Julie was in a fog the entire flight to San Diego. She somehow made it into a cab and to the stadium. Showing her pass she was granted entry to the game. She wandered around talking herself into going to her seat and when she finally made her way there she was shocked to see Jason, Lyla, Billy, and his now wife Tricia, whom she'd met in San Antonio three years earlier when they only were dating. The four were equally as surprised to see her, but greeted her as she sat.

The conversation was awkward, general pleasantries and updates were exchanged, but Julie could tell there was a tension in the air because of her presence. She hated situations like this and by the beginning of the second half had to find out if she'd made a terrible mistake by coming. She knew Jason would be straight with her so she turned toward him.

"Did I mess this up beyond repair?" She said pointedly.

Jason shifted in his chair and rubbed his chin. "He took it pretty hard."

"So is that a 'yes'?"

A long sigh passed through Jason's lips and he shook his head.

"Just be honest with me, Jason." Julie demanded, "That's all I want."

"I wouldn't necessarily say 'beyond repair.' Look Julie, we all understand your decision, hell, even Tim understands it. He sees it like he gambled and lost, but he wasn't prepared for that. He might have done a lot of growing up the last few years, but he's still Tim. Better to crawl back into that cave than risk getting hurt again, you know?"

Julie sat quietly taking in Jason's words. She could feel the tears forming but willed herself not to cry. When she had opened the envelope from her father on Christmas she had been stunned. She went round and round about whether to go or just leave things as they were, but she knew this would be her last chance. With her family moving to Florida there would be little chance of ever seeing Tim again. Life would continue to take them further and further apart and she knew she had to see this through finally.

"I never meant to hurt him."

"He knows that."

"I needed to come and see this through, no matter the outcome."

"Yeah." Jason smiled. "I honestly didn't know if you'd come or not."

Julie looked at him with surprise.

"I got your dad the pass. I told Tim I needed it."

"You did this? Why?" Julie inquired.

"He needs to see this through too, Julie."

The group concentrated on the rest of the game and by the end of it there was a comfortable acceptance of her being there. San Diego ended up losing even though Tim gave a valiant effort. Julie was a little confused as what to do next, but Billy thankfully came to her aid.

"Come on, let's go wait for him."

Julie nodded and followed the group to the player's parking lot. They waited for a bit and players began to stream out and be greeted by their own friends and family. Julie did her best to stay behind the others, but when she looked up and saw Tim walking their way, she became very nervous. Dealing with his silence all these months was one thing, but she had no desire to have another ugly or hurtful exchange in front of everyone, but she also felt a shock run through her body at seeing him again. Her desire for him was never in question. She watched as he gave Billy a quick hug and shook Jason's hand. He began to say something when he realized she was standing there. He stood with his mouth open for a few seconds before anyone said anything.

"Uh, we'll see you back at your place. OK, Tim?" Jason offered.

"Yeah, man. Uh, good." Tim nodded, obviously stunned.

The two couples made their quick departure and left Tim and Julie standing alone.

"Hi." Julie said quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked with a tone of disbelief.

Julie was crestfallen. She had no idea how to do this.

"I'm not really sure."

"Street."

"What?"

"Street set this up, right? The extra pass."

"Yeah. With my dad."

Tim shook his head, "Worse than chicks, those two."

"Tim..."

Her voice caught in her throat as she looked at him. It had been almost eight months since they had seen each other. She had tried so hard to move on during that time she didn't fully realize how much she had missed him and now that she was standing before him it was all too much for her to handle.

"...I..." She couldn't go on. She honestly didn't know what to say.

He looked at her for a few moments, but she couldn't tell anything from his gaze. She saw his eyes move quickly down to her hands and she thought she saw a slight frown form, but it was gone to quickly to be sure.

"Come on," he said with a head nod, "let's get out of here."

Julie followed Tim through the crowd. He was stopped several times on the way by teammates to shake hands and exchange holiday greetings with their wives or other family members. Tim made no move to introduce her or even acknowledge her presence. Julie knew he was angry and by the look of it their conversation would be brief and most likely final. He walked up to a new black Chevy pickup and unlocked the door. She walked to the passenger side and opened her own door which felt odd as Tim had always been a gentleman in that respect. Another sign that he had moved beyond her.

