Reunion
Reunion
Chapter 7
Smash let his forehead thump against the steering wheel. His cell phone, set to vibrate, was practically giving him a hand job in his pocket. No doubt it was Jack, his agent, with word that the "Brian 'Smash' Williams is Gay" headline was going to break Monday morning.
He chuckled to himself. At least Bridget wasn't going to make any money out of blackmailing him. He didn't know who had leaked the rumor, maybe it was the cute model, but a reporter knew, and if she knew, everyone else would know real soon, whether he made a statement or not.
And maybe it was obvious. Landry—coming out to him like that? What the hell was that about? Landry knew, he had to know—some people were just born with gaydar. Smash didn't have it, but he was sure Landry Clarke did, and he had Smash locked in his sights.
He thought back to the business card the reporter had left him. It was still on the table at the restaurant, but he remembered where she was staying. Maybe he could talk to her, convince her to wait a few days.
He stepped out of his rental car and walked toward the field. In his heart, he knew talking to the reporter wouldn't make a difference. He was big news in the world of football, and this story was going to break with or without him.
Smash walked a few rows up into the home team bleachers and sat down. He looked out over his old football field. This was where it had all started. The first glory days. After Dillon it had been California, then Florida, then New York. He'd made history in every city. Set records wherever he played.
And now, did it really make a difference?
Smash closed his eyes and imagined being back here on a Friday night. Catching a long pass from Saracen, waiting for Riggins to crush a linebacker so he could run right into the end zone. Those memories were perfect, golden. And now it was tarnished all to hell.
Tim didn't want to go to Landry's house. He knew Tyra was with Landry, romantically, or sexually or maybe they were just friends, but it was more than Tim had. All this time she'd been out there hiding this from him, keeping his kid a secret. And Landry had helped her. There'd been a time when Landry had helped him and Tim felt like they had an understanding—a bond, but he guessed all that faded with time.
He stared at the old house, unable to force himself out of his truck. Tyra was staying here, which also meant Jake was staying here and Tim wasn't ready to see the boy yet.
Apparently 10 minutes in someone's driveway bordered on stalker-territory because that was when Landry walked outside.
"Hey man," Landry said, his eyes squinted in the sun.
Tim wanted to punch him. He rolled down his truck window and looked at Landry.
"You know why I'm here?" Tim asked.
Landry nodded and looked down at the ground.
"So what, you're like his pretend dad or something?" Tim spat.
Landry looked like Tim had slapped him. Good. Tim didn't even have to raise a hand.
"You should talk to Tyra." Landry took a step back, towards the safety of the house. "She's not here, but she'll be at the party tonight."
Tim pursed his lips and drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel. He wasn't sure his courage would hold out until tonight. And he wanted some answers now.
"Just tell me why? How could she do this?" He was pathetic, begging Landry Clarke for answers to his life. But he was desperate.
Landry just shook his head and took another step backwards. "I won't do that to Tyra, Tim. I won't. Talk to her."
Landry walked up the driveway and disappeared inside the house. Tim slammed his hand down hard on the steering wheel. Landry was probably fucking her. Had probably been sleeping with her before she even left Dillon.
Tim pulled out of the driveway and squealed his tires as he pulled away. He needed a place to cool off, think about what he would say to Tyra when he finally found her. And he had to get the urge to physically hurt someone out of his system. He headed towards the field.
Jason was still holding his cell phone when Lyla walked out of her mom's house.
"Just like old times," she said as she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Yeah, still no way to get up to your front door," Jason responded.
Lyla stepped back and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Is something wrong?"
Yes? No? Jason wasn't sure. Normally not being able to get up to someone's door wasn't a big deal. There was a lot of the world that didn't have a ramp or a curb cut. But seeing the stairs before him at the Garrity house just pissed him off. He wasn't sure if it was the after affects of the beer or the conversation with Tim, but his 'challenges of disability' tolerance level was exceedingly low this morning.
Jason took a deep breath and looked up at her. "I just...I just wanted to come over and say that I don't think we should be doing this anymore."
"Doing this?" Lyla replied, her voice rising. "Doing what? Being friends?"
"Friends with benefits," Jason responded. "I think we're confusing the issue."
Lyla stepped back toward the door and crossed her arms. "I don't get it. What happened between this morning and now?"
"We've been in this holding pattern for ten years, Lyla. Don't you think it's about time we both got on with our lives?"
