***14 months Earlier***
"Im so proud of you Wills. You absolutley killed it out there during that show tonight" Matt said as he and Willow lay in bed after a long night of celebrating Willows triumph on the X factor. "Ive never been more terrified in my life Matt, yet im relieved that one part of that terror is over" Willow replied as she placed her head on his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Deans gone away, Im not worrying about Victor, i cant. Not with Ruby growing and we've got your big match to look forward too as well" "I know Wills. I know Rubes is due close to Mania, are you and Jas going to be there?" Matt asked, as Willow kissed him before replying "As if we'd miss it. Of course we're going to be there Matt. We love you. I love you. I know we have to pack tomorrow but id love for the four of us to go do something fun" "I love you guys too. We can do whatever you want Wills" Matt said as he watched Willow yawn and close her eyes, as he did the same ten minutes later.
"Morning you two" Brooke said as Matt and Willow descended the stairs the following morning. "Morning Brooke. So...our last day in this place. Its going to be strange not having you and Chris around" Willow said as Matt headed to the coffee maker and poured two cups out for him and Willow. "I know Wills and theres kind of something else i, i mean we, need to tell you" Brooke said as Christian entered the room. "You havent spilled it have you babe?" he asked as Matt passed Willow her decaf. "Youre not pregnant are you B?" Willow asked as Brooke shook her head "Im not pregnant. Um, this is harder than i thought. We're not coming back to North Carolina" She said as Willow and Matt listened intently. "Mom is sick. Brit is already caring for her and the girls. Shes struggling to balance. I need to go back to Texas and help care for her" "Brooke, Christian. What can we say except... We're going to miss you in North Carolina" Matt said as Willow got up and hugged her best friend, as Christian asked "You guys arent mad?" "Why would we be mad? We love you guys and want you to be happy. If that means moving to Texas, we're happy for you" Matt said as Willow joined him by his side, "You guys are more than our best friends, youre family. Family comes first. At least we now have a great excuse to come to Texas" she said, placing her head on his shoulder.
Matt, Willow and Jasmine had a great last day in New York. They visited the museum which had become one of Jasmines favourite places. They spent the afternoon in Central Park, eating out one last time at Marea. As they entered the now empty house for the final time, a bit of sadness came over Willow. "You ok Wills?" Matt asked as Willow sat on the sofa as Jasmine picked out a movie for them to watch. "Im ok, its just weird coming here with Brooke and Christian gone. Everyone else headed back home this morning" Willow said as Jasmine came running over waving the dvd she had chosen. "I wanna watch this one momma" Jasmine said as she thrust it onto Willows knees. "Frozen huh?" Willow said as she passed it to Matt to put on. "Will you sing along for me momma?" Jasmine asked as she climbed onto the sofa next to Willow and snuggled into her. "Momma, do we have to leave New York? I like it here" Jasmine asked as Matt joined them on the sofa. "Unfortunatley we do Jas. But we're not going home straight away" he said as Jasmine looked at him confused. "Its a surprise Jas. You'll find out tomorrow" he said as Jasmine pretended to sulk as they watched the movie. Towards the end of the movie, Matt noticed that Jasmine was asleep and that Willow was starting to drift. He carefully picked up Jasmine and carried her upstairs to bed, returning around ten minutes later kissing Willows forehead as she opened her eyes. "Hey sleepy. You feeling ok?" He asked as Willow sat up on the sofa, "Im just tired Matt. Its been a very long ten weeks" She said as she leaned into him as he put his arms around her. "We've been through so much lately. We broke up, we got back together. Dean made us miserable, Victor is still out there but we're slowly getting back" she said moving his hands down to her ever growing bump, where Ruby had begun to kick. "We both did some stupid shit during these weeks, but this Matt, right here right now. This is my idea of perfect" "Its mine too Wills" Matt replied as he kissed her "And i know its been tough, most of that was my doing. But i will never stop making it up to you. I love you and the girls more than anything" "We love you too Matt. Im just happy that all of us get to spend some time together before Mania, before Rubes arrives" Willow said before kissing him. "You think Jas is going to like spending the next couple of days at the beach house?" she asked as Matt nodded and replied "She loves that house. She loves running round on the beach, splashing in the sea" "She really does, doesnt she" Willow said as she hid a yawn. "Why dont you go on up to bed Wills? We'll be having an early start tomorrow and im going to need my road warrior queen with me" Matt said as Willow slowly stood up and replied "What time did you want to head off? Before breakfast?" Matt nodded as he also stood. "Come on, lets go to bed. See if we can get a few hours sleep in this place for one last night" Willow said as placed her hand in his before whispering in his ear "In fact, why dont we..." before leading Matt upstairs to the bedroom for their final night in New York.
