April 1, 2019

Helloooo! Just popping in real quick to say Thanks again to the folks who leave such lovely reviews/reactions to the chapters, haha! Here's a longer chapter as a gift ;) I'm a little nervous about this one, but at this point, it is what it is lol. Also, I'm going to be posting my new AU story as soon as I come up with a title for it, which turns out is the hardest part for me. Go figure haha.

The problem with pretending to be out of the country, Kirby realized very quickly the next morning, was that it was very easy to get bored when your partner in crime had to work all day. When she texted Fallon to say as much, Fallon told her to look through what the hotel offered and just charge it to the room. Kirby wasn't exactly surprised, but she wasn't complaining either. So while she started flipping through the pages in the hotel's accommodation booklet, Fallon was trying to guess when Liam would show up and put his plan into action.

She had grown tired of seeing the looks on her coworkers' faces whenever she had to make a trip to anybody else's office, so Fallon had rearranged her day so that she could take all of her paperwork around right before lunch, or at the end of the work day on her way out.

Just when she was starting to think maybe she ought to text Liam and let him know she was free, there was a knock at her door.

"Michael," she greeted rather cooly, sitting up straighter than she already had been.

"Can we just... talk?" He asked, sounding exasperated and tired.

"I don't know—"

Over Culhane's shoulder, Fallon saw Liam step into view long enough to catch her attention, giving a little wave. Had he been waiting for this? Or maybe he'd nudged Michael into talking to her? If this was part of his plan, then that meant Fallon had to cause Michael to make a scene. Right? She sure hoped she was reading it right.

Liam stepped out of sight again, heading towards the copy room down the hall. Far enough to have some privacy if she really wanted to talk to Culhane first, but close enough to keep an ear out for them.

"You can't keep avoiding me when we work across the hall, you know."

Fallon blinked, pulling herself back into the moment. "I don't think you have the right to talk to me about avoiding someone. You've done an exceptional job of it when you wanted to over the last few years."

"You're seriously still holding grudges about before Alexis showed up? That's ages ago."

"Would you rather I be mad about the secrets you kept regarding you know who?" She pressed, obviously meaning Ada.

"That was different. I was protecting you!"

Fallon scoffed. "And earning some sweet payout deals, I gather. Otherwise you wouldn't have kept doing it after she gave you the file. I'm still not convinced she actually did away with it all, you know."

"You don't trust me to make sure?"

"Even if I did, there's no way you could really ever know. Not with a woman like that. I'm tempted to try and find her myself, and-"

"Don't, Fallon," Michael warned sharply, letting Fallon know she'd come too close to the ruse for his tastes. That, or he was actually trying to be chivalrous in some way. But was that for her, or for the fact that he thought she was having his child? Fallon couldn't tell.

Shrugging, she stood and walked around the desk, leaning back on it with her hands to support her. "Listen, I'm a big girl. You should know that better than anyone. If I want to try and find Ada, I will. But I'll leave you out of it. Okay? You'll be fine."

He shook his head, taking a step closer to her. Fallon lifted her chin in response, defiant but also a silent warning.

"If I'm right, and the baby you mentioned is yours – is mine – then I don't want you anywhere near her."

"I don't care," she told him, pleased with the way her tone made him tense up even more. "It's not your choice to make!"

She pushed off of the desk, aiming for the door, but he caught her arm, spinning her back around.

"Michael!" She chided loudly, pulling her arm back, but not hard enough to break his grasp.

"I'm trying to protect you, Fallon! Why can't you just listen for once?"

"Because you got us in this mess in the first place!"

He shook his head, taken aback. "Like hell! You had to go and carry on your charade with Liam even after I told you I wanted out."

"I did that for us. So we could sell the company and move to New York, like you wanted. Like you wanted. And you threw it all away! So forgive me if I don't trust you anymore."

That time she did pull away completely, not really feeling up to the fight anymore. She turned and stormed out into the hall, not sure which direction she wanted to head. But as she made a decision and aimed for the copy room in case Michael did follow her, she heard his angry footsteps behind her.

"Go away, Culhane," she snapped over her shoulder.

"No. You see this, Fallon? This right here is exactly why we would never have made it," he declared, waiting for her to turn around in her hurt, which she did, staring at him.

"Then why bother proposing?!"

"I don't know! Maybe I thought you would change once you were out from under your family's shadow."

Fallon's hands fell to her hips as the anger really set in. "That isn't why you marry someone. You're supposed to love them, despite their flaws."

"Well you've got far too many of those for anyone to really put up with, don't you, Fallon? Is that why you pretended to run off to Australia with Kirby to see her mom?"