"Sure, Jason," Lyla spat back. She turned on her heel and headed into the house. As she reached the door, she stopped and turned back. "It's been nice being friends."
Jason sat for a moment after she disappeared into the house. A feeling of numbness washed over him like the night he broke his neck. It felt like he was losing something worse than his legs and hands. He headed back to his car, transferred in and sat there for a minute, waiting for inspiration on what to do next.
Then it came to him. He'd go back to the last place he was whole.
Matt pushed open the door to the house he shared with Julie. It was quiet. He crossed the living room to find a note on the breakfast bar.
Went to the mall with my mom. Be back around 2. Love, J.
He laid the flowers he was carrying on the counter next to the note. 'Love, J.' That was a good sign. He smiled and walked over to the couch. She had been really upset about something the night before, but he knew they would work it out.
Matt walked into the room, pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Hey, grandma," he said, leaning forward to take her hand.
She turned and smiled at him.
She didn't talk much anymore and she hadn't known who he was for nearly a year. But he couldn't forget how she had taken care of him when there was nobody else around to do it. He would never stop coming to see her.
"I'm graduating from college next week. And Grandma—I'm going to ask Julie to marry me."
Matt paused to see if there was any flicker of recognition. There wasn't. Instead his grandmother rocked in her chair and tapped her foot lightly on the floor.
"I hope I can be as good a husband to her as grandpa was to you," Matt continued. "I love her very much."
Matt sat with her for a few more minutes, then moved to stand up. As he did, his grandmother tightened her grip on his arm. He paused, not sure of what she wanted, then watched as she reached over and slid the delicate diamond ring from her left hand.
He stood for a moment, not sure what to do, then took the ring she held out to him. He leaned in and kissed her.
"I love you, Grandma."
The phone began to ring. Matt grabbed it. "Hello?"
"Meet me outside," his future father-in-law said. "I've had enough of sitting around listening to Buddy Garrity tell me the benefits of remarrying young."
"Uh, okay, sir," Matt stammered.
"And bring a football," Eric said as he hung up.
Lyla crossed into the park and picked up her running pace. After the frustrating conversation with Jason, she had put on her running shoes and told her mom she'd be back later. She thought that maybe the fresh air would help clear her head, but instead she just kept turning back to Jason's face as he told her to get on with her life.
Get on with her life!? Her feet pounded against the path as she tried to push the sound of his voice out of her head. He was lucky she had stuck around as long as she had—that she was even willing to still be his friend.
She ran up a hill and past the playground. At the top of the hill, she paused, leaning over, to catch her breath. When she stood back up, she noticed a woman pushing a little boy on the swings. She smiled, then was surprised to see Tyra Collette turn and wave.
So, this must be Tyra's son. Lyla waved back and began to jog over. The child's back was turned to her on the swing, but as she grew close, he jumped off and turned to face his mom.
Lyla stopped and stared openly at the little boy. He looked exactly like she remembered Tim Riggins looking the first time she met him in grade school.
"Wow...you must be Tyra's little boy," she said, holding her hand out.
"I'm not little, I'm eight," the young boy replied.
Lyla laughed and smiled at Tyra.
"Jake, this is Miss Garrity," Tyra said. "Can you say 'hello'?"
Jake took her hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Garrity."
Lyla smiled at him. "Nice to meet you too, Jake." Turning to Tyra, she said, "Wow—it's quite a resemblance."
Tyra stood with her hand on Jake's shoulder. Clearly protective of her son. Lyla couldn't say she was surprised to find out that Jake was Tim's, but how could Tyra have not told Tim? After all these years? Tim was going to be crushed.
"Hey, go check out the slide, Jake," Tyra instructed. Jake nodded and then took off for the tornado slide on the edge of the playground. Tyra watched him for a moment, then turned back to Lyla. She squinted her face. "So, it's pretty obvious?"
Lyla nodded, looking back at Jake climbing the ladder of the slide. The resemblance was uncanny. "Have you told Tim?" Lyla asked as they walked over to a bench.
"This morning," Tyra responded. "I don't think it was what he expected to hear."
Lyla nodded. "Well, Tim's real good at getting his emotions out—talking to people, letting them know how he feels."
Tyra laughed and Lyla joined her.
"Yeah, Tim Riggins—Mr. Emotion," Tyra said. "Although, you know, things had really changed that last year of high school. We were actually growing up, figuring things out and then everything happened at once."
Tyra looked so sad, Lyla wanted to comfort her. But Tim's troubled face from last night was still fresh in Lyla's mind. This was going to kill him. "Why'd you do it?" Lyla asked.
