July 1999

"I told you it doesn't concern you. You've got too much to worry about already. Check me off the list."

She woke up to the sounds of his voice, low, trying to get rid of whoever was on the other end of his cell phone. Her eyes fought to keep open; when she finally fell asleep, it was during the early hours of the morning when the sun still has a few hours to rest before its debut. How could she sleep when so much was going on beside her? He had never dared to get close to her at night after they made love; it would have only crushed the spirit more to have her in his arms before she had to disappear. But last night…that was different.

Last night, she felt his lips on her neck and his hair through her fingers. Last night, she felt peace in his touch and warmth in his voice. Last night, she felt his arms wrap around her waist before he fell asleep. His fingers spread out across her stomach as he pulled her into him and she rested her back against his torso. Karen had let out a soft laugh and said, "You know I'm not going to walk out on you."

"I know," he had whispered in reply. "I just wanted to know what it felt like to hold you through the night." That's when he said it. Slow, like someone who was never too sure in their convictions to begin with. Almost scared, like a young child asking for something and fearing any negative repercussions. But sweet, like that one song out of a million that can touch your heart like no other.

"I think…" he had started. "I think I'm falling for you." In all the time they had spent together the past few months, neither of them had ever alluded to the fact of being in love. But she just assumed they already knew where they stood with each other. She could have sworn he knew that she felt the same, and she couldn't tell whether his trepidation was for fear of rejection or fear of breaking some sort of unspoken rule. Will had to have waited until her back was turned so he wouldn't have to see the look on her face if she didn't feel the same way, it had to have been premeditated.

She had twisted around in his grip so she could face him, graced her fingers along his jaw line and gave him a smile. "So come join me on the ground. I've been down here looking up at you the entire time, waiting for you to fall like I have."

He had pulled her in after that, and she could feel his heart beating as he let sleep take a hold of him.

When she woke up this morning, her eyes didn't immediately fall onto his. But other than that, it was exactly like how she used to dream it. For a moment, Karen almost expected to wake up and find herself lying next to Stan, hoping she didn't jerk into reality too hard to require an explanation. But then she felt the sheets draped around her. And she knew that this was real.

"Does it matter whether I came home last night? And what are you doing calling my work to see if I'm there? You know it's my day off. You're not my mother. I don't have to explain myself to you."

She sat up in bed and let the covers fall around her, trying to figure out where he went off to. His voice was so faint but she could still make out everything he was saying. She willed him to keep talking, so she could follow the trail of his voice.

"No. Please don't get upset. I'm sorry I said that. I know you were worried, but I'm fine. It's all okay. I was safe last night…I was just out, that's all. I went out, I stayed out…yes, with someone else. I didn't come home last night. That doesn't mean you should worry about me though."

Karen could still feel his embrace around her body, fresh even after it happened. And as she rose from the bed and slipped a robe on, she wondered whether or not she could keep that feeling longer if she tied the sash around her waist tight enough. She found Will with his back towards her on the balcony the guest bedroom led to. God, all she wanted to do was go out there and feel the New York sun on her face as she greeted the morning with him. But she didn't want to disturb him while he was talking to…who was he talking to?

"Grace, come on. Don't be like this. You have so many other things to focus on. This is so trivial."

Damn it.

On some level she knew. It had to have been Grace. No one else would have called him so early in the morning just to see where he is. It was Will's own life and he didn't have anyone to answer to but himself. That's a given, not just for him, but for everyone. But if Grace isn't let in on a part of his life, she doesn't know what to do. If it's something secretive, it must be bad. If he won't talk about it, it has to be dire. So many conclusions she's jumped until she's breathless and realizes what is actually happening isn't nearly as bad as what she cooked up in her mind. Normally, even though Karen joked about it, it was actually endearing and cute, the way Grace wanted to make sure that Will was happy.

Right now, it was a pain in the ass.

Poking this little bubble they put themselves in, seeing how long it would take before it broke.

"No, I'm not going to tell you who I was with. Focus on your work. Focus on finding an apartment. Anything but me. Please."

God, she could be so insistent. And she knew she wasn't the only one thinking it right now.

"Grace, I've got to go. I'll see you later." Karen watched as Will pulled the phone away from his ear and made his way inside. He didn't realize Karen was out of bed until he looked over at the empty mattress. He found her on the other side of the room. "Hi," he said with a smile. "You heard that, didn't you?"

"I tried not to." She gave him a smile back, but by the time his gaze fell to his feet, he wasn't able to see it. "Don't worry about it. Don't let this ruin our time. It doesn't have to." Karen walked over to him, took the phone out of his hands and put it on the dresser before taking his hands in hers. "I don't care. I don't care what you have to say to them or when you have to say it. I don't care what they think. I care about you. I care that we have two weeks alone together. I care that you want to be here."

"Of course I want to be here, Karen. I love you."

He had alluded to it last night, they both did. But they never actually said those three words, strung together to make such a simple sentence, holding such a massive impact.

"I love you too, Will."

The words were spoken softly, but with more meaning than he had ever heard anyone say them at any other time. Her eyes…god, those hazel eyes. They held so much light as she said that. "You know what?" he said. "That phone call never happened. Now come here." He took her by the hand and led her out on the balcony. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

The sun shone down on their part of Manhattan in a way she hadn't seen before, actually making the streets glow with a light she had never thought could come naturally. But she wasn't focused on that. She was focused on the way Will wrapped her in his arms, the way his cheek rested on the crown of her head. She looked down at her hands mixing with his at her waist.

"It's beautiful," she said. "It's absolutely beautiful."