Lost Without You
A Will & Karen Fic
Will sat on his bed, staring at a picture of his one true love. He was feeling so many things at the moment: elation, worry, confusion. He was thrilled to have finally found the love of his life. He was worried because he hadn't heard from his love since their one beautiful night together three days ago. And he was confused because the love of his life was not a man. And what's more, it was someone he had known for years, someone he had been quite sure was no more than a friend.
That all changed one night, seemingly in the blink of an eye. He had gone to Karen's manse to have her sign some papers for Walker, Inc. She had been spending a quiet evening at home and invited him into the library to join her for a drink. He was struck with how beautiful everything about her was. She didn't look any different than the countless other times he'd seen her, but it was as if he was looking through different eyes. The way her hazel eyes sparkled, although that could have been from the alcohol. The way her ebony hair swung at her shoulders – she had let it down tonight, and Will found himself longing to run his fingers through those silky tresses. The way she signed her name with a little flourish.
As she handed him back his pen, he held onto her hand. She looked up at him, her eyes questioning. He continued to hold her hand as he brought his other one up to touch her cheek. He smiled when she leaned into his hand, bringing her own up to cover it.
Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he leaned in to plant a sweet kiss on her lips. He took a step back to see her eyes filled with tears. He started to panic, but then she smiled. She smiled the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. She took his hand then, and led him upstairs to her bedroom and the greatest night of his life.
He'd hated to leave her in the morning, but he'd had to go to work. She'd looked so incredibly peaceful, like an angel, so he didn't wake her. He had left a note asking her to call him and placed a kiss to her temple. As he'd descended the stairs, he spotted Rosario at the bottom, watching him.
She knew. She must have. She just smiled, though, and handed him his briefcase. "I took the liberty of putting the papers you had Miss Karen sign in your briefcase. Have a good day, Mr. Will."
"Thank you, Rosario." He headed for the door, then stopped short, thinking he could give Rosie another message for Karen. When he turned, though, she was gone.
He'd rushed off to work, where he spent every spare minute desperately willing the phone to ring. It hadn't, though, and it hadn't for the last three days. He'd been too scared to call her himself. What if she thought it was a mistake? He didn't think he could handle that.
He sighed, placing the picture in the drawer of his nightstand. He hadn't told Grace. He didn't know how to. Besides, if Karen didn't want anything to do with him there would be nothing to tell.
He left his room and walked toward the kitchen. There was a knock on the door. He bolted towards it, praying he knew who was on the other side. "Karen?" he asked as he flung open the door. His heart sank at the sight of the delivery man. "Yes?"
"Will Truman?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Sign here, please. Registered mail," the man said, handing Will a clipboard.
What in the world could this be? Will wondered as he signed. As the man handed him the envelope, Will got a big whiff of Karen's perfume. "Thanks!" he said as he slammed the door in the face of the poor delivery man, who would just have to deal with not getting a tip.
Will ran to the couch and tore open the envelope. Inside, he found a single piece of Karen's personal stationary. Written on it, in Karen's pretty handwriting, was:
Will,
Be outside at 9 o'clock. Driver will be waiting. Listen carefully!!!
Karen
A million things ran though Will's mind, but the thing that came flooding to the foreground was "She wants to see me!"
Will looked at his watch. 5:00 pm. "Ok, calm down, Will. Plenty of time." Taking a deep breath, Will headed to the kitchen to make himself a light dinner, not knowing what Karen had planned.
By the time 9 o'clock rolled around, Will was a big bundle of nerves. He'd changed his clothes five times before finally deciding on gray pants and a black sweater that would be perfect for any occasion. As he stepped out of the building he spotted Karen's limo. Driver appeared and opened the door for him.
"Thank you, Driver. So, where are we going, anyway?"
"Sorry, sir. I'm under strict orders not to tell you," Driver said as he closed the door.
Fifteen minutes later, Will was walking into a bar he'd never seen before. Class-wise, he figured it was somewhere between his status and Karen's; nice, but not stuffy.
He noticed a band setting up onstage and sat down at the bar facing away from them. The bartender strolled up to him.
"What'll it be, sir?"
He thought of Karen. "I'll have a Sapphire."
When the bartender brought his martini, Will asked "You haven't seen a gorgeous dark-haired woman in here, have you? Very classy, hazel eyes…"
His question was drowned out by applause from behind him. The bartender leaned in to Will's ear. "Listen carefully." He pointed to the stage.
Will turned as the music started and was shocked to see Karen standing at the microphone. She looked stunning as ever in a glittering low-cut, floor-length gown. She caught his eyes as she started to sing.
Is it obvious to you
When you walk into a room
Your face is all I see
And my heart races so fast
I never knew a rush to feel like that
Every time you're touching me
I never did believe in anything
I couldn't hold between my fingers
But the way you make me feel
It's just so real the way it lingers
I get lost inside your stare
Lost when you're not there
And everything I have doesn't mean a thing
If it's without you
If it's a dream, don't wake me up
I'll scream if this isn't love
If being lost means never knowing
How it feels without you
I wanna stay lost forever
I wanna stay lost forever with you
Will stared at Karen though the tears in his eyes. He hadn't even known Karen could sing, and she had the most amazing, powerful voice. He let her words reach straight to his heart, never breaking eye contact through her perfect song.
