I Can't, I Won't

Summary: Sequel to Life's Full of Little Surprises. She was the girl that he couldn't forget, he was the man she didn't want to forget. He fell for her on a bus, she fell for him in the rain. After two years apart, they are brought back together. But are they willing to let themselves fall in love again?

Disclaimer- I own nothing but my OC's. It is very sad, but true.

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Many thanks to Jas120, awtr101fan, and AznIntegra! You guys so totally rock. Just thought you should know!

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Just as Adam had predicted –and dreaded- he had been the beginning of another Duck Grapevine. He, Charlie, and Jesse received a call later that night. It was Tammy berating Jesse for not adding that Charlie had a girlfriend too. Without provocation she explained that Dean had turned the Grapevine around, having everyone call whoever had called them, to let them know that Charlie was also no longer single. Neither Jesse nor Charlie had talked to Dean, so they knew exactly who to blame.

Adam had found it quite funny, really. Charlie's reaction, that was. He could have sworn that his best friend would quite literally lose his head when Tammy mentioned Teresa's name. Charlie gave him absolute hell for it for days until Teresa told him to stop, that she was glad that his friends knew that they were together. With all the Duck talk that she'd heard from Jesse, Adam, Dani, and even Charlie himself, she really wanted to meet them and she didn't want her existence to be a complete shock.

After that, things were peaceful. Charlie and Teresa were often together, as were Dani and Adam. Jesse, though seemingly the odd man out, had formed a friendship with Lex and her best friend and roommate Raquel. Charlie and Adam didn't know about the depth of his friendship with the older girls, and neither did Dani or Teresa. It was something that Jesse liked keeping to himself. Charlie and Adam didn't have to know everything about him. So, when the trio received a frantic call from Dani less than a week after Charlie finally got off of Adam's case, they were all concerned and anxious.

"Hello?" Adam asked, picking up their home phone.

"Adam?" Dani asked back, her voice cracking.

"Dani?" He asked, immediately confused, "What's wrong?"

Breathing heavily, as if she were trying to keep tears from flowing, Dani replied, "I need to talk to you and Charlie. Jesse, too." She added.

"Okay." Adam replied hesitantly. Why had Jesse been added in as an afterthought? Adam wondered but didn't think on it too long, "Charlie, Jesse! Get out here." His friends complied, though were questioning bitterly about what his problem was. Adam ignored them and placed the phone on speaker and continued, "Okay, Dan, what's the deal?"

Dani's shuttered breathing and shakiness were clear through the phone. Jesse and Charlie were no longer angry, but just as confused as Adam and, truthfully, somewhat scared, "Um… Well, the reason I called was…" Dani sighed and sniffled, "Teresa and Lex were driving to their mom's place last night and got hit by a drunk driver…"

Before Dani could continue, a resounding "WHAT!" rang through the penthouse. It came from all three of the boys.

"Yeah, I went to sleep early last night, so I thought she was going to be home after I went to bed." Dani admitted, clearly thinking herself a complete idiot, "But she never called and I haven't seen her since yesterday morning, so I called her mom, but I couldn't get a hold of her. I tried Jeff and he said that Elizabeth was at the hospital with them."

"Which hospital are they at?" Charlie asked feverishly.

"They're not there anymore." Dani said, "They left almost an hour ago, after the doctor's released them. Neither of them needed any surgery, so they kept them for 24 hour observation and let them leave. Teresa's over at her mom's and Lex's roommate picked her up and took her home."

Charlie nodded to himself, raced to his room, and reemerged as he pulled on his jacket, "I'm going over to Elizabeth's place to see Teresa, don't wait up for me." He said quickly as he raced out the door.

Adam, however, was too preoccupied with keeping his girlfriend calm to take any notice of Charlie, "Sweetie, relax." He said, "Look, where are you? I'll come get you and bring you back here, okay?" Dani agreed and Adam hung up, "You don't mind me bringing her here, do you? I don't think she wants to be in her dorm alone." He asked Jesse.

"Of course not, man." Jesse replied, "Why would I? I'm going go out though; for a walk." He said, leaving before Adam could say anything. Luckily, he'd already been wearing a sweater for the comfort aspect of the attire. Now it would also serve to keep him warm as he made his way to Lex and Raquel's condo.

