"Yeah, that's right," Lelah said into the phone, trying to ignore the tears coursing down her cheeks. "Sell it all. All of my controlling interest in the studios, liquidate the assets and holdings, convert it all into cash, draw up the pay-outs for the investors and staff, and then deposit the remaining--if there is anything--into the accounts in New York." She was quiet for a moment listening to her money manager's stunned silence. "No, it was a failed experiment," she said, her voice shaking with the effort it took to keep back the sobs that threatened. "This place just isn't ready for the industry. I should never have come here." She took a deep breath and after a quick good-bye, hung up the phone.

She rose from her desk and cast a quick look around. All of her belongings were in boxes and ready to be moved from the studios' offices in the Plaza de Troyes. She had yet to break the news to her staff, but she knew they had some indication of what was happening. When post-production on 'Getting Over Alyson' had suddenly come to a halt and all the editors and actors sent home without an explanation, the rumours of the studios' bankruptcy had flown around the offices like a trapped sparrow. She'd arranged a staff meeting for that afternoon so she could address the rumours and explain severance packages and discuss her employees' future.

But now, she had a lunch date with Daniel. They had plans of their own to iron out and she felt the need to curl up with him and have herself a good cry. She knew she'd failed and it cut to the quick. She hadn't ever failed at anything before and didn't quite know how to handle it. She needed her Leopard now more than ever.

Vicki was the last to leave the conference room after Lelah's announcement. Shocked anger was seething up inside her, something she didn't dare express for fear of hurting anyone's feelings. So she just sat there, seething quietly, and waiting for the feeling to go away before she ventured out to spaces where she would meet others who were no doubt just as shocked as she was.

So the studio was going under. That wasn't a huge surprise. For every studio that succeeded, half a dozen went under. The last independent studio Vicki had worked at had gone the same way. It was no big deal, really. No, what had gotten her goat was the fact that Lelah had done nothing to warn them in advance of what might be coming. Rumors meant nothing in this industry; even stopping production for a few weeks was a regular occurrence. But to let the rumors go on without confirming or denying them even to her department heads, and then to drop the bombshell in one hasty meeting without offering a chance for them to brainstorm with her a way out of this mess ... that rankled.

Vicki sighed, leaning forward in her seat. She knew there was another reason why she was angry, and no one was really to blame. Jon was an investor. Or rather, Jon had invested Humphrey's money on the understanding that it would be paid back in full. It felt like a personal failure, a personal blow, that Jon would now have to seriously consider the scripts he was constantly being offered from movie productions on Earth to do that, rather than allow his investment to pay for itself.

And all the PR prep she'd been losing sleep over for the last month ... all for nothing. Her afternoon stretched out in front of her; phone calls and apologies to the caterers, the entertainment, the hired security teams, the printing people, the posting people, everyone whom she had personally chosen to steamroll through Getting Over Alyson's PR and promotional campaign. They would all have to be let down, and they would all expect at least some compensation for that loss of income. Yes, a little warning would have been nice.

Still, if you gotta go, you gotta go. But everything was in place for the release party. It would have made more sense to have released the movie, had the premiere, and then shut up shop. But then, it wasn't her decision to make. Ah, well. Time to pick everything up and move on again.

"Lelah," he said slowly.? "You're asking me to leave my friends, my job...my home.? I...," he broke off, not sure if he could explain to her how much having a home, a place in the world, meant to him.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she was struck by his selfishness.? What about her job?? Her home?? "You'll have those things in New York, Daniel," she said, her voice carefully neutral as she forgot for the moment that no matter what expression she wore on her face or showed in her voice and body language, he would always know exactly how she felt.

The corners of his mouth turned down as the scent of her disappointment reached his nose.? She knew what his life had been like before he'd returned to RhyDin.? The idea of going back to Earth brought with it all the years spent fighting for his life.? Here on RhyDin, it was a distant thing, more easily pushed aside.? "This seems like a very sudden decision," he finally said.? "Can we not give it a little time, let things cool off some?"?

"It's not a sudden decision at all, Daniel," she said.? "I've been thinking about it since shortly after Crowes premiered.? The numbers here are terrible.? The film opened on only two screens in the entire city.? How am I supposed to make a living with that kind of showing?? I have staff and crew and production teams and actors to pay, an advertising budget, contractors to hire..."? She shook her head and shoved a hand through her thick hair.? "There's just no way to make it work in Rhy'Din."

