Tap-tap.

Emma rolled over in her bed when she heard the noise start.

Tap-tap.

She glanced over at Manny, but found her snoring away as she had expected. Manny possesed that rare yet enviable gift that enabled her to be able to sleep through a hurricane if there was one.

A smalll light ebgan to shine in her general vacinity and she finally got it. There was someone at her window.

While Manny could sleep through anything, her mother couldn't and she would be down there in a heartbeat if she heard anything suspicious. SO she eased out of bed and crept over to the window as quietly as she could manage.

"Sean?" she asked once the window was open.

He held out a hand to help her climb out. On her feet, she hugged him as tightly as she could.

"Em, I can't breath." he wheezed breathlessly.

"Sorry." she let him go. "What are you doing here? I didn't think I'd get to see you again for months."

"I got back to the hotel and it was all I could do to not turn right around and come back here. I think I wore a track in the floor from pacing so much. So I tried to go to bed, but I just ... laid there. I couldn't leave it like that." he explained.

"I don't think I stopped crying until I laid down in my bed." she admitted. "You were gone what, three hours, and I missed you so much I felt like I couldn't breath."

Sean took her hand and lead her around the side of the house to the front yard. They sat on the steps, Emma twinning her arms around Sean's, their fingers entangling naturally. Leaning her head against his shoulder she whispered, "I wish the morning would never come."

"I know. And not just because I'm gonna get chewed out for missing all of my press stuff today."

Emma gasped. She had completely forgotten about that stuff. "Sean, I'm so sorry. It completely slipped my mind."

"Don't worry about it." he said.

She raised her head up and peered at him. "You remembered? And you missed it on purpose, why- why would you do that?" she stammered. She couldn't fathom why he would voluntarily skip something so important.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Sean, that could have really helped you. You should have gone."

"Hm, let's see." he said. "Go to the press thing and get my picture taken." he held up one hand. Holding up the other he said, "Or rescue my girlfriend from a panic attack. That's kind of a no brainer Em."

"You missed it because of me?" she sounded awed that he would do that for her, but truth be told he would do a whole lot more if need be.

"How else would you have gotten out of your house?" Emma knew the light tone he was using was only to hide the fact that he didn't want her to make a big deal out of it.

Emma knew that Sean would never understand the magnitude of what he had done. Or he would never admit it at least. "I don't want you to go." she said instead.

Sean took a deep brath and exhaled it slowly. "I wish I didn't have to. I ... I'm really gonna miss you."

Emma's eyes starting prickling with tears again. She ad probably cried an entire gallon in the last few hours, it was a miracle she had any tears left. "Wasaga not that far away. aybe you can come visit after my mom lifts the punishment."

"I didn't mean to get you in trouble." he said softly. She could hear the blame in his voice.

"Sean, you didn't get me into trouble. I did it myself by staying out. And then for leaving. But you want to know something?"

"What?" He tucked a stray hair behind her ear as he asked.

"I would do it all over agin." she admitted.

"Why?"

She snuggled closer to him, nuzzling her nose against his cheek. "Because you're worth it."

"When I'm with you I almost believe that."

Emma looked up at him when she heard the tone in his voice. Sean was looking down at the ground, avoiding her eyes. She felt her heart breaking for him. After all this time, he still had no idea what an amazing person he was. He couldn't see past the mistakes he'd made to notice all of the good things he'd done. "Sean."

He didn't look up.

"Sean, look at me." He still wouldn't.

"Please."

Finally, his eyes ticked up and locked onto hers. Doubt and resistance were swirling around in the blue depths. He was ready to deny anything she was about to say, she could see it plain as day. But she knew she had to. "Sean, you are worth it."

"Emma ..."

"No. You are. Because you're a great guy and I love you. That doesn't change anything that's happened, but it's not mutually exclusive either. And you're not going to change my mind about this no matter how hard you try."

He shook his head, a small smile playing a long his lips. "After everything I've done to you, how is it possible that you still feel that way. What did I do to deserve you?"

"You say things like that." she whispered, kissing him on the cheek.

They settled into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. And each anticipating the inevitable second goodbye that would be coming in just a few short hours.

"Emma?"

"Hm?" She was running her fingers lightly up and down Sean's forearm, lost in thought, and wasn't really paying attention.

"Emma." he said a little more forcefully. She raised her head off of his shoulder and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"When you came to the race, you seemed pretty determined that that Peter guy was who you wanted be. What changed?"

Emma took a deep breath. She really didn't want to do this. But she knew Sean, and knew he wouldn't drop it. So she had to tell him. "The second Manny told me you were back in town, I freaked. I knew that everything had changed."

"How so?" He didn't understand why just knowing that he was back in town, for something that didn't even involve her, could have such a dramatic impact.

"Because as soon as I knew you were here you were the only thing I could think about. And I just couldn't ... I didn't want to do anything else until I saw you." she confessed.

"And now, you're sure? About you and me, I mean, you're not going to get back togteher with that guy after I leave are you?"

Emma pulled away and stood in front of him on the steps. "How can you say even think that? After every ... after what's happened the past few days, how can you ask me that?" she stammered over the huge lump that was beginnig to take up residence in her throat.

He stood up on the steps, their noses less than an inch apart. "Because I'm scared!"

"Scared? Of what?"

"Of this!" he motioined between the two of them. "Every time we try to do this, something happens and we just fall apart. I don't want that to happen again." He sank back down onto the step he had been sitting on before, his head falling into his hands.

