Lucy kept looking down at her ring on the car ride home; she was completely surprised that her parents had been able to keep it from her that Dean had called them. She always knew that she wanted to marry a man who got along with her family and it seemed that Dean did. Sure he had never met them, but including them in on something that would be so important really meant a lot to Lucy. She could hardly wait to get back to the room so she could call her mom and talk to her about the ring. When they were getting out of the car, she ran right into Dean when he stopped suddenly with a quiet groan. "God, what the hell is he doing here?" That quiet question caused Lucy to step around Dean and close her eyes tightly. How could she have forgotten that Jake was coming out for a few days? "Um, Dean, he's here to see me." Dean looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "How long have you known that he was coming out? That might have been something I wanted to know. You know I can't stand him right?" Lucy gave him a wry smile, "I think everyone knows that, although I think that if you were to give him a chance and get to know him you might change your mind. He's actually a very nice guy." With that she walked around Dean, Seth, and Roman and towards Jake. Once she reached him, Lucy looked back at Dean gave him a half smile and walked into the hotel with Jake's arm wrapped around her waist.

Once they sat down at the hotel restaurant and ordered their drinks Jake grabbed her hand, "I see that the rumors that have reached me are correct. He actually bought you a ring." Lucy looked at her left hand and smiled, "He did. I actually got it about 2 hours ago. Isn't it gorgeous?" Jake sniffed and then said in a tone Lucy had never heard before, "It looks cheap and you know it. You don't have to pretend to like it. Once this farce of a marriage is over you will choose one of mother's rings and wear that. A diamond would suit my wife much better." Lucy began to clear her throat, "Umm Jake…" She trailed off when he kept talking, "I mean, you won't actually stay married to him, think of all the people who will be disappointed if we don't get married. Your family, my family, the entire firm, I'd look like a fool. We can't have that. Lucy, I won't be made a fool."

Lucy tried to pull her hand out of Jake's grip; it had become painful. "Jake, you're hurting me please let go of my hand." Lucy rubbed her fingers after he did, "Jake, why is it so important to you that we get married? I mean I'm not saying that I don't care about you, but why?" Lucy stared as Jake seemed to search for an answer, finally he replied, "Lucy, of course I want to marry you. You want to marry me, our parents want it, and we look good together. We can make a difference for the nation. With your background of civil service and mine in the crackdown I'm leading on crime, I'm a shoe in for public office in the state of Washington. We can achieve anything we want together, and I can't do it without you. Our future has no bounds but it first has to start with our marriage." Lucy sat back in her chair and worked to comprehend what had happened, he had never acted like that before, at least not to her. Still rubbing her hand she nodded her head at him and redirected the conversation to work.

Dean watched as Lucy walked away with Jake. His fist involuntarily clenched when Jake wrapped his arm around Lucy. He couldn't stand that prick. Seth smacked his arm, "Hey man, don't worry about it, they'll be in the bar there won't be a chance for anything to happen. It'll be fine. Let's go see if we can get the scripts for tonight. Dean shrugged his shoulders and pulled his thoughts away from Lucy and Jake and instead he began to focus on that night's show.

It wasn't until three hour later that Dean walked back into his room and realized that Lucy wasn't back yet. Concerned, he texted Nikki and Brie in hopes that they had heard something from her. When they hadn't he grew increasingly concerned until she walked through the door. Dean immediately knew something was wrong. Gone was the excited and bubbly woman he had left this afternoon, and in her place was a sullen and nervous woman. "Hey, what happened? Did he do anything to you?" Lucy shook her head and held out her hand, "Dean, I can't keep this. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place, I got caught up in the moment and I'm sorry that I led you on."

Dean was dumbstruck! This was not the girl that he had in his arms this morning. "What did he do to you? This is not the same girl I left this morning." Lucy shook her head sadly, "I can't do this Dean. Jake just reminded me of what my future is, and it doesn't include being married to you, traveling all the time. I need to be in the firm working with my clients on a face to face basis. Please take back your ring." She gestured with her hand for a final time before he reached out his hand and took it.

