"You know sweetheart, when you watch people and they don't know you're watching them, admiration can quickly turn to stalking." Dorian smiled as Kelly turned around to smirk at her.

"Very funny," she smiled as she kissed her aunt on the cheek. "I'm just trying to get up the nerve to go over and say hello. They look so content together."

Dorian sat down at the table, blocking Kelly's view. "I'm sure he'll want to see you. He asks about you, you know."

Her eyes widened at the information. "Really? He does?"

"Of course he does, sweetheart. Joe has already cared deeply about you. He's very concerned with how you're doing."

Kelly nodded and took a deep breath. "Guess it's now or never, huh?"

Dorian patted her hand. "Go get him." She watched her cross the room over to Joey's table and smiled. This could be the beginning of a new life for her niece and she couldn't be happier.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were hungry?" Joey said, eyeing the almost empty plate.

"Told you," Emma said, smiling up at him. "I was hungry. Who's that?"

"Who?" Joey asked turning around in his seat. "Kelly?" he gasped, his voice raised more that he realized. He jumped up and threw his arms around here. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment she didn't speak. She simply allowed herself to stay in the comfort of his arms. For the first time since she'd walked into Brian's office, her world felt safe and stable, but then she always felt that way in Joey's presence. He knew just what to say and do to make everything ok for her. He always had.

"Long story," she said quickly, looking into his eyes and then back at the girl sitting at the table. "Another time. Besides, you haven't introduced me to your breakfast date here."

Joey took a step back. "That's right. You two haven't met. Kelly, I'd like you to meet Emma, my daughter."

Kelly knelt down by the table and extended her hand, "Hi, Emma. My name is Kelly. I'm a friend of your Daddy's from a long, long time ago." She smiled as she looked at the little girl. While it was clear that Aubrey had left her mark with the blond hair and petite features, the eyes were all Joey's..and then there was that smile. She'd recognize that smile anywhere.

"She's Daddy's very best friend in all the world," Joey said smiling at Emma and then looking back at Kelly. "I can't wait for you to get to know her, but," he reached down to grab her bag, "For now, you've got to get to school. I see Mary is over by the elevator waiting for you."

Emma stood still as Joey gently helped her with her backpack. "Have a good day, sweetie," he said, leaning in for a quick kiss on the forehead. He watched her make her way to the elevator as he waved to Mary.

Kelly was the first to break the silence. "She's really beautiful, Joey. I can tell how much you love her."

Joey looked back at Kelly. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. She's the only good thing that came out of me and Aubrey…it's just..it's hard doing it all alone, you know."

Kelly nodded. "Does she know about Aubrey?"

"She knows that her Mom is away—that she did a bad thing and that she's being kept in a place so that she can have time to think about the bad things she did." He paused for a moment before saying anything else, and then continued. "How else do you explain to a five year old that their mother is in prison for embezzlement?"

"I'm so sorry, Joey."

"Don't be. You tried to warn me. If anything, I should be apologizing to you…for not listening to you…for pushing you away. Anyway, let's not talk about this anymore. Tell me about you. How are things in the Big Apple?"

Kelly averted her eyes, a clear indicator that everything was not well.

"Kel," he said, the concern evident in his voice, "What's wrong?"

"You might as well hear it from me," she said with a sigh, "Brian and I aren't together anymore. I caught him with his broker in his office. I left. It's over." She realized how succinctly she'd summed up their marriage and shook her head. How could she have been so stupid?

"Wow," Joey responded, as he turned over Emma's unused coffee cup and filled it. He pushed it over towards Kelly. "I'm sorry. That's.." He searched for the right words. "That's tough."

Kelly nodded, taking a sip of the steaming liquid. "Yeah. It is. I guess it just wasn't enough for him…I wasn't enough for him," she said, forcing a small smile.

He reached over to take her hand. "I'm sure that wasn't it."

"I wouldn't be too sure," she whispered, "She was everything I wasn't, Joey. The antithesis of me…completely polished, dark hair, dark eyes, killer body…the works. Guess he just traded up." She sighed, sitting the cup down. In truth, she'd known she wasn't the type of woman Brian normally dated—in fact, she'd been stunned when he'd asked her out in the first place.

She glanced up, surprised to see Joey staring at her. "What?" she said, slightly unnerved by the direct eye contact.

