(OOC NOTE: For Backstory on certain characters and what happened, view these threads. You may have to copy and paste the whole url there to view it because...I dunno. The Forum's weird.

http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php"t= 29916

http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php"t= 30083

http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php"t= 30249 )



The bright light washed over him, momentarily blinding Gerry as it passed. When his eyes had adjusted he stood...back on the very dock he had fought so hard to leave only few weeks earlier. Ginny stood, her makeup run down her eyes, her hair askew and her pale skin dotted with bruises and minor scrapes. She apparently had put up a fight when they'd banished her there.

Gerry felt suddenly very heavy. Too heavy for his legs to support. Those usually brilliant blue eyes were drained, crushed, heartbroken as he stared down at his cooing, wriggling baby girl. Nasya made little noises of discomfort, blissfully unaware of what just happened. Gerry dropped to his knees, clutching his daughter to him, big shoulders heaving as grief took him.

Ginny rushed to his side, wrapping her arms around him, holding her brother as he wept. The two were stranded. Stuck there with no way home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One Month Later ==============

Gerry woke to the sound of Nasya crying. The haze of alcohol still heavy on his brain. His bloodshot eyes blinked open as he slowly came to. "Uggh...what the hell?" he muttered with a husky voice.

He peeled himself off his bed. His parents had put him in his childhood room when they'd gotten home. For the past month, he'd been looking for work. Not an easy task for a 30 year old man whose work records literally didn't exist on his current planet of residence. Even if he COULD forge documents, he'd have to find work out of town. Gerry spent most of his nights and free time from his daughter in a drunken daze, putting away enough alcohol to kill lesser men. Thank God for his sister and his parents because that kid would be screwed if it was just him.

He stood a little too fast, his hands going out to his side to keep balance. God, his head hurt. He stumbled over to the crib, a small smile coming to his face. "Heeeey, Munchkin." He reached down and scooped her up. "What's the matter, huh?" he asked her in a soothing voice, putting her against his chest. Nasya made those little worried sounds when they weren't quite sure if they were done being uncomfortable yet. He grinned, carefully making his way out of the room, quietly heading to the kitchen.

"You hungry?" he said to the still-fussing child as he readied her bottle. Nasya took to the bottle greedily, those big blue eyes staring up at him. A small laugh escaped him. "Heh...you've got your mama's appetite when it comes to bottles, you know that?"

His smile faded at that. He took a seat at the kitchen table while his daughter fed. He glanced around him, taking in that old kitchen. A sigh left him as he slumped back.

"What are we gonna do, kid?" He turned those blurry eyes down to the baby. "What are we gonna do?"

Footsteps came from the hall, and Gerry knew immediately who it was. "Hey...I heard the pipsqueak squallin'. Everything okay?" Bill asked, standing at the top of the small staircase.

Gerry smiled up at his dad. "Yeah. Just hungry."

Bill stepped down, in his bathrobe, old, almost-transparent T-shirt, and pj pants. He pulled out a chair and lowered himself with a groan. The old knees were not what they once were. The eyes, though, they were still sharp. He stared at his son. "You drunk?" He asked.

Shame fell over Gerry's face. He didn't even need to answer. The look of disappointment on his father's face didn't help. Bill reached out for his grand daughter. "What the hell's the matter with you?" He asked "Give her here."

Gerry carefully handled over the baby to Bill's waiting hands. He curled her in his arm making sure she was comfy. "Ohhhh, theeeere she is. Pops's got ya, kiddo."

Gerry watched his father, SO good with her. It warmed his heart. Made him a bit envious that he'd missed out being raised by this man.

Bill smiled down to her and tapped her nose lightly. "You are a beauty, you know that, kid?"

Nasya smiled around her bottle. "Yes you are!" Bill said to her in his playful voice. "Yes, my little angel is!" That got a giggle out of the girl. Bill's chuckled and looked up to Gerry.

His son had been so distant since he'd returned. And now he felt like things were getting worse. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, kid." Bill said with a shake of his head.

Gerry hung his head and nodded. "I know."

"Look, Gerry...I know you're hurtin'. I can't imagine what it would be like...separated from your mother, unable to tell her why I left and where one a' you kids were. It's awful. It's awful, it's *****y, and a husband and parent should never have to go through it on either side." Bill adjusted the baby and put her up on his shoulder, little Nasya resting against him peacefully. "But this little girl" She's gonna need her daddy. She's gonna need you."

Gerry looked from his father to his daughter. There wasn't a thing in the world he wouldn't do for her. And his father was right. The pain he felt was unreal. It all seemed like it should have been so simple. He couldn't handle the fact that there was no way to contact Keirra, no way to get back to her. She was the love of his life and she'd forever believe he'd forsaken her. He'd give anything to see her smile, tell him she loved him one last time.

But those were fantasies. This was reality. Nothing would ever be the same. And his dad was right, Nasya needed him. "I'm going to be better, Dad. I promise."

Bill smiled lightly. "I know you are." he said as if it were a forgone conclusion. "I've seen you when you're with her. You're a good dad, kid."

Gerry's brow furrowed, sometimes he wasn't so sure. "Am I?"

Bill's eyes, so similar to Gerry's turned up to him. "Kid...you been given some of the worst runs of luck I ever seen. Life's handed you more 'n your share of sh-" he glanced down. "Bad luck. You got this beautiful little girl here and when you're there...you're great. You dote on her. But once you get alone..." Bill shook his head.

Gerry nodded. He knew he was getting out of control with the drinking. It was irresponsible of him to be carting the baby around tonight while drunk. Fortunately nothing happened, but something could have.

"Look...I ain't gonna tell ya things are going to be easy. They aren't. You're a single dad now. And it's gonna be a bitch. But we're here. Your ma...me...Gin. We're all here for ya, kiddo. And I can promise you this. This little girl is NEVER going to feel unloved. Not here. And you are NEVER alone."

Gerry could feel his chest tighten and the wetness in his eyes. His brow furrowed as he wiped his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. His cheeks puffed as he blew out a shuddering breath of air. "Thank you, Dad."

Bill Finnegan smiled to his son. "We're your family. It's what we do."

"My god, she's beautiful." Kara said looking down on the sleeping Nasya. Her eyes turned to Gerry. "Must look like her mom. Lucky kid..."

Gerry smiled a little sadly, his voice wistful. "You have no idea. Just give her longer hair and a mouth like a sailor and you've got Ko."

A smile spread across his friends lips before she stepped away. "Come on, let the little angel sleep."

Angel. Not really a name for the sleeping scream-monster in that crib, if you asked him, but hey, whatever worked for her. Gerry stepped out of the room and down into the kitchen. They could hear his father and mother watching TV in the basement. "You want a drink?" he asked her,

"Sure. Beer if you've got any." she responded, taking a seat at the dinner table.

He scoffed. As if Bill Finnegan wouldn't have beer in the house.

Kara smiled and looked up at him, speaking quietly so they wouldn't hear. "So...how's it living with them' Bit of a pain in the ass?" she inquired as he handed her a bottle.

Gerry took a seat at the head of table by her, twisting the cap off his bottle. He shrugged. "Eh. They're alright. You know mom, she's quiet. And Dad's...Dad." He smirked.

Kara took a swig. "They don't cramp your style?"

Oh, Gerry laughed at that. "Yeah, I'm a single dad whose spent his days failing to get a job and drinking himself blind at night the past month." The bottle tipped back, pouring the cold drink down his throat. "They've been great. Dad is crazy for her. I mean, mom and Gin love her, but Dad's over the moon in love with that kid." Thoughts of his parents brought a smile to his face. He was so thankful that he'd gotten the chance to meet them and they turned out to be just amazing people. Circumstances could have been better, but he was still glad.

Kara, however, wasn't smiling. "That's good." She nodded slowly.

"So...Single?" Kara shot him a pointed look. "You're giving up?"

"I can't fight it, Kara."

"You didn't think you could before." she noted.

"Well, this time I *know* I can't." He shot back.

She looked disappointed in him. "How do you know?"

"That was the deal. My daughter in exchange for not being able to ever go back."

"So' Screw 'em. Go back."

Gerry was getting more and more frustrated "Jesus, don't you think I would if I could? I mean, I physically CAN'T. I take a ship into the Nexus like last time and the ship goes, but I don't." He lowered his head and swallowed hard. "So...I'm here. I'm trying to make a life. It's not what I chose, it's the hand I was dealt. I love my wife, but I know her. She'll hate me forever for this. She'll think I stole our child and ran. She'll think I betrayed her."

Kara frowned, listening to him, wanting desperately to help, but having no idea how to.

"And that kills me. It absolutely kills me. It keeps me up at night. Every time I close my eyes I see her face. And it breaks my heart. But I can't do anything about it, so I'm making the best of a bad situation. Not for me, but for Nasya. Don't get it in your head that this is easy. I'm BARELY holding on, Kara, and every day it seems like it's getting harder and harder to the point where I feel like I can't even breathe."

Kara lowered her eyes. The pain in his eyes just broke her heart. Gerry was a broken man struggling to survive something horrible and she felt like she just accused him of not caring enough about the woman he loved. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"I know."

"I mean, I know how much you-"

"Yeah." He nodded to her.

The two of them sat there in the kitchen, silent. Kara's eyes shifted up to him. "I know this is not an ideal situation, but...It's good to see you. I missed having you around to talk to. Guess I just kind of got used to it while you were here."

That brought a smile to Gerry's face. "It's good to see you too."

Ginny sat with Nasya in Gerry's room, the baby in her arms and her feet propped up on an ottoman. She hummed the melody of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" to the little girl, rocking her gently.

Her voice was soft and sweet as she sang in a half-whisper. "Say nighty night and kiss me...Just hold me tight and tell me you miss me. While I'm alone and blue as can be...Dream a little dream of me..."

The Redhead planted a kiss at the top of her slumbering niece's increasingly raven-haired head. A smile on her face as she looked down at her. Gerry stepped in the room, being quiet as can be. "Hey. How was she?" he whispered.

Ginny looked up to her brother happily. "Perfect, as usual. Unbelievable that YOU two made this little angel." She said, shooting him a teasing look. She really did love this kid. Those big blue eyes, those pudgy cheeks. She was a beauty, just like her mama.

Keirra...Ginny often thought about her. As tough as it was for Gerry, she couldn't fathom how Kierra was taking everything. Did she knew what really happened" Ginny supposed not. How could she" The thought depressed her, so she pushed it away.

Her expression brightened as she remembered the good news. "Oh, so...I've been looking for someplace else. You know...someplace not Mom and Dad's. I found a pretty nice, cheap place not far from here."

"You wanna move out?" Gerry asked running his fingers along his daughter's cheek.

Ginny shrugged. "Well...can't and don't want to stay with our parents forever. Figured you and me could go out on our own for a bit. Might be fun!" She said excitedly.

Gerry had to admit that did sound pretty good, but there was one thing. "Dad would be heartbroken." He said with a chuckle. "Us taking his best buddy away from him."

Ginny nodded, her body shaking with suppressed laughter. "We'd still be close enough that could see her whenever." she reassured him. "Besides...we barely get to hang out. It'd be nice to get to do things together. Go out, live a little. Whatcha say?"

Gerry considered it a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. I'm in!"

The night ended eventually, Ginny getting a little loaded and passing out in her old bed. His mom told him they would look after Nasya for the night while he dropped Kara off at her place. The two sat in the car, mostly quiet but for the music on the radio. An old song from the mid 90's started up. A mellow track called "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand". It was Gerry's favorite. Partially for its needlessly long name, partially because it was just a good song.

Kara was a little tipsy, having put down more than her fair share of beers. "I love this song." She said with a smile, leaning her forehead against the cold glass of the window. Gerry glanced to her, his brows rising.

"Really?" He asked. "This is, like, my favorite song ever."

She screwed up her face, and looked at him. "Shut up."

"No, seriously. I love this song." He said with a grin.

"Me too!" She replied.

In unison they spoke, "It's so mellow!"

Laughter erupted between the two of them. Her hands went through her chestnut brown locks. "It's too bad the rest of their discography sucks."

"It does?" Gerry shot a quick glance over, keeping his attention mainly on the road.

"Oh dude. It's like they made this one good song in 1996 and were like 'Alright, band. Let's call it a day and go on to making generic crap for the rest of our careers.'"

Gerry laughed. "That is SO disappointing."

Her head lolled back and turned to him, those bright blue eyes landing on him. "I know, right?"

She just stared at him in silence, watching him drive, the street lights passing over his face in the night, the song playing on over the ride. "G?" She started.

He glanced over quickly. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

Gerry's brow furrowed, confused. "For what?"

"I know how bad you wanted to get back to her. How hard you fought to do it. I'm sorry it wasn't what you wanted it to be when you did. And I'm sorry that...if I made things difficult. "

Gerry turned to her, eyes off the road for a moment as they came to a stoplight. "Kara...it had nothing to do with you. What happened was...it was what it was. I don't think any less of you for it, and I didn't keep it from her because I was ashamed of it."

Kara nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Ko was..." He sighed. "She was very sad. And I tried to make it better, it's just...it wasn't enough. If I'm honest, I never felt like I *was* enough."

His friend watched him a moment. She'd not heard that sentiment in regards to his wife before. "Not enough?"

He instantly regretted saying it. It felt like he was speaking ill of the dead or something. "Before I came back last time...things weren't...great."

Kara's brow creased with concern and she sat up. "How so?"

"She had these...friends....who were gypsies, by the way."

She stared and blinked, shaking her head before dead-panning "Of course they were. Go on."

"Well...I never really got on with their group. They were all kinda...I dunno. Not my kind of people, you know?" He said. "And remember what I told you last time" About the two guys?"

Kara nodded. "...your wife was sleeping with other men" Vaguely."

He laughed "It's not like that. They were gay."

She let out a breath. "Yeah, well, still! That's kinda ****ed up." She thought a moment, then turned to him. "If...if you felt like that, why did you fight so hard to get back" I mean...if you felt like she didn't appreciate you, then...why work so much harder for her?"

Gerry turned his gaze on her. "Because I love her. Because when she smiles at you, you feel..." He paused, trying to find the right word. "You feel like you matter. Like you're blessed, I guess."

He stared out his wind shield as the light turned green. "I fought for her because she was worth fighting for. Even in her selfishness and thoughtlessness, there was still someone there that I needed in my life."

Kara looked at him, a twinge of sadness to her face. She felt sorry for him. "But you don't now?"

"What' Need her" I don't know. But I do know that my daughter needs me, and she comes first. She is the one thing that could have pulled me away. She is why I'm here. She's also the only reason I'm not somewhere, drunk in a gutter right now, wallowing in self pity." He said, small smile spreading on his face.

Amazing, she thought. The guy was in a crappy situation and still managed a smile. It was doing nothing to alleviate her ongoing crush.

"Hey, G?" she said quietly.

"Hm?"

Kara leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you, man. Like...not in a weird way or anything."

Gerry chuckled and grinned down to her. "Love you too, drunky."