Tim fired up the truck and drove out of the stadium's parking lot. Country music was quietly playing on the radio as they drove. Julie had no idea where he was taking her but she was content at the moment to just ride with him. They rode like that for over an hour until he pulled off the highway and drove down toward a large lake and parked. Her mind flashed to their conversation at the lake a few years ago in Dillon where she had spurned his desire for them to be a couple and her heart sank even more. Tim spoke first.

"Do you remember our last conversation at a lake?" He said with obvious sadness in his voice.

Julie turned to look at him. She simply nodded as speaking at that moment was impossible. She couldn't stand staying in the truck any longer. She knew if she didn't get out she'd explode. This had been a mistake, a giant mistake and she had no idea how, or if, she could fix it. Throwing open the truck's door she jumped out of the truck and started walking quickly down the lake shore. She was so angry at herself for even coming, she should have just left it alone. Tim obviously hated her and now she was going to have to deal with the fresh hurt of the confirmed knowledge of that. She felt his hand close around her arm and spin her around.

"Uh-uh," he said shaking his head, "you came all this way for something, so out with it?"

"I'm...I, I know you're angry with me, but I never wanted this to happen."

She could see the muscles working in his clenched jaw.

"I know. I read your letter."

"Why haven't I heard anything from you?" She asked in a pleading voice. "I don't understand how you can be so angry with me? Please help me understand how what I did was so terrible that you cut off all contact with me."

He looked away from her and she continued.

"Tim, me staying in London for another year wasn't an act of rejection. I don't get why you think it was."

Tim turned to face the water and after a few minutes sat down on the sandy shore.

"I was tired of being alone." He said almost at a whisper.

"Alone? I don't..."

"Yeah, Jules. Alone. I was alone."

"But, we were together."

"Not the way I needed."

Julie sat down beside him and let out a long sigh.

"I thought we were finally going to be together and really start our lives. I guess it hurt a little too much to think you wanted London more."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to. You chose to stay there instead of us."

Julie was stung by his words. She hadn't really thought about how her decision would effect him. She could finally see why it had hurt him so much. The pair sat quietly for awhile looking at the calm water before them. She wrapped her arms around her legs to stave off the chill in the air that was coming with the setting sun. Julie was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of Tim's voice.

"Why did you come here, Jules? What do you want?"

Why had she come there? She didn't even know if she knew what she wanted. Without even thinking she spoke.

"I want us."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I still love you. Do you still love me?"

Tim didn't answer. She saw the muscles in his jaw flex and he was gritting his teeth. She wasn't prepared for what he said next.

"If you love me, why aren't you wearing your bracelet?"

"I...I thought you took your heart back when you left. I didn't think you'd want me wearing it."

He was quiet for several minutes.

"You think too much." His voice noticeably softening toward her.

Julie looked at him questioningly.

"I'll always love you, Julie," he said reaching out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, "but I know that you'd never be happy with me. You'll always want more than I can be."

Julie burst into tears at his words. "How can you say that?"

"I may be a dumb jock, but I'm smart enough to know you."

"Tim, please..."

"No, you were right. I acted a fool when I left London, but it was the right thing to do. You never wanted to end up with some football player, you have your own life."

Tim gathered her in a hug and she wept. They really were over. She let out all the hurt and disappointment she had stored inside of her over the last months.

"I just want you to be happy, Jules."

"But I miss you so much."

"I miss you too. Everyday."

"Then come back with me!" She said to him sitting up excitedly as the idea suddenly formed.

"What?" He looked at her like she was crazy.

"Be in London with me. You're done for the season, right? So come with me."

"Julie..."

"No, Tim, this can work. We can work."

"I don't know..." he trailed off.

"I do. I know."

AN: I felt like ending this chapter there. :) We'll see based on your reaction what the next, and final, chapter reveals.