There was a profound sense of sadness throughout the weekend between Courtney and Harvey. The others who witnessed what happened felt sorry for Harvey the most. In their eyes, Courtney walked away from the perfectly imperfect life on the assumption Harvey was mad at her for the day he came home from work and found Karina so ill and not taken care of. Harvey wasn't mad at her, he understood she was homesick and wanted to talk about them returning to Berk but instead talking, Courtney left him a single father. Harvey had waited three years for Courtney to tell him she loved him and wanted to be a family again, yet, he couldn't take her back now that Courtney said them. Everyone understood Harvey's stance on it, Karina was young when it happened the first time, and Harvey would not risk it a second time for her sake.

It sucked to watch Harvey tell Courtney he forgave her but would be with her again. It was hard to hear Harvey explain to Courtney why it had to be that way. But what difficult was to hear Harvey say he wasn't okay after Courtney went to her cabin. Harvey had the chance to take her back, but fear wouldn't allow him to risk Karina's happiness so he was pushing his own aside so Karina would never be hurt. It was something any single father who went through what Harvey did would do, he wanted to protect her at the cost of his happiness. Harvey knew he did the right thing even though it hurt like hell to have to walk away from the woman he once had intentions to marry. The others wouldn't admit it in front of him but they heard him crying Friday night after that whole scene transpired.

Ellie was tempted to call Heather and let her know what happened but she didn't. The rest of the weekend was spent with Harvey teaching them a few things during the day, and then the night fly training. Monday morning came, and they returned to the University grounds. Karina and Owen rushed to their parents as Heather had been waiting on the field. Harvey had them put their dragons away and then head off for breakfast or their first class saying he would see them at 1 pm. The friends weren't sure if Harvey was going to be okay, and felt for now, they should just keep an eye on him and tell Heather if need be. Courtney was quiet. Not crying but not talking either, and they were a little concerned for her but how could they feel bad for a choice she made?

Harvey was the one who got hurt when she walked out, and he was still the one hurting when he walked away from her. Ellie wanted to comfort him, she had been where he was and went through the same things. Ellie texted him a few times but never got a response which made her worry and she didn't see him at daycare pickup, it was Heather who got Karina. Since that week returning from the camp out, it had been two months and none of them could tell how Harvey was doing. It was the same every day; come to class, he would teach, class ended, and they didn't see him until the next one. On the weekends, they saw him at his parent's house but he never came out or his parents told the friends that Harvey didn't want to see anyone right now so that made them wonder if he was alright.

With it being May, it was crunch time to finish learning all their flying and practicing for the the final exams that took place the first week of June. Their third year was almost over and wondered how the summer would go. Would they get to see Harvey at all? During the summer, he wouldn't be their teacher and that was something else they didn't know. Was Harvey a friend or were they just people who knew each other? Ford and Tyler wondered it the most since Harvey had been their friend before everything happened. What were they now? Currently, they were at breakfast and sitting together as they always did and talking about things. Courtney was coming around to accept that Harvey didn't want to be with her and everyone else had let go that she lied to them.

Courtney seemed to be doing okay, but she did wish she could be in Karina's life somehow. Ellie suggested that Courtney talk to Harvey about visiting her, an hour or two a day where Courtney could be like how Heather was, an aunt of sorts. So far, Courtney wasn't pushing her luck with Harvey since no one knew how he was doing or if he would even agree to visiting. When Courtney explained it that way, they did feel bad for her. Courtney understood she made a mistake and wanted to make up for it. Courtney knew that Harvey wouldn't take her back but she still wanted to be in her daughter's life but Courtney also wanted to let Harvey heal by not inserting herself into his life more than what it was with her being his student.

"I can't believe there is only a month left of the third year!" Sydney exclaimed.

"I know, right? It's amazing how fast it flew by," Ford agreed with a nod.

"What is everyone's summer plans?" Dominic questioned, "Heather and I are going to spend some time in the city going through our Mom's stuff, then not sure what. We don't speak to our dad,"

"Understandable why you don't. Neither parent should have hidden such a fact, regardless of an agreement," Andrew said.

"I get the agreement, but when we turned eighteen, it shouldn't have been allowed," Dominic shrugged.

"I second that. Well, I'll be visiting my parents for a few weeks. They...want to meet Karina, but I've yet to ask Harvey," Courtney sighed.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. So you finally told them?" Ashlyn inquired.

"Yeah, during Spring Break and they didn't take it so great and then a few days later asked if they could meet her. I explained that Harvey has full custody of Karina and right now we were giving each other some space," Courtney sighed.

"I'm sure Harvey would agree to let them meet their granddaughter," Ellie insisted.

