"Brie, what took you so long?" Roger asked rushing over to Brianna.
"I'm sorry honey. Hope was giving me a hard time about coming with me." she said looking up at him.
"I don't want her here Brie." He insisted looking down at her.
"I know Baby. That's why I told her no. Bethany's gonna keep an eye on her so she doesn't try to sneak out. Everything's gonna be OK Roger." She said caressing his face. "Are you OK?" she asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Her and Tori are inside." he said looking especially nervous.
"We don't have to do this, you know? We can just go have some coffee somewhere." she suggested looking up at him.
"No. Brie, I have to do this." he said looking nervously through the window of the restaurant.
"Are you sure?" she asked taking his hand and holding it tight.
"Yeah Brie. I'm sure." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.
"Roger, I love you." she whispered caressing his face.
"I love you too Brie. Your love is the only one that will ever matter." he smiled kissing her again.
"Likewise." She smiled looking up at him before they entered the restaurant.
"Roger, Brianna I'm so glad you came." Mrs. Davis said looking up at them.
"Hi mom." Roger said standing up straight.
"Mom, doesn't Roger look great?" Tori asked smiling up at Roger and Brianna.
"He always looked great when he was with Brianna. It's really good to see you both." she smiled looking up at them.
"Thank you Mrs. Davis." Brianna said without smiling.
"Why don't we all sit down?" Mrs. Davis said looking down at Tori.
"Why did you want to see us mom?" Roger asked looking over at his mother as he sat at the table.
"I just wanted to say I was sorry for what I did to you all those years ago." she said looking over at him.
"Mom, you let him put me in the hospital and you took him back anyway." Roger said looking over at him as Brianna squeezed his hand.
"I know Roger. I'm very sorry. But if I had thrown him out, we would have lost everything we had. And I couldn't raise you and your sister with nothing. There was nothing I could do." she said looking over at him.
"Mom, I would never treat my kids the way you treated me. You chose him over me and that affected me a lot in my life. I lost out on years of my daughters life and years with Brie that we can never get back and now I'm sick and I'm gonna lose out on more time with them." He said looking across the table at her as Brianna looked down at her lap holding back tears.
"I'm so sorry Roger. There is not a day that goes by that I don't pay for that mistake." She said quietly looking over at her son.
"What is it that you want from us now?" he asked looking up at her.
"Another chance with my kids and a chance to be a grandmother to my grandkids." She said as Brianna looked up.
"That is not gonna happen." She said quietly as tears rolled down her face.
"Brie, hear her out." Tori begged looking over at her sister in law.
"No way. You may be willing to forgive and forget, but you forget. I saw everything her actions did to my husband. I'm not gonna let her hurt my kids too." Brianna said getting up.
"Brie." Roger said looking up at her.
"I'm sorry Roger. I thought I could do this, but I can't. I have to go." She said picking up her pocket book and rushing out of the restaurant.
"I have to go after her. I'm sorry mom. I can't do this either. I'll see you later Tori." He said getting up and chasing after Brianna. "Brie, wait." He called out as she rushed down the busy sidewalk.
"I'm sorry Roger. I just couldn't sit across the table from her and pretend that there was an excuse for what she did to you. I can't. I watched helplessly while she let him beat on you, I'm not helpless anymore. I couldn't stop them from hurting you back then, but I can now." she cried looking up at him as he caught up to her.
"It's OK Brie." He whispered holding her in his arms.
"I will not let anyone hurt you Roger. I love you too much to let anyone hurt you." She said looking up at him as he caressed her hair.
"I know Brie. I love you too." He said kissing her head.
"What do you wanna do now?" she asked looking up at him.
"How about you get cleaned up and we go home and pick the kids up? I wanna take them to the museum." He smiled caressing her wet face.
"Are you sure?" she asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, I'm sure Brie. I need to spend the day being a husband and a father." He said looking down at her.
"I'm sorry Roger. I know how hard it is for you to face her. I know I didn't make it easier. Not letting her into your life should have been up to you, but I just couldn't listen to her anymore. I promised you years ago that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you again." She said looking up at her.
"Brie, it's not just my life. It's ours. Yours, mine and the kids. I wasn't gonna let her back into our lives. Too much has happened. I just wanted to hear what she had to say, and it was the same crap she's been saying for years." He said leaning down to kiss her. "My life is with you Brie. It always has been." He smiled leaning down to kiss her.
"What are we gonna tell Hope? She was giving me a hard time about meeting her." Brianna asked looking up at him.
"I don't know, but she's too old for us to put her off. We have to tell her the truth. She'll see right through us." He said looking down.
"OK. Come on. I wanna take you out for coffee before we go home." She smiled reaching up to caress his face.