Thanks for those who read and reviewed this. I am posting this last part, with the epilogue, and hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 12

That night, Paul and Scott packed their belongings. Once Scott finished packing his things, he found a magazine on the coffee table. He knew that his father had brought it home from his work place because there was a picture of a figure skater on the cover. He liked the cover because the woman looked as though she had the world in her hands. He stood staring at it for some time.

"Scott, I'm really sorry," Paul said softly noticing that his son was looking at this picture for some time.

"It's not your fault," Scott's voice cracked.

"I know, but you deserve to have friends like any other teenager." Paul said gently "If Fox wasn't always a threat to us, I would have suggested that we stayed here for a few days."

Scott nodded, "I know, but I'm still thinking about Mom, and even Patty said that we should continue looking for her."

"Patty's a really caring girl," Paul said softly.

"Yeah, she is," Scott ran his hand over the magazine cover. "But, you know what? I just know that one day we'll see her again, even if it's only on TV. Maybe even in the Olympics."

Paul nodded. "I think so too."

"So where are we heading tomorrow?" Scott asked.

"I don't know, I thought maybe we could head south." Paul answered.

"Yeah whatever you think is best." Scott grabbed the magazine and stuffed it inside his duffel bag. "Do you think Fox is going to show up here?"

"I don't know, maybe." Paul said.

"You know, I have a feeling he will, but we're going to be long gone when he does." Scott smiled mischievously, but his expression became serious. "Dad. I guess I should have said something to you before now, but I really regret saying I wish you hadn't come back when we were in San Leon."

"I know," Paul said softly and smiled. This was something he had thought about earlier when he had been alone in Stephanie's room at the hospital. He would never forget when he was lying sick in the hospital and Scott had saved his life.

Scott smiled weakly, "I'm really lucky to have you." he offered picking up his bag and putting it on the couch.

Paul nodded, "All we have is each other, Scott. When we find your mother, then we'll be a family. That's the main reason we have to leave, I want to us to find Jenny." He paused and dropped his bag on the floor. "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be here pretty quickly as it is," Paul said softly walking towards the hallway which would lead to their bedroom.

Scott nodded and picked up his father's duffel bag and sat it on the couch next to his. He smiled weakly when he thought about Patty and Stephanie, two girls he had met, and when he started to wonder about their futures as skaters, he smiled. This was a world he had never known, but it was something he had learned a great deal about. These past few days were some of the most interesting he had ever had.

I wonder who will win the regional competition, he thought to himself. In a month the competition would take place, and he and his father would be gone. They would probably be taking part in something else new and different. He sighed deeply and walked down the hall towards the bedroom.

Epilogue

Two months later, Patty Fischer and Stephanie Zimmerman were getting ready to perform their exhibition. Both girls had skated in the regional competition and Patty was still on top of the world after winning in her division. Stephanie had come in third, but she couldn't have been more pleased with her performance.

Against Jake's advice, she had changed her program, and wore one of the dresses her mother had designed, the dark blue taffeta with stars and a silk skirt etched in silver. In one month, she pulled off a new program, and pulled third place. Jake was astounded with this turn of events and he promised her that next year, she would be able to compete in the Junior division with a similar program, but modified for the more competitive division.

Because of the many challenges she had had with this particular contest, the newspaper interviewed her and published a long story about her. It had been published two weeks before and Teresa had the article framed and hung in the living room of their home.

Now, she stood next to her best friend, her smile genuine, her life changed. Her mother was sitting in the stands with Patty's parents, and when Stephanie looked up and saw her mother waving at her, she waved back.

Patty came out of the dressing room as two men wearing suits walked inside the ice rink. She held two small pouches in her hand, but turned around when one of the men addressed her.

"Excuse me, Miss. Are you Stephanie Zimmerman?" The man was short, with thinning hair.

Patty shook her head, but answered, "no, but I know Stephy, she's my best friend, why?"

