Lee joined Barney and the team at the bar the next afternoon. He needed a distraction to not think about Emily. He had ignored Lacy's texts again. He still didn't know what to tell her right now. He still had hope that Emily could come around, even though she was leaving tomorrow.
"Why so glum, chum?" Barney asked. "Second date go bad?"
"It wasn't a date," Lee answered dully. Of course Tool would tell him.
"That's why you're glum. You struck out."
"Do we have any work lined up or what?" Lee asked, changing the subject.
"Not yet. Don't change the subject," Barney chastised. "What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Obviously something bad. Did you kiss her and she rejected you?"
"She kissed me and then rejected me," Lee corrected.
"Ouch," Barney winced. "That's rough."
"I don't get it. Obviously there's something there, but she is too afraid to see what will happen."
"Everyone has their reasons for everything," Barney shrugged. Lee knew what her reasons were. He knew the fear that was there. He wanted to assure her he would never hurt her or abandon her. He knew she wouldn't listen to him, though. That was what frustrated him, but the idea of losing her completely if he pushed too hard was very worrisome and not something he wanted. He rubbed his face hard, trying to not think about it anymore, or at least for five minutes to give himself a reprieve. It wasn't working.
...
Emily watched Briar bang about in the kitchen for a bit before speaking.
"What did you fight about?" she asked.
"Nothing," Briar answered. "This is your last full day here, and I'm not going to talk about my stupid fiancé."
"If it'll help you feel better, I'm here to listen," Emily offered.
"And then hate him even more. No, I don't think so."
"I don't hate him..."
"But you don't like him either. You've made that very clear," Briar said a little angrily. "He's noticed."
Emily felt her eyebrows shoot up. He'd noticed had he? There was a good reason for it, in her opinion.
"He's just not my favorite person," she tried.
"Well, start making him your favorite person because I'm marrying him. He's going to be your brother-in-law, okay?"
Was it okay for a brother-in-law to touch his sister-in-law the way he'd touched Emily? It was minor, but she knew it would only progress from there. She swallowed this down because she didn't want to hurt her sister. She didn't want to lose her sister either.
"I'll try," Emily promised.
"Thank you," Briar said. "Now, let's just get out of here and do something. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know..."
"Let's visit the guys," Briar interrupted. "They're always fun, and then they can give you a send off."
"Oh, no..."
"It'll be fun. Come on. Please?"
Emily felt defeated. She wanted her sister to feel better, and if hanging around a bunch of mercenaries made her feel better, then how could she say no? Briar didn't know about Lee. She hadn't asked why Emily came from there last night, and Emily hadn't offered. She hadn't told Briar she had planned to go back there. She still felt terrible about the whole thing, and thinking of seeing Lee so soon after was scary. She hoped he just wouldn't be there.
...
"Well, look who it is," Barney commented as Briar and Emily walked into Tool's place. Toll and Gunner were having a rousing game of pool while Caesar was sharpening his knives. Yang was out and about, as was Tool. Lee was sitting at the bar with a beer. He almost fell off the stool upon seeing them both.
"Hey," Briar said. Lee could tell she wasn't herself. He flicked his eyes onto Emily, who was not looking at him.
"What brings you gals here?" Barney asked, setting down his beer and going to hug Briar.
"Just needed a good time," she answered, hugging him back.
Lee looked to see Toll watching carefully. He furrowed his brow, noticing for the first time the care and concern in Toll's eyes as he looked at Briar.
"A good time, huh?" Barney chuckled, releasing her. "Well, I don't know. Never thought myself as a good time kind of guy. I think many would agree."
"You know what I mean," Briar dismissed, going for a beer. Emily stood there looking unsure of herself. She still wasn't looking at Lee.
"Well, hang out if you'd like," Barney gestured. He went back to his beer, and Lee carefully watched from his seat.
"Hey, Lee," Briar said, plopping on the stool beside him. "You look like shit. Things not work out with Lacy?"
"I don't really know what's going on with her," Lee said carefully. "Still working out the kinks I guess." He was referring more to Emily than Lacy, but he couldn't tell her that. He still didn't know if she would be happy that he wanted to date her sister.
"Em, sit down," Briar said, looking at her sister. "You're making me anxious, hovering by the door like that."
"Sorry," Emily said, going to perch on the arm of a chair not too far from Toll and Gunner, who were now jabbing each other with their pool cues in order to cause a distraction from taking a good shot.
"What did Paul do?" Lee asked, changing the subject.
"It's what he isn't doing," Briar huffed. "I mean, I give and I give and I give, and when I ask for one thing from him, suddenly I'm the selfish one."
"I'm sorry," Lee said, not knowing what else to say.
"It's like he doesn't even notice all that I do for him. He only notices what I don't do," she went on. "And let me ask you this, would you ever look at another woman or flirt with them when you're standing there with your fiancee?"
"Um, no," Lee shook his head. He noticed Emily shift at this, and he knew she hadn't told Briar about the hug at paintball.
"I've ignored it for so long, but it's starting to bug me," Briar sighed. "But...I love him. Why is that? Why do I love him?"
"I don't know," Lee replied. He really wanted to talk to Emily, but he knew now was not a good time. He wanted to try and smooth things over before she left tomorrow and he possibly never saw her again. He wanted to see her again. He wanted her to know that.
