Holly smiled as she unlocked the slim gold mailbox and lifted the door. Inside was the usual stack of bills; things that she'd take care of when she got around to it, or had enough money to do so. However, there was something else.

A small white envelope with very familiar handwriting. The postmark read Tulip, Texas, which could only mean one thing. It was a letter from Doc. Even after all they had been through, Holly was grateful that he kept in touch from time to time. She enjoyed hearing from him, for the most part. However, his letters were usually long and after he told her about the happenings on his farm near Tulip and about the children (who weren't hers per say, but he seemed to find pleasure in believing it to be so), he would write something that reminded her of when they were married. It usually followed with a heartfelt plea to get her to reconsider her decision to stay in New York.
'Texas is your home.' He wrote. 'It's where your brother Fred grew up.'

As always, when she thought of her brother, even saw, or heard his name, tears sprang to her eyes. She missed him so much. It didn't seem possible that she'd never see him again. However, when she wrote Doc back, her letters were always the same; detailing the happenings in New York and eager to hear more about Texas. However, never once did she ever mention or even hint at coming home. New York was her home and she wanted to keep it that way.
She unfolded the letter, smiling at his familiar handwriting. If she closed her eyes, she could almost guess what the letter would say without even reading it.

'Dear Lula Mae,
I hope this letter finds you well…'

But as she skimmed the letter, she realized that something was wrong. It was much shorter than the other letters he'd written her. And when she saw the words

'The reason I'm writing to you is…'

She gasped and her trembling hand flew to her mouth.
No… it can't be. It just can't.

The longer she stared at the letter the more difficult it became to read. The words blurred before her eyes and her throat felt tight. It was a feeling almost like the way she felt when she received the telegram from Doc about Fred and the jeep accident.

Tears fell from her eyes, splashing onto the blue paper. Her heart was heavy. No… not this… not Doc.

A warm hand fell onto her shoulder and she gasped, turning around in surprise.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"Oh Fred!" She cried falling into Paul's waiting embrace. "Fred! Fred! No!"
"Holly, what is it? What's wrong?"
But she kept on crying. "No! No!"

The letter left her hand and she heard the crackle of the paper before she realized that Paul was reading it.
"H-he's in the hospital, Fred. I'm so worried! What if…"
Paul spun her around and smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Holly."
"I don't… I…"
"Let's go to your apartment."
"A-all right, but-."
"We need to get you packed. And then I'll pack, too."
She looked up in surprise. "Pack? Where are we going?"
"Texas."

"What? Now?"
"Unless you don't want to, but if you're this upset, I think we should."
"But I don't understand."
"He wants to see you, Holly. Otherwise he'd never have written to you."
"But what if he tries to get me to stay? I can't stay there, Fred! I just can't! And what about Cat? I can't just leave him alone!"
"Well, normally I'd say that going to see Doc is against my better judgement, given your history together but in this case, I think it's the right thing to do. And as for Cat, I'll make certain that he's taken care of. It's only for a few days."
Holly smiled. She trusted Paul with her heart. "All right, Fred. If you think so. We'll go to Texas."

(Texas)

The flight to Texas was largely uneventful but despite the quiet plane ride, Holly's mind raced. She leaned against Paul who was sleeping soundly by the window. When she leaned past him, just a bit, she could make out the brown, green and gold patches of land and sometimes even see the cars that looked so tiny, a mouse couldn't fit inside. And not long after, she laid her head on Paul's shoulder and drifted off to sleep.
They were awakened sometime later by the flight attendant, who informed them that they'd arrived at the airport. She looked out the window, amazed at the flat landscape as far as she could see. It had been so long since she'd been in Texas that she'd almost forgotten it existed. That is until Doc came back into her life and Fred left it.

