I still have stars in my eyes, bright glittered stars in my eyes. I still do, but I wonder about you. Do you still see in my eyes?

- Leigh Nash

"You're heartless."

Toby Flenderson was this quiet unassuming man who loved his daughter, wore brown suits and lived vicariously through characters in his favorite books. He paid his bills on time, tipped generously and never cheated on his taxes. He was consistently described as even-tempered, fair and well-mannered. All in all, he was a good person, and that's why it threw him off when his now ex-girlfriend called him heartless, tears flowing down her face, as she packed up the last of her things from his apartment.

"Karen, please," he pleaded. Sasha was a teenager now, so it was silly of him to use his daughter as an excuse. The truth was that he loved Karen, absolutely adored her. He hadn't felt this way about any woman since Pam and then his ex-wife before that. However, just as he had missed his chance at true happiness with those two, he was determined to get Karen out of his life before she could burn him. "I meant what I said. This is for your own good. I don't want to hurt you. I just know that one day you will wake up and realize what I already know – that I'm not good enough for you."

The sad thing was that it wasn't even a lie. He truly believed those words. He wasn't even closed to being good enough for Karen. She was this statuesque beauty with a cutting wit, undeniable itelligence and unmatched sex appeal. The only thing he had to question was her taste. When she had asked him out – yes, she had asked him out first – he couldn't believe his own luck. Toby figured it was a pity date or maybe because she was bored. Six months later, he had come to realize that Karen genuinely cared about him, and he was deeply in love with her.

"Don't say please to be, Toby," she barked angrily as she threw various pieces of expensive lingerie into an oversized duffel bag. Her silky hair flew around her face as she whirled around and stared at him coldly. "It didn't have to be like this. You made it like this. I was perfectly happy loving you just the way you were. I never had a problem with these perceived shortcomings that only exist in your head. I told you weeks ago that you were the one thing in my life I hadn't managed to mess up. Things in Stamford, Jim, my marriage – I messed all of that up on my own. I didn't need you to destroy my heart for me."

Toby hung his head in shame. As much as he wanted to pretend that he did this for her, his reasons were mostly purely selfish. He cared about Karne too much, and every time he let himself feel like that, he ended up alone. He couldn't stand the thought of them going out like that. "That's the last thing I wanted to do," he confessesd honestly, and she knew then that he meant it. "I don't want to break your heart for anything, Karen. I just don't want either of us to end up more hurt than we already are. It's only get harder the deeper we fall."

Karen met his wavering gaze in the large mirror that hung over the dresser. Tears glittered in her dark eyes, piercing Toby's heart like a thousand little daggers. "Who says that we have to end up like that?" she asked softly before sitting down on the edge of the mattress. Toby dropped his hands to his sides uselessly. "Why do you have to write our death warrant before the verdict has come in? It's possible that we could be the exception, Tobes, not the rule. What if we have the stuff to go the distance? Don't we owe it to ourselves to find out?"

He walked over and joined her on the bed, the mattress dipping slightly with his weight. They didn't look at each other as they sat side by side. Toby reached for her hand and entangled their fingers in such a way that they were fused into one being. "Kare..." His sad voice trailed off. She usually liked his Droopy Dog demeanor because that was him but right now, it was only irking her that much more. She always used to think that was just who he was at the office, maybe because of Michael, but that slow and gentle way was a very real part of Toby. He was also honest and caring, warm and understanding. He made her laugh with his dry wit and made her body tingle with his gentle kisses. "Kare, what if that's not what we find? I can't stand the thought of you hating me."

"I could never, would never, hate you," she vowed confidently. "The only thing I can imagine doing for the rest of my life is love you. Just give me a chance to prove it to you. Don't push me away. I love you, I love your daughter, I love the life I am starting to build with you. None of that works if we're not together. Is that really and truly what you want? If you say it is, that you don't want to be with me, I'll walk away right now."

Toby rubbed his free hand over his head self-consciously. "You know that I can't lie to you."

"So tell me the truth."

"The truth is," he said, "the truth is that of course I love you. I love being with you. I don't want to lose you, but I also don't want to end up hurt. I don't want to hurt you. Look at our track records, Kare. We have hurt and been hurt. If we stay together, what happens if we end up not even being able to stay friends? I can't imagine a world without you in it."

"So don't," she said simply. "It's really that easy. You don't want to lose me? Then don't break up with me. Stay with me. Be the man that we both know you are and commit to staying with me."

Meeting her gaze once again in the mirror, he was relieved to see that the tears were gone, only to be replaced with a hopeful smile. It was the same smile she'd worn the night of their first date when he'd walked her to her front door and kissed her nice and slow beneath the amber porch light. It was the same smile she'd displayed when she met Sasha for the first time, nervously handing over a leather sketchbook she'd picked up in Manhattan. It was the same smile she had when he told her that he loved her for the first time right before she said that she loved him back.

"I want to stay."

Karen threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank God," she whispered into his ear before burying her face into his shoulder. Toby slipped his arms around her frame and realized that she was crying. Tears soon found their way to his own face, causing both of them to laugh sheepishly. Karen reached up to wipe his tears away just as he brushed hers away with his thumb.

Maybe he still had a heart after all.