Being back in New York wasn't something she was completely looking forward to, but some things she needed done had to be completed in person. Moving herself back home was humiliating but after her license was revoked, she felt like she had no other choice but to get as far away from here as possible. She knew her family would be disappointed in the fact that she lost her license, seemingly wasting her expensive education, but they also knew she would need as much support as possible to help her through figuring out the next phase of her life.

Which brought her back to the city where, for a time, she had been happy and one in which she thought she had a future. Unfortunately for her, that happiness soon burst when the source of her happiness realized that his own happiness didn't require her in his life and that he was absolutely unable to remove the only thing, well person, that she asked of him. And in her mind, she never actually asked him to get rid of her, but just laid out the facts that their happiness wouldn't be able to continue so long as that other presence remained. She believed that their relationship was secure and strong enough to endure this one thing, but she had been sadly mistaken and the minute the other stepped out of the picture, he pulled her right back in. Which meant the end of their relationship.

This set her into a spiral of sorts. Not the boil-a-bunny kind but she started making poor choices both personally and professionally which ultimately led to the board revoking her license. There was also the matter of a few anonymous tips to the board which required to explain and go back over the time where he had been her client and then when she started a personal relationship with him, including questions about how what she learned in her sessions affected her decisions outside of the work environment and how she had used her professional-turned-personal relationship to handle an personal-turned-professional issue. Many people spouting different forms of the issue of conflict of interest, boundaries, and ethics at her. All in all, she had been humiliated to recount everything, especially since it led to a sad conclusion.

So now she is sitting in a restaurant that once held happy memories, trying to cheer herself up a bit before her last appointment later this afternoon to wrap up all her connections to the city. She had a flight back home scheduled for the next morning and she was trying to enjoy something here before she left as she didn't think she was likely to return again.

After placing her order and sipping on a glass of wine, she sat and closed her eyes for just a moment, trying to relive the happiness she felt the last time she was here. It had been an anniversary that she hadn't initially thought he was capable of reaching given his reputation but knowing that she was the one celebrating it with him gave her an immense sense of joy and pride, especially when he presented her with keys to his apartment, giving her the idea that he was truly serious in this relationship and this could be it.As she remembers him wishing her happy anniversary, as if by magic she hears his voice, not saying anniversary wishes but saying hello to a dinner companion.

She was seated next to a frosted glass partition so that she could tell there were people on the other side but unable to see anything more than a shadow of their faces. Despite this, she instantly recognized the voice who welcomed someone to his table. She knew she couldn't get up and leave without having to go right past that table and seeing him, so she decided her only option was to remain and have to listen to him as she ate her meal. His voice both melted her heart and broke it at the same time, scratching away at the scab that had grown over that wound, making the hurt fresh again.

"Man it is so good to see you. It's been too long." The unknown man responded to his greeting. "How are you? Cause you look, well you don't look like you. And is that a smile on your face? Don't remember ever seeing such a big smile on that face before."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "What can I say? I am happy. Don't think I have ever been happier in my entire life."

"How can you be happy when you aren't even in New York anymore? I thought you lived and breathed this place." He isn't in New York anymore? What took him away from here. I never would've dreamed of this city without him and he certainly always described New York as the only place he would ever think about being.

"Let's just say it was time to move on. Hell, I conquered this place and thought it was time to conquer someplace else." She could hear the pride in his voice but what did he mean "time to move on?" Did he really move on from everything...every...one?

She intently listened hoping he would provide more details. Of course at that moment, her waiter decided it was the best time to bring her meal, seeming to ask question after question. Did she need more this or that? She tried to politely say she was fine when in reality she wanted to say scram, can't you tell I am trying to overhear this conversation.

"Yeah, I can see how you moved on. Is that a ring on your finger? Did you get married? Did hell freeze over while I was in Detroit?" And as luck would have it, right at the moment she was to hear the answer as to whether or not he was now taken for good, that was the time their waiter decided to come take their order, delaying his answer further. This time she wanted to scream at their waiter to go away.

After giving them their order, noting that he ordered just about the same thing he did the last time they were here, she waited on pins and needles hoping (though part of her didn't want to have confirmation that he was now out of reach permanently) he would answer the question presented to him before their waiter appeared.

