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"You do realize that we are stalking her, right?"

Marissa turned to look at Seth. "What are you talking about? We're not stalking her."

"You're right," Seth nodded in agreement. "We're not, but you are. I'm a hostage in all this. You've taken a page from Taylor's book and you're stalking Alex. Somehow I don't think that's the best way to win Taylor over. Flattery is crucial, yes, but this not the best kind."

"I am not stalking her," Marissa insisted. "I'm just…following her."

"Oh, cause that makes all the difference." Marissa rolled her eyes at Seth's sarcasm. She wasn't stalking her ex. She really wasn't. It's just that when Alex returned, she had her kids with her. Marissa couldn't confront the brunette with her kids in tow. What if they took an instant disliking towards her? She couldn't have that against her too. Plus, she still didn't know who this mystery guy was. He could be another doctor, but he wasn't wearing a lab coat. However, neither was Alex. What if he was her boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband? From the way he was interacting with kids, he could definitely be their father. Marissa had let out a sigh as she looked at Seth. Luckily, he had fallen asleep after he finished his lunch. The lanky brunette was sure she'd hear it from him otherwise. Marissa, herself, only had water for lunch. She wasn't hungry. Plus, with the way her nerves were, she probably wouldn't have been able to keep anything down.

So Marissa continued to just sit there, still waiting for the perfect time. Still trying to gather up her courage. She should've probably gone back to the hotel, label this mission a complete failure, and just give up. However, she couldn't. Marissa couldn't bring herself to leave. She couldn't leave Alex. Facing the doctor would be hard, but leaving her was harder. So Marissa sat in her car going over possible scenarios until she saw Alex reemerging with her kids. She checked the time. She was surprised to find that it was a little past five. She supposed that it was closing time. This caused Marissa to panic some more. She still hadn't spoken with Alex. Her only comfort was that Alex was alone. That other doctor wasn't leaving with her. That took care of the husband theory. Then again, he's probably just working late. Then, a thought crossed Marissa;'s mind. Tomorrow was Saturday. More than likely, they weren't going to be open. What was she going to do? This was pretty much Marissa's only chance. It was now or never, and yet the brunette found she couldn't move. The image of Alex slamming the door in her face, and telling Marissa that she never wanted to see her again kept replaying in the brunette's mind. She wasn't sure if she could survive the rejection.

The sound of a car starting brought Marissa out of her thoughts. She looked and saw Alex pulling out of the parking lot. Without thinking, Marissa started her car and followed the doctor. She wasn't ready to let Alex out of her sights yet. She wasn't ready to let go.

So that's how Seth and Marissa found themselves parked a couple houses across from Alex's house. It was a beautiful house. It wasn't huge, but it was pretty big. It had a huge front yard, and Marissa imagined that the backyard was just as huge. It suits her.

"Marissa," began Seth. "I'm really trying to be sensitive of your feelings here, but it's nearing seven and we're still very much in your car. If you're not going to talk to her tonight, then can we at least go back to the hotel? Better yet, we can check out the city." Seth waited but got no response. "Marissa?" Seth was awoken about an hour ago from the sound of Marissa's phone ringing. It was Summer calling to see how things were. The conversation was pretty brief so Seth tried to go back to sleep. However, Marissa's phone rang again. This time it was Ryan. Their conversation wasn't too long either, but it caused Seth to give up on trying to go back to sleep. He was surprised to find them in a neighborhood instead of a parking lot. It was darker. Hours had obviously passed and they were still in Marissa's car. Seth really thought he was going to die in her car.

Marissa continued to just look at Alex's house. "I'm a fucking coward Seth. I was one back then, and I was stupid to think I wasn't one anymore." She turned to look at Seth. A tear had fallen down her cheek, causing Seth to regret saying anything. "I can't even bring myself to do it for her. There's so much she needs to know, deserves to know. Instead of just sucking it up and go talk to her, I've sat in this damn car all day. I try to build it up-the courage. However, when it comes right down to it-I fail. I just can't do it. It's pathetic. I'm pathetic and selfish. I'm a pathetic, selfish coward." Marissa was crying a little more freely now.

Seth went to take Marissa in his arms and tried to comfort her. "Hey, it's okay. What you said isn't true."

"Yes it is," Marissa sniffed.

"No it's not," assured Seth as he rubbed the brunette's back. "You're scared, which is completely normal. It's okay to be scared. It doesn't make you a coward though. You're not selfish either. Nor are you pathetic. You're probably just not ready. We can come back and try again at a different time. It'll be easier, since we know now where she works and lives."

Marissa let out a little laugh as she let Seth comfort her. She was so grateful that he was here. No one else would have enough patience to deal with all this. They'd try, of course, but they wouldn't be able to succeed as much as Seth has.

"I guess you're right," Marissa agreed. "Perhaps this visit was a little premature. I just…I just couldn't help myself, you know? I mean, it's Alex! I just couldn't stay put."

