AN: Here you are, as promised. So I'm about 50 minutes late, I apologize. Sundays are hard days for me, but I WILL be consistent in this. I promise. Anyway, enjoy! AND PLEASE REVIEW!


Amy's arms slipped around Ricky's neck as his wrapped around her waist. She pressed her wrists together behind his head, instinctually aware that her hands were still soapy, but was otherwise distracted. His lips were doing well to captivate her mind and as they breathed each other in, falling deeper and deeper, Amy's head began to spin.

She had never felt anything like it before. She was on fire and the way Ricky's lips were moving above hers was like the fuel, building the flame between them. Then, just as Amy couldn't help the purr escape her mouth, the sound of a thudding door broke through, successfully breaking them apart. "Amy? I'm home. Where are you?"

Amy's eyes widened as it all sunk in, the beat of shock resonating throughout her entire body before she found her voice. "I-in here," she squeaked out, pulling away from Ricky and turning back to the sink, a blush rising to her cheeks. "In here!" she called out again, running the water and rinsing her hands clean of suds.

"Ames," Ricky tried again, just as Helen walked through the door.

"Oh, thank you both so much for your help tonight. Let me tell you, that shift was crazy." Amy forced a smile up at Helen and nodded, taking the mugs in the sink once more to lather them in soap again. "N-no problem," Amy breathed out, busying herself with the dishes. "No problem at all."

"And Ricky," Helen gushed, turning her attention to him, "Thanks again for offering to bring them dinner. What did you end up having?"

He took a moment to answer, his brain blanking for a second before offering Helen a humble smile, "I just picked up some Chinese. Uh…Johnny went to sleep without opening his fortune cookie, but I'll just, uh, leave it for him here?" Amy heard the crackle of the fortune cookie wrapper and sucked in a breath of her own as the evening came rushing back to her.

"Of course, that's fine," Helen gushed before casting a glance at Amy, "Amy dear," she said, "You don't have to do that, I'll take care of it, don't worry."

"Um…" Amy laughed nervously, "It's alright, I'm just…rinsing them," she finished lamely, turning off the sink and drying her hands.

"Well, you two have done enough," Helen said, reaching out to rest a hand on both of their shoulders and Amy met her gaze while avoiding Ricky's. "Remind me that I owe you both dinner for your help."

"Oh no, you don't-"

"That's not—"

The two of them met each other's gaze as Helen waved them off and smiled, "Really, it's the least I could do."

Amy opened her mouth again to protest, but was cut off by Ricky saying, "Alright, whatever you say. But, again, it's unnecessary."

Amy pursed her lips and bit back her annoyance at the thought of Ricky speaking for her. She sighed, "Well, it's late. I should get home." She smiled at the older woman and gave her hug then turned toward Ricky and tried to focus just above his eyes than actually on them, "Ricky, thanks again for bringing dinner, I know Johnny really likes having you around."

"Yes, he really does," Helen smiled, "Ricky's actually taking Johnny to a ballgame at the end of the month."

"Oh," Amy nodded, finding it easier to push through her previous haze if she focused on Helen instead of Ricky. "That's great. Johnny will love that."

"I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to come with us Ames, I have an extra ticket."

"Uh…" Amy paused, unsure of how to escape, "I'll…have to see. I might be working." Before Ricky could respond Amy turned to Helen once more and smiled wide, nodding to the older woman. "Well, I'll let myself out Helen and I'll see you tomorrow?" Helen nodded and Amy took her exit, hearing Ricky mirror the sentiments with Helen before following her out.

"Wait, Ames," Ricky said, picking up his jacket, "I'll take you home."

She had just exited the front door, Ricky following and closing it behind them when she spun around quickly and shook her head, "No, it's alright, I only live a few blocks away, it isn't that far."

"But it's late Ames," Ricky reasoned, "Even you said. I wouldn't want you walking around unaccompanied."

