Title: Woody Falls In Love

Chapter Seven:

Author: Jaycee

Note: Here's chapter seven! Just one more chapter to go!

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Woody's hand traveled to Catherine's hair, in awe of how soft her brown hair is.

Just when their lips were about to meet, Woody felt a hand on his shoulder. He cursed under his breath, and with his other hand still around Catherine's waist. To his surprise, he was looking at Timothy. The man was looking at him suspiciously.

Timothy looked at Catherine then at Woody. He quickly walked to Catherine's side and swiftly wrapped his arm around her waist, effectively removing Woody's arm from its place.

Woody stared angrily at Timothy. "We were dancing." He informed the man in between clenched teeth.

Timothy smiled patronizingly. "I know. But am I not allowed to dance with my girlfriend?" He asked, emphasizing the words, 'my girlfriend'.

Catherine grabbed Woody's hand surreptitiously and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I had a great time dancing with you Woody. I'm so sorry that we have to cut it short." She said softly, her eyes begging him to not take the discussion any further.

Woody squeezed her hand back. "Thank you so much for the dance Cath. I'll talk to you later." He finished meaningfully.

Catherine smiled and nodded. "Count on it." With a small wave, she let Tim take her into the middle of the dance floor.

* * * * * * * * *

Sam walked towards Woody, who was talking to Cliff by the bar. "So how was it, man?" He asked Woody, who smiled slightly.

"Okay I guess. But I want to kill that Tim guy, Sam. I really do." He confided, making Sam and Cliff look at him in surprise. They never hear Woody talk that way, ever.

"Well, easy there Woody boy – maybe Cath will dump that doctor of hers tonight and pick you." Cliff predicted.

Woody grinned at Cliff. "Let's hope that that's true, Mr. Claven."

"I think Cliffy here is right. Look, the two are heading out to the patio. Just wait, Woody, tonight, Catherine is going to be your girlfriend." Sam said confidently as he patted Woody on the back. "I know. Why don't you follow them there after ten minutes so that after Cath and Tim break up, she'll fall into your arms immediately? How about that, huh, Woody?" He suggested.

"That's a great idea there, Sammy. I would have thought about that first, but you're the man, Sammy." Cliff said, nodding enthusiastically.

Woody nodded. "Hey, yeah. I could do that." He exclaimed. "I'll just wait for the exact right moment, right?"

Sam and Cliff nodded their approval.

* * * * * * * *

Catherine smiled vaguely at Tim as they exited the house and walked onto the patio. "What are we doing here, Tim?" She asked, staring at the evening sky.

"Nothing really, Cath. I just wanted to talk to you for a while without all of that noise." Tim replied.

Cath nodded and sighed. "Tim. I have something to tell you." She started.

"I have something to ask you first, Cath." He countered.

She looked at him and nodded. "You go first, then."

Tim grinned and to her surprise, he bended down onto one knee and presented to her a small velvet box. He opened it slowly and Cath felt as if she forgot how to breathe. Inside it was a simple golden diamond ring with a simple diamond design.

The ring was breathtaking.

"Will you marry me, Cath? Will you be my wife?" He asked, looking up at her expectantly.

Catherine looked into Timothy's eyes and then back at the ring. He took the ring out of the box and gave it to her with a big smile on his face. "The moment I saw it I knew it was time for me to ask you to marry me." He told her.

With a shaking hand, Catherine took the ring and held it close to her face. She turned to Tim who was looking at her hopefully. "No." She pronounced slowly.

Tim's face fell at her answer. He stood up and asked, "Why?"

"I'm in love with someone else." She answered simply, a smile growing on her face as she remembered Woody.

Tim looked at her in surprise, and then the surprise slowly went away in recognition. "Woody."

Catherine was in shock. "How did you know?"

"The way you looked when you two were dancing earlier. You looked so happy – I never saw you look like that with me before. I didn't believe it at first, but now that you admitted it…" Tim trailed off.

"I'm sorry Tim. I don't want to hurt you. Its just that…" Catherine whispered.

Tim shook his head. "Its okay. At least you're honest with me. I wouldn't want you to say yes to my proposal to just not hurt me."

Catherine smiled and held out her right hand and helped Tim up to his feet. "Thank you for understanding." She said softly.

Tim slightly smiled. "Thank you for being honest to me." He replied.

Catherine nodded and the two hugged for one last time.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Woody watched painfully from the other side of the sliding doors as Tim bended down on one knee and then presented Catherine with a ring.

"He's proposing to her." He whispered to himself.

He felt as if his heart was breaking as Catherine took the ring, and opened her mouth. "Saying yes, of course." He said bitterly.

As Catherine helped Tim stand up and then hugged the man, Woody turned on his heel and decided to go home. No use in staying here and watch as Catherine and Timothy flaunt their engagement to everyone.

Loosening his tie, he flung open the door, without a backward glance. He was in such a hurry to go home that he didn't even hear the voice that was calling his name.