Disclaimer: Based on characters created by Peter Berg, Jason Katims, etc. NBC Universal.

A/N: Just a little ficlet. I hope you enjoy :-)

The Letter

Tim never really allowed himself to stop and wonder what would happen if Tyra changed her mind. It just wasn't in the cards. He had known Tyra all his life and knew her as well as he knew anyone (except maybe Billy of course). They'd been keeping in touch over the days, weeks, months and miles that separated them; he'd driven out to UT to see her a few times; she'd been home a few times, and things were going great. The house was done, he'd moved in. Of course it wasn't finished; wasn't likely to ever really be finished. He'd had to cut corners in a few places due to finances, so he'd always be upgrading. He'd moved in and aside from it being pretty empty of furniture (he had a bed, a couch and a television); it was home. Tyra was due to come home in a few weeks for summer break, and he couldn't wait to surprise her. Mindy promised to take him shopping to some estate sales on Sunday to find some more furniture to fill the house. Billy better remember he'd volunteered to watch their brood.

It was Friday, 2:30 in the morning and he was glad to be home from work. Buddy's had been packed for a Thursday night, he'd made good tips. But when he checked the mailbox on the way into the new house, he got a fine surprise. Something he hadn't gotten from Tyra Collette, ever: a handwritten letter that came through the mail. He recognized her handwriting (she'd written more than a few papers for him when they were in school) and felt the goose bumps rise up on his arms. He hastily opened the letter as he walked up his gravel driveway, the full moon illuminating the page.

Dear Tim,

I've been thinking a lot about us and what a future together might mean. You're probably wondering why I'm writing this in a letter. To tell the truth, I don't know. But something hit me today while I was listening to my poly psyche lecture. The topic was about dreams, and the civic duty of elected officials to help people be able to pursue their dreams. And you know, it got me thinking. Got me thinking real hard about you, and me and our dreams. I started to wonder, you have dreams about starting a new life in Texas, in the new house you're building in Dillon. And I have dreams too. I have dreams about making something of myself by helping young girls overcome their troubled pasts. I want to make a difference in their futures, their lives, their dreams. And as much as I see that coming true, I don't see it happening in Dillon. I always knew I was going to leave Dillon, but you want to put roots in, and grow there. So I'm starting to wonder if our dreams are meant to come together after all.

This doesn't mean I don't love you. You know I do. But what I think it means is that maybe I love you enough to let you go, and find that happiness, in Dillon. I never want to hurt you and I'm not trying to hurt you now. I just want to throw this out there, and we can talk about it together in person when I see you in a few weeks.

Maybe I'm sending this in a letter because I'm too scared to tell you over the phone where I can't see your face, your eyes… I love you and want us to be together but maybe us isn't right after all. How can we chase our dreams if they're different? I don't want you to give up your dreams any more than you want me to give up mine. I don't know the right answer, but ever since this thought entered my mind I haven't been able to let it go. It's been eating me up inside and I had to tell you. Sorry I'm too much of a wimp to just tell you over the phone. Bet you never thought I'm really a big chicken deep down inside sometimes… but you know me better than anyone…so you probably already did.

Love, Tyra

Tim took a deep breath, and re-read the letter. And read it again. And then again. He resisted the urge to crumple it up and toss it into the trash, and instead he walked into the house and duct-taped it to the fridge.

He sighed. He never wanted to be in a position where he was holding her back from accomplishing her goals. He never wanted that. He thought back, to that night at Buddy's Roadhouse on the dance floor, where she'd said she had plans, and he'd responded "I don't"…and he'd meant it. But it was true. Just fifteen minutes ago, he was picturing the house, and all the improvements he'd make once he had some money saved up. And then there was the fencing to put up…shelters to build, a ranch didn't build itself! And he realized, with a start, that he'd started planning his future without even realizing it.

Maybe she was right, but damned if he didn't think so. He really thought that if loving Tyra and being with her meant making a few sacrifices here and there, he'd do it, he'd didn't need to give up himself. But relationships were about compromise… just look at Billy and how he'd had to compromise to raise him up right. That's what you do when you love someone. He slowly felt himself start to relax. "Texas Forever" didn't necessarily mean Dillon. And he knew Tyra had always wanted to get out of Dillon, leave it in the past like she wanted to forget it ever happened. Tim sighed deeply. The thing about that is, your past never leaves you. It's always there…and you have to deal with it sooner or later. His time in prison had taught him that.