Amy fixed him with a steady glare, "Ricky, I'm a New Yorker, I can take care of myself." She began to walk away again, but Ricky followed her, falling in step beside her as they took to the stairs.

"I'm not saying you can't Ames, but…at least let me walk you. Not for you, but for me. I just want to make sure you get home safe."

"I'm not going to get lost, Ricky. This is my city remember? You're the foreigner."

He sighed deeply as they reached the ground floor and reached out to her, "Ames, wait." She sighed and turned, pulling her elbow out of his hand and crossing her arms in front of her. "Come on, you know that this isn't about you not being capable, it's just…" He asked, sticking his hands in his pockets, "I thought we were having a good time."

Amy sighed again as she looked down at her shoes and hugged herself tighter. "We were," she said, taking one step closer to him, but leaving enough space to ensure the divide she was stating. "But…this is all happening a little too fast for me. This was supposed to just be us getting to know each other and instead we're making out in Helen's kitchen."

"Hey," Ricky said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, but…" he held Amy's gaze as he took one step closer, not reaching out to her, but coming close, "you can't deny, we've got something here. Next time, I promise to control myself better, but…tonight…you and me? It felt right."

Amy ran a hand through her hair and let out a shaky breath, the cold beginning to nip at the bottom of her throat. "Ricky, I don't think there can be a next time. I just…I don't think this is a good idea. I just…" she sighed. "This is all too much. I told you, this was just supposed to be a dinner between friends."

"It was," he reasoned, but stopped at the look she gave him.

"But friends don't flirt. Friends don't kiss! And if we want to stay friends, which, at this point, is what I want, then that can't happen anymore." She saw the disappointment in her eyes, saw the spark go out and she bit her lip, trying to hold on to her resolve. She was being honest and she needed to be honest with him if she was going to be fair to both of them. "I just…" She sighed once more and stepped once more toward him, resting a hand on his chest, trying to ignore the fog that began to permeate around them, "I just need some space. Okay?" She began to finger his shirt, feeling the urge to kiss him come over once more and then pulled away. "I'm sorry." And, turning on her heel, she left, aching inside with something she had never felt before.


It had been two weeks since Ricky had heard anything from Amy and he was beginning to feel restless. She had asked for space and he had respected that, but he couldn't deny how much he wanted to see her. At the same time, he was also extremely annoyed with himself for letting a girl get to him like this. No girl had ever been able to make Ricky Underwood this antsy. Not even Adrian, but Amy had succeeded in completely unsettling his nerves. He could still feel her lips on his. Unbuttoning his jacket, Ricky pulled out the sales reports he had been charged with copying; Uncle Ben rather annoyed with his tenseness. "If you don't stop shaking that leg of yours I will personally cut it off and make a sausage out of it." The short walk to the copy room was well received by both he and Uncle Ben, but it did very little to keep him from checking his phone, practically willing her to contact him.

With a sigh he opened the top of the copier and set his form on the glass screen, keying in all the proper adjustments before pressing the big green "GO" on the interface.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Furrowing his brow, Ricky pushed the button again, but the screen flashed, NEED TONER and he sighed. "Great."

"Need some help?" Ricky turned to see Karlee, the sex-addict intern, leaning against the doorframe and he coughed gruffly, recognizing the look in her eye.

"Nope," he said, "Just needs toner." He moved towards the supply cupboard, feeling her eyes following him and tried to ignore the familiar spark in her eyes. He remembered when he used to look at Adrian like that, when he wanted something less than appropriate for the work place. Coughing again he found the right toner cartridge and walked back to the copy machine. "Did you need something?" He asked, throwing her a polite smile, only meaning to provide some small talk to the uncomfortable pressure in the room.

Karlee smiled with half-lidded eyes, sauntering toward him with a file in her hand, "Just need to make some copies." Ricky nodded, pulling the old empty cartridge out and tossing it in the trash. He had just set the new cartridge in and keying in the correct keys when he felt her against close in on him and he sighed.

