Paris

"Dining alone?" Aubrey asked as she sauntered past Kelly.

Kelly glanced up from her glass of red. After the day she'd had, the last thing she wanted to do was to fight with Aubrey. "Yeah," she sighed. "That was kind of the plan."

"Oh," Aubrey chirped happily, "I'm waiting for Joey. He must be running late from work. I'll keep you company."

"Great," Kelly sighed, shifting her chair over slightly. It was disturbing how the mere sight of a person could make you want to vomit.

"I'm actually glad I ran into you," Aubrey blathered, "It'll give me a chance to pick your brain for a minute." A sly grin crossed her face. "Joey and I are planning this incredibly romantic getaway. He told me about this great hotel in Paris and we're going to take a little trip there…kind of a long weekend. I know you used to live there…thought you might have some tips."

Kelly felt her throat tighten. No…he wouldn't have…He couldn't have told her about that. It's some weird, random coincidence—just another bit of evidence that the universe had some huge conspiracy against her. She shook her head, banishing the thoughts. "No sorry…No recommendations. It's been a long time since I lived there."

Aubrey continued, determined to get a rise out of Kelly, "Joey mentioned this place that has a heated fountain. He says it's beautiful at night."

She blinked hard, willing the tears not to come…. Why would Joey tell her that? How could he tell her that? She cleared her head long enough to hear Aubrey still chattering.

"Apparently, there's this outdoor market nearby where they sell all kinds of French breads and cheeses and everything is fresh and…"

Kelly stood up. "I have to go," she responded quickly.

"So soon?" Aubrey asked, feigning innocence.

Kelly just looked at her. "Good luck with your trip."

She smiled as she watched Kelly flee. Grabbing her phone, she dialed Cutter's number.

"You are brilliant," she whispered into the receiver. "I don't know what possessed you take that journal or why you thought it would be helpful, but you were right. Those little details about Paris sent Kelly right over the edge."

Kelly pushed through the crowd of people as she attempted to get to the exit. As she neared her final human hurdle, she looked up to find Joey standing directly in front of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

"Nothing," she answered quickly. "I'm on my way out."

Joey stood there, dumbfounded for a moment as he watched her go. Spotting Aubrey at the table, he approached her. "Did you see Kelly?"

"Actually, yeah," Aubrey responded, her eyes wide and innocent, "I was telling her about the trip we were planning."

"Right," He forced a smile. "Did you decide where you want to go?"

"Yep," she said, pulling out a brochure for the hotel and pushing it over towards Joey, "Paris…Isn't this the perfect spot?"

Joey stared at the brochure for a moment, trying not to let on anything to Aubrey. "Did you uh…did you show this to Kelly?"

"What the brochure?" Aubrey asked. "No. I told her the name of the place and that I'd heard there was an open air market nearby and this heated fountain…"

Joey ran his hand over his face. "I've got to go," he said as he stood from the table.

"Go? Sweetie, you just got here."

"I know," he said, leaning in to give her a kiss, "but I have so much work to do and if we're gonna do a trip this big, I need to make sure I'm totally caught up before we leave, right? You want my undivided attention don't you?"

Aubrey smiled, "You bet."

"Ok, then." He smiled at her. "I'll see you at home."

Joey walked briskly out of the restaurant—determined to find Kelly.

Her fingertips ran over the carved etchings in the wood as she felt the warm tears stream down her face. It was a relief in some ways not having to hold them in. Being able to cry, to sob, to scream as much as loud as she wanted with no fear that anyone would hear her was good…and it helped, she thought, or at least she hoped it did. She cried for herself, for the life she'd never have. She cried for Joey, for the life he was going to have and for the bitch he was going to have to live with, but mostly, she realized, she cried for their dreams.

They had always been in each other's lives—even when they weren't technically together. Hell, he'd cared about her when she was sleeping with his brother. It just made sense to believe that somehow, someway they'd end up together, but tonight….after hearing Aubrey…it somehow ended that. Something about knowing that he'd told her about Paris…about her Paris, no their Paris—it showed her something—something she clearly desperately needed to see.

The carved initials in the tree would never change, and neither would the memories, but everything else…real life…moved on.

"Kel? Kel are you ok?"

She shifted slightly, the muffled sounds of her name mixing in with crackling leaves and wind. She was cold and she pulled her coat tighter around her body.

"God you must be freezing. What are you doing out here?" Joey whispered, brushing her hair out of her face.

The sound of his voice startled her and she turned her head quickly. "Joey?" she said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat, blinking several times. "Joey?" She looked around. Llantano mountain looked different with the first lights of morning beaming down on it.