Dean was furious. She was letting this guy ruin everything that they could have together if he would just get out of the picture. She was happy this morning and now she was reserved, sullen, and on the verge of tears. He couldn't stand it. He hated how she allowed this bastard to control everything in her life. Unable to stand it any longer Dean turned and walked away before saying, "You know what, I'm done Lucy. I can't handle this anymore. If you really want to go back to Washington and walk out on us before we even have a chance, that's fine. I can't stand that you don't allow yourself to be happy and for you to allow him to control that part of you." Folding his arms he waited for her to make her decision. Quietly she murmured, "Okay, I'll be gone by the end of the night."

Lucy watched Dean leave the room; she couldn't believe how much of an emotional rollercoaster today had been. It seemed as though she had hit almost every emotion on the spectrum. What hit her the hardest was not anything she experienced herself, but rather, it was when he looked at her with such hurt in his eyes when he took the ring back. No matter how long she lived she'd never forget the look in his eyes when he saw looked at the ring in his palm. Haunted. If she had to use one word, that's the word she'd use. As she packed her things her mind remembered all the things she had seen, all the friends she'd made, and all the times she'd watched Dean when he wasn't looking. She knew she'd miss him but there was no way she could stay, especially after what Jake said before she left the restaurant. "Listen, while I did need to talk to you about work, the real reason I'm here is because most of your father's investments are struggling and most of them are on the verge of losing everything. I didn't know if they told you because we both know they try to protect you from everything. I'm trying to help them and I've spoken to my parents but they're hesitant to help. You know as well as I do that my parents won't be able to do anything until after we get married but once we do, your father's investments, and your family's entire fortune and lifestyle will be stable again. You're the only one who can help them." Lucy had called her mother immediately upon leaving but her mom had been really vague, and this confirmed what Lucy had been told by him. She had to do this, for her family. No matter how confused and upset she was she had to leave and she had to marry Jake, so she could help her family.

That night Dean got roaring drunk, he didn't want to talk about what was wrong but Seth and Roman knew it had something to do with Lucy. Eventually they got the entire story from Brie and Nikki, who even though they were late, came to find Dean as soon as they got to the club. "How's he handling Lucy leaving?" They saw Dean sitting at a table sullen, staring into his drink. Seth nodded with his head, "I knew it had something to do with her. Not well as you can see." Nikki and Brie nodded in understanding, "Yeah, we don't really know the details all she kept saying was that it was best for everyone if she left now." Seth stared at Nikki while she spoke, "What I don't get is why today? Why did she have to do this after she was given the ring?" Brie's eyes grew huge, "He gave her the ring and she still left? There's no way that didn't have something to do with it. Jake is such an ass." She walked over and sat next to Dean, "Hey buddy how are you doing?" He jerked his head up and stared blankly at Brie, "She's gone. What can I do? I mean, is she happy that she broke my heart? Is this what she wanted? I'll sign any fucking papers she wants now." Brie nodded her head in sympathy for Dean; she couldn't imagine what he was going through right now with Lucy. Unfortunately there was almost nothing she could do for him because she had no more insight than anyone else.

Lucy stood in the lobby the next morning, she had tried to talk to Dean all night, she had even sat outside his door until 4 in the morning but he didn't show up. Clutching a cup of coffee in one hand and her suitcase in the other she turned in her key at the front desk. She heard a loud group of people enter the lobby and begin to stumble over to the elevator after a long night out. Trying to leave without making eye contact was nearly impossible, especially when one girl stumbled into her bag forcing her to look up. The girl wore a short silver sequined dress, spiky black heels, and caked on makeup that started to smear. Lucy looked up at the arm attached to her waist and saw her husband, drunk, and whispering in the girl's ear causing her to giggle. Noticing Lucy staring at him he kissed the girl, quirked an eyebrow at Lucy, "Problem?" Shaking her head Lucy's eyes filled with tears as she walked out of the hotel to the car where Jake was waiting to take them to the airport.