"You listen to me, Kelly Cramer….if this guy let you walk out of his life, he's an idiot that doesn't deserve you. You can't trade up when you've got the top of the line." With those words, Joey stood pulling a bill from his pocket. He leaned forward for a quick kiss on the cheek and then disappeared in the elevator.

Kelly sat for a moment, her hand touching a cheek where his lips had been seconds ago. She was too stunned to speak. Maybe coming home wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Joey sat at his desk, looking over the print copies for the day. He'd been staring at the same page for nearly half an hour and yet he'd not made a single note…at least not a note that made any sense.

Standing up, he walked across the room to the water carafe. He poured himself a glass and took a long sip. Kelly Cramer was back in Llanview. He'd asked Dorian about her every chance he got. After Aubrey left, he'd foolishly thought that Kelly would come back—give him another chance, and when she didn't, he resigned himself to the fact that he'd lost her forever. Now, she was here…again. He'd been sitting across from her just moments ago.

Time had been kind to her. Her features had softened slightly, but when she smiled at him, it was as if nothing had changed. He could still see the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him. It made his heart beat faster. She didn't know it, but he'd spent many nights dreaming about the moment when he could touch her again..and it happened this very morning. God willing, it would happen again and again.

Kelly let out an irritated sigh as she clicked away at her laptop's delete key. It was pretty pathetic when she couldn't even make herself sound appealing on paper. Sending out resumes at this point in her career was a low point for her, and doing it in Llanview of all places, made her feel ever worse. The sound of the doorbell chiming was a welcome distraction as she sat the laptop on the coffee table and rose to investigate.

Joey's smiling face greeted her with Emma in tow.

"Hi," she said, looking from Joey down to Emma. "What brings you by here so early?"

"It's a staff development day," he explained, glancing down at Emma, who shuffled her feet shyly. "Emma was supposed to have a play date with Ryder, but he's got strep throat, so," he sighed, indicative of a rough morning, "Starr graciously agreed to keep Emma and let her have a fun day with Hope…Isn't that right Em?"

Emma looked up, her face unenthused. "Hope thinks she's a grown up. She's too big to play," she said, sticking out her lips in a pout.

Kelly smiled looking up at Joey.

He knelt down to Emma's level. "Come on, Em. Daddy can't miss work today. I've got a really, really important meeting and I've got to be there. Just stay here with Starr and Hope for a little while and I'll be back in a few hours, ok?"

Emma sighed, "Ok," she relented, though she was clearly unhappy. She trudged in through the front door, finding a seat on the sofa in the living room. Her eyes shone with possibility of tears, but she bit her lip to keep them from falling.

"I hate leaving her upset," Joey said, looking in at her. "She's really attached to me…I don't know..I guess when I'm all she's ever known…"

Kelly nodded. "It makes sense." She looked back at Emma, who now allowed a crocodile tear to slide down her face. She quickly brushed it away as she realized Kelly had seen it.

"Maybe I can help," Kelly said, smiling back at Joey.

"Be my guest," he smiled.

She walked over to her purse and pulled out her wallet. Flipping to a picture, she sat down beside the little girl, who was clearly interested in what she had to show her.

"See this little boy?" she asked her.

Emma nodded.

"That's my son. That's Zane."

Emma looked up at her. "You have a little boy? Is he here?"

"Well, he's not really a little boy any more. This picture was taken a long time ago, but he's not here with me on this trip. I don't get to see him a whole lot..and even when I do, do you know what he never..ever wants to do?"

"What?" Emma asked.

"Play tea party," Kelly said with a smile.

Joey watched them from the doorway with a smile on his face. Only Kelly could pull Emma out of this mood. She was understanding enough to know just what to say, and fun loving enough to be able to pull this off. She was perfect…in fact, he didn't know why he hadn't called her in the first place.

"He's a boy," Emma said, giggling a little.

"You're right," Kelly sighed, "And I don't have any little girls, but," she looked at Emma with a smile, "since you're here today…and so am I…you think maybe we could have a tea party?"

Emma's eyes widened.

"We could go get pretty dresses and do our hair and put on makeup. We could stop by the bakery and get some little cake squares and then come back and be all ready for our party." She smiled as she watched Emma's eyes light up.

"And then," she exclaimed, "Daddy will be home to have tea with us."

Kelly could barely stifle a laugh, as she glanced up at Joey. "Oh, sweetie…I don't know if Daddy really…"

Joey walked over kneeling in front of them. "I'd love to…how lucky am I? I get to have a tea party with the two prettiest girls in Llanview."