When Katharine Tripp opened her eyes, she saw something she never would have guessed she would be seeing at 10am the morning after her first heavy episode of Studio 60. She saw skin. And not her own. Her eyes traveled across the bare surface of her companion's chest. It's a nice chest, she thought to herself. She considered running her hands over the slightly rough skin but denied herself the pleasure. Instead, she moved a hand over her own body enough to discover she was, in fact, naked. A little shift and she discovered he was too.

She swallowed thickly before lifting her head and looking towards the face of the man she was in bed with. She took in his strong jaw and the dark brown of his hair. Then he shifted and let out a little moan allowing her to see his face.

She hadn't screamed so loudly or removed herself from anywhere so quickly in all her life.

Ben Albie opened his eyes at the sound of a screaming woman. The only thought that would come to his alcohol –soaked mind was that can't be a good sign. He shifted his head – which hurt more than it helped – and let his eyes focus on Kate Tripp, the newest member of the Studio 60 cast, and the blanket she was clutching to her body.

He took in the sight of her and couldn't help but think she was beautiful. She had brown hair like her mother, but it was to her shoulders and kept curly. Her eyes were the same brown of her father's. She looked scared but there was something else.

And then he saw the hickies.

And then the scratch marks.

And then the bite marks.

And then he realized that his dream from last night was actually a reality. He had slept with Kate Tripp.

He winced slightly before shutting his eyes. Danny was going to kill him. For real.

Unfortunately for him, his mind wasn't working correctly. His eyes connected with hers and he felt his own, as well as saw hers, darken with desire and lust. He slowly reached a hand out to her and smiled as she took a step closer to him.

When she reached him, he tugged enough to pull her down onto his couch once more, her on top of him, blanket on top of them both, and kissed her for all he had. He smiled at her little moan as his hands began rediscovering the territory he mapped out the night before.

---

"Where in the hell is she, Jordan?" Danny Tripp asked his wife. "She was supposed to come by this morning for breakfast to celebrate her first big show."

Danny was pacing around the living room of the house. Jordan and their oldest daughter Rebecca were sitting on one of the sofas completely calm. Jordan smirked at her eldest daughter and then turned to her husband.

"Honey, sit down."

"She's late," Danny muttered. "Maybe I should call over and see if she went to the studio. Matt should be there …"

"Daddy," Rebecca sighed, "the party ran long last night. She probably just slept through the alarm."

"Party?" he asked with a look that Jordan couldn't help but grin at. "The after party? She went to that?"

"Well, Danny, she is a member of the cast now. Remember? Cal and Matt decided to hire her?"

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed.

"And last night was the first time she was a feature actress and not a chorus member," Rebecca said.

"It's not Broadway, Becky," he smirked.

"Evan's coming over for dinner tonight," she rejoined.

"Over my dead body. You're not dating him, Beck."

"I don't see what's wrong with him," she replied. "He's a nice guy and a professional baseball player."

"Yeah, ask Harriet how that worked out for her," he replied again.

The phone rang and Danny lunged for it before Jordan could even make an attempt. Kate wasn't the reckless one and he knew she would be calling as soon as she realized that she was late. He vaguely wondered if this was her making up for her calm teenage years. "Katie?" he asked as soon as the receiver got to his ear.

"No," came a slightly forced chuckle from the other end. "But I take it your frantic question means that she didn't show up for breakfast this morning."

"Hey, Matt. No. No she didn't. And I'm scared out of my mind. Is she at the studio?"

"I don't know. We were all going out with Ben and Noah this morning. My youngest needs to go engagement ring shopping. He's asking Cara some time soon."

"Congratulations, buddy," Danny said with a laugh and a genuine smile.

"Thanks. Any lucky getting Becca to not see that idiot from the Angels?"

Danny sighed and looked over at Rebecca, who was talking to Jordan about where Kate could be. He was certain by the looks on his girls' faces that he did not want to know what they were thinking. "No. He's coming for dinner tonight apparently."

"Rotten luck, man. I'm sure he won't be as bad as Darren though."

"I'm thinking he's more of a Luke myself."

"I can have him killed for you."

"Tempting, Matty, but I can't. I'll keep it in my mind though. So," he said with a heavy exhale, "what's up?"

"Ben didn't show up this morning either," Matt replied. "We can't get him on his cell so he either has no service …"

"Or he's with someone," Danny smiled. "And I would think he would be at the studio. And since it's after 10, I think Cal and at least Tom will be there."

"Send Tom downstairs to embarrass him?"

"Better. Meet me there in ten. That's our job," Danny smiled. He hung up the phone and turned back to Jordan and Rebecca. "I need to head to Studio 60 for a bit. We think Ben's got a girl down in his dressing room."

"Danny," Jordan warned.

He smiled before giving her a kiss. "I don't have a son of my own so I'm going to have to torture Matty's every once in a while. Call me if she shows up or calls."

"We will," Rebecca called as her father walked out the door. "Think we should tell him who we think is in Ben's dressing room with him?"

Jordan stared at her first born for a second before smiling. "Nah. Let him find out for himself."

Rebecca smiled and grabbed a magazine from the table while Jordan opened a ratings report for the previous week.

---

"Wow," Ben panted out.

"Stop saying that," Katie replied.

"I mean, that was good."

"I know. I was there. It was good all three times."

Ben smiled into the back of her neck. They were laying on the couch in his dressing room, him spooned behind her, facing the door. It was still early, so they both assumed they would be alone.

You know what they say about assuming …

"Benny Boy!" Danny shouted jovially as he pushed open the door to Ben's dressing room.

"Danny!" and "Dad!" were screamed simultaneously as both tried to cover themselves with the small blanket.

"What're you doing here?" Ben asked.

