

"Still time for the Early Bird special," Jim announced happily.

They all trooped out of the Trickster and waited patiently while Trixie keyed the alarm.

"I hope they have good lobster," Di said as they headed inside.

Honey nodded. "Hooters is supposed to be famous for their seafood."

"Among other things," Mart supplied. "Their cheese sticks, for instance."

After they were seated and had ordered their food Brian brought up a delicate subject.

"Jim, you've got a booger hanging out of your nose." Then he turned to Dan. "So what's your big announcement? Are we allowed to know yet?"
"Announcement?" Trixie quickly turned to face Dan. "You have an announcement?"

"Let me guess." Mart put a finger to his chin. "You found the girl of your dreams, and you'll be getting married as soon as the judge grants her parole."

"You've decided that you're going to study cosmetology at the Sleepyside Beauty Academy," Brian guessed.

"Your parents were circus performers!" Honey slapped a hand over her mouth and looked guiltily at Trixie.

"I know, I know." Jim held up his hand to get everyone's attention. "You've created an army of wood-choppers, and they're poised to take over the world."

All at once everything came together in Trixie's mind. Mart's comment about the girl of Dan's dreams reminded her of her own dream regarding Dan's departure. Jim's suggestion about an army, Brian's booger remark … Suddenly it was all so clear.

"You're joining the Army, aren't you Dan?" she asked. "You're going to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for your basic training."

He looked at her in surprise. "How'd you know?"

She ignored his question. "When do you leave?"

"Next month. August twenty-fifth."

Honey was the first to express any kind of positive emotion. "Dan, that's so cool!"

"Yeah," Di agreed.

Brian, Mart, and Jim each stood and shook his hand.

Finally he faced Trixie once more. "How'd you know?" he asked again, wildly curious. He was sure he hadn't dropped any clues, blue or otherwise.

She shrugged and took a sip of her water to hide the fact that she was close to crying. She'd always known Dan didn't think of her as particularly special, but she would have hoped for a little more - more warning, or inside info on his life plans, something to indicate he valued her friendship. He was acting like it was no big deal that he was leaving in a month, to move halfway across the country, for who knew how long.

"Just figured it out," she said as the waitress came with their food. The ensuing diversion enabled her to get away with that rather vague explanation. She had no intention of telling Dan - and everyone else - that she'd been having dreams about him.

"So," Mart said after a few minutes of manimal-like chewing. "How long do you have to sign up for?"

"Three years," Dan answered in between bites of his hamburger.

Three years! Trixie looked up in alarm, but Dan seemed unconcerned. He must really want to get away.

"You okay, Trix?" Honey asked quietly. "You haven't touched your food."

"I'm fine." She ate a french fry to prove it, then smiled with false gaiety. "I'm really looking forward to getting to the coast."

"Me, too!" Di had overheard and was butting into the conversation. "I bought a new bikini. It's purple."

The rest of the meal passed quickly, with everyone making comfortable conversation with the Bob-White nearest him or her. Dan noticed that Trixie seemed to be having a great time talking to Jim. Rick, meanwhile, was having a great time talking to Dan.

"And my mother's mother was actually my father's oldest sister, so I'm sort of my own nephew. What about you? Any inbreeding in your family?" He paused with a forkful of spaghetti halfway to his mouth. "Dan? Any inbreeding? Dan?" He was obviously getting an obscene amount of pleasure from acting like a turd-jerker.

"Cut it out, Rick," he warned him quietly, taking a sip of his drink. He kept his eyes on Trixie and Jim, who were taking sample bites of each other's food.

Rick noticed what he was looking at and snickered, then opened his mouth to say something.

Dan turned to him suddenly and angrily. "I mean it."

"What?" Rick asked innocently. "I was just going to say that Pete Belden's daughter sure is a hottie."

None of the BWG's (excepting Dan, of course) knew why or how Rick's plate of pasta suddenly ended up in his lap. But they all could see quite clearly how he ended up on the floor when he tried to escape to the bathroom - he'd tripped over Mart's outstretched foot.

