After Colin answered her there was silence on the other end of the phone for a few minutes. Finally after what seemed like hours Amy spoke.

"Please tell me I am not imagining this. You two are really real and really talking to me?" she asked them. She sounded like she was trying to keep herself from crying.

"You aren't imagining this. We just got done having lunch with the man formerly known as our father and he gave us your number." Katie told her.

"I know he gave it to you. He called my friend Maggie's bookstore and asked her for it, which makes me think that he must know on some level that what he did was wrong. But I don't want to talk about your father; I want to know about you guys."

"What did you want to know?" Colin asked.

"Anything and everything, why don't you tell me what you guys do for a living? We can start there."

"Ok well I run a catering and planning company, which means I basically help plan a lot of parties. But I help plan a lot of the events at The Prince." Katie told her mother.

"The Prince, as in the hotel? That must keep you pretty busy. What about you Colin?"

"Yes as in the hotel and it does keep me busy but I love it. And one of the cool things is that I get to see Finn during the day sometimes, but that could be an annoyance if we aren't getting along." Katie answered.

"I'm a lawyer and I love it. Dad told me when I went to Yale that I didn't have to go into law if I didn't want to but it's what I've always wanted to do. Plus it almost always gets me home at a decent hour so I can spend time with my family." Colin said.

"That's good that you both love your jobs, but who is Finn and Colin you have a family? I guess that shouldn't really surprise me considering how long it's been since I've seen you guys but tell me about them please."

"Well my wife's name is Stephanie and she is the most beautifully awesome person in the world. I can't imagine my life without her and one of the best things about her is that she calls me on my bullshit. I think that has a lot to do with being friends with Katie though. We also have a six year old daughter named Rebecca. There are no words to describe how cool it is to be able to know that she is mine. That I'm partially responsible to make sure she stays safe and knows that she is loved. It's also one of the scariest feelings in the world but I wouldn't trade them for anything." Said Colin. Katie smiled at her brother telling their mom about his girls.

"Col you forgot to tell her your news." Katie reminded her twin.

"Oh yeah and Stephanie is pregnant again. She's due at the end of August or early September." He shared excitedly.

"As for me, Finn is my husband and we have been married for ten years. We got married a year after we graduated from Yale and we have four beautiful children. Connor Matthew is the oldest and he is eight, Riley Nichole came next and she is six. Then there is the twins Cayden James and Amy Jennifer who are four. And when we picked out the name Amy I had no idea that was your name, Dad never told us what your name was." Katie told her mom.

"Wow this morning I only had two grandchildren and now I have nine. This is the happiest day of my life you have no idea what this means to me. I want to meet your families and I know this might be a little soon but I have been waiting for this for thirty-two years. Please just tell me how you want this to work and I'll do whatever you're comfortable with. I just want to be a part of your lives." Amy told them excitedly. Colin and Katie exchanged smiles. They both wanted her to be a part of their lives but they weren't really sure how it should work.

"We aren't sure how this should work either but we would like to know a little bit about this guy Charlie. Dad mentioned him a few times." Colin asked Amy.

"Well Charlie is my husband, but I have known him since I was fourteen. He is one of my best friends and I don't know if I could have dealt with what Andrew did as well if it hadn't been for him. We have been married for twenty-five years and have one son together. His name is Sean; he's twenty-four and engaged to a wonderful girl named Hollie. You also have a step-sister named Emma; she is from Charlie's first marriage. Emma is thirty-six, married to a wonderful man named Jack and they have two little girls, Abigail, who's nine, and Ashley, who's seven. Anything else you would like to know?" Amy asked them.

"Who knew our family was actually this big? I would love to talk to you more Mom but I actually have to go pick up the twins, so let me just give you my numbers and you can call me tomorrow maybe?" Katie asked her mom.

"That sounds wonderful."

"Yeah Steph has a doctor's appointment in a little bit and we are suppose to get the first sonogram so I can't be late. But I would love to talk to you some more and do you have a computer so we can send you pictures and a copy of the sonogram?" Colin asked her. After exchanging phone numbers, emails, and promising to talk soon the three of them hung up. Katie was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Amy, for most of her life she had thought her mother didn't love her or care to know what was going on in her life. But when she told Amy about Finn and the kids she seemed so happy to know that she had more grandchildren. Katie wanted to have a relationship with her mother more than anything in the world but there was a part of her that was unsure. Could it really be that easy? Could it really be as simple as one phone call to start a relationship with her mom? There was a part of her that felt like she should be mad at her mother, but what for? She hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't Amy's fault that Andrew kept them apart. Maybe if they just talked on the phone for a while she would get use to having her mom in her life, it was something she would have to get use to that was for sure. But right now all she wanted to do was go pick up her kids and spend some time with them. So on her way to the lobby she stopped by Finn's office.

"Hey babe what do you say we go get the kids and go home? Because after the afternoon I have had I want nothing more than to be at home with you guys." Katie asked her husband as she entered his office.

