Time And Time Again

By Dimples

Disclaimers:

The many characters in this story are all mine, though the main ones may resemble the X:WP characters, which are not mine....unfortunately. The song in the story is all mine as well.

Love/Sex/Language:

Yes to all of the above. This story depicts an explicit loving relationship between adult women. There is a scene that might seem like voyeurism but it's not....exactly...There is also a scene of self-gratification. The language gets a little rough from time to time but so does the sex...so if you're ok with that.... So if you're under-aged or live in a place that this isn't allowed or this isn't your cup of tea, I suggest you move along and look for something else to occupy your free time.

Violence:

There are some scenes that contain pretty graphic violence but I don't consider them to be much. But if you're of the fainter heart, I'd suggest you don't read 'em. They're really not bad though...Not worse than any regular Xena episode..

Thanks:

To my beta-readers Erin Jennifer and Cindy AKA "ForevaXena" for everything. Starting with beta reading my stories and finishing with posting my stories and giving them a chance in the first place.

To all the readers that took the time to write to me and telling me what they thought, you encouraged me to keep on writing.

And to all the great bards around and their amazing stories that I loved reading and gave me the inspiration to start writing my own.  

Author's comments and Feedback: This is the first story I've written of this length. I hope you'll like it. Everything in this story is meant purely for fun and I hope you find it funny (in places it was meant to be funny), dramatic (the same) and so on.  I would really appreciate knowing what you think of my stories. Tell me if I'm doin' alright or if I royally suck. Some plot ideas would be very much appreciated also. Actually, come to think of it, any comment would be very much appreciated :)       mailto:Dimples_2000_fr@yahoo.com

© Dimples 2001

Part Nine - Conclusion

Ch. 24

Things happened so fast that neither woman knew exactly what had taken place. One moment they were hugging, holding each other close and the next, they were being shot at. Both were on the floor, clutching at each other. Blood was starting to pool around them on the pavement, but shock prevented them from realizing which one of them was hurt. Thoughts were running around their minds and everything took but a minute or two.

Half of Chris' body was trapped underneath Audry's. When the shot rang out Audry had pulled her down and before she even realized what had happened, the car with the shooter had taken off. Chris shook her head to clear it of all thoughts and glanced down at Audry in her arms. What she saw made her pale and her breathing hitch. Audry's shirt was covered in blood and she could definitely see a bullet hole, the bullet that had pierced through her body. She couldn't let herself succumb to the shock and shook herself once more. Pulling Audry to sit up straighter, she looked into her face. Her face was pale and her body sat limp, she had her eyes closed and Chris couldn't see if she was breathing. Hurriedly, she checked for a pulse and breathed a small sigh of relief when she felt one, weak as it was. Putting her hand on Audry's bleeding chest, she felt it moving slightly, rhythmically in breathing.

"Audry?! Baby, come on...Please wake up, oh god, please..." Tears started flowing quietly from her eyes as she sat on the cold, hard pavement with the love of her life laying cradled in her arms, quite possibly dying. She felt helpless, she knew there was nothing she could do to help her. Finally, against her right mind, she succumbed to the pain and anguish and released a scream into the chilly night air. "Please! Somebody help her! Oh god...Please!" She pressed her hand into the bullet wound and tried her best to keep constant pressure on it. Cradling Audry's head in her hand, she tried to shake her a bit, to make her open her eyes. The sobbing whispers of her tormented lover reached into Audry's head and heart. Struggling with herself, with the darkness, she squinted her eyes open and looked into her lover's teary blue eyes. When Chris saw Audry's green depths, her sobs came all that harder, racking her body.

Audry used all her strength to try and calm her distraught lover, she whispered hushed loving words to her and told her she would be fine. Funny, I can barely feel the pain, thought Audry. The sound of the ambulance's siren was heard and both knew that help was on the way. Chris calmed herself enough to try and reassure the hurt woman, rather than Audry reassuring her.

"Help is on the way, baby. Hang in there, you hear me! Don't you dare leave me!"

"I'm here..." A few coughs made her body convulse in pain "And I don't plan to leave you after I had just found you..." Talking was starting to take its toll on Audry's hurt body and her breath came in short, wheezing gasps.

