When Kris came to, Junior was by her side.

"Have you called Laura yet?" Kris inquired, hoping that she'd make him angry enough to leave. She didn't need to see him all the time only to be reminded that she couldn't be with him. It'd be much easier for the both of them if they just weren't in each other's lives.

"Kris, are you feeling better?" Danni asked as she came into the room, preventing Junior from answering. Junior put his face into his hands, leaning over as though he'd puke.

"I'm alright," Kris assured her. "What did they do to me?"

"Sewed you back up, that's all they could they do. You're lucky to have made it. You almost didn't."

"I have you guys to thank." Junior then looked up at Kris, she was smiling at him. Her mind seemed to constantly change about their relationship. One minute she was bringing up Laura, the next she was smiling at him like no one else in the world would do.

"I guess I should leave," Danni suggested, seeing thoughts with no words pass between them. Junior agreed, then turned back to Kris.

"No, I haven't call Laura," he admitted. "Not that she's called me either."

"Where is she?" Kris questioned.

"Some business trip, I'm not sure." Kris' eyebrow arched. "She's away so often that I don't bother remembering where she is anymore."

"That must be hard on the marriage."

"Not really," Junior assured her. "I like time to myself, but I guess it does get a little lonely when you have to go home to an empty house all the time." Kris nodded. "Alright, so now that I've saved your life, you owe me."

"Owe you what?"

"Tell me what happened this past year."

"Pull the IV out."

"Kris…I need to know."

Kris nodded, then warned him, "I'm probably going to cry at least twice." A smirk came to his face as he assured her that nothing could shock him more than what's already happened.

"Shoot."

"For a while, Wildfire and I just road around. Then, I figured that we could go home and take care of my mom, so we headed there. When I found my mom, she'd just been diagnosed with cancer." Junior let out a gasp. "So I called Jace, who my mom told me had signed up for another round with the Marines, and found out that his plane had been bombed." Junior looked at her eyes, already filling with tears. "Everyone who was on that plane is dead." Junior gently stroked Kris' back, reminding her to breathe as tears streamed down. "My mom didn't know she had cancer until it was too late to treat it. So I sat there for four months, watching her body decay in front of me." In walked Matt with a bouquet of flowers.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, coming to Kris' bedside and wiping away her tears. "Don't cry. Big girls don't cry." Junior glared at Matt as though Matt was the one who stabbed Kris, then told Matt that it wasn't the best time. "Why not? I'm here to see Kris. After all, she lives in my house."

"Don't you get it, you idiot!" Junior snapped, the immediately calmed himself. "We're in the middle of an important discussion--That has nothing to do with romance, but I'd be really happy if you would let us finish it in peace." Matt immediately left, flustered, ashamed, and angry. Kris scolded Junior, but he refused to apologize. "Matt just wants to get in the way of us, even if there isn't an us." Kris nodded. "Continue."

"So, when my mom finally died, I decided to take Wildfire and get out." As her eyes started to water, she lifted her hands to her eyes, about to wipe the tears away; but Junior took her hand in his.

"Don't be afraid to cry," he insisted. "You deserve to cry." She forced a smile, then continued.

"So Wildfire and I road around for a while, doing a few under the table matches. That's where I met a guy named Axel. He offered me a place to stay. He's the son of a senator." Junior waited for her to continue, but words weren't forming. Her composure was breaking.

"Did you love him?" Junior asked. Kris nodded, gasping for air like the tears were taking all the oxygen from her. "What happened?"

"His sister came to visit," she began. "We went out for a ride-the three of us. I didn't know then that it would be the last time I road Wildfire-"

"Were you attacked there and they went to get help?" Junior asked, on the edge of his seat, wondering how it all had happened. Then he became quiet, waiting for her to answer him.

"We were a few miles out when it happened. Axel always carried a knife around, so it didn't bother me that when we stopped to give the horses a rest he took it out. I gave Wildfire some of the water I had, not knowing that it was poisonous. When I didn't drink, Axel came at me and began stabbing, his sister holding me down and keeping me from fighting." Junior was trying to keep himself from crying. "I loved him Junior, I'd been with him for so many months, and I thought that he was going to be the one to get me over you. I loved him. A part of me still does and thinks that I got what was coming to me. I lost everyone and everything I ever loved, I thought that it'd be a fitting end; like Axel was trying to put me out of my misery. I'd told him everything about me and my past-there was nothing I had hidden from him; and I thought he loved me despite this. Sometimes I think that he tried to kill me because he knew I'd never feel alive or alright again." Junior hugged Kris tightly to him, regardless of the Kris' tears soaking his shirt.

"Kris, he wasn't doing you any favors. You deserve to live, to love, to laugh. Don't let anyone make you think that death would be better than life."

"Junior, it just hurts so much to live."

"I know, but when you're happy, it's worth it. You've got Raintree, remember?" She shook her head.

"But it seems like I can't have Raintree without Matt expecting to have himself in the romantic part of the package. Like I have to choose between love and Raintree." Junior nodded, knowing that they'd been through the conversation. "I need both in my life, but especially family right now. Mine's all gone." Junior let go of her, but forced her to look him in the eyes.

"I'm here for you. Wherever you go, Laura as my wife (or not), I'm here. No one is going to keep me away from you if you need me." Kris smiled, then wiped her face with her sheets.

"Thanks, Junior." He messed up her hair, making her laugh and slap him playfully.

"Why were you running to my house?"

"I was trying to keep you from telling Matt about the lie I told you."