It was a friday, and Gerry had a couple hours before work when he'd dropped Nasya off with his parents. His dad was ecstatic, of course, and practically shooed him out of the house. Gerry took this time to head on down to the docks. The sky was grey, cold, and windy as he parked his truck and stepped down, walking toward the dock where he had departed just a few months prior. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Some days, he wanted to just grab Nasya, steal a boat and travel the world looking for a tear. As much as he loved his family, he missed Rhydin. He missed the weird people, the excitement. He missed her. God only knew what she was getting herself into back home without him.

Try as he might, Gerry couldn't quite get used to the fact that that entire world was lost to him. The thought kept occurring to him...maybe he should let go. Move on. Stop dwelling. Just say goodbye.

He heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to find Kara standing there, wrapped in hoodie, her arms hugging herself to keep the cool wind from getting to her. "Hey."

Gerry smiled, but looked confused. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

She stepped toward him, slowly. "I was trying to get a hold of you. Your parents said you went somewhere before work. I kinda figured you'd be here."

Kara stepped up beside him and stared out at the endless ocean. Gerry glanced down to her, his beautiful friend's chestnut hair blowing in the breeze. Those sharp, bright blue eyes squinting in the gusting winds.

"Why'd you come here?" He asked, still watching her.

"We're not opening tonight." She said, turning those eyes to him.

"We aren't?" Gerry's brow furrowed. "Why not' Did something h-" His eyes widened. "Oh ****! Did I leave the coffee maker on again? Was there a fire?"

Kara breathed out an amused laugh, before turning back to the water. "No, bar's fine. But we need to go out. You need to go out, be stupid and have fun."

He tilted his head "I have fun. Work's fun."

Kara shot him a weary look.

"Work is work. You need to go out and get this out of your system, Gerry. You put on a brave face, but man...you're wound up so ****ing tight...I'm worried what happens when you break." She said with a worried expression. "I mean...how long can you keep this up" How long can you keep burying this before it kills you?"

Gerry's eyes turned down to his feet, knowing she was right.

"Alright. So, what?s the plan?" he asked with a smile.

"You go home, get dressed, drop your truck off. And then I'm gonna meet you there and we're going bar hopping, getting ****ed up." she said it all business-like. "Then, at the end of the night, you and I are going to grab a cab, go back to your place, order some 3 AM pizza, and fall asleep on your couch watching cartoons. Is that acceptable to you?"

Gerry laughed and nodded "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds awesome."

Kara's face lit up as she hugged his arm, leaning her cheek against his shoulder, the two of them silently staring out at the horizon.

Two bars and 3 shots, 3 beers in and Kara and Gerry were both feeling the affects of the alcohol. Kara sat at the table an order of onion rings between the two of them. The current topic: Music.

"Okay! Okay! Most embarrassing album you've ever owned!" She pointed at him. "Go!"

Gerry leaned his head back, "Uuuuugh! Oh, I know this one. First album I ever bought. Bryan Adams: So Far, So Good."

Kara immediately busted out laughing. She started singing in a Bryan Adams-y voice. "GOT MY FIRST REAL SIX STRING!"

Gerry joined in, putting on his best version "Bought it at the five and dime!" He laughed. "I. ****ing. LOVED that ****! With the robin hood song" Oh man!"

Kara shook her head, still laughing. "How did you hide this from me" Just picturing you jamming out to this. Kills me!"

"That's not even the most embarrassing part."

Kara looked to him with wide eyed excitement and rubbed her hands together. "Okay, okay, go!"

Gerry laughed, but tried to contain himself. "Favorite song on the album' 'Please Forgive Me.' Big dumb, lame-ass ballad."

Kara's mouth made an O shape as she stared at him. Slowly a smile crept on to her face. "Do you remember all the words?"

Gerry started to protest and then a small grin formed. He rocked his head, closing his eyes like he was totally FEELIN' it. "Still feeeeeeels like...our first niiiight tah-gether! Feels like the first kiss! It's gettin' better, baby No one can better this!"

Kara's laughter rang out over the bar, drawing more than a few glances. "Okay! Okay! Stop! I'm gonna pee my pants!" It took a while, but she eventually stopped laughing.

"Your turn." He said taking a sip off his beer.

"Oh man." She thought for a moment, those blue eyes squinting as she dug through her memory. Suddenly they went wide. "Have you heard that song by Donna Lewis" 'I Love You, Always Forever'?"

Gerry's eyes bulged as he almost choked on his beer. "MM! MM!" He swallowed, slapping the table with an excited grin. "Near and far! Closer together! Everywhere, I will be with you.."

Kara laughed and pointed "YES!" She belted out, her face contorting with exaggerated emotion. "Say you love, love me forever! Never stop! Never whatever!"

The two of them both joined in together. "Near and far and always and everywhere and everything..."

Kara shook her head, still belly laughing. "Oh man, that **** was my JAM in 6th grade." She said fondly. It was rare that she had a fond memory of those years outside of Gerry.

"Oh! I got another!" Gerry said excitedly. "Do you remember that Mariah Carey, Boys II Men duet?"

"One Sweet Day!" She said loudly.

"YES! LOVED that song!"

"Oh my god...My Russian Aunt thought that song was the ****ing coming! I remember distinctly her making my grandmother listen to it. And being like, 'What....The ****...'"

Gerry chuckled and took a drink. "Mariah was HOT in that video."

Kara furrowed her brows and nodded in agreement. "YEAH she was..." She took a long drink from her bottle. "Oh. I got one more for ya!"

Gerry waited eagerly.

"Celine Dion. Falling Into You." She said with the seriousness of someone discussing a nuclear bomb.

Gerrys' eyes went wide as if he was afraid. "What?"

She nodded as if she'd just told him she killed puppies for fun.

"I. LOVED that album." He said slowly.

She recoiled and looked at him in disbelief. "Dude. You were just secretly a big, sappy pussy back in 7th grade! It's a wonder you survived that other place at all!"

"Hey, I was a romantic kid."

"Yeah, no ****. You were like...ready for life-long love and ****. Just gonna say...you start busting out 'It's All Coming Back To Me' and I'm kicking your ass." Kara said with a smirk.

Gerry laughed "Duly noted."

"So...when did you get to like Civilization and hear music again?" She asked.

"I was about...17?" He said, trying to recall exactly. "I found out the mainland had actual modern amenities like...you know...electricity." Gerry smirked up to her.

"Six years without music or TV" Eesh. That's brutal." Kara said with a scrunched face.

"I was on a ship for most of it." He shrugged. "It wasn't so bad...for the most part."

Kara shook her head and looked at his empty bottle. "Ready for bar number 4?" She asked.

Gerry chuckled. "Are you? Light weight like you can't have much left in her."

"Oh, dude. You are going down." She said with a smirk, grabbing her purse.

Gerry's eyes fluttered open as the morning sun shone in through the her balcony window. Slowly, the world filled in around him. There was a weight against his body and the sound of the DVD menu of Transformers playing. He glanced down to find Kara, still asleep. Apparently at some point, she'd pulled out her pony tail, as her hair was spread wide against his chest and hung over her face. Her arms clutched tightly to him. Gerry blinked a few times and then let out a quiet laugh. She stirred but just latched tighter and snuggled against him. He rested his head back against the pillow and looked up at the ceiling.

His head was pounding, he needed water. OH LOOK! WATER! He reached over and snagged the half-drank glass and did his best not to spill on Kara as he chugged. She muttered something against his chest. He glanced down with a cocked eyebrow. She muttered again. "Isaidgoo mornimng..." Her eyes still not open.

"Mornin'." He said with a grin. Those cool blue eyes opened and turned op at him, a hazy smile cast up to him. Suddenly, the smile faded into panic. "Uh oh."

"What?" He asked, concerned.

"I think I might pee on you." She pushed off him, crushing his chest a little. Gerry let out a laughing groan before she scampered off.

He sat up slowly, his body feeling stiff. "Ugh..." His face contorted into a long, loud yawn. Oh, and look! Cold Pizza! He glanced around and grabbed a slice, shoving it in his mouth.

All throughout breakfast, Gerry couldn't help but notice Ginny staring at him. He ignored it and they went about the conversation. A couple hours later, when they were saying their goodbyes, she hugged him and whispered in his ear. "We are totally talking about this later." She smiled sweetly to him and hugged Kara. "See you later." She said, before heading out the door.

Gerry drove Kara to her place and headed back home. He took in a deep breath and opened the door, Nasya cooing away in his arms. Ginny spun around in an office chair, her arms crossed and legs crossed. Gerry froze where he stood. "Well." She said. Ginny's head tilted to one side, her face cold and judgmental. "Well, well, well..." She opened her mouth and over pronounced the word one final time. "Well-uh."

"Okay." He said holding up a hand defensively.

"That's a nice outfit, big brother. Little frumped up, though."

Gerry rolled his eyes and moved past her. Ginny stood and followed. "You have a *good* night, Ger Bear?" She asked him antagonistically. "Nothing happened?" He said, passing Nasya from arm to arm as he removed his jacket.

"Yeah' And that drool stain on your t-shirt...that's nothin'?" She asked with a smirk.

"It's not what you think." He said defensively.

Ginny leaned against the wall, her chin down as she suppressed a laugh. Her eyes turned upward at him. Oh, but she was loving this. "Well, DO tell." She said.

"We went out, had drinks, went back to her place, ordered pizza and feel asleep watching Transformers."

Ginny made a disgusted face. "The Shia Lebouf movie?"

"...No, the animated one."

"Oh, good. Because **** that movie."

"That's what I said!" Gerry said.

"So...nothing happened?" Ginny asked him, dropping the interrogation routine.

Gerry shook his head. "We're just friends."

Ginny frowned at that, but she understood and nodded slowly. The two of them were quiet for a while before Gerry grinned to her. "So...how long were you sitting there waiting for me to come through the door?"

"Oh, about a half hour." Ginny nodded matter-of-factly. "Frankly, I was a bout to call to tell you to hurry your ass up."

Gerry nodded "Well done." He handed Nasya off to her. "I'm taking a shower."

"Yeah, go try and wash away your sins, but Jesus knows what you did!" She called after him, teasing. She grinned and looked to Nasya. "Daddy's a big gross man, isn't he? Yes he is!" She said to the giggling baby.

Present Day

Kara knocked at the door, a box of donuts under one arm. She looked around the Finnegan front yard and smiled. It was idyllic around here, especially in the bright, warm spring sun. She could see a figure moving toward her through the curtained window, voices on the other side.

"Bill, I said get the door!"

"I'm getting it, Woman! Don't make me come back there and body slam you through the table!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Stud."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho...you sexy little minx, you..."

Kara's nose wrinkled as she laughed softly. Bill whipped open the door. "Whaddaya want"!" He said with faux anger.

Kara put on an innocent face. "Sir, do you have a moment to talk about the Lord?"

Bill dramatically rolled her eyes. "Ohhhh boy. No thanks, Jesus Freak, keep on walkin'." He turned, slamming the door in her face.

Kara just laughed and pounded on the door. "But, Hell! Hell and damnation and fire!"

Bill opened the door again. "Get in here, goof!" The two hugged as she stepped inside. "What are you doing over here?" He asked.

Kara, pushed her hair behind her ear. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by." She held up the box of donuts. "I come bearing gifts."

Bill's eyes widened. "We accept this offering of doughnuts only if they include jelly filled nuts of dough."

Kara made a sassy face at him opened the box. "Who you talkin' to, old man?"

"Ooooh. This shall please the Gods. Come on in." he lead the way into the kitchen. "What's up?"

Kara followed. "Not much." She said as she walked over to Rose, who was sitting at the table, reading the paper. "Hey, Mrs. F." the two exchanged quick kisses on the cheek.

"G'morning, sweetie." Rose said with a smile, setting down her paper. Bill stepped back to the stove, cooking breakfast.

"Kara brought us donuts to go with the eggs and bacon." He pointed at Kara, "Eggs" Bacon for you?"

She looked a little put off for a moment. "Oh...no. That's okay, I don't want to put you out." She totally wanted some.

Bill blew a raspberry. "Oh, hush. I always make too much."

Rose glanced up to Kara, a withering look on her face. "If I didn't let him eat unconscionable amounts of bacon, he'd never cook."

A quiet chuckle left Kara. She loved the two of them so damn much. This, she thought, was what a family was supposed to be like. What she missed out on with her own parents. Bill opened the oven and flipped over the bacon.

"So?" He said, shooting her a sidelong glance.

Kara chewed on a cruller, with a raised brow. "What?"

"You two went out the other night and then show up together the next day." Bill said with a smirk.

She nodded. "Mm. We did."

Bill gave her a weary look, he was going to have to pull this out of her. "How'd it go?"

That brought a wry little smirk to her face. "Oh. Well, I hate to disappoint you, Pops, but nothing happened."

"I know that! But...anything" Even a hint?" He said.

Kara tried to look like she was taking it in-stride and shrugged. "He's still in love with her. And, I mean...that's...you have to expect that."

Rose nodded, acknowledging it made sense. Bill sighed. "Yeah...I suppose in his shoes, I'd be the same way."

Kara looked between the two of them. "I need you to do me a favor."

Bill turned to her. "Sure. Anything."

"Don't pressure him." She pointed specifically to Bill, which, of course made Rose grin. He mouthed "me" and put a hand to his chest.

"I'm serious. We might end up together, we might stay friends. I like him. I do. But he might not ever feel the same way. If he does...I want it to be because HE wants me, not because he was made to feel like he SHOULD." Yes, the thought of him never reciprocating her feelings crushed her, but she would rather have him for real than have him feel obligated to be with her.

Bill's grin faded as she explained. Eventually, he nodded. Rose, however was the one to speak. "We understand. We just both love you so much, honey. Maybe we got a little too heavy handed and lost sight of the situation."

Bill looked a little bit ashamed and nodded.

Kara gave them each a reassuring smile. "Thank you for trying, though."

BIll pulled the bacon out of the oven and turned to her. "And if it doesn't work, we get him drunk, take him to Vegas and we trick 'im. That's how you get the best ones. You trick 'em." He turned to Rose with smirk "Right sweetie."

Rose sighed and picked up her paper again. "Yes, dear." Her eyes flicked up to Kara and rolled ever so hard, getting a chuckle from her.

Freddie Prinz Jr. glanced over to Rachel Leigh cook. "D'You always where those glasses?" He asked her.

"Yeah, why?" She responded. Freddie turned his eyes back to the street in front of them.

"No reason." For a long moment, he weighed his options on how to play this. Again, he glanced to her. "You ever think about contacts?"

Rachel shrugged, scrunching up her face. She shook her head and looked at him. "I have them, I just..." She pulled off her glasses, "never wear them."

She looked at the glasses in her hands. "I dunno, the idea of just...touching my eye is-"

"Cuz your eyes are really...."Freddie reached up and adjusted her glasses, giving his best dashing smile to her. "Beautiful."

"Oh, **** you!" Gerry yelled at the screen. Kara laughed and elbowed him, throwing a shush his way.

Rachel Leigh Cook's eyes went wide. "Oh....please!"

"What?" Freddie asked.

Rachel gave him a disbelieving look "'Your eyes are really beautiful"'" She repeated as if it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. "You really broke out the big guns with that one, didn't you?"