"Rest now. You're safe." Whispered Chris. "What were you thinking?" she couldn't hold it in any longer, Chris wanted to know why Audry put herself in danger like that if she, apparently, knew what was going on. When Audry gave her a confused look, she dropped the subject, they'd have plenty of time to talk about it when Audry got out of the hospital.

The ambulance stopped next to the curb and two paramedics jumped out of it, hurrying to them with a backboard and a stretcher. The paramedics asked Chris to move out of the way so they could do their jobs properly and when she did, they hurriedly took care of her and pulled her into the ambulance. "I'm going with her."

"Ma'am, I can't let you do that unless you're family." Said the paramedic. She always hated this part.

"Now, you look here! That's my lover you got in there, that might be dying and I want be with her! Now you either let me through or I just go in there, pick her up and drive her to the damn hospital myself!" Chris' nerves were on the verge of bursting, she just needed one reason, one good enough reason to bust someone up. As she screamed at the poor paramedic, the veins in her neck and forehead stood out starkly against her pale skin.

The paramedic backed off and let her in the ambulance, she really wasn't in the mood to be hospitalized. 

Getting into the ambulance, the paramedic closed the doors and they took off toward the nearest hospital. Chris sat on a cot next to Audry, looking at all the tubes that were sticking out of Audry's body. She looked so small and vulnerable. Chris took her hand and squeezed it lightly, trying to convey to Audry that she was there and always would be there for her. In minutes, though it seemed to Chris like it'd been hours, they reached the hospital. The paramedics rushed to open the doors and take Audry's stretcher out. A few doctors were already waiting for them and as soon as the cot hit the ground, they rolled her into the hospital. Chris hurried after them, her mind blocking out all the sounds of the hectic hospital and the paramedics' voices, giving the doctors Audry's status.

Chris hadn't noticed where she was going, she just followed Audry blindly through the hospital and was surprised to feel herself being stopped. She gazed down to look at a nurse talking to her. Chris shook her head and forced herself to listen to the nurse's words. "Ma'am , you can't go in there, that's staff only. I'm sorry, you'll have to wait here and fill in some papers."

Chris knew she didn't have a choice so she backed off and went to sit on one of the chairs in the waiting room. Before the nurse had a chance to leave, Chris called after her, "Hey, umm, could you possibly tell me where they took her, Audry Haven?"

The elderly nurse looked at the disheveled woman and smiled gently. Chris looked awful, she was pale and had black circles marring the underside of her beautiful eyes. Her clothes were dirty with blood plastered all over them and all over her hands. The nurse might have been old but she wasn't stupid, she could see the deep love this woman had for the little one that was headed to surgery. "They took her into the OR. As soon as I know something, I'll tell you, alright? Now, you just try and rest." Stepping closer to Chris, who had tears pooling in her eyes, threatening to fall and break her tough facade, she put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said, "She'll be alright, trust me." Smart brown eyes twinkled at Chris and then she disappeared, just as suddenly as she had appeared.

Chris blinked a few times and frowned at the odd woman. Shaking her head, she relaxed in the uncomfortable plastic seat and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Unknowingly, she had drifted off.

A few hours had gone by and Chris suddenly jerked awake when a hand touched her shoulder. She blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision and focused her gaze on one of the nurses' face. The nurse stepped back and said, "I'm sorry I woke you but you asked to be informed about Ms. Haven when we had some news?"

Sitting up straighter in the chair, Chris nodded. "Well, she's out of surgery and she's been put in the recovery room in ICU. You can go see her now for a few seconds, if you'd like."

"Yes, I'd like that."

Chris rose from the chair and followed the nurse through the corridors of the ICU unit. She looked around as she passed several rooms. The sights weren't foreign to her, in the least, being a cop and all but she never imagined she'd be walking through these halls to see a friend, a lover...To see her soulmate in that big hospital bed with tubes covering her body, connecting her to all sorts of machines. It isn't fair! It was supposed to be me! Chris could feel the sting of tears in her eyes again. Using all her strength, she pushed them back down to clog her throat.

"Here you go Miss..."

"Stokes, but it's just Chris. Thank you.."

"Mary. Your welcome Chris."

As Chris entered the room, Mary left them alone. Chris' worst nightmares came true when she glanced at the bed. Everything she had imagined, everything she had witnessed with her own eyes in her line of work, was laying plain as day on that white starched hospital bed.