"I really don't think you're in the position to be asking questions. Do you?"

Matt walked into the room a moment later with a smile, not even remotely aware of what was going on. "Hey, Ben! You didn't … oh shit."

"Yeah," Ben said, squirming slightly at the intense glare coming from Danny.

"Get dressed, Kate," Danny said.

"I don't think …" she began.

"I am your father and I said get dressed!"

"I'm 23 years old," she replied.

"Yeah. I'll hear your argument later. Get up and get dressed. Quickly. Go change in your own dressing room. I want to have a conversation with my friend Ben here."

"What the hell is going on down here?" Cal Shanley asked as he walked into the room. "I could hear you guys on the other side of the build …. ing," he added as he took in the sight before him. Really, it was quite funny.

Ben Albie and Kate Tripp were, what he could only assume to be naked, under a small blanket on the couch in Ben's dressing room. Danny was staring daggers at his best friend's oldest son and Kate was shooting the same look back at her father. Matt was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone, lest he burst out laughing. Cal saw where this could be a slight issue.

"Hey, Kate, Ben. Good show last night," he said.

"Thanks, Cal," Kate smiled.

"Hey. I heard a commotion. I like commotions. When I'm not a part of them …" Tom Jeter said as he walked into the room. "And since I am in no way … Shit!"

"Tom …" Ben said.

"I didn't think you would actually do it!" Tom yelled. "Are you an idiot?!"

"You said I should tell her how I feel!" Ben yelled as he reached down, pulled his boxers on under the blanket, and stood. "You told me to just do it! I did it!"

"I meant do it in the way of telling her how you feel you idiot! I didn't mean throw her down on that ratty old couch and have your way with her!"

Danny spun so fast Cal thought he would fall over.

"Oh shit," Tom muttered.

"So let me get this straight …"

"Danny …"

"No. Let me get this straight. Last night you and your little protégée got drunk and you told him to sleep with my baby girl?"

"Daddy …"

"I didn't sleep with her because I was drunk, Danny," Ben said hotly.

"I think it would be wise if you shut up right about now," Danny replied.

"Daddy …"

"Stay out of this, Katharine."

"Excuse me?" she asked, rising from the couch with the blanket secured around her. "Why should I stay out of it?"

Danny knew that tone of voice and it gave him pause. She was sounding more and more like her mother each day. His eyebrows shot up and he swallowed. "Uhm …"

"You know your voice got kinda squeaky there …" Cal interjected.

"Shut up."

"Okay."

"I can't believe you, Dad. You were all for Ben getting a girl – don't think I don't know about that – and you were happy for him until you walked in and saw it was me." She shook her head. "I'm not Becca. I don't date on a whim. To tell you the truth, Ben's been after me for a while and I've been trying to turn him down because of what you'd say."

"What … changed?" Danny asked his daughter.

"I don't care anymore. Like it, don't like it, but Ben and I are together now."

"Yeah?" Ben asked with a little smile.

"Yeah," she confirmed with a smile of her own.

"Well, I think I might have to kiss you now."

"I think you might be in trouble if you don't …"

"Shut up, Cal," Danny, Matt and Tom all said.

"I don't need to see this," Danny muttered. "Come home when you're done. We have to go to lunch now, but, you know, come home for lunch," he told Kate before taking a deep breath and walking into the hall.

"Yeah, Ben, we need to go shopping with Noah later so, you know, wrap it up and head on back to the house when you're, you know …" Matt said as he waved his hand around. He nodded to Tom and Cal, who both beat feet out of the room. He sighed once more and looked at his son and his best friend's youngest daughter. "He'll come around."

Ben and Kate nodded slightly and turned their attention back to each other as Matt walked out of his son's dressing room and into the hall, closing the door behind him. He sighed slightly as he saw Danny leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.

"You okay?" he asked.

"She … doesn't care what I think anymore," Danny said after a minute.

"About who she dates, Danny. C'mon, brother. Ben's not all that bad …" Matt smiled.

Danny exhaled and squinted his eyes for a moment, seemingly staring into the distance. He then turned back to his best friend and nodded. "I know. If I could have picked anyone …"

"You mean if you had to pick someone …" Matt smiled.

"You have boys, Matt. It's different when you have girls. Katie's always been a Daddy's girl. Jordan had Becca … she wasn't mine by, you know … and we never hid it from her. I don't think she ever went out of her way to make me feel like I wasn't her real father but … I don't know. That doesn't matter." Danny paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. "What does matter," he continued, "is that Kate is mine. I helped, I don't know, make her. She's the only thing I've ever done right from the beginning. And now she doesn't need me anymore."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, Matt thought, is our problem.

"Of course she needs you, Danny. She's your daughter. You just … can't tell her who to date. You could when she was in high school, but it's been a while since then. I mean, I couldn't be happier about her and Ben. I think they'd be good together."

"They wouldn't be anything like you and Harry. Or me and Jordan. And we're all happy. What if …"

"Oh no you don't. Don't you start with what ifs … let them be. I mean, what if this is their forever?"

"Can you meet your forever at 23?" Danny asked.

"I did at 26," Matt replied.

"And then it took, what, nine years to get it right?" Danny asked with a smile.

"The important thing was we got it right in the end."

"Yeah," Danny smiled as he looked back at the door. "You did."

"And we both know that they'll fight and break up a hundred times. But you saw their faces, Danny. I don't think either of them knew about it until the moment they let themselves."

"Yeah," Danny smiled as he let his best friend sling an arm over his shoulder and guide him down the hall. "Now we have to go home and endure the squealing of our women …"

"It's happy squealing, so I'll take it."

"Me too," Danny replied with a smile.

"Oh, and Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Ben's 26."

"Right."

There was a significant pause before Matt added, "Harriet was 23."