Gerry grinned. "I love this girl." Kara had insisted on them watching this movie. Said it was required viewing when it came out. "But come on. THAT girl would have dudes BEGGING for her."

"Quit yer bitchin', Finnegan."

"I'm just saying. If SHE'S the ugly duckling, I want to live in that town." He said with a grin.

Kara looked to him. "Well, when I was awkward as hell in high school, it felt kinda good to imagine myself being a make-over away from looking like her."

"Rough time?"

She snorted. "I was 14 when that movie came out. I was skinny, had almost NO boobs, these long-ass legs I wasn't used to, and I TRIED to do a sort of....Gwen Stefani/Coolio thing with my hair. It didn't really work." She shot a look back him.

Gerry made a wincing face. "Bleach blonde?"

Kara shut her eyes and looked away dramatically. Slowly she nodded. Gerry looked at her in horror.

"Did you wear the-" He started

"Jnco jeans. Yep." She turned to him. "It was a dark time."

Gerry chuckled "Hey, I envy your poor teenage fashion choices. I had, like...2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts that I wore for weeks at a time when the only way of washing them was leaving them out in a rain storm."

Kara wrinkled her nose at him. "Ew."

Gerry nodded. "Yeah, it got pretty grodey."

Kara leaned her head against the back of the couch, green eyes on him, a smile on her face. "What was it like" Living on a ship?"

One corner of Gerry's mouth twitched into a slight grin. "Pretty awful." He chuckled. "But there were some moments...where you'd walk outside to a sunset or in the middle of the night...and it would just be wiiiide open...nothing but stars and the water."

Gerry seemed distant for moment, reminiscing. "Some nights I would lay there and stare up at the stars while all the other crew were asleep. I'd wonder if my parents or you were back home looking at that same sky." Gerry's smile faded. "Wasn't even the same stars."

Kara's eyes turned downcast. "What did you do?"

"I lied to myself. Pretended I was somewhere else as long as I could. Plus...it was beautiful. You ever been out on the ocean at night' The moonlight rippling on the water. Your boat bobbing gently?" A wistful smile crept back to his face.

Kara shook her head. "Nope. Not a big water person."

"It's serene. Peaceful. Nothing but you and hundreds of miles of sea. Boundless potential in all directions. Treasure, glory, adventure...You never knew what was out there. It made you feel small in a good way." He said to her. Kara's green eyes rested on him, a sad smile on her lips.

"I used to do the star thing, too. Go out on the roof outside my window and stare up at the stars, wonder where you were." She swallowed hard. "I did that for a long time before I gave up, G."

One thing Gerry hated was causing people pain. It seemed to be a pattern with him, though. No matter how hard he tried, no matter what he did, someone always ended up hurt. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged, turning back to the movie. "It's not your fault." She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "It BETTER not be." She pointed at him threateningly.

Gerry chuckled at that. "Oh yeah. I ran off and got my ass kicked by pirates for 8 years just to get away from your skinny ass."

Kara put on a faux offended expression. "Excuse ME, sir, my ass was...was...Okay, yeah, it was bony. BUT IT GOT BETTER!" She said defensively.

Gerry laughed and shook his head. She looked at him wide eyed and leaned away from him..."It DID! Dude, check that badboy out, you could bounce quarters off this thing!"

He continued laughing. She settled back in. "Whatevs. My ass is awesome."

"Okay, okay. You have a nice butt." He said.

Kara threw her arms up. "Dude!" She groaned. "Stop lookin' at my butt!"

She crossed her arms, shaking her head as if she was disappointed. "Perv."

Gerry sat with Nasya in his arms, humming "Dream A Little Dream" to her. The almost 6 month old smiling up at him, making little noises up at her father. The singing always seemed to calm her. If only it did the same for him. The events of last night weighed heavily on his mind. Kept him up. It was one thing to pick fights with a psycho when you were a bachelor, but now there was this little girl involved. And God help Tim if he came anywhere NEAR Nasya.

He stared down at those big blue eyes, her mother's eyes and smiled before kissing her forehead. "Love you, munchkin. You know that?" He said to his daughter. His attention was drawn to a sound...it was like glass shattering and then a hard impact. His brow raised, hearing it.

"Gerry?" Ginny's voice came from the living room...a tone of worry to it. Gerry stepped out into the living room to find Ginny staring out the window.

"What's up, Gin?"

She glanced over her shoulder, those wide round blue eyes turning back to him, concerned. "You better take a look at this."

Gerry's brow furrowed. This couldn't be good. He stepped over to the window and looked outside. The windows of his truck were smashed in, all four tires slashed, and an ax embedded in the windshield. He saw red, his chest rising as he filled with rage. "Take the the baby."

"Ger-"

"I said take the baby!" He handed Nasya off to Ginny and stormed over to the closet.

"Gerry, what are you gonna do?"

Gerry aggressively searched the closet, deaf to her words.

"Gerry!" She shouted, startling Nasya into a crying fit.

He pulled down a crowbar and started toward the door. "Stay here."

Ginny moved after him. "Gerry! No! Don't!"

"Stay here, Ginny!"

"Gerry! Please!" She held onto Nasya with one arm and grabbed his arm with her free hand. He wrenched away.

"I said stay here!" He slammed the door behind him before she could protest. Ginny's eyes were rimmed with tears as she tried to calm Nasya, shushing her lightly.

Gerry rushed down the stairs and stepped outside, crowbar in-hand. His truck was beat to hell, shattered glass sparkling in the moonlight. His arms spread out as he looked around, they were nowhere to be found. "COME ON! COME ON, YOU ****ING COWARDS! I'M RIGHT HERE!" He shouted into the night. "YOU WANT A FIGHT"! LET'S GO! RIGHT NOW!"

There was no response. Just silence. Tim and whoever helped him were gone, but the message was loud and clear.

Gerry stormed back inside moving toward the closet. Ginny approached him slowly. "Gerry..."

"Ginny," He started. "I want you to stay here. Look after Nasya."

"Gerry, no!" She protested.

"I'm going after them."

"No!"

"They're not getting away with this. This is our home." He said, not even listening.

"Gerry, just call the cops!"

"Why"! So they can put them in lock up and have them come back tomorrow? **** that! I'm going over there-"

"GOD DAMN IT, GERRY THIS ISN'T RHYDIN!" She shouted over him. That gave him pause.

"You can't just go all vigilante here!" she continued. "That's what he wants! He wants you to get all worked up and come after him! Well, you're not doing that!"

Gerry was coming to his senses and guilt was setting in.

"You don't get to leave us, you *** hole!" Ginny yelled with tears in her eyes. She stared at him a long moment before turning away and trying to comfort the baby.

Gerry knew she was right. They'd probably kill him if he tracked them down to wherever they were hiding out. He sighed and moved over to his sister, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. Gin..."

She turned back to him with those sad blue eyes.

"I'm sorry."

He wrapped her and Nasya up in a hug and Ginny buried her forehead against his chest.

Gerry and Kara had finished out the evening at the bar. Weeknights were always slow and tonight was no exception. The pair of them stepped outside, Kara locking up as Gerry went to the parking lot.

'Finnegan!" That voice rang out in the night. Kara's head snapped toward it, immediately knowing the speaker. Gerry turned slowly toward Tim. He wasn't alone. There were three other men with him, all bruisers, all looking ready to fight.

"What' No Jeff this time." Gerry asked.

Tim walked toward him ominously. "Nah. Nah, see I'm a quick learner. You, on the other hand..."

Kara watched on in horror. Gerry was a BIG man, but there were a lot of them. Of COURSE Tim wouldn't take him on one on one. Gerry peered around Tim at his friends. "What's the cheering section for?"

Tim grinned "Oh, I think you know why they're here."

Gerry raised his brows, staring a hole right through the smaller man. A small laugh left him "Yeah' What's the matter" Scared" Yeah, you're not going to be fighting a 100lb girl this time, I guess."

Tim's smug little smirk left him. "Oh. You're a real tough guy, huh?"

Gerry shrugged in response. "Don't need to be tough to get through a tangle with a scrawny tool like you."

"That so?" Tim said with a laugh, looking to his friends for validation. Suddenly, Tim threw a right cross at Gerry. But he was prepared, catching his fist. Even then, the bikers were moving toward him. Gerry headbutted Tim as hard as he could, sending the man to the ground. He managed to turn around in time to catch the first biker's attack. A lead pipe was swung at him, but he managed to catch it and wrestle it away, swinging wildly with it, catching his attacker's jaw.

Kara fumbled with her keys trying to unlock the bar again, desperate. A wood baseball bat slammed across Gerry's back, and sent him stumbling forward, but he didn't go down. That second attacker kept moving though, swinging the bat again. Gerry swung back with the pipe, knocking away the bat and then reversed the swipe to hit the biker in the face. Out of nowhere, he was tackled from the side by a particularly burly biker, hitting the pavement hard. Suddenly, Gerry was back on that ship from his youth, fighting for sport. He could almost hear the shouts. The two of them struggled in the dirty pavement of that parking lot, but Gerry eventually got the upperhand and went to work. He pounded his fist into that third attacker's face again and again and again. The biker's hand trying to come up and protect himself until Gerry knocked it aside and hit him again.

He was winning!

CRACK!

The baseball bat slammed across his shoulders, sending him to the ground. Tim stood over him, blood pouring from his busted nose. "Yeah. ****in' tough guy, huh?" He brough the bat down on Gerry's side, cracking a few ribs with that hit. Gerry howled in agony, pain radiating through his entire body. "Come on, big man!" Tim said maliciously. "Get up and kick my ass!"

Again, he hit him, another scream of agony as Gerry was hit in the back again. He crawled toward the discarded lead pipe before Tim kicked it away, just when it was nearing his reach. "Oh, nonono. Not tonight, pal." He turned and kicked Gerry in the face with a steel-toed boot, blood bursting from a new gash to his face as he rolled onto his back. Tim hit him hard in the chest with that bat, Gerry curling inward with the impact.

That boot slammed into Gerry's side again, hitting those already broken ribs. His screams echoing in the parking lot as the other Bikers were shakily getting to their feet. Tim placed the bat against Gerry's cheek, making the downed goliath look up at him. "You ****ed with the WRONG bull, *** hole." He brought that bat up to bring down on Gerry's head. It felt like an eternity as he saw everything flash before him. The ship, his friends, his business in Rhydin, his parents, Ginny, Kara, Nasya...and Keirra. Keirra who would never know how he died. Why he left. He saw joy and pain, love and hate, the good times and the bad all at once. This was it. This was the end.

Bill paced in the waiting room of the hospital, Ginny and Rose sitting and attending to Nasya. They were at least trying to project an aura of calm, but Bill was ragged. His heart has sank when Kara called and he snapped into action, getting everyone together. But now, all he could do was wait and it was killing him.

The doors opened and Kara stepped out, looking exhausted, her make up runny from tears. Bill's eyes snapped to her, a sigh of relief leaving the worried father. He walked up to her, the two wrapping their arms around each other. Kara buried her face against him, holding tight. Bill put a comforting hand at the back of her head. "How is he?"

Kara clung to the the man she considered her real father, grateful for him being there, yet again. "He's under." She said weakly. "7 broken ribs, a cracked sternum...they're still checking his back now, but they think he shouldn't have any damage there." She swallowed hard. "They're going to bring him in for a CT scan. He just..." The tears had come back, filling her bloodshot eyes. "He looked so bad, Dad..."

Bill put her cheeks in his hands and looked her in the eye. "Kara. Look at me. He's gonna be okay. Alright?" He shook his head slowly. "Nothing's wrong until something's wrong. Okay?"

She just leaned her forehead against chest. Bill kissed the top of her head and let her rest there a moment. George Miller, an officer with the local PD stepped up. "Excuse me. I'm sorry, Bill, we have to ask Ms. Aimsley a few questions about what happened."

Bill looked to her a moment. "You okay to talk."

For a moment she looked afraid, but she just swallowed it and nodded. Bill took the girl's shoulders in his hands. "You need us, we're right here."

The officer ushered Kara away. Ginny offered her a reassuring smile as she passed. "Mom...you mind?" she asked, handing Nasya off. Bill stared at those doors, wanting to just bust through them and go make his son all better. As if he could. Ginny walked up to her father, placing a hand at his back.

Bill put on a brave face for her, offering a weak smile. She hugged his arm to her, resting her head on his shoulder. "He'll be okay." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself.

"It's just not fair." Bill muttered. He felt like he'd JUST gotten him back and he'd almost lost him again. Bill looked to his wife, sitting with their granddaughter. Rose forced a smile for his benefit. How she managed to stay calm in a crisis the way she did was beyond him. She just sat there humming to the baby, rocking her gently in her arms.

The Red haired girl sat in the hospital room with her brother. He was still out, as he had been for the past few hours. She decided to sit up with him in the dimly lit room, the TV practically white noise to her. She just wanted him to get up and be okay again. But that wasn't to be. The doctors said that boot to the head had done more damage that he thought. A small fracture to his skull that could have caused some minor brain trauma. They would have to see what symptoms presented themselves once he woke up and then they would discuss treatment possibilities.

All Ginny heard was "He may have some brain damage." Normally, she'd have made a joke there. But now, in the reality of it, it wasn't quite so funny. It terrified her. When he woke up, would he even be him' She didn't think she could handle that. After everything she'd done to get him back into their lives, everything she'd sacrificed, and this was how it turned out' Like her father had said, it just wasn't fair.

She turned those big, bright blue eyes on her brother, just watching him in silence.

"You know..." she said quietly. "When I first met you at that bar in Rhydin...I though you were a foul-mouthed, obnoxious brute. And when I found out who you are, I felt...I felt like I had made a mistake in looking for you."

Ginny leaned forward, her forearms resting on her knees. "Like...I had wasted the past 19 years and threw away everything for someone who wasn't worth it." Her head hung low for a moment, swallowing hard.

"Then...I got to know you." She smiled to herself and returned her gaze to Gerry. "You are...the kindest...most patient...most loving man I have ever met."

Ginny chewed on her lip a little, her eyes watering. She blinked and continued. "You're an amazing father. A great son. And you're such a good brother. I wish we could make up for lost time. And...and everything that happened, through it all you've stayed THAT guy. I am so, so proud of you." She said touching her brother's hand. "Please. Please be okay' Please be you? I...I don't think I can handle it if you wake up and that son of a bitch has taken anything from you. I don't know what I'll do."

She squeezed his hand and sniffed. "I'll probably have to run him down with my car and you know that thing will probably fall apart..." She chuckled softly. "So...you gotta wake up and be okay. Alright' Just please...for me. For Nasya. For Mom and Dad...for Kara. We need you."

Ginny leaned her head on his arm and tried to distract herself with the TV a shuddering sigh leaving the tired redhead as she waited for her brother to wake up

Gerry sat up in bed, surrounded by family, everyone thoroughly relieved that he was up and at least smiling. Conversation was rough going, but they were managing. They had him on some painkillers that were just...just so great. He didn't feel like he was going to pass out, just like he was living on a happy little cloud. Kara sat in the corner, looking every bit as exhausted as she should given her evening. Ginny sat beside her, a smile on her face a mile wide. Nasya was tucked under his arm on his good side, snoozing away.

