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Mary, Wilson, and Billy got out of Wilson's navy SUV and walked toward the hardware store. It was Saturday morning, and they were out to get lights for the front of Wilson's house just as he had promised earlier in the week. Mary walked through the parking lot between Wilson and Billy, Billy chatting her up and Wilson with his arm around her waist. They walked to the 'outdoor' section of the store and sought out some of their lighting options.

"What about these?" Mary asked, pointing to a set of four lights. "They're solar powered, and go on as soon as the sun goes down. You won't have to wire anything and won't have to worry about remembering to turn them off."

Wilson looked leery. "How much?"

"$49.99." Wilson groaned. "But just think, you'll save money on your electric bill. And they're not that much more than the regular lights."

Wilson looked at Mary seriously. "If I get them, will you stop worrying all the time?"

"I'll try my hardest," she reasoned like a little girl with her father.

"All right then." He took the box from Mary's hand. "Sold."

The triplet started to walk away from the lights and toward the front of the store, so Billy assumed they were done.

"OK, now what are we going to do?"

Wilson laughed at the short attention span of his son. "Well, we're going to go pay for these."

Young Billy looked around the store as he followed his father and Mary. "But the registers are the other way."

Wilson squeezed Mary's hand. "I know. We're just walking by something, and then we're going to check out."

Billy was confused, but went along with it anyway. Wilson was going to go past the spot where he and Mary met- at least where he and Mary met this time. It was the paint aisle. Wilson was in there looking for paint for his new house, and Mary was in there as a favor to her mother. Mary had recently annulled her three month marriage to Carlos after he left her signs of being less than faithful, and she was feeling a little down. Annie had commandeered Mary to help paint the twins' bedroom to give her something to do. Little did Annie know how much she would help Mary.

Wilson asked Mary for his opinion on what color he should paint Billy's room, more in the interest of making small talk than anything else, but Mary had picked out the perfect color in an instant. She went to the green section, Billy's favorite color, and picked out a nice shade of sage that was muted enough to not be overbearing but bright enough to catch Billy's attention.

"He'll like this one," she said simply as she handed him the paint swatch.

Their eyes locked and, in that instant, memories of everything flooded both of their heads. When they felt these feelings, they knew that they were meant to be together. Since Wilson was so sure right then and there, he blurted out what was on his mind.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked after a quick glance down at her ring finger.

She laughed. "I pick out paint and now you want to date me?"

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Yes."

She laughed again, but this time at how dumbfounded Wilson was in her presence.

"One date," Wilson pleaded. He usually wasn't this brazen, but he felt like he had to grab onto Mary or fear losing her again. "Then if it's not there anymore we can go our separate ways."

She smiled at him, knowing his intentions were genuine. "OK," she said. "But, uh, I guess I should warn you, I don't know how long I am back here for."

Wilson saw the way Mary had chosen her words. He wanted to scream out 'Who hurt you, and where can I find him to repay the favor?' but didn't in keeping with his better judgment. "What happened?"

"I was married for three months. I just got it annulled a week and a half ago."

Wilson looked confused. "How can you get an annulment after three months?"

Mary shrugged. "Ask my busybody father. But, at any rate… I don't want to get your hopes up."

"All right, but why are you telling me this? The Mary Camden I knew would have kept this a secret for at least a month, maybe two."

"She grew up I guess. That's what happens when your husband and only lover sleeps around."

Mary looked back on that day fondly. She looked at that as the day where she was finally able to start moving on. Her family saw her latching onto Wilson again as taking a step backward, but Mary knew it was the complete opposite. They had both grown immensely in the time they had apart, and now they were revisiting their relationship with two entirely different perspectives on life.

Mary picked up the sage green paint swatch and handed it to Wilson. "A token of my affection," she said with a smile.

Wilson laughed. "Why thank you honey."

"Hey!" Billy pointed to the square in Wilson's hand. "That's the color of my room."

"I know. I picked it out," Mary said as she moved closer to Wilson. "That was how I met your dad again."

"Really?"

"Yup." The grins on both Mary and Wilson's faces was apparent.