Taking the metro, it wasn't very far to Lex's. In fact, it only took Jesse ten minutes from the second he stepped out of the penthouse to when he stepped off of the elevator on the top floor of the condominium complex that Lex and Raquel called home. He quickly strode to the door and rang the doorbell, sighing heavily

"Hey, Jess." Raquel said as she opened the door, "I take it you heard."

Jesse nodded, "Yeah, how is she?"

Sighing, Raquel replied, "She's okay. I've made her stay in bed since I brought her home. She broke her arm, but it wasn't so bad that they needed to do surgery, and she has a massive concussion. They told me to wake her up every couple of hours if she fell asleep. She got the worst of it; Teresa's a little better off." She sighed again, "Come on in."

"Thanks." Jesse replied. He hadn't even thought about coming in for some reason. Entering the luxurious, yet still homey, living room of the condo, Jesse asked, "What happened? I mean, I heard about a drunk driver, but I didn't get details."

Raquel sat down on a stool by the bar on the opposite side of the living room, "Well, according to the police reports, the freak was twice the legal limit for being drunk. We're lucky no one was killed. Anyway, he was behind Lex and Teresa on the road, but started swerving and stuff. He ended up next to them and swerved again, knocking their car into a ditch. He hit a pole about two miles down the road, but he didn't get hurt. How's that for irony?"

"Dumbass." Jesse hissed, "Where's the karmic justice?"

"Nonexistent in today's society." Raquel seethed, pulling a ginger ale out of cooler behind the bar, "Here, you're not legal to drink yet, so take this."

"Like legality has ever stopped anyone." Jesse said, taking the ginger ale nonetheless. He opened it and took a long swig as Raquel pulled out an Italian soda, "Can I see her? Is she up for visitors?"

"Are you kidding?" Raquel asked, taking a sip of her drink, "She's been bitching to me about making her stay in bed. She's bored. So I would say "yes", you can see her." She pulled out another Italian soda, "And bring her this."

Jesse took it and nodded, turning in the direction that he knew that their bedrooms were. The girls had given him a tour of their "humble abode" the first day that they had spent together, the day that he'd found out that Dani and Adam were back together, and a fair amount of his free time was spent with Raquel and Lex so he knew where everything was. They were really nice girls who had terrible taste in men, he'd learned quickly.

Knocking on Lex's bedroom door, Jesse waited. He didn't have to wait long, "Go away, Raq. I have a major headache!"

"Well, I see how it is!" Jesse called back lightheartedly, "I see that I'm not wanted."

"Jesse?" Lex asked.

Chuckling, Jesse opened the door and replied, "Who'd you expect? The tooth fairy? Aren't you a little too old to believe in old wives tales like that?"

Lex chuckled, "Come in."

Jesse did as he was told and entered Lex's room. It looked just like any normal person's room, painted Lex's favorite colors (green and blue) with all the furniture one might expect in a bedroom; a dresser, bedside tables, a large desk in the corner with a laptop resting on it, chairs, a futon, and Lex's gigantic bed. The only thing that distinguished Lex's room from other rooms was the walk-in closet. Lex called it spacious; Jesse called it obscenely huge.

Lex was sitting in her large bed reading Les Miserables. She smiled as Jesse entered, saving her place and putting the book down. He noticed that her hair was pulled back into a perfect ponytail. Shaking his head, Jesse said, "Just like you. You were in a car crash and you still took time to put your hair up this morning."

"It serves a purpose, doofus." Lex replied, "I cracked my head against the window, see?" She turned her head and he saw a large bruise above and to the side of her left eye. There was also a small gash near the center of the bruise, "If I don't keep my hair up then it will brush against the cut. I don't deal well with pain."

"I think you've mentioned that once or twice." Jesse quipped. Once or twice an hour, maybe, "Here," He said, handing her the soda, "Raquel told me to give this to you."

"Thanks." Lex replied, opening the soda and taking a drink, "So, since you're here I'm assuming that Charlie and Adam know as well. How's Charlie doing?"

Jesse shrugged, "I don't know. He ran off so fast, I couldn't tell. He's worried, I'm sure."