Rose was fussing like crazy. "Are you comfortable" Do you need another pillow, sweetie?" She asked him. Gerry smiled weakly to her. "No...f...f...fourty ffffffive is my...uh..." He shut his eyes, thinking. "Limit."

Ugh. Jokes were hard now. Rose smiled at him and shook her head. "Alright, alright, I'll get off your case, smart guy. But if you need anything, you let me know." Gerry could tell seeing him like this was breaking her heart, but damned if he didn't appreciate her making a go at hiding it.

Nasya stirred in his arm and he glanced down to her with a smile. "Hey....hey you..." He said softly as those big, impossibly blue eyes opened. The raven haired baby smiled up at him. He'd dreamed of her while he was out. It had kept him going.

In the dream, she was a teenager, coming down the stairs of their house while Gerry sat at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Dad." She'd said, sneaking up behind him and hugging him. Gerry smiled and clutched her arm.

"How you doin', precious face?" He greeted his daughter.

"Last day!" She said excitedly.

"D'awww....my little graduate. Going off to college and leaving me here all by myself. Not fair, Kiddo." Gerry glanced back at her with a smirk.

"Aww, dry your eyes, old man. Now you can go tear it up on the mean streets of Clute again!"

Gerry laughed. "Oh yeah. That's me. 'Tearing it up'."

Nasya smirked at him. She had SO much of her mother in her. Sometimes the only thing he thought she had from him was some of his height. The girl rested her chin on his shoulder. "You're gonna be fine, you know that, right?"

Gerry felt warm inside and just smiled. "Yeah. Yeah I know." His gaze shifted back at her. "I'm proud of you kid. You're so smart, you're so good...You've always made so proud of you."

"Yeah?" she said in a mischievous tone. "Well, keep that in mind, because I'll be bringing home some tatted up biker with nose gauges and subdermal horn implants."

Well, there went his smile. "You're disowned."

Nasya belly laughed and gave him a squeeze. They just sat there a moment, her hugging him in his chair from behind. "You gotta wake up." she'd said.

"I do?" He asked her.

"You know it's not real. None of this." She said.

"I don't want to." He'd whispered in response. "I want to stay here. Stay in this."

"It's a dream, Dad. You have to wake up the world is out there."

Gerry looked worried, unsettled. "I'm afraid." he said in a shaky voice.

"Me too." Nasya responded. "But I'm out there. Waiting. And you have to make me become me. Without you, Dad...I don't know what I'll be." She kissed his cheek, and squeezed him tight again. "Come on, old man. Wake up."

That was when he'd woken up to find Kara watching him. Now he was back, and the world wasn't quite as warm and idyllic as in the dream. But the outpouring of love from his family was doing a helluva job keeping him happy. None more so than the little bundle wriggling in his arms. The girl in the dream waited for him in this tiny beautiful child smiling up at him. And in that moment, he vowed to himself that he'd do anything to one day see that girl again.

Ginny was talking to the doctor about medications and ways to help the healing process when she heard Kara. Gerry sat in his wheelchair as she pushed him. The doctors had said he COULD walk on his own, but it was hospital policy. It did however give Kara chance to screw with him.

"Ready' TOKYO DRIFT!" She made a sound like a revving engine and they came around the corner, Gerry leaning to away from the turn, Kara making him fishtail while making tire-screeching sounds

"Quarter mile at a time, mother ****ers!" Gerry called out. "WOOOOO-ow..." He bellowed, wincing as a sharp pain hit him.

Kara looked down at him, concerned. "You alright?" she asked.

Gerry's hand touched his ribs and looked up at her. "Only because you were g-granny shiftin' not....double clutchin' like you should. NOW GET ON THAT ****!"

Kara's eyes went wide and she made various unnecessary shifting sounds along with the sound of tires squealing before she pushed him onward. In the past week, his speech had improved greatly. Some days were better than others. It seemed like he could pull movie quotes out perfectly, but conversationally...things were much more difficult for him.

Ginny stared after them un-amused. She called after him. "Hey, you break him, you bought him!" She called after Kara as she rounded the corner.

The woman's voice came back "What"! Seriously' Ger-bear, let's go find some stairs, I'm gonna go all Kathy Bates on you."

Ginny sighed and looked to the doctor. "I'm sorry. I'd say they're not usually like that, but it'd be a lie."

The doctor nodded with a grin. "Oh. No, not at all. We've seen the two of them together. Frankly, the nurses have been talking about them like they're a TV couple. The whole will-they-won't-they..."

Ginny smiled politely. "He's married."

The doctor's brow furrowed. "To her?"

Ginny went to speak, but smiled, pulling in her lips and shook her head.

The doctor gave a laugh and nodded in the direction the two of them had disappeared. "She know that?"

Ginny laughed at that before the doctor continued. "Okay...so...make sure he gets plenty of rest, I'm writing him a prescription for Hydrocodone for any pain. And try to get him talking as much as possible. Trauma to the brain is still kind of a grey area, so we can't give you a definite or even vague idea when Gerry will be talking like normal, but treat it like an exercise. Talk as much as possible. In your paperwork, I've put in a referral to a good speech therapist if he so chooses."

Ginny clung to the folder and nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."

Gerry and Kara came rolling right back up, Gerry singing the Back To The Future theme song. They came to a screeching halt and he leaned back to her. "Do the thing."

Kara did her best Christopher Lloyd. "GINNY! YOU GOTTA COME BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH US! IT'S YOUR KIDS, GINNY! SOMETHING'S GOTTA BE DONE ABOUT YOUR KIDS!"

Speaking sucked. Seriously, every time Gerry wanted to say something, he would find at least one or two words that were inexplicably blocked. He could hear...SEE them in his head, but it was like they were a different language he didn't know and his mouth refused to form them. Weeks of near constant working at it at home and at a speech therapist had helped a bit, but the neurological damage still held him back.

His ribs had, thankfully, mostly healed and weren't causing him immense pain, which was a damn good thing because someone had started crawling. Raising Nasya had turned into a constant struggle to make her NOT die. It was a task that was anything but easy, because she seemed to be drawn to ledges she could go tumbling off of, like a tiny daredevil.

Tim's day in court had come and gone, seeing him being a slapped with a hefty sentence and carted off to prison for attempted murder, with several other counts of murder being investigated. Kara was certain he'd never bother them again.

Kara was another issue altogether. Despite his protests, she was paying him even though he hadn't been capable of working. She would spend a few hours every day looking after him, bringing him lunch and helping him with Nasya while he healed. There were times she'd stop by on weekends and hang out with him all night until she fell asleep leaning her head against him. He knew how she felt. It was hard to miss. Most men would have taken a look at a woman like her and jumped into bed with her the second she made it known she was up for it. But, Gerry was married still. Being in another realm didn't change that.

She was amazing. Beautiful, kind, funny, smart, caring...and she was wonderful with Nasya, the 7 month old taking incredibly well to her. Gerry would be lying if he said he didn't have feelings for her. But...the reality of the situation remained the same. It was all so complicated and confusing for him, but Keirra might come for him one day. She might be out there looking...and he would be ready when she found him.

A glass was slid across the counter to Kara, its golden contents sloshing around. Gerry stepped up beside her, his own in his hand. The pair of them clinked glasses and looked over the now-empty bar. It was a mess, but that was to be expected after a night like tonight. They brought their beers up and took a sip.

Gerry nodded slowly. "Good night."

"Mm." Kara nodded and smiled to him. "You have fun?"

"Oh, hell yes." He said, a big grin on his face. "Ex...exhausting but g-good."

That seemed to please her. Kara leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "Lotta people here love you, Go."

Gerry let out a little laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the live band and drink specials."

"I'm serious. The way people respond to you, the way they look at you. And not just the uberskanks with stupid ass names either."

He glanced down at her. "You don't honestly believe I'd be into that, right?"

Kara's ice blue eyes turned up to him. "I dunno. I don't really...uh...know your type."

He supposed he didn't either. His wife was a violent anorexic thief with a chip on her shoulder and he fell head over heels for her. He wasn't sure what that said about him. And there was that brief period where he dated a woman who challenged him to a sparring match and beat the crap out of him. Did he LIKE that' Oh, GOD! Was THAT his thing?!

No. No, he decided. Coincidence. He moved on because it creeped him out. "Well...whatever it is, it's not that....ch-chick, don't worry."

That satisfied Kara. She nodded and grasped his arm, clinging him to her. He'd never say it out loud, but he enjoyed this. Kara was everything he could ask for in a girlfriend. She stared up at him with those beautiful blue eyes, that look on her face that was always only for him. He'd spent so much time fighting for every bit of affection and happiness with Keirra, often at the expense of his own, that he'd forgotten that it needn't be so hard. He'd fought so much that he never though he'd see someone fight just as hard for him. The corners of Kara's mouth upturned almost nervously, anticipation hanging in the air between them. He could be happy here. Happy with her.

Gerry went to speak, but the words didn't come out. Though, not because of his injuries this time. She stared up at him and swallowed, a big smile forming on her face. "Gerry..." She started..

At the same time, he spoke. "We should clean...up..."

Kara looked like someone told her the lottery had made a mistake and she was not, in fact, a millionaire. "O-oh..."

Gerry couldn't make eye contact with her as she let him go. "Yeah..." she said, trying to disguise the hurt in her voice. "Yeah, I guess we should."

He watched her set herself to task, not letting him see her face. She cleared her throat. "Um...you know what? I got this. Why...why don't you just go home." She said

"Oh..no. No it was my p-party, Let me h-help."

She shook her head vehemently. "No, I'd rather you just...went home."

"Come on, Kara."

"Gerry. I'm serious." the frustration in her voice was mounting.

"I am too. Let me-"

"GOD DAMN IT, JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" She shouted, slamming an empty bottle on the counter. She wouldn't let him see her face. Gerry froze in place, just watching her. The silence cut like a knife. He went to speak again, but she cut him off.

"Go." She said in a little voice.

He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to end their night like this. He wanted to explain himself, to make things alright. But that didn't happen. Instead, he walked out the door and headed home.

1994 9 year old Gerry stood next to the short, skinny tomboy that was Kara. They were in the living room of their childhood friend, Danny Dubek. Danny was the weird kid in class. He had a speech impediment and a chip on his shoulder. His parents were pretty shameless. They sat now, the old man in a sweat-stained tank top and the wife in her bra and stretch pants, both of them pudgy and sweating in the summer heat.

To say the kids were uncomfortable was an understatement, but they stuck it out, waiting for Danny.

Finally, he came out from his room, his play clothes on. The Dubeks were not a well off family, and everything Danny had was hand-me downs from his older brothers and just hung off his tiny frame. "Aw wight y'aw. Wets go!"

"Ohthankgod" Kara muttered under her breath. The trio took off, Mr. and Mrs. Dubek calling after them. "Ya'll have fun now."

"Bye!" Gerry called over his shoulder.

The trio were terrors of the neighborhood, hassling Old Lady Miller's chickens, or playing ball in the lot behind the general store. Many a window had been busted during their wiffle ball games. Today they were making their way down the street to meet up with another friend when the ice cream truck rolled up.

"Aw! you guyd! Ho'd up! Imba ged dum Ide kweme!" he called after them.

The ice cream man turned around a smile on his face until he saw the kid in front of him. He grumbled to himself and spoke. "Hi, Danny. What can I get you today?"

"I wad a owund dweam tickle. Gibbe a dweam tickle!"

The ice cream man looked weary and nodded. "You got money this time?"

Danny fished through his pockets pulling out a couple pennies and slapped them on the counter. The old man sighed and shook his head. "They're a dollar."

"I don'd godda dowah!" he said insistently.

"Well, then you can't have any ice cream!"

"Cub awn! You know I'b good fowit!" He said

"You never paid me back for the one I LET you have last week! Now, for the last time, you can't get anything for two pennies! And pull your damn PANTS up!"

Danny cursed after him as he climbed back in and drove off. "Bucker! Att ho!"

"Dah! Let's go, man!" They called after him. Dah. That name had stuck with him since the first day of school when the teacher had called him Daniel and he'd responded. "My nambe id Dah!" At first he'd hated the nickname, but eventually grew to accept it.

The three of them met up with little Glen Stark. A year younger than them, he would always try and tag along with them he was standing outside his parents house, a stupid grin on his face as he threw pebbles through a second story window.

The trio approached him and glanced up. Glen threw another pebble a goofy laugh escaping him.

Gerry's brow furrowed, looking over to him. "What...uh...whatcha doin' Glenny?"

"Throwin' rocks."

Kara looked to him, amused. "No shit."

"Check this out." Glen said and reeled back and threw another one up. The sound of a glass breaking came from inside. along with a nasally cry. The whole group started laughing. Slowly the head of his older brother, Billy emerged from the window. Thick glasses magnified his eyes, his hair parted so precisely you could file papers in it. There were rumors that he never left his room. That he had a pee bucket to keep him from having to. He just played with his chemistry set and read sci-fi novels. Now, he looked PISSED and the laughter tapered off.

"Glen. If I...EVER...catch you doing that again..." he said in a shaky voice, Glen's head lowering in shame. "I am going to BEAT...the livin'...shit outta you."

Gerry snorted and tried not to laugh.

"You know what ya did"!" Billy continued, "Ya knocked over bottle a' nitric acid! Burned a big hole in my desk! I hope you're happy!"

Gerry broke, a laugh escaping him. Kara elbowed him and snorted.

"I'm sorry, Billie..."He said almost crying.

The group took off and ran off to play a game of touch football with some of the other neighborhood kids...that would inevitably turn into a full contact. Mostly from Kara. One year later, Danny's parents would be transferred out of state and he was gone.

Kara agreed to meet Danny for lunch the next day. Gerry was helping his parents with bring in a new bed, so he had to pass. The two of them walked down the street, leaving a Chipotle, burritos in each of their hands as they ambled along.

"So, what have you been up to?" Danny asked, a grey t-shirt clinging to his long, toned torso.

Kara glanced over, chewing on her food. "Mm!" she started, chuckling as she swallowed. "Well, I got taller. Grew myself some boobs..."

An amused grin on his face he nodded. "Yes, I would hope so." He took a bite, and waited until he'd finished chewing. "When did you take over the bar?"

She thought back a moment. "Well...let's see..." she said, her eyes squinting. "I started working for McAvoy back in...09" Just working part time, slinging drinks."

"Driving all the lads crazy?" Danny said with that charming little grin. Kara blushed a bit and tried to hide it by taking another big bite.

"So..." she continued, "Around 2010, he got really sick, so I took over most of his workload. When he passed in 2012, he left the place to me. Been running it ever since."

"Good for you." He said sincerely. "I always knew you'd do well."

Kara smiled, a little self-satisfied grin for herself. She WAS doing well, thank you. She glanced to him. "So...other than living like a Indiana Jones, how's life?"