Chris walked closer and pulled a chair next to the bed. Audry was sleeping, it seemed that she was almost peaceful except for an ugly bandage that covered the back of her head and the one covering her upper chest. She must have hit her head when she fell...Oh god, my baby. I would change places with you in a second, if only I could. Pulling the chair closer still, Chris lowered the rail and grabbed hold of Audry's limp hand as she sat down. She wasn't going to leave this place until Audry would be leaving with her. Squeezing Audry's hand, she hoped she could feel her presence, her love.

Still holding onto Audry's hand, Chris laid her head down on the bed and closed her eyes, Just for a little while. I'm so tired. Soon enough she dozed off.

Sooner than she thought, morning came and Chris blinked her eyes open. She looked around the room, trying to orient herself with the strange surroundings when suddenly everything that happened flashed through her. Trying as best she could to hold back the tears, Chris rose from the chair and scrubbed her face with her hands. Stretching, she heard some pops as her aching body settled to its upright position. She ran her hands through her hair and looked down at Audry. Audry hadn't moved all night long, she looked much the same as yesterday, like she was in a deep sleep. The door was cracked open and the doctor's head poked inside. Satisfied that Chris was awake, he entered the room.

"Hello there, I'm Dr. James Peterson. I operated on Ms. Haven last night."

"Hello doctor, I'm Chris Stokes. I'm her...uhh.." Chris wasn't sure what to say, she didn't want to lie and say she was direct family but she didn't want to be kicked out of there, especially if the doctor didn't like the fact that she and Audry were lovers.

The doctor caught on to Chris' hesitation and smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, I know who you are. Last night, after we brought her out of surgery, I looked for you to tell you how everything went and what was her situation. When I came in here, I saw you sleeping and I didn't have the heart to wake you. I figured there was no harm done by letting you sleep the night here. I hope that's alright with you.."

Chris smiled at the sweet-looking, young doctor and hurried to reassure him. The doctor smiled in relief and continued, "I'll make it simple, the bullet pierced an artery and she lost a lot of blood, other than that she was pretty lucky. The bullet only grazed a lung and we fixed it in surgery. Also she had a mild concussion. That bandage on her head shouldn't concern you, it's just a nasty cut that would probably swell and give her a headache."

Chris felt the doctor was holding back on something, "Doc, is there something else? Will she be okay?"

"Ms. Stokes..."

"Chris."

"Alright, Chris. Ms. Haven is currently in a coma. There's no reason for her to be in a coma and that worries us a little. I've run some tests to see if I may have missed something, I'll have the results in a few days but until then, there isn't much I can do but hope for the best. The first forty-eight hours are the most crucial, just stay with her and talk to her. That might help bring her out of this. I'll come back to check on her in a few hours, there are some cops here that would like to talk to you about what happened, if you feel up to it?"

"Yes, I'll be out in a minute. Thank you doctor." Chris felt like crying again. This isn't good, she has no reason for being in a coma. Oh god...

"Take care of yourself too, Chris. There's a shower right there and when your done come to me for a pair of scrubs. Okay?"

Chris nodded and tried to swallow through the ball of tears that was jammed in her throat. The doctor nodded and exited the room. Chris walked back to the bed, pulled Audry's hand into her own and looked down at her prone body. "Now you listen to me, you get your beautiful eyes open and look at me. Come back to me, please." Broken inside and looking for her salvation lying on the bed motionless, she let the hot tears flow down her face, spluttering onto the white tiled floor. "Please.." She whispered.

Not getting any response, Chris composed herself enough to confront the police officers. Walking out of the room, she found them waiting for her next to the nurses' station, talking to one of the nurses.

"Excuse me, you wanted to see me?"

One of the cops was younger, looking to be no older than twenty-five years of age with short blonde hair and soft brown eyes. He was as tall as Chris with a muscular build. The older one had black hair and blue eyes and looked like a big, sweet teddy bear. He was short and tubby but powerful nonetheless.

"Are you here with Ms. Haven?"

"Yes, I'm Chris Stokes."

They shook hands as they looked at the appearance of the tall woman. Underneath all the grime and clotted blood they were pretty positive that she was quite beautiful.

"Can you tell us exactly what happened?"

