Lyla felt terrible the next morning, she knew what she did was the best thing for Tim but may not have been the best thing for her son. Carter technically had a father, Jordan, but she knew her son was always missing something in his childhood. She pushed the thoughts of Tim out of her mind as she focused on her son and taking him to day care.

On the way back home she passed the park and remembered the day she had spent with Tim and Carter. That was the first official time that Tim and Carter had spent together and they had really hit it off. Lyla glanced over and saw a person slumped on a bench closest to the road. She thought the man looked familiar and once she noticed the long hair covering the man's face she realized it was Tim.

She pulled her car over and got out to check to see if he was still alive. "Tim?!" As she approached the bench Tim raised his head to see who was talking to him and he slid right off, hitting the ground hard. "Are you okay?" Lyla yelled as she ran over to him.

Tim grunted in reply as he tried to sit up. Lyla reached out and helped him into a sitting position on the bench. "Go away." Tim said when he was finally upright. Lyla got a good look at him and he had dark circles under his eyes, a bruise starting along his jaw and his hair was plastered to his forehead.

"What happened?" Lyla asked.

"I went to six flags and had so much fun I fell asleep on the park bench on my way home! What do you think, Garrity, I got drunk, got into a fight, then clearly passed out on this bench here." Tim rolled his eyes.

"Why?"

"Because it's what I do, Lyla."

"No, Tim, It's what you used to do."

"Well, I guess old habits die hard." Tim replied as he stood up. He stumbled backwards and fell back onto the bench.

"Here, let me drive you home, I have some water in the car." Lyla said as she helped Tim get off the bench and led him to her car.

When the two were settled, Lyla handed him a bottle of water and he took it generously. She started the car and turned back onto the road heading back to the Riggins house. "I have to tell you the whole story of what happened five years ago. Just promise you wont interrupt or get mad at me."

"Fine." Tim grunted between the gulps of water he was taking.

"I found out the day before you left for training camp and I was going to tell you, I promise. I was going to ask you to stay or come with you; I wanted us to be together, to raise the baby." She paused and looked over at Tim but he was expressionless so she continued. "Then I realized how selfish I was being, taking your dreams away from you. I knew if I asked you to stay that you would have, you would have loved our baby the second he was born. I also knew you would have resented me, for asking you to stay, for taking away your dreams. So I kept the baby a secret and told everyone in town that it was Jordan's' baby."

"I see." Was all Tim could muster up. "Anything else?"

"Yes. I was able to live with myself and this lie I had created because I wanted the best for you and I saw that you were out in the world living your dream. I watched every game on television and I even drove to Austin to watch a few of them. You were incredible, Tim, and I knew that I had done the right thing. But, when you came home and you spent time with Carter and you two got along so well, I knew that I had been selfish. I had kept you away from your son and you had missed the past four years of his life. You missed every milestone and it was all because of me and you will never get them back. I'm sorry, Tim. I just wanted the best for you."

"Okay." Tim said.

"Okay?" Lyla looked at him shocked, she expected him to get mad and yell but he sat their expressionless.

"Okay." Was all he could muster.

"Tim, can you please say something other than okay?"

"What do you want me to say, Lyla? That I forgive you? Because I don't, at least not right now. I just want to get to know my son." Tim finally said.

"We can work something out, together. You can get to know Carter, I promise. But you can't go out drinking all the time, you're a father now. You're a role model, you have to get your life together, get a job and a house."

"Fine, as long as I get to see my son." Tim replied.

Lyla pulled up to the Riggins house and stopped on the curb. "I hope you can forgive me, Tim."

He never replied, he got out of the car silently and walked straight into the house. Lyla knew it was going to take a lot of apologies for Tim to forgive her. He was big on trust and she knew she had lost it, but she was determined to get it back. She was also determined for him to get to know their son, he deserved it.

Tim had spent most of the following week in a haze, or rather a drunken stupor, as he tried to process Lylas story. He realized that given the time she was doing the right thing, he got to go to college and live his dream. He was angry that he had missed the past four years and that was all because of her, but he has the rest of his life with Carter. No matter how mad he was at Lyla and what she had done, deep down he was still in love with her. Tim had never loved anyone like he loved her, but he knew he had lost his chance with her.

Midweek, he had received a call from Lyla asking him to come over for dinner the next night. She explained that Carter had been asking non-stop for him and she compromised with a dinner. Tim gladly agreed, letting everything that happened between them in the last few days go.

Tim had dressed his best, or what he thought was his best. Cowboy boots, jeans, and a plaid button downed shirt. Now that he was back in Texas he was able to pull this look off. He remembered in Denver having his team mates make fun of him for his "cowboy" look but he just said this was the "Tim Riggins" look. He smirked at the memory, thinking how long ago that felt, when in reality it was less than a year ago. Tim was glad to be back home, in Texas.

He was now standing at Lyla's front door with a bouquet of assorted flowers. Tim was proud of what he had chosen and knew Lyla would love them. He stood up tall and rang the doorbell. Within the second the door flew open to Carter starting up at him. Without hesitation he grabbed a hold of Tim's hand and dragged him inside, leading him right into the living room where a puzzle was scattered on the floor. "I need your help!" Carter exclaimed as he dropped to the floor.

