Note: I do not own The Middle. No copyright infringement intended.

After another largely sleepless night, Sue arrived at the inn. She was grateful when her boss Brooke – who knew about the previous night's events - greeted her with a cup of coffee and some aspirin. Sue had received texts from Sean telling her when he arrived at the airport, and then when he was about to board the plane to Indianapolis. Knowing she wouldn't hear from him again until after he landed, Sue put her phone away and focused on her work.

When Sean arrived in Indianapolis around lunchtime, he was greeted by his parents and sisters. As they loaded his belongings into the car, Nancy hugged him (for about the dozenth time) and said, "I know you're disappointed Sue couldn't be here."

Sean grimaced. "Well, if I had gotten here last night, she would have been! I'm just hoping that from now on, our timing will improve."

Ron suggested, "We could go to Gumford and surprise her."

Sean was seriously tempted, but said, "No, I'll wait. This is their busiest day of the year. I got a text from her earlier, saying how hectic things are over there. I don't want to be a distraction. And she probably wouldn't be able to talk for more than a minute anyway. I'll see her tonight." He put his arm around his mom's shoulders. "Let's go home. I've been looking forward to having your cooking again!" And so the Donahues headed back to Orson.

It was probably a good thing that they didn't stop off at St. George's Inn, where chaos reigned. The day had started off well – bustling, but well. But then the air conditioning system crashed, and they learned it would be several hours before a tech who specialized in their system would arrive. All of the common areas needed to be cooled off, and with a large crowd expected for lunch, they were pressed for time. Sue and the rest of the staff took turns going to different stores in Gumford, buying any kind of fan they could find: box, floor, desk, handheld, etc. They also bought bags of ice, since Brooke decided to offer complimentary iced beverages to anyone who entered the inn. As lunchtime passed and the afternoon wore on without the air conditioning being fixed, the staff came up with more creative ways to cool off the guests, including turning on the lawn sprinklers and providing water balloons and super soakers. Seeing families taking breaks from moving in to play together provided some much needed levity in what could have been a disastrous day.

The picnic for Sean was supposed to start at 5:00 that evening. Sue had hoped to get there early so she could spend time with him beforehand. But when Sean texted her around 4:00 to tell her that most people had already arrived ("To help," they'd all claimed – as if Nancy would need help!), she was still at the inn. She and the rest of the staff were desperately trying to appease guests, many of whom had returned from campus and were upset to find that the A/C system was still down. Two techs had finally shown up and were working to fix the problem, but it was taking a while. Finally, after 4:30, everyone was delighted when the A/C started. Sue and most of the staff – and even several of the guests – whooped with joy and danced through the lobby. Sue then rushed to the employee break room, where she was met at the door by Brooke.

Brooke handed Sue her purse and keys and said, "Go. Now. And thank you."

Sue raced out to her car. As tempted as she was to head straight to Orson to see Sean, one glance at her bedraggled clothing convinced her that she needed to stop by her apartment first. When she got there, Lexie was in the living room. She was dressed for her evening shift at the restaurant.

"Sue! I thought you'd already be in Orson! Isn't it time for the picnic?" Lexie asked.

Sue threw her purse down on the island and called out as she hurried toward her room, "Don't ask!" She looked over her shoulder at Lexie, "Will you still be here in 20 minutes?" When Lexie nodded, Sue continued, "I'll need you to blow-dry my hair while I do my make-up. Or you can do my make-up while I blow-dry my hair. Or…argh! Just don't leave, okay?!" Sue disappeared into her room.

"Ooookay," Lexie said.

About 30 minutes later, Sean got a text from Sue.

Sue: On my way. Can't believe our timing got messed up again. Will see you soon. Love you!

"Sue's on her way," he called out excitedly.

"Finally!" Frankie muttered to Mike. "Poor thing. After yesterday, and the mess at the inn today, she'll probably be a wreck when she gets here!" Mike silently agreed.

Sean spent the next 30 minutes drifting from group to group, chatting and answering questions. It was a good thing that he kept being asked the same questions over and over again, because he was operating on auto-pilot. He kept checking the time, willing it to go faster. Finally, he gave up. He slipped around to the front of the house, hoping no one would follow him. He sat on the front stoop and pulled out his phone to check the time yet again.

"It'll be at least another 10 minutes before she gets here."