"I think that sounds wonderful Love. I think my little brother can handle anything that might come up the rest of the day. Let me just get my stuff together, I shouldn't be more than a few minutes." Finn agreed with her. Katie waited for him to finish up for the day and five minutes later they were on their way to the elementary school. During the car ride Katie told Finn all about her lunch with Andrew and her phone call with Amy.

"Wow Love I can't believe your Dad did that. I could never imagine doing something like that to you or anybody. What do you think about having your Mum in your life?"

"I don't know Finn. I mean there is a really big part of me that is madder at my father then I have been at anyone my entire life, including my mother. That same part is excited to finally have my Mom apart of my life and I can't wait to get to know her better. I can't wait to meet her and have her be a part of the kid's lives. Then there is a tiny part of me that wants to be mad at her, that isn't convinced that it can really be this simple." Pulling into a parking space Finn turned to face his wife.

"Katie it's not that simple, but it doesn't have to be hard either. What Andrew did to you, to Colin, and to Amy was wrong and it cost you knowing your mother. I know that there have been times when you needed her and she wasn't there. Nobody will ever be able to change that but that doesn't mean you should blame her either. You have to take things slowly. You aren't the only one that feels like they missed out on something. Imagine how she must of felt knowing that you and Colin were growing up and she was missing it. It must have been so hard for her Katie. Just start out by talking to her, telling her about you, our life, and the kids. One day you will be ready to meet her and when that day comes the kids and I will be there for you. Just take it one day at a time. You don't have to make up for thirty-two years in one phone call alright."

"Your right thanks babe. Now let's go get the rugrats." Katie thanked Finn before following him to the front of the school.

Stephanie's Office

If Colin was honest with himself he was a little excited. No not about the baby, well he was excited about that too, but about talking to his Mom for the first time. He had always wanted to know her but when Katie told him that she left because she didn't love them; he tried to convince himself to forget about her. But there was a part of him that never fully believed that his mother didn't love him or want to know him. He couldn't tell his sister that because she would just tell him to get over it and that mom was never coming back. Stephanie knew though, she knew how he secretly hoped for a relationship with his mother someday. He couldn't wait to talk to her again and he definitely couldn't wait for her to meet Stephanie and Rebecca. And if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that he had never been so angry at his father. The entire time while they were growing up everyone always said that he was the calm twin and Katie had the temper. He was usually the rational one and helped calm his sister down. But not this time, Colin knew that he wouldn't be speaking to his father for a very long time and he wasn't sure he would ever forgive him. He couldn't think about that now though because he had arrived at Stephanie's office to pick her up. When he walked in he was greeted by the receptionist, Lily.

"Hi Mr. McCrea how are you doing today?" the younger woman asked him with a smile.

"How many times have I told you to call me Colin Lily? And I'm fine how are you?"

"I'm good Colin and Stephanie tells me that you two are going to have another baby."

"Yes we are. We actually have a doctor's appointment that I'm here to pick her up for; she will probably be showing off the sonogram tomorrow." He told her with a smile as his favorite blond came out of her office with her cell phone to her ear.

"How could you not tell us this? Even if you weren't sure what it meant you still should have said something. Listen Logan, Colin's here so I have to go but I'm telling you that you should be prepared to have them both mad at you just a little. I got a text from Finn earlier telling me that Katie was very upset. I'll see you tomorrow." Stephanie hung up the phone and gave her husband a kiss hello.

"What were you talking to Logan about?" Colin asked her as they walked out to the car.

"His Aunt Amy." She told him as they started driving to the doctor's office.

"His what?!"

"His Aunt Amy. Apparently the same Amy that Andrew doesn't like to talk about is the oldest female Huntzberger. He met her once when Mitchum took them on a family vacation to Ireland and he met her again when he was there with Rory. He said he had no idea that she was your mother and if he had he would have told you. So how was lunch?"

"Well I'm not speaking to my father but I did get to talk to my… wait a minute how did you know Amy was my mother?"

"I figured it out. From the way Elias was talking about her and the look on Andrew's face when Katie demanded that they have lunch. I figured that she was probably your mother and the text I got from Finn confirmed it. So you got to talk to her, tell me about it."

"It was nice. Katie and I told her what was going on in our lives. She wants to meet you and Becca. She told us what was going on in her life and I'm going to send her pictures of us and the sonogram." Stephanie couldn't help but smile at how happy Colin seemed to be. For the first time since they had met Colin seemed to be finally content with his life. Not that he wasn't happy before but Stephanie knew him almost better then she knew herself and she knew that he had always felt like something was missing from his life. And from the look on his face after having one conversation with his mother, he finally found that missing piece.

"Well then I guess we should get going so we can send her the picture of her new grandbaby. I think we should send her those pictures of us at the lake last summer because they came out really good." Colin just smiled and listened to his wife talk about what pictures they should send to his mother.

Meanwhile in Ireland

After hanging up the phone Amy just sat there in stunned silence, with tears shinning in her eyes. That was how her husband, son and future daughter-in-law found her twenty minutes later. Charlie studied the look on her face, trying to figure out if the phone call went well.

"Sweetheart are you alright?" he asked her. Amy turned to face the three of them at the sound of his voice.

