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Week's passed leaving Hank and Kate in silence; they barely even made eye contact. She continued her job of helping Bobby and Hank continued fighting the demons that sprung up every time he saw her. He never let on that he knew about Dale and Peggy and to be honest, he didn't even care at this point. As long as someone was taking care of her physical desires, it meant that he wouldn't have to. Over the past weeks, he had watched her. Watched her at the dinner table, watched her jumping rope on the lawn with Bobby, watched her helping him study and watched her ignore him. He wondered what was going on behind her blue eyes. What was keeping her so distant and unattached? Was it guilt or regret? Hank hoped it wasn't becoming obvious to the other people in the house since they didn't speak but two words to each other in so long. He knew that his broken heart was obvious in the alley.

"So what's going on, Hank?" asked Bill who was stuffing his face with a hot dog and drinking a beer. Hank cracked one open and looked at him.

"What do you mean? Nothing is going on?" He sipped on the beer.

"Hank, man, talkin' bout, love. Dang ol' love with that perty girl, man!" Boomhauer added. Hank looked appalled for a moment and then mortified. Was it that obvious?

"Unfaithful husband…" Dale spouted

"NO! NO! NO! I am not unfaithful and I am not in love with Kate!" Hank corrected. They all looked incredulous.

"Well Hank, we wouldn't blame you if you were in love with her. What's not to love? She's perty and smart and perfect. Oh Hank, please let me be in love with her!" Bill pestered and Hank grunted.

"I am not in love. I am just being a good host. Besides, you all aren't the people that should be lecturing me on morals," Hank stated as he finished his beer off. "I'm going in."

The house was almost silent aside from the soft chatters of Peggy and Kate. Hank couldn't help but listen in nosily. Maybe she'd tell Peggy something that would give Hank an idea as to why she was acting so strangely lately.

"Mrs. Hill?" Hank heard Kate speaking softly in the kitchen. "I was wondering if you could take me to the airport. I'm meeting someone," Hank crept to the edge of the doorway and peaked in quietly. Peggy lit up.

"You have company coming down?" Peggy asked.

"No, I'm meeting my ex at the airport," Hank suddenly felt a wave of jealousy crash over him. She was getting back together with the cheater who slept with her best friend? Was she crazy? Like he had any room to talk, he thought. Peggy eyed her watch.

"Well, what time did you have to be there?"

"His flight is supposed to land at 3 pm," Kate answered as she took a sip from a can of soda.

"Aw honey I wish I could, but I have to go to the office for a meeting," Hank scoffed at this. He knew she was meeting Dale; in fact he had overheard their phone conversation. "Hank will have to bring you. HANK!"

Hank shuffled into the room, rubbing his neck uncomfortably and staying as far away from Kate as possible. She looked so beautiful, he thought as his eyes turned her way for a short moment. Every day that passed where they didn't speak drove him crazier especially since he could hear her voice and smell her perfume. Hank was not the type to let things like this happen to him, but he couldn't help himself. He even pulled a shirt from her dirty clothes hamper and pressed it to his face and inhaling her. Yes, he was sick. Sick and weak with need. Truth be told, he really was lonely and it was the type of loneliness that wasn't remedied easily by just hanging out in the alley with Bill and Dale and Boomhauer. It was something different that only a lover's touch could ease. What was he even thinking, lover, she wasn't his lover. She was Bobby's tutor. His eyes wondered again. She kept her head down in a book and didn't look up at him like she had done the past few weeks. Kate, oh my Kate, he thought as he admired her slim neck that was accentuated by a royal blue turtle neck sweater and pony tail.

"Yeah?"

"You have to bring Kate to meet her friend at the airport at 3 and I am going to be late for my meeting," She looked at her watch again. "I have to go. Kate today is the day Bobby gets his interim report and I have to tell you, I can't wait to see him improvement!" Peggy said as she exited the house and ran to her car quickly looking back and forth nervously.

Peggy and Dale had been secretly meeting for weeks now and to be honest it was wonderful. Dale was everything to her that Hank wasn't. He was sweet, romantic, adventurous and free-spirited. Now, before they had started this affair, Peggy would have said he was insane and somewhat irritating, but he was so much more than that. Dare she say she was falling in love with him? She couldn't remember a time when someone had given her butterflies and made her so nervous, she thought as she pulled into a hotel parking lot where they were set to meet in Durndle. Her eyes spied the bug-a-bego and she felt herself becoming excited. What a man! Look at what Nancy was missing! Her hands trembled as she opened the door of the room they had gotten together. There Dale was with flowers and candles. Oh my, she loved him.

"Hello, Peggy," he said in his best 'sexy' voice.

"Oh, Dale," she whispered as he took her in his arms and kissed her lips.

Meanwhile, Hank was preparing for the ride to the airport with Kate. He had a beer to take the edge off of his nerves and looked in the mirror at himself. Hank, old boy, what have you gotten yourself into? He splashed cold water on his face and sighed. Well, better not keep her waiting too much longer.

She sat, her face still buried in a book. Hank leaned on the doorway and stared at her secretly, watching her every move. Her pony tail swung back and forth as she took notes. Why did she make him feel this way? He didn't understand what was going on with himself. She adjusted her hair and leaned back in the chair, a soft sigh escaping her lips. He wondered why she was going to meet this giblet head that hurt her. She didn't deserve that at all, in fact she deserved to be worshipped and fawned over. There wasn't a person in the world that could have surpassed her kindness and beauty. Hank knew without even seeing the other girl that Kate would out shine her any day, but then again, the heart wants what the heart wants. He didn't want to interfere with her decision to return to this ex- boyfriend, but it was eating him alive that maybe she would kiss his mouth again one day and make love to him after he betrayed her. It made his stomach turn violently that it wouldn't be himself there in her arms ever again.

"Kate," Hank said nervously. Her name rolled off his tongue so easily. She turned and faced him, her eyes downcast. "Ready?"

She nodded and gave a weak "Yes."

The first few minutes alone with her felt like an eternity. The silence and tension was so thick, a person could have cut it with a knife. Hank glanced over at her and noted that she looked smaller than usual, almost as though she had dropped maybe around ten pounds. The thin sweater clung to her tightly and her ribs were visible. Since they had last spoken, she'd seemed uneasy at the dinner table, eating very little. It made Hank feel guilty that maybe it was because of him that she couldn't eat. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her knees were together tightly. Tense was the word. They pulled into the airport and Hank parked. He didn't know what was going to happen at this point. She looked at him, eyes soft and sleepy.

"I'll be right back," she said.

"Yip, I'll be right here waiting," Hank answered, examining her expression.

"I'll be fifteen minutes," she never looked at him directly. Hank nodded and watched her walk into the large doors. Inside he was screaming, wondering what she was doing with this loser. Wondering why it wasn't him.