Hi everyone! I know it's been a while since I updated - school is in full swing again, and I've been busy trying to figure out a new school and teaching a new grade. Please forgive me if my updates are sporadic for a few months. This chapter didn't quite turn out as I planned - I originally thought something more comedic for this moment, but this felt more authentic. I hope that all who are reading continue to stay tuned!


Stephanie cringed as the stair underneath her let out of a low creak. She quickly glanced back over her shoulder to see Leo still asleep on her bed. She glanced down at her watch again. It was 5:25, which meant that D.J. would be up any minute. She groaned. She wasn't ready for that yet this morning – maybe ever – but the pounding behind her eyes reminded her she needed Advil and caffeine. She just had to be quick.

She reached the top of the steps and cautiously poked her head around the staircase just in case D.J. was already there waiting for her. Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief when all she saw was an empty kitchen. She darted for the medicine cabinet, took the whole bottle of Advil and then began to raid the fridge. She was pretty sure if she played her cards right, she could last two, maybe three days in the basement with Leo. Which, would maybe be just enough time to let this whole thing blow over.

Her arms full of food, she quietly turned back toward the stairs, only to find D.J. blocking them.

"Oh, hey Deej," Stephanie said nervously as she mentally cursed her luck. "I was just heading back downstairs. I'll see you later-"

"Not so fast!" her sister stopped her as she readjusted the tie on her bathrobe. "That's a lot of food for just two people – do you have more husbands downstairs that I need to know about?

Okay, so D.J. hadn't forgotten and wasn't going to let it slide. "Look, do we have to do this now?"

D.J. stayed planted with her arms folded across her chest. "We can wait another hour or so, then Kimmy and the kids can join us."

"Now works for me," Stephanie quickly decided as she dropped the food on the counter and fumbled with the bottle of Advil.

D.J. moved away from her blockade of the stairs and started a pot of coffee. If Stephanie sprinted, she was fairly sure she could get to the door before D.J. could reach her. She glanced at her sister and decided not to the take the chance. She mentally cursed her sister's passion for spinning classes.

D.J. slid a mug of coffee in front of Stephanie and sat down at the table beside her. "Thanks," Stephanie said as she took the drink. "I don't really know where to start."

"You could start with the husband that none of us knew you had."

Stephanie could hear the hurt in her sister's voice; she had prepared herself for this, or at least, she thought she had.

She took a deep breath and began, "I met Leo about two and half years ago – the first time I went over to London. It was," she stopped herself briefly, realizing that what she was about to say would make her sound like a teenage girl, but Stephanie didn't care anymore. She hadn't said these things to anyone before, and maybe it was the sanctuary of the early morning and the quiet house, or maybe it was the fact that after nearly a year of being away, Leo was just a few feet from her, but she felt like she no longer had anything to lose. "It was love like what you and Tommy had. He became my world – it's part of why I stayed in Europe as long as I did. I'd go off and spin a weekend in Spain or a few weeks in France, but I knew that when I came back Leo would always be waiting for me. My schedule was crazy, my life didn't seem to have any real direction, and he became my constant."

"He's been in your life for nearly three years, and we didn't meet him until yesterday?" D.J. questioned.

"You got that tattoo in college and kept it a secret for like six months!" Stephanie retorted.

"A tattoo isn't quite the same as a husband, Steph."

Stephanie sighed. She knew her sister was right. "Deej, you know me. You know that I'm not cut out for marriage and a family – at least that's what I thought," Stephanie shook her head as if to put it out of her mind. "I didn't know where it would go. I loved him – but he had a life in London. I had a life here. I figured, eventually it would end."

"But it didn't end," D.J. encouraged her to keep going.

"Not how I thought it would," Stephanie admitted as she took a long sip of her coffee. "When Tommy died, Leo wanted to come here with me. He wanted to meet you all, but it just didn't seem right. When I got back, I don't know. I just realized that life is too short to not be with the person you love, so I told him I would stay in London, I'd go anywhere he wanted as long as I could be with him. So we got married." Stephanie's eyes didn't leave the table as she picked at an imaginary piece of dirt under her thumb nail. "We weren't trying to start a family. Our lives were too crazy – I missed you guys and was trying to figure out a way to convince Leo to come to the states, and then I missed my period." Stephanie stopped and looked over at her sister, wishing D.J. would give her some indication to stop. She mentally cursed herself for coming upstairs.

"He was ecstatic. I was scared out of my mind, but I agreed to stay in London. We were going to come to San Francisco and tell you guys, but then – well, you know. I didn't tell Leo I couldn't have children. I didn't want him to feel trapped. So I left. I signed divorce papers; I gave him an out, and I moved back here."

"He didn't want the out, did he?" D.J. asked.

Stephanie shook her head no, "Not even after I told him last night."

D.J. smiled and put her hand over her sister's. "I wish you wouldn't have kept him from us. I wish you wouldn't have kept any of this from us."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"So," D.J. sighed. "What now?"

"I don't know," Stephanie said honestly. "He wants a family more than anything, Deej, and I'm not sure he really understands that I can't give him that. He says he wants to stay, but what if he changes his mind, what if-"

"Do you love him, Steph?" D.J. interrupted.

"I haven't seen him in –"

"Do you love him?" D.J. repeated.

Stephanie stared at her sister for a moment before answering. She could see the distant layer of pain that still laid buried in D.J.'s eyes – the pain of losing someone who had meant so much to her. Above that though, she couldn't help but notice the glimmer of hope that sparkled – hope that maybe love didn't have to just happen once. Hope that maybe love could heal the brokenness that loss creates.

"I do," Stephanie admitted. "I still love him."

"Does he still love you?" she asked.

"I think so," Stephanie nodded.

D.J. smiled. "Then let him find a family with us the same way you did. Take comfort in getting a second chance at love – not everyone is that lucky."

Stephanie could feel the hot sting of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Tears for everything their family had lost. But maybe D.J. was right. Maybe she was luckier than she thought. Stephanie stood up and wrapped her arms around her sister.

"Do we have to tell Dad?" Stephanie asked when she pulled away.

"There's no 'we' about this!" D.J. said as she put her hands up innocently. "And yes, you have to tell him, but maybe not right away."

"Really?" Stephanie asked.

"Not unless you want to kill him. No, give him a month or so. Let him meet Leo and get to know him. Then you can tell him."

"What about Kimmy?" Stephanie asked.

"Well, if you don't want the whole world to know, I'd maybe just keep this between you and me for now."

Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief. "I really don't know what I'd do without you," she said.

"Trust me, I know," D.J. teased. "But Steph, if you ever get married again, please tell me before the wedding."

Stephanie smiled, "Deal."