They got their bags and caught a cab to their hotel. It was a rather sparse building, completely unlike the fancy hotels in New York City. But at least it looked comfortable. After a quick lunch at a nearby barbecue place (very tasty indeed!), they caught another cab to the hospital.
Holly squeezed Paul's hand tightly on the ride to the hospital, which was a surprisingly large building, given the sparseness of the town. Her heart thumped in her chest as they walked hand in hand through the main entrance. A rather plain looking woman with wide rimmed glasses and her hair pulled back in a bun greeted them at the desk.
"Doc Golightly and please, hurry! We must know where he is!" Holly shouted, oblivious to the stares of the patrons around her.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't-."
"We're here to see a patient." Paul explained, more calmly. "His name is Doc Golightly."
The woman opened a large book and flipped through the pages. "I don't see a Doc-."
"Oh no!" Holly cried, nearly collapsing to the floor. Paul caught her just before she fell.
A brigade of nurses came to her aid, helping her up.
"Is she all right?" the woman at the front desk asked.
"She will be. If you can just tell us where Mr. Golightly is-."
"Golightly, Golightly..." the woman read. "Oh, here he is. Fifth floor, Room 507. I'm terribly sorry for-"
"It's all right. She's just worried. Thank you very much." Paul said. He kept a firm grip around Holly and held her until she calmed down. "It's all right, honey. Everything's fine. Doc's okay or they wouldn't be telling us where to find him. Just hold onto me and we'll be there soon."

(Fifth Floor)

The elevator doors opened and Holly felt suddenly shy as she followed Paul out into the hallway. "His room should be this way." He explained. She didn't let go of his hand until they reached the room.
"I should have brought some flowers or something." She said, feeling guilty. Doc was, after all, a patient and didn't all patients deserve flowers?
"Just your being here will be enough. Why don't you go on in?"
"Come with me, Fred. Please?"
"All right. But I think you two should have some time alone."

She turned to him and kissed him. "Thank you."
Together they walked into the room. She could see Doc lying in bed and the sight startled her. He looked so small, lying there in the hospital bed.
"Doc?"
He sat up weakly and his face brightened. "Land sakes! Is that you, Lula Mae?"
Holly looked at Paul, who nodded. She let go of Paul's hand and went to Doc, taking his hand in both of hers.
"Yes, it's me, Doc. I got your letter."
He planted a kiss on her lips. "Kingdom come! I never thought I'd see you again. When I wrote that letter, I thought-."
"Hush now." She said, placing her trembling fingers onto his lips. "Don't you say another word. You need to save your strength."

"And you're here too." Doc said to Paul as the younger man extended his hand in greeting. "It's nice to see you again. I wish it was under different circumstances."
Doc sighed. "Yeah, so do I, but they say I'll be up and around soon. It'll be a while before I can get back to my farming, though."
Holly couldn't take it any longer. The sight of her ex-husband, so small and meek scared her more than she'd ever been scared in her life. "What happened, Doc? Why are you here?"
"Been having some dizzy spells and they say that I collapsed the other day, right there in the middle of the field."
"Doc…"
"I'm okay, though. They did some tests and it's nothing too serious. This Texas heat can really get to a man, even this time of year. I just have to take it easy for a while."
"That sounds like a good idea." Paul said.

"How long will you be here?" Holly asked.
"I'm not sure. But it's mighty nice to see you, Lula Mae. You didn't have to come all this way, you know."

Holly's tears splashed onto his wrinkled hand as she brought it to her face. "Yes, I did. As soon as I got your letter, I was so scared. I-I thought…"
"I know, Lula Mae. I'll be fine. You'll see. How long do you plan on staying?"
"We hadn't really decided, but at least a few days. We wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'll be fine, Paul. Thanks for the concern."
"Well, I'm sure that you and Holly have some things to talk about so I'll leave you alone for a few minutes."
Holly smiled and reached for Paul's hand, squeezing gently. "Thank you."
"I'll be right outside in the hallway. Take care, Doc."
"Will do, son."
When Paul was gone, Holly pulled a chair over to Doc's bed and took his hands in hers.
"Why'd you come, Lula Mae?"
"I told you, I wanted to make sure you were all right. When I read your letter, I got so scared."

