A/N: Thanks to Nate, as always, I remain ever grateful for your comments! As usual, any reviews, feedback, constructive criticisms are appreciated. Thanks for reading :)

Chapter 13

A loud knocking at the door interrupted Chuck as he sat busily on the sofa folding towels.

With furrowed brows, he wondered who it could be. In the two months he'd been with Tina she'd never had visitors. The knocking continued.

"Just a minute," Chuck yelled, grabbing hold of the crutches and hobbled over to the front door and opened it.

A man roughly about Chuck's age stood before him. He was tall with short, wavy reddish-brown hair, a muscular build, and a friendly smile.

"Hello," Chuck greeted with a puzzled expression.

"Howdy! You must be Chuck Noland."

"That's right."

"I'm looking for Bettina. Is she here? I saw her truck out front."

Chuck felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn't help but wonder if it was the bastard who stood before him.

"She's upstairs and you are?"

The man pulled open the screen door and held out his hand to Chuck. "Sorry. That was stupid of me. I'm Ricky, Bettina's older brother."

Chuck breathed a small sigh of relief and shook the man's hand enthusiastically. "Of course. Come on in. Tina told me all about you."

Ricky's face took on a serious look. "Oh. Hope she threw in some good stuff."

"She did. Come sit down." He gestured to the easy chair and Ricky plopped into it.

"I haven't seen my baby sister in months and when I read the article in the paper I just had to come meet you in person. You see, I live in Austin."

"Tina mentioned-"

Ricky interrupted, "Our Ma even found the article online and e-mailed it to me."

Tina descended the stairs quickly and gaped surprisedly at her older brother. "Ricky Ricardo! Oh my God. How are you?" she squeaked and ran to embrace him.

He squeezed her tightly and lifted her off the floor. "Bettina Louise! I'm great, Sis. How are you?"

"I'm doing just-"

"I was just telling Chuck here about the newspaper article and I just had to come see for myself."

Tina met her brother's green eyes and looked casually at Chuck. "I'm so surprised to see you. Are you staying?"

Ricky nodded. "Just for tonight. I have to head back tomorrow. I've been meaning to get out here for a visit and see…" he paused and looked at Chuck, "what you're up to."

"Ricky?" she cocked her head to the side. "Did Mama put you up to this?"

Avoiding her eyes, he told her, "Well, Mama wanted to be here but she's in Florida right now, as you know."

Tina pursed her lips. "Right." She gestured for him to sit but he stood facing her. "I'm fine, Ricky. I can take care of myself."

"And Chuck, I see."

With a smile, she looped her arm through his leading him to the kitchen. "I am taking care of him as any good friend would do. So lay off, please," Tina told him very sweetly as she circled him back around into the living room and gave Chuck a look of warning. "I'm about to start dinner. How about you two get acquainted?"

"Okay, let's start with little known facts about Bettina."

It was Mexican food night. The trio sat around the dinner table filling their taco shells with ground beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato, and beans and rice.

"Alright," Chuck agreed with a smile. "Let's start with that," he repeated noticing Tina's horrified expression.

She shook her head. "Aw Ricky, c'mon."

"My baby sister was runner-up for Miss Teen Texas," he told Chuck proudly.

Chuck was enjoying this. He felt as though he were learning about a whole new side to her. "Wow, Tina, I'm impressed."

With a frown, she said, "Oh please, Ricky, I don't want to be remembered for that. I would rather be known as a successful independent businesswoman who doesn't need the help of a man to survive.

Ignoring her, he continued, "She has quite the singing voice too. Have you heard it?"

Chuck shook his head as Ricky continued. "Bettina has quite the stubborn streak in her. She's very damned competitive."

"Ricky!"

Chuck spoke up uneasily. "I could see that."

"Chuck!"

He looked at her hurt, distressed face, and told her defensively, "It's just that you win every game we play. Scrabble, Chess…"

"Checkers, Sorry, the list goes on…." Ricky continued.

"And on." Chuck added.

"Let's not forget how you took first place in the surfing competition when you were 16."

Chuck gaped at the embarrassed redhead who was now looking down and shaking her head.

"Tina was very athletic. She lettered in Volleyball, Soccer, Track."

"Can we please talk about something else?" she begged her brother; her face flushed.

Ricky's green eyes turned to Chuck. "So how long since the accident?"

