"I know this is going to sound way out from left field, but what was your favorite birthday present?"

Kate smiled to herself. She knew he'd ask her this. "That's easy. My 16th birthday. Duke won the NCAA Men's Basketball Final in Minneapolis. My shrewd cousin managed to get tickets and a hotel room. The two of us went with one of his best friends from law school. During halftime, he'd found someone to take a picture of the 3 of us in the stands. My copy has followed me everywhere and I've even made some additional copies to be on the safe side. It was one of the best nights of my life. Over the past few years, I've often wondered what happened to his friend. He and my cousin seemed very close when I visited."

Sam started to get a little nervous, trying not to let hopes soar over a possibility that, as far as he was concerned, didn't exist. He watched her pick up one of the phone handsets, bring it back to the table and dial a number. She threw the phone towards him and he was able to catch it.

"What'd you do that for?"

"Stop being an idiot, Sam. I just put in Mike's number. Hit send so you can talk to him for the first time in what...8 years?" She flashed a sweet smile at him, hoping the density issues that plagued him while he and Mike were in law school were taken care of.

He looked at her with a blank expression before his jaw dropped. "K-Katie? Is it really you?" He stood up from the table, his hands resting on it to help him keep his balance. He wasn't sure if this was really happening.

She looked him right in the eye. "Yeah, Sam, it's me, all grown up."

He felt relief flood his body. After all these years, she was standing right in front of him. He came around the side of the table and enveloped her in a hug. There was no doubt that this was real; she was real. Every wish he'd ever made, every dream he'd had since she left Duke to go back to Massachusetts was wrapped in his arms.

He looked down at her and saw the sparkle in her eyes. Brushing back a tendril of her hair he asked, "Why didn't you call after you left? I asked Mike about you, but I only got vague details here and there. I missed you, Katie. That kiss on the balcony was very real to me. I don't care if I was dating Lisa at the time, you claimed a part of my heart that night that's never belonged to anyone else. I wanted to talk to you so badly, but was afraid that Mike would ask me why and then I'd be forced to tell him everything."

She dropped her eyes before she spoke. "I didn't want to be forward or seem like a little girl with a crush. I knew that you were dating Lisa and thought you wouldn't want a silly teenager getting in the way of that, so I just stayed quiet." He stepped back from the hug and tipped her chin up so she was facing him.

"Look, why don't you go relax for a little while? You look like you need a bit more rest. I'll run up, take a shower and take care of the kitchen. My boss called me this morning to let me know that the government was closed and I don't have to go in. We can just crash on the couch and catch up. I want to know everything that's happened to you since you left after that weekend."

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll just snuggle up on the couch until you're done, unless you need my help?"

"I'll be fine. Go rest."

As they broke the hug, Sam caught her wrist before she turned to go into the living room. "I mean it, Katie. I really missed you."

"And I missed you, too, Sam. I missed you."