It had been happening more frequently as of late, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was some sort of sign. The first time had been at the little café in Chancellor Park and then again tonight. She'd been waiting, both times, for Nick to arrive, to fill the silence that surrounded her with his jokes and laughter, to make her feel carefree and alive the way he did. Nick made her laugh, made her forget about all the difficult things she'd endured recently and then she'd seen them. It wasn't the same couple, but the message they conveyed couldn't have been more similar. Both were older and clearly content to let life happen around them. They both sat at the table across from each other, sipping their coffee and eating their dinner respectively and neither needed to say anything. They met each other's eyes only occasionally and only to smile sweetly, comfortably, as if there was no need for superfluous words. They'd said everything that needed to be said already and now they both knew. They were exactly where they wanted to be – together.

The silence that existed between the two of them tonight didn't feel that way. She let the fork fall from her hand onto the plate that rested on her lap as she struggled to sit up a bit. The pain in her ankle made her wince.

"Here," he said, reacting instantly to the sound of her discomfort and reaching for her plate. He placed it on the coffeetable in front of him along with his own before running his hand gently across her foot. "This looks pretty bad," he sighed. "You sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." She watched him carefully as he nodded, his eyes not quite meeting hers. "What about you?" Her words were slightly hesitant. She was poking at something she probably shouldn't. If he said things were okay, why not let it go? But she couldn't simply because things were so obviously not okay. "You're quiet. Are you angry?"

"Angry?" His tone shifted as his eyes finally locked with hers. "Why would I be angry?"

"Because Billy was here earlier, because he drove me home, because he stayed … because I didn't call you instead … all of it … none of it … something else entirely." She smiled in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. "I don't know, but I know this .." She gestured to the air around him. "This isn't your usual self. You've barely said a word since Billy left and I would just rather know if you're sitting here stewing about something."

"Sometimes I forget how well you know me." Nick shook his head shamefully. "I guess I am a little angry, but not with you … more with myself. I should have been there."

"Nick … I know how these things go. I know that work stuff just …"

"No. I need to …" He sighed and ran his hand across his face. "I need to just tell you now. It seemed like such a great idea at the time, but now it all seems really trivial and if anything had happened …" He stood up and walked over towards the hallway.

Phyllis watched silently as he disappeared for a moment and then returned to the room. He held a brightly wrapped package in his hand and held it out towards her as he reclaimed his seat on the sofa.

"What's this?"

His shoulders rose and fell again, the guilt still weighing on him. "Tonight, when I called you and said I had a work meeting … that was a lie. I didn't."

"Why would you lie to me about that?" Her emotions were conflicted. There was a part of her that knew lying about whereabouts couldn't be a good thing, but somehow this seemed innocuous enough.

"It's stupid really … especially now, knowing what happened and thinking about what could have happened, but … I just knew you'd love and I wanted to get it for you because I knew it was almost impossible to get ahold of and when they called and told me they had one …" He smiled at her obvious confusion. "Just open it."

"It's a Christmas gift?" She looked down at the festive paper, it's purpose obvious.

"It was supposed to be, but now I just … just open it, please. Hopefully, you'll understand and I won't have to feel like such an asshole. And since you're wounded, it'll give us something to do to occupy the time." He watched her forehead wrinkle as his words befuddled her even further. "And I'll get you another gift even though there's no way it can ever be as perfect as this one. I've been working on this for weeks."

Her mind flashed back to Billy for a moment. She could still see the look in his eyes as she'd opened the velvet box. It was clear he'd taken great pains to find just the right gift, to find something that he knew she'd love, to find something that meant something to him and to her. She couldn't help but wonder if what was wrapped within this paper could hold that kind of weight. Her fingertips gingerly tugged at the bow, her heart involuntarily speeding up as she pulled the paper away from the contents.

"Oh it's …" She knew very well what it was, but somehow the words weren't coming. A few hours ago, this gift would have thrilled her. They would have laughed and joked and placed some ridiculous bet on who would win the first round, but now it seemed different.

"It's the right one, isn't it?" He hadn't missed the slight hint of disappointment in her reaction. "It's been sold out everywhere for weeks and the guy that called me said he was shocked they'd managed to get one. I'm not even gonna tell you what I had to pay for it, but it's worth it because I knew how excited you were to hear they were coming out with a new version. Of course I know you were only excited because it's one of the few games you can legitimately beat my ass in, but I'll take that as part of your gift …"

"Yeah." She forced a bigger smile, remembering how well he also knew her. "You're right. This is exactly the one I wanted." She leaned towards him, kissing his face and pulling him close. "I just … I can't believe you found it. I was reading that it was expected to be back ordered for weeks. I had even put in a pre order and they said the response had been so overwhelming that they weren't even able to produce enough to fulfill the first round. I'm just …"

"Well, as much as I claim to hate it, the last name helps sometimes." Nick shrugged as he looked at her, her eyes still staring down at the video game case. "So," he nudged her gently. "You up for a game?"

"I think the better question is, Are you up to get your ass kicked?" She smiled again as he laughed and stood up to retrieve the game controls. As he walked from the room, she finally allowed her smile to fade. She let her eyes move to the velvet box that sat on the corner of the coffee table. Even without looking, her mind held the image. Each detail had been so carefully constructed. It was made for her, created for her, thought of just for her.

But now wasn't the time for thinking. It would be Christmas in a matter of days. She'd get to watch Christian experience Christmas. The joy of a small child this time of year was contagious. It would be days before she'd have to go back to work and face him and hopefully by then, she'd have some idea of what to say.