Green yes glanced upward as his cheeks puffed out, a sigh leaving him. "Um...Good." he smiled. "It's all rather exciting, you know" I've been all over, seen and done some amazing things, met a whole lot of interesting people." He nodded. "I had a drink or two with a 98 year old man in Cape Town. Amazing fellow. He talked about all the things he'd seen and this...unbelievable life he'd lead. Running from Nazis, joining an underground resistance movement. Ended up becoming a contractor out in the middle east, digging irrigation ditches...just...phenomenal ."

Kara started giggling as she chewed her food and listened. Danny grinned to her. "What?"

"It's just...it's so weird hearing you use words like 'Phenomenal' now. No WAY could you have even attempted to pronounce that word when we were kids."

Danny chuckled and nodded. "I suppose not. Yes, it took quite a bit of work getting to where I am."

She appraised him. "Good for you. That's awesome. You look great, too."

"High praise from a Goddess. I thank you."

Her brows raised and her skin turned bright red. How did he do that and NOT make it sound cheesy' Was it the accent, she wondered" "So...Um..." She cleared her throat. "What's the story' Wife, kids?"

He balled up the tinfoil of his food and tossed it in a trashcan. "Sadly, no. I'm never in one place very long. Doesn't leave a lot of time for romance, I'm afraid."

Kara nodded and finished off her lunch, disposing of its wrapper.

"What about you? How long have you and Gerry been together?"

Kara snorted and almost choked on her food, launching into a coughing fit before she busted out laughing.

"I've said something funny?" He said with an amused smirk on his face.

"Yeah...Gerry and me...that's...it's just not." She said.

Danny tilted his head quizzically, "No' I thought I saw something...there."

"It's....a long story." Kara tried to brush it off.

"Short version, then?" He said.

"He's...technically married and has a daughter." Kara answered. That WAS indeed the short version.

"Oh' And when might I meet her?" Danny said excitedly.

"His wife" You...probably won't?" she said scratching at the side of her nose.

He quirked a brow at her. "This IS a complicated tale, isn't it?"

Kara let out a weary laugh. "Brother, you don't know the half of it."

Danny sat down on the couch, The Shawshank Redemption was on TNT...because it always seemed to be. Gerry stepped over, handing him a beer.

"Thank you." Danny said. "And thank you for having me over."

Gerry nodded. "Ab-absolutely!" He sat down with his own bottle, looking at his old friend. He rose his bottle to him. "Cheers."

Danny clinked his bottle in return. The two men sipped their drinks.

"You've got a nice place here, mate." Danny said.

"Oh, thanks." Gerry smiled over.

"So...Kara told me a few things." Danny said pointedly.

"Uh oh." Gerry responded with a smirk.

Danny chuckled. "No, no no...nothing awful. But...did you really just...wake up on a PIRATE ship?"

Gerry went to lie, but then he just grinned."Yeah." He laughed, "Yes I did. And....and...full-on, Jack Sparrow p-pirate ship. Not 'I ahm de keptin now' pirate."

Gerry remembered them being little kids and playing pirate, always trying to get Kara to be the maiden in distress, but she would never have it. She commanded her own ship of scoundrels, as she called them. Captain Red Mary was the scourge of the playground. Their imaginary crews sometimes filled in with the ranks of whatever kids were there that would do what they said.

Danny laughed. "That is absolutely amazing! She told me it's this...whole other world?"

"Yeah! Oh yeah. Like a...a..." He shut his eyes.

"Breathe. See the word. You know it." Danny said in that smooth low voice of his that seemed to charm most people he came into contact with.

"Intersection." Gerry said. "Of impossible things. D-different r-realities. All of them..." He clasped his hands together signifying that they all came together.

Danny was enthralled. A new world that few in this one had ever heard of? That sounded like an adventure he could sink his teeth into. "That....that sounds amazing."

"It is. A bit...terrifying at times. But amazing. It was home." Gerry said wistfully.

Danny gave him a knowing smile. "You gave it up for her, though, didn't you? For Nasya."

Gerry's eyes turned to his old friend. "Yes. All of it. My business, my penthouse, my money, my wife. I gave it all up."

"Well...from what I understand, you haven't quite given her up. Much to...a mutual friend's dismay." Danny said with a grin.

"I made a vow." Gerry said. "Death do us part. Well...neither of us are dead yet."

Danny's brows rose as if impressed. He raised his bottle. "You are a rock, sir."

Gerry was keen to change the subject as silence had settled. "So, you k-keep in t-touch with any of the...the n-neighborhood after you left?"

"Well...I DID see Glen once. I was in Afghanistan on assignment Had to be about...07" He was stationed there with his unit. Bold as ever, brave. But I could tell it had taken a bit from him. Some of that...that fire in him was just..." He spread out his fingers. "Gone."

Gerry frowned and took a swig of his bottle.

"We talked about life and where it had taken us and the old days and family..." Danny nodded with a distant smile. Slowly, it faded.

"Three weeks later, I heard that he was on patrol and was killed by an IED in a trashcan." Danny sat with a grave look on his face. "I was glad to have talked to him. One last time."

Gerry nodded slowly. Kara had told him about that, but it still didn't make it easy to think about. "What about Billy?"

Danny laughed and nodded with a mouth full of beer. "Ah yes...Billy. From what Glen told me, Billy was working for some laboratory in Illinois. Fitting, that, yes?"

Gerry grinned. "You remember that time we climbed his f-....fence and found that bucket."

A chuckle escaped his old friend. "Yes! Big...rusty old bucket full of just...the most disgusting glop."

Gerry laughed. "You kept poking it with a stick."

Danny was laughing so hard it came out as a hoarse wheeze. He nodded vehemently. "Yes! And then Glenny comes out..." He gasped in air. "'Hey! That's our dinner!'" His voice shook with laughter.

Gerry was right there with him. "Oh man..."He said catching his breath. "Oh! You remember Jimmy Savage?"

"Yes!" Danny said excitedly and then made a face. "Great guy. Bloody psychopath. But great guy."

"So, this was about a m....month after you l-left. We're p-playing two hand touch, right' And you remember how that always ended up."

Danny's eyes widened. "Oh God....Yes! Yes! It was supposed to be touch, but..you know...more of a guideline than a rule, of course."

"Exactly! You got it, what was his problem?" Gerry said with a grin. "So, I NAIL him. Just blast him when he's got the ball. Starts cryin' and he goes runnin' off crying to his old man."

Danny started laughing "Awww...poor Glenn."

"H-half hour later...here comes old man Stark. Big-ass turkey drumstick in his hand, just chompin' away..." Gerry started imitating the old man, making chewing noises and talking like he had a mouth full of food. "'Tell ya one thing, Finnegan. You gotta problem with Glenny, you come talk to me. You don't lay a finger on my boy.' "

Danny laughed incredulously "Whaaaat?"

Gerry held up a finger. "Hold on it gets better. He THEN points at me and goes, 'Go 'head Glenny, hit him. He ain't gonna do nothin'.'"

Danny's jaw dropped and his brows rose. "No."

Gerry nodded with a big grin. "And there's Jimmy Savage. With a baseball bat, ready to take the old man out. I had to try and signal him NOT to without them noticing." He said, shaking with laughter.

Danny busted up laughing. "COMPLETE PSYCHOPATH!"

That just made Gerry laugh harder. "But...hahahaha...but a great man!"

Danny sat at one of bar tables with Gerry and Kara,the place empty from customers, the doors locked for the evening. The three of them just sitting and chatting. Danny was in the middle of a story about a trip in New Zealand.

"Lovely family. They lived on this dairy farm...must have been about 200 cows in 8 separate paddocks. And...my god, Kara, Gerry?" He looked distant for a moment, a fond smile on that handsome face. "It was beautiful. green mountains all around, and off in the distance, if you looked, you could see Mount Ngauruhoe." Off the blank looks they gave him, he pressed on. "Er...Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings, so the fellow who owned the farm told me."

Kara grinned. "Wow, that's awesome."

Danny nodded. "But the humility in this place. I don't know that they knew what they had. That they lived in one of the most picturesque places I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. When I asked him about it, the old man turns to me and says. 'Yeah. I guess it's kinda nice.'" he said with a chuckle.

Gerry and Kara laughed, the former shaking his head.

Kara took a pull off her bottle. "You ever make it back here in any of this time?"

Danny made a bit of a face and shook his head. "If I had I'd definitely have tried to look the pair of you up." He assured them. "Closest I came in the state was Houston 6 years ago, I suppose."

Gerry smiled at that. "How're your parents doing?" He asked his old friend.

"Ah, you know. Being retired. Mum and dad stayed overseas. They're living in Finchley now. Life there straightened Dad out some. Mum just loved it, really."

Kara sent over a sly smirk. "What about Wally."

Danny nearly choked on his beer, drawing a laugh out of Gerry.

"Wally...well..Wally didn't do so well. You remember what hard-ass he always tried to be? Well, our schoolmates and the headmaster didn't put up with any of that. Three months after he turned 18, he moved back to America. Ended up going to some place in Illinois for Uni. Now he works for Groupon or somesuch." He grinned, a bit distant again. "Don't see him much, really."

The bar was silent a moment before Danny pressed on. "I've missed this." He said simply.

Kara and Gerry looked to him, they had to admit, they had too.

"Growing up, I always thought the three of us were going to be together forever. Running around, chasing Grandma Bunnie's chickens..." He said, laughing at the memory.

Gerry's brows raised as he laughed. He put on a thick Polish accent and imitated an old lady's voice. "DA-NEH! DA-NEH!"

Kara busted up and put on the same accent. "Da-neh, da-neh, da-neh. You useda be setch a gooooood boy. You come over, you say 'grrrrrandma, grrrrrrandm-NOWYOUBADBOY!"

Gerry was just cracking up, scratching the back of his head. "Man, Ol' Grandma got raw on ya!"

Danny nodded as if to say "RIGHT"!" as he sipped from his bottle. "Oh, you remember Shirley Bazman?"

Kara rolled her eyes "The love of your life?" She said sarcastically.

"What' She wasn't that bad..." Danny tried to justify with a chuckle.

"She had a lazy eye and she always smelled like kitty litter even though her family didn't have cats! She insisted that Silverhawks was better than the ****ing Thundercats!" Kara said as if it was the greatest crime mankind had ever committed.

Gerry rolled his eyes in mock indignation. "You know what, TIME is gonna tell on that."

"Uh...it's been like 30 years. And WHICH show got a half-decent remake" OH...right. Suck on THAT, Copper Kid." Kara said.

"Hey!" Gerry said. "Silverha-hawks had that bad-ass s-space octopus."

"Yeah, and friggin' SPACE Cyndi Lauper who fought them with the power of her rock!" She said with an incredulous look on her face.

Gerry just shook his head. "Yeah, that just makes it sound MORE awesome."

Kara went to talk, but stopped, looking disappointed in herself. "God damn it, it DOES..."

Danny couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. Being on the go so often didn't leave much room for closeness. Sure, he had made friends here and there, but nothing like the closeness the two of them had. He was just glad they extended it to him when he showed back up. Mostly, he was glad to see that life hadn't changed who they were at their core. Gerry finished off his beer and stood up. "Well...I better get g-going. Get home to the kid and whatnot."

Danny smiled up to him, the pair of them grabbing eachother's hands in a friendly goodbye. Gerry and Kara hugged each other tightly, him placing a kiss at her cheek. "Night guys." He said before heading out the door. Danny watched after him and then looked to Kara. She noticed and smiled to him.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi." Kara smiled back.

"So...I wanted to...talk to you about something." Danny said.

Kara tilted her head as she sat. "Yeah' What's that?"

Danny brought the bottle to his lips, taking a drink. "So...things are unlikely to...progress between you two, right?" He asked.

That caught her off guard. "Uh...I don't...I don't know?" She said, a bit confused.

"I know...never say never. Right?" he asked with a grin. "I'm just..." He stopped and thought. "I would like to know if you would like to...go out sometime?"

Kara's face paled. "What?" She asked.

"I think...that you are a wonderful, gorgeous, funny, strong and charming woman, and I would like to take you out sometime." He said matter of factly.

Kara still looked shell shocked. "I..I....like-like on a date?"

"I believe that is what they call it, yes." He said with a small chuckle.

"I...Danny...I don't know. I mean...it's not that I don't WANT to go with you...or that I don't think you're attractive. Because..." She gestured to him, making a face. "Come on."

Danny bowed his head in thanks. "But?"

She sighed. "I mean...with Gerry and me..."

"Kara. I'm not asking you to marry me." He said in an amused tone. "I'm asking you, a single woman to come out with me a single man. No expectations, no pressure. Just two people enjoying each other's company. Just seeing where it goes."

Danny could see the wheels spinning and he smiled to her. "I think you are amazing. And I hate to see someone amazing being forced to wait in the wings while someone tries to make up their mind." Those green eyes looked straight into her's. "I love Gerry...but you deserve better than that."

Kara couldn't help but smile. She had to admit...it felt pretty damn good to have someone pursuing HER for a change. And it was Dah! No...not Dah, Danny. And Danny looked like THAT.

"So?" He asked. "What do you say?"

Kara looked to him...and smiled.

Kara leaned in front of the mirror, finishing up her make-up. The whole day she'd been getting guilt pangs, but the more she thought about it, the less it bothered her. After all, Gerry had made it pretty clear that nothing was going to happen between them. She was single, and a devastatingly handsome man WANTED to take her out. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled, finally satisfied, when the knock came at the door. One last check of her lipstick before she hustled over to the door.

Danny stood on the other end, a white collared shirt open three buttons down with a navy blue pinstripe blazer on top. His chiseled jaw shaved smooth and graced with a grin as he looked her over. "Wow." He said simply.

Kara blushed, red spreading over her sun-kissed skin. She wore a sleek black dress that hugged her curves, a short, black cardigan covering her arms and shoulders. A necklace decorated her long slender neck. A smile crossed her lips as she stepped aside. "Right back at you."

Danny stepped in the two sharing a brief embrace, his lips pressing to her cheek. "How's it going?" He asked her, stepping inside.

She stepped aside and let him come in. "Good! Great to have a night off for a change."

"Aren't you the boss?" He asked her with a chuckle.

"Yeah, dude, but I leave that place in anyone else's hands for too long and that bitch'll burn to the ground." She said playfully.

Danny laughed and looked around. "Your place...it's..."

"It's a ****hole." Kara deadpanned.

"What?" Danny chuckled.

"You and Gerry both. Total bull-**** artists." She shook her head with a faux accusatory look thrown at him. "I dunno, I'm thinking about getting a nicer place. I mean...I've got the money, it's just..."

Danny watched her, having a feeling he knew exactly what she was waiting for. He decided to throw her a bone and change the subject. "Well, what do you say we get going?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gerry stood at the bar, hard at work. A lot of the concert crowd had spilled over into the bar. Tonight he was working the Shane. And...how to describe Shane" Every happy, dumb, douchebag coworker you've ever had. Gerry was slinging drinks while he flirted with anything with two legs and a pair of breasts. Gerry was in the weeds, a particularly redneck-y guy whistling for his attention.

"Yeah, I'll be-" Gerry started.

"YO! Let's go!" the Redneck shouted.

"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE! SETTLE THE **** DOWN!"

