One second, Cheyne was sitting dreaming - the next, the second the violence broke out, and the punch was thrown at Todd, he'd sprang to his feet in a single lithe movement and, without even seeming to hurry, was standing between Roxy and Billboard-Brow's little group. He didn't say anything, didn't scowl, didn't threaten. He was there, though. When Billboard-Brow grabbed the young, good-looking boy by the front of his shirt, Cheyne simply shook his head, as if BB should maybe be looking for alternate entertainment. His message was pretty obvious, really. Move in the direction of the lady, and you'll end up in the meat-sauce tonight. He looked at BB's friends, but none of them seemed inclined to support their leader. When the guy came out and threw BB to the ground, Cheyne thought the trouble would really start, but these young hoons were obviously as gutless as they were stupid, and left after a few pathetic attempts at harassing Roxy. Cheyne escorted them out, one arm casually draped around one of BB's followers, as if he were their friend and escort, but he was squeezing the guy's shoulder so hard that he'd have a black-blue bruise there for the next month. The kid got the message.

As he returned, he saw the young, good-looking kid pick up his phone and read a text message. The next second, the kid was up with tears springing to his eyes and heading for the back room. Obviously it wasn't the fight that had upset him. Cheyne shrugged - it was none of his business - presumably the message was a break-up from a girlfriend. He sympathized, he'd had his share.

He turned to Roxy, who didn't seem to be any the worse for wear from the harassment and insults. "You OK?" he asked.

Aaron smiled and pretended to swoon at the kiss Daisy had blown him, getting some chuckles behind his as a result. Then, barely a moment later, he stopped in his tracks at what was going on. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. A fight. In the restaurant. He turned to go break it up, ever though it looked under control. He gripped the shoulder of one of the boys and shot him a look saying, "Don't even think about it." It wasn't often, but Aaron could be intimidating when he wanted to be. He didn't bother making sure the boys vacated the building, he knew they would, and besides, a customer seemed to have it under control.

He frowned when he saw Todd's reaction to the text message he had gotten. He crossed his arms and looked at Roxy, mouthing, "I'll go check on Todd." While jutting his thumb in the direction of the office. Then, turning towards the back, he set out on his way. He knocked on his boss' office door and called out, "Todd? Hey, you okay?" He would pry into the guy's business, but if he wanted to talk about it, he could. The way he'd reacted wasn't because of the fight, he could tell that much. Todd knew the whole story behind Aaron's ex-wife and everything, so he hoped the guy would open up and tell him what the matter was, but he wouldn't force him to.

Mark was chatting it up with one of the pastry chefs that has just arrived when he heard someone say in a rather loud and irate voice.""What the hell did you just say to me bitch?"Marks turned away from his fellow employee and stepped out of the kitchen looking around to see who was using such language besides himself in the morning. He should have known that the confrontation would have involved his favorite female waitress, who at the moment looked prepared to kill.

Mark moved towards the kid whose forehead was so massive that Mark almost felt pity for him . He paused however when Todd came running over to confront the kid and some big guy stepped in front of Roxy. He watched Todd and the kid get into a bit of a tussle, and saw Giovanni and Aaron angrily shoo the other teenagers out, along with the big tan guy. He watched as Todd pulled his phone out of his pocket and then run towards the owners office. Todd sighed knowing Aaron or Roxy would be better in this situation

"YA! Thats for messing with my woman " ! Mark shouted towards the door and smirked as he saw Roxy roll her eyes. Mark then turned towards the customers who were of course watching the whole thing with wide eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I hope you enjoyed the morning show, and stay tuned because in a couple hours the mighty Roxy will be going against CHESSSTTTTER!" He spoke like Bruce Buffet the whole time, the guy who usually announced the fights for any mixed martial arts matched, making most of the audience, or rather customers clap their hands or start laughing.

Unfortunately Lorenzodidn't find his commentary as amusing as everyone else did."Get back in the kitchen and get to the washing!"

Roxy was furious, but mostly because Todd got hit because of the kids. She was that close to grabbing onto Billboard brows shirt
and flinging him out until the big Aussie guy and Aaron intervened sending the kids on their way.

