A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying the story. As always, reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed or put this story on your alert list!

"Well you've come and gone and it seems so long
Please, someone tell me that I am strong
It's all about to change…"

After a long night of pacing thoughts and little sleep Fred saw the sun begin to seep in through the window. It was too early to be awake, but he didn't have the desire in him to get back to sleep. He only would have had horrific dreams anyway. He folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. The thoughts that had plagued him all night continued to swirl in his head. So she'd come back for a job, not because she desperately missed him like he'd thought. He inhaled and closed his eyes as he exhaled. What in the world job could she be here for that would take her away? Would it take her back there? Why did she even bother showing up then if she was just going to leave again…

He heard a small tap in his door and he looked up, his brows knitted together.

"Come in?" he questioned, his voice still a little groggy.

He smirked at the vision of his twin poking his head in the door way, his eyes wide.

"What in Merlin's name? I leave you alone with a girl for two seconds and… what happened? What is Bell doing on our couch? Is that what you needed to do this whole time? Merlin, if I'd known she'd come back at the very scent of competition I would have hooked you up with, well, anyone months ago…" George sighed out angrily in a whisper, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"She just… showed up!" Fred said as he sat up in the bed and threw his hands in the air, "I didn't know what else to do."

"Well what did she say?" George questioned curiously as he folded his arms in front of him with a frown. Fred knew that after Katie left a large part of George hated her for it, but not because she left, because of what it did to him. He inhaled, not realizing until that moment the damage that his depression had done to his twin. George had never shown an ounce of unhappiness, but it wasn't like either of them to do so in the first place. Well… until Katie left. Then Fred fell apart and well… the rest is history.

"I'm sorry George," Fred blurted out.

"For what?" George asked perplexed, not exactly the answer to the question he was expecting.

"For being a silly twat for the past however long. I wasn't even thinking about what me being a lump was doing to you. You always had a smile on… I should've known better," Fred said becoming angry with himself.

"Don't worry about that now, honestly. I want to know what in Merlin's name that girl is doing on our couch…" George said with a sly smirk, and Fred returned the gesture happily. The banter between them had always been a relief for Fred. He was never good at emotions, or apologies. He always just… was him. George had always been the more emotional twin, and Fred silently thanked him for the understanding George had given him over the past months.

"Well she showed up, and we… we fought. I was relieved but I was bloody pissed off and half-drunk, too," Fred said with a small frown, a little angry with himself for letting last night go the way he did. He wanted so desperately to be infuriated with the blonde, but he just couldn't bring himself to actually go through with it. There was just too much love there. Stupid girl.

"You fought?" George asked, clearly amused by the idea.

"Not physically you git," Fred said as he laughed in spite of himself.

"Well that's disappointing… do continue," George said as he pulled up a chair and only half-pretended to be overly interested in the events of last night.

"Well eventually we made up, and I told her that I needed her to promise me she wasn't going anywhere anymore, that I couldn't take her leaving again. She promised, but only to tell me that she might if she gets the job she came back for," Fred said with a glare.

"You mean she came back for something other than you, brother dear? How dare she!" George mocked him with a small laugh as he held up a hand to his heart. Fred tried to be mad, but it was impossible. He let out a laugh before he shook his head.

"I didn't even ask what the job was… I just kind of stormed off," Fred said feeling a bit guilty. He could have been more level-headed. Oh who was he kidding, no he couldn't have.

"I see… Well she's trying out for Chaser of the Appleby Arrows, if you must know. Found this next to her suitcase," George said with a grin as he held up the letter. Ah, George was such a good brother.

"There was a note from Oliver, too. Telling her to come home. Merlin knows how he found her, but he did…" George added with a small shrug. There was something about the fact that it was a letter from Oliver that made her come home that put a weight in the pit of Fred's stomach. He pushed the worry aside, knowing that Oliver would never do that to him. Whatever Oliver and Katie had while she was a fifth-year was over the day he graduated, and they all knew it. How Katie had managed to live being second to quidditch would always be beyond Fred, and he supposed that was one of the things that fueled him to treat her as well as he did; knowing that she hadn't been treated the right way the first time.

"Interesting…" was the only word that Fred could murmur as a whole new slew of possibilities. Instead he moved his thoughts on to other things. "How was your night with Ang?" Fred asked with a grin.

"Just remarkable," George said with a fake, dreamy sigh as he let out a laugh. Fred joined in and shook his head at the man he called a brother.

