Sean reluctantly got up from the couch to answer the door. It seemed like every time Sue and Sean had a chance to be closer, something or someone always got in the way. Sue stood up from the couch and smoothed her dress and fixed her hair before walking back over to the plate of pizza she left behind. Once again there was a knock at the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"Yoohoo, Dr. Donahue! Where are you?" Nancy Donahue asked from the other side of the door.

"Crap." Sean muttered under his breath and looked back at Sue, who was equally shocked. In a hurry, Sean fixed his clothes and tried to wipe the guilt off of his face. This was the worst possible time for his mom, of all people, to show up. Sue quickly shoved a large bite of pizza in her mouth to hide what had been happening just moments before. Finally, Sean opened the door.

"What took so long? Is everything okay honey?" Nancy wondered before walking in the door with a pan of lasagna.

"Mom, what are you doing here? Annnd...everything is fine...we were just...eating dinner." Sean awkwardly replied as he pointed at Sue in the dining room. Sue waved at Nancy while she chewed on her mouthful of pizza.

"Oh! Hello Sue!" She said as she eagerly waved at Sue before turning back to her son. "I was just worried, you left the house in such a hurry last night and you didn't come back. I brought you some dinner but I see you already have taken care of that. So you two are...together now?" Nancy asked, noticing that the two of them were well dressed. Sean nervously scratched the back of his neck and let out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, we finally talked. Actually, we're kind of on a date right now..." He started to say but she didn't hear him. She brushed past him and walked over to the dining room table where Sue was still sitting. She placed the pan of lasagna on the table. Sean took a deep breath and rolled his eyes before shutting the door. He gave a half smile to Sue and mouthed "I'm sorry." to her. Sue nodded and smiled back at him.

"You look so beautiful!" Nancy said to Sue. "What are you two up to tonight?"

"Thank you! Uhhhh, we actually just had our first date...but the restaurant we went too was too busy so we just brought back dinner here." Sue nervously blurted out but wanted to change the topic.

"I'm so happy for you! You know I love you, Sue. You're already practically a daughter to me." Nancy smiled and gave Sue a hug. Sue could tell that Sean was feeling flustered and embarrassed that his mom was interrupting their first date, which still hadn't technically ended.

"Thanks, Mrs. Donahue." Sue said. "Actually, it's getting kind of late. I should probably go. I...didn't get much sleep last night, being New Year's and all..." A sad look crossed Sean's face and he mouthed to her from across the room "Please don't go."

"Alright, honey. Be careful." Nancy told her. Normally, Nancy would tell Sean to escort her back to her apartment, but their campuses were close to each other and Sue lived here on her own most of the time.

"I will, goodnight Mrs. Donahue." Sue walked toward the front door where Sean was still standing. She could tell from his face that he felt terribly and she so desperately wanted to kiss away that feeling, but with his mom being in the same room, the time was not right. Nancy had already busied herself in the kitchen, cleaning up the already clean countertops and organizing the kitchen pantry. "Tomorrow." Sue quietly said to Sean as she brushed his arm with her hand.

"At least take my jacket." Sean grabbed his Notre Dame jacket and placed it over Sue's shoulders. Sue smiled at his thoughtfulness and pulled the jacket tight against her chest. Sean opened the door for her as she headed out. He glanced back to see where his mom was and she was still focused on the kitchen pantry. He took the opportunity to give Sue a slightly lingering kiss on the lips before she stepped out of the door. Nancy caught a glimpse of their private moment before turning back to continue cleaning. "I love you." Sean said quietly as he lightly touched her hand.

Sue smiled at him. "I love you." She replied. Sue still couldn't believe that she could say that out loud, but she was even more surprised that Sean, the boy she had known her whole life, was saying those words to her. Sean watched her walk down the hallway. Sue still felt like she was floating in a cloud, so much that she didn't notice that she had approached the stairs and clumsily tumbled down the first three steps. Sean watched in horror as he ran to her. Sean got down on his knees next to her and softly put his hands on her face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice full of concern. Sue looked up at the guy she loved and smiled as she sat up. "You know me, always tripping over my own feet." She laughed, but Sean still had a worried look on his face. Sean took her hands in his and he helped her stand up, but Sue yelped in pain and went back down onto the floor, grabbing at her ankle. She hadn't noticed the pain initially in her dazed state. Sean quickly got back down onto the floor to inspect her ankle.

"I think it might be sprained, but you should probably get an x-ray just to make sure." Sean said, still concerned.

"It's a good thing you're going to be a doctor." Sue said with a smile. This time, Sean finally did smile. Over the years, he had questioned his future professional plans. He always wanted to help people, but now that Sue was his, he wanted to be able to take care of her any way he could. Sue's awkwardness was always one of the things he loved about her. She was truly unique and so very different than the other girls he dated in the past.

Sean lifted Sue into his arms and began to carry her down the stairs. Fortunately, there was a health clinic on campus that was still open and they were able to quickly get Sue's sprained ankle diagnosed. They left the clinic, armed with bandages and crutches. Sean took Sue back to her own apartment and helped her into bed. He pulled a chair up to the bed and sat next to Sue. Even though he felt terribly about how their first date had gone, he was happy to have this extra time alone with Sue, away from his mother.

"I am so so sorry about tonight." Sue said to Sean with a sad look on her face.

"Are you kidding me? I'm the one who is sorry." Sean said, confused. Sean and Sue looked at each other for a moment and both laughed at the same time for a long time.

"We must be some of the most unlucky people on the planet." Sue laughed.

"Right?" Sean replied and was still laughing. Finally they were quiet once again. Sue let out a big yawn and Sean brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "I should get you some more ice." He said as he got up from his chair.

"No, it's okay. Can you just come over here?" She patted the space on the bed next to her. Sean nodded and crawled onto the bed into the space behind her, on top of the covers. He carefully placed his arm around her stomach and Sue squirmed to get cozy next to him. Sean suddenly realized that this was the first time he had been in a girlfriend's bedroom and suddenly felt nervous, but at the same time, it felt right. Sean leaned forward slightly to place a soft kiss on Sue's neck, which caused her to shiver slightly and he heard her inhale deeply. He responded by giving her another, lingering, but gentle kiss in the same place. This time, he felt more at ease. At that time, Sue turned around to face him. For a moment, they just stared into each others eyes, neither one of them moving, but they were close enough that Sue could feel Sean's breath on her skin and smell his subtle cologne. She quickly glanced down at his lips and then back up to his eyes. Sean noticed the gesture and smiled while leaning in to softly press his lips to hers. Sue leaned into the kiss and placed her hand on his chest. Sean deepened the kiss and pulled her slim body closer to his. Sue was tangled in her blanket and squirmed for a minute to get herself free. Sean noticed the struggle and assisted, pulling the blanket free from underneath himself and rolled underneath it to be even closer to Sue. He moved away from her lips and began gently kissing her neck, causing her to breathe heavily into his ear. He kissed a sensitive spot on her neck that tickled and made Sue giggle. He broke away from her for a second and laughed with her, burying his forehead into her shoulder. Sue suddenly started to tickle Sean's stomach and he rolled onto his back, laughing. Sue rolled onto her side and placed her head on his shoulder and her arm around his chest. Sean's laugh faded into a smile and he watched the girl he loved snuggle up in his arms. Sue couldn't help but smile at him. Sean's bright smile was something she had seen so many times during her life, but seeing him smile at her, because of her, filled her heart with happiness. Sean closed his eyes, his smile still remaining on his face. He took a deep breath and Sue could tell that he was starting to fall asleep. Sue pulled the covers up to fully cover the both of them and quickly drifted to sleep in his arms.