The Long And Winding Road

Notes: I don't own the show, the characters, etc. Thanks for your continued interest. I appreciate the comments and encouragement I've received so far.

Chapter 5 -- Damage Control

Emma, Liberty and Patrick now stood outside the Yorke house.

"That was unusual," Liberty observed, breaking the silence.

"Never has so much crap spread so quickly in one room," Patrick commented. "And not a shovel in sight. Emma, what's the matter with you?"

"Patrick," Emma began, trying not to get upset, "I'm so sorry I got you mixed up in all of this, but JT heard us talking and wanted to know what I was there to tell him, so I had to say something and…"

"And with all of us hovering, you panicked and couldn't tell JT the truth," Patrick correctly reasoned. "It's okay. You startled me. But no permanent damage. I'm also hoping that by getting JT to come along tomorrow night, there's no permanent damage for the two of you either."

"So you two don't want to go on this date together tomorrow?" Liberty asked.

"Absolutely not," Emma answered quickly. "Oh, no offense, Patrick."

"Then you really do want to be with JT?"

"Liberty, how did you know that…" Emma started to ask, but then caught herself. "Err, I mean, how could you know? Or rather…me and JT? What makes you think I want to be with JT?"

Liberty rolled her eyes and then responded.

"A) It's looked obvious for a long time to anyone who's paid the slightest attention to either one of you. B) You looked miserable in there lying to JT about deciding to date Patrick. And C) I'm not an idiot, Emma. JT was so shocked when you said what you said, I think he panicked and accepted Patrick's prodding to turn your evening into a double date. That's where I fit in."

Emma was surprised by Liberty's words. She hadn't realized that her feelings had been so easy to read.

"Liberty, maybe…maybe JT just really wants to date you."

"Hello, Emma. Are you new here?" Liberty responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yes, okay, he took me by surprise by asking me out. A part of me is thrilled that after all these years he asked me on a date…without my having to blackmail him or force him into it.

"But the grown-up me knows that he knows something's wrong with your story. Emma, you're a miserable liar to begin with, and you couldn't convincingly lie to JT to save your life. He knows something is not as it should be, and he needed a way to stay in the picture tomorrow to figure out what's going on."

"No offense," Emma then said, "but if that's true, he could have asked Manny. She was standing there, too."

"Emma, even for a fake date, I doubt he wants it to be with someone who's already broken his heart several times. I'm a safe friend. One who's happy to help him but isn't going to get the wrong idea."

"If you say so, Liberty. I…just can't think about this right now. Tonight I was going to finally tell him what I thought, but maybe it's better that I didn't. No matter what he may suspect, I'm sure he still doesn't know what I really think, so he doesn't have to worry about telling me I'm crazy for thinking of him in a more than friendly way. Tomorrow will be like any other Saturday with JT…just with a fake double date added to the mix. I'm going home."

"Wait, can I give you a ride?" Patrick asked.

"No, I just want to be by myself. Oh, and Patrick, I know JT said I should pick a restaurant, but…"

"I'll take care of everything," he promised her. "Don't worry about a thing."

"Don't worry?" she repeated. "That's funny. Good night you two."

Emma then walked off into the night.

"Idiots!" Patrick exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Liberty asked, starting to look offended.

"Not you," he quickly clarified. "Her. Him. Both of them. They're crazy about each other but neither one wants to jeopardize their friendship by telling the truth about what they really want. And now look what's happened."

"Dinner for four," she answered, "with an extra helping of tension."

"Liberty, do you have time to go get some coffee?"

"I suppose. Why?"

"I have a feeling if we leave things up to them, they'll never get it right. I came up with this ridiculous double date idea, so I think the two of us should talk strategy for how we're going to handle it."

"I don't know, Patrick," she said, feeling uncomfortable about his suggestion. "I don't like the idea of meddling in my friends' business."

"That's perfectly reasonable, Liberty," he responded. "Just remember one thing."

"What's that?"

"At the moment, JT's probably doubting whether he'll ever have a chance with Emma. And Manny's still inside with him. I'm sure she's more than ready to provide him all the comfort she thinks he'll need if she believes she now has another shot."

Such a notion was all Liberty needed to hear.

