March 4th 1997

He finally came tonight. She had waited in the same spot they met, waiting for him to show, hoping that he had as much faith in her as she had in him. It seemed as though so much time had gone by without his voice, his footsteps coming closer to her, the cold air accentuating the sighs she let escape. She never gave up hope, though. If he truly meant what he said, he would look for her…right?

The smile on his face as he ran to her made her laugh with relief. He picked her up in his arms into a twirl as she wrapped hers around him. When her feet touched the ground, she felt his lips against her neck. Oh, god, how she longed for this. He kissed her softly once before pulling away. No, how could he stop so suddenly? Couldn't he just linger a little bit longer? No matter. He's here now. It's what she wanted. She couldn't ask for anything more.

She ran her fingers through his hair as she spoke. "I was beginning to think you would never show up."

He smiled. She couldn't get enough of his smile. "How did you know I would look for you here?"

"It's the first and only place we met. Seemed like a no-brainer."

He laughed. "I guess you could look at it like that." Will took her hand, led her to the corner of the street. "Come on," he whispered in her ear. "I know a place where we can be alone."

They entered what seemed to be his apartment. They kept the lights off, as if light would make all of this disappear. He grabbed for her and kissed her hungrily as she led her into the apartment. No one would see them now; they were free to do what they had both dreamed of ever since they first met. Finally he lingered on her neck. She closed her eyes to take it all in while he undid the buttons of her blouse one at a time, kissing the skin that was revealed each time.

"Will," she gasped. He stopped, looked up at her. "Are you sure about this?"

He smiled. Then she woke up.

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Each dream would be a little bit different. The first couple of nights, they didn't leave the sidewalk outside the restaurant where they met. But as they went on, he got bolder and bolder. Some nights he would follow through on dinner, taking her to a different restaurant. Some nights they would walk hand in hand under the streetlights. But tonight, he took her to his apartment. He didn't seem to care about the small talk, walking around the subject; he merely wanted to get to what they both desired. She couldn't fault him for it. She couldn't feel him touching her in these dreams, except for once. Every night without fail, Karen felt the kiss on her neck he gave as they met on the sidewalk.

Eventually, she realized that it was only Stan coming to bed and kissing her goodnight before falling asleep himself. But she liked to pretend that it was truly Will. Even if she was fooling herself, it was better than the truth.

Sure, there was a part of her that still loved Stan. Even if their relationship was at a rocky state right now, there were those rare times when he would try to make things better, and they had great memories that she could always look back on to make her smile. But those memories only kept her company for so long. Soon, Karen wanted the touch of someone who loved her, instead of promises, words. She wanted to kiss someone and feel it rip through her core as it did the same to them. She tried to take comfort in her dreams about Will, but she soon realized that if he didn't find her soon, she would start to go out of her mind.

Karen couldn't get him out of her mind. She could go on without the thought of him during the day in those first few, but once the moon made its appearance and she closed her eyes, he would emerge from the dark corners of her mind and take over. At first she was horrified; this man was not her husband, she couldn't be thinking about him like this. But soon she realized that this was just the thing to make her forget about her failing marriage. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Will was right. He had just met her, and he knew everything about her.

When she woke up from this latest dream, when she abruptly left his apartment and rushed back to her own, it was one in the morning, officially two weeks since they met. She had to find him. Maybe she could do what she does in her dreams; maybe he's been going back to the restaurant and waiting outside, hoping she would show. Maybe she could take a chance.

It wouldn't hurt to try.

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Another night, another glare at him as the passersby watch him wait for something that will most likely never come. It became a nightly tradition, coming back to the restaurant, never going in, standing on the sidewalk as close to the original spot as he could remember. Will figured she wouldn't show, but somewhere inside of him, he had the hope that she felt what he did that night. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind since they met, and he hoped that somewhere in Manhattan, she was thinking of him too. He knew with a little research and dedication, he could locate Karen Walker, but he didn't want it to come to that. She deserved her privacy, and as much as he wanted to see her again, he knew he would hate himself if he stooped down to that level. So he resorted to standing here as long as he could bear the cold, every night, waiting on some miracle to cause her to walk down that sidewalk and into his arms.

Tonight was unusually cold, too bitter for him to stand it for very long. Although he had waited all day to come out here, he decided to cut it short; if he couldn't handle this chill, she probably wouldn't be able to either. Will began to walk away until he heard footsteps coming closer to him. He stopped, but didn't turn around. It was probably just another looker, he thought, thinking him crazy for standing out here for no apparent reason.

But then the voice. Her voice. "Will?"

He turned around and saw her. Her eyes looked softer than before, as if she realized what she should have done in the first place and was warming up to the thought of him. She gave him a little smile as she walked closer to him. "Hi." She was so close, he could almost feel her warmth.

He began to reach for her hand, but stopped, thinking it would be too forward. "I was beginning to think you would never show up."

She laughed a little. "You've been waiting for me here?"

"Hoping you would come."

So it wasn't exactly like her dreams. She could live with that. As long as when they first kissed, he would linger.

"So," she started. "What about that dinner you wanted to take me too?"

"It's too late for that," he answered. "I'll take you somewhere else." Will held out his hand, waiting for her to take it. She felt like she could trust him, but she wasn't so sure yet. Maybe she was wrong to come out here in the first place.

Will smiled at her. "Come on," he said gently. "What are you waiting for?"