A/N: Hello again! I got a small, but favorable, response to part one, so I continued, just as I said I would. Kat is nothing if not true to her word! So, enjoy part two, but PLEASE NO FLAMES.

Disclaimer: I own nothing… except my cat.

When I See The Races…

Sean

It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die… And for the second year in a row, I don't even have the slightest inkling it will be me, nor the gut wrenching, heart clenching fear that it will be Puck.

Puck won't Race again. When a reporter asked, she smiled boldly and remarked, "Nah, I can't go showing up Sean, now can I?" The reporters laughed, but saw through it. Finn asked when I was over once, but I suppose he thought I wasn't listening, and she responded, "No, once was enough." I'm sure Finn saw the shadows in her eyes as clearly as I did. But it was in the depths of the night, a year ago today, when she shot up in bed next to me, waking from a nightmare that she uttered the truest response, "Never again, Sean, never again. I-I can't…"

I took her in my arms and managed to coax her back to sleep, unable to admit that I felt the same way. If Corr couldn't race then neither would I, and that was it. Corr wouldn't race with a different rider and I won't race with a different horse, capall uisce or other.

For a while I worried that Corr wouldn't adjust, that he would regret his decision to return to me and forgo the sea, but, after several months he appeared to have replaced his love of racing with another: Dove. At first, she was wary of being alone in the paddock with him and took great pains to stay out of reach of his limp, but she grew comfortable being around him quick enough- mainly because they had to be around each other so much. She even snapped at him one day, surprising herself more than him it seemed. From then on, they were as thick as thieves and nearly refused to be parted from one another. Which is good, because Puck lives with me now.

She'd spent increasing amounts of time at my house, until she finally slept over on November first. After that, she just decided not to leave. By then Finn had an apprentice-like job at Palsson's, so long as he could clean up his own messes- he's had the job for a year now so it must be going well- that absorbed a lot of his time and he begrudgingly- very begrudgingly- allowed the arrangement. She took what clothes she wanted and moved in with me. It was quite an adjustment, to say the least, but the initial… Awkwardness was well worth working through. Now I want it to be more permanent.

I take Puck to the cliffs so we can watch The Races-unlike last year when we both stayed home and pretended we were okay. I hold her small calloused hand tightly in mine and she leans against me, her head laying on my shoulder and her cliff-grass-at-sunset hair whipping my face. I lead her to the spot where she first kissed me and we nestle down. I wrap my arm around her and pull her back to my chest, resting my cheek on her hair.

She trembles, but when she speaks her voice is strong, "Sean, I don't want to watch. Let's just go back home."

I kiss her hair gently, "Just this once, humor me. If it wasn't for The Races, we wouldn't have met."

She nods thoughtfully, "I can still remember the first thing you said to me."

"Oh?" I chuckle, "Can you?"

"Yeah, it was something like… 'Keep your pony off this beach.'"

"Oh, right…" I frown ruefully. She shifts and kisses my jaw, replacing the frown with a grin. I run my hand up her side and cup the back of her neck, leaning down to kiss her mouth, but the wind blows her hair in front of her face. We laugh softly as she tries to vainly pull her hair back; I am prepared for such a situation. From my jacket- the blue one- I pull a red ribbon and haphazardly try to tie her hair in a ponytail. It's sloppy and wayward strands of hair are still flying around in the wind.

She smirks happily at me, "You really should stick to horses, Sean. I don't think you have a future in hair."

"I'll have to remember that," I murmur, already forgetting. I tug her on to my lap and lay a kiss on her mouth. Her hands go into my hair, as if she's holding me there, as if she thinks I'll really pull away from her. When we part, we lean our foreheads together and I smile at her, "I love you, Kate Connolly, Puck Connolly."

She blushes as I trace her cheekbone with my thumb, "I love you, too, Sean Kendrick."

It's a little ridiculous that my heart still speeds up a little when I hear her say those words, and I bring her in for another kiss. I trace her bottom lip with my tongue and she sighs, opening her mouth to deepen our kiss. I wrap my arms tighter around her and she turns so we're face to face- or rather chest to chest, because Puck is a full grown woman now and it's hard to ignore her figure.

I pull away from her mouth and kiss down her neck, whispering her name over and over again, both of them. She kisses my hair and combs her fingers through it, "Sean, Sean, what are we doing out here, again? It's warmer at home…"

I blink and pull away from a spot on her collarbone, "The Races."

Her mouth quirks in a slight frown, "Right, that."

She sighs, but obligingly turns back to the beach. I smile and nuzzle her ear; at least she's being more agreeable and I kiss her ear to keep her so. I hold her tight and The Races start. She shakes slightly when she sees the carnage, but other than that she's still. When the first horse crosses the finish line - from here I can't tell if it's a water horse or an island pony- I take a deep breath and prepare for something scarier than The Races.

"Kate," I whisper, and she stiffens in attention when I don't add, 'Connolly, Puck Connolly.'

"Sean?"

"I… I," I swallow hard and give up on words. I reach into my jacket and pull out the little velvet box. I set it on her lap. Her hands shake as she reaches for it and she gasps sharply when it opens. She turns to me, her eyes wide. I clear my throat, but it does little good, "I-I love you and it would mean… So much if you became… Kate Kendrick… Puck Kendrick. Will you marry me?"

I added the second name out of habit, but it sounds right. For a moment the entire world stops, then a single tear rolls down her cheek and she nods, "Yes…"

"Yes?" Because I'm sure I've misheard.

She chuckles, tears still falling, and nods again, "Yes."

I wrap her in my arms and pull her close again. I close my eyes and bury my face in her hair, "Thank you."

"Why today, Sean?" She asks, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Because I thought you deserved a happy memory of this day… At least I was hoping it would be a happy memory."

"Very happy," she murmurs quietly as I slide the ring on her finger. It's a simple gold band with a single red stone. I know diamonds are traditional, but Puck isn't. Red is her color. The color of her hair; the color of the ribbons she wears on her wrists and in her hair; the color of Corr, without whom we may not even be here. She examines the ring, "It's beautiful, Sean…"

"Not as beautiful as you," I say, and we both laugh because it's exactly the kind of cheesy thing I wouldn't say- at least before I met her… Then we kiss and November first doesn't seem like such a bleak day to either of us.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I tried to keep them as in-character as possible, but I'm sorry if I failed! Anyway, if perchance you liked it, reviews are appreciated, but if not thank you for your time! And, for all of you, have a lovely day!

~Kat