Bizzy stepped from the plane pulling her coat closer around her body. Though it wasn't that cold, she felt like she needed some protection. She slid into the waiting sedan. Before she left Susan's apartment, Elise handed her Susan's home address and phone number. Bizzy wasn't quite sure what she would do with it. She spent most of the previous night staring at it before she picked up the phone and dialed.

"May I speak with Susan please?" The person who answered the phone had her hold.

"Hello." Susan voice felt warm as it moved thru Bizzy. The redhead sat in silence for a few minutes before she hung up. She couldn't say what she needed to say over the phone.

Bizzy kept the plane waiting on the tarmac for three hours. It had taken her two hours to convince herself that seeing Susan was a good idea. It had taken her another hour to pack. The entire plane ride she went over in her head what she would say. It never sounded right. But she went on faith that when she saw Susan her feelings would work themselves out.

When Susan told Bizzy she loved her, Bizzy wanted nothing more than to return it. How was she supposed to do that? She'd didn't know how to measure the feelings she had for Susan. She didn't have anything to compare them to. The only people she had ever loved were her children. What she felt for Susan didn't exactly compare to any other emotion.

Sitting on the beach that night she felt lost. She wanted to leave. Take Susan away and make a home with her. Give Susan everything she had ever dreamed of. But what would happen to her children. She had prepared her entire life to be a parent. Nothing prepared her for how she felt when first held Archer in her arms. But carrying Addison and watching her grow up was one of the greatest joys of Bizzy's life. Addison would be more than she ever was. Bizzy would make sure that Addison would not be held to the confines of expectation. So, leaving with Susan was not an option for her.

She didn't know if she had to say goodbye to Susan. Bizzy knew that Susan needed something from her and she wasn't sure if she could give it. So, here she was in Michigan.

Susan was sitting in her father's office sifting through his filing system. She had been in Michigan for a week. Her father's funeral was full of family and friends. People stood around, telling funny stories; occasionally throwing in a few about how her Dad had helped them out of one bind or another. Dad was always there for his family, it never occurred to her that he was there for the entire neighborhood.

After the funeral, her sister Rachel told her that their mom couldn't find any of the insurance information. Susan knew that was her cue to find it. Once she found and contacted the company, she began making sure all the bills had been paid. Now she was developing a system for her mother.

She felt her father's presence here more than any other room in the house. His office was where she hid when playing hide and seek. It was where her father helped her with her homework or handed out a punishment for a transgression. She would sit beside him at the desk and he would explain to her what he was doing. This is where she learned the purpose of organization. This was the room where she came out to her father. This is the room where he said he would always love her.

Doing this work kept her occupied. She wasn't sure what she was trying to avoid. Thinking about her father or thinking about Bizzy. Her father's death was a shock, but nothing had been left unsaid. No one had to tell her he loved her, she knew.

Bizzy was a different story. The days after she left the beach house she avoided every phone call and resisted the urge to return every message. When the call came that her father died all she wanted to do was call Bizzy. She had even picked up the phone and dialed the number a few times only to hang up on the first ring. Why had she fallen in love with someone who could not love her back? Why did she want more from someone who couldn't offer her anything?

"Suse, someone's here to see you," her brother Mike called up. All of her siblings had come home for their father's funeral and stayed.

"Be down in a second." She finished what she was doing and headed towards the stairs, all week her friends from high school had been stopping in to say 'hi'. When she got to the top of the stairs and saw Bizzy waiting she nearly lost her balance. For the first time in her life she didn't think. She barreled down the stairs and threw herself into Bizzy's arms. She almost knocked her over, but Bizzy just held on.

"What are you doing here?"

Bizzy pushed Susan's hair behind her ear, "Elise told me about your Dad. I had to make sure you were alright." She wiped the tears that formed in Susan's eyes away, "I wanted to see that you were for myself."

Susan buried her head in Bizzy's shoulder and cried harder. Bizzy whispered words of consolation in her ear. The redhead ignored the people standing in the foyer looking at them. Susan was the only important person. She did glance towards the doorway that led to the kitchen to a woman about her age. As the woman's glance swept over Bizzy and Susan she noticed the slight pause on her hand. Then the woman turned around and went back through the doors.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I don't even know where it came from."

"You needed it."

Susan looked around to see her siblings standing there. "Hey," she said. "This is my friend Bizzy. These are my brothers Mike and Bobby." She pointed from one brother to the other. "And my sister Rachel, her husband Tim." She placed her hands on Rachel's stomach, "And the newest addition to the family." She smiled at Bizzy who gave her a warm smile in return. "Where's mom?"

"She's in the kitchen," Bobby said pointed to where their mother had retreated. "But I wouldn't go in there if I were you." Susan rolled her eyes.

She grabbed Bizzy's hand and drug her into the kitchen. "Mom!" Susan called out. She wanted her mother to meet Bizzy more than anything. She found her mother standing at the sink washing dishes. Usually her mother was quick and efficient, but now she lazily washed one dish at a time. "Mom, I want you to meet someone." Her mother turned around and gave Bizzy a forced smile. "This is Bizzy Montgomery." Bizzy held out her hand pretending not to notice the cold welcome.