"I sometimes just wish Paul would care a bit more, you know?" Briar went on, revving up. "The whole world does not revolve around him and what he wants. There are other people out there with problems and shit going on. All I asked was for him to sit and wait while I have the surgery and then drive me home. That's it! I mean, for f***'s sake I'm the one with the f***ing cancer not him!" The words settled in the air, and Briar's eyes widened as she realized what she had done. Lee was staring at her. Caesar, Toll, and Gunner were staring at her. Barney was gaping at her, but it was Emily's expression that was the worst. Briar twisted to look at her sister, who was evidently wrestling with a lot of different emotions.
"Oh my God," she said. "That is...that is not how I wanted to tell you."
"You have cancer?" Emily asked, shell shocked.
"I...yes," Briar nodded.
"Were you ever going to tell me?"
"Yes!"
"When?"
"After you went home," Briar admitted. Emily got to her feet slowly, still looking at her sister.
"When did you find out?"
"Two weeks ago."
"I can't believe you," Emily said. "After everything. After Mum..." She stopped, and then she gave up altogether, running for the door.
"Em!" Briar shouted after her. Lee grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from chasing Emily.
"I got it," he said. He knew Emily wouldn't want to see Briar right now. Hell, he didn't think she'd want to see him, but someone had to make sure she was okay. He hurried to the exit and went out, turning to see Emily running as fast as she could down the street. He started to run after her.
...
Emily ran hard. She didn't want to deal with any of it. She was angry her sister hadn't told her. She was angry that she couldn't even look at Lee now. She was angry at herself for making it that way. She was angry at her father for abandoning them. She was angry that her mother died. She was angry that she kept picking the wrong men.
So much anger.
She eventually stopped on a side alley that had a flight of stairs. She gripped her head and paced, sobbing. She couldn't lose Briar. She just couldn't. Briar was all she had. She needed Briar. Her sister kept her sane.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," she chanted, still crying. She eventually sat down on the steps and put her head in her hands. Everything her mother had gone through went flashing through her mind until it stopped with the image of her mother taking her last breath.
She heard footsteps approaching her, and she looked up to see Lee standing in front of her. He didn't say a word as he sat down beside her and took her hand in his.
"I'm here," he said simply. She turned to look at him, and she felt so undeserving after the way she had treated him. She had led him on, and here he was still caring about her. She really needed to talk about this, though.
"Why didn't s-she t-tell me?" she managed to say through her tears. "Oh my God, Lee, s-she has c-cancer."
His eyes showed empathy and sadness as he looked at her without saying a word. His response was to pull her into him and hold her while she cried. She clung to him as though he was the only thing keeping her grounded.
When she stopped crying, she still let him hold her. She didn't know what to do now. She didn't want to go back and face her sister, but she knew she had to. She didn't want to leave this moment because it meant facing some of the hardest moments to come, and she wasn't ready.
"Emily," Lee said quietly after more time passed.
"I can't," she whispered. "I can't do it."
He reached to cup her face and make her look at him.
"I'm here for you," he told her. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."
"Can you make it go away?" she asked tearfully.
"I'd give anything to do that for you," he answered. "I wish I could."
"I have to go back," she sniffed. "But I don't know how to be strong for her. I feel like I'm 11 years old again watching my mother fade away..." She stopped because it was becoming hard to speak again.
"You're not there," he said gently. "You're right here. With me. And Briar is as tough as they come, and she'll get through this."
"Mum was tough too," Emily whimpered.
"Hey, look at me," Lee said, his hand still on her face. "One day at a time, okay?"
"I can't..."
"You can," he said strongly. "You will."
"I can't leave now, not now that I know she's going to go through all this stuff," Emily went on.
"How about you go talk to her about it?" he suggested. "Okay? Start there."
"Okay," she nodded. He helped her to her feet, and she adjusted herself and wiped at her eyes. Then she stood there feeling frozen.
"If it helps," he said. "We're okay. You and me. Don't worry about that."
Emily looked at him gratefully. It did help. She could put all of her focus on Briar now.
"Thank you," she said. "I never meant to hurt you."
"You didn't," he shook his head. "I promise."
"Promise me you won't screw things up with Lacy because of me," Emily said, not wanting that on her conscience.
"One day at a time," Lee said again, taking her hand again. "Come on." She let him lead her back to Tool's. She had no idea what to say to Briar, but in the end she didn't have to. Her sister met her at the door and grabbed her into a tight hug, and they cried together.
...
When Briar and Emily left, Barney and the others sat there feeling shocked and helpless. Lee knew the sisters had to talk about a lot of things alone, but he wished he could somehow be there for her to support her at the same time.
"Shit," Caesar said now. "When you think things can't get worse."
"They can," Barney finished for him.
Toll was sitting there very quiet, so Lee looked over at him.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I'm just really pissed off," Toll said angrily. "And not just about her being sick but also because Paul is being an asshole about it." The others nodded in agreement.
"He's definitely being selfish," Gunner said. "I haven't known Darlene that long, but if she was sick, I'd be there the whole way."
Tool and Yang returned at this point, so Barney filled them in quietly. Lee grabbed his coat and left, not wanting to talk about it anymore. He went home, and he paused to hear voices talking in Briar's apartment as he let himself into his. He wouldn't intrude. He spent the evening alone and didn't do much. He kept thinking about Emily, and he wondered how she was doing with it all. He wondered if she was still going to go home. He knew one thing for sure. He was going to be there for both of them in any way he could. It was the least he could do.