Tonight was already bad enough, but these people and his "help" tonight were just exacerbating everything. He finished with the customer in front of him, a dozen more demanding his attention. Where the hell was Shane"

Oh. Right. The dopey blonde kid with the surfer boy good looks and hair in front of his face was chatting up some redhead. "Shane!" Gerry called out.

No response.

"SHANE!" He tried again.

Nothing.

"HEY *** HOLE!" He called again. That one got his attention. Shane turned to him and opened his arms as if to say "what the hell?" Gerry gestured to the customers. "Play hide the needle on your own time! Let's go!"

Shane reluctantly moved on to do his job. Yep. This was going to be an awful night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kara sat in Danny's rented black Chrysler 300. She leaned back in the seat, watching the streetlights pass in the window as Danny talked. "So, there I am, 40 meters over a raging river and they've got me all...strung up for the jump. Heart is POUNDING in my chest. I'd never done anything like it in my life, right?"

She turned to him with a smile, listening.

"I'm thinking 'something horrible's gonna go wrong' and I'll end up that dumb tourist who got killed bungee jumping on his first try." He smirked.

"How'd you do it?" She asked with a shake of her head.

"I just let go. All my worries, all my hold-ups. I decided that I didn't want to waste anymore opportunities to experience something great. If I'm going to have any kind of life worth living...I have to actually live it."

That made Kara smile. It was a damn good motto.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two wannabe cowboys decided tonight was GREAT night to start brawling. One flat out coldcocked the other. Gerry rolled his eyes and let out a disgusted sound. "Shane!"

Once again, his back up was indisposed. Gerry grit his teeth and moved around the bar quickly. The two burly cowboys grappled each other. Gerry grabbed the nearest from behind and caught an elbow to the face for the effort. He could taste the blood in his mouth as he stumbled backwards. When he realized who he'd hit, the cowboy immediately tried to apologize. Unfortunately, Shane saw the action and vaulted over the bar, knocking bottles and glasses to ground. He plowed into the cowboy, tackling him to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny and Kara sat at the table of a VERY classy restaurant. Her fork scooping up another bite of lobster tail as they talked. "I dunno. I love the bar, and it's not like I'm qualified to do anything else." She said with a shrug.

"Did you ever get to try college?" Danny asked her.

"Community college." She said. "When I got clean, I went and tried a few classes. Wasn't really for me."

Danny nodded, chewing on the immaculately prepared ribeye they'd brought him. "I can understand that." He said. "You ever think about getting out even for a vacation' See some of the world?"

Kara considered it a moment. "I always wanted to, but...man...that ****'s expensive."

Danny chuckled "So I've heard."

"Oh, right. Mister 'my job pays for me to see awesome things' over here." She said with a grin. "What about you? Ever think of settling down."

Danny flashed that smile again, those green eyes alight. "No. Haven't met the right girl yet."

"Ow." she said, feigning offense.

He laughed. "Let's get through the first date before I go deciding if I'm going to toss my life out the window and have a dozen gorgeous babies with you."

Kara recoiled, a wide-eyed stare at him. "A *dozen*"! Good lord man. Keep that thing away from my womb."

The pair laughed as the waiter came and refilled Kara's champagne glass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gerry was talking to a cop, his lip swollen. Most of the bar having cleared out after the fight. He'd had to pull Shane off the cowboy, but by that time, he'd already thrown punches.

"Look, Officer...it was a stupid mistake. I tried to break up a fight and the guy though he was getting jumped. Shane saw him hit me and got the wrong idea." Gerry tried to explain.

"Well, you know that guy wants to press charges." he told Gerry.

"What' On US?" Gerry asked incredulously.

"It happened in your establishment, involving one of your employees, so yeah." The officer nodded, finishing his write up. He looked up to the exhausted, frustrated Gerry. "We'll be contacting your employer in the next few days as we work this out. In the meantime, I suggest you control your employees. Have a good evening." He handed Gerry a citation and took off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Danny was laughing as Kara continued a story. "So, then Gerry gets on-stage and he just BELTS out 'What A Wonderful World' to this crowd. And, like...FULL ON Louis Armstrong, gravelly voice and everything. Amazing." She said. "And there's this old black guy who just leans out behind me, hearing this giant white dude rumbling away at the microphone and he just goes 'Daaaaaamn....cracka got some pipes!'"

The two of them busted up laughing. The date has been much more fun than Kara anticipated. But it didn't escape Danny's notice that her stories were all about Gerry. The last 4 she told were about him. He smiled across the table to her, reading her face a moment.

"So...on a scale of 1-10...how in love with him are you?" He asked her with a knowing grin.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm not blind, Kara." He said with absolutely no malice in his voice. He just smiled. "You only talk about him, and when you do...you light up in the most beautiful way." He said.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't be talking about-"

Danny held up a hand. "I don't mind. I mean...I had my suspicions when we were all together...but I wanted to be sure." Those green eyes watched her as she moved her dessert around with a fork, not making eye contact. "So...how long?"

Kara sighed, taking a deep breath and thinking. "Um...10?"

"10 years?" He asked with a quirked brow. He knew full well Gerry hadn't been back that long.

"No. Since we were 10." She said bluntly. "I never gave up hope that some day he'd come through that door again and make everything okay."

Danny frowned watching her.

"And then he does and, good news! He's married!" She said, her expression souring. "It was like a kick to the face. I'd waited for him for...19 years. And I get him back, and all he can think of is getting away from me again."

Danny leaned back in his chair, sympathetic eyes staying on her. "That must have hurt."

"It killed me." She confirmed to him. "And I'll admit...I lost my head. I did something stupid. I threw myself at a married man. Tried to get him to leave her then and there. To give up and stay with me." Kara sighed. "I regret that. It was low, it was wrong, and I wish I could take it back."

Danny nodded, neither condoning nor condemning. He lowered his eyes, thinking. "Why isn't he trying to leave this time?"

"He can't go back." She said. "Don't ask me why, because I', not even sure I understand it. He can't go back to her and she sure as hell isn't looking for him, so...I'm hoping he comes around." Her face scrunched up and she sighed, annoyed. "You know, a guy willing to honor his marriage even in the face of it being OVER should be a good thing...but it's just frustrating as hell to me." She chuckled. "Maybe there's something wrong with me."

Danny snickered. "That's got to be frustrating."

She shook her head. "You have no idea."

Danny reached across the table and took her hand gently, giving her a squeeze. "If you ask me...you two are perfect together. And if it's meant to be...it *will* be. I think he'll come around." He smiled. "If he doesn't, he's a fool."

Kara couldn't stop the grin that came to her face. She just laughed. "God...some day, you are going to make some woman feel like a ****ing queen. I just hope she appreciates it."

Danny grinned, it was his turn to blush. "What do you say we get you home?"

Kara nodded, looking at him affectionately. "Thank you for this, Danny."

"Anytime, Aimsley."

Bill was sitting in the basement watching TV, as he was often wont to do. Rose was stretched across the couch, her feet on his lap while he massaged them absently. A pleasant smile on her face as she read a Stephen King book.

Bill glanced in her direction. "How's that book?"

"Ep-ep-ep-ep...Noooo conversation, Cabana Boy." She said with a little smirk.

Bill chuckled "Oh-ho-ho-ho! Yess-um Miss Rose." he said as if afraid of her.

The doorbell grabbed her attention. She raised her eyes for a moment before returning to her book. "Bill. Door."

"I got the last one." he complained.

"Look, sweetie," She said. " we can pretend this is going to end any other way than you getting the door, but you know damn well, you're gonna do it. So, let's skip to the end."

He chuckled and pushed her feet off him. "Wise-ass." He got up and started away.

"Loooooove youuuu...." Rose said listlessly, still reading on the couch.

Bill made his way up the stairs to the door as it rang again. "Alright, alright I'm coming!"

He opened the door to find Kara standing there. A big smile crossed his face. "Hey, K-Mart special! Aren't you supposed to be at the...." That was when he noticed the look on her face. Her face was stained with tears and runny make up. Bill's face contorted with concern.

"Kara" What happened?" he asked her gently.

She couldn't hold back anymore, the tears falling as she threw her arms around him. Through the sobs she managed "I think I screwed up, Dad. I think I screwed up bad..."

Bill held her to him stroking her back gently, trying to get her to calm a bit. Usually, he loved it when she called him Dad. It gave him pride that she though of him like that. But tonight...there was none of that. She was hurting and that, in turn hurt him. "It's okay....shhhh....it's gonna be okay."

Rose came up to see what all the commotion was about, her expression falling when she saw Kara clinging to Bill. "Kara" What's wrong, sweetie?"

The younger woman sobbed into Bill's chest. She sniffled and pulled back. "I'm sorry...I just...I didn't know where else to go..."

Rose rubbed her back gently. "It's okay. Just tell us what happened."

Kara looked ashamed. "We had a fight. And....and we said some..." she wiped her eyes. "Some HORRIBLE things and he just...just stormed off." She was barely able to get through it over the sobs and sniffles.

Bill lead her into the kitchen and sat her down. "Here. Relax. Tell me about it."

Kara explained how she'd gone out on a date and how Gerry had gotten jealous. And then discussed all the horrible things they'd said to each other. They didn't judge her, didn't interrupt or chastise her. they just listened. When Kara had finished Bill just smiled to her. "I won't lie to you...you both said some stuff you shouldn't have. But I know how he feels about you and I know how you feel about him." Bill said, squeezing her hand.

Rose nodded, adjusting her reading glasses. "Nothing's so damaged you can't fix it." She reassured the younger woman. "You owe each other an apology. Yes. But this won't ruin you."

Kara appreciated that. "I didn't mean it...I was just so...SO angry. I've been over here fighting and struggling for him, and the second I pay attention to somebody else..." She looked to them. For years, they had been the closest thing she'd had to parents. It was easy to forget that he was their ACTUAL child. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

Bill tilted his head. "I get it. I do. You love him. And he's been..." he sighed "Dragging his feet."

"He basically called me a slut..."

"That was wrong of him. And I think he knows it." Rose said. "If you want my advice...I say you give him a bit of time to cool off. And then, the two of you need to sit down...and have a good talk. Find out what this is." She smiled to Kara.

Bill nodded. "And no matter what happens, we love you both, and that's not going to change." he assured her.

Kara smiled, those tears coming back. "Promise?"

Bill grinned and made an X over his heart. Kara lunged across the table, wrapping her arms around him. Bill patted her head and returned the embrace. "I love you guys." She said, her eyes squeezed shut.

"We love you, too, kiddo."

Kara stood in the back room of the bar when Gerry walked in, she was putting a tap on one of the kegs. The pair of them froze when they saw each other. He stared at her with those beautiful blue eyes of his in silence. Say something, the thought. Just...say anything. But he didn't. He looked like he wanted to, but the words just didn't leave his lips. Those eyes lowered from her and he moved out to the front.

Kara swallowed hard and nodded. Was this how it was going to be from now on' Just the two of them avoiding each other? Working around each other. She couldn't handle that. She would have to figure something out. Maybe he'd do her a solid and quit. She doubted she could bring herself to fire him. She wanted that even less.

Kara finished with the kegs and walked to the fridge to grab her lunch. A salami sandwich and a small bag of chips. Not the most inspiring of lunches. She sat there in silence, dreading going out there and spending the evening with that cloud hanging over them. Having to count on each other to make it through another busy night. He darkened that doorway again, tall, strong, handsome. But she only spared him a glance before turning her attention to her food.

She barely registered that he stepped over to her until he sat beside her. Her body went stiff, a mouth full of her sandwich as her eyes turned to him. He was unwrapping a double cheeseburger quietly, his gaze steadfastly NOT on her. Kara chewed slowly again and noticed that he slid a bottle of beer over to her.

Again, she stopped, staring at the bottle for a moment. Those smokey blue eyes turning to him watching him take a bag of fries from his bag.

Gerry was keeping himself busy, pouring half onto the bag from his burger before setting the rest next to her lunch. He glanced over just slightly.

Kara reached into her bag of chips, grabbing a handful and dropped them onto his wrapper.

One corner of his mouth upturned. Glancing her way to find her doing the same. Kara picked up her beer and brought it to her lips, stopping before she held it out to him. Gerry breathed out a little laugh and clinked his own bottle to her's.

They each took a drink, their smiles widening.

At the same time, they turned to each other, speaking in unison.

"I'm sorry."

It was a beautiful day out. 75, sunny, a nice breeze. A rare, non-sweltering day for Texas in August. Danny sat on top of a picnic table outside a little ice-cream stand, a lemon flavored italian ice in his hand. Kara sat by his knee with an ice cream cone, telling him everything that had happened. Parents with their kids all around. Danny's forearms rested on his jean-clad knees, digging out another scoop of his snack while he listened. The brunette beauty beside him finished the tale. a grin forming on his face, stubble just beginning to form again. "So, you told him?"

Kara nodded, eyes widened. "Yeeeeeeup."

"Wow." Danny said with raised brows.

"He didn't say it back, of course, but with him...asking me out on a date is about as good." She said with chuckle.

Danny grinned, swallowing down another scoop. "So, when's the bachelorette party' Can I come as the stripper?" A cheeky smirk was directed her way, flashing those dimples of his.

Kara nearly choked on her ice cream, setting him off laughing. Her hand covered her mouth as her body shook with laughter. She looked to him with narrowed eyes, but the smirk said it all. "You *** hole."

"Well...I didn't just ask you here to gossip about your love life, I'm afraid." He said.

Kara acted like she was just stunned, her hand going to her chest. "My stars! You DO me great injustice, sir!" She said like a genteel southern belle.

A lopsided grin formed on his face, but faded quickly. "I'm leaving." He said.

Kara's smirk faded. "What' Why?"

Danny sighed, "There's been a development I'm not exactly allowed to go across the pond. My employer is sending me there to cover it."

Kara looked heartbroken. "But you JUST got here."

Danny nodded sullenly. "I know. And I love it here. Love being around you and Gerry, love being home...but this is my work. And I love my work." There was pride on his features then. "Maybe one day I'll come back. Meet you and Gerry's kids, hm?"

She scoffed. "At the rate we're going" We'll both be firing dust and cobwebs before that happens."

Danny chuckled. "You'll get there." He stared at her fondly. "I'm glad I got to know you again, Kara Aimsley. You are...an amazing woman. And if he doesn't go for it. Give me a call. I'll take ya out."

Kara lowered her head, a smile on her face, peering up at him through those long lashes. "Thank you."

"Come on, give a squeeze." He opened his arms to his friend hugging her tight. Kara's arms wrapped around his waist, her cheek resting at his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you." She said before pulling back. "You stay in touch, understand" I better not go another couple DECADES without hearing you, got it?" She pointed at him.

His face lit up with that charming smile. "You got it."

Bill and Rose owned a little cabin by a lake a few hours away. Gerry remembered, when they were kids, they would spend a weekend out there a year for family reunions. That all stopped when he was 9 and his grandfather passed. Since then, the families all sort of drifted apart. But he still had fond memories of that idyllic cabin. So, when Bill and Rose broached the idea of taking a family trip to visit the place for Labor Day, he was super pumped to go back.