"Does that mean that you'd consider coming back to live here? Permanently?"
Holly sighed deeply and rose from her chair. Doc's hand fell to his side. She should have seen this coming.
"I can't, Doc! You know that! My life is in New York with Fred!"
"Fred was killed, Lula Mae. Didn't you get my telegram?"
"Of course I got it!" She almost shouted. "I meant Paul. I just-I call him Fred."
"Come home, Lula Mae, please."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I can't come back here, Doc! I just can't! I'm not the girl I was when we were married! I'm not fourteen anymore! I don't know what I can say to make you understand! I love you, but I'm just not Lula Mae, anymore! Please don't make me leave the life I love."
"The boy. Do you love him?"
Holly glanced toward the door, barely able to make out Paul's shadow in the tiny window. "Yes, I do. I love him very much. He saved me."
"Saved you? From what?"
"From myself. Doc, please don't take me away from him! I can't leave him! I just can't! I love him and he loves me! He says we belong together!"

She was sobbing into her hands, barely aware of Doc's hand on her arm.
"All right, Lula Mae. I understand. I can see that you love him and that he loves you. I could see it the moment you walked into the room. And if you're really and truly happy, then I'm happy for you."
She looked up and smiled through her tears. "Really?"
"Just promise me one thing, would ya?"
"Anything, Doc. Anything!" She said. And then stepped back. "Well, within reason."
"Invite me to the wedding."
Holly's tears turned to happy ones and she hugged him carefully. "Oh, of course, Doc. Of course! Thank you!"
When his breathing became ragged, she stepped back. "Oh… are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just a bit tired."
"Well, then we'll get going. But I'll be back tomorrow with the biggest bunch of flowers you ever saw. What's your favorite color?"
Doc smiled weakly. "Yellow, like The Yellow Rose of Texas. You remember that song, don't you?"
"I certainly do."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lula Mae."
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Doc."
Slowly she walked out of the room and into Paul's waiting arms.
"Did you get things straightened out?"
"Uh huh… He…"
"What?"
Once again, she felt shy. "He wants me to invite him to the wedding."

A slow smile spread across Paul's face. "I'll certainly keep that in mind."

His arm around her, Paul led her into the elevator, where they kissed until the doors opened on the lobby floor. And once they reached the front entrance, Paul nodded in greeting to the kind woman with the large rimmed glasses.
Soon they were in a cab heading back to their hotel.

(The next day)

When they arrived at the hospital, she wasn't nearly as nervous as she'd been the day before. She couldn't help bringing the large bouquet of yellow roses to her nose to inhale the sweet scent. And when they entered Doc's room, he looked a little better and had more spirit.
"Lula Mae. You came back."
"I promised, didn't I? Here. I bought you some flowers."
He took the roses and ran his hand over them. "These are beautiful Lula Mae. Thank you."
"How are you feeling?" Paul asked.
"I'm better. Getting stronger every day."
"Holly told me about your request to invite you to the wedding. There's only one problem."
"What's that?" Doc asked.
"Well, I haven't exactly asked her yet. And I was thinking that it would be nice to have your blessing."
"You don't need my blessing." Doc said.

"I suppose not, but it would mean a lot to Holly and to myself."
"All right then. I kind of knew that you weren't going to come back, but I hoped."
"Doc-."
"Holly, he's a good guy. And he'll take care of you."

Paul smiled. "That's right."
"Now, son? You give her a proper proposal and get her the biggest bunch of yellow roses that this state has ever seen, you understand? And don't forget to write and invite me to the wedding."

"I'll do that, Doc."
"We'd better go, but we'll see you soon, all right?" Holly kissed Doc's cheek. She couldn't help looking back at her ex-husband as she and Paul walked out of the room.

She had no idea what kind of proposal Paul had in store for her, but she knew one thing. Doc was her past. But Paul was her present and her future.

~Fin~