No, this feeling doesn't end
It's with me everywhere I am
Hope it never goes away
It's like defying gravity
Losing all control and being free
And I always wanna stay
I never thought that I'd let go
Long enough to fall for someone deeply
Who had the power to erase my fears
And find me so completely
I get lost inside your stare
Lost when you're not there
When everything I have doesn't mean a thing
If it's without you
If it's a dream, don't wake me up
I'll scream if this isn't love
If being lost means never knowing
How it feels without you
I wanna stay lost
Don't tell me where we're going
I don't wanna know
I like the mystery
I can't believe we've come this far
So far away from where we started off
You found me when I wasn't looking
You found me
All eyes followed Karen as she took the microphone from its stand and stepped from the stage. Still not breaking eye contact, she walked to will and took his hand with her free one. Karen sang with all her heart and soul to her true love. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as she entered the final chorus.
And now I'm lost inside your stare
Lost when you're not there
And everything I have doesn't mean a thing
If it's without you, without you
If it's a dream, don't wake me up
I'll scream if this isn't love
If being lost means never knowing
How it feels without you
Yeah, if being lost means never knowing
How it feels without you
Oh, if being lost means that I'm never
Gonna be without you
I wanna stay lost forever
I wanna stay lost forever with you
The room erupted in thunderous applause accompanied by a standing ovation as Karen kissed Will with all the power she'd just put into her song.
When they broke apart they both had tears streaming down their faces. Karen wiped Will's away as she said, "I've been in love with you for a long time, Will. I'd given up any hope of us being together, but the feelings never stopped. You made me the happiest woman on Earth a few days ago. I meant everything I just sang. The next move is up to you."
The rest of the crowd waited in total silence, hoping Will had the right answer.
Will couldn't speak. He was too overcome with emotion. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He pulled Karen in for another kiss as the room broke out in applause again.
Later that night, Will had Karen in his arms as they lay in her bed. He ran his fingers through her hair as her head rested on his chest.
"I was so scared, Karen. When you didn't call I thought you'd decided it was all a mistake."
She sat up to look at him. "Oh, honey. I worried about the same thing. I wanted to give you time to think. So, when I came up with this, I figured I'd get my answer if you showed up."
"Speaking of which, that song, Karen. It was perfect. It was us to a "T," and you're the most incredible singer"
Karen blushed. "Aw, honey. You don't have to flatter me. You already got me into bed."
He laughed. "No, I'm serious! Why didn't you ever tell us you could sing like that?"
"Oh, I don't know, honey. I was embarrassed, I guess. I was too shy to tell you."
"You were too shy?"
"Yes, I was too shy, hard as that is to believe. But, this was the best way I knew how to tell you how I felt."
"Well, you were flawless, and I loved it. And I love you." He took her hand and kissed her palm.
"Really, honey? You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it. It took me a long time to come around to it, but I truly love you with all my heart."
"Oh, honey." She kissed him again, laying down and pulling him on top of her.
One Year Later
Karen sat on the sofa in the library watching Will study some case files. She loved the way his brows knit together when he concentrated. She looked back down at the book she was holding. Crossing off another selection, the diamond on her left hand caught the firelight. She glanced over at Will's matching platinum band, then held hers up to admire it again.
"You do love your sparkles, don't you Mrs. Truman?" Will came over to sit next to her.
"Well, what fun's the world without a little sparkle?"
"Still haven't decided?" he asked, nodding to the book she held.
"No, but I've narrowed it down considerably." She placed her hand on her swollen belly. "I'm afraid I won't have one picked out by the time she gets here, Will."
Will's hand covered hers. "Don't worry. We still have two more months to decide. Are there any more to add to the 'maybe' list?" He picked up the notebook from the coffee table.
"Yeah. How about Madison?"
"After your favorite Avenue?"
"Of course." She winked at him.
"Madison Truman. You know, I think that could be the one. What about a middle name?"
"Taylor. Madison Taylor Truman. Oh!" She placed a hand on her belly again.
"What? What is it? Are you ok?"
"Take it easy, Daddy. She kicked. I think she likes it. What do you say, baby? Is that your name? Madison?"
Will's hand joined Karen's hand just in time to be rewarded with a hearty kick. "That's the name, then. We've got it, Mommy." He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss.
"Mommy," Karen said dreamily. "I never thought it would happen, Will. Stan and I tried for years. I guess it just wasn't meant to be with him. I so glad you found me, honey."
"And now you're lost?" he said with a wink.
She laughed, thinking of the song she'd sang to Will. "Yeah, honey. I'm lost without you."
"Lost" was written by Kara DioGuardi and Mitch Allan