You

Unexpected and unwanted tears well up in Scott’s eyes, as his dominant emotions suddenly flare. The feeling that he wanted to cry was there already, but something was taking it to the extreme, along with a strange nervousness. He blinks, trying to stay on top. “Katie…” His voice is almost a whisper, as a partial smile is forced to the surface.

He leans forward, pulling her hand closer to give it a kiss. “Babe, you’re gonna make me fall to pieces. Try taking it easy, alright?” He remains gentle, knowing that Katie might not even realize what she was doing.

Scott swallows hard, ignoring the tears, and ignoring anyone who might be watching them in the restaurant. He looks Katie in the eye, trying his best not to make a huge deal, but at the same time, not wanting to just pretend that this whole thing was nothing, either.

His fingers tighten their grip, trying to bring comfort, when he himself was full of turmoil. “You…you have been the sunshine in my life… I’m not even sure I can describe what it feels like to have you here…to know you love me… to be able to share my love. You taught me how to love Katie…” Scott’s eyes smile despite the tears. “And for that…I will be forever grateful… forever knowing that you have been one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received.”

Scott lowers his head for a moment, continuing to try and not be so emotional. “I won’t lie to you… My feelings are hurt and… knowing that you still have love for Jason is… it’s hard to deal with because… because I love you enough that… that I’d want you to love me with your whole heart…”

He pauses, collecting his thoughts. “Katie…if I was confident that we could truly make it together, I’d ask you again to marry me in a heartbeat. But I don’t want to do that to you. I don’t want you to be constantly battling between your love for me and your love for Jason. I don’t want you constantly being afraid that you’re hurting me when your love for Jason shows itself.”

Scott holds Katie’s hands up, resting his elbows on the table, and leaning his forehead on their hands, his eyes hidden. As hard as it was to say these words, he had to. “Sometimes… sometimes you can’t help who you love. I know that first hand… So I can’t… I can’t just ask you to stop loving Jason. Because that might be impossible.”

He raises his head, blinking back a tear and looking at Katie again. “If I knew that eventually you could love only me, I would wait…I would wait an eternity if I knew that would be the end result. But… but I don’t know if that’s true. So maybe…”

Scott lets out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t even know what I’m saying, Katie. Help me out here… what do we do? What happens now? What… where do we go from here? What do you want, Katie? And I don’t want you thinking about what I think, or what Jason thinks, or who’s hurt and who’s not…”

A sternness has entered Scott’s tone, though he remains gentle. “I want you to think about Katie…I want you to think about what you want most... without thinking of anyone else this time. You have a huge heart… that’s what I fell in love with. But it’s so big that you think of others before yourself too often sometimes. You need to do what’s best for you…not me…you.”


Jason's eyes open and he shifts his weight on the couch, straightening out the crick in his neck. Staring at the television for a moment, he focuses, then realizes that something feels a little strange. Something was different... not a lot, but it was there. Katie? Something was bothering her enough that the emotional pull had a strange curve to it. He wanted to ask why, but resisted. He thought he knew.


Carson is relieved that it’s only Jess and that’s she’s alright. He lets out a breath that’s visible in the chilly night air. Instinctively, he takes his free hand to give her shoulder a gentle pat and squeeze. “Hey, calm down, you’re alright. But next time, forget about scenery and take a familiar route so you stop running into scary Aussies like me in the dark, eh?”

He chuckles, and puts his hands in his pockets as Jess backs away. “Nah, no work…I just told Herb I’d be back to help close up later. I thought some fresh air would do me good so I was heading to the park.”

He pauses and cocks his head, knowing that Jess didn’t have too many people now that she’d find company with, and he wasn’t set on being alone. He starts down the sidewalk again, talking over his shoulder. “Unless you were dead set on something at Mom and Pop’s, you’re welcome to tag along.”

He turns to walk backward for a moment, a grin on his face. “And if you really don’t want to go back to TJY for a while, when we get back, you can help me close up, ‘cause I think there’s two milkshakes that will be waiting with our names on them.”


“Mmmm….” Bret groans and rolls over, blinking as he brings Charlotte into focus. “Isn’t that what the night is for?” he mumbles. “Sleeping?”

Without warning, he reaches out, pulling Charlotte down so she’s resting on his chest. Cradling her head, he gives her a warm kiss. “I thought you were gonna call, but this is better. Done with work?”