A/N: Thanks for the review, Give us Peace. Is this soon enough:) Next chapter will probably be up Wednesday, but I'm not promising. ;) Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. Here's where the reference to Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye is incorporated into the story.

Part 2:

He dropped by Donna DeWitt's office, to let her know where he was. She gave him a peculiar look, but nodded her approval. As he drove home in his car, his thoughts brought him back to those early days.

No, his father had not approved of Lynn, and vice versa, Lynn's parents had their doubts about him at first too. But as they spent more time together with her parents, they started to come around. They saw how much he loved their daughter, and how much their daughter loved him.

When Lynn and Oliver had married, he couldn't have believed he would ever stoop as low as to even look like that at another woman. And looking back, he still didn't quite know how he could have.

Lynn was still as wonderful as ever. She had supported him in tough decisions, given him freedom to do things for himself, yet reminding him that not everything he thought, was right.

And aside from all that, she was a great person, and he loved her. So why had he almost engaged in an affair? He sighed. As much as he'd wanted to forget about it, he could vividly remember the time.

Lynn's sister, who had lived in Chicago at the time, had had an accident, and had broken almost everything there was to break. It was a miracle she was even alive. Her husband was in the Navy, and was on assignment abroad, so Lynn temporarily moved in with her sister to take care of her and the kids. It had taken a couple of months, and she had only been able to come home because her brother-in-law had arrived home.

Lynn had been away for almost four months already, and Oliver had tried to ignore the feeling of loneliness. Sure, they called, they e-mailed; Oliver went for a couple of brief visits, but nonetheless, Oliver had felt very alone. On top of that, doctor Cassidy had arrived, and had taken over his patient.

And then The News came. The phone call from his estranged brother, Joe. Estranged from their parents that is. Joe and Oliver had kept in touch, although mostly by phone calls. As much as their father didn't care much for Oliver's choice of wife, he cared even less for Joe's choice of career with the F.B.I..

Joe had always been the more action-driven of the two of them. While both sons went ahead, doing what they wanted to, career-wise, Joe went as far as changing his last name, and cutting himself off completely from his parents. It had only been because of the bond the two brothers had forged while growing up under their father's strict upbringing, that they remained in contact.

Lynn and Oliver had been at Joe's wedding; and Oliver had been there when Kristen had been born.

And then Joe had called him. Oliver couldn't remember a time when he had heard his brother so utterly desperate and lost. At first he didn't make sense. He kept repeating it was 'their' fault, whoever 'they' were. Finally Oliver could ask just what 'their' fault was… Joe had almost broken down completely at that, but at last he was able to say it. "Kristen d-died. Dr… Drug overdose."

Oliver had gone pale instantly, and had had to grab a chair for support. "Wh…What?" he had whispered. Joe had started a rant against whoever it had been to get Kristen involved in drugs, but Oliver had only been half listening, still trying to grasp the fact that his niece was no longer alive. When Joe had ended his rant, Oliver had quietly asked where he was, and what he was going to do. Joe had rejected his offer to come over, saying he had some things to take care of.

Somehow that hadn't reassured Oliver at all, and he worried. He asked Joe to let him know when the funeral would be; and the two men had hung up. Oliver had immediately called Lynn to let her know, and she had been shocked. She too had asked about how Joe was doing, and Oliver had told her what he knew. When they had hung up as well, Oliver had sat back and thought about his niece. It had been hard to imagine Kristen as anything but alive.

He had loved Kristen, despite the fact he hadn't seen her often. To think he'd never get another letter, or e-mail rather, starting with 'Dear Uncle'… to never again hear her voice when she called… What was left of his already skewed family had been reduced abruptly.

It was in this state of mind that he'd gone to work, and after struggling through the day, snapping at everyone, he'd gone to a bar where they also served food. He hadn't felt like preparing a meal for himself, didn't want to return to an empty house, as the loneliness would be ten times worse than it already had been…

When a woman who was sitting on the stool next to him had started a conversation, he'd been grateful for the distraction. It had clicked. They had agreed to have dinner the next day here again. And from one thing came the next. He had sought comfort in the wrong place. And reality came crashing down on him only when nurse Nichol had confronted him with the situation, using the information as blackmail to get him to withdraw his charge against doctor Cassidy.

He'd broken off the affair, which luckily hadn't evolved that far yet, although it was too far for a married man, no matter how you looked at it. At first he had tried to hide it from Lynn, and it had worked for a while. During Kristen's funeral, emotions had been all over the place, and he had hardly paused to think about the other woman. Later, he was feeling mighty guilty though, and when Lynn had returned home, the guilt seemed to increase to an unbearable level.

At one point he'd come back from work, and his wife had hugged him, kissed him, then pointed at the table, which she had set romantically.

"Because we've been apart for so long," she had said as an explanation, a tender, loving smile on her face as she had looked at him. That's when Oliver could hide it no longer. He'd crumpled into a chair, and actually cried; tears of shame. Lynn had been concerned, asking what was wrong. And he had blurted out the whole thing. She had been shocked, and hurt. Definitely hurt. And when she had looked at him with that hurt expression, he'd felt like the world's greatest idiot. He had apologised profusely, told her what a fool he'd been, and how he had realised just how much he loved her, and how much he'd missed her.

At first Lynn had not moved from her position in the chair she had dragged over the moment Oliver had sagged down. She'd been processing everything he had just told her.

"Truth is," Oliver had whispered, "I don't know what to do without you. I need you."

He had grasped her hand – relieved she hadn't pulled away, – and she had looked him in the eyes. "I've messed up big time, but I've never regretted marrying you. I love you."

The sincerity in his words and eyes caused tears to well up in Lynn's eyes.

"Oliver, I… this comes as such a… shock. I wish I'd known you were feeling so lonely and hurt. I should have known." A look of anguish crossed her face. "Perhaps I shouldn't have stayed with Emily for so long. I should have come home when Kr… when Kristen had died."

"No," Oliver denied immediately, not about to let her blame herself for his mistake. He was the one who had messed up, not her. "You were right where you had to be." He gently placed a hand against her face. "Please, Lynn, don't blame yourself."

They had had a long conversation that night, and some more the next few days, but Lynn forgave him.

Over the years, there had been moments when he'd come close to flirting with other women. He had always had a weakness for a pretty face… and money had its appeal as well. But each time he was reminded that he had the most amazing woman already. He would berate himself, and he had decided he should change this behaviour.

However, it was only when Gwen Hall came to Westbury, that the true turning point was reached. Meeting the woman he'd fallen in love with during college, the only other woman, besides Lynn, he had truly fallen in love with, and working so closely together had been tough. Lynn had noticed he'd been restless and had asked what was bothering him. Uneasily Oliver had told her, and to his surprise she had shown understanding. When he had questioned her about it, she had simply said, "Because I trust you."

The next day, he had started searching for the signed LP of Simon and Garfunkel, which he had given Gwen, and which he then, when she had broken up with him, had taken away again. It cost him quite some money to buy it, since he had long ago sold the original one, but he knew he had to do it, had to finish up that loose end. A few days later, Gwen told him she was leaving, and he gave her the LP. They said goodbye, and it had felt 'right'.

He'd been eager to return home that night. Just as he was now. Seeing what doctor Cassidy and Nancy had together, and the journey they were about to begin together, reminded Oliver so much of what he'd almost lost, he needed a little reassurance.

TBC