"Yes. We went out to a movie and before we could reach the theatre." Chris took a deep breath, reliving those moments was harder that she thought it would be, but she knew she had to do it.

"Take a deep breath, Ma'am. It's okay."

Taking a deep breath, Chris continued, "Everything happened so fast, I can't remember specific details. We were just holding each other when a car seemed to appear out of nowhere and then there was a shot. After they shot at us, the car just sped away. I was so confused that I didn't even know who was hurt or if anyone was hurt. I remember Audry felt sick or something right before it happened and then...I think the bullet was meant for me. She covered my body with hers and then she fell to the ground."

"Why do you think the bullet might have been for you?"

"Well, I'm a cop and you know how it's like. You make enemies wherever you are."

"You're a cop?" Asked the astonished cops at once.

"Yes, I'm on vacation from Boston. So you see, it could have been anyone."

"Do you remember anything else? The license plate number, the color of the car, the model. Anything?"

Chris shook her head, straining to remember something but she came up blank. "I'm sorry, no."

"Maybe, Ms. Haven will remember something?"

The tears made their presence known again, she wasn't sure if she even had any tears left. "Audry's in a coma."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. If you remember anything at all or...ummm, when Ms. Haven wakes up, call us, alright?"

Chris smiled her thanks at the officer for his change of words, nodded and exchanged good-byes. The smell of her clothes was really starting to bother her so she decided to take the doctor up on his offer. She walked to the nurses' station and asked one of the nurses for the doctor's whereabouts. Walking in the direction, the nurse had pointed to, she found the doctor. "Doctor, you said to come to you for a pair of scrubs?"

The doctor smiled and ushered her to the doctors' lounge. Rifling through some things, he finally found a pair of clean blue scrubs. "Here you go, Ms. Stokes."

"Thanks."

"How is our patient?"

"Still nothing." Answered Chris, blinking renewed tears from her already puffy, bloodshot eyes.

The doctor nodded sadly and turned back to his work.

Chris walked back to Audry's room to take another look at her. Right before entering the shower, she thought she heard something from within the room and rushed back to Audry. Seeing that nothing was wrong, Chris returned to the bathroom. Nothing will happen in a couple of minutes while I take a shower. She dropped her dirty clothes on the floor and put the clean scrubs aside as she got into the shower, under the hot spray. She washed her body and hair as quickly as possible and stepped out. Using a small wash towel that was there, she dried herself as best as she could and put the scrubs on.

Now there was nothing else for her to do but wait. This was the worst part, the waiting, the not knowing. Back inside the room, she sat herself again next to the bed, holding onto Audry's hand.

Ch. 25

Audry felt like a heavy weight was pressing on her chest and head. She didn't know where she was and she didn't know where Chris was. That was what scared her the most, not the pain, not her pain but Chris and her whereabouts. What if she's hurt? And I can't help her. But then, from far away she could hear Chris' voice calling to her. She could hear and feel the anguish in her voice but she didn't understand it. She wanted to look at her and tell her that everything was alright but she couldn't, it was too hard. The darkness was pulling at her and she couldn't wake up. Things started to come back to her, she saw everything that happened in slow motion. Then, just as suddenly as the pictures came back to her they disappeared. She could hear Chris' voice again, calling for her to come back to her, crying.

She could see herself looking at things from the outside. It reminded her of the times Madam Lia hypnotized her. It seemed she could now see things more clearly. A person from the outside that could see things in a different angle. She was back to the coffee shop, with Jaime. As if for the first time, she saw that waiter that yelled at her. He was looking at her strangely. She was talking with Jaime, eating her lunch and she never noticed him there before. Things happened so fast and she was now standing in the same coffee shop, only she was alone. Looking at the door, she saw herself walk in and being seated at the far table. Then the waiter again, the way he screamed at her for no reason. When she saw herself leave, Audry looked at the waiter and saw that same strange look in his eyes that he had the day she came in with Jaime. This is too much, why am I seeing this?

Audry tried to shake these images from her mind but they just kept coming at her. She was now at Jason's house. She could see herself walking out of the house with Chris and there, next to the curb was the car. The same car that the shooting came from. As soon as Audry glanced its way, it sped off.

