"So, what’s new?" Mira asked, accustomed to the tribulations and daily trials of Tyler F/X. She scanned the loft, noting the destruction and frenzied search pattern that was exhibited, "and who are all these people?"

"Well, Mira Sanchez- this is Lucinda Scott, she is an old friend- an actress. She has helped us out in the past quite a bit. She knew Leo real well."

Lucinda waved at her, her other hand sitting in a bowl of icewater as Mira noted the swollen knuckle.

"Mira! Check out my engagement ring!" Angie said, not missing a beat as she pointed to Lucinda’s iced hand.

"Oh? Very nice from what I can see, and so typically displayed. Nothing is amiss here, is it?" Mira said, grinning, "and the other character over there with the Australian accent?"

"Oh, my, I forgot to introduce you to Dingo, Dingo Tyler, that is…Rollie’s father," Angie replied, walking over to where Rollie was in a heated discussion with his father.

"So, the infamous Dingo Tyler…" Mira Sanchez began as Dingo stopped his debate with his son and eyed Mira from head to toe.

"Detective Salsa!" he replied, winking, "I’ve heard good things about you!"

They shook hands and he gave her arm an extra squeeze as they greeted each other. Mira ignored his Latino remark and looked then to the redhead who was holding on to both Tylers and looked like Tammy Faye Baker with her mascara all running down her cheeks. She frowned slightly and then asked: "And you are?"

"Oh, I’m Dorinda Bailey, Detective. I brought the ring to the United States with Dingo."

"Oh, a personal escort for the big engagement!" Mira announced as Rollie rolled his eyes and then pulled away from Dorinda and put his arm around Mira’s shoulder, walking her back over to where Angie stood, her arms across her chest.

"You don’t want to know how personal her escort really was, Mira…" he began in a low voice, grinning.

"So, everyone! Wanna fill me in here on all the details so I can try to help you guys with those bad asses that trashed the place?" Mira asked, as they all approached and sat down together.

The story of the ring, the Greek, the loan sharks, and Dorinda’s escort service were outlined and Mira listened fascinated. Tyler to Tyler, she began to see the whole picture. She could see already that Lucinda Scott was quite a cut-up and very dramatic but it was Dorinda, that she was strangely puzzled about- she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was that bothered her about the lap dancer.

"Okay, we’ll dust for prints because I know you guys haven’t touched anything, right? She asked afterwards.

"Uh, well," Rollie began.

"Wait!" Angie remarked, "Bluey had been placed in that box over there. There might be some prints on Bluey or the box."

"That’s a start. I’ll get a crime team over here and in the meantime, Angie- can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Rollie’s eyes widened as Angie smiled and stood up. The two women went upstairs to the bedroom. Lucinda looked dejected as she looked down at her hand, not being able to feel it anymore due to the ice. Dingo took a look at her knuckle and grinned.

"I think I can help you out there, darlin’," he said to her, sitting down next to her, "Rollie, got some thread around here anywhere?"

Rollie was preoccupied, looking up the stairs toward the bedroom. He was very curious as to what was happening up there and Dingo repeated his request twice.

"Oh, sorry…yeah- sure!" he told him and went to an all purpose drawer to pull out some white cotton thread on a spool, "what are you going to do?"

Dingo took the thread from him, pulling out about 10 inches. He took the end and pulling out Dorinda’s soaking hand, dried it with his shirttail. Then, with a slight depression with his pocketknife blade resting on the top of her finger near the band, he slid the thread like magic through to the other side. He made a loop and then very quickly deep a double back motion and before anyone knew, the ring came off into his hand.

"Oh My!" Lucinda said, putting her hand to her heart, "that was like magic!" She rubbed her finger and smiled.

Dorinda sat beside Dingo and took his arm into the crook of her own; "He’s fantastic, isn’t he?"

Lucinda let out an agreeing nod as one eyebrow came up taking a full close-up look at Dorinda Bailey. There was something about her that Lucinda just couldn’t quite put her finger on…

Happy for the release of the ring, Rollie took it from Dingo, "Okay, once the crime lab gets out of here, this ring is going to get its counterpart in paste made as soon as possible. This ring goes back on the hand it is suppose to be on right now."

He started for the stairs when he looked up, noting that Mira was coming down with Angie behind her. Both women’s faces appeared flushed.

"Oh good, got your ring back, love," he told Angie, who smiled as Mira took in the ring as he slipped it back on Angie’s finger.