"Only five miles to the ocean!" Honey announced excitedly, honking the RV's horn for emphasis. "And at five minutes til midnight, too - we'll get there just in time for Dan's birthday!"

"Maybe you should tone it down a little, Honey." Mart, her copilot, had been startled awake by the horn and was trying to pretend he hadn't been sleeping.

"Oh they can't sleep through this! Go wake them up, Mart - and get me another Mountain Dew."

"I've got that, Martin." Rick clapped him on the back with an appropriately submissive look. Ever since Mart and Dan had explained a few things to him back at the restaurant, he'd been much more respectful. (And bruised.) He handed the drink to Honey. "Here you go, Sweetie."

"Thanks. Why don't you take Mart's seat while he rouses the troops?"

"Only briefly, Madeline - only briefly." Rick scanned the horizon as he answered. "I'm sorry to say I won't be with you much longer."

"Why not?" Honey looked at him in alarm.

"No, no, Miss Wheeler - no tears. We always knew it was only a temporary arrangement. You've brought me as far as the ocean, and I'm grateful, but I expect Robert will be here any minute."

Dan muscled his way into the front of the camper and put a restraining hand on Rick's purple-polo-shirted shoulder. "I just spotted him out the rear window, Rick. He seems to be in a hurry to catch up to us."

"The dog?!" Honey questioned, just one second too late. Rick had already pulled the emergency stop, sending the RV into a tailspin at the very edge of a cliff. The tires squealed to a halt mere inches from the coast. Half a minute later Rick's camper pulled into the clearing and stopped beside the Trickster.

"…11:59:58, 11:59:59, midnight!" Rick threw open the camper door and stepped out into the warm salt air. "Happy, happy birthday, baby!"

One by one the BWGs spilled out the door. Rick kissed them each in turn until he got to Dan, who decked him. The slight fellow went down on his even-slighter derriere with an "Oomph!"

"Sorry, man," Dan said contritely. "Just getting ready for army life, you know. Let me help you up."

"Allow me."

They all turned to see a short, well-dressed man emerge from Rick's camper. He walked over to Rick and offered him a hand that Rick took without hesitation.

"I got to Taos," the man said meaningfully, "but it wasn't the same without you, Ricky. Could I - or do I ask too much…Do you still have the collar?"

Rick produced the studded dog collar from his coat pocket and handed it over to the dapper young man.

"Robert?!" the BWGs guessed in unison and disgust. Both men nodded gravely as Rick helped Robert refasten the collar around his neck.

"You said he was a Husky!" Mart remembered.

"I said he was husky," Rick corrected him.

"But…but…" Trixie sputtered.

Rick opened his mouth to say something, but Brian gave him a swift kick that sent him halfway toward his camper. Robert followed close behind with an outraged look on his face. They were gone within seconds, and the dust from their spinning tires hadn't yet begun to settle when the Trickster suddenly peeled out and flew over the edge of the cliff.

The sound of her horn, with its haunting melody, cried out to them as it went down.

As one, the seven Bob-Whites ran to the precipice and stared at their dearly departed wheels.

"Well darn it all to heck and back again, with a large freaking crap-burger on the side!" Diana's curses, sanitized before being put into print, echoed through the night. "What the @#%$ are we supposed to #$@#% do now?? ^$&&*#@^ *#!! Huh? Huh??"

The others stared openmouthed at her.

"Well?" she demanded.

"I guess I forgot to put it in park," Honey admitted in a tiny voice.

"Happy Birthday, Dan," Brian bellowed, tossing an empty bottle of Cuervo into the ocean below. In the distance, a dog barked.

"Well," Trixie sighed as they walked dejectedly toward the nearest town, "there goes our security deposit."

"And our ride back home," Mart reminded her.

"Don't worry about that, Mart," Honey told him. "Daddy gave me and Jim credit cards for emergencies. I can't think of a bigger emergency than being stuck on the other side of the country with no money, no clothes, and no way home. Daddy won't mind."

