A/N: I apologize for my absence. School has got me busy and I was sick last week. This story was originally supposed to be a multi-chapter story with a co-writer but I haven't received anything back and I want to go ahead and post this. So as of now this story is going to be a one-shot, but it is possible that it may change. Enjoy.
Brock Hart looked at his ex-wife with a shocked face. She had just said that since they were still a family she could tell him something, but she hadn't yet finished what she was going to say. There were things that he was hoping she would say even though his wife would be home at any minute with their son. He had something with Reba that he could never have with Barbra Jean. The last five years Brock had continued to go over to Reba's house and enjoy the friendship that they had, even though it was full with jokes at each other about different things that had been going on in their lives. Brock was still protective of Reba and he hated feeling as if she was angry at him. All the IRS problems had made things harder for both of them, but Brock would never forgive himself for hurting his ex-wife again.
Not only was he tired of hurting Reba but he was tired of hurting everyone. That's all he ever did was hurt the people that he cared about the most. When he and Reba split he hurt his children along with Reba. Five years later he was still hurting the same people and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. That's why he had decided to move to Las Vegas. Getting away from everyone that he loved in Houston would be protecting them and he could start over with Barbra Jean and Henry in Las Vegas and avoid hurting people.
Reba stared at her ex-husband not sure what to say. She could make a joke about the patch of white skin that he had on the back of his neck since he had just got done tanning, but her heart was wanting to say something else. She felt as if she was at war with herself; her heart saying to tell Brock how she felt and her mind saying make a joke so she could have a quick exit. "What do you mean?" Reba heard Brock ask as she blinked her eyes and swallowed hard.
Brock looked at Reba and could tell she was debating on saying what she really wanted to. That was one thing about their friendship, they were always good at telling what the other one was thinking. "Since we are still a family I am able to tell you how I really feel." Reba said as Brock looked at her, thinking she was going to either make a joke or she was going to say his decision to move to Las Vegas was stupid. That was something he had heard many different times today and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it again.
With a sigh Brock walked over to the couch and sat down. "Reba I've made my choice and you telling me that my choice is stupid is not going to change my mind. I'm sick and tired of making everyone's lives hard because I think that the choice I am making is what will make me happy. It's a repeated cycle and I'm sick of it."
Reba walked over to the couch infuriated by what Brock had said. He was not making any sense now. "So let me get this right? You want to fix things by making a decision that you think will make not only yourself happy but everyone around you when in reality it's just going to make everyone miserable?" Reba asked as she sat next to him and smacked him in the back of the head. "That makes no sense Brock!"
Brock glared at Reba. "It makes sense when you're not the one getting hurt!" Brock couldn't understand why Reba didn't get that he was trying to protect his family from him. However Reba couldn't understand why Brock didn't get that he was just making things worse by leaving them. That's all he ever did when things got tough. Instead of staying and trying to work on his problems with whoever he was having them with he would run to someone or somewhere that would get his mind off of it and make him happy. Reba wanted to make Brock realize that by his irrational decisions he was hurting that people that he cared about.
"I'm not the one getting hurt? Brock you're seeming to forget that I went through a separation, divorce, and your mistress getting pregnant. Not to mention that you all come to my house every day unannounced like you still live there!" Reba sighed and looked at her ex-husband. "You may not know it but you moving to Las Vegas will affect me, and more than you would think. More than it probably should."
Brock wondered what she meant when she said that it would hurt her more than it probably should. Reba looked over at Brock with pain in her eyes. He figured he was just hurting the kids at this point, and if he was hurting Reba then that was even more of a reason to leave. "Don't you understand Reba? I'm sick and tired of hurting the people that I love. Me moving away may not seem like a good idea right now but in the end I believe it will be for the best." Brock said as he looked away from his ex-wife. He was stupid to think that this move was just hurting their kids but the fact that he was still hurting Reba as too much to deal with.
Reba sighed as she realized that she hadn't gotten the chance to tell Brock what she originally wanted to. "Here's the thing, five years ago if someone would have asked if I'd be okay if you moved somewhere far away I would have said yes." Reba could see the immediate sadness on Brock's face when she said that. "That was five years ago Brock when we were going through the divorce. Now there's no way I'd be okay with you moving so far away. The kids still need you and as crazy as it sounds I need you too."
Brock looked at Reba and laughed. "Whatever Reba. You didn't need me when we were married and you don't need me now."
Typical Brock to not believe what she had said. "Believe it or not Brock I did need you back then and I still do now. Just because we got in a divorce does not mean that I stopped needing or loving you."
Brock looked over at Reba shocked at the last two words she had said. Was it possible that Reba still loved him? Of course she loved him as the father of their children and because they had such a lengthy history together. Could it be possible that she was still in love with him? "Reba I love you too."
Reba's heart sunk when she heard him say this. She knew she was still in love with him but she couldn't do anything to hurt Barbra Jean. After all for some strange reason Barbra Jean was her best friend. "Too? I didn't say I love you. Sure I do as the father of the kids but not like I used to."
Brock felt as if Reba was lying. He placed his hand gently and innocently on her leg and when he did this his suspicions were confirmed. If she wasn't in love with him then she would have got defensive when he touched her. Instead she sat still and her eyes had defeat in them. "Reba if you don't want me to leave them you need to be honest with me."
Reba looked at Brock and sighed. "If you move far away it's going to be like going through the divorce again. During our separation I still had hope that you would come back home. Even after I learned about the affair I still had hope, but when I heard she was pregnant I knew that too much damage had been done. I had to learn how to move on but that doesn't mean I stopped loving you. Deep down I want us to be able to work out one day but I will not be the reason that you and Barbra Jean get in a divorce."
With a look of shock on his face Brock kept eye contact with Reba. "Who said anything about divorce?"
Reba laughed a little when Brock asked this. "Oh come on Brock. You know as well as I do that if you're not happy you will do things to find happiness. Isn't that why we're here anyways? Besides it's not like you and Barbra Jean haven't discussed divorce before. Let's face it you two would go crazy without me because for some reason every time there is a problem between you two I am the first person you both come to! The bottom line is this; yes I'm still in love with you but we will never be able to have even a friendship if you move away." Reba sighed and got off of the couch. She had dealt with enough for the day. She didn't want to talk about his anymore. In the end Brock was going to do what he wanted to do and if that was tearing a family apart then that's what he would do.
Brock got up and followed Reba grabbing her wrist. "Reba." He said softly as Reba turned around and he could see the bottom of her eyes filled up with tears. "Don't leave. I don't want you to." Reba looked at her ex-husband and wished things had happened differently. She missed him more than she ever thought she would.
