As they began to work through their relationship, life began to return to normal - as normal as Blue Moon and David and Maddie could get. Three days after the Andrews case was closed, a woman came in with a case involving her brother and her husband trying to kill her. The following day a man came in insisting his ex-wife was after him. The progression of cases followed and for the first time in at least a year, they were so busy they had to turn people down.

Despite their boom in business, David and Maddie still found time to spend together. Whether it was at the office working or at home in front of the fire, their relationship was definitely progressing. It was on both of their minds as to when it would be right to move further.

In fact, David had gone one step forward out of the bachelor lifestyle he was so accustomed to. One night when David brought Maddie to his place, he opened the door on a whole new apartment.

Maddie took one look at the completely furnished living room and did a double take. She then looked to the apartment number on the door to make sure it really read 304. With a turn to David, he said, “Surprise.”

She walked through the entryway which now had an oriental rug in red, brown and yellow covering the once bare wood floor. She scanned the furniture that was set at the center of the large room - a black leather couch and chair set, a dark wood coffee table with matching end tables and two lamps. A large area rug in a different color, but the same style as the one in the entryway lay at the center of the living room.

Maddie turned to David who was now standing next to her, “When did you do this?”

“Last weekend.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to come over here.”

“You got me,” he said with a grin.

She knew by the color coordination and the style that he hadn’t done it all on his own, so she asked, “Who helped you?”

David chuckled and said, “Terri.”

“I’ll have to thank her. No offense, but I was getting tired of sitting on the floor.”

David approached her from behind wrapping his arms around her waist and asked, “You like it, then?”

“It’s great, David,” she said as she placed her hands on his. “Did you do this for me?”

“Couldn’t have you sitting on trunk to have dinner. Speaking of dinner, I’d better get it ready,” he said as he loosened his embrace. He kissed her cheek before taking off toward the kitchen.

When he was in the other room, Maddie walked over to the couch where she sat. “Nice job, Terri,” she said as she sunk down into the couch.

Soon the apartment was filled with the aroma of cooking chicken. After David poured them both some wine, Maddie wandered into the kitchen and marveled at his cooking skills. He had cooked for her before, but something was different. As Maddie poked around at the half-prepared dinner and make a few light-hearted cooking jokes at his expense, David couldn’t help but feel content.

When the chicken was about ready, he looked up to find her standing in the doorway smiling at him. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked standing there in the soft glow of kitchen light. With a smile in return, he said, “This is almost ready. I’ll bring it in.”

When she had left, he smiled to himself. He loved her being there in his apartment. Seeing her there, it felt like she was a fixture in the place - like she was supposed to be there. As he made up two plates of food, he knew what they had was going somewhere. It wasn’t an affair, it wasn’t a fling, it was a relationship. He knew then as he had before that he wanted her by his side - at the office, in the bedroom, in life. As he picked up both plates, he wondered when he would know when she wanted to get closer to him. The next night, he got his answer.

It had been a busy day for a Friday. David and Bert had spent most of the day out on a case. Maddie had been at the office making phone calls and fielding calls for a new case they had just taken. When Maddie was ready to call it a day, David still hadn’t returned from that morning.

She walked up to Agnes who was getting ready to leave for the weekend. “Agnes, have you heard from Mr. Addison?”

“No, Miss Hayes. I haven’t heard from Bert either.”

“Do you think something’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

Unsure of what else to do, Maddie went home. She started dinner and sat and waited. At nearly nine, Maddie was sitting on her couch with the stereo on wondering what could have happened.

Then there was a knock on the door. Upon opening the door, David stepped in almost in the middle of a sentence, “You would not believe the day I’ve had, Maddie. This guy we’re following has some kind of shady past. These people we were interviewing…”

Maddie followed him as he walked through the entry way into the living room. She noticed he seemed a little disheveled and had the beginnings of a black eye. At that moment, she was never so glad to see him. She threw her arms around him which stopped his rant. “Maddie, it’s okay.”

When she pulled away from him, he saw she was crying. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I was worried. I didn’t know where you were and then Agnes said she hadn’t heard from you or Bert.”

