"You'd look okay to a half-blind woman in a dark alley," Rosemary replied, winking at him.

"That good, huh? It's what I've been striving for all my life." They laughed together, an intimate kind of laugh that many couples take years to achieve. He looked at her. She looked good in his shirt. Neither of them had had a wink of sleep, but he had never felt better in his entire life. Although his tie was perfectly tied and perfectly straight, she reached over and just gave it a little touch. He put his hands around her waist & pulled her close for a goodbye kiss. Looking into her eyes, he asked, "You will be here when I come home, won't you? I may be late, but not if I can help it. We'll go out to dinner."

"You don't like my cooking?" she teased. Although everything had been delicious, neither of them had eaten much. They had been too intent on each other to notice the food.

"I love it, but I want to show you off. I want everyone in L.A. to see you. You'd make Julia and Gwyneth jealous!" He started to go, but suddenly turned back. "Here's my key. Do you have time to have one made for yourself?" She nodded. Looking at his watch, he was startled to notice how late it was. He had to hurry. He waved & dashed for the elevator.

Getting off the elevator at the garage level, he found his silver BMW, threw his briefcase into the back seat, & got in. It felt like a Mozart morning, so he selected disc seven and hummed along with "The Magic Flute." When Papageno the birdcatcher was singing about looking for his Papagena, Lindsey sang along. What a glorious day!!!

As he drew closer to Wolfram & Hart, however, his mood changed to one of apprehension. He didn't want Rosemary to know what he did; however, even less did he want the people at the firm, especially his boss Holland and his "colleagues" Lila & Lee, to know about Rosemary. He knew some of the wives and girlfriends of the lawyers there. Either they became perfect little robotic Stepford wives or they turned into—there was no other way he could put it—sluts. One or two he had seen once but never again. He briefly wondered if they had been given to Russell Winters or to one of the demons who worked at the firm; the thought made him shudder. He couldn't let anything happen to Rosemary. She had to be protected. But, as he pulled into the parking garage at W&H, Papageno had found his Papagena and the two were singing their joyful duet about the little Papagenos and Papagenas they would have. His mood swung back to the joyous one he had had when he left the apartment.

Without realizing what he was doing, he practically bounced into the lobby and toward the elevator, bumping into Chris Tyler, who was muttering something about the Gruber deal as usual; the poor guy was obsessed with it. Somehow, his mood attracted the attention of Holland, who was standing at his computer, his hand lasciviously on Lila's shoulder, monitoring Lindsey's movements. "See if you can find out what he's so happy about, Lila. That's really not like him at all. I think he's even humming Mozart!" Lila nodded. Before she could leave, Holland pulled her to him and kissed her. She smiled at him & waited until she was out of the room to shudder. The things I do for success, she thought.

Sticking her head into Lindsey's office, Lila asked, "Why the good mood, Lindsey? Are you getting along well with Russell Winters?" For a moment he gave her a blank look. Then quickly another look that she understood well replaced it. He was trying to come up with a plausible lie!

"I'm just happy about the Dodgers game, that's all." Lila, who knew little and cared less about baseball, gave him the thumbs up sign & left. She found a paper and looked at the sports page. Her instincts had been right; the Dodgers had been massacred by the Giants. She'd have to dig a little.

Lindsey settled down at his desk and started to worry. What had the Dodgers done? For the first time in his life since he had played for St. Patrick's 6^th grade team, he hadn't checked the score. Damn! Why couldn't he have come up with a better lie? He pulled up the scores on his computer. They had lost big time! Now what? He suddenly thought of Julie. She had been somewhat of a friend in law school. Not that either of them had been even remotely romantically interested in each other, but they were in all the same classes and in a study group together their first year. As he wanted to be a trial lawyer and she was heading for a career in tax law, their paths had parted in the second year. When they were going through recruitment, however, they had run into each other. He told her that he had decided on Wolfram & Hart. She had been aghast. She told him she had heard some almost unbelievable stories about the firm and that he should avoid it like the plague. But the offer they made him was so much better than any of the others. What would she know anyway? She was everything he wasn't: the beloved youngest child of parents who could afford to pay her way through law school and who came to take her to brunch or dinner every weekend. She had never known what it was to be hungry, or unloved, or worried about whether you'd get enough scholarship money to go to college or law school. Now he wished he had listened to her. He sighed heavily and started to work.

Rosemary had her own plans for the day. Before heading to her apartment for a change of clothes (she had already showered!), she stopped by St. Malachi's church. In the little religious gift shop next door she bought a crucifix just like hers except larger with a thicker gold chain—more masculine. Then she took it to Father Brendan to be blessed. That done, she hurried home, changed, and went off to her job as the music librarian at KCMO (Classical Music Only). Rob Thompson, one of the engineers and a good friend, stopped by the library to say good morning. He had a few new pictures of his two little girls to show her. As she admired them (Beth & Lisa were certainly adorable children), he asked, "Why are you so happy today? Did you win the lottery?"

