In any other situation, he would have needed to stop for coffee- It was, after all, the middle of the night and the normal busy interstate was surprisingly quiet save the scattered semi trucks, but not tonight. Billy had never felt quite so awake, so alert, so alive. His mind played and replayed ever word of the brief conversation he'd had with the little girl—the little girl that could be his daughter. Just the thought of it brought tears to his eyes. She'd left so suddenly, but he'd never imagined this. He'd tried calling her, but she'd never answer. He'd left voicemail messages that were never returned. He talked to Lauren, to Michael, even to Summer and though they finally admitted they knew where she was, they also admitted she'd explicitly told them to never tell him. She didn't want to see him. He had to accept it. And so he'd tried.

He'd done the only thing he knew to do. He'd kept himself busy. He'd buried himself in his work. He'd tried to fill the hole she left in his heart with other things and even other people, but the hole somehow seemed to just get bigger.

His eyes darted towards the green sign that seemed to glow under the darkness of the night sky. Chicago—He'd know the truth soon enough.

"My God..are you alright?" Avery's voice was strained as she stood in the hallway.

"That depends on your definition," Phyllis breathed, the shock having finally worn off a little.

"Well, let me get in there before I terrify your neighbors. You scared the hell out of me. I just threw clothes on. I look like death." Avery rushed inside hearing Phyllis shut the door behind her. "And now I know it must be serious because you'd never miss a chance for a smart comeback after I left the door wide open for you like that." She stepped closer to her, reaching out and laying her hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Phyllis handed her the phone. "Look."

Avery's eyes widened. "You called him?" She smiled then, looking at her sister's face, stopped, "What happened? I mean—you had to know he'd be a little upset..Phyllis—I understand you though…"

"No," she interrupted, "That's just it. I didn't call him." She moved towards the couch, running her hands over her face. "I put Aly to bed and she I was doing the whole bedtime routine. I went to pick a book and she wanted me to tell her a story and you know what the means…"

"The one about her Dad," Avery sighed.

"Right. So I told her the story and she was still wide awake. I told her she had to go to sleep and she asked if she could play games on my phone." Phyllis nodded as she saw Avery's eyes flicker as the realization hit. "Exactly," Phyllis whispered. "I think she called him."

"Phyllis," Avery hissed. She glanced back towards the dimly hit hallway. "Well, did you ask her?"

She shook her head. "No. I mean she's asleep and maybe she didn't really know what she was doing. For all I know he could think it was a wrong number and I'm afraid if I ask her and make a big deal out of it, she's gonna know it was a big deal and then the next chance she gets she'll do it again and…." The words were flying out of her mouth as quickly as the thoughts were running through her head.

Her sister's hands on her shoulder suddenly grounded her and she looked up to find her eyes staring into hers. "Honey. I hate to tell you this, but there's no way in hell Billy Abbott doesn't know that this number is yours—Just like his number is still in your phone, Your number is still in his. Count on it."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of metaphor," Phyllis snipped, "because I'm not in the mood."

Avery smiled slightly. "At least you've still got your sense of humor," she said softly. "No, look. You're panicking right now, but maybe this is good…maybe Aly inadvertently broke the ice for you. Maybe in the morning you can call Billy yourself and arrange some way for the two of you to meet and talk this out."

"Maybe," she sighed. "I just.."

"No." Avery put her arm around her, pulling her in for a quick hug. "No more arguments from you. You don't have to figure all this out tonight. You've got some time, but honestly—if you're asking me…I think this is a good thing."

The sound of a knock on the door echoed throughout the room. Phyllis stared at Avery.

"Did you call anyone?" she asked, her heart already beating faster, somehow already knowing who was on the other side of the door.

"No. I didn't. I…." Avery paused. "You don't think he would have just gotten in the car and started driving?"

Phyllis closed her eyes before drawing in a shaky breath. "It's Billy," she said softly, "That's exactly what he'd do."

Billy clasped his hands in front of him. The last ten minutes of the drive had been spent rehearsing what he'd say when he saw her but, in truth, he knew it was a useless endeavor. The second he saw her face, he would speechless—just as he always was, just as he assumed he always would be. She took his breath and left him completely stunned with her every movement. Even now, even after all these years, he could still close his eyes and see her as clearly as if she were standing in front of him.

His heart raced as he heard the sound of the lock turning and watched as the door moved ever so slightly.

"Billy."

"Avery." He sighed, disappointment evident on his face.

She smiled at him. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "It's just…it's late and I had no idea you were planning to visit."

Billy opened his mouth to speak, but found himself stumped. He'd never imagined seeing anyone but her on the other side of that door. "It wasn't really a plan," he finally managed after clearing his throat. "I got a phone call from…" He paused, tears already stinging at his eyes.