She sat back down beside him, her hands going to her arm. She wanted, needed, him to know that she wasn't going to give up. "I don't either."

"I don't know," he said, "I just feel like ... if we don't get it right this time ... there might not be a next time."

"I know the feeling." she said.

"So what are we going to do? Try the long distance thing until one of us gets tired of it and just gives up? Then what? We're over for good?"

Emma shook her head furioiusly. "No. That's not going to happen."

He scoffed, and looked at hre. "How do you know?"

"Because I intend to talk to you so much, on the phone, email, whatever, that you're going to get sick of hearing from me. I'm going to fight for us Sean. With everything I have. You're it for me." she told him passionately.

Sean took her face in his hadns and kissed her hard, pouring everything he felt for her into it. "I love you."

"I know. Now can we just stop all of this drama please? I'm not sure I can take anymore."

He laughed. "Okay."

"So tell me," she inquired as she wrapped her arms back around his the way they had been, "what are you planning to do with that money you won?"

"Manny!"

Manny awoke with a start at someone yelling her name. It was Sunday and way too early for her to have done anything wrong. She turned her head, blury eyes finally settling on Spike standing at the foot of her bed.

She sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Emma's not in her bed or the bathroom. Do you have any idea where she is?" she asked, worry written all over her face.

Manny wasn't suprised. With Emma's disappearing act the day before, it was possible that she and Sean could have driven halfway to Mexico before anyone realized they were gone.

"No. She was here when I went to sleep last night." She got up and headed for the stairs with Spike. In the kitchen Snake was on the phone with someone but hung up quickly when they walked in.

"She doesn't know." Spike said.

He nodded. Walking over and grabbing his keys from the hook he said, "I'm gonna go look for her. Call my cell if you hear from her."

Both of them had followed him over to the door. "We will." Spike assurred him. He opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks. Spike and Manny looked around him to see why he wasn't moving.

Emma and Sean were still sitting on the steps the same way they had been the night before. And neither of them made any ackowledgement of to the presence of the peple behind them.

"Emma!" her mother said, obviuosly relieved but furious. "It's not even eight o'clock, what are you two doing out here?"

"It's my fault." Sean said without turning around. "I came over last night and ...well I'm sorry. I just didn't want the last time we saw each other to be when I dropped her off."

The tension that had been hanging heavy in the air seemed to evaporate. "I'm just gald you teo are here, and not off somewhere where no one knows how to find you."

"I'm sorry Mom." Emma said, turning to look at her over Sean's shoulder. "I know I'm grounded and everything but ..."

"Don't worry about that." she said.

The eyes of the other four people in the house turned to her in astonishment. "Sean, would you like to stay for breakfast?"

"Yeah. I'd like that." he said. He and Emma stood up and they walked into the house.

"So how long were you two out there?" Snake asked.

"Since about three." Emma replied.

"You sat out there all night?" Manny asked incredulously. "Doing what?"

"Talking." they said at the same time, then burst into laughter.

Spike, Snake and Manny all looked at one another in bewilderment. Apparently, they just didn't get what was so funny.

Snake got Sean involved in a conversation about racing, and then about Sean's motorcycle. They got so caught up, that Spike had to tell them four times that the food was ready before they got it.

It was a normal breakfast. There was no mention of the fight the day before or Emma's staying out all night and leaving the house after she came home. They talked about common things, the weather, news, sports. Sean tried not to say anything stupid like he had when he had been invited over for dinner. Snake tried to keep the conversation going with random facts and very unfunny jokes. Manny tried to pretend they were funny. Spike was preoccupied with the fact that Sean had pulled Emma and Manny's chairs out for them and that Emma knew exactly which dishes to pass him and when.

Sean helped the girls clear the table and do the dishes after they were finished. He played with Jack when he woke up. Then he went outside and helped Snake work on his car. Emma watched from the window, a soft smile on her face.

Her mom came up beside her. "When is he leaving?" she asked in a low voice.

The day before, Emma would have thought her mother was looking forward to his leaving. Now she kne that she was worried about her and what would happen once he was really gone.

"He told his mom he'd be home before dinner. So probably around three." she answered.

"I'm sorry for you. But it doesn't cahnge anything." She knew what that meant. She was still grounded. No matter how much she was hurting.

"Can I talk to him on the phone?"

"An hour a day. No more. The phone bill will go through the roof."

"Okay."

Her mom squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before walking back into the kitchen where Manny was coloring with Jack.

Lunch came and went and a few hours later Sean got up, saying he had to leave. Emma walke him outside. He had remembered Craig saying that Joey never locked the garage so he had parked it in there for safe keeping.

"My mom said I can call you once a day. But we only get an hour." she said.

He was playing with an end of her hair. Looking into her eyes he smiled. "I'm really going to miss you Em."

"Me too." She hugged him just as tightly as she had the night before, but not as dramatically. He pulled back far enough to kiss her sweetly and then he walked down the steps. At the sidewalk he turned back. She held her hand up in a sort of mini wave. He smiled returned it, walking from sight.

Emma sank down onto the steps, too heartbroken to even cry. They were back together yes, but he was about to be two hours away for who kne how long.

Manny came out and sat beside her. "You okay Em?"

"No." she said, still looking ahead as the ound of a motorcycle rumbled to life in the distance. "I'm not.