"Oh my goodness! Kostos!"

She jumped into his arms. His broad shoulder muscles strained as he pulled her closer to his body. She pulled back to look at his face. They looked into each other's eyes and stared, exchanging a look of utmost passion. If exchanged looks could be rated by color, this one would be a smoldering, fiery crimson. Deep longing submerged in passion danced across their retinas like hot flames licking at empty space, search for oxygen to encourage its growth. Their faces moved closer together until their lips touched. She pulled away and there she stood, embraced in a kiss with a tall, dark skinned man. Only his locks were golden and his eyes were bright and expressive and, oh God, that nose...

Carmen sat up violently in a fit. Her breaths were frequent and heavy. Her mind was spinning around the room. Her body told her to lay back down, get some oxygen so it could adjust its blood pressure. Carmen ignored her body and sat there in thought. She was going to get up but her limbs were shaking so violently that she would probably collapse if she did, giving her body the victory, which she just couldn't allow.

This was it, she thought, she had lost it completely. She had totally flown off the handle. Lena and Win? This is what she got for eating tortilla chips with that new kind of salsa her mom bought, the really, really hot kind, right before bed. She knew Lena hadn't seen Kostos in almost two years, so she could totally dismiss the scenario of them uniting in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Or Lena with Win, for that matter. She silently cursed herself for prying details from Lena about that particular evening two summers ago. Now she was Miss Paranoia. And her with Win! Part of her wanted to laugh, another part of her wanted to throw up. The thought of them together was insanity, something Carmen was having an encounter with. The part of Carmen that wanted to throw up was narrated by a little voice in the back of her mind, that darn rational Carmen.

Well, that was what you always thought with Tibby, wasn't it?

Even the rational part of Carmen had gone on vacation to Looneyville. Carmen was concerned with herself, though something in the back of her mind was a little disappointed to discover that Looneyville wasn't a theme park with the Looney Tunes. She snorted a little, then realized what was going on inside of her head. She stood up, only to fall back onto the make-shift bed. She laid there for a minute. The room stopped spinning, her limbs relaxed, and she got up, taking deep breaths. This behavior lasted about thirty seconds as Carmen flew out of the door and onto the street below. She walked down the sidewalk running her fingertips through her hair and massaged her scalp. She remembered her pocket. It was lucky (or was it unlucky?) that she had fallen asleep with her cell phone in her pocket.

She pulled it out of her pocket and did speed dial for number two. She always did her speed dial in the order of their births, it was logical and orderly that way. She pressed the phone hard into her ear even though the tone was loud and it was quiet in suburbia on that summer weekday afternoon. She heard the tone ring and ring. It was like her brain was pinging with insanity each time. Her frustration grew each time, causing her to pace back and forth in a silent fit. No answer, just voicemail. Paranoid, Carmen stormed down the street en route to the Kaligaris family home. Just to be certain.

Lena stared at Kostos. Her mouth was open, gaping like a fish. It took her a second to remember that this was the boy she loved. Well, the man she loved. Sometimes she forgot that she was now a part of the adult world, though only just. It was still weird for her to think of him as a man because of this. She glanced up at him and realized that he was standing there looking at her with the same amused expression he had worn the last time he had randomly showed up to surprise her with a visit. She hadn't been wearing a shirt then, but being caught off guard in front of all these people made her feel more exposed than she had been two summers ago.

And what about that? The last time she had seen him he had been married. His "wife" - she remembered the adult thing - his wife had been in a family way. Before he had left her to be a gentleman to a woman he barely knew, their short time together had been filled with passion, though slightly restricted because of his insistence on being a gentleman. She had wanted to show him her love in every way that she could think of. Emotionally, spiritually...physically.

Somewhere in the vicinity below her Lena could hear the muffled sound of her phone ringing. She didn't acknowledge it and continued to gape at Kostos. She remembered the adult thing again and coerced herself into not being so chicken-like. She vaguely remembered the courage of the pants, and despite the tragic state of the Sisterhood, she extracted courage from whatever there was to extract from. Who said you needed to physically wear the pants to access their magic?

"Kostos. Why are you here?" Lena panicked silently in her mind as soon as the question had left her mouth, afraid that she had come across irritated instead of the calm cool collected person that she clearly was at that moment. So much for the courage.

Kostos grinned boyishly at her, "Do you want the real answer or the one that I would tell your parents?"

Lena's heart lightened slightly. "Both, please." She felt the corners of her mouth pull up shyly.

"I'm here to continue my internship. I grew up on Smithsonian magazine and I'm staying with the Sirtises in Chevy Chase." He ticked these off on his fingers, mocking himself. "Did I forget anything?"

Lena smiled at him. "Nope."

Then Kostos leaned down to Lena's ear and whispered, "But mostly I'm here for you, because I wasn't before. I have paid dearly for that."

Lena looked up at him speechlessly. She didn't know what to say. She was curious about his wife, the baby, but another part of her hoped he was done being a gentleman so she could jump his bones. Still, she was herself.

"What about your wife? The baby?"

A surge of anger and frustration settled over his face. It highlighted the lines on his forehead as they crumpled up, searching for the right words. "I cannot speak of the details intimately because it all causes me a great deal of pain, but I will tell you all that you need to know. Marianna never brought a child into this world. She caused me great pain and I divorced her, disappointing my grandparents. The moment I signed the papers I bought a ticket to the United States to come to you. I hoped that the smallest bit of you would still love the fool that stands before you.

Lena's eyes were brimming with tears. They were not tears of despair or melancholy. They were not of joy or anger. They were tears of love. Her wide, celery colored eyes forgave Kostos and loved him for his struggles and pain. She stood up and placed her hands on Kostos' chest. She rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the lips. Her kiss was an expression of her forgiveness and understanding. She briefly and intimately informed him that she was willing to be his love again and for always.

And he eagerly returned the sentiment.