Tiffany and Sean enter Gail's office together, holding hands.
"Good to see you both, come on in and sit down," Gail said pleasantly. They sit next to each other on the couch.
"I'm glad we're able to meet like this, you've both been through so much," Gail continued.
"I'm sorry it took so long," Sean said.
"No need to apologize at all," Gail said. "I thought it would be good if we had a session together. Tiffany's been working so hard, but I think sometimes I think it's tough for her to say what she needs to. She's very open in here and I know she wants to be that way with you."
"We have been working on it," Tiff added. "It's been tough lately, we had someone who's been going through some difficulty staying with us."
"It must be difficult with someone else in the mix," Gail said.
"Sometimes it's just easier to deal with someone else's problems than your own, you know?"
"You said you've been working on it, in what way?" Gail queried.
"We talk. Sometimes it seems like all we do is talk," Tiff said. "But Sean's very understanding. I wonder if I would be so understanding if it was me."
"I know you would," Sean said.
"What's it like when you do have those moments, Tiff?" Gail asked.
"It's comfortable," she said. "I look in his eyes and I see the man I've always loved. And we have this connection and it's still there."
"And what does that feel like?"
"It feels like us, the way we always were. Kind of flirty, kind of deep.
"Then what?"
"I don't know ... it gets so intense and I think if we could just run to the bedroom at that moment, everything would be fine. I wouldn't be so scared of letting my guard down completely. But then one thing or another happens and we don't. And then the moment's kind of gone."
"Do you think you feel that way because you know you won't have to be intimate at that moment?"
Tiffany considers that for a second. "I don't know."
"Sean, you probably know which moments between you that she's referring to..." Gail said.
"Yes, I do," Sean said, thinking of when they kissed passionately before Felicia was about to meet Ryan and again when they were going to have breakfast at Kelly's.
"And what were you feeling yourself during them?"
"I was feeling the same thing I always feel. I love this woman and I will do whatever I need to do to get her back."
"Do you feel like you're getting closer?"
"Yes, I do," he said. He pauses as the kiss crosses his mind again. Gail notices. "What were you recalling just then?"
Sean's eyes look over Tiffany's. She nods for him to continue. He shifts uncomfortably. "I was thinking about a kiss."
Gail half-smiles. "I know it probably isn't the easiest thing in the world for you to discuss these kind of things, Sean."
"It's OK ... it's OK," he said, meaning it. He takes a deep breath, then continues. "When she kissed me, I couldn't believe it. I wasn't sure she'd ever kiss me like that again."
Tiffany's playing with her earring. She bites her fingernail.
"Something about that is bothering you, Tiff. What is it?" Gail asked.
"Not about the kiss. Never about the kiss," Tiffany replied. "It's just amazing how quickly things change."
"In what way?"
"The minute we're not together, I just get... overwhelmed with my own thoughts. I'd just kind of like to flip the switch, shut them off. Say 'go away, everything's fine'."
"What kind of thoughts?"
Tiffany rubs her temples. She doesn't want to say.
"Remember you can say anything in here, Tiff," Gail said.
"I know that. I don't want Sean to take it the wrong way."
"What don't you want him to take wrong?"
"Sometimes I want him to feel the pain for five minutes. Just to know what it's like," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't really mean it and I always regret it, but when he says things to me like 'You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen', he doesn't know how it can send my mind reeling. And that's when I want him to know what it's like."
"What does he need to know?" Gail asked.
"What it's like for me to wonder if he ever said the same things to her," Tiffany said.
The color leaves Sean's cheeks.
"I want him to feel that pain," Tiffany continued. "To think about what it would be like to think about me with another man. Him touching me, things I would say to him. Noises we both would make," she said, not being able to stop now that she started to get it all off her chest. "Except even then, it could never be as shocking. See, I thought I was the only person in the world for him and vice versa. But we separated ... and in no time flat, he had a replacement. Like a spare tire in the trunk or something. If it all went off the rails again tomorrow, I sort of wonder how long it would be before he had someone else."
She finally stops, tears streaming down her cheeks but feeling better about actually saying it.
"I wouldn't," Sean said. "I couldn't."
"From the moment I saw you, there was no one else for me," Tiffany said. "I thought it was the same for you.
"It was the same. It is the same," he said.
"If it was exactly the same, we wouldn't be discussing this," she said. "It wouldn't be an issue because you wouldn't have slept with someone else."
"Sean," Gail said. "Go ahead, say what you're thinking."
"It wasn't like that," he finally said. "This isn't the easiest thing to talk about, but it might help," Gail responded.
Sean nods, knowing what he has to say has to be better than anything Tiffany is thinking. "I wasn't looking for someone to take your place. No one could ever do that for me."
"If that's the case, how could it happen?" Tiffany snapped before she could stop herself.
"You don't know how I wish I could go take it all back. I was just so sure I couldn't get you back," he said mournfully.
"You were reeling," Gail said.
"I was," he replied. " It sounds like an excuse, I know it does. I didn't want a relationship. I didn't even like it." "Sure, no-strings sex. Men hate that," Tiff said, rolling her eyes.
"Tiffany," Gail said. "You're not listening to what he's saying. You're hearing it, but you need to listen."
"Oh, I need to do something, I'm the one who has to do something," Tiffany responded sharply. "I'm not the one who cheated."
"That's not what I'm saying. I know it's difficult for you to hear, but I think ultimately it will help," Gail answered.
"I know, sorry," she said, regaining some composure. "I'll admit it's hard hearing about it. I know he regrets it, but I'm still the one who has to say 'OK, he broke his vows but I don't want it to be over.' It's hard to know you're the weak one."
"You're not the weak one," Sean said. "I'm the weak one. If I had to go through what I'm putting you through, I'm not sure I could."