He dried her tears with his thumb and said, “Everything’s fine. I’m in one piece.” As he pointed to his eye, he said, “Nothing a few days won’t heal.” He looked into her eyes and that’s when Maddie initiated the kiss. The passion they both felt for each other was soon evident to both. When Maddie pulled away from him breathless, all she had to say was, “David?”

“Are you sure?” With a nod from Maddie, he picked her up in his arms and headed toward the stairs.

Once they were in Maddie’s bed, David began to kiss her neck and got lost in the scent of her hair. Was it really happening?

He couldn’t get over how good it felt to hold her. He took in everything - her touch, her scent and the way she murmured his name. As he ran his hand along her back, he never wanted to let her go.

When he kissed her cheek, he tasted the saltiness of fresh tears and he pulled back. That was when he saw her tear-filled eyes. “Maddie? What’s wrong? Do you want to stop?”

“No,” she said as she pulled closer to him again and rested her head against his bare chest. In a whisper, she said, “I missed you.”

David wrapped her tighter in his arms and said, “I missed you too.”

Maddie raised her head and looked into his eyes. David wiped away a few of her tears with his thumb. “I love you, David.”

With a smile, he ran his fingers through her hair and replied, “I love you, Angel.”

The next morning as the sun streaked across the bed and the two bodies in it, Maddie awoke and rolled over with a yawn. When she opened her eyes, a smile slowly spread across her face. Lying next to her was David who was sleeping soundly. She didn’t know how long she laid there just watching him - she remembered during that month together many times waking up and finding him watching her. One of those nights he had whispered to her, “When you sleep, you look like an angel.” She smiled at the memory. Although they had had a rough time and it had taken them a long time to get back together, she wouldn’t give up their reunion for anything. As she watched David sleep, she knew she never wanted to let him go again.

Suddenly, he stirred and rolled over onto his side. When he opened his eyes, he saw her smiling at him. “Hi,” he said with a smile.

“Hi. Sleep well?”

“I did. Best in a while. You?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Both just stared at each other for a time period neither knew. David was afraid she’d say something about pacts and Maddie didn’t quite know where to go next.

“Do you want some breakfast,” she asked.

“Breakfast,” David asked a little surprised.

“Yeah, breakfast. I thought I could throw something together.”

David sat up and said, “I’ll make you breakfast,” and she smiled as she remembered how she loved his breakfasts. He gently kissed her and said, “When I find my clothes, that is.” Both grinned at each other as they remembered the night before.

Suddenly, Maddie had a thought and said, “I have something you can wear,” as she grabbed for her robe.

As she scooted off the bed and crossed the room, he said, “Sorry, Blondie, but pink’s not really my color.”

She quickly went for the bottom drawer of her dresser and pulled out the worn, gray sweats. When she laid them on the bed, it took David a moment, but he said, “I wondered where these went.”

“You don’t remember leaving them here?”

He had pulled them into his lap as he thought, “Not really…but I’m glad I did.”

When he had returned from the kitchen, he was carrying a tray with two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Maddie was thoroughly impressed as he had even brought her a cup of tea the way she liked it.

Maddie took a look at him and noticed his eye was now several shades blue and purple, “David, you’re eye looks terrible.”

He was stirring his cup of coffee as he said, “No worse than any other time.”

Maddie thought back to all the times he’d returned to the office with physical reminder of a case and chuckled. “How is it that you are so good at getting on people’s nerves?”

“It’s a gift,” David joked as he salted his eggs.

“And, yet, you haven’t deterred me,” she added with a smile.

David turned to her with a grin. “I seem to recall a few knock-down drag outs between you and me over the years and ended with you slapping me.”

“Well, that was before I knew you, David, and really got a chance to hate you,” she said with a giggle.

“Oh, really,” David said with a sly grin. “We’ll have to see about that.”

David had moved closer to her to the point where Maddie could feel his breath on her skin. “You forgot to mention that I punched you.”

“No, that actually impressed me.”

“What,” Maddie had to laugh.

“There’s nothing sexier than a woman who can fight.”

“Really...do all men think that?”

