Angela felt like an adolescent waiting around by the phone all day. Three days had passed since their last phone call. Normally she'd tell herself that no news was good news, but it didn't seem fitting to the situation.

It was her own fault. She let herself believe that everything would be okay and go back to how they were months before despite having confronted Sam. While she might not have been a typical teenage girl at Sam's age, she knew well the impact an upset could have at that age. She hated being the one to hurt her. What's more, she hated the idea that she might be a grudge she could never let go.

"Mom?" Johnathan called as he came down the stairs. "When are Tony and Sam going to get here?"

Angela sighed. "I was just wondering that myself, sweetheart."

"Is it because Sam's mad at us?"

Pulling Jonathan onto her lap, she answered, "She's not mad at you. She's mad at me."

"So mad she rather stay in New York?"

"It's a possibility."

Jonathan sulked. "I really miss them."

"I do, too."

He started speaking again but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Want to get that?" Angela asked, letting him slide down.

He hurried over to the door. When he opened it, he saw a nervous Sam standing there with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Hi, Jonathan..."

"Sam!" He flung his arms around her. "You're here!"

She hugged back, but only mumbled something he couldn't understand in response.

Angela had since come over to the door as well. Her steps were cautious, though, and her voice filled with uncertainty even when Tony came up behind Sam. "Hello, Samantha. Tony."

Sam's immediate response was to twist her lips and look away, not quite able to bring herself to step inside even though Jonathan was pulling on her arm. But soon, her resolve broke and she crumbled into tears.

Angela crouched down and held her arms open as Sam ran to her. Neither of them said anything for a minute, silent tears filling Angela's eyes as Sam sobbed against her. She'd never seen her so upset before. And while she was glad it appeared that she was willing to move past her anger, it made her feel sick to see what she'd put her through — no matter what Tony said and no matter that it hadn't been intentional. There had to have been something she could have done differently to spare this girl the emotions she was feeling now.

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she kissed her head. "I'm so sorry."

She glanced up at Tony who appeared to be fighting tears back himself. Meanwhile, Jonathan was puzzled by it all.

Having calmed down a little bit by now, Samantha pulled back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry for being so mad at you, Angela."

Angela shook her head. "You don't need to be."

Tony walked over to them, putting a hand on each of their backs. "I, uh, figured I wouldn't waste good news over a phone call."

"You're back?"

"We're back," he nodded.

"And you're okay with this, Sam?"

She gave a meek nod, still pressing the back of her hand to her eyes.

. . .

"What a day, hmm?" Tony asked Angela over tea later that night. Most of the day was spent moving things in, and though Tony still had to take care of the apartment, it was nice to be spending a night in Connecticut.

"Sure has been."

"Worth it though."

Angela shrugged. "Give or take a moment or two. I think it will still take Sam some time to warm up to me again."

"At least she's finally admitting how much she missed you."

"Yes... I'm glad you both came back."

"So am I."

They paused to take respective sips from their cups. Though things had been resolved on the surface, things still felt strained. With so much focus on the kids, neither of them had much time to consider all that they'd lost and regained.

"I'm glad you're back," Angela added, though felt a twinge of embarrassment as she suddenly recalled their conversation a few days ago."

He nodded, his gaze lingering a moment before saying, "Me, too."

"I was worried when I didn't hear from you again. All those things I said about us... about Michael."

Tony waved his hand. "It's forgotten."

"Oh..." she replied, surprised by her disappointment. "Good."

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"I'm tired. That's all."

"Come on," he pushed. "Might as well start off with a clean slate. We've gone through this much. Might as well go all the way."

"Really, Tony. It's silly. If not silly, then not realistic."

"Is this about what you were saying the other day? About… things being different?"

"They can't be," she said defensively.

"Maybe not right now, but never?"

Angela raised her eyebrows. "You think things could be different someday?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. They could be. I mean, I don't think I'll ever meet someone who loves Sam as much as you do."

Noticing a hesitation, she prompted after a few seconds, "But?"

"But… not right now. I mean, your divorce isn't final yet. You're my boss. The kids are going through an adjustment again. I think, you know, we need to let things settle for a while."

"I agree."

"I'm just saying we shouldn't rule it out. I really missed you these last few months. In a different way than just moving town. You and I… we made a good team."

"We did," she smiled. "And we will again."

Tony picked up his cup and held it out to her for a toast. Their glasses clinked and they took a sip before he said, "To a hopeful future?"

"Very hopeful."

A comfortable silence fell over them after that. Talking about it openly, it didn't seem like the end-all, be-all, rather, something to seriously consider. Neither was ready to go as far as to admit their attractions — not even to themselves — but the occasional glance they shared could confirm suspicions enough for now. The time now was about Samantha and Jonathan. Jonathan needed a father figure around more than ever, and Sam needed to let Angela be a mother figure again. But there was an odd sense of security in knowing that the two of them might someday be an option. No matter that they didn't have the whens and wheres and hows figured out. After all that they'd been through the last few weeks in particular, there was even more comfort in not having their futures figured out for them.

Angela finished with her tea first. Standing up and bringing her cup to the sink, she then turned back to Tony. "I have an early meeting tomorrow."

"Breakfast at seven, then?"

"That would be perfect."

"I hope you don't have your heart set on Poptarts. Unless you'd like to scrounge through the garbage."

Angela gave a playful roll of her eyes. "I should have known that would be your first act as man of the house again."

"Empty calories, Angela."

"But far less easy to ruin than eggs."

"I came back just in time."

With a grin, Angela bent down to kiss his cheek. "I'm grateful."

Tony smiled as well. "You and me both."

End.

As always, thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. I'm especially grateful for your patience through this one and for bearing with delayed updates. I struggled with how to conclude this, wanting to explore Tony and Angela's relationship more, but I wasn't finding a natural way to do so without dragging out beyond the initial plot of this story. I wanted to leave it open-ended. I would like to return to this change of events at some point! You all are so filled with great ideas, so please don't hesitate to drop me a message if you have any ideas or inspiration for a continuation :)