"You know what's so tough? It didn't just happen once," Tiffany said.
"Well Tiff, you didn't just have one drink," Gail said as gently as she could. "And he didn't stand by me the way I stood by him for years," Tiffany answered reflexively. "I always supported him. Whenever there was an issue, it didn't matter if it was big or small, I was there backing him up. And it wasn't the same when I needed him after my sister died. He left me. I know I pushed him away, but he shouldn't have let me."
A clearly upset Sean gets up and goes to the window. He's got tears stinging his own eyes. "You can't go back," Gail said. "Neither of you can go back and change anything. All you can do is take what you know and go forward. And what you know - and what I see - is how much love there is between you. Right now, it is buried under layers of hurt, but you that pain wouldn't be there if it didn't matter so much. I think it's a good place to stop for today."
Tiffany nods. At the window, Sean gnaws on his lip not sure about halting the session on that note.
"It doesn't mean it's the end of the discussion," Gail said. "I think we did some good work here, got some things verbalized that needed to be. We'll let you work with that for a week and then we'll pick up from there."
Sean crosses to the couch and extends his hand so Tiffany can rise. "Thank you, Gail," he said. "Thanks," Tiffany said, still a little shaky.
When they're outside the office, Sean puts his arm around Tiffany and sweeps her into a kiss. Not a little one, but one full of yearning and lots of small kisses. He draws back to look at her.
"What was that for?" she asked, now emotional for a different reason.
"I know that I have this overwhelming desire to take all this pain away, to give back what I took from you," he said.
She smiles at that, he looks at her questioningly. "This is one of those moments like I was talking about. Right now, I want to be around you so much I can't stand it. But like Gail said maybe it's because I know it's not going to go any further. We both have to go back to work."
Sean pulls out his cell phone and makes a call. "Yes, Remi, this is Commissioner Donely. I'm not going to make it back into the office. I have something important to take care of. I'll be unreachable for the rest of the day. Rout anything of important to Garcia for me, thanks." He ends the call.
"I can't believe you did that," Tiffany said.
"It was easy. You want to try it?"
He hands the phone to her, she takes it and dials her office.
"Mary, it's me," she said. "Look, a situation has come up and I won't be able to make it back in. ... No, it's fine, I just need to do something. I think Trent can handle everything for tonight though, we set the rundown at the noon meeting. He can take it from there. ... Yes, thanks. Bye."
She clicks off the phone and hands it back to him. "Not so difficult, was it?" he asked disarmingly. "Now what?"
"Come with me," he said. He reaches out his hand to her, she takes it and they walk off together.
Later that night, Sean and Tiffany are in an old-fashioned hotel room in upstate New York.
"That was a lovely dinner, Sean, thank you," she said, plopping on the four-poster bed and noticing that it's the only one in the room. "You're welcome," he said. "I'm sure the waiters thought we were crazy for dancing in an empty dining room with no music."
"Well, we're already in therapy," she quipped.
"Yes," he said.
"It was such a big, beautiful room, though, it would have been a shame to let it go to waste," she said, determined not to weigh down the moment. "It must have been something back in the day. Glittering weekend parties with the creme de la creme of the New York socialites."
"And now people just use it as a place to chow down after a day on the slopes," Sean said. "It's still so immaculate, though, they really try to keep up appearances," she said.
"Anything worthwhile takes effort, I guess," he responded and they both know what that means. He also doesn't want to make the moment too heavy. "I've heard quite a few movies have come up here to film."
"The grounds look so beautiful, it really must be something in season," she said.
"We could come back in the spring and check it out," he replied. "Maybe for the weekend and not just one night."
"Yes," she said.
"Well, it's been a long day, what with the drive up here..." he started.
"...and the session with Gail," she added, not wanting to sweep it under the proverbial rug. "Are you sure you don't want to head back to Port Charles now?"
"I am sure," he said. "My idea, remember?"
"I can't believe we just took off like that. We never did anything like that before," she said. "I think we should do more of this in the future."
"I'd like that," she said. "I'm going to get ready for bed. ... To go to sleep, I mean."
Sean nods in understanding.
When she re-emerges, Sean is settled into the armchair at the far end of the room with a blanket over him. She can see his shoes tucking out from the edge of the blanket. She climbs into the bed and pulls the cover over her.
"Sean?"
"Hmmm?"
"I'm sorry about some of the things I said today. When I'm in Gail's office, sometimes things come out of my mouth before I think about them. And that was fine while it was just me, but..."
"You don't have to apologize for that. You're supposed to say what's on your mind. I don't want you burying things inside, I really want to work on them," he said.
"We can't go back. We can't undo things that are done."
"No," he said regretfully.
"But maybe we can go forward and not take so much for granted."
"Yes," he said.
"Good night," she said.
"Night," he responded, trying to make himself comfortable on the chair.
She lay her head on the pillow. Her eyes stay open, she listens to every movement he makes in the chair and sort of feels comforted by that. After about a half hour of that, she speaks. "Sean?"
"Yeah?" he said in that sleepy tone she had always loved so much.
"I'm cold," she said. "Do you want me to get you your coat?" he asked.
"I'm cold, you're uncomfortable. I think there's one way to solve this problem," she said. "Come here."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Of course, I'm sure," she said, her drowsy voice getting to him like his had to her. She pulls the corner of the blanket down. He quickly moves over so as to not keep her exposed to the cold air longer than he needs to. He sits on the edge of the bed, takes his shoes off, lies down and pulls the blanket over him. He's feeling anything but cold now with her in such close proximity to him. "You want to come here?" he asked.
"Yes," she said softly as she shimmies up against him. He extends his arm out so she can curl into his shoulder. She does so like she has a million times before and they both silently recognize that fact. "We're going to be OK," she whispered as she fell asleep practically the second she's ensconced in his embrace.