She could see by the shadows that he was looking down, presumably at his hand. "Yep, I sure did. And it was the best thing I have ever done. I see you aren't, you still looking or has someone finally locked you down as well?" The other man then started going on and on about his own life. She sighed loudly and tried to eat some of her meal, frustrated that their topic of conversation was not on him anymore as if she really cared about this stranger's life.

Lucky for her, he didn't give his whole life story and turned the topic back tohim. "Ok, man now I need details about that" presumably pointing down to the ring on his finger.

As soon as he started talking, she could just tell he was smiling. "Well, when I met her, I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight and shehad me right then and there. No one else was going to ever get me here." She could see in the glass that he had raised his hand up a little bit by his face, emphasising what he meant by "here."

"Wow, a woman finally got the best of you. Made you settle down."

"Oh, there was no settling. She's the gold standard, absolute top and she makes me better just by being her. Still can't believe that I almost settled for someone else. What a mistake. Actually there have been a few mistakes, but I think I've always known that there would come a point where I had to stop looking and that was when I finally saw her. Luckiest day of my life was the day I met her. You know my history and there have been many women. Most just wanted to sleep with me. One tried to change me and another tried to fix me. Well, she has always just wanted to be with me, as I am. I never knew that this was all I needed or wanted. She is all I've ever needed or wanted. I actually met her at a bar. A cliche I know but I guess when you meet the one, it doesn't really matter."

At this point their meals arrive and once they start eating, they meander into small talk about sports and other things. This goes on for some time, much to her frustration. She wants to know about this woman who finally made him step away from his bachelorhood for good.

"So is she here with you on this trip?"

Yes, is this golden goddess of a woman here in New York? Will I have to run into her as well? She wonders.

"No, not this time. The doctor said it was a little too close to her due date, so just me."

"What? Not only are you married, but you are going to be a dad? What the hell? That is definitely something I never thought would ever happen to you. Well, unless you knocked one of your one-night stands." The other man chuckles.

"One, I made sure that the last part would absolutely never happen. Nope. And yeah, it took me by surprise too but I can't think of anything better. And I certainly couldn't ever dream of it with anyone but my wife." That last term is a stab through her heart.

How much she wanted to be just that and how many times she had dreamed of their relationship getting to that point. If things had continued they certainly would've already been married and maybe had a kid or two themselves. A tiny being half her, half him. Instead it will be half him and half someone else.

She feels a headache coming on and for her own well-being she really should stop and try to leave, instead of torturing herself more but much like their relationship had been, she can't help it despite knowing that it was both wrong and likely to lead to pain.

"So you got a picture of this wife of yours? She must be gorgeous."

"She is, but there is so much more to her. If it wasn't for her, I am not really sure where I would be now. Pretty empty guy I think. And my family, they absolutely adore her. Even my mother shared how much she loved her before she passed."

She is sad to hear that the lovely woman she met is now gone. She knew how long it took for him to get to a point where he could even talk about his mother, let alone talk to her and had been happy to hear that he had done just that before they started their relationship. She had felt proud to know that she was a part of the reason he was able to do so, especially since he had confirmed that himself. But the joy that she felt after he had made that statement promptly deflated when the woman herself identified the person who had been responsible and "special to him" was not her. That had been the last straw that had ignited the fuse to blowing up their relationship.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Your father is gone too if I remember correctly. Tough..." The other man gives his condolences.

"Thanks. But I try not to dwell on what I don't have and am focused on what I do. I was able to get to a point where I could talk with my mom freely and we got a few years in and she got to talk to my wife. The only thing I wish is that she would've got to meet her in person. Pretty sure I would've been in trouble if they had ever been able to conspire with one another. I made the mistake of introducing her to someone else, who at the time I thought was someone special, but the more time that's passed, the more wrong I know that this relationship was. Really dodged a bullet and I definitely would've been settling there."

Hearing him talk about her as a mistake makes her nauseous. He seemed genuinely broken up when he told her he wasn't able to extricate himself from her and now to know he saw her as a mistake and he would've been settling . . . her heart was now broken utterly. She had already heard similar talk from her colleagues, her friends, her family, and the ethics board, but none of that seemed to break through. But to hear it from the man himself . . .

She really, really wanted to leave now but much like seeing a car accident on the highway, she couldn't help but keep listening, no matter how terrible it might be. She could hear him unlock his phone to presumably pull up a picture.