She should have countered that, or said something that would keep him from talking to Adam. She could've. But she was still processing the first question, and the way it was repeating in her head over and over made it hard to even recognize that he'd asked a second one. When he proposed, she'd brought this all up, and he hadn't minded. Or he had pretended not to? She couldn't tell what was the truth anymore.

Her mouth opened slightly, before she shut it and walked straight up to him, lifting her chin to face off with him. "I have a lot of regrets in life, Michael," she told him, her voice dropping to a nearly-calm tone. "But one thing I am exceptionally proud about, is the fact that I chose to back out of what was clearly a sham of an engagement to you. I'm proud that my children will never have to know you."

She side-stepped him, aiming for her office again with the hopes that she could slam the door on him. And she did make it. But just in time for him to get in one last jab:

"And I'm sorry they'll be stuck with another sorry, Carrington excuse for a parent. You're unbelievably selfish, and God knows you'll only end up worse than your own."

Fallon made eye contact with him once more before slamming the door shut so hard that a picture frame fell off of the wall next to her. After locking it just to be safe, she pressed her back against the door and slid down it to sit on the floor, staring blankly at her desk.

A text lit up her phone. From Liam. He's wrong, Fal. Are you okay?

Figuring she could wallow in self-pity for a moment and Liam would understand how she meant it, she typed out a deeply honest reply, which of course would have come out as sarcastic as anything had she said it aloud. Maybe he isn't. Remember when you said I wasn't a terrible friend? Looks like I have bigger problems to worry about.

Let me in.

Come on. Before he comes back out and catches me.

Sighing, she stood and unlocked the door, only half surprised when he pushed it open himself, shutting it before fully surprising her as he gently drew her into his chest for a hug. Fallon couldn't actually remember the last time someone had hugged her for something other than a greeting or to put on a show.

"Liam-"

"Fallon, just... Just give it a minute," he told her quietly, clearly requesting rather than demanding. "He's wrong."

She shook her head slightly, somehow nervous about the fact that she might brush her cheek against his shoulder if she moved too much. "He may have taken things too far, may have used my own thoughts against me. But that doesn't mean he's wrong, Liam."

"He shouldn't have said those things, regardless."

Fallon just sighed. "I don't want to do that again. There was no way in hell he's ever going to side with us against Ada, but now I've really done it. I thought if he assumed I was going to try and find her, he'd tell her to back off. But that just royally backfired. And if you were recording that for your mother, then we definitely can't use it. I was just as bad as him."

"It had to come out sometime, right? Do you feel better, at least a little?"

Her shoulders lifted slightly in a shrug. "Maybe. But I just want this to be over with. I have half a mind to mention Ada to your mother and see if she recognizes the name."

Liam pulled back enough to look at her, his hands moving to her upper arms so she wouldn't try to hide from him. "You realize if we mention the two of them in the same sentence, Michael could get in just as much trouble as her."

"He nearly got Jeff killed, and stole who knows how much from an unknowable amount of people. He was part of a drug deal, which I wish I were more surprised by, after his history with drug abuse. I don't think he would've used any of it, but I also didn't think he would work with someone like her, or say things like that..."

"Whatever con they're pulling, they're taking their time. So it has to be big."

"Or it's nothing," Fallon burst out, pulling away fully to look around the room in dismay. "Maybe they aren't doing anything at all, and we're preparing for nothing."

"Then why would he bring her to your party, or bring in this Adam guy, and why would he talk to Ada about an opportunity that he'd found? Fallon, you clearly feel guilty or hurt or whatever this is, but I know you better than that. You aren't foolish enough, even when it comes to him. You're a Carrington."

"And you're a Van Kirk, Liam. So what? Contrary to what my parents think, that doesn't mean we're infallible." She held up a hand as if that would stop him from replying, and walked over towards her desk.

"I can't go off to New York knowing you're just letting this go. If something happens while I'm gone, you'll be fed to the dogs."

Fallon scoffed, spinning back around to look at him, the deja vu hitting hard. "I'm a big girl, Liam. I can handle it on my own."

"But you don't have to! God, Fallon, why can't you just let someone in? Let someone help you?"

"Because everyone always leaves!" She practically shouted, only to snap her mouth shut and look away. That wasn't supposed to come out. But it was too late, now. And she didn't want to see the way he was looking at her, because knowing Liam it would be some deep sort of gaze that dug too far into her, and just made her ache.

He was quiet for too long, and she found her gaze drifting back to him. Until he spoke with a simple, "Fallon." Her eyes jumped straight back to his, like they always did whenever he said her name. It was habit, now, in some ways.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking down at her feet. "Blake always loves to tell me how it's ridiculous to bring emotions into a business strategy, which I think is where we both have gone wrong recently. Maybe we don't call this off, but just... put it on hold. Then when you come back, we dig back in."

"No," Liam shook his head firmly. "I'm not going until this is handled."