"Teresa's fine." Lex assured him, "A sprained wrist and a much more minor concussion that I have. A couple of bruises, too. Nothing big for Charlie to worry over. I think he'll have to comfort her, though. Tess gets freaked out easily."

Raising his eyebrows, Jesse asked, "Tess?"

"Her nickname." Lex clarified, taking another drink of soda, "We don't call her that too often and there are only a few people that she let's call her it." Jesse nodded and sat down on Lex's bed, "Thanks for coming to check on me, Jess. You're a great guy."

"I do try." Jesse replied, placing one hand on Lex's, "I'm glad you're okay."

Smiling, Lex said, "So do I." Jesse leaned over and gave Lex a kiss on the cheek, far enough away from her bruise that he didn't rub against it. He pulled back slightly and Lex turned her head to look at him. He was so sweet and she wondered why she couldn't meet more guys like him. Quite intentionally, Lex leaned over and kissed Jesse's lips. Jesse responded positively.

After a moment or so, the two pulled apart and groaned, "Well…" Jesse said, "That was counterproductive."

"I know what you mean." Lex moaned, "Damn it! You're the nicest guy I've met in a while and kissing you is like… Well, not so awkward is kissing my brother, but… Like... I don't know."

Thinking for a moment, Jesse sighed, "Yeah. You're not like a sister…"

"A cousin!" Lex called out, "Kissing you is like kissing a really close cousin. Not as weird as my brother, but still pretty strange." Jesse agreed with a nod, "This is unfortunate." The two looked at each other and couldn't help but burst into hysterical laughter.

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There was no laughter for Charlie. He was scared, worried, and all around freaked out. His feelings for Teresa were at the stage where they confused him, but didn't. He cared about her more than anything, but did he truly love her? He wasn't sure, but he was willing to find out.

There was a big possibility that Charlie had been speeding most of the time as he made his way from the penthouse to Elizabeth's home. He thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't gotten pulled over. It didn't dawn on him until he reached his destination that, though he wanted to get to Teresa as quickly as possible, he was no better than the jerk that had hit her with the way he was driving. Sighing to himself, Charlie stalked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

"Hello, Charlie." Elizabeth said sweetly as she opened the door, "I figured I'd see you here soon. Come on in."

"Thanks Elizabeth." Charlie replied with a forced smile. He didn't feel like smiling, but Elizabeth deserved one, "How is she?"

Sighing heavily, Elizabeth answered, "Better than Lex. A sprained wrist, some bruises, and a small concussion. She'll be fine in a day or two. I've asked if she's okay and she says that she is, but I know my daughter. She is internalizing. She's up in her room, if you want to see her." Charlie nodded his head, "Follow me." Elizabeth said, as Charlie had no idea where Teresa's room was.

Elizabeth reached a door at the far south end of the house and knocked on the door, "Yes, mother." Teresa called back to the knock, clearly tired by the sound of her speech. Her voice made Charlie's heart soar.

Elizabeth opened the door and looked in, "Sweetheart, Charlie's here." She opened the door and walked in. Charlie followed and Teresa smiled when she saw him. He smiled back and Elizabeth quickly bowed out of the room. Her footsteps went down the hall and descended the stairs.

The moment Elizabeth's footsteps stopped, Charlie rushed over to Teresa and hugged her. Teresa wrapped her arms around him in a vice grip and he felt her sobbing, "Shh." He whispered in an attempt to console her, "You're fine." This, Charlie could tell, was her internalizing coming out.

"I was so scared." Teresa admitted in a hushed, ragged voice, "It all happened so fast. I thought Lex was dead. She was the last thing that I saw before I blacked out. Her head had cracked against the window and there was blood and she was unconscious and… I remember thinking about you."

"Me?" Charlie asked, squeezing her closer, "Why me?"

Teresa pulled away and looked into his eyes, "Because I was scared that I wouldn't see you again. I care about you, Charlie, and… I think I'm falling for you." The last part she added, continually getting quieter as she spoke. It was as if she wasn't sure she should be admitting what she was.

Charlie pulled her into another deep hug and kissed her cheek, "I think I'm falling for you too." He whispered into her ear. After a moment, Charlie pulled back and gently took Teresa's injured arm from around his neck. She watched in confusion as he lifted her arm and brushed his lips to her sprained wrist.

