Billy smiled as Katie snuggled beneath the blankets. Her face morphed into a sleepy grin as she clutched the pillow and breathed in deeply again. He'd made so many mistakes in his life, but his children were among the few things he'd never questioned. They were what he had done right. His relationships with his family had been strained. His relationships with women had been nothing short of disastrous, but he needed to believe it could be different, if not for him, for his children. They deserved better. They should have something more to look up to, something more to hope for in life. God knows he hadn't exactly been the role model for a happy, healthy adult, much less a functioning relationship.

In recent months, he'd begun to question if he was even capable of that type of relationship. Maybe there was something fundamentally missing within him. Maybe he didn't know how to be committed to someone, to put someone else's feelings ahead of his own, ahead of his demons, to not let his own selfish desires to take control. But now, he had a ray of hope and the sudden turn toward optimism was far from random. It had everything to do with the woman he'd run into at the bar, the one who'd last slept in this bed, the one whose face he couldn't get out of his mind tonight. Yes, Kelly Cramer would certainly play a part in his dreams tonight.

4:45. Kelly huffed as she threw the covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Sleep had alluded her for the greater part of the evening and she couldn't pretend she didn't know why. It had all started before she even crawled into bed, as she'd reached over to turn out the light and glimpsed them over by the window. Neatly framed and sitting on a credenza, the framed photos had been blanketed in just enough moonlight to catch her attention. Before she could stop herself, she'd been on her feet and carefully studying the captured moments. And from point on, sleep had been a distant dream.

Her eyes still moved to the picture in question almost involuntarily. She and Billy had talked about their families. He'd told her all about his children, Johnny and Katie. She would have remembered if he had mentioned another child. The pictures of Jack and Ashley were expected and their faces were easily recognizable to her. She'd been in the business world long enough to know one should do their research before showing up for an interview and she'd made it her business to know the major players in Jabot. She also knew that neither Jack nor Ashley had children of this age. So who was the young girl in the photo? And, the still more nagging question, who was the pretty brunette in the picture with them?

The tension that had become all too familiar began to creep back into her shoulders. She forced herself to her feet and stepped into the light of the bathroom. One look into the mirror confirmed her worst suspicions. She looked like she felt – tense, tired, and frustrated.

"Kelly Cramer, you are being ridiculous," she hissed at her own reflection. "What are you doing? This isn't why you're here. You don't need this. This is, in fact, the last thing you need." So what was this exactly? Was she jealous? Was she angry? And why did she have a right to be either? She barely knew this man. Billy Abbott was under no obligation to tell her his life story. Just because she'd fallen apart and spilled her deepest darkest secrets to him didn't mean he had to do the same. She certainly didn't have any claim on him.

She roughly raked her fingers through her hair as she spotted the soaker tub in the mirror. A nice relaxing bath, she thought to herself. That was exactly what she needed. She needed to crawl into the warm water and let all her thoughts and worries just drift away. She'd wash away the tension, wash away these questions, wash away all this insanity until she was back on track. Everything would be just fine.

Kelly froze as she hurriedly tried to wrap the silk robe around her still damp body. The spaghetti straps of her camisole clung to her the water droplets on her shoulder. She ran the towel over her wet hair as best she could as she stumbled towards the door.

The clock read 6:34. She'd taken her time getting ready this morning and she'd had a nice leisurely soak in the barely used tub. It was a rarity for her to have a free morning when she wasn't expected to be anywhere or be anything to anyone. Back home if she didn't show up somewhere by a respectable hour, someone would be calling to check up on her. And now, it felt as if nothing had changed. But 6:34 was hardly late, she muttered as she padded quickly to the door.

"Who is it?" she said as she leaned in closer to hear the response.

"Room service." Katie giggled as she waited for the door to open. She looked back towards her father who balanced the bags and trays in his arms. "You think she'll let us in?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sure she will," he answered. Though he could honestly say that showing up here with breakfast had been Katie's idea, he couldn't pretend that he'd done anything to dissuade her, nor could he say that he was anything less than thrilled that his daughter had given him a reason to show up here so early this morning. He'd spent most of the night before staring up at the ceiling and thinking of all the ways he might be able to convince Kelly Cramer to give a relationship with a screw up like him a chance. She'd certainly had her fair share of trouble in her life and he'd imagine she wasn't looking to sign up for a relationship with a man who had a track record like his. But maybe, if he could just …

Every thought ceased as he looked up to see the door now open. She stood and the doorway and smiled as she looked down at Katie. The fitted camisole and printed pajama pants were still visible even as the silk robe was cinched around her trim waist.

"Sorry to just show up so early," he managed. His tongue suddenly felt heavy and his brain seemed unwilling to process the English language. His gestured towards Katie with his head. "She just … I mean … She's been up for hours and, you know, patience isn't really one of her virtues."

Kelly nodded. "And where do you suppose she gets a trait like that from?" She smiled as she saw the almost bashful grin play upon his face.

"So," she said, turning her attention to Katie, "What is all this?"

"It's breakfast," Katie said simply. "You bought dessert last night so Daddy and I brought you breakfast." She paused for a moment and thought. "Well, we brought us all breakfast, but we can all eat here together, right Daddy?"

"Well," Billy stammered a bit as he looked down at his daughter and then up at her again. "I uh … We don't really know if Kelly has plans this morning sweetheart, so you can't just …"

Katie's face fell a bit. "Do you have plans?" she asked sweetly. "Or can you stay and eat here before you have to go back to your room. Daddy and I don't have to go anywhere until later. We're gonna go to the park. They have storytime and then we get to paint. You can come to if you want, but only the kids can paint."

"Well, I'd love to have breakfast with you." Kelly felt a rush of warmth as she saw the look of delight on the little girl's face. "But the park sounds like something that's gonna be so much fun for you and your Dad, so you two should do that."

Billy stepped inside and placed the food on coffee table.

"You'd make it even more fun," Katie protested. "You could go down the slide with me. Daddy doesn't like to do that." She turned back to face her father in search of an ally. "Tell her," she pleaded.

"She's right," he shrugged playfully. "I'm a bit too tall for the slide, but you …" He pointed at her and tried to keep a serious face. "You are clearly the perfect slide height."

"You are," Katie argued, now completely committed to the argument. "So you'll come, right?"

Billy flashed a charming, if not slightly mischievous grin at her as she sat down and placed the napkin in her lap. "I think it sounds like the best offer I've had all day."