Mary playfully slapped Wilson on the butt. "OK, let's get going."

The trio went back to Wilson's house and installed the new lights. Well, Mary and Wilson installed the lights while Billy looked on and ran around the front lawn, pretending that he was really helping. It only took them about a half an hour to get everything working properly. Mary was much happier now that the house was more lit up than before.

They walked back into the house and they all flopped down on the couch. Mary surveyed the room, and her eyes caught the white carpet in the room- another thing Mary always heckled Wilson about. She knew that the only reason he had had the white carpet installed was that it cost more money to upgrade to a different color, money he did not have. Still, she could not believe that people actually had bright white carpet in their homes, especially with a young boy.

"So… now that I've fixed your lighting situation and I picked out the color for Billy's room, do you think we could do something about this carpet?"

"Mare-"

She laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Calm down."

Billy laughed at Mary and flipped on the TV. Commercials were on, and a trailer played for the new children's movie that had come out the day before.

"I want to see that," Billy announced as he pointed to the screen.

"You know," Wilson said while looking at Mary, "Grandma's been wanting to take you out somewhere. You could call her and ask her if she'd want to take you."

Billy jumped up and lunged for the phone. He asked his father for the number and dialed it carefully.

"Hi Grandma," Billy said when she answered. "It's me, Billy. Do you want to take me to the movies?"

"Billy," Wilson reprimanded his son as Mary laughed.

"Sorry. Will you take me to the movies, please?" He paused while he listened, said OK, and then handed the phone to Wilson.

"Hi Mom," Wilson said.

"Hey sweetie. What are you up to?"

"Nothing. Just sitting here with Mary. We just came back from the hardware store."

"Oh, Mary's there. No wonder you wanted Billy out of the house. Look, I'd love to take Billy to the movies, but I've got some things to do this afternoon. I'll take him out tonight, though. We can go for pizza and then go see the movie. He can even sleep over if he'd like."

"I'm sure he'd love that. Thanks Mom."

Wilson and Mary played with Billy for the rest of the afternoon. The tension was almost insurmountable. As much as they loved Billy and spending time with him and his new house, they were in desperate need of some alone time. Mary had been over for a few times that week, but nothing had come of it. Mary really didn't want to traumatize Billy for life by having him hear or see something he shouldn't.

Mrs. West couldn't come soon enough. When she finally did show up around six o'clock, Mary's cell phone rang. Groaning, Mary ran over and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey." It was Lucy. "I just wanted to know where you were. We haven't seen you all day."

Mary knew 'we' implied the family. "Luce, we all had breakfast together."

"Yeah, but then you left."

Mary sighed into the phone. "And where did I go when I left this morning."

"To Wilson's."

"…And where do you think I am now?"

"Wilson's?" Lucy guessed.

"Very good."

"OK, OK. You don't have to be rude about it."

Mary felt bad. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rip your head off. I'm just sick of you guys worrying about me. I'm fine, everything here is fine. I love you guys, but I can take care of myself." The Camden family had been so worried about Mary since her breakup with Carlos, the same way Wilson's family was after his failed engagement with Corey Conway. That was why Mary and Wilson worked extra well this time; they were both coming from, more or less, the same place.

"We worry because we love you."

"I know." Mary saw Wilson's mother leave with Billy and smiled seductively at him. "I've got to go now Luce. I'll see you later."

Wilson walked over to Mary and hugged her first before trying anything, pulling her body into his. He breathed in the smell of her dirty blonde colored hair as he savored her. The complex that he had had when he was a little boy, the one about losing someone he got close, was not something he was able to get rid of. But Wilson made a promise to himself this time. He was not going to let his fears push Mary away. He'd done that too many times before. This was a time to throw caution to the wind and just enjoy being together and having their adult, physical relationship. They both could use a little bit of fun, and were very much deserving.

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A/N: I think some of you were confused where I am going with this. Just keep reading. Eventually, you'll see the totally ridiculous plot twist and bask in all of preposterous its glory. I know the excitement might seem unbearable, but it will all be OK. Trust me.

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