A/N: Personally I needed something after that horrific finale. Felt like for most of S7 our great actors were replaced with zombies and it was downright terrible. Also since they'd broken up and reconciled before (canon) I saw this as a real possibility again. That and oc7ober really wanted this story and I try to keep my faithful readers happy ;) I hope I did these fabulous characters justice. This is multi-chapter fic that will cover them attending couples therapy when Charles returns from Yaddo.

Maybe sometimes love needs a second chance because it wasn't ready the first time.

Liza was exhausted as she walked home from the bar. How had her life gotten to this point? Where had she gone wrong? Where had he? She knew the demise of her and Charles' relationship was not one sided. In their own way they were both responsible. That didn't make it any easier. Seeing Josh in the bar just reminded her how much she wished he'd been Charles. All those times she waffled with her feelings, and in the end it would always be Charles.

Josh was always a safe choice. He loved her more than she loved him and if things didn't work out the loss would never be as great. Also so many of her friends had told her that she shouldn't be with Josh, he wasn't the 'appropriate' choice. For too long her life choices had been controlled by others, her husband, her daughter and her needs. If she was honest with herself she wondered how much of her lingering feelings for Josh had been more out of rebellion. She was finally able to make her own choices in life no matter what others thought of them.

She was a block away from the loft and a million thoughts were running through her mind. Why did she lie? Even though she had, why had it bothered him so much. He couldn't trust her with his heart but he could trust her to run his family's legacy? She was looking forward to sleep. Maybe some of the answers she sought were awaiting her in her dreams.

She was about 20 feet away from the front door when she was hit with deja vu. Charles standing on her stoop ringing her buzzer. As she got closer he sensed her presence and turned around.

She stopped in front of him, her eyes searching his and it took a few seconds before he spoke.

"I just want to believe that love exists," he said with a look of despair on his face.

"And a happy ending isn't the worst thing to hope for," she replied.

They stood there just staring at one another before Charles broke the silence.

"Liza, can we talk?"

She wanted to say no. She was hurt. But seeing him standing there, the desperation on his face she relented. She needed this talk as much as he did.

They made their way up the stairs and into the loft. Liza walked over to the couch and sat down first. When Charles sat down he made sure to give Liza her space, not sure how comfortable she was at the moment. Liza sensing what he was doing reached out and took his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze as she moved closer to him.

"Liza I…" Charles searched for the right words.

"I can't leave without telling you how I really feel. I once again let my fears and insecurities take over and let you go, but that's not what I want. I realize that this isn't the first time I've been this stupid but I can't let fear rule my life. I need to work on myself. I know that, and I will, but I need to know how you feel? I will understand if you're done. I haven't made loving me easy."

Liza took a minute to digest his words. He was right he hadn't made it easy at times but then again neither had she.

"Charles, you're not the only one responsible for the faults in our relationship. I too have my own fears and insecurities that I've let take over. Truth is I've never loved anyone the way I love you and that's terrifying."

"My whole life I was conditioned to believe that failure was not an option. It was easier to convince myself that I couldn't trust you that it was your fault. That was far easier than admitting I had failed myself but worst of all you. The greatest of all my failures was not loving you like you deserve," Charles told her.

They spent the next several hours talking and at some points crying. No topic was off limits. They realized the only way this was going to work was if they both agreed to be open and honest and truly take the time to address their issues, and not just spend a few hours on her couch talking. They agreed that they would both spend the next two months of Charles absence self reflecting on where they went wrong and what lingering questions they still wanted answered. When he returned they would attend couple's counseling. By the time they realized they said all that they could that night, it was late and both were exhausted. Liza invited him to stay. They were both emotionally and physically exhausted and sleep came quickly. As they drifted off to sleep curled up in each other's arms they finally felt like this was their chance.