"Charlie they're real, they're perfect and healthy and happy. They have families and jobs. My babies are all grown up and they called me. Colin and his wife are about to have another baby and Katie has four babies. I can't believe I got to talk to them and maybe someday soon I will get to see them." Amy had tears of joy rolling down her face as she told her family about the phone call. Sean didn't know what to think or how to feel but as he stood there listening to his mother he was reminded of what Emma said to him before she left for University so many years ago.

Five year old Sean was standing on the balcony of his Aunt and Uncle's house watching his father comfort his mother. Nobody seemed to notice his parents leave the house but him. Emma was on the phone with one of her friends and his Uncle Carter and Aunt Maggie were trying to clean up dinner. Sean didn't know what made him follow his parents but whatever it was it also stopped him from going all the way to the lake where his parents had stopped. He had been there about five minutes when Emma found him.

"Sean are you alright?" His sister asked him. The little boy looked over at her with sadness in his eyes.

"Emma what's wrong with Mom?" Emma sighed and motioned for him to sit down on the bench behind them.

"She's sad. When she moved here and married Dad she left behind two people that she loves very much and misses them a lot."

"Who are they?"

"I'm not sure I can tell you that, but if you just do what Mom needs you too during her sad times maybe someday she will tell you."

Over the years Sean had come up with many ideas about who his Mom had left behind but never in his wildest imagination did he ever think that she had two kids.

"Mom, who are Katie and Colin?" Amy pulled away from her husband and went over to her youngest son.

"There are so many answers to that question sweetie. The simplest one is that Colin and Katie are your brother and sister."

"Yeah I figured that out from what you were telling Dad. What I want to know is how I have never heard of them till now." Amy smiled at him and motioned that the two of them should sit down.

"I know that you have questions and I will answer them I promise but not tonight. I'm going to get some sleep and tomorrow I will tell you what you want to know."

"Ok night then, I'll see you tomorrow." Sean told his parents before taking Hollie and going to their room. Amy and Charlie followed them two minutes later.

I was surprised how easy it was to pretend that Anthony was my boyfriend. Everybody believed that we were together and sometimes I had to remind myself that it wasn't real. The only time I remembered it wasn't real and that it had to end sometime was when I talked to Mary. We talked to each other once a week and most of the time the conversation flowed easily just like it did when we were at school together. When I talked to her it felt like the world I was living in at Yale just fell away. At the end of every conversation she told me how Chad was doing and it always crashed me back into reality. About a year into Anthony's and my relationship Mary called me with some news that broke my heart.

"Anna how has your week been?" I smiled at the sound of my best friend's voice.

"Great I am officially done with finals and free for the summer. How about you?"

"I'm done for the year too. Now can we talk about you bringing that man of yours to come see us this summer?" She asked me. There was something in her voice that made me think there was something going on.

"I don't know about that it depends what he has going on. Why do I have a feeling that you have something to tell me?"

"Because I do."

"Just tell me Mary and get it over with."

"Chad is engaged." The second the words were out of her mouth I felt my heart break all over again. The stabbing pain that went through my heart when Chad had told me he didn't want to be with me came back again. I took a deep breath and held back my tears before answering her.

"Really? Did he ask you to tell me?"

"No, I think he is planning on calling you sometime soon. They decided to invite both of you. Meaning you and Anthony. Think about it Anna it might be good for you." After she hung up I thought about what she had said. I didn't understand why Chad had started seeing this woman and why he decided he had to marry her. He had told me that he wanted to wait until we would both be in the same place and could be together. Then he went and started dating someone, after he said he would wait for me. I would be lying if I said that didn't hurt me. I didn't want to talk to him and I hoped to God that if he did call me I wouldn't be home.

I got my wish. Three weeks later I came home to a message on my machine from Chad.

"Hey Anna it's Chad. I know Mary already told you but I felt like I should tell you anyway. I'm engaged Anna. I know that you aren't real happy with me right now but I really hope you come to the wedding. I want to talk to you and I would really like you to meet Ashley. Hope to see you soon bye."

I had no plans to go to the wedding. Anthony was going to work at his father's office for the summer and I planned to stay with him. For the first six weeks of the summer that was what happened. I enrolled in some summer classes and Anthony worked for his father. We would meet up at our apartment at night and spend time together. Almost halfway through the summer Anthony found the invitation to Chad's wedding and we got into a huge fight.

"Anna what is this?" Anthony asked me. I looked up at him and saw him holding a cream colored envelope. My blood ran cold when I saw what he had in his hand. Ever since he came home and heard Chad's message on the answering machine, he hated any mention of Chad. I sighed and prepared to fight with him.

"It's an invitation." I told him.

"To what exactly?"

"A wedding." I sighed as I answered him. He knew all these answers already; he just wanted to hear me say them.

"Whose?"

"Chad's."

"And you were going to tell me about this when? Are you going?" His was angry and getting that accusatory tone to voice. The one where it sounded like he wanted to ask me if I was going to leave him for Chad, the one that pissed me off.

