Renee got home late and, knowing her son and his father would be asleep, she tip toed through her home. The television droned in the distance and she followed its sound into the darkened living room and smiled at the sight laid before her. Garret was sleeping soundly on the far side of the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, his socked feet balanced securely on the coffee table. Jake had curled up in his lap, his head pressed against his father's chest as if he were listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart. Garret's arm was wrapped protectively around the boy and Renee hated to separate them. She slowly crossed the room and took Jake from Garret's grasp. As he had expected, neither father nor son woke up.

After laying Jake in his bed, beneath his Spiderman blanket, she headed for the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, she massaged her fingers through her hair and sighed deeply. As she stared at her reflection she took in every line of her face. Her date with Tom Spencer made her feel old. It reminded her that she wasn't in her thirties anymore and couldn't afford to fool around with her feelings. It reminded her of the lies she had been telling herself. But mostly, Tom Spencer had reminded her of where wanted to be. With a sad smile, she peeled her clothes from her tired body and climbed into the shower. She turned the shower head to its most violent position and turned the water up as hot as she could stand it. She stood with her back to the spray, letting it slap against her as if it were punishment for every mistake she had ever made.

xxxxxxxxxx

Garret woke at the sound water beating against the wall of the shower. It took him a moment to realize where he was and another to pull himself from the couch. Moving towards the kitchen and glancing at his watch, Garret was surprised by how late it was. But still, he felt no urge to go home. He started a pot of coffee and watched the slow drip of the machine until it was finished. He poured himself a cup and listened for the sound of the shower. It was still running and Garret wondered what was taking her so long. He crossed back through the living room and clicked off the television set. With nothing else to do but wait for Renee to finish in the shower, he quietly made his way to her bedroom. Coffee in hand he planted him self in the sagging leather armchair beside the window. As he looked out onto the smoky, jazz cluttered skyline he rehearsed in his head everything he wanted to say to Renee before he left for the night.

xxxxxxxxxx

Renee stepped out of the shower refreshed and certain of what she needed to do. After quickly drying herself, she wrapped her towel around her slender frame and padded into her dark bedroom. She let out a startled gasp when she noticed the figure sitting in her chair. She pressed her had to her chest, trying to slow it down as she realized who as there.

"Sorry," Garret said, turning to her.

"You scared the crap out of me," she whispered. She swatted him playfully as she passed.

"How was your hot date?" Garret asked jokingly as he watched her pull her pyjama's from her dresser.

"Not so hot," Renee confessed. She turned to him and raised her eyebrows slightly. Knowing right away what her eyebrows meant, Garret turned his attention back to the window as she dressed.

"What happened?" he pried.

"Turns out you're right," Renee said, pulling a T-shirt over her head, "Tom Spencer is an idiot." She crossed the room to where he sat, tying the drawstring of her pants as she walked.

"I told you," Garret laughed. Renee perched herself on the window sill beside him and reached for the mug in his hand. He didn't protest, just smiled as her fingers brushed against his. He watched as she drank, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Ew," she said, turning up her nose in disgust, "you put sugar in this?" Garret said nothing, only laughed as she took another sip and handed the mug back to him. "Gross."

The pair sat in silence for a long moment. The lights of the city had captured Renee's full attention and she was grateful that she could sit with Garret and not have to fill the silence with meaningless conversation. She was comfortable just being in his presence, just knowing he was there. But as Renee continued to contemplate the silence, Garret broke it with his quiet, yet deep and resonating voice.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" he asked suddenly. Renee's breath caught in her throat. She turned to him and gave him a surprised stare. She shook her head almost unnoticeably and Garret continued. "I should have. I should have told you every day that I loved you. Because it's true, I love you. I've loved you from the first time you set foot in my office."

Renee nodded slowly, taking in everything he'd said. Somewhere in the outermost recesses of her mind she'd known along that he had felt this way. No one cared for her the way he did and, as much as she had tried to deny it, she knew that the spring in his step the last few months was because of her. She turned back to the window, but now saw none of the lights. Her stomach had tightened and her mind had frozen as she searched for the right words. After what seemed like an eternity, with her gaze still fixed out the window, she finally spoke.

"I had two drinks with Tom Spencer tonight," she started, "then told him I wasn't feeling well and I left. And I started walking. I didn't care where, I just walked. And before I knew it I was here. Its funny how your feet always do take you home." She laughed lightly, remembering the old proverb. "When I got here, I sat outside on the steps for a long time. Partly because I didn't want you to know that my date had been a disaster, but mostly because I was scared." Renee stared down at her lap, unable to look Garret in the eye after admitting for the first time in her life that she was scared.

Garret sighed and rose from the chair. Slowly and quietly, he moved to the window and stood beside Renee. With one finger under her chin, he made her look at him. Letting himself drown in the crystal blue of her eyes, her told her again that he loved her. She breathed deep and again, turned away from him.

"That's what I was afraid of," she said almost inaudibly. Not knowing what else he could say, Garret took her trembling hand in his own and sat on the window sill next to her. He knew if he gave her enough time, she'd explain just what she meant.

"I thought," she started after a few minutes, "I thought that I could convince myself that I didn't want you. I convinced myself that you and I could never make things work," she said, her eyes brimming with emotion. "And I was determined to get out of this apartment and get away from you and the way you make me feel. But," she stopped for a moment and tried to hold back her tears, but she was useless to stop them. Garret squeezed her hand and she continued. "But, sitting on those steps tonight, I realized that here with you is the only place I want to be." When she finished, she finally summoned the courage to look at him.

Garret shook his head slowly as she gave him a sad smile. He took her face in his hands and wiped the last few tears from her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her with all the passion he had held back for the last three years. She reciprocated with an urgency Garret hardly recognized. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close to him as he could, secretly wishing that he never had to let go.

When finally they broke apart, their lips bruised and their bodies breathless, Garret again found himself sinking deeper into the blue of her eyes. Looking, away, Renee pressed her hand to his chest and breathed an airy laugh through her nose. After a moment she rose from the window sill and stood before him. Still smiling, she bent and pressed a lingering kiss on his forehead.

"I love you," she whispered before turning and crossing the room to her bed. Garret smiled, watching her turn down the covers on both sides, as the three words he had longed to hear more than any others echoed in his mind and found purchase in his heart.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Note 3: This is the first FanFic I've ever posted, so it means a lot that you all have taken the time to read and review it. Thank you, to all of you. xo xo

Special thanks to AK…who helped me share ;)