"YA! Thats for messing with my woman " Roxy didn't even have to turn around to see who yelled that embarrassing comment. Her eyes
met Aaron and she saw him mouthing "I'll go check on Todd" which made Roxy nod and smile. She wished could find a nice guy like
Aaron.Sadly all the guys she ever dated either had a motorcycle, or were "bad boys".She
moved her head slightly and then raised an eyebrow at the busboy giving him a very clear"just go " look before turning
her attention on the Australian guy.

"You OK?"He asked in a concerned voice that made Roxy's heart kind of beat harder
then when she was angry.What the hell? Why was she acting like that. She nodded her head and then grinned sheepishly,
brushing the hair from her eyes.
"Yup! I'm perfectly fine haha. By the way this stuff doesn't usually happen here. I
just sort of attract trouble. Thanks for helping by the way,and to make up for the mess your breakfasts on me." She then
did a quick glance over at a nearby table and noticed that one of the customers left their paper. She picked it up and handed
it towards the man.
"Ads are on the third page...but by the way this place is hiring for another waiter, if your interested ."

"Food should be ready in a bit!" And with that the waitress tightened her apron and moved back towards the kitchen were she saw
Alex's order was ready. She took one of the large round serving plates, placed on her right forearm and began putting on
his omelet, cinnamon roll, and his black coffee.

She maneuvered through several people and tables as she made her way towards where the artist was sitting."Here you go
Picasso. Hows that drawing coming along?"

"Hey, I appreciate that," said Cheyne. "But it really isn't necessary. Hey, I was just making sure you didn't really stuff that fifty up the kid's jaksi!" He gave a huge grin. "I doubt it would have been legal tender, after that!"

He took the paper from her. "Thanks for the tip. If you're really desperate for staff, I might try for the position."

As he walked back to his table, he paused at a table, where someone had left a felt-tip pen. For a few seconds he busied himself covering one side of a napkin with his surprisingly neat handwriting. He then folded the napkin, and as he passed the table where Linda and Darlene were sitting, he handed the note to the former, with a bow and a flourish, then, ignoring their open-mouthed stares, went back to his table and opened the newspaper at the requisite page.

****

"What - did that guy just hand you a note?!" whispered Darlene. "What cheek! Why he-"
"Trying to pick me up, I'll bet," giggled Linda. "What a creep. Hey, you're jealous..."
"Of that! You must be joking. What's the note say?"
Linda opened the note, and suddenly two bright spots of pinik appeared in her cheeks. She handed the note to Darlene, who read it, and also blushed furiously. Withing seconds, both women were looking shame-faced, and their faces were both a bright crimson - it looked like a blushing contest!

****

Cheyne ignored them, continuing to scan the "want" ads - there was an opening for a data-entry operator, that he thought he might go for. He thought about the note he'd written:

Greetings, Ladies

My name is Cheyne Sherman. Amongst other jobs at which I have tried my hand is the noble practice of herding cattle by means of a helicopter. While piloting such a machine, one's life often depends upon being able to comprehend the instructions of one's co-pilot. However, the noise made by the blades of this device often make this impossible.

Therefore, when practicing this profession, one very soon learns to become proficient at the art of

LIP READING

In the interest of your collective privacy, I felt you should be made aware of this, if my private activities are to continue to be a part of your discussion.

Affectionately

CS.

PS - The blond lady has a huge lipstick smear on her teeth. Thought I'd mention it.

He didn't even look at them, but continued to scan the paper. Now and then, however, he watched the waitress called Roxy go about her duties. Wow, she's a honey, he thought. No mistake!

Todd heard Aaron at the door and choked out, "Not really" and had a laugh that turned into a cough. He knew his eyeliner was running and felt like a girl. He read the text over and over, still not believing what he'd read. Wayne was a sweet guy when it came to it, he didn't know why his ex-boyfriend had broken up with him so distant and cold. He didn't want to have another cold break-up. He wanted one where it was mutual, and they would stay friends. He knew Aaron knew how he felt, he was a divorced man. It just felt different when a guy dumped you. It was usually harsh, cruel, and distant. He didn't even care about the bruises that were caused by this man that made him cry so many tears. Not as much as Westley, never. He surveyed his father's office, the one he'd been in many times before.