"No I wasn't planning on telling you because every time I mention Chad you get angry and I didn't want to fight with you."

"Well I'm sorry if I don't like it when my girlfriend talks about her ex-boyfriend. You never answered my question are you going?" Now I was really mad. I hated it when he acted all possessive of me.

"Excuse me? First of all I am NOT your girlfriend. We are just pretending so your father will leave you alone. So you have NO right to get jealous of Chad, who was never even my boyfriend. Second, not that it is any of your business I'm not going. I think you owe me an apology and if you don't want to apologize then you can find somewhere else to stay tonight." Anthony didn't say anything just turned around and left the apartment. I had a hard time getting to sleep that night and when I woke up the next morning I was still extremely pissed off. By the time I got home that night I still hadn't heard from Anthony and I felt like I needed to do something. So I made a phone call and packed a bag. Eight hours later I was in Ireland.

I rented a car and pointed it in the direction of my favorite Irish town, three hours later I pulled into the parking lot of the biggest hotel in town. After making small talk with the older lady that ran it, I went upstairs and slept for the next twenty-four hours. I had no intentions of going to Mary's childhood home. I didn't want to watch or be involved the preparations for the wedding, it would hurt too much. I knew that there was no way I could slip in and out of town unnoticed, I spent a lot of time in these streets and the townsfolk knew me as well as they knew Mary and Chris. But I also knew that they wouldn't come see me, they would wait for me to call them and if I didn't they would leave me alone. I knew the minute I walked into the hotel that Mary's mother would know I was there by the next morning. When I woke up I decided to get breakfast in the restaurant. I sat in the back corner so I could be alone and watch people come and go, which was one of my favorite things to do. I was halfway through my food when I saw Mary's parents with another couple about their age come in to get a to go order. I just sat there and watched them, frozen the waitress coming over to refill my coffee snapped me back to reality.

"Those are her parents you know." She said to me as she poured the coffee.

"Whose parents?" I found myself asking her.

"Ashley's." she told me looking straight in my eyes.

"Oh."

"They're happy Anna."

"I know." I told her not really convincing myself I believed it. I left a few minutes later. What was I doing here? Did I really come to watch Chad marry someone else? Did I really believe that he was happy with Ashley? I wandered the town as I thought about these questions and ended up down at the lake, which was my favorite place to think when I was here. It was also the place where I spent the most time with Chad. Around three o'clock I started to head back into town but instead of going back the way I came I took the path that went behind Mary's house. As I came up on the house I noticed that the wedding had just started but I couldn't make myself just pass it by and continue my way back to the hotel. Instead I quietly opened the gate and slipped into the backyard. I stood close enough to hear what was being said but far enough away to not be noticed. Watching Chad marry someone else was sad and felt like the end of an era. Standing there I couldn't help but feel like the part of me that started to drown when Chad broke my heart had finally stopped trying to come up for air and died. I left halfway through the ceremony, checked out of the hotel and got on the next flight to Hartford.

When I got back to the apartment Anthony was home and we talked without really talking.

"Where did you go Anna? Or am I not allowed to ask that?" Anthony said quietly when I came in the door. I set my stuff down and looked at him. He was sitting on the couch working on something for his Dad. He had this sad look on his face, like someone had taken away his Black Card.

"You can ask. I actually finished something that I should have a long time ago. Where were you?" I asked him.

"I stayed with one of my friends." He answered me without looking up from his work. I sighed before heading into my room to unpack. Over the next year that was how our relationship was. We would only talk to each other if we had to and we were always busy. It was as if we planed things to do on purpose so we didn't have to deal with one another. Around the end of junior year I got a phone call that changed things. I was just coming in the apartment after my last final to the phone ringing.

"Hello." I answered breathlessly.

"Hi Anna its Chris, do you have a second?" the accented voice of my best friend asked. It was rare for me to hear from Chris unless I had been talking to Mary beforehand and he sounded slightly nervous.

"Yeah, is there something wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong I just need your opinion on something, before I do though I need to know that you won't tell Mary." That was weird too; the three of us shared almost everything.

"Alright I won't tell Mary, what did you need?" I heard him sigh in relief with my promise.

"I need you to come to Ireland."

"You need me to come to Ireland? There has to be more to it than that."

"Well I am actually planning on proposing to Mary and I need help. Help that only you can give." I couldn't help but become excited for them. I couldn't think of two people who were more made for each other then Mary and Chris. I also found it slightly amusing that Chris was nervous because I had no doubt in my mind that she would say yes.

"You're proposing?! Finally! Of course I will help you. What exactly do you need help with? Her ring, how you're going to do it, or both?" I asked him excitedly.

"Both actually. I have been looking at rings but can't seem to find the perfect one. The one that just screams 'Mary'."

"I can help with that but I can't just randomly show up in town. I think I will have to bring Anthony with me as an excuse. I'll talk to him about it and get back to you. Either way I will most likely be there by the end of next week."

"Alright thanks Anna, just let me know when your flight gets in and I will pick you up."

"See you in a week." I hung up the phone with a big smile that hadn't made an appearance in almost a year, which was probably why Anthony looked at me oddly when he came in.