"On second thought, Patrick, coffee and strategy sounds like a VERY good idea. Let's go."

As the pair prepared to leave, Emma slowly walked back to her house with many thoughts running through her head.

'Well, I think I just messed up any chance of being with JT. Bad enough I didn't get to talk to him about things when we were alone, but then I freak when we're back in the living room with the others and make up that stupid date announcement. He must be mad at me AND Patrick. Or maybe it's worse and it didn't bother him at all.

'But why would he then agree to double and invite Liberty? Does he really see that it was just my lousy excuse to stall for more time? So that I could tell him the truth without a lot of people – especially Manny – watching. But what if he doesn't get it?

'Well, if he really doesn't care that I would go out with someone else, especially after this last year, then I'll have to show him that I don't care if he wants to date Liberty. I'll make sure JT can't see that he's the one I truly want by my side at the restaurant.'

Back inside the Yorke house, meanwhile, Manny sat on the couch watching JT pace back and forth.

"JT, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet," she commented.

"What?"

"I know what you said earlier," she continued, "but relax and talk to me."

JT stopped pacing and sat down beside Manny on the couch.

"Why would she walk over here tonight just to talk about her dating plans?" JT asked, confused. "That's not urgent news. It doesn't make sense. Why not e-mail me if she couldn't get me on the phone?"

"Look at it this way," Manny said, "if Emma hadn't come over, we'd have missed another glimpse of her 'charming' personality in action…Sorry."

"It's okay, Manny. She WAS a little rude to you."

"Thanks for setting her straight in the kitchen, JT."

"Uh…sure. No problem."

Manny could tell by the look on JT's face that there was more to this than she knew.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, I explained the situation," JT replied, "but then I started to kiss her."

"Started to?"

"Pat interrupted so that I could help end the glare-athon between you and Liberty."

"Sorry," she said, genuinely apologetic.

"I'm not sure what Emma was going to say," JT admitted, "but I really don't think she was going to go out with Pat. But then I tried to kiss her, and I guess she was so disgusted with the idea that she came up with this whole after-movie date with him to get me to back off."

"If she HAD kissed you, she'd know better than to run off," Manny said, smiling at the memory of past kisses she'd shared with JT.

"Pat was just saying earlier tonight that I should tell her I want us to be a couple. He wouldn't have done that if he had any plans of his own to date her. Emma's just looking for any excuse to avoid dealing with the obvious fact that I'm in love with her. And…"

"Wait," Manny stopped him. His feelings for Emma didn't come as a surprise to her at this point, but she hadn't expected him to admit it out loud, especially to her. "Back up, JT. So…it's true? You really are in love with her?"

"Yeah," JT replied without hesitation. "I am. Not that it matters now."

"Because you think she's looking for an excuse to avoid dealing?"

"Looks that way, Manny."

Manny knew this was wrong, even if JT couldn't see it.

"Of course," Manny said sarcastically. "You're absolutely right, JT. She can't deal with you. And that's why she's still going to spend several hours alone with you in a dark room tomorrow before the double date. What a perfect way to avoid you."

"Hey, I didn't say it made any sense," he argued.

"Look, JT, I've stopped trying to figure out what goes on in Emma's head. I don't know what she was going to say for sure either, but I think she would have said whatever it really was if only so many people weren't standing around to hear it."

"You're saying…?"

"That she froze," Manny explained. "I could tell by looking at her that she was trying to back out of this corner she thought she was in. I'm betting she's as crazy about you as you are about her. The problem with being crazy for each other is that you're both already just plain crazy."

"Okay Manny. She may feel that way about me or she may not, but either way I'm calling her bluff. Thus, the double date with Liberty. Emma will see that if she can do whatever she wants – even if she doesn't really want it – then so can I."

"Yeah, you're both crazy all right," Manny observed.

"Lunatics in love?" JT offered. "Throw in some Siamese twins and we could all go on a talk show."

They both laughed at JT's comments.

"Okay, Goofy," Manny then said. "So update me. When did you fall in love with Emma? It's looked obvious to me for awhile, but when did you start to notice?"

"We've always been good friends," JT replied.

"Yeah, but there's something different. You've seemed closer than ever. More than good friends, now it's like you're these two star-crossed lovers."