"No, I found him."

"The guy in your visions?" Rob had been the only person she had dared to tell about what she had seen. He was a true friend. "You met him? Great! I'm really happy for you." He have her a friendly hug. "Gotta go now. Dennis needs me at the controls!"

Rosemary skipped lunch and stopped by a little boutique that she passed on her way to work. She had seen a blue dress there that would be perfect for dinner out with Lindsey. Even if they ate in, she'd look great in it. On her way back to Lindsey's, she stopped by a locksmith to have a key made and by her apartment for her toothbrush and a change of clothes. Then she went to his place, took a nice long hot bath, did her hair up, and dressed.

As Lindsey was clearing off his desk in preparation to leave, Holland strolled into his office. "I'm going to need you this evening, Lindsey. I hope you don't mind staying." Lindsey struggled to keep his disappointment from showing, but Holland caught it. There was definitely something going on in his protégé's life and he'd find out what it was. But perhaps this wasn't the time yet. Besides, he had plans for Lila and himself! "On second thought, just come in a little early. You look tired." As he suspected, Lindsey's face briefly lit up before he could compose himself. Yes, he'd find out, but he was positive it was a woman. One he hoped he could control as he controlled Lila.

On his way to the elevator, Lindsey ran into Lee. The chinless wonder appeared to be staying late; he had a bag from Harris' Deli in his hand and carried a large coffee in the other. Like Lila, Lindsey really didn't really like Lee much. As he had once said to Lila, "Lee put the ‘psycho' back in sycophant!" He knew, too, that Lee had struck out with Lila. When Lindsey first joined the firm, Lila had flirted very blatantly with him. She was gorgeous, but he instinctively knew she was bad news. He also had an instinctive feeling about Lila & Holland. What a pair! He took the elevator down to his car & headed for his apartment.

When he arrived, Rosemary was waiting, her hair up, a simple but beautiful sapphire blue satin dress & a smart pair of sandals complimented by what appeared to be antique earrings. He kissed her gently. "You look so great I don't want to muss you."

"Please, muss me all you like!" They kissed again. She handed him a chilled glass of white wine. He noticed a bowl of fresh flowers on the coffee table. Suddenly it finally became home instead of just a place to sleep and read.

"Give me five minutes to change into a clean shirt & we'll be off. One of my clients has reservations for us at Alfredo's." That was the new hot spot in town where all the young celebrities went—at least until the next one came along.

Chalk up one for Russell Winters, thought Lindsey. A valet was waiting to park his car, and they were seated at a fantastic table right in the middle of the room. Most of the glamorous young Hollywood couples were there: Gwyneth, with Ben, looking just a little sad when Jennifer & Brad came into view. The maitre d' seated them as far apart as possible. Minnie & Josh, Winona & Matt, Julia & Benjamin. A beautiful woman with long dark hair & huge black eyes walked by; Rosemary did a double-take. It was Deanna Troi, or, rather, Marina Sirtis, the actress who played her. A middle-aged Indian gentleman with a beautiful wife about his age greeted "Marian the Music Librarian!" Lindsey recognized the great conductor Zubin Mehta and his wife, Nancy Kovack, who had once made movies. But after a moment or two they settled down and concentrated on each other. Some of the other diners looked at the attractive young couple and tried to figure out which movie or television show they had seen them in! A star-struck couple from Duluth were sure they were Josh & Daphne from the soap "Life is for Living!"

Dinner was delicious, but again they ate little. When Lindsey asked for the check, the waiter told him the dinner was compliments of Mr. Winters.

Reality suddenly struck Lindsey like a cold splash of water in his face. My God, what have I done! Rising, he pulled a bill from his wallet and laid in on the table for a tip. "Let's go now, Rosemary!" He hurried her out the door, requested his car from the valet, helped her in, and drove off. Rosemary was perplexed; what had caused this change of mood? Everything had been so wonderful.

"We have to talk." His face was grim. Had she done something wrong? Seeing the look of sadness on her face, he softened. "Rosemary, I love you. I will love you as long as I live & even beyond. But there are forces in my life that you know nothing about & that I hope you will never know about. Even more, they can't know about you! I know they would try to destroy you. I should never have asked Russell Winters to get us reservations there. But I really wanted you to have a fantastic evening. I should have taken you someplace else—even McDonald's!"

"Does this mean we're not going to see each other any more?" She turned away so he couldn't see the tear running down her cheek.

"I'd rather die than give you up. But we just have to be careful. I want to marry you. No, I am going to marry you!" His voice became more determined. "I joined Wolfram & Hart when I was just 23 and in my second year of law school. A friend told me not to, but I didn't listen to her. Now I can't get out. But I can keep them away from you, and I will. But I'm afraid that Russell Winters will tell my boss about you." By that time, they had arrived at his building. He drove the car into the garage, helped her out of the car, and took her up to his apartment. On an impulse, he picked her up & carried her over the threshold. She laughed a little. He carried her into the bedroom. Sliding her dress off one shoulder, he started kissing her neck, perhaps just a little desperately. She untied his tie & opened his shirt.