"Charlie…" Teresa started, not sure at all what she was going to say next.

After a moment of silence, Charlie lifted himself off of his knees and sat down next to her on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled into his chest, "I'm so happy that you're okay. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been." Teresa said as she had to by not saying anything.

The couple sat there for a moment in silence and ended up falling asleep. Elizabeth came back up an hour or so later and almost left. She didn't want to disturb them, they were just so cute, but she had dinner ready. Teresa and Charlie panicked when they realized where they were and just who had woken them up, but Elizabeth told them to relax, "Dinner's ready. Come down and get it."

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Though confused by Jesse's quick departure, Adam nonetheless followed his friend out of the penthouse. Jesse had turned left, but Adam turned right to the enclosed parking lot around the back of the building. As quickly as possible, Adam raced off towards the library on the BC campus; where Dani told him to pick her up.

It didn't take Adam long to get there, even with him respecting the speed limit. Dani was pacing outside of the door, wringing her hands and chewing on her lip. Adam honked and she ran over to the car, jumping in at stop speed. Lying against the headrest, Dani sighed. Adam leaned over and kissed her on the temple.

Dani shot him an appreciative smiled, "Thanks for coming to get me."

"No problem, sweetie." Adam replied as he drove off campus, "You know that they'll be fine. The doctor's wouldn't have released them if they'd showed any signs of problems."

"I hate doctors." Dani mumbled with a shutter.

Sighing, Adam said, "I know." He also knew that Dani would not want to get on the subject of doctors any further so he dropped it. They reached the penthouse parking lot after a lengthy drive of silence. Neither of them could think of anything to say to the other, so they just didn't say anything at all.

The walk up to the penthouse was just as quiet and the silence was only broken after Adam closed the door behind him and said, "Can I get you anything? Water or something?"

"Do you still have some of that chamomile tea that you're mom sent you?" Dani asked, "That stuff was really good."

"Coming right up." Adam replied, "Sit, relax, don't worry." He added, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissing her on the cheek. Dani did as instructed and sat down whilst Adam went into the kitchen and made her tea. She knew that she had to be positive or else she wouldn't be able to function properly.

Breathing deeply, Dani attempted to let herself relax on the couch. It worked a little and sooner then she'd expected, Adam was handing her a hot mug full of tea, "Thanks, baby." Adam leaned over and kissed her, careful not to knock the mug in her hand. That was just what they needed. A trip to the hospital for burns…

Adam turned and went back into the kitchen as Dani sipped her tea. He soon returned with a bottle of water and sat down with her. Dani drank her tea in silence. She was slow in doing so and Adam noticed that whenever she put her mug down, Dani would pick at the skin around her thumbnails. He recognized that habit. It was something that she'd done when they were together. It meant that she was internally battling herself.

"What are you thinking?" Adam asked.

"Nothing." Dani replied convincingly. Adam shook his head; he'd observed her too much during their first time together to not see the signs, "What?"

"I know you." Adam said, taking her hand in his and rubbing the now torn skin around her thumbnail, "I know that you're thinking about something."

Sighing, Dani admitted, "I know that you're right. That I shouldn't worry. I can't help it, though. I'm just trying to convince myself that everything will be all right." She took a deep breath, "I'm trying but it's hard because all I can think about is going back to my dorm room. It'll be empty; I don't like empty."

Thinking for a minute, Adam said, "Stay here tonight, then."

"I beg your pardon?"

Nodding, Adam repeated, "Stay here. It's Saturday tomorrow, so no worries about missing class. The pull-out couch is really comfortable, I promise." Dani stared at him with an eyebrow raised. Was he really being serious? "You said you didn't like empty and it won't be empty. Plus, you'll be able to talk to Charlie about Teresa."

"Um…" Dani said, not sure of what else she could possibly say.

"Dan, you'd be staying the night on the couch." Adam replied, trying to defuse a possible catastrophe, "It's not like anything would happen."

Thinking for a minute, Dani took a sip of tea. She looked at him, bit her lip, and replied, "Why not."

Adam stood, "I'll get you some sheets and blankets." Dani thanked him as he walked out of the room. She sighed and went back to her tea once he was out of her view.