"I was thinking we were more like Laurel & Hardy," he joked.

Manny frowned.

"Heckle & Jeckle?" he tried again. "Okay. I'll be serious. Yeah, as close as we've always been, we've…gotten even closer in the last couple years."

"No! Really? You don't say!" Manny said sarcastically, but with a smile on her face.

"And then she was a big help to me back in April," JT added.

"You mean after what happened to your mom?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "After she died. Then on top of that, I broke up with Melanie soon after."

"Toby moved out of town that same month, didn't he?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That was around the first of the month, a couple weeks before everything else."

"I guess it didn't help having one of your closest friends gone when you were going through so much."

"Toby and I hadn't exactly been best friends in awhile," JT explained. "Friendships can grow apart. But yeah, it would have been nice if he'd still been around. But not all friendships grow apart. That's never happened with Emma and me. With us, it's been just the opposite."

"I was so sorry about your mother," Manny said. "I remember wanting to say something. Do something. But you and I were keeping our distance mostly. And Emma's always been protective of you, but she seemed to go into ultra-protector mode at that time."

"At least you came to the funeral," JT told her. "I appreciated that. Hey, even people I didn't feel very close to showed up to pay respects. Craig in particular surprised me. You know he'd lost his mom years ago. Anyway, Craig urged me to seek him out if I ever wanted to talk. Our situations were a lot different, but loss is loss, right? We talked a few times after that and now we've actually become friends, believe it or not. And my father, well, he came back into town the night before the funeral, but had to leave again after the burial and before the reception at Emma's."

"I'm sorry JT, but I have to say I think that was horrible for your father to leave and go back to work like that."

"I could handle it," he assured. "It's not like I wanted to be around him. Or anyone really."

"But Emma?"

"You know Emma," JT smiled. "She'll take care of you whether you like it or not. And the more you try to fight it, the more she's sure she's doing the right thing."

"I remember," Manny agreed, "though it's been ages since me and her had such a good friendship."

"She was amazing," he said.

There was a pause, and Manny noticed the big grin on JT's face.

"And she's still amazing, Manny. The best person I know."

JT then stopped smiling.

"But whether she wants to date Pat or just wants me to think she wants to date Pat, there's something she's not telling me and I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing how much that bothers me. I will continue to be the perfect friend and show her I can have a good time out on a double date with her…even though I'd give anything if she was going on that date with me instead of with Pat."

"JT, I know I'm not one to talk, but why not try a little honesty? Call her and figure out together who really thinks what."

"Honesty?" he questioned. "That would indeed be the mature thing to do. It would never work."

"Silly me…Well, it's getting late. I think I'd better go now."

They both stood and JT walked Manny to the door.

"Manny?"

"Yeah JT?"

"This talking thing we're doing now…This is nice."

"JT, you don't have to say…"

"No," he interrupted. "I was wrong before. It's good to talk to you again. I forgot how comfortable it is. I still can't make Emma change her attitude about you…and maybe not about anything anymore. But I think you and I could be friends again, Manny. SHOULD be friends again. Real friends."

Manny started to smile.

"Now see, JT, wasn't that simple enough? My diabolical plan worked just as I hoped! Kidding."

They both laughed.

"Thanks for giving this…us…another shot at friendship," she then said as JT opened the door. "Let me know how things work out tomorrow."

"I will," he promised.

Manny walked out the door, but then called back to him.

"Goodnight, JT. And BE HONEST WITH HER!"

"You and your crazy ideas," JT joked.

Later on, Liberty and Patrick shared a booth at Ryan's Grille.

"It's a crazy idea," Liberty determined upon hearing his plan. "I still say if we could just get them together and say something like 'Emma, meet JT. He's obviously in love with you. And wake up, JT. This girl Emma is clearly in love with you, as well,' then maybe it could be easy."

"Just remember who we're dealing with, Liberty. Those two never seem to do anything the easy way, even when it's what they both want. No, we have to convince them they can tell one another the truth…without it looking like we're trying to make them do something."

"True. But won't they be upset with us?"

"They'll be mad as hell," he answered confidently. "But it's for their own good. Besides, if everything goes how we expect it to, they'll be thanking us soon enough."