(Written by darkphoenix45)

Previously on Crossroads:

- Angel had another dream in which the masked Ethan Black told her Max was going to kill her. She packed her bags and disappeared from the hotel.
- Honey met Ethan in secret and told him that Angel was going mad.
- Cleo asked Joe how the search was going for Jenny. He told her he was meeting some of her old friends.
- Kate told Billy they'd never have a chance as he'd walked out on her.

In the quiet countryside of King's Oak, a taxi pulled up outside a little cottage and out stepped Angel with a load of suitcases. "Keep the change" she told the driver, as he pulled off. Angel picked up the cases and walked up to the door of the cottage. She knocked, and a small, friendly woman opened the door. "Angel!" she said "Sister Grace! How are you?" Angel said, giving the woman a hug. "I haven't spoken to you in so long, come in!" Sister Grace said. She then looked down and saw the cases. "I need a place to stay" Angel said with a sigh. "Let's talk about it over a cup of tea, eh?" Sister Grace replied with a warm, inviting smile. Angel stepped inside the door with the cases and Sister Grace closed it behind her.

Back at the hotel, Virginia was frantically trying to sort through files and answer phone calls at the same time. Honey slowly walked through the sliding doors, looking around to see if anyone had noticed she was late. "And where have you been?" Virginia said, slamming the files down on the desk. "I've been trying to cope all on my own while you sneak off God know's where without telling me!". "Well I'm here now!" Honey sneered. "God, cos I'm going on my break!" Virginia retorted, trotting off to the staff room, while Honey rolled her eyes and went behind the desk just as a whole load of guests were making their way to the reception.

Max came running down the stairs, followed by Betty. "Well she can't have gone far!" Betty said with a worried face. "We haven't seen her all day Betty! She could be miles away by now!". "I told you you shouldn't have let her sleep!" Betty said with a stern face. "What was I supposed to do Betty?" Max snapped. "Prise her eyes open? Keep the stereo on full blast?". Just then Cleo came wondering through reception on her break. She could see Max and Betty arguing in the distance but stood back to watch what was going on. Just then Joe arrived and Cleo rushed over to give him a hug. "Hi Joe, so how did it go?". "Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Joe shrugged. "Good news first!" Cleo said excitedly. "Well one of her friends said she'd seen her near King's Oak...". "Oh, that's great!" Cleo interrupted, and hugged him. "But..." Joe said firmly. "Oh yeah, what was the bad news?" Cleo said cautiously. "...she hasn't seen or heard from her since January. No-one else has either" Joe replied with a sigh. "Well surely there must be some family you could try?" Cleo suggested. "Well, there is...". "Who?" Cleo said. "Nah, forget it!" Joe said, and walked off. "Who?" Cleo said running after him.

Over at The Cat In The Moon, Helen, Dave and Oona were clearing up after the karaoke. "Either of you seen Rio?" Helen said with a concerned look on her face. "No, love!" Oona said "She not got back from school yet?". "No! I haven't heard from her at all! She never said anything about going out!". Just then there was a bang on the door and Dave went over to open it. In came Rio in a temper, slamming her back on the floor. "Just you wait till I get my hands on Scott!" she fumed. "What's he done now?" Helen sighed. "He was supposed to meet me after school! He left me standing there in the cold all on my own!". "In the cold? It's been lovely and sunny today!" Helen said, putted her broom down and putting her arm around Rio. "Well... I was cold anyway!" Rio whined. "Look, I'm sure there's a good reason why he wasn't there" Helen said reassuringly. "I bet it's that Cameron guy!" Rio said angrily "Over the past few days he's spent more time hanging around him then he has with me!", she continued, grabbing her bag and heading behind the bar. "He is allowed to have other friends you know Rio!" Helen shouted after her, before sighing and picking up her broom. "Young love, eh?" Oona laughed.