"What has got you in such a good mood?" Looking up at him my sudden good mood didn't wavier like it usually did when he came home.

"My two best friends are getting married!" I declared, jumping up and hugging him like a five-year old on Christmas. He jumped a little at my touch but then relaxed into it.

"That's great, so what does that mean for the summer? Are you going to be spending it in Ireland?" He asked quietly into my hair.

"Well they're not technically engaged yet but Chris is having a hard time planning it and picking out the ring. So I was going to go over there next week to help him and I was hoping that you would come with me." I explained looking straight into his eyes, which I saw go wide in surprise.

"You want me to come with you?"

"Yeah I do. I know that we haven't really been on the best of terms for a while but I want you to see Ireland. I want you to meet my friends, plus I think it would be good for us."

"Alright if you really want me to go I will. I would love to meet your friends." He seemed a little unsure, not convinced that I wanted to fix what was wrong with us. Or maybe he was afraid of what would happen once we were in Ireland. No matter what he was thinking he still agreed to go with me. Over the next week Anthony and I got back to being each other's friend. We let ourselves become comfortable in our relationship again and by the time we left for Ireland were acting almost exactly like we had been before our big fight, with some changes. Before our fight we never did the cutesy new couple stuff, like sneak off for long lunches holding hands and stealing kisses. However those things became a part of our daily routine after our fight. There was only one thing holding us back, Ireland.

"Anna I want you to know that I'm going to do my best not to let him bother me." Anthony told me as the plane was landing. I turned to look him in the eyes and saw that he was serious.

"I know you will." I told him. That was the only time either one of us had said anything about what we were really afraid of, what I was really afraid of. I was scared that the moment I stepped back into the world that I had left so suddenly three years before, I would become that girl again. The girl I was before my mother died, the one Chad had come to save that night he showed up at my apartment, the one that died the day Chad married Ashley. I didn't want to become that person mostly because I was afraid that I would lose Anthony completely if I did. As we got off the plane I did my best to push my fears to the back of my mind and focus on why I was really here, which became much easier the second I saw my best friend rushing towards me.

"You're here! I can't believe it! It's been too long since we have seen each other. I almost couldn't believe it when Chris told me. By the way why did I have to hear about this from Chris?" Mary said while trying to squeeze me to death.

"Can't…breathe" I responded breathlessly.

"Oh sorry." She said as she let go.

"It's alright I'm glad to see you too Mary and to answer your question I wanted it to be a surprise. How have you been? You look good."

"Thanks, so do you. I've been good. There isn't really anything new to report here. I'm actually glad you decided to visit because I wasn't really looking forward to spending another summer hanging out in this tiny town with nothing to do but help my family out at the restaurant." Mary told me as we started to walk through the airport. Chris laughed and shook his head at the sight of Mary and I leaving him and Anthony behind.

"If we don't follow them then they will leave us here. I'm Chris by the way." Anthony laughed at the idea of me just leaving him there, not really believing it. Then when he saw that we weren't going to stop he started following.

"Anthony Michaels it's nice to finally meet you guys. Anna talks about you all the time." Mary and I were waiting for them when they finally caught up to us in baggage claim.

"Hi boys nice of you to finally join us, we were thinking we should have lunch at the restaurant before heading over to the house. How does that sound?" Mary asked them.

"Sounds good to me Babe, hi Anna how are you?" Chris answered her.

"I'm great actually Chris and you?"

"Pretty perfect, now why don't you ladies let us get the bags and we will meet you at the car?" Mary and I quickly agreed before leaving them.

"Why do I have a feeling that getting her alone while we're here is going to be very difficult?" Anthony asked as they gathered the bags and made their way to the car.

"Because it is going to be extremely difficult if not impossible, those two are completely inseparable when they are together." Chris told the man.

Mary didn't say one word and barely glanced at Anthony until we had been seated for lunch. I liked to think it was because she missed me and wanted to catch up but I knew that was only part of the reason. The other part was that she wanted to wait until she had a chance to really inspect Anthony, to make sure he was good enough for me.

"Alright now that we are settled we can get down to business. I'm sorry for not introducing myself before. I'm Mary and it's nice to meet you." My best friend stated while looking directly at Anthony, who just looked right back at her as he answered.

"Anthony Michaels nice to finally meet you."

"I have questions that I, as Anna's best friend and unofficial sister, need you to answer before I can deem you worthy." Anthony just smiled.

"Ask away."

"What are you going to school for?"

"I'm going to be a lawyer, it's a family thing."

"How do you feel about Anna working for a living?"

"If it makes her happy, then she can do whatever she wants."

"Alright last question. How do you feel about the way people in your world act and treat people?"

"Good question. I don't like the way they treat people that work for them like dirt. I don't like that they pretend to be friends with someone only to turn around and discuss who her husband is sleeping with that week or how he had to go bail his kid out of jail again. Especially when the same things are most likely happening in their personal lives."