Fishing, swimming, cookouts, bonfires" That was totally his jam. He asked Kara if she wanted to go with and he barely got the entire sentence out before she was in. She'd only ever heard about those trips second hand. She'd always considered the Finnegans to be her family anyway, so this was one more step in the direction of BEING family. She made the announcement to the bar, as soon as she could, that for a few days, they would be closed for vacation, but they would be back in swing immediately after.

It would be Ginny's first time there since she graduated High School. Throughout college, most of her holidays had been spent at school or searching for Gerry. This would be a rare treat.

It was bright and early when they had started loading up. The plan was to load up and be on the road by 10 and it was creeping closer and closer. The family hustled around grabbing their pre-packed bags and loading them into two separate cars.

Gerry, clad in grey v-neck t-shirt, baseball cap and beat-up old jeans, hefted his duffel over his shoulder, carrying it out toward the Rose's SUV. The redhead was securing Nasya in her baby seat in the back, talking in and excited, playful voice to her. "Some little girl's goin' for a ride! Isn't she!"

The child's face lit up with glee, a high pitched squeal leaving her smiling, sparsely toothed mouth. Ginny clipped her in, gasping in a lung of air playfully before leaning in and smothering the little one with kisses. "MmmmWAH! Love you, button nose." She lightly tapped Nasya's tiny cute nose with a finger.

Gerry tossed his bag in the trunk, Kara's ratty old clunker rolling to a stop on the sidewalk behind them. The brunette knockout looked rushed, her hair in a pony tail under a baseball cap, make up forgone in favor of a pair of dark sunglasses. She rolled the sleeves of her button up green and blue plaid shirt to her elbow as she stepped out, long legs clothed in tight, faded jeans. "Sorry! Sorry I'm late!" She said, rushing to the back of the car.

A smirk crossed Gerry's lips as he stepped toward her. "Yeah, Kara, what the hell" We're all waiting for ya and you just come sauntering in like it's not a big deal..."

Bill hollered at the house "ROSE"! ROOOOOOSE"! WHERE ARE MY KEYS"!"

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT YOU DID WITH YOUR KEYS"!" She shouted back from inside the house.

"THEY WERE IN MY POCKET AN HOUR AGO!"

"DID YOU CHECK YOUR POCKET"!"

Bill checked and produced his keys. Looking to Gerry and Kara, he pointed suddenly, between the two of them. "Not a word." Ginny snorted and he pointed at her too before moving on. "Found 'em! They were in the car!"

Kara chuckled and then turned to Gerry with raised brows. "Ohhhh. 'We're all waiting for you!'" She said, lowering her voice to mimic him. She tossed her bag at him as he chuckled. He caught it and brought it over to the car, loading them into the back.

Kara was digging through her hatchback, grabbing a small cooler. "I brought some snacks for the trip, some sammiches, jerky, and..." she set the cooler down with a grunt on the backseat hump. "Grab the bag in my passenger seat and we've got a ****load of chips n' stuff!"

Ginny looked at her wide eyed. "Oh, you are my new favorite." She said in a low, enthralled tone.

Rose came out dragging her own bag, handing it off to Bill. He took it by the straps and pulled it up on to the tailgate, sliding the bag back into the bed. Rose sighed, she was up by 6 AM today. For a woman who usually went to bed at the crack of dawn, she was not at all used to this being awake early business. "Well, that should be the last of it. Everyone ready?" she said through a yawn.

Gerry peered into the back of the SUV, his head nodding as he counted the contents of the cargo area. "Bags and poles loaded, baby strapped in..." he started, very businesslike.

"Beer's packed." Bill continued for him, patting his truck, very businesslike.

The two men nodded to each other. "Well done, sir." Gerry nodded.

Bill extended a hand. "Doctor!"

"Doctor!" Gerry responded taking his hand, aggressively shaking it.

The bit went on. And on. Both of them saying the word in a multitude of different inflections.

The girls just gave them withering looks, waiting for it to end. Ginny rolled her eyes. "You guys are idiots."

Kara grinned over to the skinny redhead, pulling open the passenger door. "Let's roll." She said excitedly, sliding into the front seat.

The open road spread out ahead of them. And endless blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds on a perfect summer's day. Untold miles and miles of black pavement cut through sand, crops, trees. An entire world he was rediscovering. So radically different from Rhydin, yet still so familiar. Gerry's left hand gripped the wheel, his elbow propped on the open window. The air blowing through his short, light brown hair, he was reminded of being on-board the Dominous. That cool sea breeze carrying him to places unknown. Adventures he could scarcely have imagined as a child. Terrors, excitement. Sadness and joys ahead, but always the potential for something new.

Those cerulean eyes turned to his right. Kara's feet were kicked up onto the dash, her lips forming a satisfied smile as she let the wind rush across her flawless (at least in his mind) face. Her eyes closed peacefully. In the rearview mirror, he could see Ginny in the backseat, sleeping next to the snoozing Nasya. Behind them was his father's old pick up, ambling right along. His father, hiding behind a pair of aviators had his attention on the road while his mother reclined as much as she could, asleep in the passenger seat. There, with his family around him, he was content. This was perfect. This was good. If this was what life was now...he was glad.

Slowly, those long lashes parted as Kara's icy-blue eyes opened, looking over to him, the smile on her face widening. She reached across the center console, long nimble fingers taking Gerry's weathered hand and intertwining with his. The former pirate glanced at their hands a moment before turning his eyes up to meet her's. His fingers closed around her hand, giving her a squeeze. But then, he didn't let go.

The two of them rode on, hands clasped tight in the early afternoon sun. He'd denied himself this too long, and right now...for the first time in months, he was truly happy.

The sun was setting when they pulled up to the lake-front cabin. It was a beautiful 2-story place with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a huge living room and kitchen, and a big deck overlooking the lake. The entire interior rustic and made of sturdy oak. Gerry stepped out of the truck, giving a groaning stretch. The place looked smaller than he'd remembered. Of course...he was about 5'3" the last time he'd been here. So much hadn't changed, though. The fire pit, the pier, the old tire swing, the pontoon boat still in it's shed. All just how he'd remembered them.

Bill hefted a bag over his shoulder and unlocked the house, letting Rose enter first. The lights flipped on, revealing the rustically decorated interior. A pair of old brown leather couches and recliners were gathered near a large, cozy hearth. Stained wooden stairs leading down into the living room from the second floor balcony. 4 mounted deer heads were over the fireplace. At the west wall was a long bookcase, loaded with stuff to read. Books his family had thumbed through for years. A big, 70's style turntable with a wall-full of old records. Most of it the likes of Perry Como and Bing Crosby, but Bill had updated the collection a bit to feature some classic rock. An old chess table flanked by chairs was next to a cabinet full of board games.

He could remember playing with his grandfather, the old man, more often than not, letting him win unless he got cocky. Proving that he could demolish the youngun' if he wanted and keeping him on his toes. Old Grandpa Finnegan. Pa, he'd called him. A hold-over from when Gerry had just been learning to talk. Though, later in life, Gerry just called him Pops. A tough, but sweet man, he'd always doted on Gerry and Ginny. So much so that his other children felt jealous that their poorly-raised, misbehaving brats didn't receive the same amount of adoration.

It was Pops who'd Let him have his first BB gun. Taught Gerry to shoot a gun safely, and how to respect it. He remembered it well how the old man loved his weapons, but always laid into him about how they were not toys and to be respected.

He could still remember sitting on Pop's lap on that pontoon boat while the old man let him steer. How there was always a beer in his hand. The old, battered formerly white cap he always wore hung up on a coat hangar where he'd left it on his last trip to the lake. He remembered the dulcet tones of Hank Williams singing "I'm So Lonesome" late into the night.

Gerry had never known his Grandmother. She'd passed when he was about 2. But the loss had left it's mark on Pops. The old man often told him how much his Grandma would have loved him and his sister. How she'd have been so proud of them. In this moment, he wished he could be around to see his great grand-daughter.

Gerry tromped up the stairs to the room that would be his and Nasya's, giving the door a push. He let his bag drop to the floor beside him and set the slumbering infant in the crib. He walked over and flopped back onto the bed, the springs creaking under his weight. He let out a groan as his back popped a few times.

Kara leaned her shoulder against the doorway, a hand on her hip, looking exhausted from the drive. Gerry's eyes turned to her. "I think I might lay here forever. Is that okay?" He said weakly.

Kara nodded. "I'll bring you food and water for a few days, but I'm not cleaning out your bedpan." A tired smile on her face, she walked in and laid down next to him, pulling her hair out of it's ponytail, letting it spread out over the sheets behind her. She turned her head to him. "Or I may join you."

"Works for me. Least I'll have someone to talk to." He nodded.

Kara smiled at him. "Then it's settled."

Ginny walked past the door and then back tracked, pointing at them. " Hey. None of that, now." She said with a faux stern tone.

Gerry rolled his eyes. "We're just-"

"EHP-BEP-BEP! No excuses! Sinners..." She smirked and walked off.

Gerry and Kara exchanged a look. "We may have to destroy her." Gerry said covertly.

"Oh, that'll be easy. I'll just tell her about your Mom and Dad and a ball gag." The smirk that crossed her face over his expression then was the most self-satisfied thing that's ever existed. "Huh. That's the same look she gave me."

Gerry snorted and shook his head. "You stay away from my daughter." He deadpanned, earning a little laugh from Kara.

Nasya was inside with Rose when Gerry stepped out onto the deck dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt, board-shorts, and flipflops. Kara and Ginny were layed back on a pair of lounge chairs in the afternoon sun, decked out in bikinis. "Hey, me and dad are gonna take the boat out and go fishin'. Who's in?" He said, excitedly with a clap of his hands.

Ginny turned her head, blue eyes hidden behind her sunglasses. "Whole big fat dump truck-load of NOOOOOPE." She said, accentuating the nope by deepening her voice.

Gerry gave her a wry look. He never really expected his sister to be up for it anyway. His gaze shifted to Kara. "What about you, sticks?"

The beautiful brunette quirked an eyebrow beneath her glasses. "Sticks" Oh. My legs. Right."

He smirked. "What do you say?"

"Oh, man. Ger bear. I'd love to...but if I get out of this chair, there's a solid chance that it might float away. And I just can't be responsible for that." A little grin played across her features as she settled back in.

"You are a true hero." He said. "You guys are lame. Later!" He said taking his leave of them.

Kara listlessly waved to him, not looking up at all. "Go on without me! Remember me as I am! Avenge me! Avennnnge meeeeee!"

The tall man stepped out onto the boat. "Looks like it's just you and me, pop." He said, stepping onto the pontoon boat.

Bill was just setting down a cooler, decked out in a jimmy buffet t-shirt and a pair of shorts. "Good! They'd just be yackin' it up the entire time."

Gerry grinned, moving over to the driver's seat as Bill untied the boat. The two men rode out onto the lake, drifting along a bit until they got to their spot and dropped anchor. Their poles in-hand, lures in the water, and their feet propped up on the railing. they relaxed in their folding chairs. Bill cracked a beer and handed the can over to Gerry.

"Thanks." He said with a content smile as his dad got one for himself. The clinked the cans together and took a sip.

They sat in silence, enjoying just the presence of each other and the quiet that they so rarely got back home. Finally, Bill spoke.

"Sounds like you're getting words better now." he said to his son.

Gerry nodded. "Yeah! I mean, every now and again, I stumble and can't think of the word I'm trying to say, but...it's nowhere near as bad as it was."

More comfortable silence followed. Bill got a smile on his face, a little laugh escaping him. He turned to Gerry. "You remember the trips out here with your Grandpa?"

Gerry smirked. "Oh yeah. Best times ever."

"We used to drive him up a wall, me and your uncles." Gerry noted that Bill had a smile on his face when he said it. It wasn't often that he got anywhere near a smile when talking about his brothers. When Pops had died, there was a big fight over inheritance. His uncles believing they were treated unfairly when Bill was named the executor of their father's estate (despite him having cared for and ensured proper healthcare for their dying father.) After a long, ugly battle, Bill took the cabin and let them have the rest of his inheritance, with the understanding that they never contact him again. No, there was not much for Bill to smile about with regards to them.

"I remember one time, when we were kids, about 14, 15....he took us to a Rangers game. You know, back when they were the Senators...and he had this old war buddy, Schmiddy. Well, after the game, Schmiddy stays behind to hit the head while we went out to the parking lot. Dad's waiting and waiting for him, and you remember how impatient he was." Bill grinned. "Me and your uncle Dave and Jim start going 'LOOK THERE HE ISn't...', 'THERE HE doesn't go...', 'Oh, here he doesn't come.'"

Bill and Gerry both chuckled as the elder Finnegan continued his story. "And every-" More laughter. "EVERY time, he falls for it. So, dad's just getting angrier and angrier every time we pull it until finally, he just cracks." Bill straightened up, affecting a deeper, comical voice to'You listen here you little ****s! I'm gonna smack the **** outta all a' ya if ya make ONE more peep.'"

Gerry grinned, he'd heard that threat SO many times. Rarely was it ever followed up upon.

Bill started laughing again. "So...so, Jimmy sees Schmiddy coming and goes, 'Dad, here he-' 'DOESN'T COME! HILARIOUS JIMMY! HILARIOUS! IT NEVER GETS OLD!'"

Gerry's sides hurt he was laughing so hard.

"Then, Schmiddy opens the door, scaring the hell out of the old man and just sits down. Dad would NOT talk to us for the rest of the night!" Bill chuckled, shaking his head.

Gerry took a long drink from his can, looking back on a few memories. "You remember old man Fahey?"

"Fahey...was he the old blowhard whose grandkid you played ball with?" Bill asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"The one and only." Gerry nodded, sporting a wide grin. "Well, you remember how Pops could bull**** with the best of 'em, right?"

"Oh. Incorrigible. A font of questionable knowledge." Bill nodded.

"Well, you remember when I was hurt that week and I ended up on the bench' Well, I hear him and Fahey just in a BS battle royale. At one point, pops is claiming he trained with Yankees back in the day, then the guy just, 'Aw that ain't nothin'! I invented the breaking ball!'" Gerry smirked, laughter in his voice "And everything pops came up with, this guy made a more outrageous claim. Pop, met Marilyn Monroe" This guy went on a date with Doris Day. Pop caught a 4 foot long walleye' This guy went sword-fishing on the high seas. The entire time, I'm just trying not to laugh, because Pops was getting more and more frustrated, and you can hear it in his voice. Well, game ends, and he grabs me by the arm and goes 'Let's get the hell outta here! That guy's full of ****!"

Bill laughed, an impressed look on his face. "Someone out BS'd my dad"! Wow!"

"Oh, man. Made him look like Jon Lovits as the pathological liar." Gerry nodded.

Bill adopted his absolute best Jon Lovits impression "Yeah...yeah...with my wife Morgan Faaaaaairchild...that's the ticket..."

The two of them were out until about 4 AM that night. Just singing songs, drinking, and making s'mores. At the end of the night Gerry walked inside with her, hand in hand. They quietly made their way up the stairs, parting ways at his door, Kara holding onto his hand for an extra moment before she closed the door behind her, throwing a tired, smiling glance over her shoulder.