"You're ridiculous," Fred said finally getting out of bed in his boxers. He threw on pajama pants as George gestured towards the door.

"Wanna wake the beast?" George asked, his sly smirk growing into a devious grin.

"Guess we probably should, huh?" Fred replied with an identical grin. They were silent as they set up the small fireworks about the room, and even more silent as they lit them to set them off.

They blew up with loud pops, and wondrous colors filled the room. Katie let out a loud scream as she leaped from the couch, grabbing at her ears to keep the popping from giving her a headache. Her eyes stung and her cheeks were dry and flaky, she'd cried herself to sleep again. She inhaled as she watched as the beautiful colors filled the room, and it was only then that she remembered where she was.

"Fred Weasley!" she shouted loudly as she covered her head and ran into the kitchen of the small flat. She was met by the twins who each held the same satisfied grin. She glared at them both before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Hello George," Katie greeted him with a small wave.

"Katie," George said with a small head nod.

"Does this mean you've forgiven me then?" Katie questioned as she turned to look up at Fred. The pleading in her eyes was almost more than Fred could bear. He wanted to say yes, a million times over yes, but he knew in his heart that it wasn't that simple. It never would be.

"Not yet… We need to talk about this job thing…" Fred said as he nonchalantly tossed the letter from Wood and the Arrows on the table. He wasn't really ready to have this conversation in front of George, but if he were to have it front of anyone he was most comfortable with it being George. They were like the same person anyway.

"You went through my mail?" There went Katie immediately taking the defensive.

"No," Fred said with a sly grin before laughing. Technically he wasn't lying. Katie felt herself melt slightly at the sight of his grin. It'd been far too long since she'd seen it in person. He was a filthy git sometimes, but she lacked the ability to be mad at him. Not with the way his eyes were bright, and he seemed so… happy.

"Fine," she said with a small smile and a laugh, "so you know what I'll be trying out for."

"And how did Wood know where you were?" Fred asked in spite of himself. He knew he didn't really want to know the answer, he didn't even want to think of…

"I have no idea. The owl just showed up. I swear," Katie answered holding her hands up in surrender, and Fred nodded. He believed her. She'd have no reason to lie now, not when they were both throwing all of their cards out on the table.

"Well, then… I hope you get it. It'll be hard to have you away, but at least now we'll be able to owl, unlike before," Fred said with a small smirk. He was going to have his fun with her while he still could. He would make snide comments until the cows came home for what she did to him without any regret at all.

"I know… but who says I'll even make the team?" Katie said with her brows raised.

"Please, you have nothing to worry about. You're going to make good ol' Ollie look like a fool on the pitch, and the rest of them too," Fred said with a grin.

"But this won't be easy on us, Kates," Fred said with his own brows raised. George seemed to resign himself to burrowing around in the fridge. He was a good brother indeed. Fred ignored George as he took a seat with Katie at the table, thankful that George was at least trying not to completely just eavesdrop on the conversation.

"I know Fred… but if we lasted 8 months without seeing or owling, this distance will seem like nothing," Katie tried to be reassuring, and in his heart Fred knew she was right. They could get through anything together. But there was a part of him that held doubt.

"But we didn't last, Katie… We were both miserable and depressed, remember?" Fred said with a sigh as George shut the fridge.

"But…" Katie began to protest, but she knew she was right. She placed her hand on the cool surface of the kitchen table, palm facing upward and open. Fred took the invitation to place his hand in hers. He squeezed it once for reassurance, whether it was for his own sake or hers he wasn't really sure. The pair of them remained silent as Fred's eyes simply stared at the way their hands fit together, and he smiled fondly at the fact that they always seemed to fit perfectly.

"Look... I don't want to let you go, but I'll be damned if I'm the one who holds you back. Besides, if you make the team I can brag all about how I'm dating the hottest professional quidditch players in the world," Fred said with a wink. Katie let out a small laugh before giving Fred's hand a squeeze and shaking her head. Sometimes this boy was just too much for her.

"You'll do great, Kate," George said with a smile as he leaned against the counter.

"I told Al and Ang you're back… so they'll probably be here momentarily to smother you… with hugs of course," George said with a smirk, and Fred grinned towards her as she seemed to leap from the table.

"Oh I can't wait to see them!" Katie said with a grin before dashing off to the bathroom, presumably to get ready. Women…

Feeling satisfied enough with the way the conversation went Fred decided to whip up breakfast for the five of them, fully prepared to keep Wheezes closed for the day and spend it with the friends who had now become family.