"Why'd you sleep with Riggins?" Tyra shot back.
Lyla shrugged—maybe she deserved that one. "I don't know. I still don't."
"Yeah," Tyra answered. "Me either."
Tyra looked over at Jake who was climbing back up the slide. "And I really thought I'd go tell my mom that I was pregnant and then I'd be back before Tim was out of the hospital—that I'd have a plan so that he wouldn't have to worry about the baby on top of everything else, but once I got there it just seemed so impossible to come back."
"But you did, eventually," Lyla said, her voice soft.
"Nine years later," Tyra replied. "I'm not proud of what I did and Landry's been telling me to just tell Tim for years, but I couldn't. I think...I think I was afraid of seeing Tim, that he would be a shell of himself or that he might have turned into something I didn't recognize, or maybe he'd even have a great life and there'd be no room for me and Jake."
Lyla could see that Tyra didn't believe her last words. They all still had some ties to Dillon, for Lyla it was her Mom and siblings, for Tyra it was probably Julie Taylor. Tyra had to know about Tim and Billy. She had to know that Tim was living the same life he had been when she'd left.
"You know he hasn't changed much, right?" Lyla said gently.
Tyra looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, down underneath it all, he's still the same Tim."
Lyla nodded. The look on Tyra's face said it all. She still had feelings for Tim. Of course she did; she wouldn't be so worried about his reaction to the news about Jake if she didn't.
"So, what's the deal with you and Landry?" Lyla asked.
Tyra laughed. "Well, he's not my boyfriend, if that's what you think."
Lyla shrugged. "Well, I know that. He's probably the only openly gay member of a Nashville country act. But you live with him?"
"I was managing him earlier, before he joined the band. It's worked out well and now I take care of his business stuff. He's been a good friend."
"Good friends are important," Lyla responded.
"Yeah, you looked pretty tight with Jason last night," Tyra replied.
"That's why I was out running," Lyla answered. Last night had felt so right, but obviously she'd misinterpreted Jason's feelings.
"I don't get it."
"Well, I thought maybe we were getting back together and then before we even did that, Jason came over this morning and...and I think he broke up with me again."
"He what?" Tyra asked.
Lyla laughed wryly. "Yeah, really. I just...I spent the night and everything was fine, then Tim showed up this morning. So, I went home and then Jason came over and he tells me there's no more 'friends with benefits' and I need to move on with my life."
"He said that? 'Friends with benefits'?" Tyra asked. "Wow...that's so 2005!"
"I just don't get it," Lyla said. "To be honest, we've been closer in the past few months than we have been in years."
"And when you left this morning, things were fine?"
"Yeah," Lyla said. "He said he'd call me later."
Tyra looked back at Jake. Lyla followed her gaze.
"You think Tim told him?" Tyra asked.
"About Jake? Probably, Tim looked pretty upset when he showed up."
"Then that's it."
Lyla wasn't following. How did Tim finding out he had a kid affect her and Jason?
Tyra said, "You know how Jason has always been—he's the great protector. If he told you to find someone else, he's trying to save you from something. You need to talk to him and find out what it is."
Lyla thought about what Tyra said. Why was it still so hard to understand Jason's intentions? It had been over a decade, shouldn't she have him figured out by now?
She stood up and pulled her hair tighter into a ponytail. It was time to find Jason and settle this once and for all.
Eric looked over at Matt as they pulled up at the old stadium. "Wonder if anyone minds if I take my old spot," the coach said as he pulled his truck into the Head Coach slot next to the field house.
"I can't imagine anyone's going to have you towed," Matt replied.
Eric smiled and ran his hand up in his hair—grayer now, but Tami said she didn't care as long as it was still thick and had attitude. They got out of the truck and started walking toward the field. It looked different. The ads along the stands had changed as new businesses came into town, although Buddy Garrity still covered ten yards on either side of the fifty-yard line. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
"Toss me the ball," Eric called back to Matt.
He watched as Matt cocked his arm back—his form still excellent—but instead of the ball dropping down into Eric's hands, it went over his head. He turned to follow the path as Smash Williams, New York Jets halfback, flew across the field and made a perfect reception.
"I miss catchin' your balls, Matty," Smash said as he turned and jogged up the field towards them.
"How you been, Smash?" Matt said, smiling.
"Good man. A bit ill from the breakfast."
Eric laughed. He felt ill himself, if only from spending so much time with Buddy.