He understood what she was saying.? Without hundreds of screens to show a movie on, there was no way the studios could ever make the kind of money they might back on Earth.? He couldn't dispute that.? She was absolutely right that she would never be able to make it work here, even if they opened up a theater on every block in the city.? "You're right," he said softly.

She sighed and shook her head, scooting forward a bit to lay her hands on his knees again.? "I don't want to be right.? But there is just no way to make money being a film director or actress here.? I even thought about turning the studios into a TV venture, but I don't think that would do well, either."

"I know."? He couldn't argue, didn't even want to.? But even her being correct didn't change how he felt, and there wasn't anything for it but to just tell her that.? "Lelah," he said, his voice rough.? "I love you...but I don't want to leave RhyDin.? Earth is a place of nightmares for me, a place where part of me died."

With his words, she let out a defeated sigh and sat back on her heels once more.? "Then...then what do we do, Danny?" she asked, using the diminutive of his name for the first time in their year-long relationship.? "I have nothing but you keeping me here and as much as I love you, that's just not enough.? And there's nothing on Earth for you but me.? And that's not enough for you, either.? So what do we do?"

"We make a choice," he said after a moment's silence.? It was hard to say those words, because he was afraid he knew what the choice would be.? The ache in his chest was making it seem hard to breathe.?

"And what choice is that?? There's three choices the way I see it.? And in one of them, both of us lose.? In the others, only one of us does."

He shook his head.? "If one of us loses, we both lose.? I can't make you stay...and if I could, you would be unhappy, resentful."

"And you'd be the same way in New York."? She sighed again heavily.? "F*ck," she said, the vehemence startling.

His eyes widened for an instant, but then he nodded, his sigh echoing hers.? "I don't want it to be this way."

"I don't either," she said, her voice barely audible.? She slowly stood and went inside, having made the decision that she was leaving and he wasn't going with her.? She needed to start packing.? The quicker she left the city and went home to New York, the better off they'd both be. Luckily, most of her things were still in storage after the move from the carriage house, so the only thing she needed to pack up were her clothes, shoes, and toiletries.? Everything else was Daniel's.

He sat in silence for a minute, trying to understand how everything had changed so thoroughly in such a short time.? Then he stood and went into the house behind her. When he came inside, she was sitting in the middle of their bed, surrounded by three suitcases half-filled with clothing, curled up with her forehead pressed tightly against her knees, sobbing quietly. He sat down on the bed next to her and slid his arms around her, feeling a burning in his eyes.? How could this be happening?? They'd been happy.? Planning to get married?something he'd never thought he would truly be looking forwards to. And? now...what?? She was going to leave, and he wasn't willing to go with her.? He didn't even know if one of them was right or wrong?or if it mattered.

She let him hold her, cried in his arms, and slowly let go of her dreams of spending the rest of her life with him.? Maybe she had been fooling herself all along; she wasn't the kind of girl who got a happily-ever-after.? Life wasn't anything like one of her movies.? Things never worked out the way they should.

After he'd held her for long minutes, he slowly lifted his arms away from her and stood.? They'd both made their choices and there was really nothing else to be said.? He walked silently to the door, then paused, hand on the knob.? This last year had been one of the happiest of his entire life.? Could he really just walk away from that without another word?? "I'm sorry," he said.? His voice shook when he spoke the words.? Then he opened the door and quickly walked outside, so she couldn't see the pain written all over his face.

"Me, too," she whispered to his retreating back, knowing he'd hear it no matter how softly she spoke.? Tears still coursing silently down her face, she finished packing, gathered Oscar's things and brought it all out to the car.? Loading it, she decided she'd stay the night in the Inn and then leave for New York early the next morning.? Whistling for Oscar, she climbed in behind the wheel of the Alfa and once the Basenji was settled, cast one last long look around the forest clearing and then drove off, turning her back on her lover and the best year of her life.

When he heard the car start and pull away, the ache in his chest turned into a stabbing pain, and he sought escape from it the only way he knew how, willing the Shift to take him away from human cares...if only for a little while.? Moments later, the eerie wail of a Snow Leopard rang out among the trees, the sound containing far more emotion than should have been possible.