"That is one special ring, Tyler. Hope you get that paste made soon. I think, for the time being, Angie ought to wear a paste ring as well and we lock this stone up for awhile," Mira suggested.

Angie looked a little hurt but Mira’s reasoning was sound with all that had happened and she gave the ring back to Rollie. He gave her a half-hearted smile, knowing that she was disappointed and this whole business with Dingo and Dorinda was overshadowing their engagement.

The crime lab came and left, lifting a big print from Bluey’s back and Mira left as well, hugging Angie who whispered something in Mira’s ear as they parted. Rollie couldn’t help but be curious as to what the two had discussed upstairs. With the loft in somewhat replaced order, the group left to get some dinner as planned earlier. Lucinda Scott was once again, the life of the party as Angie sat with Rollie just watching her in action and smiling. Both had missed the exuberance and wild abandonment she brought to any situation. Dingo and Dorinda sat on the other side of Rollie. Dingo, for the first time, sat next to his son, with Dorinda forced to sit to the outside of Dingo instead of being in-between the two Tylers. Angie could see her disappointment in her face and she smiled inwardly.

Good-byes were said, with Lucinda going back to her hotel in a cab and Dingo and Dorinda taking a hotel not far from the loft with some more of Rollie’s offered cash. Finally, home alone, Rollie took a deep breath and swung Angie into his arms, doing a little dance to a tune in his head.

"Rol?"

"Yeah?"

"So?"

"So what?" he asked, stopping, as she grinned and looked up at him, her blue eyes, sparkling as he locked onto them and clenched his jaw.

"You’re just busting, waiting to hear what Mira and I talked about, aren’t you?" Angie asked him, holding his chin between her fingers.

He put his forehead down on hers and said softly, "No, I figure that it is something she didn’t want to share, so I won’t ask."

"She didn’t want the whole crowd knowing what she needed to talk with me about," Angie replied, matter-of-fact.

"Okay, so the crowd is gone now, just me and you," Rollie said, his voice deepening as he stroked her back and slid his hands down under her jeans over her buttocks. Angie gave him the look, the ‘I won’t fall into your little trap, Tyler’ look but she released a small, surprised moan as he tried his best moves.

True to her word, she did not give up information, even through Tyler torture, which she enjoyed immensely. They decided that after picking up their clothes and redressing at the couch, they would get the paste work done before morning. With the security enforcement in place since the police had left, they began their work, all business and proud of their efforts.

Rollie made two rings, one for Angie to wear and one for Dingo to give to the Greek. As for the money Dingo owed the loan sharks, he definitely couldn’t help there but he felt that they could do a wheel and deal with that bunch later. Exhausted and now, two in the morning, they went to bed. Rollie had taken the Heart of God ring and put it inside Bluey’s battery pack. Anyone who tried to get in there without voice recognition would get a nice electrical jolt.

They laid there beside each other, without saying a word. Both had not gotten much sleep in the past few nights. Angie was a little restless however, and finally, she got up and went to the bathroom, shutting the door. Rollie could hear the water running for a little while and got up, concerned that she had been in there for sometime.

"Ange, you okay?" he asked, standing at the door.

The door opened, and he could see that she was hugging the toilet, her face telling all.

"Oh God, it must have been that Italian Hoagie, I ate," she told him, as he took a cold washcloth and held it to her forehead.

"Yeah," he replied, standing there with her and a little puzzled, for he had eaten the same thing and wasn’t having any problem at all. Angie usually could eat him under the table with this kind of stuff.

In the morning with Angie somewhat recovered, they met Dingo for breakfast at a corner coffee shop. Dorinda and he looked out of sorts. She sat removed from him, drawn and strangely unanimated. Dingo took the paste ring from Rollie and it was first smile that Rollie had seen on his father’s face that morning.

"Great job, son! Looks like a winner. I am sure that once I hand this number over, we can get them off our back and slip out of here. Don’t you worry about them loan sharks. I put in a call to Dalton Lablanche last night. Remember him? Says he will front me the money if I can get him those alligator hides I promised him last summer."

"Dingo, poaching is illegal!" Rollie told him, shaking his head.

"Not where I’m going!" Dingo replied, smiling again.

"Well, don’t tell me anymore," Rollie said, shaking his head and then glancing over at Dorinda, "Say, you’ve been very quite, there- Dorinda."