"Lindsey, please promise me something?"

"Anything, my love. Anything!"

She picked her purse up from the bedside table & took out a small box. "Please promise me you'll always wear this; never take it off—to bathe or swim or anything. Please!" He looked at the gold crucifix she was holding; nodding, he let her slip it over his head.

"Do you mind if I take off everything else?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "But we really need to get some sleep. We didn't sleep at all last night." Later they were asleep in each other's arms.

Lindsey was right to worry; first of all, the "mystic barriers" at the firm immediately picked up on the fact that he was wearing a cross under his shirt. Secondly, Russell Winters did pass along to Holland that Lindsey had had dinner with someone at Alfredo's. Holland decided he wanted to meet her; how could he achieve that without Lindsey suspecting? An idea came to him. He called a contact at KCMO, the radio station that he knew Lindsey listened to while he was at work.

At two o'clock that afternoon, Dennis announced a call-in contest for two box seats to that night's Dodger's game. As the station manager had promised Holland, Lindsey's call was the only one to get through. Lindsey was delighted, as he had always been a Dodger fan. And they were playing the Yankees in an interleague game! He couldn't wait to tell Rosemary. He hoped she liked baseball too.

Rosemary was delighted. Her stepfather had taken her to baseball games often and she had come to enjoy the sport & know a lot about it. Lindsey bought each of them Dodger caps, hot dogs, and Cokes (Diet for her) and ushered her to their seats. Just as the pitcher was warming up for the first pitch, two people took the seats behind them: Holland and a very uncomfortable-looking Lila, who gave Rosemary a poisonous look. Lindsey flushed. Oh, God, no, I was set up again, he realized. But then he introduced Rosemary to Holland and Lila, both of whom, wouldn't you know, wore Yankee caps.

Lila looked very uncomfortable in hers.

"How do you do, Lola?" Rosemary asked innocently, but, as Lindsey noticed, with a twinkle in her eye.

 "That's Lila," she replied, a little too sharply. Holland frowned.

 "Oh, sorry." Rosemary looked at Holland. "You remind me very much of someone. I believe his name was Mr. Applegate."

Holland looked her in the eye. "I've been told that before." Then the announcer called the first pitch, and Rosemary and Lindsey turned their attention to the game. Holland studied them, and Lila just looked bored. He poked her in the ribs and gave her a look of extreme displeasure. Lila squirmed in her seat and tried to focus on the game. Then she started looking at the attractive athletes and found something to enjoy.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Rosemary suddenly exclaimed to Lindsey, "Get ready. The next ball is going to be hit right to you!" As it came toward him, he stood up and made a one-handed catch, gathering applause from some of the fans around him. He gave the ball to Rosemary. So, not only does she love him and is very religious, but she also has "the sight." A worthy adversary, Holland thought. She may have ruined him already. I'm not going to be able to control this girl; I'll have to plan something very special for her. But first...

Suddenly in the next inning, the tide turned. The Yankees, who had been shut out up to this point, got red hot. They won the game 8-4. Holland offered Lindsey & Rosemary a ride home in the W&H limo.

"No thanks, Lindsey drove. Goodnight, Lilith," Rosemary said.

"That's Lila!" But Lindsey & Rosemary were already gone. Holding Lila's elbow just a little tighter than was necessary, Holland led her to the waiting limo.

Inside the limo, Holland shut the glass partition between them and the driver. "I was not at all happy with your behavior tonight, Lila. Not at all." She really didn't like the look he was giving her.

"What was this Lola and Applegate stuff that wishy-washy little blonde was babbling about anyway? I don't understand what Lindsey sees in her anyway." Lila sulked.

"You would if you weren't so jealous, Lila. You never did get him to sleep with you, did you? Not for lack of trying, though. As for Applegate, have you ever heard of a musical called ‘Damn Yankees?' Applegate is the devil, who tries to get a man to sell his soul to him. Lola is a seductress who works for him. However, the hero stays faithful to his wife. You should really catch up on some of the classics, Lila! As for Rosemary, she's pretty and very smart and very feisty. She was challenging me from the beginning. I have something very special in store for her. I may even give her a chance to choose between saving her life and saving her soul. But not yet. Let them enjoy themselves a little while and let their guards down. Then I'll take care of her. I may have to take care of him, too, although it might be better to let him continue to live. Living without her may be a worse punishment for him than killing him would be!" He smiled; Lila had always hated that particular smile. He opened the glass and spoke to the driver. "Take us to my place. Lila will be staying the night." Turning to her, he said, "After all, my dear, the night is still young!"