"I'm impressed. I haven't seen Anna this happy in a while and I know what you're thinking. How can I have seen if she has been this happy or not if I haven't seen her? Well I've known her long enough to be able to hear it in her voice. And she didn't even sound this happy the last time I talked to her. In fact she didn't seem to be happy all the times I talked to her in the past year no matter how hard she tried to convince me she was. I don't know for sure what you two were fighting about but I have a pretty good idea and I don't know the cause of the sudden change. But to be honest Anthony I don't think I want to know. I want to like you and as long as Anna stays happy and you don't hurt her then you and I will have no problems. However the second you do something that hurts her is the second you become enemy number one."

"That seems fair enough." Anthony told her.

After I was done introducing Anthony to my friends, I started to show him around town. We had been in town almost a week before Chris cornered me about helping him.

"Anna I was thinking you could help me today because Mary told Bryan that she would cover his shift at the restaurant. So will you do it?" I couldn't help but smile at how nervous he seemed.

"Of course, that's why I'm here remember? But we might have to bring Anthony with us if that's ok?" I told him.

"Actually I have plans already so you two can go do your thing without me." Anthony announced to us. I looked at him oddly.

"Who could you have plans with? I didn't know you knew anybody in Ireland."

"I don't but the guys decided to take a trip through Europe this summer and when I talked to them last they said they would be in Ireland the same time we were going to be here so we made plans. All I need is a ride into the city." My boyfriend said with a smile.

"We can give you a ride if you want." Chris told him.

"A ride where?" Mary asked coming into the room dressed for work.

"Into the city my love. Since you are going to be at work all day I figured I would take Anna and Anthony into the city to wander around for the day. Then when we get back I'll make dinner and we can watch a movie or something." Chris answered her quickly.

"Sounds like a plan but we are watching a love story because last time we watched what you wanted to my dear. I got to go to work have fun today you guys." She said before leaving the house.

"Why did you tell her that?" Anthony asked.

"Honey if he had told her that you were going to meet up with your friends she would have been suspicious as to why Chris and I were going into the city because we don't really hang out in the city unless we are going shopping. He has a hard enough time keeping secrets from her as it is and this is something that shouldn't be spoiled. Now go get ready." The ride into the city was uneventful and after dropping Anthony off Chris and I spent the next several hours looking at rings. Chris was completely frustrated by the time we left to go meet Anthony.

"How am I suppose to pull this off if I can't find a ring?" He asked us on the way home.

"I don't know Chris but the perfect one is out there and we will find it I promise." I tried to reassure him.

"Have you thought about how you're going to do it yet? Maybe if you figure that out everything else will fall into place." Anthony suggested

"That sounds like a great idea thanks Hun. So do you have any ideas about that Chris?"

"Not really just that I want it to be simple like she is but romantic at the same time."

"How about a picnic down by the lake behind your Dad's place?" I suggested.

"That's perfect, now hopefully the ring will just magically fall into my lap." Chris said as we pulled into the driveway of Mary's family home. As soon as we walked in the door Mary's mom came to meet us.

"Hey kids how was the city? Did you find what you were looking for Chris?" Chris just smiled at his future mother-in-law and shook his head.

"No not yet but I know how I'm going to do it now at least."

"Well that's goods sweetheart, your father called while you were gone and asked that you stop by when you got home. Why don't you take Anna and Anthony? I'm sure he would love to see them." Chris just nodded and turned around to go back outside.

"How about it guys you want to go see my dad?"

"I would love to see your dad. Come on Anthony let's go." The walk to Chris's house was nice and only took about five minutes. When we got there Chris's dad, Dean was waiting for us.

"Hey there young lady I heard you were in town and I was wondering when you were going to come see Me." the older man greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Well I'm sorry but it takes at least two days to introduce Mary's family to new people. Speaking of new people, Dean I would like to introduce you to Anthony Michaels, my boyfriend. Anthony this is Chris's dad Dean." I told him returning his hug and smile.

"It's nice to meet you sir." Anthony said reaching out to shake his hand.

"Well now what a gentleman you have here Ms. Anna. It's nice to meet you as well Anthony and please call me Dean. Now come inside you three I have something I would like to show you." We followed Dean inside and into the living room. After we were settled with refreshments Dean drew our attention to what was on the table in front of us.

"Chris when you told me that you were going to propose it got me thinking about the time I proposed. I was the same age as you are when I asked your mother to marry me and terrified she would say no. I know that I don't tell you all that often but I'm glad she didn't turn me down and we got the time together that we did. Now my memory isn't what it used to be which is why I pulled out this old photo album. One of the things that irritated me about your mother was that she left things everywhere and in the craziest places. So finding something in this photo album shouldn't have surprised me but it did. I think what surprised me the most was that it made sense to me. You see the odd places she put things never made any sense to anyone but her." Dean paused in his story to take a breath.

"Not that I don't enjoy hearing about Mom but why are you telling me this?" Chris asked his father.