“This one does,” and he began to nuzzle her neck.

She whispered into his ear, “Sissy fighter.”

David threw her down onto the bed where they both broke out laughing. When they had both stopped laughing, they just stared at each other not saying a word. Both could feel the other’s heart beat and seemed to sense how the other felt. David gently kissed her and said, “You want some breakfast?”

After they had eaten, David was about to take the dishes away when he said, “I need to run by my place to change…I could come back after that,” he said testing the waters.

Maddie moved closer to him and said, “I’m going to take a shower…” Before David could get up, she leaned against his back and whispered into his ear, “…but only if you’ll join me.”

The rest of that weekend was spent without stepping foot outside the house. The only time David left was to grab a few things from his place. When he returned with a small duffle bag under one arm and a garment bad over his shoulder, Maddie didn’t say a word. He had been worried that it would lead to the conversation that had culminated in her leaving for Chicago, but he knew this time it was different.

That following Monday morning, Maddie woke up first. She turned toward David and gently kissed him. When he opened his eyes, he smiled at her. “I have to leave, but I’ll see you at the office.”

He yawned and then wrapped his arms around her. “Just a little longer?”

Resisting him was hard, but she said, “No, you’re not going to make me late.” She kissed him again and pulled away from him. As she pulled her robe around herself, she said, “I’ll see you at the office.”

When Maddie arrived at the office a couple of hours later, Agnes greeted her as usual, “Good morning, Miss Hayes.”

“Good morning, Miss DiPesto. Is Mr. Addison in?”

“Got in just a little while ago.”

She headed for his door and entered. David was sitting behind his desk looking over a file when she entered. When he saw her, he smiled and said, “Hey, where’d you go so early?”

“Oh, I had to meet with my lawyer. Just the standard drill. He’s impressed with how well we’re doing with the business.”

She began to sit on the edge of his desk when David grabbed her hand and in one motion pulled her into his lap. “Missed that dual shower this morning.”

She smiled as she said, “Well, can we make up for it tonight?”

“You bet,” and they kissed.

When they pulled away, Maddie said, “I got something for you.”

“Moi?”

Maddie reached into her purse and pulled out a small, slender wrapped package. David looked at it a moment and then shook it. “It’s not my birthday…”

“Just open it,” she said amused.

He quickly tore the paper from the package to find a normal, everyday toothbrush inside. For a moment, he just stared at it in confusion. “It’s a toothbrush.”

“Yeah, a toothbrush…One you can keep at my place.”

David just looked at her a moment and then asked, “Are you sure because last time…”

“This isn’t last time. I’m not making that mistake again.”

David grinned at her a moment and then said, "So, does this mean I don't have to shave with a pink razor?"

Maddie smiled back at him and pulled him into a kiss.

It didn't take long for David to make his presence known in Maddie's home. Soon there was a little piece of him in nearly every room. From his clothes in the closet to beer in the fridge, he was making himself at home. Maddie had to admit that she liked feeling him there even when he wasn't. One morning, as she was getting ready for the day, she just stared at his razor on the counter next to the canister of shaving cream and smiled. Before, she'd been terrified of being with David and now she couldn't think of anything she wanted more. She could see where the relationship would eventually go and that also didn't scare her. A life with David - that was what she wanted.

There was just one thing left to tell him before they moved any further. As she stood there staring at her reflection in the mirror, she knew she had to do it that night.

After dinner that night, David and Maddie sat on the living room floor. There was a fire in the fireplace and the stereo was on low as David held her in his arms.

"David, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. There never seemed to be a right time," Maddie said after a few minutes of silence.

As she turned to look at him, he asked, "What is it?"

"That day in the hospital..." She wasn't sure she could say it without crying, but she knew she had to. "...The baby...it was our baby. It was yours not Sam's."

David was dumbstruck and just stared at her not quite sure what to say. Finally he said, "But, you said..."

"I know. Part of it was because I was mad at you and the other part was the results of the sonogram. The doctor in Chicago told me how far along I was, or thought I was, which would have made it impossible for it to be yours."

"So, how do you know?"