His mind quickly jumped ahead, racing through all his options that would get him out to Austin to see her immediately. It was Friday, he had to work at Buddy's all weekend, just like usual. He might be able to get someone to cover his shifts, so that was option one. Waiting to see her two weeks from now, would probably drive them both crazy and any attempts to talk this out over the phone would probably be ineffective as like she said, with a topic this serious he wanted and needed to see her eyes.

He picked up his phone and started dialing…and six calls later he had gotten nowhere with finding someone to cover his shifts.

He looked back at the postmark on the letter. Monday. He swore. That meant she'd had three full days to think about all this. He was stunned. He thought back to their last conversation…it was on Monday! He'd called her around noon. His mind picked through their conversation. She was spending all her spare time studying, and she was pulling through a group project, preparing an hour-long presentation for another class… she had a lot going on, it was crunch time. Plus she had to pack up all her stuff for the move back to Dillon for the summer.

He had not thought it a big deal that he hadn't heard from her for a few days. It wasn't unusual…with his work hours at Buddy's mainly being weekends and evenings, and her time being consumed at basically the exact opposite times; they often went days without connecting. He quickly checked his phone. No texts, calls or emails.

Okay. So essentially they needed to talk. Now. He picked up the phone to call Buddy Garrity, which went nowhere. Buddy wouldn't let him back out of the shift and demand someone else to cover, and he said if Tim quit the job he'd come out to his place, new or not, and use it as target practice. And Tim knew Buddy wasn't bluffing.

So he did the only thing he could do. He wrote her a letter back and planned to send it via overnight mail.

Dear Tyra,

I'm hoping you're doing well with all that's going on at school. I got your letter and as much as I want to drop everything and drive out there, I can't. I can't find anyone to cover the weekend shifts and you know it's a fact that I need the money anyway.

So it's pretty obvious why I'm sending a letter. If I can't see you, be there next to you, then this will have to do until we can see each other again. I'm totally serious when I say that if you think we're giving up that easy, you couldn't be more wrong. I haven't wanted anything more than this in forever. I'm serious Tyra. You have no idea what coming back to Dillon and building this house has meant for me. It's given me hope. And the people here, you know they've all been so good to me. More than I deserve.

And the time we've spent together has been amazing. And that's why I know that you're absolutely right. But there's just one thing to clear up. You think my dream of "Texas Forever" means this house, this town. "Texas Forever" means one thing to me. It means you.

Tim

Tim never knew what might have happened if he'd just sent the letter overnight like he'd planned. Instead he hopped in his truck and drove all the way out to Austin, and got there just as the sun was coming up. He parked in the lot outside her dorm and napped in the cab until students started leaving to start their days. He waited until traffic picked up, and then slipped in un-noticed as someone was walking out. He two-timed it up the three flights of stairs to slide the envelope under her door.

A half hour later, he started to wonder if a nap might be a good idea, when his eyes were instinctually drawn to the door of the coffee shop, as she walked in. Tim froze. On the envelope, he'd told her to meet him here.

Her long blonde hair swung as her eyes sought his, clutched and held. She picked up her pace and he could barely get to his feet before she had flung her arms around him and he held on tightly as she wrapped herself up in him.

He brought his lips to hers carefully, but hungrily, and once there his mouth sought hers and he was lost as he always was with her. He slowly remembered they were in public and gently eased the kiss back to a gentle caress and drew away from her, to look into her eyes, at last, and smiled to see the panic gone.

"Tyra, I…" he started.

"No Tim, shhh… it's all right. I know. I know. I'm glad you came. The letter said everything." He breathed a sigh of relief. She turned after taking his hand in hers and pulled him out of the coffee shop, into the bright light of the early morning. "Come on, let's go back to my place and you can take a quick nap before you have to drive back to Dillon. I'll join you. I'm exhausted, no class till 1:00 today. Did you call the day bartender to see if he wanted a double shift?" Tim scratched his head. He hadn't, and damn if that wasn't a good idea. He made a quick phone call and sure enough, Danielle wasn't able to work the whole shift, but said she'd work late and give him until 10:00. It was better than nothing.

Once they got back to Tyra's, outside the door Tyra lifted her finger to her lips to let him know to be quiet, and they entered the small room. She quickly pulled her jammies back on-shorts and a tank top while he let his jeans hit the floor and quietly they both crawled up to her bunk. It was a tight fit so he wrapped his arms around her and felt his whole body relax as he held her in his arms. They may only have a few hours, but it was enough for now. They were together and that's all that mattered.