"She knew she was dying Chris. I didn't want to believe it; I couldn't believe it and she knew that. She knew that she had to let me pretend that everything was going to be alright or else I would never get through it. I have been finding little things throughout this house for years, things that she left for me to find. I think in the end she left them because she knew I wouldn't find them for years after she was gone, when I could handle it better. But this one is the most precious thing that she left and she didn't even leave it for me. It's also the first one she felt she had to explain, which she did in a letter. I'm suppose to read it to you." Dean stopped again.

"Chris if you don't want us here we can go." I told him quietly.

"No it's alright you can stay. Go on Dad read it."

"Dear Dean,

Hi honey, I know that you have probably been finding little things all over the house for years, things I left. I did that on purpose because I knew you would get a kick out of it. This one I had to do a little differently because it's special and as much as I love you, this one isn't for you. It's for Chris and if you're sitting there reading this then I hope it means he found a wonderful young woman that he wants to spend his life with. I don't have much to leave my baby boy and this was the best thing I could think of. The next part of this letter I want you to read to him. Chris, when your Father gave me that ring he asked me for forever and I promised forever to him. Unfortunately life didn't work out like that but I was blessed with some good things. I had a man who loved me more than anything else in this world and the most precious little boy. Being your mother was the best job in the world and I would do anything if I could stay to watch you grow up. I have always believed that when a man asks a woman to marry him, he is asking her for forever. I hope that this lucky woman will promise forever to you sweetie. Good Luck and I love you always." When Dean finished reading the letter he reached into the envelope and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring.

"That's it. That's Mary's ring, thanks Mom." Chris said quietly with a smile on his face.

"I knew it was here somewhere and I'm glad we found it. Knowing your mother she probably had it cleaned before she put it in here but how about I have it cleaned for you anyway?" Dean asked his son.

"That sounds good Dad and thanks. We should get going because Mary will be home soon and I promised her dinner and a movie." Chris said giving his father a hug. The three of us said our goodbyes to Dean and walked back to Mary's house. Once we got home we started dinner and as soon as Mary came home we ate. After cleaning up dinner we put in a movie and settled in to watch it. About twenty minutes into the movie the phone rang. Mary answered it and once she hung up came and whispered in my ear.

"Chad's here, he's at the restaurant and would like you to meet him out in the back yard in about five minutes. He wants to talk to you but if you don't want to he said he understands. He said he would wait ten minutes and then be gone." I just nodded in response to what she said. Anthony and Chris looked over at us with questions in their eyes but we said nothing. I didn't know if I wanted to talk to Chad or even see him. A part of me did but the other part of me wasn't sure it was a good idea. I sat there watching the movie and the clock, when the five minutes had passed I got up and went out the back door. I still wasn't sure I wanted to see him but I went anyway slightly on auto polite. Behind me I could hear Anthony question Mary but it felt like they were a world away.

"Where is she going?"

"Just let her go Anthony, this is something she needs to do."

I walked out the back door and looked around. At first glance it was empty and I seriously considered going back inside. Deep down I knew better then to think he wasn't there, Chad wasn't stupid. If he went to all this trouble to meet me in secret then he wouldn't throw that away by waiting out in the open. So I made my way across the yard and stopped when I saw the gate was open. The family normally left it closed and it being open meant that he was really here and I was really on my way to talk to him. I made my way down the path and stopped when I saw him. He was sitting up on the big rocks just like we use to so many times before. He seemed to be watching the sun set and I couldn't help but stare at him. He didn't look any different than he did the last time I saw him, he still had the same broad shoulders and he still had the same quite strength that pulled me to him. The fading sunlight was reflecting off of his soft brown hair and I had no doubt that his eyes would be the same bright blue they had always been.

"I didn't think you'd come." He said suddenly. I closed my eyes as the sound of his voice washed over me like a breeze. Standing there watching him for a brief moment I let myself think that the past three years hadn't happened. That he wasn't married and I wasn't trying to make myself be happy with Anthony. When he spoke I closed my eyes thinking that if I opened them everything I tried to forget would come rushing back, that the pain would come back. Finally after a minute I opened them, to my relief I was alright for the moment. He hadn't moved and I was glad for that. If he had I probably never would have answered him.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I don't know. The same way you knew I would be here when I wasn't in the yard I guess."

"Yeah" I wasn't sure what to say to him or what he even wanted.

"Will you come sit with me?" his was still calm and even.

"Why?" I saw his back tense at my question and I suddenly thought that this must be as hard for him as it is for me and considered going to him but then I remembered that he did this to us and stayed where I was.

"Because I need to talk to you Anna and this is where we talk. Please will you come talk with me?" He pleaded. I thought about saying no and walking away but I wanted to know what he had to say. So I walked over and climbed up to sit next to him.

"What do you want Chad?"

"To apologize for what I did to you and to explain why I did it."

"You told me your reasons. What else could you have to say to me?" My question seemed to sadden him a little. He turned his body towards mine and tried to make eye contact. I refused to look at him so he put his hand on my chin and gently turned my head to meet his gaze. As our eyes locked my mind flashed back to the last time we were in almost the exact same position, as I remembered I could tell he was remembering too.

"You need to hear all of it; I need you to hear all of it." I didn't want to hear it but there was still a very small part of me that craved answers and that was the part that seemed to be in control.