"I'm so sorry for your loss Mrs. Ballord."

"Thank you." Susan looked from her mother to Bizzy. She'd never seen her mother like this before. No matter who entered their home she was always warm and inviting. Susan wanted to confront her mother then and there, but Bizzy's hand on her shoulder and shake of head told her it wasn't a good time.

"We're going for a walk."

"Take your coat," was her mother's only response. Susan walked towards the door grabbing her coat she heard Bizzy say 'It was a pleasure meeting you' before she followed. Susan angrily put on her coat, opened the door for Bizzy and slammed it after they both walked out.

They walked in silence for a while. Neither seemed to be searching for something to say, they were comfortable in the shared quiet.

"I can't believe you came here."

"I had to come. Even if you had slammed the door in my face, I needed you to know that I was here for you." Susan opened her mouth to speak. "The morning you told me you loved me I was so overwhelmed."

"I shouldn't have said it."

"I don't know." Bizzy shook her head. "Susan you mean more to me than I could have imagined. When I wake up in the morning I think about you. Talking to you at night is the best part of my day. But I can't offer you anything else. And you deserve more than just this." Bizzy looked at Susan she wanted say 'I love you', but when she couldn't offer her more than the words and that was unfair. "You left the beach because you had to. I understand that. I didn't come here to say the right words to get you back. I came here to be here for you in any way that you need. Right now you need to be here for your family. I'm staying at a hotel not far from here for a few days. If you need me… call." She kissed Susan on the forehead. They walked back towards the waiting sedan and Bizzy got in.

When Susan walked into the house she was peppered with questions from Rachel. She waved her off and headed upstairs. Susan closed the door to her bedroom and crawled into bed. Right now she needed her dad, he could tell her what to do.

This was her second night in Michigan. She had spent all day returning calls via her butler and rescheduling the things she had to do over the last few days. Susan had called her a few times and they talked just like before. Everything that had gone wrong was ignored. Now she was trying to finish the calls before Susan arrived.

"No, Emily, I will be back by Friday we can do a walk thru then…. Yes I spoke with Alexandra and we confirmed the details for that function." Bizzy rolled her eyes when there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was Susan she just opened without inquiring who it was. She came face to face Susan's mother. "Emily I have to go…. No I'll talk to you when I return." She hung up the phone. "Hello, Mrs. Ballord. Would you like to come in?"

Susan's mother stepped inside, they locked eyes with one another. "You can call me Helen." Bizzy wondered briefly whether they would engage in small talk before Helen said what she came to say. Bizzy offered Helen a drink. She declined, but asked "Are you sleeping with my daughter?" No small talk.

"Yes."

"You're married." It wasn't a question. Bizzy nodded "So, I am wondering why you are with her. Is this something you do? Lure young girls into your bed and when you are done with them move on to the next."

"Susan isn't a distraction." Bizzy said defensively.

"Have you told Susan you are going to leave your husband for her?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing with her? What are you doing here?" Helen drew in a heavy breath. "Do you realize she's in love with you?"

Bizzy sat down on the bed. She was seldom at a loss for words. Bizzy had never been on this end of a confrontation before. But this didn't feel like something she would have doled out.

"Yes, she's told me. I am not sure what I am doing here. I came because I wanted to be here for Susan. I care about her."

"You care about her." Helen said in disbelief. "Susan has always been my child most in control. She's like her father that way. When you walked in my house yesterday, for the first time since she arrived, Susan cried like she couldn't feel her emotions without you. So, I wonder when you head back to your life, what will happen to my daughter."

"I wish I could walk away. I didn't plan for our relationship to get this far." She wanted to tell this woman that she would walk away from Susan but she didn't know how. Susan was a part of her, a part she didn't know how to live without. "I'm sorry."

"When she needs to leave, promise me you will not chase her." Helen left the room.

Bizzy sat on the bed for a ½ hour, trying to think. Her mind just swirled. She was unable to grab onto a thought. Eventually she called the front desk and had them order Susan a pizza. When Susan arrived Bizzy ate the pizza like it was something she did every day. She told every funny story she could think of just to see Susan smile. Nothing worked, Susan placated but didn't engage.

Bizzy pulled Susan down on the bed and held her in her arms. Bizzy started to ask Susan questions about her father. Every question Susan answered brought more tears. Bizzy stroked her back. "Just let it out." Susan cried herself to sleep.

Bizzy thought about her conversation with Helen. She understood a mother's need to protect her child. Isn't that what she was trying to do for her own. Protect them. She knew that their current arrangement was doing more harm to Susan than good. She contemplated Helen's last request. Could she not chase Susan if she walked away? Hadn't Susan walked away from her on the beach and here Bizzy was - chasing.

"I love you." Bizzy whispered into her hair. Until that moment she couldn't quantify her emotions. "I love you." She said again, crying silent tears over Susan's sleeping form. She knew that if Susan walked away from her now, she wouldn't chase. She loved Susan too much to continue to hurt her.