Smash handed Matt the ball. "See if you can keep up with me."
Eric stood back and watched as Matt and Smash traded a few more passes, then glanced over his shoulder as two more vehicles drove up.
"You invite the whole team, Saracen?".
"No," Matt replied. "Guess everyone must have the good old days on their mind today."
Eric began walking over toward the gate. They had arrived separately, but Tim Riggins was waiting while Jason Street pulled his chair out of the car and reassembled it, popping the wheels on either side.
"Y'all need a hand?" he asked.
"I got it, Coach," Tim responded.
Eric smiled at the familiar term. He heard it every day, but coming from his old players was something special. He watched as Riggins followed behind Jason, waiting until they hit the turf to give his friend the extra push he needed to get across the soft grass.
"Did I miss a scheduled practice?" Jason asked as they headed toward the fifty-yard line.
"Nah," Eric replied. "But it's sure good to see y'all out here. Seems like there's an awful lot of people at this thing—I'm not even sure I know half their names."
Tim nodded. Eric looked over at him. Riggins had always been quiet, but his brow was creased like something was on his mind.
"Hey, Riggs, catch!"
Tim looked up as Smash cocked his arm and threw a soft pass. It fell right into Tim's hands; he barely had to take a step. Eric saw the smile tease his lips, replaced quickly with a grim frown. Tim reached back and threw a spiral pass to Matt. The kid still had talent.
"Don't play anymore," Tim called, turning to push Jason's chair again.
Smash shrugged. Embarrassed or not, Eric couldn't tell. Smash tossed the ball to Matt and the two continued playing.
Eric paused for a moment, watching the two friends move ahead of him—one in a wheelchair, the other with such a pronounced limp you knew he wore the pain of his injury every day. Damn...life just didn't make much sense some times.
He jogged a few steps to catch up with them. "Should we get some good seats to watch the experts?" he asked.
"Sure, coach," Jason responded.
Tim parked Jason's wheelchair at the foot of the stairs leading up to the announcer's booth. Eric sat down on the stairs, Tim sitting to his right and Jason on the far side. He leaned forward and watched as Matt called a play and Smash took off like a rocket. Smash had improved over the years, and he'd been great to begin with. No wonder he was featured on Sports Center regularly. And Matt had always had talent; he just chose to use it in other directions. His education and now coaching the kids back at Dillon High. Eric couldn't have been prouder of both of them.
He glanced over at Tim and Jason, both staring intently at their old teammates running two-man plays. He'd never gotten over Jason's injury, and then when his best friend had gone down for an entirely different reason...well Eric just didn't think fate had dealt them a fair hand.
"You boys ever get out to see a game?"
Jason shook his head. "I usually come back to Dillon in the summers, but not much during regular season."
Tim was just quiet. How he managed to avoid Friday night games while living in Dillon was beyond Eric. But then, if you wanted to bad enough, you could hide from anything.
Eric watched as Matt caught the ball and gestured for Smash to come off the field. They walked over and stepped between Eric and Tim to take a seat in the first row of the bleachers.
"So, how you been, Tim?" Eric tried again. "Work steady?"
Tim nodded. "Yeah, pretty good."
God. Getting a conversation started with these two was like pulling teeth.
"How's your brother?"
Tim was quiet, then he tipped his head to look at Eric. "You remember visiting Billy before you left for Texas Tech?"
Eric nodded. He remembered. He'd made a point of saying goodbye to Tim and Billy when he knew he wouldn't be around anymore.
Tim looked out over the field again. "Then you know how he is now."
The words cut Eric deeply. Tim had a lot of anger bubbling under the surface, but was it really about Billy? Now? So many years later?
"What's wrong, son?"
Jason looked over at Eric, almost begging him to keep quiet. Eric narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze back to Tim. Riggins looked broken.
"I have a kid. He's eight. And I've never met him."
Eric's breath caught in his throat. Jake. He knew it. He'd known it the first time he met Tyra's son, but Tami had kicked him hard under the table when he'd asked Tyra who the father was. He'd only seen Jake twice, but it was undeniable that the child's father was Tim Riggins.
Eric cleared his throat and turned his focus back to the field. It was none of his business, and Tami would strangle him if he interfered, but these were his boys, he'd always thought of them as his own kids.
"Maybe it doesn't help much, but that kid really loves football," Eric said.
He saw Tim's shoulders stiffen.
Eric pressed on. "We had dinner with Tyra last Christmas. I taught Jake a couple of passes."