Maddie was feeling the tears now, but spoke anyway, "At the hospital, one of the nurses told me that the baby was only 30 weeks instead of 32 like I had thought. That would put conception in that first two weeks. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." After neither said anything for a few awkward minutes, she looked back to find him staring into his glass of wine. "David?"

"I guess I kind of knew. I don't know. I wanted it to be mine so bad."

"I know and I'm sorry," she said as she began to cry.

David pulled her into his arms and said, "You didn't do anything. It was just one of those things that happen that's impossible to understand." David remained a rock of strength, but inside he felt like he was crumbling. It had been his child...he and Maddie's. What, at first glance, could have been called a mistake had become his whole reason for living. He had wanted to be father more than he'd wanted anything in his whole life. He had wanted a baby with Maddie and now that he knew it had really been his, he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow he could have done something.

Despite his feelings at that moment, he stayed strong for Maddie. The rest of the evening, they just held each other. That night, David held her knowing the pain she felt and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

After that night, Maddie felt like she had nothing left of herself to hide. For once, she felt like she was an open book. David was the only man she had truly opened up to. She had once thought all he did was bring out the worst, but now she saw that he really brought out the best in her. Sure, he had seen her at her worst, they had seen each other at their worst, but who else could make her smile by the simplest of gestures?

One morning, just over a month from the night she had gone to David's apartment, David approached Maddie with her cup of tea. She was sitting at her vanity getting ready for the day when David placed her cup in front of her. She met him with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek. As she continued to apply her make up, David just watched her.

She turned to him, "Something on your mind?"

"Well, I've been thinking..."

"That can be dangerous."

He grinned at her and continued, "Been thinking...most of my stuff is here. The only time I'm ever at my apartment anymore is to pick up my mail or to grab more clothes." Maddie looked down at her tea. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do." She took a sip of her tea and smiled. He always managed to get it perfect. How could she not want David with her 24/7? He already was. When she looked back at him, she said, "There's just one thing, David."

"What's that?"

"You're going to have to learn how to make the bed," and she smiled at him.

A smile slowly spread across David's face and he replied, "Yes, Ma'am."

Within a week, David had moved into Maddie house. There was very little left at his apartment that he actually wanted. Although he didn't know what to do with it, he took the new furniture and left everything else. If truth were told, David hated that apartment. Since he and Maddie had become a couple, whenever he was there it only reminded him of all the times he was without her. When he locked the door on apartment 304 for the last time, he didn't even look back. He dropped the keys into the mail slot and closed the chapter on his bachelor life. A few years prior, he knew he would have squirmed at the simple thought of giving up that life, but now, he knew he wanted nothing else. He got into the gold BMW with the few remaining boxes of his life and headed home to Maddie.

Although they had been living as if they were living together, actual co-habitation was very different. First, what to do with all of their stuff. David didn't have much, but what he did have clashed with her decor. Their first argument was what to do with David's furniture...

"Why can't it go in the living room," David argued.

"It doesn't go with the decor, David."

"The decor?!"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"What does that mean?"

"You don't know anything about decor."

"Doesn't black go with everything?"

"Look, we can store it in the attic until we can decide what to do with it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good," and David left Maddie standing in the entryway with the black, leather couch. She watched as David disappeared into the kitchen and then slumped down onto the couch sitting in the middle of the foyer. They were living together barely 24 hours and they were already having their first fight. Maddie hoped that wasn't a bad omen. She had been looking down into her lap, so she didn't hear David approach. When she looked back up, he was standing in the doorway looking at her with a sympathetic smile on his face. "Like riding a bike."

When he sat next to her and took her hand in his, Maddie looked at him. "You can put it in the den."

"The what?"

"The den. I never use it. It used to be my exercise room, but it's just been storage space for years now."

He brushed a lock of her hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear and said, "You're not having second thoughts are you?"

"No, are you?"

"Not a chance," he said with a grin.

