It had been a full week since the incident with Lewis, and Kate was sitting at the counter of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, just reorganizing a few things before it was time for her to clock out. She'd just locked up the cash register when she looked up and saw a familiar figure walking past.

"Eugene?" she asked in surprise.

The balding man paused in mid-step, turning to see who had spoken. A smile lit his face when he spotted her and he redirected his steps towards her. "Kate, how are you?"

"I'm alright," Kate said with a pleasant smile. It had been a while since she'd seen him and he seemed to have aged greatly in that time. His originally light brown ring of hair had turned pure white, but as Kate surveyed him she thought that it suited him. "What are you doing here?"

"Job hunting," Eugene replied with a weary sigh. "I heard that they were hiring and figured I could give it a try. I've just been doing temp jobs since I left Winfred-Louder, so I'm looking for steady work. I didn't know you worked here."

"I just started a few weeks ago," Kate answered.

"That's great," Eugene said, and there was a genuinely happy smile on his face. That was something that Kate had always liked about Eugene, he had such an expressive face. Suddenly his grin turned slightly mischievous and he asked, "So how are you and dear old Drew doing?"

Kate's smile faltered slightly. "We actually aren't together anymore," she admitted. "We haven't been for quite a while."

"Oh, Kate, I'm sorry," Eugene said apologetically and his hand found hers on the counter and gave it a small squeeze. "What happened? You seemed like such a good match."

"We just had too many differences," Kate said with a small shrug to show that she really didn't mind. "I think it was the decision on kids that finally pushed it past the limit."

"He wants them and you don't?" Eugene asked curiously. Kate nodded. "I can see him wanting children." There was a slightly downcast expression on Eugene's face and Kate thought that she could guess what it was about. She remembered that Eugene had been attracted to Drew and she guessed that he was thinking that if they got together then Drew would still never be able to have children of his own.

"How has your love life been?" Kate asked to start the conversation again.

Eugene gave a hollow laugh. "Practically non-existent," he said dully. "Not many men are interested in someone as old as I am. I'm just not as pleasing to the eye as all of those younger men."

Kate gave him a sad smile. "Don't worry, Eugene, you'll find someone," she said and squeezed his hand, which was still resting on the countertop. "You're a sweet guy, and someone will realize that."

"Thanks," Eugene said, giving her a grateful smile. His expression, however, remained sad and his downcast brown eyes reminded her of a lost puppy.

"Do you need someone to talk to?" she asked suddenly. "My shift just ended." Eugene looked up at her with a spark of hope in his face that said it all without words. Fifteen minutes later, Kate was being let into Eugene's small apartment. She looked around at the modest furnishings and smiled. It looked just like you would expect any single man's apartment to, although perhaps slightly tidier than the average. "This is nice," she said as she looked around.

"Thanks," Eugene said with a small smile as he led her into the small kitchen and dining room. "Beer?" Kate nodded and he brought over two bottles from the fridge, dropping into the seat beside her at the little square dining room table.

"So what's the matter?" Kate asked, glancing sideways at Eugene. The older man popped the cap off of his beer and took a swallow in silence. Then he placed his elbow on the tabletop and set his chin in his cupped hand.

"Typical dating problems," Eugene replied dully. "It seems every guy I am with decides to move on to other things as soon as I really start to fall for him. It makes me wonder if there is someone out there for me or if I'm just doomed to spend the rest of my life like this." Kate stared at Eugene with surprise for a moment and was startled to feel such a connection. She remembered so well having thought this same thing time and time again. Eugene took a gulp of his beer and then continued. "Like just last month, I had been seeing this guy for about three months," he explained. "There was a real chemistry between us, or so I thought. The day I realized I was in love with him he tells me that he can't handle the commitment and wants to see other people. Says he doesn't feel right being with me, that he needs to find someone his own age. He's only eight years younger than me, it's not like it was a whole generation."

"Oh, Eugene, I'm sorry," Kate said, reaching across to pat his arm lightly.

"It just seemed like maybe this time would have been different," he said, his gaze focused on something that only he could see. "I really thought that for once it would last." Eugene's eyes were filmed with tears but he rubbed them away and after taking a deep breath he seemed to be composed again.

"I know how you feel," Kate said in a voice heavy with emotion. "The man I was with just recently, I had gotten really close to. He gave all the hints that he was going to propose, I was so excited. I thought that maybe this relationship would actually pan out. And then I found out he was cheating on me. With his secretary. How classic is that?" Kate scoffed, her anger and hurt taking over until she was talking without thinking. "He hurt me so bad. I got more drunk that night then I'd been in ages, or at least since the last holiday. Then next thing I know I'm waking up naked in Lew-" Kate immediately stopped, her eyes widening as she realized what she'd been about to say.