"Oh!" Sean exclaimed. He hadn't realized Brick had sat down beside him. "I know. But I want to see her as soon as she gets here." He made a face. "We've had issues with our timing."

"Yeah, I've heard," Brick said, dryly.

They sat in silence for a moment. Finally Sean spoke again, "I appreciate your keeping me company, but if you'd like to get back to the party…" his voice trailed off as he saw Brick's incredulous expression. "Scratch that. I'll understand if you'd like to get back to a book."

Brick shrugged. "That's okay. Besides, you can use me right now." When Sean looked confused, Brick explained, "It won't be long before they realize you've disappeared and come looking for you. I can distract them."

"How?"

Brick gestured to the line of vehicles parked on the street. "I'll start licking the cars."

"Does that usually work?"

"Always."

Sean laughed. After a moment, he looked down at Brick and asked, "Are we bonding right now?"

"Yes."

Sean smiled, then said thoughtfully, "You know, Axl and I have been friends practically since we were born. And Sue has spent a lot of time with my sisters this summer." Brick nodded. "So maybe you and I should do this more often. Bond, I mean. Not sit on front stoops."

"By 'bonding', do you mean hanging out in the same room, with minimal conversation?"

Sean grinned. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Me, too." They shook on it. Then Brick continued, "I was thinking of re-watching The Hobbit movies. Maybe starting on Tuesday."

"I am so in!" Sean declared.

By that time, folks had started to drift into the front yard. But contrary to Brick's prediction, no one approached Sean. They were all there to observe the scene that was about to unfold. Nancy and Frankie – and several others – had their phones out, ready to take pictures.

"Are you really going to take pictures again? Don't you think we should give them some privacy?" Mike murmured to Frankie.

"Nancy wants lots of pictures for the scrapbook." Then Frankie give Mike a look, "And I don't see you staying in the backyard to give them privacy." Mike shrugged.

Meanwhile, Nancy called out to her husband, "Ron!" He hurried over, looking confused. "Go get some tissues!"

"Do you think Sue will be that upset?" he asked.

"What? Oh, yes. Bring some for her, too!" Ron hurried off. Nancy looked over at Sean's expectant expression, then wiped a tear from her eye.

Over the next few minutes, even more people clustered in the front yard. Sean was now standing, anxiously watching for Sue to arrive. Shelly and a couple of the neighborhood kids ran down the street, scouting for her car. Shelly was the first to return.

"She's coming!"

Sean rushed to the edge of the lawn. The crowd followed him. Sue's car came into view. Sue threw the car into "park" at the foot of the Heck's driveway; leaving the engine running and her door ajar, she jumped out and ran across the street.

"Sean! Sean!" she cried, as she threw herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck as he lifted her off the ground. They held onto each other tightly for several long moments. Sue was audibly crying. So were several members of their audience. Sean finally gently placed her down on the ground, and cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you, Sue."

"I love you, too!" She sniffled. Nancy slipped over and handed her one of the few tissues that were still left (she and Frankie had already used most of the rest.) "I'm sorry, Sean. I promised myself I wouldn't cry when I saw you!"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It's okay, Sue. I've told you: I love you in any mood! Besides," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "I kinda feel like crying, too!"

Sue giggled, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He kissed her back, pouring all of the love and longing of the last few months into it.

Mike looked at Frankie. "This is probably going to last for a while, so I'm going to move her car." Frankie was too captivated to hear him. Mike shrugged and walked off.

When the kiss ended, Sue and Sean realized that the crowd around them was cheering. They both laughed. Sue snuggled into Sean's chest and tipped her head up to look at him. "I forgot we had an audience!"

"Not for long, I hope," he murmured. He called out to the others, "Thanks, everyone, but if you don't mind, we'd like a minute alone." After a few more cheers and whistles, most of the crowd returned to the backyard. Ron herded a few of the stragglers away. Nancy stopped crying long enough to snap a few more pictures, then joined the others. Mike returned from moving Sue's car. He paused beside them and smiled, then headed to the back. Sue and Sean were alone.

"Finally!" Sue exclaimed. Sean smiled briefly, then pulled slightly away from her, a serious look on his face. "What?" Sue asked, starting to worry.

Sean shook his head. "I've been dreaming of this for a really long time. I want to memorize this moment."

"You don't have to," Sue responded. She nodded towards the backyard. "I'm pretty sure there are several dozen pictures!"

They were both laughing as they kissed again.