"I'll only be a few minutes, then the machine is all yours."

She threw him a sexy smirk and leaned in, "The machine isn't really my type."

Ricky bit his lip, upset at the way her presence did raise a reaction from him, but stepped away as the familiar beep of a finished copy job cut through. He lifted the top lid and slid his original form before stepping away and collecting the copies in the output bin. "What coincidence," he said, "Neither am I." Stepping towards the door he nodded at Karlee with a polite smile and saluted. "You're welcome, you know, for changing the toner," and then he went, sighing in relief as he headed back toward his Uncle's office.

Taking out his phone he scrolled to Amy's name and clicked send, ducking into an empty cubicle as he brought the phone to his ear. It rang three times before going to voicemail and Ricky ran a hand over his face. "Hi, this is Amy Juergens. Sorry I couldn't answer, but if you leave me a message I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can." BEEP.

He took a minute to speak, fingering his paper copies, then sighed. "Hey Ames, it's me. Uh…" his mind was drawing a blank as he exhaled deeply and ran a hand through his hair, "Haven't heard from you in a while. I, uh, I know you wanted space, but…well I wasn't sure how much." He glanced at the clock and knew that he spent too much time away and stood. "Um, look," he sighed, "Just…just give me a call when you can. When you're…ready. Okay? Alright…bye."

He hung up and stared at his phone, watching the timer blink at "00:02:15" and mentally kicking himself for wasting time on such a pointless message. He had screwed it up and he suddenly felt like he would never hear from Amy Juergens.


"Hey Ames, it's me uh…Haven't heard from you in a while. I uh, I know you wanted space, but…well I wasn't sure how much." There was a pause. "Um, look, Just….just give me a call when you can. When you're ready. Okay? Alright….bye."

Amy sighed and leaned back against the wall of the break room. Closing her eyes she dropped her head back against the wall and groaned. "This is so not good."

"What?"

Startled she stood up from her place and glanced over by the door to see Megan and Mariah watching her curiously. "Oh. Nothing," she said, waving them off, "Just…got a phone call."

"Ooh," Megan cooed, stepping toward Amy with a teasing smile, "From Ricky? Haven't heard from him in a while."

Amy pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, "Yeah. I know."

Mariah crossed her arms and shuffled her feet, scuffing her toe against the linoleum, "Well, that isn't exactly his fault now is it?"

Amy and Megan turned to Mariah and Amy bit her lip, knowing that Ricky must have said something to her. "I never said it was Mari. But it's for the best, really."

"What?" Megan interjected, "What are you talking about? What happened?" She looked back and forth between Mariah and Amy, both girls glancing at her then back at each other before Mariah motioned to Amy.

"Ask her."

Then she took a seat as Megan turned her attention fully to Amy. Amy squirmed under the gaze of her friend, wanting to open her mouth and tell her that she didn't really want to talk about it, but instead sighed, resigning to the fact that she wouldn't be able to get away. She moved to sit down as well, a table away from Mariah as Megan pulled a chair next to her. She then began to reveal the events of that evening, crossing her legs as she told her friends every detail right up until the end.

As she finished both were looking at her with wide eyes, even Mariah, who had obviously only heard Ricky's side, and Amy could feel herself tense for the coming onslaught.

"Ames," Megan finally said, "Why would you do that? He brought you dinner, you flirted, you shared stories and then you kissed! It was the perfect first date and you threw it away!"

Amy shook her head and leaned forward on her knees, "I wasn't throwing anything away. It wasn't a date or, at least, it wasn't supposed to be one." She sighed and brushed her bangs back once more before shaking her head, "I was protecting myself. I was protecting him! I don't want to be in a relationship and it's better to stop this now before someone gets hurt."