"Alright."

"Thank you. I meant what I said when we talked on the phone. I wanted to be with you but I also wanted us to last. I knew that trying to make things work long distance wouldn't work and I had planned on waiting for you. For both of us to be in the same country so we could try being together. I even applied for a scholarship so I could go to law school at Yale. I was hoping that with time you would start speaking to me again. I needed you to start speaking to me again because I fell in love with you. I didn't realize it until Mary told me about Anthony. It didn't matter if you weren't dating him or not, just the fact that you could be hurt so much. It was at this point one of my friends that I met my freshman year noticed how down I was and decided I needed a night out. Well you know that I'm not much of a party guy so the night out didn't really work but one of my other friends that I had known just as long happened to be at the party that night. She didn't usually go out either. The next day after classes she asked me if there was something wrong. I was about to blow her off but then I saw my sister and knew that if I blew off my friend I would have to put up with Mary's questions. I didn't want to deal with my sister so I went with my friend. I don't know what made me do it but I told her everything over a cup of really good coffee. That's when she said that it sounded like I was in love.

"And that I should try to find away to be with you. She even helped me with the scholarship application. We spent a lot of time together and I started to rely on her for a lot. I started to really care for her. Around the time acceptance letter were suppose to start coming we had a fight, I don't even remember what it was about but after we calmed down a little she told me she had had enough. When I asked her what that meant, she kissed me. She said that I stole her heart and she had been trying to ignore her feelings because she knew I was in love with you. Then she told me that she couldn't ignore them and that she hoped I got into Yale because maybe if we were apart she could come to a place where she could be my friend. I just stood there in shock trying to process what had just happened. As I thought about what she was saying I realized that I liked her too. I knew in my heart that you and I would be forever once we got together. Suddenly I wasn't ready for that so I kissed her. We started what we both thought would be a fling that would last through summer and end once I went to Yale, to you. And it might have happened that way if her brother hadn't died.

"It happened a week before I was suppose to leave for Yale. There was an electrical fire in the building where he was working. It devastated her and she had no one to lean on. Her parents had each other but she had nobody and I just couldn't leave her like that. I was afraid of what she might do if she sank even lower into the depression she was in. So I made a choice and I knew that by staying there I would probably never get my chance to win you back. Helping her helped me let you go and when she was back in one piece I realized that while she wasn't you I did love her. Not the same way I loved you of course but I did and I had also convinced myself that I had blown my chance with you already. The way Mary talked about you and Anthony; I figured you were happy with him, that you had moved on. She knew when I stayed to help her that I would be sacrificing my chance with you and that there would always be a part of me that would love you. So when I proposed she knew that a part of me still wanted you and she accepted it. She knows that I love her and I do. She would love to meet you, she wants to meet you. We both hoped that you would come to the wedding and she doesn't know that you did. That you were there for a part of it." Chad stopped speaking but didn't break the eye contact. It seemed like he was waiting for something but I wasn't sure what.

"I know now but that doesn't mean it hurts any less. And why did you feel that you had to tell me in person? You could have sent a letter I would have liked that much better. What did you expect if you told me in person? Did you think that I would forgive you and ask you to run away?" I said to him angrily. He just sat there taking my anger knowing he deserved it.

"No I didn't think you would forgive me and want to run away. Although had we had this conversation a few months ago and you asked me that question I would have said yes. If you had asked me to run away with you I would have said yes but I won't say yes now just like you won't ask me." He responded getting a little worked up too. I jumped off the rocks we were sitting on and started to walk away not wanting to hear anymore. Chad followed me and grabbed my arm before I got very far.

"Let go of me! You said what you wanted to now let me go!"

"No, we need to finish this. You need to know something else and so do I. She's pregnant due at the end of the summer. I asked Mary not to tell you because I wanted to."

"Congratulations. Can I go now?" I asked.

"No I need you to answer something for me." He said looking into my eyes again.

"I want to know if he makes you happy. If you love him." I stood there for a few minutes just looking at him. As I stood there I suddenly realized what he must have gone through and how holding on to the pain and the anger was keeping us both from moving on. He needed to know that I was happy so he could be happy. If I let go then I could truly let Anthony in and love him the way I was sure he loved me.

"Yes he does." Chad nodded and let me go. I turned around and headed back to the house. As I was leaving I heard him speak one more time.

"If you ever need anything call me and I'll be there. Always." I smiled a real smile and then made my way back to Anthony.

Ok I can't even begin to express how sorry I am for leaving this as long as I did. I have no excuse for you except that I fell in love and got kicked out of my house. So that is what has been taking up a lot of my time. At least you get a long chapter out of it. I hope I still have readers out there. Anyway I am hoping to have some more time on my hands because my boyfriend is going back to school and he also works full time and since I can't afford to go back to school at the moment I have some free time on my hands. And I will do my best to fill it by writing. I am pretty sure this story has only a few chapters left and after that I will try to start the sequel to Saving Logan. Hope you guys are still out there reading. Again I'm really sorry but I would still like to know what you think.

Brianna