"Yeah, Kel…Have you been out here all night?"

Kelly thought for a minute. She remembered sitting down in front of the tree. She must have drifted off. "I guess so," she said, standing to her feet.

"Kelly," he sighed. "I was worried sick about you. I looked everywhere. I…"

She turned around, stepping closer to him. "Why were you even looking for me? I thought you were planning a trip with your wife?" Her words came out in a rush and seemed harsh and cold. For a moment, she felt bad, almost apologetic, but then she remembered how it had felt to hear Aubrey gushing over the fountain and the open air market and her remorse quickly faded.

"I know…I know what she told you about that. Look…I told her to find somewhere for us to go. That's all. I didn't tell her I wanted to go to Paris."

"Don't lie to me," she spat, the tears returning to her eyes. Though she'd welcome their therapeutic benefits last night, this morning, in front of Joey, they weren't nearly as beneficial.

"Kel, I'm not. I'd never suggest that Aubrey and I go there. Paris was…It was…special."

"Yeah," she whispered. "I thought so too…at least until last night."

"What are you talking about?" He reached out grabbing her arm as she walked down the rolling hill towards her car.

"I'm talking the open air market with the great bread and cheeses, Joey. I'm talking about the great hotel you're gonna be staying in. You know, the one with the heated fountain that's just beautiful at night. I might be leaving out some of the details…I'm not sure. You'll need to ask Aubrey." Her eyes burned with tears and she knew any chance at maintaining her composure was shot, but at this point she didn't care. She wanted to hurt him—she wanted him to be just as blindsided as she had been.

He stood in silence, her words echoing in his head. Looking at her face, he knew he had to say something, though he had no idea what that would or should be. "I…What did Aubrey say to you?" he finally managed, his own voice strained.

Kelly's breath left her mouth in a quick burst. "Exactly what I just told you and maybe a little bit more. I was a little bit past listening at that point. She wanted to know if I had any tips about what the two of you could do to make Paris more romantic. She was rubbing it in my face, Joey. You know, it's one thing to choose her. It's one thing to marry her, but to tell her our memories and allow her to use them as ammunition to…"

"I didn't, Kelly. I swear. I'd never, ever do that to you."

She stopped for a moment, looking up at him. She'd known him for years and she'd always known when something was wrong. She'd always known when he was lying….and this time, he wasn't. He hadn't told her.

He reached out, taking her head. "I promise you. I never told her anything. I have no idea how she found out, but it wasn't from me….you have to believe that. Please tell me you believe that."

She felt her head nod slowly. "I believe you," she said softly, feeling the tears begin to stream down her face again as she felt herself being drawn into his arms. She closed her eyes as his arms tightened around her.

Joey sighed, enjoying for the moment, the simple pleasure of holding her close to him. He felt her body tense and he knew she was already beginning to think again. "Kelly," he whispered.

"You should go," she said softly. "You're supposed to be packing."

Her green eyes still sparkled with tears but the light in them was still there. The forced smile she flashed him paled in comparison to the ones she'd given him so many times before. The sensation of holding her close to him moments ago was an all too brief reminder of the nights he'd spent holding her in their bed. If he walked away now, he was walking away for good….and they both knew it.

"I can't," he finally said, his voice low, his eyes barely meeting hers.

"What?" Her voice shook as she spoke. The sound of her heart pounding echoed in her ears and although she knew she'd heard him correctly, she simply couldn't allow herself to get too excited too fast.

He stepped closer to her, smiling a little as he watched the light return to her eyes. "I'm not going to Paris with Aubrey."

"You're going to go somewhere else?"

He smiled wider this time, taking yet another step closer to her. "No. I'm going to leave you for a few hours and go find Aubrey. I'm going to tell her something that I should have told her months ago—something you knew long before I did…and then I'm going to come back here and you and I are going to go pack."

Her breath caught in her throat then and she swallowed hard. Bringing her shaking hand to her chest, she forced herself to take a breath. "What?"

"I love you, Kelly. I've never stopped. You and I are meant to be together and I think now we both know that. We've both tried being with other people and it just doesn't work…probably because it isn't supposed to. Last night when Aubrey told me what she'd done…that she'd told you we were going to Paris, I went crazy looking for you. I didn't stop until I found you…I couldn't."

"You did find me," she said softly, taking his hand.

"Of course I did," he smiled. "And now that I have, I'm not going to lose you again…that is, if you'll give this another try."

She felt the tears sting at her eyes again. "You know I will. I love you, Joey. That's never changed….ever."

"Good," he smiled. "Because you're the only girl I want to go to Paris with.