Living with David had begun as a challenge, but slowly things became routine. Slow meaning very slow. HER biggest challenge was getting past HIS biggest flaw – his refusal to clean up after himself. As much as it bothered her, she gave him some slack for having lived alone for so long. She was an impeccably neat person and had lived alone herself for so long, it took a while to get used to someone else co-habituating in her home. This sparked a few arguments and quarrels, but nothing David and Maddie couldn’t handle. They had already been through the really bad that many couples never go through, so both felt a little quarrel about who would make the bed or why no one ran the dishwasher was nothing. Eventually, they reached a little thing called compromise.

In the beginning, Maddie found it hard knowing her days were not necessarily her own any longer. She had enjoyed her quiet weekends where she lounged in bed with the paper and a cup of tea or took a walk in the park. At first, she missed her time alone, but found things came better in twos. Having a man in her life 24/7 meant finding alone time was harder, but it was on an early morning walk through the park that she realized that he was exactly what she had waited her whole life for…

It was barely 8:30 that Sunday morning as David and Maddie walked through the nearly deserted park. The only other people out were the joggers. Maddie had had to drag David out of bed for this excursion and as she looked over at him, she could see the sleepiness still in his eyes.

A few years prior, she never would have thought the two of them would be where there were at present. It had been her greatest fear that they would part and never see each other again. David was the only man she had ever loved so deeply and she knew she could never feel that kind of love again no matter how hard she looked for it. She had given her soul to him and he to her. She stole a look at him and felt truly happy.

“Penny for your thoughts,” David said.

“What?”

He grinned at her, “Am I responsible for that smile?”

“Who else,” she smiled at him.

He wrapped his arm around her waist a little tighter. “What’s going on in that noggin of yours, Blondie?”

“Oh, just thinking…about you…”

“Ah, my favorite topic.”

“And me…”

“Even better”

“Us.”

“And?”

Maddie stopped walking and pulled David to look at her, “There’s something I want to tell you, David…I want you to know that I’m happy.”

A smile slowly crept across David’s face and he ran a hand across her cheek. David felt like he’d hit the lottery with Maddie. He never imagined at the peak of his bachelor days that he would ever find a woman he wanted forever with. He fell for her the second she walked into his office, but it wasn’t long before he knew he wanted her…and not just recreationally. No woman had ever made him feel the way Maddie made him feel – happy, vibrant, like life was worth living. As he looked into her eyes, he wondered when he had known he was in-love with her. Had it been that night he found Sam at her house or had it been before that…say when he saw her dancing with Richie? It seemed he’d always been in-love with her.

“So am I,” David replied.

Maddie wrapped her arms around him and said, “There’s no where I’d rather be.”

David yawned and replied, “I’d rather be in bed, but not without a certain blonde.”

Maddie laughed and pulled closer to him and saying into his ear, “I love you.”

David whispered into her ear, “I love you too, Blondie.”

Acknowledgements:

Thank you got Glenn Gordon Caron for creating these characters. David and Maddie are one of the greatest love stories to have ever been created. I only wish we had been able to see a conclusion.

Thank you to my Moonlighting friends who continue to encourage me.

The Little Mermaid is the property of Disney. I realize I’m playing a little loose with the years here, but I simply HAD to add the dream sequence with the song. I had this idea way back when I started watching Moonlighting and before I wrote the first of this series of stories I’ve started. I desperately wanted to write it into a story, but couldn’t come up with anything. Originally, it was before I even saw season 4 and was going to create a sister for David who asks him to watch the non-existent nieces…then realized I didn’t really want to do that. It sort of ell into place when I wanted to write something about the Annie storyline and realized I could use Terri and Wally. In addition, the idea came to me as I was watching the Disney Channel and the newer version of the song came on sung by Ashley Tisdale. When I heard it again after all these years, I popped in my ancient VHS of the movie and thought, “That song is perfect!”

Song Credits:

Breaking Apart – Chris Isaak

Kiss the Girl – The Little Mermaid

Are You Lonesome Tonight – Elvis Presley

For Once In My Life – Stevie Wonder

Heaven – Bryan Adams

All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You – Heart

You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me – Gladys Knight & the Pips

I’m Into Something Good – Herman’s Hermits

As Time Goes By – Casablanca – Dooley Wilson

Back to Your Heart – Backstreet Boys

Return to Me – Dean Martin