She looked up, her face showing her depression and she looked at Dingo as he cut his eyes at her and looked back at Rollie, "Ah, she’s just jet lagged and the surgery at the hospital and all. She’ll be fine once we get out of New York, eh love?"

Dorinda smiled and then looked over at Rollie. Her green eyes flashed a silent message that he just wasn’t picking up. Angie suddenly stood up and ran for the bathroom, holding her hand over her mouth.

"What’s up? Got the sickness? She up the duff?" Dingo asked Rollie.

Rollie blinked at his father’s accusation. Pregnant? Oh, he hadn’t thought about that- with Mira rushing in last night and going straight up to talk with her and Angie getting sick last night and now!

"No!" he told Dingo, firmly as Dorinda smiled and he felt that foot of hers suddenly on his leg again. He pulled away as she pretended that she didn’t notice and he waited for Angie to return.

About five minutes passed and Angie appeared, a little white and shivering, "You know, guys- I think I got a little flu or something. I want to go back to the loft, Rol."

"Okay, sure Ange," Rollie told her, concerned as he got up and took her arm, "We’ll talk with you later, Dingo- Dorinda."

Dingo shook his head and then coolly looked at Dorinda, "At least some people around here got some action going."

Rollie’s mind was reeling as they walked back to the loft. Angie was holding her stomach and moaning slightly, "you think you can make it, Ange?" he asked her, softly.

"Yeah, just a few more blocks!" she told him, looking up at him with pathetic, white lips and tightly holding her arms to her body.

Once back at the loft, she took to the stairs and back to the bathroom. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to invade her privacy yet, if she was pregnant and not telling him, why? She had told him she didn’t want children yet when he asked her to marry him. Was she trying to hide it? His mind, once again, was filling with all sorts of questions and doubts.

He finally couldn’t stand it anymore and he marched upstairs, ready to accuse her, when he found her curled up on the bed, the covers bundled around her and perspiring. Her teeth were chattering and he reached down, sitting on the bed and felt her forehead. She was burning up.

"Here, I’m calling someone. You are really sick, love," he said to her as she looked up at him with fever induced fogginess.

"Rollie, I just feel so sick! Don’t go to the set today, okay. Stay here with me," she begged, a tear rolling over her cheek.

"Of course, Ange- Won’t you tell me what it is?" he added, leaning down toward her.

"God, I wish I knew," she said, shaking and grasping his hand.

"Angie, you can tell me, you can tell me anything…" Rollie went on, trying to coax her. Why wouldn’t she just tell him she was pregnant? He smiled, thinking of a little Tyler.

"What?"

"I said, there’s no need to hide anything from me. I love you. We can take care of this, it may be sooner than you wanted but hey, I ready for this baby," he said, stroking her cheek as she got up on one elbow, startled.

"What baby? How did you find out?" she asked, her voice strained as she looked at him, her eyes feverish now and almost vacant-looking.

"Pretty obvious, wouldn’t you say?" he said, shrugging his shoulders, "come on then, relax and lay back down."

"Well, I didn’t know until last night!" she said, swallowing hard as he brushed her wet bangs from her forehead.

"Yeah, I figured Mira helped you out there," he continued, taking in a deep breath and sighing.

"Of course, she did. I was so shocked. I mean, I didn’t realize that it could happen like that!"

Rollie looked down at her confused, "But Angie, I mean- it happens like that all the time. You know, man- woman, then oops, and baby makes three."

"No silly! Give me a break!" Angie replied, through clenched teeth.

"Oh, it’s just that you seemed to not understand the mechanisms of the whole act there," Rollie said, laughing.

"I just hope that Michael isn’t too unhappy about this!" Angie said, wincing as she sat up, holding her stomach again.

"Michael? What’s Michael got to do with this?" Rollie asked, confused now.

"Silly, he’s the father!" Angie said, and then, "oh no!" bolting toward the bathroom, over him as she barely made it.

Rollie couldn’t believe it. What in bloody hell was this? No wonder Michael had been hanging around, acting funny lately. He was using Mira as a cover. He stood at the door to the bathroom, in shock as he watched Angie throwing up again.

"I just don’t understand, Angie- Michael and ….?"

"Michael and me, you big dope!" came the voice from behind him and Rollie turned to see Mira standing at their bedroom door. She had a jacket with print results in her hands but the expression on her face was pure amusement.

Rollie stood, with his mouth open as Angie grinned, still hugging the bowl but feeling better.

"What Tyler? Don’t know what to say to a pregnant detective?"