Avery looked away, not able to stand to watch this. "Billy."

"A little girl—She said her name was Aly and I thought….Is Phyllis here?"

There was silence for a moment. Her sister was just inside the room. With everything she was going through, her request had seemed reasonable just a few moments ago. She didn't want to deal with this in this way. She needed time to think about how to respond. Her daughter needed time. This wasn't good for her—this kind of stress, but that was then and this was now. Now she was looking into the eyes of a man that came here, drove here in the middle of the night, on a whim.

"Avery, please…" He could see the struggle in her eyes, the battle that waged within her. It was obvious what she'd been sent here to do. Phyllis was in that room and, for whatever reason, she didn't want to see him.

"Come in," Avery said softly, stepping aside and allowing him to pass. She pushed the door closed.

Phyllis stepped quickly into the room. "Thank you," she sighed. "And I promise, I'll call him…I just didn't want to…" She stopped short, her voice catching along with her breath. The mere sight of him was overwhelming and the mug in her hand slipped from her grasp, shattering onto the floor. "Damn it," she hissed, bending down to pick up the pieces.

"Careful." He knelt down, placing his hand on hers, his eyes immediately matching her gaze as he stood up in tandem with her. "You'll cut yourself. Just leave it. I'll take care of it."

Avery stepped over and quickly past them. "Actually I can get the broom and dustpan and I'll get it. You two should talk." She gestured towards the couch and Phyllis took a few steps towards it.

"Mommy!"

Her eyes clenched tight as she heard Aly's voice ring out. Billy turned towards her, the questions all over his face, without so much as a word. The sound of small footsteps echoed down the hallway and Phyllis rushed over, scooping her up in her arms. The oversized t-shirt fell past her knees and she held part of it in her hands to keep from falling over it.

"Careful, baby," she whispered. "It's okay, Mommy just dropped a cup. It's okay, but you don't want to step on any of the glass until we get it all cleaned up."

Aly nodded. "Who's that?"

"That's just a friend of Aunt Avery's," Phyllis said quickly, not giving Billy a chance to respond. His eyes fell on hers and she looked away, unable to handle the depth of his gaze or the hurt that radiated from his eyes. "She had to come over for a minute and she brought him with her."

"Oh," Aly said, her little mouth opening into a wide yawn.

"You know what. I think that means you still need some more sleep," Phyllis whispered, hugging her tight and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "You've got school in the morning, remember? So, go…Go on..back to bed." She watched with a smile as Aly turned towards Billy and waved politely before rushing off towards her room.

She wanted to stay there, right in that spot. If she stayed right there with her back to him, maybe she could avoid the look in his eyes, the questions in his mind, the judgment….

The feeling of his hand on her shoulder caused her to jump and she turned, surprised to see him so close to her.

"Sorry," he whispered, his face relaxed as he looked at her. "Phyllis…" It was almost a whisper, a plea really—as if he knew she knew the question in his heart even though it remained unasked and unanswered.

The emotion welled up within her and her throat felt thick. She swallowed hard before speaking. "It's late," she managed. "It's really late, Billy and she's got school tomorrow and….I mean it's the middle of the night and…" A shaky breath escaped her lips and she brought her trembling hand up.

Billy nodded. "Alright. Alright. What time does Aly leave for school in the morning?"

"She'll be gone by eight," Phyllis breathed.

"I'll be here at 8:30," Billy said, his eyes trained on her. "And Phyllis?"

She looked up, her eyes still shiny, her heart still racing, "Yes?"

"We are going to have this discussion. If you run, I'll follow you…so please, just be here."

Her eyes fluttered closed as she marveled as how well he knew her. "I will," she whispered. "I promise."

Phyllis sat down slowly on the couch as she heard Avery behind her. "Well," she sighed, "It looks like you got your wish. Billy and I are going to have a discussion tomorrow."

Avery sat down beside her. "You know it's for the best, sweetie. He deserves the right to get to know his daughter and she deserves the right to get to know him. It's the right thing to do for everyone involved."

A tear rolled down her cheek, finally free. "God, Avery, I hope you're right."

Billy shut the car door, letting his head fall against the steering wheel. It was different when it was a thought, a possibility, a concept. But now—it was so much more than that. It was the way Phyllis acted. It was the look in her eyes when she'd seen him standing in the room. It was the sound of the little girl's voice and her dark hair and dark eyes. It was her smile and her features and everything that looked like a perfect combination of them. But more than that, more than any of that, it was the t-shirt she wore….a hockey t-shirt, one of his favorites, and also one he'd left over at Phyllis' house one night.

And at four years old, that's what his daughter had—a lousy t-shirt.