Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, don't sue me.

A/N: Purely an Ally/Larry fic, I don't write any other type of Ally McBeal fanfiction. It's set a year after Ally left Boston for New York. Hope you guys like it.

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Chapter 1

New York

"Maddie? Are you up there!?" Ally called halfway up the attic steps.

"Yeah!" She heard Maddie call back. Ally climbed up the rest of the way to the attic, looking around the small room she used mostly for storage. She found her daughter sitting amongst the boxes she had left packed when she had arrived in New York. They had been sitting here for almost a year now.

"What are you doing?" Ally asked, as Maddie ripped open another box.

"You told me to clean up, right? So I thought I'd start here." Maddie explained. "What is this?" She asked incredulously.

"What's what?" Ally asked, leaning over.

"This funny ball thing." Maddie said, handing Ally the small blue object. As Ally took the item, she sat down. She smiled slightly.

"It's not a ball, it's a nose." She said to her daughter. Seeing Maddie's confused look, she reached over and pressed the ball against her nose. "Wait. . ." Ally said, to prevent Maddie pulling it off.

She rummaged in the box and after a moment pulled out a small remote. Raising her eyebrows at Maddie, she pressed a button on the hand held device. The ball flashed a bright blue. Ally pressed it again, and it changed to bright red. With a popping sound, Maddie plucked the nose off her face.

"You're a nut." Maddie said.

"That's a good thing." Larry took Maddie's position, and Ally squealed.

"What?" Maddie asked, gazing intently at her mother.

"Aaa. . .iiii. . .nothing." Ally replied. Maddie shrugged, pocketed the nose to get it out of the way, and began to dig in the box once more, this time pulling out a small piece of card.

"I'll. . .be. . .back." She read off it. Ally's mouth fell open. She reached out and took the piece of card.

"I didn't know I had kept that." She said softly. Maddie frowned.

"What is it?" She asked.

"One of Larry's many notes." Ally explained, trying to shrug it off. She put the note back in the box, before closing it. "Come on, let's go back downstairs."

"What. . .Ally, I've just started." Maddie said as Ally helped her up.

"Well you can finish later." Ally said.

"But I--" Maddie started.

"We can go shopping." Ally interrupted. Maddie paused for a moment.

"This can wait." She said quickly, hurrying down the steps. Ally took one last look at the box, before following her daughter down to the kitchen.

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Detroit - Hours before

"Dad! Hurry up!" Sam called.

"I'm hurrying, Buddy!" Larry called back, zipping up his suitcase. Sam came sprinting into the room.

"The taxi is going to be here in a few minutes." Sam said.

"Okay, okay." Larry said. "Get my wallet from that drawer, and let's get out of here." Larry said.

"Yes!" Sam shouted, running the bedside table. "New York, here we come!" He opened the drawer and pulled out his fathers wallet. Before closing the drawer, however, his eyes fell on something lying at the back of it. He pulled out the small box and opened it to reveal a beautiful engagement ring. "Dad, what's this?"

Larry looked around from where he was seated, typing up his shoelaces. His eyes fell on the ring and he hesitated before standing and sitting next to his son. He took the box as Sam offered it, and held it before him. "It's just a ring, Buddy. Just a ring." He muttered, closing the box. He thought about replacing it in the drawer, but now that he was holding it, he thought against it. Pocketing it, he stood up. "Come on, let's call your mum so you can say goodbye."

"She's going to see me in like four days!" Sam exclaimed.

"And she's still going to miss you." Larry said, ruffling is son's hair. "It's not often you go on a holiday without her."

"Oh, okay." Sam said, heading towards the study where the phone was kept.

Larry watched is son leave and fingered the box in his pocket gingerly. Two years since he had left Boston. Since he had left her. Ally McBeal, the love of his life. He sighed. There was no point in thinking about it now, they had a plane to catch. He picked up his suitcase and followed his son out of the room.

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You know what I love about ff.net? It allows you to update progressively . . .as well as receive feedback as you go. But this particular Ally McBeal fan fiction site is majorly lacking reviewers, so it's really hard to know if anyone is reading. So . . .please, if you read it and you enjoyed it, review it, just to let me know you're there. If you read it and you hated it, review and tell me why - flames are always welcome.