He considered opening the door, but he didn't want anyone to see him like this. He thought of just killing himself so he could be with Westley again. He'd thought of it many times before, and was one of the reasons he kept the bandana on his wrist. A final desperate act if he failed. He knew he should probably talk to a therapist or his father, but never got himself to. Then he remember the freedom of being drunk and that his father's personal fridge had liquor in it. He found the key and twisted the lock, grabbing the first bottle he found.

He took the liquor bottle out of his father's personal fridge, and managed to get it open. He unlocked the door but sat on it, he face twisting as he took the first sip. It'd been so long from when he would steal liquor from the kitchen and was finally caught by Chet. He forced himself to drink more, his head free of thoughts and he was giggling like mad.

Aaron listened for a moment and sighed, if Todd wanted to talk about it, he would've. "Well, okay. You know how to find me if you want to talk." Then he turned around to get back to his job. If Roxy looked at him he'd just shrug and mouth, "Didn't wanna talk to me." Before going to do something or another. He was worried about Todd, the younger guy was almost like a younger brother to him. He hated seeing any of the staff or regular customers feeling down, Todd included. He stopped by a table to refill the customer's water while their server was occupied with another group. He really hoped the day got better.

Todd stood up, still giggling and swaying. He stumbled out the door, the liquor bottle falling from his hands. "Hey Daddy!" He exclaimed drunkenly, swaying very heavily. He could practically feel the eyes boring into his drunken self. "I love Westley Adam St. Cloud, adn none can take him away from me!" He yelled, surveying the scene for his deceased boyfriend. The liquor messed with his mind, making him believe Westley was still alive. "Son, are you drunk?" Giovanni asked incredously, his son doing pinwheels across the diner. "Well, if that drink is liquor then yessirre!" He giggled, stumbling into the kitchen. He grabbed another bottle and waved at the three men in the kitchen while opening it and taking a long sip.

Chet had been in the kitchen still and laughing at the head chef attacking Mark because of a small comment he made. He patted Lorenzo on the back again and said, "Settle down big guy." Lorenzo looked over to Chet and glared at him and then calmed down. He managed to make a smile though, knowing that Chet and Mark and the others all looked up to him and respected him. Chet looked back to the pans on the stove and began to fry the hashbrowns and eggs.

He suddenly heard a loud clank as dishes fell to the tile floor and made a loud crashing noise. Chet flipped around and then sighed and looked to the floor as he saw who it was. Todd. He was deffinately a little drunk, probably had stolen liquor from the bar or his father's fridge. Chet was used to it though, even though it hadn't happened for a while. Todd had stopped for the past month or two, but apparentley another thing had happened since then. "Todd, stop," said Chet. He ran over to Todd and tried to take the bottle from his hand, but before he could, the bottle was smashed on the ground.

Chet grabbed Todd's hands and held them together so he couldn't do any more damage. "C'mon, let's get out of here." He led Todd out of the kitchen and out to the back of the building where it was dreary and cold. "Jesus, it's cold," said Chet. He looked over at Todd who had obviously been crying before. "What's wrong?"

Todd stopped laughing and looked down, keeping quiet now. "Todd." Chet waited for him to speak, but he knew him to well to know that Todd wasn't going to speak. Chet rolled his eyes and looked over Todd. He attempted to make eye contact with Todd, even though Todd had his head down. He finally locked eyes and had one guess for what happened. "Is it that new French guy Wayne? What did he do?"

"Well, if this is the standard of cooking here, I'm going to be coming back a lot," thought Cheyne, as he drank the last dregs of his coffee. Fair enough, he'd got his breakfast for free, but he'd gladly have paid full price for a meal like that. The coffee was good, too...

There was some kind of altercation going on in the kitchen, the sounds of things breaking. He guessed it was connected to the young, good-looking boy who'd received the text message. Cheyne guessed it must have been something really bad. He guessed the young kid was gay, but he had too many gay friends to believe the old chestnut about homosexual males all being drama-queens. He'd looked as if he was really suffering.