"I don't think so. Harvey doesn't want to confuse Karina by adding so many extra people in her life; she knows that Veronica and Stuart are her father's parents. It would make her wonder who her mother is and that's what Harvey is trying to avoid, or it feels like that since he said he wouldn't be with me to protect Kari," Courtney looked down.

"How are you doing on all that?" Rylee asked.

"One day at a time I guess, can't do much else. I've thought of trying to prove to him that I wouldn't leave him or Kari again but I just believe that it would be better if I let it go and try to be his friend. I know that being with me, he'll always have that fear of me leaving. I don't want to hurt him anymore so I won't push the issue. But I don't want to try and be in Kari's life," Courtney admitted.

"You should talk to him about it," Ford offered.

"Kind of hard to when after class he's gone or taking a fly on Toothless, and we can't go to the staff dorms," Tyler pointed out.

"I could find a way to contact him; I still know his number. I just want to make sure he's okay first and that's why I've been giving him his space to heal," Courtney replied. It wasn't far from the truth, they didn't know how Harvey was doing with it all even though he's the one who made things official that he wouldn't be with Courtney again but they knew it hurt him to walk away.

"Has Heather said anything, Dom?" Syrus inquired.

"Not a word but I haven't asked either. I know it's none of my business," Dominic replied.

"If I can just suggest?" Ellie tried as they looked at her, "Harvey made mention that instead of talking to him, you stayed away in fear of making him angry. And you're afraid now, I think it might help if you swallowed that fear and just went for it. The worst that can happen is he says no, or he'll say yes because you showed him that you're not afraid and you want to be in Karina's life,"

"You think so?" Courtney asked. Ellie nodded to her and Courtney sighed, it was worth a shot if nothing else. "I guess I can try," she shrugged. Ellie smiled some, as a mother herself she understood what it meant to be away from her child. The weekend trip away from Owen was horrible for her. Ellie had a feeling that Harvey would agree to let Courtney in Karina's life but never in his again. The pain of what she did would always be there and it would hinder them being together in a relationship. Courtney was beginning to see that, but she wouldn't give up on her daughter as it should be. Ellie did want to know how Harvey was doing but felt it wasn't her place just as Dominic felt too.

It was strange to Ellie, seeing Harvey go through what she did brought an odd sense of comfort to her knowing she wasn't alone and it hurt her to see him hurting. Ellie wanted to try and make him feel better, he admitted that she helped during the picnic and he genuinely seemed happier when his mind was off things. Plus, they were friends too. Perhaps Ellie could invite him for an outing with the kids instead of the other way around. It was supposed to be a lovely weekend; maybe they could go to the beach? It was definitely warm enough and the temperatures were in the eighties, it was the perfect chance to hang out and check on him. After all, Ellie noticed that Harvey didn't wear his mask around her or it didn't appear that he did.

Getting her phone, she brought up hers and Harvey's texts and messaged him asking if he wanted to get together with the kids and go to the beach on Saturday or Sunday, then she placed it in her pocket and continued eating her pancakes and hoping he would respond soon. Meanwhile in Harvey's dorm, Heather had just come over to keep an eye on Karina while Harvey showered when she saw phone light up on the couchside table. Peering over, Heather saw that it was Ellie messaging him and asking about them getting together to go to the beach this weekend. It made Heather wonder if Ellie and Harvey were getting closer since they hung out every few weeks or so and normally it was just to the park for an hour or so. The beach was a step up from the park for sure, of course, Heather couldn't prove anything.

Hearing the bathroom door open, Harvey came out dressed and drying his hair with the towel as Heather scooched away from the phone. "Have a nice shower?" Heather asked.

"Same as always," Harvey shrugged and slung the towel over his shoulder and moved to his phone when he saw the light at the top blinking blue which meant text message. Harvey lifted it and read over what Ellie had asked him, he smiled softly, and Heather caught it.

"What's got you so smiley?" Heather inquired.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Ellie is asking if Kari and I want to go to the beach one of the weekend days," Harvey replied calmly.

"Are you going to?" Heather tilted her head a bit.

"Not sure. I have Kari's asthma to watch out for," Harvey answered while tucking the phone into his pocket.

"I'm sure she'd be okay as long as she takes it easy. You should go, Harvey. You've been holed up in here except for classes, you need fresh air," Heather encouraged gently.

"I haven't been in the mood to do anything since the campout. Wasn't exactly a great first night there," Harvey sighed as he sat down on the couch next to Heather and watched Karina play with her toys on the floor.

"I know it wasn't easy for you to walk away from her. Dominic told me you went right to your tent after Courtney went to the cabin, they heard you crying," Heather said lightly.

"I couldn't hold it back, Heather. I tried. I tried so hard to stay strong about it and I know I made the right choice but damn if it doesn't hurt like hell that I had the chance to get back what I'd been praying for, and walked away," Harvey sighed looking down.