"It's been almost nine weeks. I should be getting this cast off soon," he answered and took a last bite of his taco.

"You've suffered some serious misfortune, Chuck. So what are your plans now…I mean do you have a job lined up or do you plan on continuing to leech off my sister?"

"gasp!"

The question caught Chuck by surprise and bits of the taco went down the wrong way causing him to cough uncontrollably.

"Ricky!" Tina reprimanded as she walked up behind Chuck and firmly patted his back. "He is not leeching off of me."

Ricky looked reproachfully at Chuck and back at Tina.

Still patting his back she hissed at her brother, "If you must know, Ricky, we have a business arrangement."

"Right," he responded doubtfully.

Chuck signaled to Tina that he was okay and took a drink of milk. "Seriously," he cleared his throat. "I've been paying rent and other expenses because she's been taking care of me."

Tina nodded in agreement and sat back down in her seat. "He received a large severance check from Federal Express not too long ago as well as money from a settlement."

With a suspicious look he eyed Chuck and Tina.

"But, I would've done it for free, Ricky, and I told him as much. Chuck wouldn't hear of it."

With an apologetic look he told Chuck, "So what's next for you once you're back on your feet?"

Tina cut in, "Well he's not going to be one hundred percent, Ricky. After the cast is removed he'll probably have to go through physical therapy and use a cane. It could take months."

"Okay, okay, Tina." He turned to Chuck. "But you've got to have a plan."

Chuck considered Tina's overprotective brother realizing that he meant well. "For the first time in my life, Ricky, I don't have a plan and I don't intend to rack my brain trying to figure it out."

Ricky studied Chuck's face. Here was a man who'd survived extraordinary circumstances. Since Ricky had arrived in Shamrock he'd noticed the change in the people's attitudes towards his sister. He would always be grateful to Chuck for that. "It's a miracle that you are still alive."

"Don't I know it," Chuck agreed noticing Ricky's relaxed tone.

He raised a finger. "You know, our own little Bettina had her own brush with death."

Chuck's eyebrows raised and looked at Tina curiously.

She shook her head. "Oh please, Ricky. Spare us."

"When she was about what…nine…ten years old she wanted to surf some pretty high waves." Ricky looked at his sister who was rolling her eyes. "She was trying to catch up to me and went out too far. She ended up getting swallowed up by the waves and bonked on the head with her boogie board."

"Wow…that sounds -"

Ricky cut in. "It knocked her unconscious. If not for this teenage boy pulling her from the water she surely would've drowned."

Chuck stared at Ricky, dumbfounded. "Oh my God-"

"We don't even know who the boy was. Never even had the chance to thank him for saving my little sis from the clutches of Hell."

"Ricky!"

Chuck was speechless. He couldn't imagine the thought of Tina dying.

"Oh that reminds me of the time that Tina snuck into the movie theater and…"

"Ricky, he really doesn't want to hear this."

"Yes he does, yes he does!"

"She and her boyfriend were making out and-"

"Okay, maybe he doesn't."

"Goddammit, Ricky!" she screamed.

Ricky glanced up at his sister, unfazed by her outburst. "Oh yeah, and of course she has quite the pottymouth."

"No shit."

"Ricky!"

"Well, yes, I've noticed that."

"Chuck!"

Furiously she picked up the empty plates and took them into the kitchen, dropping them into the sink and muttered profanities to herself as the two men laughed.

Ricky's expression quickly turned serious and he leaned towards Chuck. "Seriously, Chuck, another little known fact is that my sister is a black belt in Karate. She broke a guy's nose once." He paused for effect. "She can kill you if she chooses."

With furrowed eyebrows Chuck's eyes met Ricky's.

"Don't get me wrong. Tina wouldn't hurt a soul unless she was threatened. However, I have a shotgun and I will use it if you hurt my sister. Remember that."

"Well, Ricky's a scary son of a-!"

"Ricky, I have no intention of-"

"Let's just keep it that way, Chuck, and we'll get along just fine," he finished casually.

Returning to the table still muttering curses Tina became silent and observed the curious exchange the two men were having. "So is that it? Have ya'all had enough of making fun of me? Are we done now?"

Ricky's eyes never left Chuck's. "I'd say we're done, wouldn't you."

Chuck nodded. "We are most certainly done."

