Hey guys, sorry it took me longer than I thought to update. I thought maybe over the weekend, but it was pretty busy.

I think I've said before, I'm new to DH. So if anything is messed up here or later re the characters, etc, I apologize. I don't even really know if Lynette is in character in this chapter. Bear with me, though. :)

Oh! So after I'm finished with this, I may do a one shot with Austin/Julie babysitting the Scavo kids. Would anyone be interested in reading that? Just some light humor/good Julie Austin love. :)

Finally, I'm not sure what happened with the format in the last chapter. Sorry, I know it was kind of hard to read like that. And this chapter, I was in a hurry, so I basically did a once over and ran spell check. Sorry for any mistakes that I'm sure are here.

Disclaimer: I don't own Julie or Austin or DH. I do own several books, some cd's, some clothes, and a bag of candy if anyone is interested.

Part Three

"Hey," Lynette greeted Julie as she opened the door. "What brings you here? Come on in!"

Julie stepped into the house, and was nearly run over by one of the Scavo boys as he flew through the house. Julie smiled at the little boy and raised an eyebrow at Lynette.

"I take it your life has returned to its wonderful and chaotic normalcy?" she laughed.

"Yeah, it's definitely good to be back home--now, whether I'll be saying that in a week remains to be seen." Lynette picked up Penny, who was gazing up at Julie, and the three were soon on the couch.

"Mom said you came home today," Julie began, "And I though I'd come over, see how you are doing, if you needed anything..."

"And to talk to me about what happened?" Lynette questioned perceptively.

Julie looked down at her hands. "Well, you are one of the people in the super market that I'm closest to..."

"And you chose me over Edie? I'm highly honored." Lynette frowned. "You holding up okay, then?"

The teenager sighed. "I don't know. Every time I tell myself its over, that there is no sense worrying, I have another dream or thought. And it's worse--because I die in it, or you, or Austin."

"Edie's nephew took good care of you the whole time." Lynette commented, watching the girl's reaction.

"Yeah--I guess a crisis shows a new side of everyone." She quickly changed the subject. "I mean, look at you! You stood up to Carolyn Bigsby!"

Lynette looked down at her arm, in a sling, and spoke wryly. "It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. But when I saw Nora..."

Julie nodded. "I know." she said softly.

They were silent for a minute, until Lynette spoke up. "Watching someone die is hard especially when you could very well be next. It will bother you--but I can promise you, you'll get though this." She took Julie's hand and squeezed it. "You have so many people here for you."

Julie smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"So...is your mom home?"

"Oh, no, she went out with Ian. They're not supposed to be home till late. I probably should be getting back, anyway." She got up to leave. Lynette hugged her.

"Julie, just remember, you never know when your life is going to be over. I guess I must have learned that the hard way. Don't let there be anything you might regret not doing."

Just what Austin had told her. Julie was thinking hard as she walked home as it was just beginning to get dark. It had been one week since the hostage situation. She hadn't really talked to anyone about it, except the night with Austin, till now. And Austin--frankly, she had been avoiding him. A couple times he had sought her out but usually she was able to avoid, or ignore him. She saw him at school, but she made no effort to talk to him. Right now, she was confused, and being around him added to the confusion. She couldn't deal with the emotions she was feeling around him right now.

Julie glanced over at Edie's house. It was amazing she had had so little contact with Austin this week, considering they lived in the same neighborhood, she thought. Must be a sign--besides, a s relationship with him would only lead to disaster.

Whoa. Relationship? Where did that word come from? Julie shook her head. "I've got to stop thinking about it--and him." She said to herself. Mentally she began to go over what homework she needed to do when she got in. "That essay is due Thursday, so...mmph!"

As she turned the corner, she walked straight into someone. "Oh." she groaned as she saw that it was Austin.

"You've been scarce, Mayer." he panted. Obviously, he had been out jogging. If it wasn't his lack of breath that told her that, it was his lack of shirt. And his chest moving up and down heavily.

"Uh, Julie?" he asked, trying not to laugh as she tore her eyes away from him.

"Sorry, umm...yeah, I've been kind of busy, school and everything...I'll see you later..." she prepared to brush past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"Well, at least let me walk you home." his eyes were sparkling. The arrogant jerk, he was actually enjoying this.

"Whatever." she walked at a fast pace, and he easily fell in step with her.

"So, uh, school has been keeping you really busy the last week, huh?" he questioned.

"Among other things."

"Like?" he pressed.

"I don't know!" Julie snapped. "I've just had an intense week, okay?"

"You still can't stop thinking about it." Austin stated.

Julie stopped suddenly, and whirled around. They were at the end of her driveway now. "You know, you don't have to keep bringing it up. What's it to you? If I want to think about it, I will. I don't need you or anybody else telling me what to do, or feeling sorry for me!"

The smile disappeared from Austin's face as he listened calmly to her rant. She paused for breath, was about to continue, when he interrupted her. "Okay, I won't bring it up again. I promise, I just thought you might want to talk about it."

"Do I look like I want to talk about it?" Julie demanded.

He looked her up and down. "No," he admitted.

"Good, then I don't." No regrets. No regrets. The words kept floating through her head, and she suddenly spoke, surveying him and jerking her head towards the front door. "You want to come in?"

Surprise flickered through Austin's face, but he nodded, and mutely followed her in.

There was an awkward silence as Julie closed the door behind them, and turned to face them.

No regrets. No regrets.

Suddenly, Julie grabbed Austin's arm, and pushed him almost roughly against the door. Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him hard and passionately. The tenseness of Austin slowly disappeared as he wrapped one arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him, and bringing one hand to her face, entangling it in her hair. He kissed her back fiercely, and Julie knew she couldn't stand it much longer. Putting her hand on the one that was in her hair, she grabbed it, while continuously kissing him, and pulled him toward the couch. He followed obediently, never taking his mouth away from hers.

Julie allowed Austin to gently push her onto the couch, and raised himself on his arms on top of her. He looked keenly into her eyes, not wanting to push her. Julie could see the lust in his eyes and, in answer, she pulled him back down, and resumed kissing him. This time, it was deeper, as Austin lightly nibbles on her bottom lip, begging for entry. His hands started to roam her body, until she could feel his cold hands against the flesh of her stomach. He broke their kiss, and moved to softly kiss her neck.

Julie, for a minute, thought she heard voices outside, but chose to ignore them. "Probably just the girls selling magazines," she thought to herself, before put her own hands in Austin's hair.

It wasn't until the light was flipped on did they both sit up, breathing heavily, and startled.