Upstairs, Billy was looking after baby Holly, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" he replied. The door opened and in came Kate, smiling. "You don't mind if I come in for a chat, do you?". "Of course not!" Billy said, putting Holly into her crib. "I enjoyed the karaoke!" he grinning, sitting on the sofa, inviting Kate to sit with him. She sat down, edgily, leaving a considerable amount of space between her and Billy. "Yeah, that was my first time actually!", she said, with a forced smile. "The first time is always special", Billy said, looking into her eyes. She looked away. "Don't do this to me Billy. I told you, nothing can happen between us. Not any more". She moved even further away from him. "Look Kate, I don't want things to be awkward between us. We're old friends, we shouldn't be acting like this!". "Like what?" Kate shouted, looking into his eyes. "Like the way you acted when you walked out on me? Just like Jake, Nicola and everyone else did, leaving me on my own to run the hotel?". "Kate, that was a long time ago" Billy said uncomfortably, looking down at the floor. "I needed you then" Kate said, with tears in her eyes. "But I don't need you anymore." She continued, looking away. Billy looked up in shock. "You're right Billy, that was a long time ago" she said "And things have changed since then. I've changed", she said, pointing at herself. "I've been let down by too many people. From now on, I'm going to look after myself", she continued, looking Billy in the eyes. "And that's why we can't get back together again". Billy grabbed her arms in a panic and was about to speak when Kate pushed him back. "Don't touch me!" she yelled, getting up and running to the door. She slammed it shut behind her and Holly started crying. Billy sighed and got up to see to her.

Over at the cottage, Sister Grace and Angel were sitting down by the fire drinking cups of tea. "I'm so sorry for intruding on you like this, but I don't know who else to turn to", Angel said apologetically. "Don't be sorry!" Sister Grace said, touching her hand. "Whenever you need me, you know I'm there for you!". Angel smiled and put her cup down. "So what's the problem then?" Sister Grace enquired. "I don't know where to begin!" Angel replied. "Everything just seemed to be fitting into place! Jimmy had returned home, that Cromwell Leisure business had finally been sorted. Then I started having the most peculiar dreams! They started out innocent enough, but they've become more and more sinister". Angel began to well up. "This voice kept telling me Max was going to kill me!". "But they're only dreams Angel!" Sister Grace said reassuringly. "They don't mean anything!". "But I'm just so scared!" Angel said in tears. "I've never had dreams like these before! It's like the Lord is telling me something!". "Oh, Angel!" Sister Grace replied, putting her arms around Angel. "Max loves you! He'd never do anything to hurt you! How could you let these dreams torment you like this?". Angel sighed "I don't know! I just had to get away!". "Well look, I'll phone Max and let him know where you are." Sister Grace said, getting up and walking over to the phone. "You can stay here for a few days until you get your head sorted". "No!" Angel said, getting up and spilling her tea on the floor. "Please don't phone Max! Please don't phone Max!" she sobbed uncontrollably. Sister Grace ran over to her and put her arms around her. "It's ok Angel, I won't do anything you don't want me to do!". She helped Angel up. "Why don't I show you to your room and you can get some rest, eh?" Sister Grace smiled.

Back at the hotel, Scott and Cameron came walking through the sliding doors. Tracey came running from the bar to speak to them. "Where have you been Scott? Have you seen the time?" she said with a worried look. "Sorry Mum, we just got a bit... tied up!" Scott replied with a guilty look on his face. "Rio called, she said you didn't meet her, I was worried!" Tracey pouted. Scott gasped, "Rio! Oh, I forgot!". "Well you'd better call her and apologise, I told her you would!" Tracey said, heading back to the bar. "Aww, Mum!" Scott whined. Tracey stopped and looked back "Go on Scott! You can bring your friend upstairs with you if you want!". "Oh, okay!" Scott said, with his head down. "That's my darling! I'll be up later sweetie!" she said, blowing him a kiss. "Let's go before she hugs me!" Scott said to Cameron and they ran upstairs.

Up in the Samsons' apartment, Max and Betty were sitting on the sofa in deep discussion when Ryan and Jimmy walked in. "Have you seen Mum? I've been trying to find her all day!" Jimmy said. "And she's not in her office!" Ryan continued. Max looked to Betty "She's...". "...gone to visit a friend!" Betty interrupted, smiling at Ryan and Jimmy. "That's funny, she never said this morning!" Jimmy said, with a confused look on his face. "Yeah, are you sure there's some you're not telling us?" Ryan said cautiously. "Look, she's gone to visit a friend is that so unbelieveable!" Max shouted. "Okay, okay! Cool it Dad!" Ryan said, putting his hands up. "Come on bro', we'd better go. It's a bit tense in here!". The twins left, leaving Max and Betty to discuss the situation with Angel. "So what are we going to do?" Betty asked Max. "What we should have done straight away", replied Max. "Call the police?" Betty said, with a worried look on her face. "No!" Max shouted, as visions of Jenny's lifeless body came running back to haunt him. "Not the police..." he replied. "We're gonna call Ethan Black and find out what the hell's going on!"

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This is a page from the Crossroads 2003 & Beyond group, a fan fiction site that has written a continuation of the series since its television finale in May 2003. Click the link to visit the group where you can join in with plot discussion and write episodes!