***

A few days passed and nothing happened. Audry's condition hadn't changed. Her vitals were showing good signs but the fact that she wasn't waking up caused the real concern. There wasn't any reason she should be in a coma. Chris spent every possible minute next to Audry's bed, talking to her, holding her hand and trying to coax her out of that dark place she had sunk into. Nothing helped and Chris was getting desperate, the doctors were getting hopeless.

***

Audry couldn't take anymore, the images plagued her mind and she couldn't make them disappear. She wanted to know who did this but not at the cost of her life. She needed to get back to her lover. Suddenly, she could hear those prank calls at her apartment. Everything, all of a sudden, made sense. It was David, all this time. I can't even imagine for how long he's been watching me, trailing me. Oh my god. He was the one that wanted to hurt Chris. He was the one that always wanted to hurt us, to separate us. Everything was made clear, she saw Henry, the prince from one of her lifetimes, she watched the man who ratted on Angie and Jessie. She looked into the hurtful, cold look of the man who hit and caused the death of Jo on the Titanic. That was David, all along. It was him.

***

When the discovery dawned on Audry, her head started twitching. Then her hand moved and a small groan escaped her throat. Chris was sleeping with her head propped up next to Audry's body. When she felt Audry's hand move, she jumped up so fast that she almost hurt herself. Wiping her eyes quickly, she looked at Audry. What she saw brought the biggest smile her face had ever possessed. Audry was slowly trying to wake up. "Come on, baby. Wake up for me. Let me see those beautiful emeralds."

Audry slowly opened her eyes and squinted, trying to block the harsh white light of the room. "Chris?"

At that one simple word, Chris burst into tears. Her heart swelled with happiness and she couldn't contain herself any longer. She rushed to take Audry into her arms for a loose embrace and let Audry calm her down by whispering soft encouraging words in her ear while stroking her hair. "I'm alright. I told you I'll never leave you. I love you, Chris."

"Oh god, I love you too." Sobbed Chris.

After awhile, Chris calmed down enough to let Audry go. "I thought you were gone. I started losing hope. Oh god, I'm so sorry." Before the tears could start again, she took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm sorry I scared you. I tried to come back but something held me back and now I know what it was."

"What was it, baby?"

Before Audry could respond, the doctor walked into the room. His scowling face turned into a large smile when he saw that Audry was awake. "You're awake!"

Audry smiled slightly and nodded.

"How do you feel?"

"Except for the fact that everything above my waist hurts, I'm fine."

"Well, yes you are. I came to show Chris some of the results to the tests we've done. We didn't know what was keeping you from joining us in the land of the living."

"Yeah well, I'm here now. What tests?"

"Oh, when you came out of surgery we ran some tests. With your head injury, we were afraid that might have been the cause for your coma but we found nothing wrong with your head."

Realization slammed into Audry, when the doctor mentioned her head injury. "Doctor, in those tests would it be possible to see if I had a brain tumor?"

The doctor looked quizzically at Audry and frowned "Umm, yes of course. But why would you want to know that?"

Audry's relieved laugh turned into a soul-wrenching cry. Chris, after all they'd been through had almost forgotten about that and when it was suddenly reminded to her, her heart that once broke with the news of the tumor was now filling with joy at the doctor's words. "Doctor, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor a month or so ago."

"A brain tumor?" The doctor looked astounded. "She has nothing of that kind. Now that she's awake, she's on the way to recovery and healthy otherwise."

Chris turned to Audry and pulled her into her arms. As both women cried into each other of all the pain, anguish and happiness they'd been through, the doctor excused himself, smiled gently and left the room. They held each other for some time, until there were no more tears left. "Chris?" asked Audry, sniffling.

"Hmmm?"

"I'm hungry."

Chris burst with laughter and hugged the love of her life closer. "No problem, baby. I'll get you something."

Chris got up and walked to the table that was situated in the middle of the room. She had bought some food for herself earlier but she just hadn't had the appetite when she came back to the hospital. "Here you go."

Audry looked at the food and smiled her thanks as she dug in with gusto. Chris just smiled adoringly and sat next to her on the bed. "Would you like some?" asked Audry.

"No thanks. You enjoy."

Audry smiled shyly and continued eating. "How long have I been out?"

Chris swallowed audibly and answered, "For four days."

