Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

Realization of Fate

The Unfinished Proposal

He shook his head before putting down the phone. When he turned, two pairs of eyes were staring right at him.

"That was Tyler," he informed Caitie and Hank.

"What did he say?" Hank asked.

"He just told me that he won't be home for a while."

"Well, where is he going?" asked Caitie.

"He doesn't know."

"Why didn't you ask him?" she asked once again.

"I did, but he just hung up."

"Maybe he had some business to do," Hank assumed. "You know how he is."

"Actually, I'm kind of worried. He didn't sound right at all. His voice was rather shaky, and it seemed like he was upset or something."

"Let's just hope for the best," Hank said. "And pray that he doesn't do anything ridiculous."

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…One week later

Hank arrived at Jamie's house with a box of pizza. Since Caitie was out with Val and the kids, he and Jamie decided to have a little fun themselves.

"Is this half supreme and half meat lovers?" asked Jamie as he let Hank in.

"What else would it be?"

"This is weird."

"What is? The pizza?"

"Tyler not being here. I just have the oddest feeling."

"I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry."

"I guess you're right."

"So, what are you watching?" Hank asked as they reached the living room.

"Just some nightly news."

"Anything interesting."

"Same old, same old."

Hank sat on the couch as Jamie went to grab some drinks and any other food he can find.

"Jamie!"

"What?" he called out from the other room.

"Tyler's on TV!"

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"Are you serious?" Val asked as she came out with some food from the kitchen.

"Look!" Caitie pointed out.

"Where is he at?"

"Los Angeles. The reporters spotted him near some building."

"Are you telling me that he drove over there?"

"It seems like it."

The two of them paused as they watched.

"What brings you here, Mr. Connell? / I just went for a little road trip, that's all."

"Did Ms. Burbank go with you? / She stayed in Virginia."

"What is going on with the Walter Steinberg case? / We're still going over the details."

"Are you personally handling the case? / Yes, I am."

"How's you company holding up? / The money is still coming in."

……………

"When is the wedding?"

"Which one?"

"Yours."

"There's no wedding."

"What?"

"You heard me. There is no wedding. Now, can I please go?"

"We don't understand," said a bunch of reporters.

"The wedding is off. There isn't going to be a wedding. Not in a month… Not in two months… Not ever."

"What happened?"

"I would rather not answer that question. Why don't you ask her? Now, please, just leave me alone."

……………

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Hank and Jamie were both shocked after the whole interrogation with Tyler ended.

"Did I just see and hear what I thought I saw and heard?" asked Jamie.

Hank just nodded.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot."

"Tell me about it," Hank responded. "I can't believe that really just happened."

"No wonder he was acting weird."

"Well, there's a good thing about this whole thing."

"Yea," Jamie snickered. "We don' have to pretend to like Andrea any more."

"Well, that was not what I was thinking about, but that could be pro number two. The first one is that we know that Tyler's fine. Well, physically fine. Emotionally unwell."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"It's not like anything is going to stop you from saying it."

"I think Tyler is some sort of a 'woman repeler.'"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"Every time he's serious about somebody, he ends up breaking up with them. What is up with that?"

"Well, technically, it's not really his fault. They're the ones who break up with him."

"Hmm, good point."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead."

"Do you think he'll ever get married?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well, it's just that every time the whole 'marriage-related-sort-of-thing' comes up, it's always a 'kiss of death' situation for him."

"Well, look at it this way, Hank. At least he got to propose this time."

Hank and Jamie shared a small laugh before they noticed that Caitie was watching them. Jamie immediately stood up.

"Caitie? What are you doing here?"

"Well, this is my house, and I need to get something."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

Jamie turned to Hank before turning back to Caitie.

"You didn't happen to see the news, did you?"

"Actually, Val and I saw half of it before we turned off the TV."

"Don't you feel bad for him?" asked Jamie.

"Cut the crap, Jamie! I know that you two know something that you don't want me or anyone else to know."

"We're not hiding anything, right Hank?"

Hank stood up and smiled at Caitie nervously.

"Of course we're not."

"You see, the more you two do that, the more convinced I am that you're lying."

"We're not lying about anything," said Jamie.

"Then, do you mind telling me about the 'at least he got to propose this time' part?

"We never said that," Jamie said.

"Jamie, I love you, but you're a really bad liar."

"Funny," he said before playfully sticking his tongue out at her.

"I know what I heard."

"Just because we said it does not mean that it means anything."

"That was a classic comeback, Jamie," Hank said.

"You two are just making me more curious, and I will not leave until I find out."

"What do you want to find out?" asked Jamie.

"Was Tyler about to propose to some girl that I don't know about?" Caitie asked.

Hank and Jamie looked at each other as though to decide if they should just tell Caitie.

"We promised Tyler that we would not tell a soul," Hank said. "If we tell you, do you promise not tell anyone?"

"Fine, I promise. Now who is it? Val would really love to hear this."

"You promised not to tell anyone, and she really would not want to hear this," said Jamie.

"Why not?" asked Caitie.

"Because it's her."

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Did you guys like it? I hope so, but I had fun writing it so that's good. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review. I'll try to finish the next chapter soon. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182