"Hold on, buddy, I got to go give these to your mom." Tim said. He found his way into the kitchen where Lyla was slaving over the counter, hard at work on dinner. She had her hair tied back in a low pony tail with a low cut jeans and an apron covering a plain t-shirt. "That's a good look for you."

Lyla turned around and saw him standing there, "Hey, Tim." She replied. "Hope you like taco's."

"I love taco's! I brought you these." He held out the flowers and Lyla took them.

"They're beautiful, thank you." She grabbed a vase from the cupboard and filled it up with water. She plopped the flowers inside and set it on the dinner table. Tim heard his name being called in the other room. "I think you're wanted." Lyla smirked and returned back to preparing dinner.

Tim returned to Carter who was still working on the puzzle, he bent down and began helping him put it together. He was beginning to notice little things about his son, things they shared and had in common. The way they knit their eyebrows together when concentrating and both being men of few words. He enjoyed spending time with Carter and not having to fill the silence, and that they just fit together perfectly.

"Dinner's ready!" Lyla yelled from the other room. Tim grabbed Carter around the waste and threw him over his shoulder and started tickling him. The boy was screaming and laughing hard as Tim ran into the kitchen, laughing along with him. "What are you boys up to?" Lyla laughed as the boys came into the kitchen.

"Nothing, Momma!" Carter said through a fit of giggles when he was finally released and set firmly on solid ground.

"Alright, as long as you're staying out of trouble." Lyla replied as she pulled out a chair for Carter to climb up into. He climbed up into the chair effortlessly and watched as Tim sat in the chair beside him.

"Smells good, Garrity." Tim remarked.

"Why'd you call her that?" Carter questioned, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Because it's her name, that's why." Tim reached over and tickled the boy's tummy and he let out another fit of giggles. Tim glanced at the spread in front of him; there were dishes filled with different ingredients to make tacos. As Lyla sat down, she smiled and he smirked back in reply before digging in.

Dinner went by fast, Lyla and Tim spent the time talking about everything under the sun. She asked him questions about college and the NFL and he returned the favour by asking her questions about her family and Dillon. He learned that Buddy Garrity was still in town and still a booster with the Panthers, after a short stint with East Dillon. Lyla briefly mentioned how Coach was sent to the East side and after the second year there he won state. It didn't surprise Tim; Coach was able to work magic with run down teams and players. Occasionally Carter would speak up and the conversation would drift towards learning more about him.

After dinner and desert, Lyla shooed the boys out into the living room so she could clean up the mess. Tim had followed her orders but felt guilty so after giving something for Carter to work on, he returned back into the kitchen. He walked up behind Lyla and grabbed the sponge from out of her hands.

"Hey!" Lyla cried. She didn't protest but instead watched him work as he washed the dishes in the sink. She reached her hand into the sink grabbing a handful of suds and rubbing it on his face. "Now, that's a good look on you." She laughed as she took in the sight of Tim riggings with bubbles on his face.

He wiped his face off with his forearm, "You think you're so funny, don't you, Garrity?"

"I do." She giggled.

Tim then reached in and grabbed a handful of bubbles; he wrapped his arm round her neck pulling her close and rubbed the suds onto her head. He rubbed the suds well into her hair and grabbed more and plopped it on top of her head and watched as they fell into her face. Lyla stood there stunned her brown eyes wide and her mouth in an O.

"You are going to pay for that!" Lyla grabbed more suds from the sink but Tim managed to catch her hands in the air before they could come in contact with his face.

"I don't think so, Garrity." He pulled her hands down to her side and stepped forward. They both stopped laughing as they stared into each other's eyes, his green ones peering into her brown ones. He released one of her hands so he could wipe the bubbles off her face. He then slowly moved his hands to the back of her neck and pulled her close to him.

They're lips met; it was a slow, tantalizing kiss at first. But soon both succumbed to desire and passion and they got lost in the moment. Lyla had reached up and grabbed onto his hip with her free hand, pulling him closer. Tim still had one of Lyla's hands in his and the other was wrapping itself in her hair. Passion gave way and they couldn't stop each other, the kiss deepened and soon they were exploring each other's mouth. It felt like they were back in high school, sneaking off under the bleachers during class to make out.

Neither heard the little footsteps draw near, or felt another presence in the room until they heard, Carter speak up. "What are you guys doing?"

"Nothing, baby." Lyla said after she jumped back from Tim, tearing herself away from him. He was a little disappointed that they were interrupted and guessed they would have a bit of explaining to do. "We were just doing the dishes, want to help us finish?"

"Okay!" Carter exclaimed as he ran over to where the two adults were standing. Lyla reached down and grabbed a stool from under the cupboard. Their son jumped up and he came to just above the counter top, she handed him a rag and asked him to dry the dishes that Tim handed to him.

The three worked in comfortable silence and preformed their tasks effortlessly. Tim washed the dishes, and then handed them to Carter to dry; when he was done Lyla would put them back in their place. Tim realized that he like this feeling; he never experienced being a part of a family before. He wanted more nights like these; he actually wanted mornings and afternoons feeling like this. He was in love Lyla and wanted to spend every day with her and their son. Tim never believed he deserved a family; never felt it was in the cards for him. Overnight he was just handed a son and he couldn't complain because family life excited him. He knew Carter had changed him and he knew that it was for the better.