"Hey kiddo."
Startled at the sound of his deep voice, she turned to confirm it was him. "Oh, hi Dave." she smiled.
Dave reached the outer corner of the porch where JJ had been trying to hide for the last 15 minutes. He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. "It's cold out tonight. Whatcha doin' out here?"
"Thinking."
"About what? Or should I even ask?" he said with a slight undertone.
Shrugging her shoulders she didn't answer. She stood out on his back porch staring out into the darkness. The only light was the reflection of the moon. She really didn't know how to answer Dave's question. She had originally been thinking about Will and her life this past year. However, in the last few minutes, her thoughts had turned to HIM; the man who occupied her thoughts these past few months with images of his lips on hers and his arms around her waist.
Taking her silence as confirmation she had been thinking about Will, he leaned over the railing, clasping his hands together. "You know, when you told me that Will had gone back to New Orleans, I was happy. I never really felt that he was the right one for you. I just never thought he could make you truly happy." Stroking his beard, Dave continued, "But when I found out what he had done to you, I was so angry that he slinked away. I was so angry that I couldn't wrap my fingers around his neck until he was no longer breathing. And that I couldn't kick that little shit until he..."
Placing her hand on his arm to get his attention, JJ waited until he stopped talking. "Dave, I love that you care about me so much that you'd go after Will, but you need to know that I don't ever want you to do something that you or I would regret. I have enough regrets in my life. What you don't understand is that I do not regret my relationship with Will. I wouldn't have Henry without it." Turning to look through the window, she saw the love of her life in Aunt Penelope's arms. "He's my life and I'd do it all over again just to have him."
Dave had also turned to look at Henry. He watched as the little boy had all the adults wrapped around his little finger. Hell, the boy had Dave himself, wrapped around his finger. There was nothing he wouldn't do for that little boy or his mother. "You're right JJ, but I just wish that your heart hadn't been broken in the process. I just wish that someone else had put that baby in your arms and that love in your heart."
JJ opened her mouth to respond, but she found that the words were not there. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, Dave thought that she was getting cold. "Do you want to go in?" Dave asked her. Shaking her head she said no.
JJ turned towards Dave and realized that one of her new year's resolutions was to resolve her feelings about Will. Reaching to take David's hands in hers, JJ smiled thorough the tears that were gathering. "I need to say something before the clock strikes midnight, so please don't interrupt me until I'm done."
He nodded his consent and she continued, "Dave, I need to forget about Will LaMontagne and what he did. It's over and it has been over for a long time. But he did give me the gift of my life and I thank God everyday that Will did the right thing when he realized that it wasn't going to work between us. I get Henry to myself. I just feel bad that the way this played out, Henry doesn't have a father figure in his life."
"Uhmm."
JJ put a finger to Dave's lips reminding him that he agreed not to interrupt however at the next few statements, David started to feel anxious. "The problem is that I want him to have a father in his life. So what do I do? To be honest, I've been thinking about moving closer to Will so that he could see him but I can't do that, can I?" JJ began pacing back and forth as she spoke.
The breath Dave had been holding escaped his lips. "JJ."
"No Dave, it isn't fair to that sweet little boy. I need a strong man who feels that Henry is the most important thing in his life. I need someone who will move heaven and earth for my son. And I have finally realized that isn't Will."
"Oh."
In the quietness between them, they could hear Morgan, Penelope and the others begin to call out the countdown for the New Year.
" 15...14...13..."
"JJ, I..."
"Dave, you don't understand, I've thought long and hard about this and I want that man to be you."
"Wha..what?"
"Dave, you have been there for Henry ever since you found out that Will left. You come over to help me with things around the house but we both know it's because of Henry. I know that you love him and you'd do anything for him. So I'm asking you...would you be that man?"
"10...9...8..."
Dave looked into her blue eyes and he could see the tears fall from her lashes. Gently, he brushed the tears away with his fingers. He stunned her with his next words.
"JJ, I can't."