"I understand," assured Seth.

"Let's head back and enjoy the rest of our stay." Seth was all too eager to agree. Just as Marissa was about to start her car, a movement caught her eye. She looked and saw someone walking onto Alex's driveway. Marissa couldn't really see the person, but she could tell it was a woman. She watched as the woman made her to the door. A few seconds later, the front door opened and there stood Alex. The woman made her way inside, but the door remained open. She just stood there as Alex came in and out of vision. Finally, the door was shut and Alex was making her way towards her car. Marissa turned to look at Seth with a questioning gaze.

Seth shrugged his shoulders. "I'm guessing that was a sitter. Maybe she's got a hot date. It is Friday night." Seth saw Marissa's disappointed face. "Or you know…maybe not."

The pair returned their gaze to Alex and watched as she made her way out of the driveway. Seth knew that he might potentially be regretting his next words, but it just had to do it. "Go on." Marissa looked at him curiously. "Stalk, I mean, follow her."

"Are you sure?" Marissa asked, already starting the ignition.

"No, but you have to promise me one thing."

"Name it."

"Wherever she takes us, we get out. We don't have to approach her, but we get out and stretch our legs and whatnot. Breath some fresh air. Air air. Not car air. Deal?"

"Deal."

The two had followed the brunette doctor to a bar. By the looks of the crowded parking lot, it was a very popular bar.

"A bar?" questioned Marissa. She slumped back into her seat. "I'm not sure if I want to know why she's there." Marissa was thinking that Alex was meeting someone for a drink, if not more. Maybe she really is on a date.

"Let's check it out," suggested Seth.

"Are you insane?!"

"Easy there," commented Seth. "The place is obviously packed so she probably won't be able to see us. We'll go into super spy mode. I can be pretty stealth, you know. We'll just go in there and have a look around. We'll see what's up."

Marissa thought about it for a few minutes. "Okay."

"Really?" Seth didn't expect Marissa to give in so easily. He didn't expect Marissa to give in at all. Marissa nodded. "Sweet! Let's go!"

Just as Seth had said, the place was pretty crowded. There were people everywhere, but no sign of a certain brunette.

"Do you see her?"

"No," answered Marissa. She kept scanning the crowd until she felt Seth tugging on her arm. She gave Seth her attention and saw him pointing in a direction.

Marissa followed his direction. Her eyes instantly locked on to Alex. She was at the bar. Working.

"I don't get it," wondered Seth. "She's a doctor. She's got the money, the house, the car-well, not so much the car. Why is she still bartending?"

"She loves it," Marissa answered simply. "She loves everything about it."

They had just been standing there watching Alex when Marissa said, "Let's go back to the hotel."

"You sure?"

Marissa nodded. "You were right. I want to do this, but not now. I'm not ready yet." And she wasn't. However, that wasn't what was keeping her back. As Marissa stood there watching Alex doing something she loved, she noticed how happy Alex was. Marissa then thought back to the time when they were together. Alex was once happy then, until Marissa took that away from her. Could she really do that again? Could she really be that selfish? She didn't know Alex's story, but Marissa had no doubt that Alex worked very hard to get to where she's at. What if a visit from her past took all that away from Alex? Marissa still very much wanted to see Alex, to really see her. Talk to her and everything, but she needed time to figure out whether or not that would be best for Alex. Marissa didn't want to rob her kids of their mother's smile.

"Okay."

Marissa winced inwardly at Seth's words. She was truly grateful that he was so understanding, but a part of her wished he'd scream at her, lash out at her for wasting his time. At least then, she wouldn't feel as guilty. Then again, Marissa was sure that she more than deserved to feel guilty. "I'm sorry-"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just glad I can be here for you." Marissa gave Seth an appreciative smile as they headed back to the car.

A couple of hours later, Marissa and Seth were both in their shared hotel room sleeping in their respective beds. At least, Marissa was. Sleep didn't come easy for the girl. She kept replaying the everything in her mind. She happy that she finally got to see Alex again. She was sad and upset that she never worked up the courage to talk to her. She was mad at herself for being such a coward. She felt incredibly guilty for dragging Seth into all this. The list just went on and on. Eventually, all her emotions drained her, and she drifted off to sleep.

Seth laid there listening to the sound of Marissa's breathing. At some point, he had come up with a plan, but he needed Marissa to be asleep before he could execute it. "Marissa?" he called out softly, but loud enough to be heard. He waited. No answer. He tried a few more times, and still got no answer. Satisfied that she was asleep, Seth quietly got out of bed. He changed out of his sleeping clothes, wrote Marissa a note informing her that he'd gone out for air should she wake, and quietly left the room. Once he reached outside, he hailed a taxi.

"Where to?" asked the taxi driver as Seth got it in.

"O'Reilly's Bar, please."