Tim's arm twitched and his head dropped lower. Eric reached a hand out and pressed it hard on Tim's shoulder. "He's a great kid, Tim. You'd be proud."
Tim stood up abruptly, his face a mask of stone. He turned to look at Eric, then over at Matt and Smash. "You knew, didn't you, Saracen?" His voice was angry.
"I...I..." Matt stammered.
"I think we all knew," Eric interjected. "He looks an awful lot like you."
Tim closed his eyes and walked a couple of steps away. It was obvious he needed to process this on his own, learn how to accept it. Then he turned back to the men watching him.
"You think its okay? What she did?"
Eric stood up, looking out at the field before finally meeting Tim's eyes. "It's not right to take away your choice to be a parent. But you can't change that now. You can only move on."
Tim didn't look convinced.
"You should meet him, son. He's a great kid."
Eric watched Tim waver. No one could tell him what to do, but Eric had to hope he would choose to embrace this. Maybe it would bring some light into his life.
Finally Tim nodded and took a step backwards. "Thanks, Coach."
Eric watched as Tim walked off the field, his limp noticeable, but covered well. That boy had been through more in his short lifetime than anyone deserved. And he certainly didn't deserve to have his own child kept secret from him.
He sat back down, chancing a quick glance back and Matt and Smash who were sitting there quietly.
"Julie tell you about this, son?" Eric asked Matt.
Matt shifted his eyes and looked away. "I...I'm really not supposed to tell."
Eric bit his lower lip and looked at Smash for support. "Women," he said bluntly. The meaning was implied.
Smash shook his head and leaned back against the row behind him. "Don't look at me, Coach. I ain't even playing in that league."
Eric furrowed his eyebrows. What was that supposed to mean? He looked at Smash questioningly.
"Don't miss the Monday Sports section. It's going to be a real page turner," Smash said.
Eric watched as Matt and Jason turned their heads to look at Smash. Were they as confused as Eric was?
"What's going on?" Eric asked.
Smash ran a hand over his mouth, looking away from the three other men staring at him. Maybe it was something he couldn't talk about. Or maybe he just didn't want to. Eric looked away just as Smash spoke.
"It's gonna say 'Smash Williams is Gay'," Smash said.
Eric looked back sharply.
"Is...is it true?" Matt asked.
Eric closed his eyes. God, that kid could be so stupid sometimes.
"I tried to get it stopped, but it turns out if what they're printing is the truth, you can't get an injunction for libel," Smash said.
Matt shrugged and looked down at Eric and Jason. Eric just shook his head.
Jason laughed suddenly, drawing the attention away from Smash.
"You think this is funny, Street?" Smash asked.
"No, no," Jason said. "It's just..." He paused and looked around at the other three. "Did we, like, save up a bunch of drama for this weekend? Because really, Tyra shows up with Landry and a kid, and then we find out he's Tim's kid. And Lyla can't get the idea that we're going to live some happily ever after fairytale out of her mind. And now Smash Williams, pro-footballer, is gay?
"Doesn't that seem like overkill to you?"
Jason had an incredulous smile on his face. Eric chuckled softly and looked up and Smash, who let a small smile break across his face.
"Landry is gay, too," Matt blurted out.
Jason laughed and threw his head back. "Of course he is!"
"And Julie thinks I'm forcing her to have kids, or something," Matt said. "I don't really know."
"She said that?" Eric asked. This was his little girl they were talking about now. Not just some high school alumnus with a secret to share.
Matt shrugged. "I don't know. I think we're okay, but she's upset. I really don't know."
"Talk to her, Saracen," Jason said. "Don't make the same mistake I did."
What mistake? Eric pushed his sunglasses up on his nose and looked at Jason.
Jason continued. "I should have been honest with Lyla a long time ago, and I wasn't. Now it's probably too late."
"Too late for what?" Matt asked.
"For us. For her. She wants a family, and I can't give that to her." Jason shrugged and continued. "I can't have kids."
"Really?" Eric asked. "I never knew that."
"It would pretty much take a medical miracle and I don't think that's exactly fair to her."
Eric looked down at his hands. These were heavy topics. Wasn't a reunion supposed to be about reminiscing and celebrating?
"Did you talk to Lyla about this?"
"Yeah, she gets it, I think."
"She does?" Smash asked
Jason nodded.
"Then why is she sitting on your car?"
Jason looked up at Smash, surprised.