He watched as Roxy continued to serve customers. She really did have fantastic legs - not to mention one of the prettiest faces he'd ever seen. Both Brook and Kelly had already vanished from his mind. The way that Roxy was always having to fuss with her hair, and fiddle with her apron to keep it tied was kind of appealing - it made her vulnerable, just that little bit less than perfect. He noticed that when any of the waitresses bent over a table, the tight uniforms they wore hiked up at the back and showed lots of leg. He wondered if they knew... He guessed the blond called Daisy knew, but he doubted if Roxy did - she was just too classy to be that immodest on purpose.

Carefully, he circled a few want-ads. If he wasn't going to go back to sleeping in the SUV tonight, he needed a job - and fast!

"He sent me a text, saying he was going to New York with his new boyfriend." He whispered, strangely comfortable with Chet's fingers pushing his chin up to look up at Chet, locking his eyes with the latter. He let the older man comfort him, and he thanked him. He hugged him, smiling with sober happiness. He ran to the nearest coffee shop to get a caffiene rush, and went ahead and ordered a coffee. He sat in a stool inside the cafe, his hands becoming very cold.

A cute blonde girl looked around, showing concern as he couldn't find a seat. "Can I sit here with you?" She asked Todd, and he nodded. None of his giggly drunkeness was visible. "Sorry, there's no more seats. I'm Emily, Emily Lane." She replied, Todd giving her his own name. "Aren't you in Stanley Drain's band?" She asked, and he nodded. "That's so cool. I'm a photographer, I took a few pictures at one of y'alls gigs. You're an amazing singer!" She commented. Todd blushed, thanking her for the compliment. "So, you must have a girlfriend, right?" She asked, taking a sip of her coffee. "No, my boyfriend just left for New York. But I'm bisexual." He answered, taking a sip of his own coffee.

An hour later, they were laughing and learning a lot about each other. "Listen Emily, I know we just met, but I feel this happiness from you. Do you want to be my girlfriend?" He asked, the girl nodding and standing up to hug him. She kissed him and he felt that feeling that he felt every time he'd kissed Westley. Undying love. She put a piece of paper in his back pocket, hugging him once again. "Call me, cutie!" She giggled, walking out the store. He walked back to the store, giving Chet another hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

12:00P.M

Lunch Hour

The day continued on, the daily breakfast entourage began to drift out of the restaurant to make room for the lunch crowd, which was a ridiculous amount of people. Old, young, and Italian were the usual customers that drifted inside of the Tarantella to partake in Lorenzo and Chet's cooking. Roxy was used to many of the people that came inside and knew most of their "usuals". SHe passed around greetings and waves like they were Halloween candy. Roxy was usually able to keep a good face on unless someone made a pass at her that she didn't like (Mark was somewhat of an exception since he was like a little perverted brother) or someone purposely wanted to pick a fight with her. The only time sh ever felt remotely worried or embarrassed was when her family was involved. Which of course...they were as it happened at 12:15 P.M .

Roxy was just going to walk over to the Australian mans table and ask him if he had decided to get a job here when she was suddenly tackled from behind by something latching onto her legs."What the hell?" She said struggling to move and then rolled her eyes as she saw exactly what or rather "who" it was.

There holding on to Roxy's tan bare legs was a small brown haired and equally tanned little girl with one blue eye and one green eye. She was wearing a red raincoat with matching red boots that gave her a very "adorable" look. "SISSY!" The little girl said holding even tighter to the waitresses leg and burying her face in her apron.

"Luka! What are you doing here? I'm working hun." Roxy tried to break her little sister off of her but was sadly unable to as another child came zooming towards her latching on to her other leg with the same amount of childish stubborn strength. This kid looked much like Roxy and her sister, but had both blue eyes and was wearing a blue raincoat and matching boots instead. Brown hair and tanned skin made him easily look as if he was Luka's twin, which in fact he was. "Daniel! Wha....why are you....will you let go?" Roxy asked turning to her little brother and sister and looking around at the several customers watching with amused faces.