Mariah shook her head and rested her elbows on the table, "Amy, it looks like people are already hurt. And, look, I know Ricky, he may have a bit of a bad boy look and reputation, but he really likes you and I've never seen him so wound up before over anyone. He keeps asking about you and asking about you and if he wasn't so smitten, he would have moved on by now. But, from what you've told us, you really like him too. So, what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Amy cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "The problem is, we have one night out together and we're already all over each other. Yeah, I do like him, he's sweet and charming and not at all like I thought he was going to be, but…he's leaving at the end of the summer and if we keep going the way we were going…it's just going to get too hard…" she trailed, knowing she didn't have to explain to her friends her fears as they suddenly relaxed into their chairs, their expressions melting into sympathetic ones.

"Oh, Ames," Megan sighed, "No one's saying you have to figure all of that out now, but don't waste the opportunity to have a great summer fling with a great guy."

Amy groaned, "I don't want a summer fling! I don't want some kind of casual relationship with a timer on it. I want to just do my work, hang out with my friends, and be drama free for the rest of the summer. And a relationship of ANY kind with a guy, no matter how great he is, would just complicate that."

Both Megan and Mariah looked at each other, sharing a silent conversation as Amy sighed and fiddled with her phone. "Well, what about a real relationship? Do you think that's possible with Ricky?"

Amy scoffed as she glanced up at Megan and shook her head, "Didn't you hear me? He's leaving at the end of the summer when his internship ends; going back home to his family and his friends, maybe even an ex-girlfriend."

Mariah scoffed and shook her head, "Oh no he's not. That ex-girlfriend of his is a mess and he told me that he's done with her."

Amy cringed at the thought of another girl and closed her eyes, "It doesn't matter," she sighed, opening her eyes and sitting back in her chair, "Like I said, he's leaving. There is no chance for a real anything other than a real waste of time."

Megan shook her head, "I think you're blowing this out of proportion Amy. I mean, you can't shortchange every possibility just because there is a chance of it not working. Remember? We talked about this. And, who cares if he's leaving? Not all long distance relationships fail."

Again, Amy scoffed and stood, "But most do. And I just don't feel comfortable taking those chances. You could say I'm just afraid to take the risky but…honestly, I don't think I could bear it if Ricky turned out to be a mistake." She headed toward the door, reaching the clock in/out machine and grabbed her time card. It was her short day and she was itching to go home, to sink herself into a warm bath and forget the past two weeks and how much she wanted to call Ricky and see him. That was the reason she was freaked out, just how quickly he had burrowed into her every day thought. It was for the best, because they were already falling in deeper than they should be.

"Amy," Mariah called out, just before she exited the room. She turned to look at her friend and found her staring at her with a level expression. "I understand what your hesitations are and you're my friend, so I'll respect your decision even though I think you're ultimately keeping yourself from something that could potentially be really good for, not just you, but for Ricky. But at the same time, he is my brother and if you don't want him pursuing you, then you need to tell him soon and not string him along with the possibility of you." She set her jaw and crossed her arms, making it, abundantly, clear to Amy where she stood on this. "Call him and get it over with."

Amy swallowed hard and paused, her mind processed the request and she nodded, trying to suppress the ache in her that had been there for the passed two weeks. "I will," she said, "I promise," and with that she left.


AN: Gosh this chapter was hard to write. There are so many things I wanted to put into this. I was so darn tempted to write a Karlee/Ricky flirting scene, even if it was rebound flirting, but...this Ricky is a very different than the Ricky in the show. He's had the example of love and he's also known what it's like to be in a relationship based on lust, therefore, he knows the difference between a Karlee and an Amy. That's where the divide is. On the flipside, this Amy has seen most relationships fall apart around her. She doesn't have a son to show her what it truly feels like to love someone and was never with Ben to make her see that some relationships can weather many storms. So, in short, whenever I would try to write a more canon scene, it just felt weird, because...these characters are totally non-canon. Anyway, I hope that makes sense. Please read and review! And I'll see you next week.

-scribbling wordsmith