Sam sighed as he went though the mountain of paperwork on his desk. Tad's friend and Hayley's sister-in-law, Maria Santos Grey, had died in the crash of Transglobal 149 and her brother, Mateo, had teamed up with "The Cutting Edge" to find out who was responsible. And now, he was trying to find out who owned Coreview, the parent company of Transglobal. Warren was out on a mission and hadn't returned his phone calls.

Out of utter desperation, noticing the date, he called Celeste, using her direct line. "Happy Belated Birthday!" Celeste could use her connections and help him. They talked for a few minutes.

Celeste laughed as she realized what was going on. "Shaw owned Coreview--" Sam dropped his coffee mug. "Our spies are everywhere, Sam. We've known that you've been trying to get to the bottom of the mess- Liza called Emma last week." It hadn't been the right time to tell the TV station, now it was. Sam could deliver the information and shine.

"Can ya prove it?" Sam asked his friend.

"How legal do ya need it to be? I've got proof, but ...." Celeste smiled, fingering her cameo. The proof was proof of her first felony.

Liza Colby walked by at that moment. "Got a break?" she asked.

Sam nodded and asked his boss, "How legal does the proof need ta be?"

She quickly turned on the speaker phone. "Just good enough to make the news." She started salivating at the hot break.

"I'll messenger the tape to Sam sometime today then." Celeste hung up the phone as Liza started celebrating her victory.

***

Pete knew he had tapped out the bar when American beer started looked good. So far, he had discovered that Jim had a history of mental illness, Dixie Cooney was expected to make a surprise visit, and Kendall was coming back to town to surprise her mother with Anton's son. All was good information, but none was what he needed.

But what he had discovered was one member of the community was acting weirder than usual. Dimitri Merrick seemed to be on terminal meltdown. And that was a good place to start digging.

With a smile, he picked up the phone and called an old friend.

"Dillon Residence," Trevor Dillon said as he brushed his daughter's hair in one hand and answered the phone with the other.

"Dillion!" Pete laughed. "Still wearing those ugly ties?"

"Still wearing those cheap boxers?" Trevor Dillon had lived several lives, most recently as a lawyer. Before that he was a police chief, and before that a mercenary. He, Jeremy, Pete, Nate, and Dom had met in Genosha. "How are ya, you old son of Barney?" He altered his language for his daughter.

"Barney? Who are you babysitting?" That wasn't the Trevor Dillon that had saved his neck back when an arms deal had gone bad.

"My daughter, actually." Amanda Dillon, a very sweet six year old girl with long blonde hair smiled. "Amanda, sweetie, go get your backpack and make sure Tim's doing his homework."

Amanda smiled. "Okay, Daddy." She ran upstairs to check on her big brother. "Tim- you better be studying!"

"Since when did you get a kid?" Pete laughed, trying to imagine Trevor with a little girl.

"Long story." Trevor stretched out his words, giving the impression that explaining about Amanda would require several beers, a night with no other plans, and the ability to understand the Summers family. "You in town for a while?"

"Workin' on a case. I'm freelance now." He liked the idea of being a hired gun. "Haven't talked to you since you needed help with Janet Green."

Trevor looked around the room and gulped. "We're datin' now." He didn't want his daughter to know that at one time, he had tried to kill her mother.

Pete nearly dropped the phone. "Okay." He had wondered about the blonde that stayed in the Enchantment suite, but thought that Trevor didn't go though with their plans because she was Nat's sister. After a long minute, "I need to ask you some questions. Can I come over tomorrow?"

Trevor sighed. He was handling Edmund Grey's custody suit against Dimitri Merrick and would be tied up in court all day and Amanda had her ballet recital that night. "Not tomorrow, but Friday's free."

"See you then," Pete agreed. After a second, he dialed Emma Frost's private number. There was more than one way to get information on Merrick.

***

Allie finished her warmup with Rahne and Kitty. "Thanks guys," she smiled. "I just want to cream Martin in the Iron Person contest."

The two friends exchanged a glance. They could run circles around Allie. "Let's get on the bikes then," Kitty suggested. Allie showed them the way.