The children didn't let go but instead only looked up and pouted, making Roxy feel slightly bad for being so grumpy."Alright if you let go I'll get you a table...and you guys can have lunch ok? Now if you here wheres Dad?" Just as the waitress spoke the door to the restaurant opened and a man with a brown beard speckled with gray entered wearing a tired expression."I...can't...run....like...I...Used...too..." He said in extremely out of breath manner, leaning down and holding his heart.

"Dad go sit at that table by the window alright? I'll get to you guys in a minute."

Her rather gruff looking tanned father gave a nod and then moved over towards the table, plopping himself down over at where Alex was still crazily drawing away.
Roxy looked down at her two siblings and put her hands on her hips."I kind of need my legs back. If you let me go you can come with me and go see what happens in the kitchen. BUT ONLY if your good."

Luka looked over at her brother and they smiled letting go at the same time, almost like a telepathic twin thing.Roxy held out her hands and gripped each of the two childrens hands tightly as she walked them over towards the kitchen. She already knew her fathers order so she simply wrote it down on the sheet and then looked at the two trouble makers with a smile."What do you two want?"

"SPASTA!" They said giggling and jumping up and down. Roxy giggled at their attempt to remember that it was "Spaghetti" that they were thinking of .

"Alright now be good while I get it. STAY.THERE."

Cheyne had had a productive morning.

He'd rang the data-entry job advertised in the newspaper, learned they were desperate to staff a new office opening in a few days, and gained an immediate interview. They'd taken him in on the spot for part-time work, varying shifts. With a guaranteed source of income, he'd been able to arrange a small rented apartment - loungeroom, bedroom, fitted kitchen and bathroom - and even had time to arrange for the wheel of the SUV to be fixed. And it was still before noon.

With his immediate problems sorted, he'd begun to think of the waitress - what was er name? The one with the lovely face and great legs, who was always pushing at her hair and fussing with her apron? Roxy, that was it. Well, it was about time he patronized the Tarantella restaurant - and actually pay for his meal, this time. The day had been good so far - could he be lucky enough that Roxy was still on duty?

So he'd entered quietly, taken his seat, and his heart had lifted when she'd been there, and started to approach him. And then, out of nowhere, two kids had jumped her, and distracted her attention. He swore under his breath. The day wasn't going quite so perfectly, after all. Still, what with having gained a job and a place to sleep, he was still ahead, he guessed. and given the cuisine at the restaurant, it would be worth eating here even if he didn't get to speak to Roxy.

He'd have liked another one of her smiles, though - it would have capped the morning perfectly.

After a brunch date with Emily, Todd found himself on the Tarantella stage, Dallas and Stanley by his sides and Emily in the front. He sat on the light brown stool and held the microphone in his hand. He looked into the crowd, and took a few deep breaths before putting his mouth to the microphone. "We're Breaking the Flatline and this is Frontline Father." He told the crowd, pulling out his guitar.

Why'd you leave?
Why'd you go?
Why'd you let the door close?

Why'd you leave your wife behind?
Why'd you leave for the front of the line?
Why'd you leave your daughter to cry?

Why'd you leave?
Why'd you go?
Why'd you let the door close?

Why'd you leave your son without goodbye?
Why'd you leave to be left behind?
Why'd you leave with your family in mind?

Why'd you leave?
Why'd you go?
Why'd you let the door close?

Why'd you save the man if you knew?
Why'd you do it if you knew your time was few?
Why'd you leave your daughter of two?

Why'd you die?
Why'd you lie?
Why'd you leave without goodbye?

The tears that had started during his song were drying up and making his cheeks feel hard. He smiled, doing two other songs before hopping off the stage and seeing Roxy's twin siblings, Luka and Daniel. He picked up Luka, and kissed her on the cheek as if she were his own little sister. Emily Lane came over, kissing him on the cheek. "You did great Todd!" She exclaimed, smiling at Luka. "This is one of the waitress's sisters, Luka. Roxy is her older sister, a really nice waitress." He explained, pointing out Roxy to his girlfriend.

Raven ran into the restaurant her hair falling in sleek waves down her back, she checked her watch Good, 10 min early. she thought and she let the warmth roll around her. The scent reminded her of long gone dinners at her grandmas, She sighed deeply and looked around. Her first day working here and smiled at the happy thought. She didn't really know what to do now that she was here so she stood about of the traffic flow waiting to be noticed by the other workers.