She stood up straight at that, ready to tell him she didn't need yet another man barging in and telling her what to do, or protecting her because they thought she couldn't handle it. But then she saw the expression he wore. It wasn't one of possessiveness, like Michael's always had been. Or superiority, like Blake. And it certainly wasn't fake, like Jeff. "You can't put your career on hold for me, Liam. And frankly, you shouldn't do so for your mother, either, until she decides to start supporting you. It's high time we both learned that lesson."

"And you?"

"... Me what?"

"Do you support me?"

Fallon's brow furrowed. "Well- Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Just like me for you," he said earnestly, somehow yet again taking Fallon by surprise. "So I am not going to leave you to deal with Ada, or Culhane, or my mother on your own. My deadlines can wait, and I can Skype in with my editor instead."

"Liam-"

"Listen to me. Just, … just hear me, okay?" He waited for her to tuck her chin a little and nod before continuing. "People are rarely there for you. I see it, just like you do. But I refuse to be one of those people. I'm not going to leave, I'm not gonna let you push me away again."

She waited a moment, wanting to make sure he was done before cutting in with, "But you told me to stay away. And if it weren't for all of this, I swear I would have."

"I know. And I appreciate it. But... I think we both know that, eventually, we were going to end up back in the same place, fighting over something very much like this."

Staring at him across the room, it seemed even more impossible than usual that she could've just failed to see him for who he was. Somehow, the instant her Culhane-blinders were taken off, she realized just how foolish she'd been. Just how scared and unprepared she was for a stranger to actually care about her. It had only taken him, what? A couple months at most? And under the most catastrophic, insane circumstances. Hell, he'd seen her shoot up her own house after pool-fighting with Alexis. Even that hadn't scared him off.

Slowly, Fallon pushed away from her desk to take a careful step towards him. "For once, I wish you'd be more clear about what you mean." He'd always been far too open and honest with her, before. Back when she wasn't brave enough to accept it. What was that saying? We accept the love we think we deserve? Maybe that's why she'd waited until he no longer wanted her to try and fight for it. Because she was convinced she hadn't earned it.

"...I'm sorry I pushed you away at the ski lodge."

She shrugged a little sadly. "You were happy, and predictably, in came Fallon Carrington to spoil it." She lifted one shoulder and cracked a humorless smile to try and lighten the mood, but he didn't take the bait.

"Can we just... try that talk again?"

At her confusion, he gestured towards the two chairs in front of her desk, and waited for her to take one before sitting down in the other and turning it to face hers. She shifted her own to mimic him, but still wasn't entirely sure what he meant.

"Why did you follow me to that ski lodge, Fallon?"

"You know why," she answered quietly, realizing two things. One, this was her chance to reiterate and make clear that she still felt the same way. But two, saying it the first time had been scary and difficult enough. It had never been easy for her to say the things she really felt, and certainly not until someone else put themselves on the line first.

But this was Liam. And he deserved better.

She sat forward, her fingers curling into her palm before she reached out cautiously, holding her hand out to him. He took it almost instantly, curling both of his hands around it. "Liam, I... I don't deserve you."

"I don't subscribe to the belief that anybody deserves anyone else. That's not how relationships or love actually works."

"Then how is it supposed to work?"

Liam smiled just slightly, one corner of his mouth lifting before he looked down at their hands, his thumbs running back and forth across the backs of her fingers. "The thing about other people is that, well, they're all different. There's absolutely no way you could know everything about another person, regardless of how long you know them. It's impossible. But when you care about someone... when you love someone, you choose to fight for them. You choose to put them first, and to want what's best for them before anybody else. Love is a choice as much as it is a feeling. Just because I was hurting doesn't mean either of those aspects didn't still feel true. It doesn't mean that they don't, still."

Fallon wasn't really sure how to follow after that. It made sense, though, so she nodded and drew in a steadying breath as she tried to think of something worthy to say. But when she took a couple moments too long, he charged ahead.

"It's okay if you don't think you can feel that way with me-"

"Liam, God, no," she burst out, sitting forward and reaching out with her free hand to make sure he wouldn't let go of her. "I- No, I do. But-"

He pulled one of his hands away, making Fallon panic a little in fear that she'd said something wrong. But he used his other hand to tug her towards him as he stood, lifting her with him. His fingers slid into her hair just a moment before his lips captured hers. Fallon felt herself gasp, then pulled her hands away from his so she could wind them around him, pulling him closer.

Until he stopped, leaning back just enough to give him room to speak. "No buts, Fal. I love you. Even when you stop trusting yourself. And you love me, if I remember right."

"Stop talking, Liam. Of course I do."

They'd accomplished nothing, solved nothing – but for the moment, Fallon just didn't care. She reached up to his hair, brushing his arm out of the way as she drew him back in.