(See first part for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)

Chapter 37
"Caity should be here by now. She prom…" Olivia trails off as she spots her daughter on the opposite side of the theatre and locks eyes with her ex-husband for the first time since January. "Oh god…" she whispers.

Showtime!, Del thinks to himself. He wraps his arm around Olivia's shoulder and rubs her arm comfortingly. "What's the matter darlin'?" he asks. "You're trembling and your face is white as paper."

Olivia leans into Del and chokes out, "Gregory…He's here."

Del follows Olivia's gaze. "Well I'll be. Greg showed up after all."

"I need to go…I need to leave…I have to get out of here," Olivia mumbles as she gathers her bag and starts to get out of the chair.

"Whoa darlin'! Sit down. Look, the ceremony is about to start."

Olivia slowly sits back down in the chair and looks up at the stage, where the headmaster stood at the podium welcoming the parents.

……

"Mom doesn't look so good," Caitlin says.

"She probably hasn't had her morning Screwdriver yet," Gregory replies with a hint of bitterness in his voice. At the same time, he can't take his eyes off his ex-wife. You cut your hair Liv, he thinks wistfully.

"Look Daddy. The ceremony is starting."

Gregory reluctantly pulls his eyes away from Olivia and turns his attention towards the headmaster.

……

Del sits in the chair and fiddles with the program. God, when is this thing going to be over?, he wonders. He looks around the theatre, bored out of his mind. Discreetly, he glances over and notices that Gregory's attention is focused on Olivia, rather than the stage. What the hell?, he thinks as he sees Gregory direct a small smile towards their section of the theatre. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Olivia return a shaky smile. Oh hell no, Del thinks as he again slides his arm over Olivia's shoulder and twirls a lock of her hair around his finger.

Olivia feels Del's arm around her shoulders and cringes. "Are you enjoying the ceremony?" Olivia questions softly as she stops Del's hand from playing with her hair.

"I am if you are," Del responds as brings her hand to his lips and kisses it tenderly.

Olivia yanks her hand out of Del's grasp and angrily whispers, "I don't know what game you are playing, but I want no part of it. Do you hear me Del? No part!"

……

Gregory feels victorious as he watches the spat between Olivia and Del.

"Are they having an argument?" Caitlin asks softly.

"It would appear that way," Gregory responds.

"I guess Mom isn't as happy with Del as she thought she would be," Caitlin says before turning her attention back to the valedictorian's speech. Fight for her Daddy!

Gregory thinks about Caitlin's words as he sneaks a peak at Olivia again. She and Del are sitting straight up in their chairs and as far as he can tell, not touching.

His ears perk up at the sound of his son's name. Gregory watches as his son walks across the stage and shakes hands with the headmaster. He swallows past a lump in his throat and brushes a tear out of his eye as Sean switches the tassel from one side of his cap to the other.

Gregory meets Olivia's eye and from opposite sides of the theatre, they share a tender smile over their son's accomplishment.

Chapter 38
"Del, why don't you go back to the hotel and rest?" Olivia says as they are standing by the chauffeured car.

"But darlin'," Del starts to protest.

"I would like to spend some time with my children…ALONE. That is, if you don't mind," Olivia says, with a little more force than she intended. "Please Del," she says with a softer tone, "I don't know when the three of us are going to be together again and I want to take advantage of it."

Shit, Del thinks. He sighs and concedes, "Alright darlin'…Don't have too much fun without me."

"Sean mentioned that there was a reception by the lake for the graduates and their families. After that, we might grab some dinner. I'll be back at the room by ten."

"No later," Del says playfully, although his expression is devoid of anything resembling playfulness. He moves in to kiss Olivia on the lips but she turns her head slightly and he ends up kissing her cheek. "Bye darlin'," he says as he slides into the car.

Olivia watches as Del's car pulls away from the curb. Finally, she thinks.

Chapter 39
Gregory, Caitlin, and Sean stand under a tent at the lakeside post-graduation reception. They are enveloped in the sounds of hushed conversations, the clinking of the silverware on china plates, and soft classical music.

"So," Sean says reluctantly, "how long are you two going to be out here?"

"Well, we just came for two da-" Caitlin starts.

"A few days," Gregory interrupts. He ignores Caitlin's bewildered expression and continues, "A sort of mini-vacation to celebrate your graduation."

Sean looks at Caitlin, who offers an encouraging smile and sighs, "Right."

There are a few moments of awkward silence before Caitlin says, "The ceremony was great Sean. And your speech! It was…inspiring. Much better than the valedictorian's."

"It was ok," Sean says nonchalantly.

"Your sister is right Sean. The speech was impressive. I…I'm proud of you. Very proud," Gregory says and offers his hand.

Sean stares down at the extended hand before slowly reaching out and taking it tentatively. The two men shake for a moment and then pull their hands back.

Sean looks over at Caitlin, who has tears in her eyes, and smiles at her and then back at Gregory. "Thanks for coming Dad," he says.

Gregory clears his throat and responds, "You're welcome."

"Come here little brother," Caitlin says as she envelopes Sean in a heartfelt hug.

"There you two are! I've been looking everywhere for you," Olivia calls out as she makes her way over. She stops when she sees that her children are standing with Gregory.

"Mom!" Caitlin exclaims as she rushes over to her mother and into her outstretched arms.

Olivia tightly hugs her daughter and watches Gregory over Caitlin's shoulder. He looks tired, she thinks. And thinner. She smiles as Caitlin pulls back and kisses her cheek.

"I've missed you Mom."

"Oh Caity," Olivia sobs, "I've missed you too. Much more than you'll ever know. Both of you," she adds, looking over at her son.

Sean walks over to his mother and sister and joins in their hug.

Gregory stands off to the side and observes Olivia reuniting with her children. After a moment, he feels uncomfortable because he realizes that he never embraced the children like that…especially not in public. Liv always was the more affectionate one out of the two of us, he reasons. And, it's not as if I had a great father to model myself after.

The trio breaks apart and grins at one and other. Olivia notices that Gregory is still standing off to the side by himself. She takes a deep breath and with one arm around each of her children she says, "Hello Gregory."

Gregory takes a step closer and replies, "Olivia. You're looking well."

"Oh…thank you. So are you," she offers. "How is work?"

"Fine. It keeps me busy. And, Del?" Gregory asks, forcing the last question. Thank god he isn't at the reception with her, he thinks to himself.

"He's fine," Olivia says quickly. "He went back to the hotel. The jet lag and all," she explains.

"Of course," Gregory remarks. "Well, is anyone hungry? I've made reservations for dinner…Olivia, you are welcome to join us." Please….

"Oh, I don't think-," Olivia begins to decline.

"I insist," Gregory interrupts. "We can celebrate Sean's graduation…as a family."

Olivia looks to Caitlin, who nods eagerly, and Sean, who looks unsure about the prospect of a "family dinner."

"Thank you Gregory. Dinner sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Excellent. The driver is waiting in front of the theatre," Gregory says.

"Oh wait, wait!" Caitlin exclaims. "I want to get a picture of Sean with you two."

Olivia looks at Gregory, who steps up closer to her.

"Come on you guys. Get closer," Caitlin orders.

Sean steps in and stands between his parents.

"Perfect!" Caitlin says. "Ready?….Say 'cheese'!" Dear god, Caitlin thinks as she snaps the photo, please bring my parents back together.