Matts alarm sounded at 3am. He stirred as he picked up his cell and turned it off. He wanted to get a quick shower and make sure everything was packed before waking Willow and getting Jasmine to the car before setting off. "What time is it Matt?" Willow asked sleepily, having also heard the alarm. "Its just gone 3am Wills. You stay in bed. Im going to go grab a quick shower and make sure we're all packed and ready to go" he said as he kissed her forehead. "Stay in bed Matt. Rubes is kicking. You can shower in a bit, and everything is already packed" She said as she pulled him back on to the bed. "Ok ok i'll stay for ten minutes" he said as he kissed her, placing his hands on her bump feeling Ruby kicking. "Shes kicking hard isnt she?" Matt said quietly as Willow smiled and nodded. "Im just glad youre here for this" she said almost silently and sadly. "You ok Wills? You just sounded a bit down" "Im ok. Its just we've all been so close together back home and now Brooke and Christian are leaving, Phil and Elly are considering moving to Chicago. We've all been together for so long, its like we're all breaking apart and i dont know what to do or how to feel" Willow replied sighing, before continuing "Im happy for them, dont get me wrong. Im so happy for them but at the same time its like my support network is falling apart" "Everything will be alright Wills. Im not going anywhere. Neither are Amy or Trish. They'll be round having playdates with Ruby and Max and Maddie. Jas will be going to school..." "What if i get sick Matt? Like really really sick. Whose going to be there for the girls if i cant. Who'll be there for me?" Willow asked as Matt held her tighter and replied "I will. I'll take an extended leave if necessary. Im sure Vince could manage without me, so get those dark thoughts out of your head. You are not alone in any of this. Now are we ready to go take those few days up by the beach?"
"You were right Matt. This week here has been perfect" Willow said as Matt joined her on the veranda overlooking the ocean, as their week at the beach house drew to a close. "Jas was out as soon as she hit her bed. Still heard nothing from Beth?" he asked as he put his arm around her. "Not yet. I dont want to think about Matt. What i said the other morning, im sorry for being negative. Everything just kind of hit me at once, everything just seemed dark and bleak with no way out. Being here has really helped clear my head" she said as she leaned into him. "Im not going to let anything ruin this time we have together. Whatever happens, happens. We've been through worse and its made us stronger. The only thing i would change is Victor being away forever" "He'll get caught Wills. He'll make a mistake a mistake and the cops will get him" Matt said as he felt Willow shiver. "As for the other morning, forget it. Youre allowed to feel sad, angry, upset however you want. Im always going to be here, im not going anywhere. I love you and the girls" he added as Willow leaned further into him, shivering again. "We love you too Matt" Willow said as she sighed "Do we really have to head back tomorrow? Its so peaceful here" "I wish we could Wills but we need to get back to some normality before i have to head back on the road. Its getting late and colder, lets go inside warm up work out how we want to spend our last week together? Figure out if you want to take up Vinces off from January..." Matt asked as Willow nodded as she turned to face him and kiss him. "Could do, but i have a better idea" she said flirtily as she led him indoors.
Willow awoke in the early hours, when it was still dark out. She looked at Matt who was still sleeping, before she suddenly pictured him as Seth and felt a wave of guilt was over her. She got out of bed and walked over to the chair by the window. Why am i picturing Matt as Seth? It was a passing fling thats done. Over. she thought to herself as she felt Ruby moving. So why do i feel so guilty and why can i not get him out of my head? I love Matt more than anything, i need to forget Seth. Push him out of my head she told herself as she thought she saw someone on the beach, staring straight at her. She must have dozed off as she woke up to Matt crounching in front of her, daylight starting to break. "Hey you ok Wills? How long you been sitting here for?" He asked as she shivered. "I woke up early Matt, i couldnt sleep so i came and sat here. I must have nodded off but something started bothering me Matt" Willow said as Matt tried to get her back into bed to warm up. "Whats bothering you?" "I dont think Dean was working alone" she said quietly as Matt joined her in bed and asked "What do you mean Wills? Of course he was doing it alone" "Remember when "Mike" came to visit in New York? I told him two lies. Graces name was Maggie and that Eric was called Martin" she said as it dawned on Matt "Dean would have known they were lies straight away. He practically grew up with Grace as his second mom and he shot Eric" Willow said as Matt put his arms around her "who else could it be?" he asked as Willow shrugged her shoulders. "I dont know Matt and to be honest, i dont know if i want to. I cant put myself through it again. The only solution that makes any sort of sense to me is that he was working with Victor, but even that sounds crazy" "Do you want to find out if he was? How much did Victor know about everything? About Mike and Grace?" Matt asked as Willow shook her head. "Victor never knew about them. I didnt want him knowing incase he used them as yet another way to torment me. To be honest, I cant face either of them. Im not going to stress about it" she said as she yawned. "Why dont we spend the day here Wills? Go back later than we planned?" Matt said as Willow closed her eyes and replied sleepily "that would be nice"
The Hardys spent the last day at the beach house on the beach. Willow smiling from the kitchen as she watched Jasmine running about on the sand. Running into the water, splashing Matt. Ruby resting inside after waking her a few hours after her early rise. Willow massaged her bump and said to herself "Its so beautiful and peaceful here Rubes. Your dad and sister are having great fun on the beach. I just wish i knew what was wrong with me and that youre doing ok" she took one last glace at Matt and Jasmine on the beach before going to answer her cell ringing in the living area. She took one look at the caller ID and thought Oh shit. Its time before answering "Hey Dr Britt"