Aaron smiled at Roxy as he passed her, taking her little brother and sister back to the kitchen. "Hey kiddos." He called out to him as he walked towards the front. Mr. King would be there soon and if he didn't get the man seated quickly enough he would never hear the end of it. He smiled at the much old man and, with his usual grin said, "Hello, Mr. King."

The other man nodded, "Princess," The nickname made Aaron wince slightly, "Let's skip the formalities and just get me to a seat, alright?" Aaron sighed, nodded, grabbed a menu and led the man to a table. "Ah, that's better. Thanks Chandelier."

He sighed, "It's Chandler, sir."

Hark shrugged, "You know I can't pronounce all those fancy Italian names."

"It's French, actually."

Hank smiled, "That must be why you're so yellow bellied!"

Aaron blinked a few times and said, "Why don't I go get you your coffee?" Before walking away. He grinned and gave a thumbs up to Todd on his way back to the kitchen, "Good job, as usual."

As he sat, studying the lunch menu, Cheyne had leisure to look around the restaurant. He'd enjoyed the singing, and hadn't minded waiting to be served - truth to tell, he was also enjoying watching Roxy with the young children. On the other hand, he as also impatient to see Roxy again, though unfortunately she seemed to have forgotten his existence.

He saw a young girl run into the restaurant and stop dead. She looked around. Presumably she was looking for someone... well, as far as Cheyne was concerned, she could stand there as long as she liked, with her beautiful figure, and hair cascading down her back. "Not that she's quite as pretty as Roxy," he told himself, loyally. "OK, I think I need a caffeine hit, and some linguine."

Roxy watched with an amused expression as her siblings were passed around first from Todd then to Aaron."You better behave yourselves!Go sit with Dad when people start getting annoyed!" She said sternly, giving her little brother and sister a look that clearly said"If you want to eat you better behave." She looked away and then smiled when she took notice of the new waitress, Raven.

"Look who just arrived! Hey hun, first day right?" Roxy smiled and walked over to the woman, crossing her arms and smiling cheerfully."First things first! Theres an apron in the back that you need to get on and then when your done you can come find me and I'll show you where your section is." She gave her a small friendly wink and then moved towards where she had saw the Australian man from earlier.

"Either you really love Italian food or your just flattering me with your presence."She flashed him one of her signature smile and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes."You back for lunch or for coffee again?"

Raven smiled warmly at the beautiful women who helped her out. "OK," she said cheerfully. She walked into the back and it took her a moment to get use to where everything is. She quickly found the apron and put it on over her outfit. With quick secure movements she tied it on so it wouldn't come lose and started to leave the back. She was in heaven, the scent of real Italian food and the happy chatter reminded her of long gone saturday night dinners with her Italian grandma. She didn't know weather she should walk start up to Roxy or if she should wait while She served the customer.

"Both," Cheyne admitted, favoring her with his wide-open smile. He couldn't believe it - he could actually feel his heart pumping. And he'd known the girl less than a day. "Roxy, you're right I need a caffeine hit bad... but I've also got a yearning for some cannelloni, followed by some zabiglione. I've just grabbed myself a job, of sorts, so luckily I don't have to live on the smell of an oily rag any more." He looked up at her pretty eyes. "Though OK, I guess you got me to rights... even if the food here wasn't fantastic, I'd have walked here from the other end of the country, just to see you again." He smiled to show he was joking - well, sort of, anyway.

Todd smiled warmly at the young new waitress, and he knew it was the "pretty young thing" his father had been talking about. He gave Emily a seat by the window, and walked into the kitchen to order his favorite meal. "Can I get two spagetti dishes, one for me and one for the beautiful lady by the window?" He asked, smiling at the chefs in the kitchen. He smiled at Roxy as he passed by her, back to the table were his beautiful Emily was at. She smiled her gorgeous smile as he came back, and noticed his locket. "What's that for?" She asked, brushing her finger against the initals. He tensed, eyeing the locket in her hand. "It's the initals of my dead husband, Westley. He died in a car crash last year."