Eric looked out at the parking lot. Lyla Garrity was perched on the hood of Jason's car.
"I don't think she quite 'gets it'," Eric said.
Jason looked at Lyla, then back at Eric. He was biting his lip and smiling.
"Go talk to her son, put ten years behind you and move forward."
Jason hesitated for a moment, then popped the brakes on his chair and tried to push in the soft grass.
Without waiting to be asked, Eric stood and grabbed the handles of the chair. He pushed until Jason was back on pavement and then stepped away. Jason pushed off himself, then turned and looked back at Eric.
"Thanks, Coach."
Eric smiled. He was just solving problems right, left and center today. He walked back to where Matt and Smash were sitting.
"So you gonna do something about this headline business?" he asked as he drew close to the pair.
"Not much I can do, Coach. It's not a lie."
Coming out wasn't something Eric had much experience with. Coaching on life matters was more Tami's field of expertise.
"You know," Eric said, running a hand through his hair. "I've been married a long time. And you don't get to stay married without learning a few things from your partner."
He looked at Smash and Matt.
"That piece of advice goes to you too, son," he directed towards Matt. "Whatever is happening with Julie, you go and talk to her." Eric knew his voice probably sounded demanding, but he wasn't about to stand back and see his little girl get hurt.
"And as for you." Eric turned back to Smash. "My very wise wife would tell you to grab the bull by the horns and get in front of this thing. You got an agent, right?"
Smash nodded.
"Call him. And get yourself on Sports Center or Larry King or the Dillon five o'clock news, but get yourself out there before this story breaks." Eric looked at Smash seriously. "You control this play, you got me?"
Smash looked down, his face blank. When he looked back up, he was smiling. "You always gave a good pep talk." He stood and moved down the steps to where Eric was standing. "Thanks, Coach."
Eric watched as Smash walked towards the parking lot.
"God, I'm exhausted." Eric looked up at Matt. "I'm serious about Julie. You better not hurt her."
"No...no sir."
"Good." Eric stretched his neck and took one last look around the field. "Now come on. We need a beer."
Jason pushed his chair across the parking lot to his car. "You following me?"
Lyla rolled her eyes at him. "God, we're not in high school, anymore, Jason."
Jason nodded. She had that right. "So, what are you doing here, Lyla?"
"I ran into Tyra at the park. And Jake."
"She told you?" Jason asked. When Lyla nodded, he continued, "Yeah, that's why Timmy came over this morning."
"So, I'm assuming something happened while you were talking to him."
Lyla was probing for something. What did this have to do with them? Jason tensed his shoulders. "We talked about what happened—what Tyra had done, about him having a kid."
"And that deep conversation made you come over to my house and 'break up' with me?" Lyla asked, raising her hands to make quote marks.
"Break up with you?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, cause that's what it sounded like to me," Lyla answered. "After the past few months, when we've been almost figuring things out again, you come over and tell me to move on with my life? That sounds like we're breaking up."
"But we aren't even together."
"And why is that, Jason? 'Cause I love you. And I think you love me. So what in the world is going on?"
Jason rubbed his hand along his face.
"I know it's something," Lyla stated. "You always do that when it's something you don't want to say."
Jason dropped his hand down to his lap. "Do what?"
"You do that thing with your hand," Lyla answered. "You've been doing it your whole life."
Jason looked up at her, his eyes washing over her face. He should just tell her. This was Lyla. She deserved the truth.
"I can't have kids."
Lyla slid off the hood of the car and stood in front of him, leaning against the car door. "That's what this is about?"
"Yeah," Jason answered. His heart was racing. He braced for the slap, verbal or from her own hand, but instead she dropped down and met his eyes.
"Did you think it would matter that much to me?" Lyla asked
"You've already given up so much for me," Jason answered. "This didn't seem fair."
"Not fair would be you not letting me be part of the decision," Lyla responded. "If we do this, we're going to be partners. I want to be your partner in everything, Jason Street." She reached out and slipped her hand in his, gripping his fingers securely.
"Are you proposing to me?" he asked, smiling nervously.
"Maybe I am," she replied, kissing the fingers on his left hand. "I do want a family, but I only want one with you. And if it doesn't happen for us, then I still want there to be an 'us'."
Jason stared at her. She would give up the chance at a family just to be with him? He closed his eyes. Of course she would. Like she told him in those first few, scary days in the hospital—they were Jason Street and Lyla Garrity. And everything was going to work out just like they planned it.
/tbc/