"Sae where's Pete?" Rahne turned to Kitty with a smile.

"He said, and I quote, 'Ain't no way I'm coming to watch a bunch of people sitting around flexing their spaghetti-like biceps at each other when I can get some real action.'" Allie turned to Kitty, shocked. "Pete's brand of exercise is a bit ... more private than this."

"Oh," That was sufficient. "And Sam's over there." She pointed him out, surprised that he didn't come over to talk to his girlfriend.

Rahne nodded. "He's meeting a friend." And they had had a tiff this morning over the type of tea Sam had bought.

That peaked Kitty's interest. "Which one?" She couldn't think of anyone that would be visiting them without blowing their cover.

"Celeste." She waved as the blonde walked in. "She's got some information for him." Celeste made her way over to them.

"Hey, guys." She smiled at them. "Did you get my gift?"

Rahne nodded, "Thank ye. A cannea imagine what we'd done without it for the first couple of days. Didn't ye get me thank ye card?"

Celeste sighed. "If you sent it to the office, no. Between Ariel's troubles and just working, I'm never in the office. Emma's piled travel on bad lately. I barely have enough time to try to handle Ariel, and not enough to see Matt." A smile danced across her lips as she said the last part. "But I need to get this done so I can go pick him up." She waved goodbye to them.

Rahne explained to Allie, "She's on a tight schedule. Always is."

Kitty smiled at the woman walking away from them. "She's nice at least. She arranged for you to win the tickets to 'Beauty and the Beast'." Rahne picked up the pace as Celeste greeted Sam. "Rahne, what's the matter?"

Allie shook her head. Even as attractive as the woman was, Sam wasn't the type to be interested. "The guy's in love with you."

Rahne spit out her problem. "Sam's just closing me out." Both women listened as Rahne explained her feelings.

***

Jake smiled as he saw his friend try to keep up with the two women. Allie was so hyper-competitive at times, it wasn't funny. Truth was, he didn't even care about the Iron Person Contest except to spend time with her. She was the first person after Liza to pique his interest. After being burned so bad with Liza and before her, Emily Ann, his ex-wife, it was nice to take things slow.

He turned to Sam and pointed out the blonde. "Is that the lady Tad wanted me to wait for?"

Sam nodded. Celeste had called him back later and told him that she was on a tight schedule but needed to talk to him without anybody overhearing. He suggested that they box in a private ring for a few minutes. But then, The Cutting Edge needed the information that she was giving them for tomorrow's show. Tad had sent his brother to get the details from her.

"She's pretty." It was a statement of fact. Celeste could turn heads in any outfit.

Sam smiled and added, "Not as pretty as Rahne." Celeste went over to hug her friend and then made her way over to see him.

After handing the tape to Jake, she turned to Sam. "Shall we?"

***

They laced up and walked into the ring. Sam had decided to restrain himself so that Celeste could have an honest chance to learn something. Celeste had decided to restrain herself so that she wouldn't beat the tar out of him for holding back.

They traded a few blows, and Sam appraised her stance. "Yer dropping' the right a little," he advised. She nodded. "So what did ya want ta tell me that ya had ta come all the way over ta here?"

Celeste quickly sidestepped an attack. "Emma is an investor in WRCW, so this might come in handy. Merrick used to own the station." She expertly landed a shot on Sam, careful not to hurt him.

"Good blow," he nodded. "Still dropping' the right. What about Merrick?"

Celeste pulled up her right a little, knowing that Sam was expecting an attack from that side. "He bought the land where the homeless shelter was, and he owns the land around the AIDS hospice." Sam nodded, following her line of reasoning. "Pete asked Emma to try to put some pressure on him, start a hostile takeover. Be on your toes, just in case." She feigned a punch with her right but instead hit Sam with her left.

That blow connected with Sam's nose and eye. "I'm sorry," she started as his nose started to bleed. "Did I break it?"

Sam shook his head, more surprised that she could land a blow like that. "Ah don't think so..."

"Let me see," she insisted as she moved his hand. "I'm sorry, I gave you a black eye." She blushed as she apologized. "I'll get an ice bag."

