A few days pass, and nothing seems to get better for Beck. He had hoped that maybe after a week or so, things wouldn't seem so bad anymore...but the more time goes on, the worse things seem to get.

He's alone in his apartment dismantling the bulletin board of engagement announcements and wedding invitations from past clients. There's no use in keeping them up, all they are now are painful reminders of what he's lost. There's a knock on the door, and against his better judgement...he decides to answer.

"Hey..." Beck is surprised to see Robbie standing on the other side of the door "What's up?"

"Can we talk?"

"Sure." Beck nods, stepping aside to let Robbie in "Uh, whatcha got there?"

"Oh this?" Robbie looks down at the comically-large soft drink in his hand "I figured maybe if I ruined my body and my heart stopped beating...losing Cat wouldn't hurt as much."

"She hasn't called you back, huh?"

"No...no she hasn't."

"Do you want something to eat?" Beck begins walking towards the kitchen "Maybe offset some of that soda?"

"No, I want you to fix this." Robbie admits

"Robbie, I'm sorry." Beck apologizes "Really I am. But this time...I've got nothing."

Robbie is quiet, looking down at his feet. He had expected that to be the answer Beck gave him, but he had been hoping with every fiber of his body that he would be wrong. He had been hoping that Beck would know just what to do to help him, how to get things back to normal. He wishes he had a time machine so he could go back and stop that article from being published...anything to avoid this outcome.

"Do you want to do something tonight?" Beck offers "Maybe get out and-

"Beck, I never knew I could feel like this." Robbie interrupts him, suddenly sounding much more desperate "I-I-I I swear, it feels like I'm losing my mind. I want to throw myself off of every building in the city, I see cabs downtown and I just want to throw myself in front of them because...because...then I'll stop thinking about her."

"You will, Rob." Beck assures him "Just...give it time."

"That's just it though..." Robbie continues "I don't want to. I've waited my whole life to feel this miserable, and if this is the only way I can stay connected with her...then this is who I have to be."

"No, it's not!" Beck says sternly, raising his voice a bit and startling Robbie "You can change, you can adapt, you can make it so you don't ever have to feel like this! Ever again!"

"Y-you don't get it, do you?" Robbie stammers "So, let me get this straight? You're selling the stuff, but you don't believe in your own product?"

"Love is my life."

"No!" Robbie corrects him "Love is your job!"

With a disheartened look, Robbie turns away from him and begins walking towards the door. Beck stays still for a moment, trying to process the words that had just been fired at him, but then he follows.

"Hey!" He calls after Robbie "If you want to jump out of a plane without a parachute, be my guest...but forgive me if I don't join you."

It's a metaphor, of course, for falling in love being a leap of faith, both men know that without it needing to be explained. Most people just jump and don't think anything of it, but Beck knows he needs to be more careful now. He had known all along, after what happened in college with Sara, but what happened with Jade had only proved his theory. He'll never jump without a parachute again, and he doesn't know how Robbie could still be so receptive to the idea.

"This isn't about love for you at all, is it?" Robbie asks him "This whole time I thought I was the coward..."

He turns and continues towards the door, an angry swagger in his walk. Beck knows there's nothing more that can be said that he won't regret...so he lets his friend go.

"Where are you going, Robbie?" Beck calls after him

"Skydiving!" Robbie remarks, then walks out the door and slams it shut behind him

Beck doesn't go after him, but stays planted in the same spot and looks out the window at the street below his apartment. If that's what Robbie, someone he honestly considered to be a friend, thinks of him now, he can only imagine what the rest of the world thinks.

He abandons the collection of invitations and announcements and wanders over to his couch, flopping down at his back and staring at the ceiling. How could it have come to this? He put so many measures in place to make sure that it never came to this. His first mistake was ever agreeing to meet with Ryder Daniels, that asshole was the start of all of his trouble. How had he even gotten his card anyway? The only way he gets new clients is through recommendations from past clients, and Ryder doesn't seem like company and of his previous clients would keep...

Oh well, that's not important anymore. What's been done has been done, there's nothing he can do to go back and change the past.

He momentarily considers calling his sister and asking if he can come stay with her and Ben for a while. They live out in the suburbs, and the change of scenery might do him some good. With the new baby coming, they would probably be looking for some extra help...he could be extra help. Then he thinks it through, the last thing any couple expecting their first baby would want would be their kid brother hanging around...especially if he's acting mopey and heartbroken.

Before long shadows start to appear on the ceiling and the apartment grows dark, signaling that the sun has started to set. Beck had spent almost the entire afternoon laying on his couch wallowing in self-pity. What a waste of a day.

"You need to snap out of this, Beck." He says to himself as he stands up to turn on a light "Snap the fuck out of it!"

But how? What can he do? Quite a bit of damage has already been done and he doesn't want to do any more...but he also can't let things end this way. Maybe for himself, but not for his clients...

Wait...

There's a chance he might not ever get another client, at least not one with good intentions, but that doesn't mean he has to abandon the ones he currently has. He might be able to make things right for Robbie, if he plays his cards right. He'll need a plan, a really good plan.

All of the claims that the article in The Measure made had been false. Beck knows that, and his clients know that. All he has to do is prove it, and that's easier said than done. Once someone believes a rumor...especially one as nasty as the one going around about him right now...it can be hard to get them to believe otherwise. He's hoping and praying that he can change a few people's minds...but it might take a miracle for him to do so.

Then again...he did help Robbie Shapiro, a virtually unknown certified public accountant, land a date with one of the biggest pop stars in the world. If he can do that...who's to say he can't make things right for them now?