Before he lost his nerve, Jamie put his finger on the button to buzz Eddie's apartment. Just as he was about to push it, he felt someone's presence coming up from behind him along with the wafting smell of a freshly baked pizza.

"Jamie…uh…hi…" Barry said with a surprised look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

Jamie inwardly groaned. Not again. This guy was everywhere, seemingly stuck to Eddie's side like a tick. Something within Jamie snapped and he went into full-on territorial mode. Eddie was his girl, his future, not Barry's. She just didn't know it yet because he had been such a coward in telling her how he really felt about her. Which was why he was here to talk to her.

"I wanted to check up on Eddie, make sure she's feeling okay," he half lied. Of course he wanted to do that, but he also wanted to lay out everything he had been thinking about these last few days since she had been shot. Eddie was pushing him away, and he wanted to get to the bottom of why. And he just couldn't hold in his fear any longer; the fear of losing her. Losing her not only to a possibly fatal gunshot wound if not for her vest, but to some other guy. Like this guy standing in front of him, who got to drive her home from the hospital and take care of her after she was injured, when that was supposed to be his job.

"Oh. Well, I can assure you, she's fine. We have plans for tonight," Barry's usual over-done smile was replaced this time by a smart-ass smirk. Barry was no dummy, he knew that Eddie had feelings for Jamie, and the way Jamie was staring him down now made it obvious that those feelings were reciprocated, although Barry didn't understand why they were not acted on.

Jamie noticed that not only was Barry carrying a pizza from one of Eddie's favorite pizzerias, he was also carrying an overnight bag. "Uh huh. So I see," Jamie replied, his eyes boring into Barry's, ready for a fight.

The two men stared each other down. The thought of this guy sleeping with Eddie was killing Jamie. He narrowed his eyes in disgust. "And just what are your intentions toward Eddie? You ghost her and now all of the sudden you want her? What's your game?"

"What are you, her dad on prom night?" Barry bit back with a laugh. "I don't have to answer to you."

Barry reached for the buzzer but Jamie quickly shoved his arm away. "You DO have to answer to me. Because I'm ALWAYS going to watch out for her and have her back."

"Oh, you mean just like you did when she got shot? You don't HAVE anything," Barry challenged.

Jamie's fist twitched. That was enough right there for Jamie to throw a punch, but somehow he restrained himself, thinking back to a past wedding reception gone wrong when he had the same exact punching instinct.

"You're wrong and you know it," Jamie confronted. "You know how she and I feel about each other, don't you? It's why you stopped seeing her to begin with. Because we have such a strong bond that you couldn't even break through. But now you're back like an annoying house fly. So WHAT'S YOUR GAME?" he spat.

Barry didn't miss a beat. "Oh, I got game. Something you've clearly never had with her or you two would be together. Her getting shot- she's vulnerable right now, so she's easy. Plus she's got a hot ass."

Jamie couldn't resist any longer and cocked his arm, ready to wail on him with a right hook. But a small, hurt voice coming from the sideline stopped him from swinging.

"Barry?"

"Eddie!" Barry nervously said. "Hey! What are you doing out here, baby?" he asked as he walked towards her. "It's cold out, you shouldn't be out here without a coat on," he finished, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Go inside, I brought us pizza, I'll be up in a minute. Jamie and I were just getting to know each other better."

She pushed him away. "Please leave," she said coolly.

"What? Eddie…oh come on! You didn't hear any of that, did you? I didn't mean…."

"LEAVE!" she yelled.

He backed off and stared suspiciously at Jamie, then at Eddie. "Yeah. Right. Okay. You know what? You're not even worth it."

Eddie watched him as he walked away. When he was out of sight, she turned and started walking back to her building.

"Eddie?" Jamie asked as he ran after her. "Wait! I need to talk to you!" He grabbed her gently by the arm but she brushed him aside.

"Not now, Jamie. I…I can't do this right now."

"Eddie…please? There's so much I need to say that I should have said a long time ago."

She turned to look at him, not even hearing what he just said, her tears threatening to fall. "What is it with me?" she asked him furiously. "Exactly what is it that's wrong with me? Why doesn't anyone want ME just for ME? I guess he's right- I'm not worth it. Why is it that the guy I want and love the most values our partnership more than me and doesn't want ME? So I'm forced to move on with trying to find some other soulmate but they only end up using and abusing me for ONE THING. I'm done, Jamie," she cried, angrily wiping her tears off her face. "I'm tired and I'm DONE. I need to be alone. Please leave me alone." Her back now to him, she started to run up the steps.

"I love you!" he blurted out loudly and with reckless abandon, causing her to stop in her tracks and slowly turn around.

"I love you," he said quieter but more firm, showing his seriousness by the way he stared deeply into her teary eyes.

She was frozen in place, looking lost and not quite sure she could believe him, so he continued to walk toward her to close the gap, all the while repeating the phrase that she had so longed to hear from him. "I love you."

He reached out and brushed her tears away with his thumb and held her face in his hands. "I love you," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers and wrapping his arms around her. "Please tell me I'm not too late in telling you," he begged. "I can't lose you."

As he held her tight, a calmness overcame her. In his arms she felt like she was finally home. Everything was about to change as she allowed the white flag of surrender to fly. "You're not too late," she whispered in his ear.