Disclaimer: I own nothing but the scenes of Karen's life, and if I had the time, I'd be inventing my own characters to use, rather than borrowing someone else's and getting no money. Alas, I do not, and so I make nothing, but thrill in putting these characters through my own imagination!
A/N: Karen may get a little OoC as the fic goes on, but at least I'm warning you, and I'm sure the circumstances and context make it alright! I hope.
Summary: Sometimes there's something behind you and you're just waiting for the time when it catches up with you, it affects every scene of your life, and yet no matter how bad, you wouldn't change it because of the things it brought you. Karen reflects as her 'something' catches up with her. No POV's this time, and flashbacks.
Please enjoy! Oh, and you'll notice I changed this scene slightly, I just needed it that way for this fic, it's not hugely different; Karen's just a little more emotional.

Belong to Each Other

'Cause of you I forgot the smart ways to lie
Because of you I'm running out of reasons to cry
When the friends are gone, when the party's over
We will still belong to each other
(
Underneath Your Clothes, Shakira)

The years had passed so fast after that, the children had grown into teenagers, leaving her and Stan far behind as they raced for adult hood. In the time, she'd met and hopelessly fallen for Jack McFarland; his innocence reminded her of how Olivia and Mason had been, his reliance on her for money made her feel needed in a way she'd missed. Of course they'd soon moved passed the money; the only person closer to her had been Stan. Jack was her best friend, and she wouldn't want to trade that friendship for anything, not even for more time. It wouldn't be worth it, Jack, Will and Grace had become such a large part of her life in such a short period of time. It had taken longer for her to feel comfortable with Grace. Jack had bounced straight in, improper touches and all, and they'd never really needed to work on development, it had happened all by its self and of course they'd fallen out, but it never took much to bring them back together. But with Grace, she'd found that it had taken far more work and she regretted that she hadn't made a greater effort earlier. The first time she'd really let her in, was a time that still scared her, regardless of everything that had happened since.

: flashback :

She looked at Stanley's ring, the inscription she'd had placed there, mocked her, she wasn't supposed to be the one looking at it. It was never supposed to be her, they all knew that. It shouldn't be Stan in the hospital bed, hooked up to monitors.

She'd had no preparation for seeing him when she'd first arrived, tubes and wires had covered every visible area of skin, monitors beeped constantly in the background, and her Husband lay in the middle of it all, the colour drained from his face, and perspiration on his brow. For the first time she'd thought about what he must have felt seeing her like that all those years before. She'd been so scared before they'd told her the truth of his condition. Scared that she'd lose him, they'd never been any doubt that she loved him completely, but in that moment, watching every rise and fall of his chest, praying the next wouldn't be the last, she'd known she'd never be able to live without him. Not really live. Losing Stan didn't mean losing the money, didn't mean losing her lifestyle, not to her. No, it meant losing her family, losing everything she held dear. The children would move away with their real Mother, and she'd be left alone with an empty fortune.

"Oh Stanley, you and your pudgy little fingers." She finally broke down. With none of the others around her, and now that she could stop pretending, her walls crumbled and she lowered her head, tears dripping onto the ring. She almost missed the sound of the door opening, and probably would have, had Grace not spoken as she entered.

"Karen, I just want to apolo... oh, I'm... I...I'll leave." Grace flustered, reaching for the door handle, surprised and saddened to see her friend so upset, her guilt intensifying as she realised that whilst they'd been betting and joking, Karen probably had needed someone to lean on.

Karen sniffed and brushed away her tears, looking up briefly to see the guilt and sadness in Grace's eyes. Maybe just this once she could show someone else that no matter what she said, Karen Walker did many emotions, especially when it came to her family.

"No, no don't."

Grace was surprised by the words, and the pleading behind them, and she stepped away from the door, moving closer to Karen.

"I really thought I was going to lose him Grace. It's funny, you go through life pretty much alone, and then you meet someone and you hit it off, you have some laughs, some tenderness, and then as quickly as it comes it's taken away. I don't know what I'd do without him Grace, he's everything to me." She couldn't hold back the tears any longer and they slipped silently down her cheeks.

Seeing the pain written in every inch of Karen's features, Grace did the one thing that always helped her when she was hurting. She moved closer to her assistant and pulled her into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping around Karen's small frame and her hands rubbing soothingly up and down her back.

Karen froze up at first, but as she felt the comfort being sent her way, she relaxed against Grace and just let it all pour out, not worrying that she'd have to face up to showing her weakness later.

The two stood there for several moments, until Karen regained her customary calm, and pulled out of the hug, smiling up at Grace.

"Thanks Honey, I needed that." She looked away, embarrassed at having broken down so completely. Grace ignored it, and began moving towards the door, knowing that Karen wanted some time alone.

"So does this mean I'm forgiven?" Karen looked up, a thankful look in her eyes.

"Sure honey, you're off the hook, as long as no one finds out about this."

Grace smiled mischievously as she closed the last distance between her and the door. "About what?"

"That's my girl."

The soft sound of the door hitting the frame as it closed behind Grace, was all the sound that remained in the room. Karen continued putting all of her and Stan's things into her bag, leaving the ring on her thumb, taking care not to let it fall off. When everything was packed up, she walked to the door adjoining to Stan's, pausing as she stepped through and found her husband, fully dressed, asleep on top of the covers. A sad smile settled on her face as she watched him sleep and her whispers were lost to the silence of the room.

"It's not your turn Stanley, I'm going first, and I'm going to be there waiting for you, don't you dare make it the other way around, because you wouldn't have long to wait."

: end flashback :

tbc.


Hope you did enjoy it, and I'll see about getting the next one up soon, I promise! Thanks to everyone for reviewing, I think I've managed to reply to everyone, but if I've missed you, then I'm sorry and feel free to moan at me! Let me know what you think!