Hey guys, I'm really sorry about the wait. It won't happen again...I hope. ;) Here's a chapter that I basically expect to get, like, two reviews because of what is in it. But, you know, we have to know what's going on elsewhere, right? lol.

Please leave me a review, even if this isn't the greatest chapter. :) Because, I think, that the next one will be pretty good. (It's not that this one is bad, but you'll see when you read it. It's just more about Emily than others. We have to see her perspective.)

Disclaimer: I haven't done this in a long time. I'm not claiming ownership, nor am I denying it. ;)

Almost- that was how close she came. She was always an "almost."

She had been in a small graduating class, and had successfully finished as number two. Number one, she was not. But almost.

When she had married, her husband's focus was entirely on her. Well, almost entirely. She wasn't dense, her eyes didn't pass over his nervous sweats and fleeting glances towards his friends. Luckily, she wasn't among them, and this thought pleased Emily.

After all, in her almost-perfect life, living in the shadow of his past love wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

So as Emily raised her arm, poised to knock on his uncle's apartment door, she found herself wondering if it was right.

'Just breathe. You told him you were coming, so just get it over with.' She raised her arm again and caught sight of her wedding ring gleaming upon her finger.

It looked so out of place in that decrepit building, a rose among thorns.

Emily was almost ready, she could feel it. And after she knocked, she would go in, tell him, and hoped it had almost worked.

After all, in her world, another "almost" wouldn't phase her.

She knocked.

He opened.

And so it began.

----

A glass of wine, two trips to the bathroom, and 45 minutes later, Emily found herself facing Colin, out of ideas on what to say.

Luckily, he took the initiative. "So, Em, why are you really here?"

She shifted nervously, feeling the itchy material of the gray couch brand her soft skin. "What do you mean, the real reason?"

Colin looked straight at her, not even trying to hold back in the way he gazed. She was his first love, and Colin was determined to make her his last. "Well, when you said we needed to talk, I figured it was something big." He raised his eyebrows and grinned, flashing his familiar smile at her.

"God," she whispered inaudibly. He always made her weak in the knees, no matter the situation. He was no male model, but he was good enough for Emily. He was sweet, kind, slightly dorky, but wonderful. He had always been wonderful to her, but things just...didn't work. Between his job and her life, their paths always crossed at precisely the wrong intersection.

"Em?" he gently questioned, placing his long fingers upon her knee.

Snapping out of her reverie, Emily answered him. "I just needed to talk to you about...some things."

"Somehow, I can tell this might not be a conversation I'll be too keen on participating in."

"Oh, Colin," she sighed, willing him to understand the complicated situation she was in. "Don't you see? I can't just come "visit" you anymore. I can't talk to you like this."

"Like a friend?"

"No. Like more."

"So why can't we just be friends?" Colin had often wondered why people would break up and act like their ex was the antichrist.

There was one reason, and Emily was well aware that there was no escaping it. "Colin," she began slowly, enunciating each word carefully. "I don't think it's possible for us to be friends. There's too much history, and I cannot look at you and feel nothing."

"You mean you still have feelings for me?"

"Not exactly...but I get the feeling that you might still have them for me."

He glanced out the window, wishing this inevitable moment hadn't come. Watching the birds flit around the barren trees made him wonder- why weren't they free? As humans, they were condemned to a life of lost-love and misery. A life in which happiness is allusive, and the simple pleasure of spending time with someone you cared for had to be done in the secret of the night. "Of course I do, Em. I've never not had feelings for you." He moved in closer and brushed an obdurate lock of hair away. It was stubborn, persisting to break through the barrier even after her hair was tied back.

Emily moved towards the other side of the couch, as far away from him as she could get. "Colin...we can't. I'm married, and that's what I came to tell you."

"Em, why do you have to work so hard to convince yourself that you love this guy?"

"I don't have to! I love Ross, really, I do!"

"There you go again. I know I can't have you, but I sure as hell won't forget you. And I won't stop loving you. Now I realize that you probably came here for some sort of closure." She nodded quickly. "But it'll never end. You can close the door and lock it with a key, but nothing will stop me from picking the lock."

She sighed. "Colin...that one night we had...it has to be in the past. I'm a terrible person for cheating on Ross like that." Emily averted her eyes, focusing on some nondescript object lying on the floor. "To be honest, I actually scheduled this trip to make up for that."

"Wait. You told him about that?"

"No! Of course not. But this was to make a sort of peace with my self."

"Oh."

"So that's what I wanted to tell you," she continued. "This needs to stop, us. The phone calls, letters, secret meetings, thoughts...everything. There comes a point where we all have to grow up and let go...And, Colin, I think we've reached that point."

Briskly she rose and headed towards the door, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"You don't have to leave, Emily! It won't work...I'll always love you."

Slowly, she closed the door, not wanting to look back. Colin hadn't let go of her yet, but she had. It was hard, long, and tiring. But she had succeeded.

She smiled to herself as she left the building. It was over, and she could go back to her husband and live the peaceful life devoid of hidden feelings and shameful desire.

Finally, she had let go.

----

As the winds soured the streets of the Village with their bitter waves of fury, she stepped out of the simple taxi.

"Thanks," she told the driver without really looking at him. After all, that was how it went, wasn't it? Going through life without actually noticing anything.

Crowds of people swarmed around her, buzzing like a stampede of raging hornets. No one knew why her porcelain skin was stained with tears.

She had gone for a drive, a simple trip around the city. And her destination?

Right where she had began.

She had a decision to make, and a hard one at that. To keep what she had wanted forever, or to rid of a careless mistake that had began during a night of passion nearly two months prior.

A terrible thought had crossed her mind briefly; it seemed she had no other choice.

Yet it only took a second more of consideration for her to decide. "It's my baby and I'm keeping it." After thinking about it more, she couldn't believe she had even given it thought.

But how would he react? This was the only real problem.

She smiled as she thought about him. He was the ultimate commit-phobic, flinching at the thought of having a relationship longer than the life-span of a cricket.

He would probably pass out if he found out he was going to become a father.

Climbing the weather-worn stairs that led to the place she called home, her heart began to beat faster, mirroring the rhythmic dancing of her feet.

All of those questions she had unanswered?

She was about to find out.

Opening her apartment door, she was startled to see him on the couch, his blue eyes searching her soul for some kind of answer neither of them knew.

"Hey, Chandler."

And so it began...

Okay, if you feel compelled to do so, please drop me a little review or whatever. :)

And if I don't update this before Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans! :) lol...

(And thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapters of Love at First Sight. I'm working on that one. And as for Beautiful, I've got it on my other computer, which is broken. :( I know, but it was my fault, lol. I'll have to rewrite it, which shouldn't be too hard...but I've got a lot on my plate right now, which is why a review or two would be nice. :))

Thanks everyone!

Mel