"That's her." She could see he was holding up his phone to the other man.

"Wow. She is gorgeous." The other man responded.

"Gorgeous, caring, gentle, tenacious, smart, sarcastic, and keeps me on my toes. The perfect combination. And not only does she keep me on my toes at home, she does so at work too. Has the office running like a well-oiled machine. Frankly I don't know how she does it but in the time I've known her, there isn't anything she can't do. Well, except cook. Never quite got the handle of that. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It was most definitely my lucky day when I met her. But I digress." He chuckles.

"So I take it you aren't going to make it back to New York much anymore, seeing as you will have your hands full with so many things, especially your wife." The other man inquires, chuckling himself at his last statement.

"We'll be back of course. My brother lives in Boston, her family's in Connecticut. And we both have lots of friends here, yourself included, so we'll make trips back here. But I gotta say we love Seattle. I lived fast here but there we can just live. No rush. No one coming after me. Just a chance to breathe and be happy. If you asked me if I would be happy doing that just a few years ago, I would have said no, but with my wife, I don't want life to go fast. I want to enjoy every single second. And with our family expanding shortly, I know they will grow up way too quickly so anything to help slow that time down is fine by me. You know you should find someone to slow down time with. Let me tell you, you won't regret it."

"Well, you will never regret it with her. She's gorgeous and you know with that hair, you have a good chance of your kids being ginger." Both men chuckle, with himheartily agreeing and telling him he wouldn't have it any other way,

With the mention of ginger, she can't help but stop suddenly. So suddenly that her arm stops halfway to her mouth as she was just about to take a bite of her chicken. Ginger? She prays that he found another redhead to be with, but her heart sinks knowing just who he ended up with. Just who his wife is. Just who is the soon-to-be mother of his children. Her appetite disappeared immediately and she ended up dropping her fork so quickly that it loudly hit her plate, causing a few of the patrons at the nearby tables to turn around and look at her. It also caused the two gentlemen on the other side of the partition to stop their conversation for a moment.

Not wanting to cause any more attention, she gives a sheepish smile to try and let those that can see her that she was fine and they should just resume their meals. While there was a small smile on her face to placate those around her, her eyes began to fill and she noticed a drop or two fall on her plate. Every time he spoke and every reference to her had already felt like a pinprick to her heart, but now knowing who she was felt like a knife stab.

Not only was he happy with someone else, but he was happy with her. The one who she blames for everything. She knows she is bitter but she wishes either that he never showed up to ask her out or more preferably, that shehad moved on, or even better, if she had never existed. Though if shehadn't existed, her leaving wouldn't have caused him to spiral and seek out help so that they would've never met. She has played all sorts of "what ifs" in her head over the last few years and she believes that they would've been happy if she just hadn't interfered.

She continues to be forced to listen to the two men talk and hear about how happy his life was. With her. She sighs and takes a deep breath, trying to will this whole ordeal to be over. Finally after about another 20 minutes of talk about life, love, and the future, the men were finishing their meal and wrapping up their conversation. Plans to keep in touch were exchanged, their bill was paid, and they finally left their table to exit.

After what she believed to be a safe amount of time for them to leave by car or taxi, she quickly paid her bill and moved to the exit. Once outside, she stopped and dug in her bag looking for her phone to find the address for her appointment to give to a taxi. This puts her in the way of a gentleman who after saying goodbye to his friend was just now exiting the restaurant as he had stopped to use the restroom before leaving, and who ended up lightly bumping into her.

He quickly said "excuse me, sorry." but kept walking to find a taxi. She raised her head as she again was faced with his voice. She saw that he looked a little different than the last time she saw him. Still in great shape, but with facial hair and glasses. Still extremely attractive and someone she would love to go home with every night. But much like the end of their relationship, after he excused himself after bumping into her, he never looked back and kept walking.

He was wanted at home, he wanted to be home, and he wanted to be with his wife.

His everything.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's note:

Decided to do a variation on the previous chapter. Sorry if this isn't everyone's cup of tea but this is what the muse decided needed to be written. And the emphases are purposeful since I chose not to include any names but perhaps there is a deeper meaning as well.

Paraphrased a few lines from "Harder Truths" by stwrites214 because they perfectly wrote about some of Harvey's relationships. s/13552952/1/Harder-Truths.