Ricky gathered his things the next morning as he got ready to leave. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"I'm sure," she told him with a smile.

"Well I should hope so, I gave him the talk."

Tina's face fell. "Oh good Lord, Ricky, not the talk. We're just good friends," she told him not wanting to admit their true relationship yet.

"Call it what you want, Tina. I saw the way he was looking at you," he told her noticing the surprised look on her face, "and the way you were looking at him."

He opened the front door and faced his sister. "Chuck's a great guy…but you're my sister and I can't stand to see you get hurt again." Ricky embraced her with strong brotherly arms and walked out the door.

She followed him out onto her front porch and pet April as she watched her only sibling drive away.

"Pleasant fellow."

Tina was startled by Chuck's voice and turned to see him standing at the screen door. She opened up the door and kissed him good morning. "Hope we didn't wake you."

They turned and headed towards the kitchen.

"I was getting up." Chuck's eyes fixed on the kitchen table. "I understand why you didn't tell him about us." He laughed. "Imagine if you had."

Tina embraced him tightly. "Aw Chuck, you'll have to forgive Ricky. He's been through a lot too. Dick was his best friend."

Chuck nodded understandingly.

"So I guess you can't blame him. It's just going to take some time."

Tina moved away from him to reach for two cups from the cupboard.

"Tina?"

She turned her eyes back to Chuck, noticing his curious expression.

"Are you really a black belt?"

One week later

The past week had been hell. Kelly's grip tightened on the steering wheel and she shook her head as she drove on auto-pilot, reliving the past week's arguments with her husband, Jerry.

She was a married woman. So what was she doing driving to Texas?

This wasn't how it was supposed to be, she'd thought over and over again. Chuck and I were supposed to get married. He said he would be right back.

Kelly sighed as those words absently escaped her lips once again. How many times had she repeated them to her family, to her friends, to her therapist? It had taken years for her to accept Chuck's death, although everything inside her screamed that he was still alive. Year after year had passed and her heart had been broken.

If only I'd waited, she lamented. "Who are you waiting for, Kelly?" the therapist had asked her. "Chuck's dead and he's not coming back. You have to let him go. It's time to move on."

Kelly had moved on alright, under much urging from her mom, therapist, and Jerry. She had been honest with him right from the beginning. She hadn't gotten over Chuck and maybe she never would.

Jerry truly loved her and accepted that. And that's probably why he convinced her at the hub not to meet with Chuck. "It was too soon," he'd told her. "Give yourself some time."

The night he'd shown up at her house Chuck hadn't required any explanation from her. He had deserved an explanation; he had deserved something... Just the thought of it had brought her to tears.

Chuck was a prince among men.

And she'd almost left with him.

For a brief moment, she'd put aside her responsibilities so that her heart could reunite with his. But she couldn't do it. Upstairs watching from the window, Jerry knew that Kelly was his, because the love of her life had come back and she couldn't leave her family.

Chuck had almost been killed…again. This time in a car crash, and nobody had told her. She'd almost lost Chuck…again.

Not this time, she thought. Kelly reached under her seat and grasped Chuck's favorite Elvis cd that she'd secretly held onto and popped it into the cd player.

Take my hand, take my whole life too, 'cause I can't help falling in love with you.

She wiped more tears from her eyes as the tune brought her to another time; a happier time when she and Chuck had their whole lives ahead of them.

Brushing blond strands of hair from her eyes she sat straight up in her seat, took a breath, and patted a brown leather-bound journal on the seat next to her.

The journal; it had been one of the last gifts she'd received from Chuck that Christmas before he left. It was something she always treasured. Following the suggestion from her therapist, Kelly diligently recorded her feelings. It's gold lined pages contained entry after entry of love, loss, depression, and grief. Kelly wanted, no, needed Chuck to forgive her. She hoped that the journal would help him to understand what she'd gone through while he was stranded.

Kelly desperately wanted Chuck to take her back.

Two hours ago, she'd left her daughter, Katie in her mother's care. Katie was the biggest reason that kept her from leaving with him. Katie was her whole world- one and a half years of love and unbridled joy - she couldn't abandon her. While Kelly's mother hadn't exactly approved of what Kelly was up to, she understood.

Her husband took it better than expected. Jerry half-expected this may happen and told her that he might not be there if she returned.

And that was the chance she was willing to take.