"I need to speak to her immediately. Where is she?" The man asked.

"Well, she's getting ready to go on, we both are." Patty said softly. "If you want, I can get her for you after we skate. This exhibition is really important to her."

The man nodded, "What's your name?"

"Patty Fischer," she answered.

The man nodded, "OK. We'll be waiting for you after your program is over."

"Thanks," Patty turned to leave, but not before she heard the other man address the shorter man.

"Mr. Fox, I'm going to get something to eat at the concession stand, do you want a cup of coffee or something?" The taller man pulled some change from his pocket.

Patty didn't hear the reply from Fox, instead, she rushed over to where Stephanie was standing. "Stephy, I got a present for you."

"What is it?" Stephanie asked.

Patty handed her a small blue pouch and she opened it. When her eyes came to rest on a small silver ball, she looked up at Patty, a surprised look on her face.

"You knew?" Stephanie asked.

Patty nodded, "Scott told me the day before they left. But, we have a problem. The guy that's after them is here, and he wants to talk to you. I guess he read about you in the paper, because that's the only reason he'd know that you'd be here today. I heard his associate call out his name, and Scott mentioned his name when he told me."

Stephanie nodded, "Yeah, we need to be careful then, and watch what we say to these guys." She laid the marble gently back inside the small pouch.

Patty nodded, "Yeah, these guys are government officials. If we say too much, we could get into trouble." She gripped her pouch in both hands nervously.

"Patty, Stephy, we're ready." Thomas Guthrie called out. "Are you ready?"

Both girls nodded. With pouches in hand, they skated out onto the ice.

"Here for an special end of season exhibition skate, Regional winner Patty Fischer, and Third place Regional winner, Stephanie Zimmerman," Thomas called out. The spectators in the stands cheered as both girls skated out onto the ice.

Stephanie closed her eyes, this was what figure skating was supposed to mean to her. She held the pouch tightly in her hand. When she opened her eyes once again, she could see her friends and mother in the stands. "Thank you, Paul," she said softly.

Patty skated over, "Let's do it," she smiled secretly at Stephanie. "I've known since they left that you have wanted to do this program, and I don't think this guy's presence should make a difference."

Stephanie smiled, and both girls removed the spheres from their pouches as the music started. As they glided across the ice, they held their special secrets in the palms of their raised hands. At the end of the program, both girls returned their keepsakes to the pouches and both attempted a triple loop. The crowd cheered loudly when both girls landed the jump successfully. Tears streamed down Patty's cheeks as she landed the jump better than all the other times before.

They held the spheres close to their hearts as the music ended about thirty seconds later. As Stephanie cradled the pinball in her hands, she began to cry, and when Patty reached her, they shared a triumphant embrace. Together they stood in the middle of the ice as the people applauded. Nothing could have replaced that moment. Both girls put the spheres back into the pouches and skated off the ice.

The man and his assistant approached them when they came off the ice. Mandy Fischer handed her daughter a tissue, and headed back into the stands where Brad and Teresa were sitting.

"Interesting program, girls." The man said.

"Thank you," Stephanie answered happily. Her face became serious, "I'm Stephanie Zimmerman. Patty said that you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yes. We read about you in the paper, and wanted to come talk to you about a few things. Is it true that you recently woke up from a coma?" The man asked.

Stephanie nodded, "Yeah, and while I was asleep, I had the dream that inspired the program."

"A dream?" The taller of the two men asked.

"Yes, actually, that's the weird thing, I had this dream about a month or so ago, and thought it would be fun to put together a Science Fiction type program." Stephanie said and added, "I did this program at Regional competition and won third place with it."

"Impressive," the taller of the men said.

"Where did you get the idea with the marbles?" The short man asked.

"I thought of that this afternoon, actually." Patty said covering for her friend, "I wanted to do something different, so when my father and I went to the hardware store, I asked him to get them for us." She giggled, "He thought I was nuts, but it just seemed to go perfectly with the costumes. Don't you think?" She pulled the marble from its pouch and held it in the palm of her hand.