"Harv, you did what you had to for Kari. I know it hurts, but this was the first girl you ever cared for and you got your chance with her. Things were great and then they fell apart, and the fear of the past repeating itself is, well, protecting you in a way. It will be three years since the break up come the beginning of July, you can't expect to just stop feeling the way you do for her after only two months since you told her you wouldn't take her back and you won't get over it or move on by sitting around the dorm during your free time," Heather put her hand on his shoulder.

"It hurts to see her every class. Two hours a day, five days a week does not make it easy to distance myself to get past this. I'm hoping the summer will be better," Harvey replied.

"But you still can't just sit around letting the pain eat away at you, Harvey. You did that once, and we almost lost you, and I'm scared that it's going to happen again. I notice Ellie has been through a lot, like you, and you like having someone to talk to who understands it. So, go to the beach with her and the kids this weekend," Heather suggested with a smile.

"Can I ask you something and have you be honest with me?" Harvey glanced over to Heather now.

"Of course," Heather said.

"Is it bad that I enjoy spending time with her and the kids?" Harvey asked.

"Why would you think it's a bad thing?" Heather countered.

"Because when I talk to her, I feel better. Like, you remember when we went to the park. I wouldn't have known what to do about the Courtney situation if it weren't for her. I was going to take Courtney back, and then Ellie showed me things I overlooked. After talking to her, I felt an enormous weight get lifted off my shoulders. I felt better about things," Harvey admitted as Heather looked at him, "When I'm with Ellie, I-I don't think about Courtney, and even if we end up on the subject, it doesn't hurt as much,"

Heather sighed but kept her smile, "You wanted honesty?" she asked as Harvey nodded, "You're starting to move on from Courtney,"

"What? No, no. Come on, Heather," Harvey denied quickly. Him liking Ellie? Preposterous.

"Harvey, listen to me okay? When you and Courtney started dating, you were happy right? Liked spending time with her, she made you smile, you enjoyed the time with Karina, all that. But now, Courtney is a source of pain to you because hurt you. Ellie takes that pain away. When you spend time with her, you have a good time and the kids do too. As I said before, Ellie has been through the same things as you with her child's father walking out on her and trying to come back, then she had to tell him no to protect her son. You just admitted to me that when you're with Ellie, you don't think about Courtney. You SAID that you feel better when you talk to her and you enjoy spending time with her. Harvey, you're starting to like her because she understands your pain! She makes you happy and you don't think about Courtney, you're getting over her and moving on!"

Harvey was going to argue but he couldn't. He did just admit to all that. Was Harvey starting to like Ellie? There wouldn't be a way to know if he stopped hanging out with her, plus that wouldn't be fair to Karina to take away her best friend outside of school. Well, this certainly put him in a tight spot. On one side of things, he wanted to move on with his life so getting over Courtney was a good thing. But moving on with Ellie, one of his students? That would go down well with the headmaster. The other side of things, Ellie was a good friend of his and their kids loved hanging out together. Harvey enjoyed going on the outings, they did take his mind off Courtney and the pain didn't bother him. Ellie made him feel better and...happier. Oh Gods, he was starting to like her and the worst part was that he didn't mind it.

"I want you to be happy, Harvey," Heather added.

"Okay, let's say I do like her. I can't pursue it," Harvey muttered.

"And why ever not?" Heather fretted.

"We're just friends, Heather. And you know that relationship would be forbidden as long as she's a student. Just like you can't be with Ford," Harvey reminded.

"Don't give me that. You and Ellie hang every few weeks off campus; the school can't do anything about that." Heather interjected.

"Yeah, as friends, not as a couple. And who is to say she even likes me in that way? Come on. Aside from all that, I might be getting over Courtney, but I'm not over her completely," Harvey sighed.

"I'm not saying to jump right in, Harvey, but don't deny yourself either. Ellie must like you a little; she's been very concerned for you. She asks me in the stables every few days if you're doing all right, so she does care. The school can't stop a personal relationship off campus. Think about it, those rules are put in place for a student of Ellie's age but a teacher over forty. You're Ellie's age, and you two only see one another on the weekends and off the grounds," Heather enlightened him.

Harvey closed his eyes, it was a risk already for them to leave campus for the outings. Was Harvey willing to take a bigger risk to be happy? "I will think about it. Regardless of anything, I'm still not ready. I can't be with someone else if I'm still healing myself from the first,"

"Fair enough. But in the mean time, you can still go have a good time. The more time you spend being happy, the less it will hurt and the easier it will be to recover. So do yourself a favor and have fun at the beach with your friend, friend's son, and your daughter," Heather told him. Harvey knew that Heather was right, sitting around in the dorm made him miserable. However, when he was busy and distracted he was happy and mainly with Ellie. It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend, why not do it at the beach with someone he was beginning to like a lot.