Sam tried to laugh at Celeste doing a nurse's impression, but his nose hurt too much. Logan would have never let him live this one down. "Ah've got a healin' factor ta take care of this."

Celeste muttered another apology. "So sorry...." She started to take off her gloves.

"Celeste, Ah didn't say we were done." But as he looked over at his friend, he knew they needed to talk. Celeste wasn't upset about the black eye as much as she was upset over something deeper. "Muh healin' factor will take care of this in a minute, and muh pride has mended. Heck, Ah'm used ta gettin' beat up by women. Ah'm proud a' ya for landin' a shot like that." That was certainly true, she wasn't nearly as trained as him, but she had a talent for the sport.

Celeste took off her gloves and sat down against the wall. "Matt doesn't like it when I'm better at something than him." Sam turned to her, shocked. "So he's better at everything."

"Why?" His eye had healed. "Rahne is a lot better at a lot of stuff than me, and Ah'm proud of her for that. Ya can't hold back for someone else."

Her head fell as she muttered, "Because I just don't want to hear him say the stuff he says when I beat him." Celeste's eyes lost their usual luster as she said that.

Sam took off his gloves and slipped an arm around his friend. Celeste was, to many men, a very intimidating woman. Strong, strong willed, stubborn, independent. The last thing she really worried about was showing up any guy. Used to be, the guy had to be in her league, because she wasn't going to slow down for him. Now, she was letting a guy beat her. That wasn't her. "What stuff?"

"That I'm lucky or he had a bad day because on a good day he wouldn't have done something so dumb and I know all about dumb because I am." Celeste spit out the words. "It's easier to let him win."

Sam's response was instinctual. "Drop him. He's no good." He moved from liking Matt to hating him when he heard Celeste repeat the words she'd heard too often.

That brought a bitter laugh. "Sam, if I drop him, what am I to do about my sister?" She rubbed her head. "Ariel is turning out to be like I was at her age- wild. Sam, I'm worried and I can't reach her." She looked like she was going to cry. "She stays out all hours of the night, doing who knows what with who knows who. Only, thanks to Tony, I know who and what, and I'm better off not knowing. Matt gets through to her." For her sister, she could put up with a lot.

Sam sighed, seeing the rotten position Celeste was in. "And if ya drop him, then he won't help with Ariel."

She nodded. "Sam, my sister is all the family I have left. She's more important to me than anything. If it means putting up with Matt, I will. I can become the woman he wants me to be."

That was a joke. Celeste could no more be happy as a weak, dependant woman than Sam could be happy as a dark, brooding man. "Rough spot," he sympathized.

Celeste's phone went off. "Hi, Matt." She answered. "Just finishing up that errand Emma wanted me to do. ...No, I'm not seeing Tony.... Okay, I'll pick you up soon.... Fifteen minutes? But it takes half an hour.... I'll be there." Celeste slipped her phone in her tote bag. "Looks like I have to go. See you next time." She hugged him.

"Bye," Sam said. He watched her go change and sighed. So many people thought they owned her it wasn't funny. One day, Celeste would stand up for herself. And that was a day he wanted to see.

Rahne walked in a minute later. "Did A miss Celeste?"

Sam nodded. "But yer not the only one." At Rahne's puzzled look, he briefly filled her in on the situation.

***

Allie found Rahne, Kitty, and Sam at the juice bar. "Rahne," she started, "Rachel's taken a turn for the worse."

Rahne got up and explained to Kitty. "Rachel's a bairn at the hospice. She loves me." She kissed Sam goodbye. "No one should die alone."

Sam watched her follow Allie. "You know," Kitty commented. "She loves you." Sam turned to his friend. What had brought about that change in topic? "You're pushing her away with what ever secret you and Paige are keeping."

Sam shook his head, not wanting to understand what Kitty was talking about. "Rahney knows that--"

"She knows you're hurting, Sam. She knows that someone hurt you bad. And she wants to help the man she loves- except for two little things. A. She's afraid to let him know how she feels. B. He doesn't want her involved." Kitty finished her attack on Sam with a warning. "She's going to leave if you don't let her know you love her."

Before Sam could defend himself, she walked away.