Eugene was staring at her with a surprise etched on his face to match her own, clearly having understood what she'd stopped herself from saying. "Lewis?" Eugene asked curiously, one eyebrow cocked in interest. "Drew's tall friend?" Stricken with embarrassment, Kate merely nodded with her hands covering her face. "You slept with him?"

"Well, it was…you see I'm…" Kate stopped in her ramblings as something suddenly occurred to her. All of this time she had been looking for someone to talk to about what had happened between her and Lewis. She had gotten so distracted she was nearing the breaking point and the other day she had come within breaths of confessing the truth to Drew. Perhaps Eugene was her saving grace. He was a sweet enough guy and she knew that he wouldn't tell anyone else if she asked him not to. Maybe he could even give her advice. In the least, at least she'd get the secret off of her chest. "Yes, I did," she said finally, her answer coming out in a heavy sigh.

"Why so upset about it?" Eugene asked, his smile turning mischievous. "He is pretty cute. And he has a nice ass. Was he bad in bed?"

Kate glanced up at Eugene and felt herself laughing at the expression on his face. "Honestly, I don't remember," she said. "Like I said, I was drunk. That last thing I remember was drinking at the bar, I think we were talking about something, and then the next morning I'm waking up in his bed, naked. I think that's a pretty good indicator."

"I won't argue there," Eugene said. "It is about the only answer that makes sense. You were drunk, heart-broken, and a friend offered you a night to forget it all. I'd take it in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, that's what I figure happened," Kate agreed, chewing her bottom lip.

"Well then what's got you so worried?"

Kate paused thoughtfully. "It's just – it's Lewis," she said as if that was the answer. "He's just so strange and bizarre. I mean, I've never looked at Lewis as someone I would want to get close to. I dated Oswald, and then I dated Drew, and I slept with both of them without any worries. It just seemed okay to be intimate with either of them. But there's something so weird about Lewis that the idea of getting close to him makes me nervous."

"I don't know, I think there's more to him than you first see," Eugene put in. "I think there's a shy and nervous man underneath. When I was talking to him at Steve's bachelor party he seemed to pull back from the affection and he looked nervous. There's probably some sort of inner part of him that is scared, and that's why he acts the way he does."

Kate had to stop herself from laughing, and she chose not to point out that Lewis' nerves probably came from the fact that a guy was flirting with him. "Still, on top of all that, he just irritates the hell out of me," Kate continued to change the subject before she laughed aloud. "I've never been really close to him, even as a friend, like I was with Drew and Oswald. He's actually offered to sleep with me dozens of times before, but I always turned him away without a second thought. There's always been something about him that pushes me away. I just never saw myself being close to him and now the fact that I slept with him makes me uneasy."

"Because you're afraid it was from some secret desire to be with him that you've never thought about before?" Eugene asked.

"Get out of my head," Kate said in response. "It makes me wonder a bunch of things. Who made the first move? Was all of his flirting before something from a serious attraction or did he just want sex? Why did I sleep with him? Was it the alcohol, or the rebound from breaking up with Robert, or was it something I really wanted?"

"Or a combination of all of them?" Eugene suggested with an innocent shrug. Kate muttered something inaudible and took a drink. "Why is it such a bad thing that you slept with Lewis? You were hurt and on the rebound and he showed you the attention you needed. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Maybe you're right," Kate said, trying to get her mind to latch onto the idea. "And he was upset too; his girlfriend broke up with him the day before."

"Well so, there you go," Eugene said with a nod. "You were both just looking for a little distraction and just happened to find each other. Have you talked to each other about it?"

Kate shook her head. "No, we haven't even mentioned it at all," she said. "I think I'm afraid of knowing exactly what happened that night, and if we talked about it then it would mean it really happened. And I'm secretly hoping he was too drunk to remember it, but I doubt that's true since he woke up before me and had left a note for me on the bedside table."

"How sweet," Eugene cooed, but then stopped at the look Kate gave him. "Anyway, if he hasn't tried to talk to you about it then I think that means he was just looking for a one time deal, like you were. It was something that happened once and will never happen again. That's all. He's not looking for anything more so I think you can just let it go and stop worrying about it."

"You're right," Kate said, a smile coming to her face as she grasped this notion. "It was just a drunken fling, nothing more. It's over and I don't have to worry about it." She looked over at Eugene and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Thanks, Eugene."

"It was nothing," Eugene said, smiling in return. After a moment his smile turned into one of overly-emphasized casualness and he added questioningly, "So if Drew's single again, do you think he'd be interested?"

Kate looked at Eugene and found it extremely difficult to not laugh. When she answered a few giggles escaped into her words. "Sorry, Eugene, but I don't think so," she said. "You might have better luck with Oswald though. There are times when I wonder if he might be – well – gay."

"Oswald?" Eugene asked, a thoughtful expression on his face. "The dark-haired one? I'll have to remember that." Kate couldn't help it; she broke down in laughter.