"Well, no wonder that I'm hungry." Said Audry, trying to lighten the mood and succeeding when she heard Chris's chuckle. "You're always hungry, honey."

Audry thrust her tongue out at Chris and continued chewing contently on her food. Chris chuckled and shook her head.

"I'll call the cops and tell them that you're awake. Do you feel up to talking with them? Maybe you remember something?"

"Oh!" Exclaimed Audry, making Chris jump. "I almost forgot. I know everything, Chris. I know who did it. I remember."

Chris looked astonished, "How? I don't remember anything and I was there too. I must have blocked out things."

"I remember because when I was in a coma, everything fell into place. Everything I failed to notice in reality, I saw clear as day in my mind."

"Then who was it? And why?"

"Would you mind if we waited for the cops to arrive until I tell you? I don't think I could handle going through this twice."

"Yes, of course, baby." Chris leaned over and kissed Audry tenderly on the lips. Audry raised her hand to Chris' cheek as she pulled her for a longer kiss. "I missed you so much." Said Chris.

"I missed you too, baby." They rested their foreheads against each other and looked into the other's eyes. Chris backed away first and kissed Audry's forehead. Letting Audry finish her meal, she went to call the cops.

An hour later, the cops arrived and entered the room. "Hello, Ms. Haven. We're happy to see you're alright."

"Thank you."

"I'm Officer Jacobs and this is Officer Allen. We've spoken to Ms. Stokes but she couldn't recall anything. We hoped that you might remember something." Said the young blonde cop.

"I remember everything and I know who did it."

The cops raised their eyebrows at the sure statement. "Well, please do tell us."

Taking a deep breath, Audry started telling them about David and where she first saw him. Then she told them about the car, in front of Jason's house that was the same as the one the shooter used. Finally she told them about the calls that they thought were prank calls and everything he had said in them. She left out everything that dealt with her pastlives and Madam Lia's theory about her soulmate's life being in danger and how everything came to be true. "He is a big man, muscular with blonde hair and blue eyes."

"Well, thank you ma'am. I'm quite hopeful about this. After all you've told us you have one hell of a case. Don't worry, we'll find him."

"Thank you, officers."

"Take care, ladies." They nodded to each woman and left them alone.

"Wow. I can't believe all this. That bastard had been trying to do this for...forever."

Audry frowned at Chris and raised an eyebrow at her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it isn't the first time he'd been trying to hurt us, to separate us."

Audry was shocked, "How? How did...?"

Chris looked at Audry's face and smiled at her bewilderment. "I don't know how I know but I'm positive that you are my soulmate and that something, apparently someone had been trying to keep us apart for so long. My soul is whole and my heart is full now that I have you."

Audry couldn't believe her ears, "Do you really believe me?"

"Of course I believe you. I'm sorry it had to take me all this time and almost losing you to make me understand but I do. We've been together before and we'll always be, time and time again."

Audry gave a watery smile and pulled Chris close, holding her for all she was worth. They were together now and nobody would ever separate them again.

A phone call broke them apart, they wiped their tears away and Chris went to answer the phone. Looking at her watch she noticed it was almost 8:00 PM. A couple of hours had passed since the cops left them so Chris figured it couldn't possibly be them. She picked up the phone and listened. Audry looked at Chris quizzically when the phone call ended so fast.

"What's wrong? Who was that?"

"That was the police."

Audry waited for her to continue and when she didn't she asked, "And?"

"And, they found David's car a few blocks from where the shooting had happened. The car was totaled. Apparently, right after the shooting, he ran straight into a telephone pole. They contacted another nearby hospital to ask about him, if by any chance he was brought there and they found out that he was. They were heading there to arrest him. They said he was still unconscious but it seems that he would live. The officer told us not to worry, that from here on, David wasn't our problem anymore and we're safe from him."

Audry took a deep breath and released it with a sob. "Thank god. I can't believe this nightmare is finally over."

"Yeah, me too."

Chris took Audry into her arms and stroked her hair and back, rocking her and humming to her quietly. "I love you so much, Chris."

"I love you too, Audry."

"It's over now and I'm here."

Audry nodded against Chris' chest, "Yes, you're here." They smiled at each other.

"Time and time again, huh?" asked Audry.

"You bet, baby."

The End (for now)

Any comments are very much appreciated: Dimples_2000_fr@yahoo.com