It was a rare Sunday where Penelope did not have to go into work, and Erin and David were away at church, leaving her alone in the Blake house with just the two of them. Or at least, Penelope assumed they were both there, seeing as how she hadn't seen Alex since Friday night and their tense dinner with James. Sighing, she made her way down to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing the orange juice and pouring herself a glass, every intention being that she would head back upstairs and spend time scrolling through Twitter or Tumblr.

That was not to be, however, as the moment she turned, she ran into James, spilling a little of the juice in his t-shirt. "I am so sorry," she stammered out, taking a seat backwards and almost slamming her glass down on the counter as she reached for the paper towels, ripping one off the roll before turning back to him and dabbing furiously at the spot. "You need to wear bells or something!"

"I said your name two or three times. You didn't hear me?" She shook her head. "You must still be half asleep."

"I didn't sleep well the last few nights. There seems to be a problem in my life that I just can't work past, and it's invaded my one safe space I can retreat to."

James blushed faintly, and she knew that he understood what she had been referring to. "Yes, well, about that. I think that we need to have a little chat. Take a seat at the table, and I'll make us pancakes. It's just the two of us this morning. I don't know when Alex will be home."

"She's not here?" she asked as she did as told, taking her normal chair and watching as James started mixing the batter. He shook his head a little, and she frowned deeply. "Where is she staying, then? I know it's not at our building."

"You didn't notice your apartment key missing?"

She shook her head a little as she got to her feet and pulled her keyring out of her purse. Sure enough, her apartment key was gone, and she frowned even deeper as she tossed the back into the purse before sitting heavily. "That makes no sense."

"Doesn't it? She can't be here with us, but she's chosen who she wants to be with."

A deep sigh tore from her lips as she looked at the tense way James held his shoulders, knowing that he was having a difficult time being civil to her in that moment. This was the time to try and fix things between them, to make it right and explain some of what happened so quickly between her and Alex. Taking a few long, shallow, breaths, Penelope focused her gaze on one of his shoulder blades and began to speak. "There was this book series, in the eighties, that my mom read. I don't know why, we weren't particularly Christian or faithful, but she said that they were like a warm bowl of soup on a winter's day. And the title of the first book always stuck with me, because it resonated with me in a weird way. Love comes softly, you see, and that is exactly what happened to me, when I was working so closely with Alex to find Erin. I never meant to fall in love with your wife, James. It just came upon me so softly that I couldn't fall out of love before you found out something was wrong."

Some of the tension began to leave his body, and she watched carefully as he placed a stack of small pancakes onto a larger plate before turning and setting it in the middle of the table. The silence continued as he pulled out plates and utensils for them, setting the table quickly before handing over her juice and pouring himself a glass of milk. A part of her wanted him to say something, to yell at her or say how disappointed he was in her, but there was nothing forthcoming as he took the seat across from her, pushing the platter closer. Frowning a little, she speared three with her fork before watching him serve himself and then start to eat.

Penelope picked at her food, finding it delicious, but also heavy to eat as her desire for an answer rose to a fevered pitch in her breast. Finally, when he had taken his last bite, James cleared his throat and focused his eyes on her, a sad look on his face. "I knew there were problems in my marriage long before you showed up, Penelope. I also knew that I shouldn't have allowed the two of you to pretend kiss while looking for Erin, because I knew that was playing with fire. I had no idea if you were bisexual, like my Lexie, but I did know that she had had feelings for Erin, once upon a time. I also knew that I couldn't demand that she not look for Erin, because she would never forgive me if I had allowed that to happen. I don't think anyone means to fall in love with Alex, it just happens."

Penelope blinked back tears as she nodded. "Erin said that I have to give her space, to let her come around to things on her own."

"She's right. Pushing Alex only leads to her pulling away from you. I learned that lesson too late into things, truly. I just don't think that I'm ready to let go just yet, though. Tell me, honestly, have you slept with my wife?"

She shook her head, giving him a tremulous smile. "No. We wouldn't let things get that far, because she is still your wife. We both thought that that would destroy something in all three of us that we could never recover from if we took things that far. I wanted to, in the more carnal places in my mind, but my heart knows what it's like to be cheated on, and I would never want you to feel that sort of pain. I have always been willing to wait and watch, and maybe try to fall out of love if she chose you. Sometimes, love isn't returned, after all."

"And sometimes love doesn't last. Sometimes, no matter how much we want love to be forever, it mutates beneath our touch, and there's nothing we can do to save it. I ran, when we lost Ethan, because being here hurt too much. I never thought about what my running would do to Alex, until I stayed home. We were blissfully happy for about six months, and then we both realized that we had grown apart, strangely enough. I was still so in love with her, or the memory of her, that I didn't want to acknowledge that there were serious cracks in the foundation of our relationship."

"At least you weren't the one with commitment issues. That was why Kevin broke up with me, because I didn't want to marry him and live on a farm in the middle of nowhere."

"Like that would ever work. You are not a person made for the country, and I can see that without knowing you all that well."

She laughed a little as she nodded. "Yeah, you would think the man I was with for three years at that point would realise that, but nope." Smiling timidly at him, Penelope spoke once more. "I am really glad that we had this little talk, even if it was painful for both of us. I'd rather everything be out in the open, you know?"

"I do. And I am glad we talked to." Reaching across the table, he patted her hand gently before getting up and starting to fill the dishwasher. "Now to talk to Alex."