The next day Gerry woke to the sounds of activity bright and early. His eyes bloodshot and his hair wild. With a frustrated groan, he rose out of bed, hands going to his head as he looked at his clock. 7:30. Ugh. What the hell was wrong with these people" He stepped out onto the balcony, looking over his family. Ginny and Rose were...vehemently discussing the merits of Once Upon A Time while Bill stood at the stove, cooking up some breakfast. Nasya was in the redhead's arms as they discussed.

"It's pretty much Disney jerkin' it in front of a mirror!" Ginny argued.

"Hush! Not in front of the baby!" Rose reprimanded her daughter.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "She doesn't know what I'm saying. Do, ya, ya little poop machine?" she asked the baby in a funny voice, earning a delighted squeal from Nasya.

Rose gave her a pointed look, such a decisively "mom" expression on her face. "It is not. They play with the old fairy tales and give them a little twist. It's fun!"

"Oh really' Then why was that one season basically Frozen 2?" Ginny fired back. "And Merida! With her...godawful wig! Totally lifted RIGHT out of the movie!"

"Do you enjoy ANYTHING?" Rose said with narrowed eyes.

"...I like that show where the kids cook."

Gerry barely noticed the figure who stepped up beside him. Her white tanktop and pj pants rumpled, her hair a wild mess. She dramatically leaned against the bannister, turning exhausted crystal blue eyes up at him. "What the hell is wrong with these people" Who wakes up this early?"

Gerry shook his head slowly. "They're out of their minds, obviously."

Kara smirked and leaned against him, her mouth opening in a long, wide yawn. The pair of them trudged downstairs and went through breakfast. Bill and Rose suggested a run into town and Ginny was the only one game for it. Gerry and Kara opted to stay behind.

After a nice long nap, with Nasya snoozing away in her crib, they woke up to an empty, peacefully quiet house. Kara stood in the kitchen, all the accouterments for an epic sandwich spread before her, when Gerry walked in, his daughter in his arms.

"Wow. You putting everything in the fridge into that thing?" He asked her, eyebrow quirked.

"Only most of it." She responded with a smirk, spreading mayo over the pile of meat. Gerry stepped up next to her, grabbing a couple pieces of bread from the loaf. She glanced at him as he piled on salami and swiss cheese. Her brow furrowed derisively.

"That's it?"

"Yup."

"Dude. It's just meat and cheese. What the hell?" She chastised him.

"Yeeeeeup. I knows what I likes, woman."

"For christ sake, man, put on some mustard or something!"

A smug grin on his face, Gerry shook his head. "Don't ruin my awesome sammich with your demon condiments."

"Come on, man!" She pleaded reaching over with her squeeze bottle of mayo.

"Nooooo, dooooon't!" Gerry said imitating a childish cadence, pushing her hand away. "You'll ruin it!"

She stopped a moment and then and swiped some of the condiment off her own sandwich and wiped it on his. He stared at her wide-eyed for a long moment. "Oh. Oh, you are dead." he said.

He reached over and swabbed some off her own sandwich and quickly smeared it across her nose. She recoiled, her face scrunching up as she started laughing. "Oh-hohohoooookay..." She nodded as if accepting defeat. A pair of delicate fingers scooped up some mustard and then slid it down his face in twin lines from his eybrows to his cheeks.

Gerry pulled away from her, a shocked expression on his face. The two of them stared each other down, daring one another to make the next move.

Suddenly, she smashed the top of her mustard and mayo slathered slathered food onto Gerry's grabbing the whole thing and running off, giggling madly.

Gerry stood there, blinking. He looked own at the little girl in his arms. "These are the people in your life. I apologize."

A delighted smile appeared on her face as she stared up at her mustard-faced father.

The family sat down to dinner that night to feast on Henry and his fishy brethren. A look of such smug pride on Kara's face when her catch was presented to the family, that Gerry couldn't help but chuckle. After dinner they were gathered on the porch, Otis Redding's Dock Of The Bay playing on the radio. Rose sat in Bill's lap, a glass of sangria in her hand and a beer in his. Kara's feet rested on Gerry's thighs while Ginny was snoozing away in a hammock, a glass at the end table by her side.

Kara smiled at the older couple, still so in love after all the years. They were so good together, so happy with each other. God, she wanted that. "How did you two meet?" She asked, taking a quick sip of her drink.

Bill glanced to his wife, brow wrinkled in thought. "Where were we" Dave's?"

Rose nodded. "We were at a party a friend of us was throwing. I was just out of a bad break up, and Dave was always trying to get us to meet. For whatever reasons it just never worked out. Either he was busy or I was busy, or we were dating other people. We'd never even met."

Bill smiled up at her. "So, Dave throws this big shindig at his place down by the beach, and we're both there. I walk in the door and I see this...stunning woman standing by the record player talking to her friends. And immediately, I'm thinking, 'I gotta talk to her.'"

"And this hunky guy walks up to me, flashing those baby blues at me and that smile...and suddenly, there's no one else at this thing. Just me and this handsome, charming, funny guy who I am just completely smitten with." Rose continued the story placing a smooch on her husband's lips.

Bill turned to them. "We ended up sitting out in the sand, sharing a bottle of wine until sunrise. Just talking and laughing...And that was it. I was cooked."

Rose giggled. "We didn't even realize we were the people Dave had been trying to get together until our first date."

Kara's smile widened, looking between the two of them. "You guys are so lucky." She said. "How do you do it' I mean after all these years?"

Rose shrugged. "It hasn't always been easy. I mean, people are still people, and we can still drive one another up a wall. You go through tough times. You argue, you fight, you butt heads. But at the end of the day, when he looks at me, it's still the look he gave me that night. And it still gives me the butterflies I had that night. It's just more now. Because he's not just a guy I met at a party. He's the father of my children. The man who has stood by me through everything. The man who has never let me down."

Gerry beamed at his parents. What they had was beautiful. Perfect. It might seem mundane or boring to some, but to him, it looked like heaven.

"She's all I could I want. All I could need. She gave me so much in this life that I can't, and don't want to imagine a life without her." Bill finished, placing a lingering kiss on Rose's lips.

Gerry turned to Kara, looking at her a long moment. Those smokey blue eyes connected with his, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Not much later, Bill and Rose retired to bed,waking Ginny to sleep indoors, lest she be eaten alive by mosquitoes. Gerry and Kara put all the glasses in the kitchen sink and headed upstairs. She turned around to face him as they got to the door of his room. "Well..."she said. "Night, G."

Those beautiful azure hues looked right into his, a warm smile gracing her perfect features.

"Goodnight, Kara." He said quietly. The tension between them thick enough you could cut it with a knife. Kara chewed the back of her lower lip a moment, still staring at him. Finally her eyes lowered a bit and she turned to head for her room.

That was when she felt his right hand wrap around her arm. She turned to find him moving toward her, his left hand going to her cheek and that was all the prompting she needed. The two them collided, his lips pressing softly to her's, his thumb moving gently along her cheek bone as one strong arm wrapped around her waist. Her body melted into his, feeling like this moment could be her last and she would die happy.

Kara's hand moved up, fingers pressing into the hair at the back of his head as she deepened the kiss, breathing him in through her nostrils. This was what she had been wanting for so long, what she had dreamed of. And this moment, it was perfect.

Their lips parted, and she could not stop the wide, blissful smile that took over them. Their foreheads resting together, the pair of them just laughed quietly, looking into each other's eyes. Gerry brushed her hair behind her ear and sighed. Kara nudged her nose lightly to his, the two of them exchanging another quick peck. "Good night." She said, elation dominating her expression.

"Night." He whispered back, the two of them reluctantly leaving each other's arms. Gerry watched as she walked to her room, her joy evident even in her stride. As she opened her door she glanced back at him, smiling ear-to-ear before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. The two of them wouldn't sleep much that night, both trying to keep their giddy laughter quiet. For Kara, it had been a long time coming. A dream she'd clung to nearly all her life. And now it was real and she could not remember when she'd been this happy.

It was the last day of their trip and the whole family spent the day outside. Gerry and Bill set up the volleyball net and a slightly over-competitive game of girls v. boys began. Ginny and Kara carried their own with Rose barely paying attention. In the end they took the W. The rest of the day was spent getting a big cook-out ready, most of the nearby neighbors across the lake coming by for the big party.

By the time the sun set, there were tiki torches going, lights strung over the grounds of the cabin, coolers set out, full of community pot of alcohol. Beer, liquor, wine. Fireworks compiled for a late night show. Ginny and Kara spent the majority of the time setting up the music, more than one argument about how to hook everything up taking place over the course of the afternoon. People from all up and down the lake showed up, piling onto the property. A few grills going at once, the smell of cooking burgers and brats and steaks filling the air. The laughter of newly minted friends and playing children filling the air.

Gerry overlooked the scene, Nasya in one arm and a bottle of beer in the other. The baby stared up at the multicolored lanterns, just mesmerized. Bill stood at one grill, doling out cheeseburgers to the partygoers, Rose laughing with some of the others while Ginny sat at a picnic table chatting flirtatiously with a particularly attractive blonde woman in white. Kara was attracting more than few glances from the men...some Bill's age, and some far younger than her's. She didn't pay them much mind. Just kept making sure everyone was happy and making drinks. The bartender in her hard at work.

Gerry smiled. To him, this was heaven.

A few of the younger men and women had begun dancing to the music before long. Gerry stood beside his father, sipping away at his bottle and rocking his daughter in his arm. Bill glanced to his son and noted Kara standing alone. He nudged Gerry with lightly with his elbow. "Hey, Kid."

Gerry glanced over with a smirk. "You better watch those elbows, old man."

"Oh-ho-ho, you may be a big boy, but don't think I can't still spank ya in front of all these people." He grinned. With a nod to Kara he continued. "You know, where I come from, you see a lady like that standing by herself at a dance, you do something about it."

Gerry glanced to the stunning brunette, her hair done in braided pigtails, a plaid shirt tied off at her chest over a tight, white tanktop. Tan, toned arms shown off in the firelight. A pair of khaki shorts clinging to soft, sunkissed thighs. She sipped at a margarita, a soft smile on her lips. Gerry glanced to his grinning father. "Would you mind-"

"Give 'er here." Bill interrupted with a laugh. "Ahhh, c'mere, princess. You wanna cook with Pop Pop?" He said in a sweet voice to the child.

Gerry smiled appreciatively at his father, starting away. Bill glanced back at him. "Have fun."

Kara was watching the fire, not taking note of the tall man who stepped up beside her. "Hey there, sticks. Come here often?" he asked in a flirtatious tone.

A little grin crossed her lips. "Nah. First time, tree trunks. How 'bout you."

"Mm. You know, my dad owns this place."

Kara feigned an impressed gasp. "You don't say' Well, you much be a big deal."

"Well, I don't like to brag."

She snorted. "Since when."

He gave her a nudge, smirking. "Don't break character."

"Oh! Right." She cleared her throat and sipped her margarita, eyes widening all sweet and innocent. "Well, golly gee, Mister. I hope you won't look too unkindly on po' widdle plain ol' me."

Gerry chuckled, his brow arched. "Get out here." he said, offering her a hand.

Kara downed the rest of her drink and quickly moved to join him. The music then faded into Haley Reinhart's cover of "Can't Help Falling In Love" Gerry looked to the radio a moment and then back to the beaming blue eyed goddess waiting for his lead. He took her right hand in his left and slipped his other around her waist. Together they swayed slowly to the rhythm of the song.

Wise men say Only fools rush in But I can't help falling in love with you

Kara stared up at him, those ice blue eyes peering into the very depths of him. Gerry thought back to everything that brought him here...what a winding, unsteady path it had been. "What are you thinking about?" She asked him.

He smiled down to her. "Just....everything. How crazy life works out sometimes."

Shall I stay" Would it be a sin If I can't help falling in love with you?

"Good crazy?" She said hopefully.

"The BEST crazy." He clarified with a grin.

Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be Take my hand, Take my whole life, too For I can't help falling in love with you

Her arms wrapped up around his neck, her cheek resting against his strong chest, clinging to him. Those smokey eyes sliding slowly shut as a content smile spread across her lips. Gerry leaned down and kissed the top of her head and looked over the crowd again. Ginny was dancing with the blonde stranger, couples taking over the dance floor. And then his parents. Bill had his granddaughter in one arm and his wife in the other. The pair of them beamed watching their children. Bill caught Gerry's gaze and smiled giving him a nod. Gerry canted his head in return.

Kara pulled back a bit, turning those eyes up at his, Gerry's attention entirely on her. Kara Aimsley. The girl he'd spent most of his childhood with. The girl who'd waited for him. Enough waiting.

Gerry leaned forward, taking her lips with his. An action she was all too eager to return. Her fingers moved up into the short hairs at the nape of his neck. Their lips parting just to reconnect and deepen the kiss.

Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be Take my hand, Take my whole life, too For I can't help falling in love with you

The pair of them clung to each other. their foreheads resting together. Life was about sacrifice. Gerry knew that. He'd given more than most. But nights like tonight, here with her in his arms, his family close by, he was reminded that sometimes life gives back.

For I can't help falling in love with you

Ginny cringed as the creaked open, despite her efforts otherwise. A cursory glance around showed nobody awake yet.

Thank god. She let out a sigh and waved on the woman behind her. Michelle had been her name. A sweet, drawling accented Texas girl with sun-bleached blonde hair, the deepest brown eyes, and sun-kissed skin.

"Coast is clear."

Michelle stepped out, looking for herself, just to be sure and snuck out onto the balcony overlooking the living room. Their night together had been amazing. Something Ginny desperately needed after a long, long dry spell. Those big blue eyes turned up to the blonde cowgirl in front of her. A smile crossed her lips as she took her hands. "Thank you for a great night."

Michelle shot her a sly little grin. "Mm...thank *you*. You've got my number right?"

A shade of red spread across Ginny's face and chest, her teeth biting lightly against her lip. She nodded.

"Good. You better call me." Michelle leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Ginny's lips, those big blues fluttering shut as she reciprocated. The pair of them stared at each other for a long moment before a giddy little chuckle left them.

"Come on." Ginny said. "I'll walk you out."

She took her new friend by the hand and started for the stairs. And that was when her heart just stopped. The door to Gerry's room opened suddenly, leaving Ginny freezing in place.

Her eyes wide as saucers, her lips parted slightly.

Gerry looked from her to the girl and back again.

Oh ****.

A little grin formed on his face. "Nice."

"Shut up." Ginny said, her face turning beet red.

That was when a pair of arms wrapped around Gerry's shoulders. "Ger, come back to bed-" a voice said.

Ginny knew that voice. She peered around her brother...to find Kara. And it became obvious that she was wearing nothing, hidden behind the mountain of a man that was her brother.

The quartet stared in wide-eyed awkwardness for a long moment before Gerry backed slowly into the room. The door began to shut before he turned and leaned out holding a fist out to Ginny.

The Redhead's eyes shut in embarrassment as she started to turn away. A moment's hesitation, she stopped and turned, tapping her fist to his.