The man nodded, "I see, and why did you decide to use marbles, and not plastic stars, or something else?"

"Why all the questions?" Patty asked finally. "I don't even know who you are."

"George Fox, Federal Security Agency." The man produced his identification, as did his assistant, who's name was Benjamin Wylie.

Patty looked at the badge, "I'm sorry if I appear rude, Mr. Fox, Mr. Wylie, but I've never seen you before around here. Besides, isn't it kinda strange to ask such serious questions about the program? I don't think an ice skating presentation has a lot to do with national security. I have a feeling you and your associate are here for other reasons besides our costumes and the fact that we carried marbles out onto the ice."

Stephanie nodded as well, "Yeah, what gives?"

"Do either of you know Paul Forrester or Scott Hayden?" Fox asked directly.

"Yes, they were here two or three months ago, right Patty?" Stephanie asked.

Patty nodded, "Yeah, too bad they left, Scott was really cute."

Stephanie looked at her friend, "Yeah, if you like that type." She snickered and looked at Fox, "Can you believe that bum; he actually said that he didn't think figure skating was a sport?"

Patty looked at her friend, "You should have seen him on the ice, though, what a klutz."

Fox looked at the two girls, "Do either of you know if they are still in town?"

"No, they left about as quickly as they came." Patty offered honestly.

"Do you know where they went?" Fox asked.

Patty shook her head, and Stephanie did the same. "They left pretty suddenly. But, Paul had worked here for a while, I think. Since he's a freelance photographer, I was told they travel a lot so he can get assignments." Patty answered. "He even photographed the city competition, which is how we met them."

Stephanie nodded, "Yeah, after that I saw them only once more and then they disappeared. I didn't really think about it too much after they left. We both had to get ready for the Regional competition, and that was the only thing we thought about."

"When was the city competition?" Wylie inquired.

"About two months ago, I think." Stephanie answered. "I haven't seen either of them since, you Patty?"

Patty shook her head, "no, sorry."

Fox nodded, "OK, then, let me give you my card for my office in Washington, if you see either of them again, please call me. It's very important."

The two girls nodded and accepted the card he offered. Finally, the two men turned and walked away. Once they were outside and the glass door closed, Patty and Stephanie sighed with relief. When at last, they saw that them getting into a car and driving out of the parking lot, they both began to giggle.

After some seconds passed and their giggles subsided, Stephanie looked at her friend, "Patty, why didn't you tell me you knew about Paul and Scott? I have been spending the last two months wanting to tell you, but I was afraid to break the promise I made." Stephanie said, showing her friend the small pouch.

"I promised Paul and Scott that I wouldn't mention it. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I wasn't sure. Then I got the idea about the marbles. I wasn't sure if you knew, and I figured that if I gave you one of the marbles then you would either know the significance of it or not. If you didn't then, you would have accepted it as a gift from a friend, nothing more." Patty smiled. "By giving you this, I felt that I wouldn't have broke the promise I made to them."

Stephanie nodded, "It's really incredible, isn't it? They saved my life, and they changed everything with my mom. If it hadn't have been for them, I probably wouldn't be here today."

Patty nodded, "But you are, and no matter where they are, the friendship they share with us will always be a part of them, and us."

Stephanie smiled and pulled the sphere from the small pouch. The tears began to stream down her face as she looked over at the railing where she had first seen the photographer standing two months before. She remembered how his blue eyes looked at her with compassion and sympathy after she had skated. As she looked down at the object in her hands, and back over at her best friend. She knew that without the intervention of this friend from another star she wouldn't be where she is today.

Thanks to a fellow named David for the specifics about the figure skating jumps for the information contained in this story. Since it was written ten years ago, I have no idea where you are, but if you're reading this, thanks again for the help. It's greatly appreciated.