Jim ran a hand through his red hair. "Gee, sis, I don't know. I wouldn't feel right about using Dad's card that way. Let's think of something else."

Ideas were tossed around - crazy ideas, ideas that should never have existed - but nothing seemed plausible. Finally, they came to a stop outside a 7-11 where, as luck would have it, a notice was taped to the window. This was a very special notice, and Mart noticed it right away.

"Hey, did you guys notice this?" he asked. "There's a contest today - a singing contest. First prize: $20,000, plus seven tickets to Sleepyside-on-the-Hudson, New York!"

Early on the morning of Dan's eighteenth birthday (but later, of course, than it had been when they'd first seen the notice), a hitherto unknown seven-person band marched through the door of Krustylu Studios and filled out a contestant form. Their name? Bob-Whites of the Glen. Twenty minutes later six of them were suited up in costumes borrowed from the Brady Bunch Variety Hour and tuning their instruments. Ten minutes after that, Mart Belden appeared onstage in a skintight unitard.

"I thought he said he didn't bring it," Dan whispered to Trixie.

"Shhh." She nodded toward the audience, buzzing with excitement as the lights went down. Then she strummed her air guitar in perfect time with her almost-twin's gyrations as he launched into a heart-wrenching rendition of Queen's Fat-Bottomed Girls.

Two hours later, the seven friends were en route to Sleepyside, a crisp twenty-thousand dollar bill burning a hole in Jim's pressed khaki slacks.

 ***

"At this time we would ask all passengers of Flight 543, non-stop to St. Louis, to board at gate C-5. All passengers of Flight 543, proceed to gate C-5. This means you, Dan."

"Well, I guess this is it," Dan said, pulling his duffel bag over his shoulder. The BWGs stood and followed him over to the gate.

"I can't believe you're really doing it," Di sobbed, dabbing at her eyes with a purple handkerchief. Mart gave Dan a manly hug and then led Di away to depress someone else.

"Fly safe," Honey said lamely. Brian rolled his eyes and shook Dan's hand warmly.

"I got your back, man," Brian told him. Dan, who had recently taught Brian that phrase, smiled at its misuse.

"Thanks," he replied. "Keep it real, home-dog."

Jim turned to Dan with two very dry eyes. After popping some Visine, he said, "We'll miss you, man. Keep in touch."

"Hey, will do." Dan returned the limp handshake and smiled him away.

"Well…" Trixie tucked a stray hair behind a stray ear. "He's right. We will miss you. Even if you don't ever share any of your secrets with anyone."

Dan regarded her with a lopsided smile. "You don't need me, Trix. You've got James Winthrop Frayne II, or Toby as the Texans call him."

"You're right," she said. "I do have him. But I still need you. Come back after you're done breaking hearts in Colorado."

"Missouri," Dan corrected her.

"Whatever." She hugged him long and hard. "I'll keep in touch."

"Thanks, Trix."

He stepped back and looked around at all his friends. Hopefully, someday, eight years into the future perhaps, they could all spend another summer together. Who knew?

"I'll see you guys." Dan tossed them a jaunty wave and a giant wooden spoon, and left without looking back again.

"Well, Trix," Jim said softly as they stood at the window to watch Dan's plane take off, "I'm leaving in two days. Have you thought about what I said?"

"Yes, Jim, I have." Trixie took a deep breath. "And I think it would be a mistake for both of us if I were to try to hold you to a commitment."

Jim's arm around her shoulders tightened a little. He was surprised, to say the least. They'd gotten along better in the month they'd been home from the road trip than they had in a long time. They'd talked, they'd laughed, they'd really been great friends again. Why was she telling him she wouldn't wait for him?

"Don't you - want a commitment, Trix?" he asked hesitatingly.

Trixie turned to face him. "I want to be your friend, Jim. No strings. If we both want to pursue more after college, then we can."

Jim smiled in sudden relief. "Okay, Shamus, sounds like a deal."

 The End

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