"That was such a delicious dinner," Traci said, entering the living room, followed by the family.
"Mrs. Martinez outdid herself with the dessert," Jack said.
"I noticed, Kyle had two helpings," Summer said.
"It was good," Kyle said, not looking at Summer.
"Well, I know Diana liked what she had," Rachel said, "But I think she's getting a bit sleepy. It's been big day, I should get her to bed."
"Do you mind if she sleeps here tonight?" Kyle said, "We can set you up in a room too."
"It's fine with me, if she stays here," Rachel said, "But I think, I will retire to my own bed tonight."
"You get to sleepover," Kyle grinned at Diana.
"I should put her down," Rachel said.
"I'll go with you," Kyle said.
Rachel started up the stairs with Diana, when Summer said, "Kyle? Can I talk to you?"
"About what," Kyle plainly said.
"Oh, come on, you're not still upset with me," Summer said, "Are you?"
"Why would you think that," Kyle said.
"For one thing, the anger in your voice," Summer said, "I haven't done anything wrong."
"I have to put Diana to bed," Kyle said.
"Her mother can do that," Summer said, "I would really like to talk."
"Kyle, are you still coming?" Rachel called from upstairs.
"I need to read her a bedtime story," Kyle said, "My daughter comes first." Kyle walked to the stairs, ascending them responding, "On my way!"
With disbelief in her eyes, Summer stared at Kyle until he disappeared. Traci walked over to Summer and said, "Hi."
"Why does he have be so…" Summer trailed off.
"Are you two having trouble?" Traci said.
"An argument got out of hand," Summer said.
"I'm sure if you talk to him, you can work it out," Traci said.
"I tried," Summer said, "He's obviously not interested." Summer sighed and said, "Why do I bother?"
Grabbing her winter coat, Summer said, "Traci, can you do me favor? When Kyle comes back, tell him I left."
"Are you sure you don't want to wait for him?" Traci said.
"If he wants to talk to me, I'll be at my Dad's," Summer said, walking out the front door.
"It was so cute how she fell asleep while you were reading to her," Rachel said, descending the stairs with Kyle.
"She was exhausted from all the fun today," Kyle said.
"Let's hope that means she has a good night's sleep," Rachel said.
"Jump!" Traci excitedly said, amid a spirited game of charades in the living room.
Watching Ashley act out clues, while Jack and Traci tried to guess the answer, Kyle and Rachel smiled at each other, with a chuckle.
"Happy…excited…" Jack frowned his guesses.
Ashley pointed to her hand.
"Palm," Traci said.
Ashley indicated that was correct, and tried to act out the remaining clue.
"Palm Springs!" Tracy said.
"Yes!" Ashley said.
"How did you possibly get that?" Jack said.
Traci broke into laughter, with Kyle saying, "Did we miss something?"
"Kyle, good, you're here," Jack said, "The ladies are beating me at charades. We need some more manpower in this game."
"It's not really my thing," Kyle said.
Gesturing to Rachel, Ashley said, "If you want ladies against men, it would still be three against two."
"If you like I can wake up Diana and we can have even teams of two," Rachel joked.
"I don't think she would participate very well," Kyle said.
"Maybe that's enough charades for tonight," Jack said, "Did my granddaughter go to sleep well?"
"She was right out," Rachel said, "I wish she would do that every night."
Kyle wandered a few steps, his eyes searching the room. Walking up to him, Traci said, "If you are looking for Summer, she's not here."
"What do you mean?" Kyle said, "Where is she?"
"I believe she went to her father's place," Traci said.
"Why would she do that without saying anything to me?" Kyle said.
"I think that was the point," Traci said, "Summer told me something about an argument that went too far. She said she tried to talk to you, but you wouldn't listen."
"It's true, I acted like a jerk," Kyle said, "I didn't think she would walk out though. I came downstairs to apologize."
"You can always call her," Traci suggested.
"I think Summer and I need a cooling off period," Kyle said.
"Don't wait too long," Traci said, "It's never good to let these things fester."
Kyle nodded before, sitting on the couch with a sigh.
Sitting next to him, Rachel said, "Did Summer leave?"
"She walked out on me and went to her Dad's," Kyle said.
"Well, you were being…" Rachel started.
"A first class jerk?" Kyle finished for her.
"That's one way to put it," Rachel said.
"Then I blew her off and she left," Kyle said.
"You could call her and ask her to come home," Rachel said.
"I will," Kyle said, "I'm just not in the right frame of mind to do it now."
"Kyle," Rachel began, "You didn't mean what you said, right?"
"What did I say?" Kyle said.
"About me and Diana moving in here," Rachel said, "About…marrying me again. That was all just to get under Summer's skin, you didn't really mean it."
"The marrying part," Kyle started, "No, I didn't mean to say that."
Rachel nodded, "I didn't think so."
"But the part about moving in," Kyle said, "Maybe that would be a good idea. We could both be under the same roof with Diana and show her even though we aren't together, we are still family."
"I doubt Summer would agree with you," Rachel said, "I know we promised to try and get along, but put her and me under the same roof and watch us tear each other apart."
"It's something to think about," Kyle said.
"I don't think it's the best idea," Rachel said.
"Why not?" Kyle said.
"Because I would see you and Summer all the time," Rachel said.
"What's wrong with that?" Kyle said.
"It's still hard for me," Rachel blurted out.
"What is?" Kyle said.
"Seeing you with Summer," Rachel said, "I am trying to support your relationship, but watching the two of you, reminds me of what we lost."
"You seem like you're in a good place to move on," Kyle said, "You will find someone and he will be one lucky guy."
"Do you ever think about it?" Rachel said.
"You mean us?" Kyle said, "Of course it comes to mind every now and then."
"For me too," Rachel said.
"I don't think we should dwell on it, though," Kyle said.
"I miss it sometimes," Rachel said.
"I know," Kyle said, "We had something special. Even though we didn't stay together, we got the best thing ever, out of it."
"Diana?" Rachel smiled.
"Just to think, she's here, because of us," Kyle said.
Kyle and Rachel's eyes locked, with a lingering look. "What are you waiting for?" Rachel said.
"Umm?" Kyle said, raising his eyebrows.
"Call Summer," Rachel said, getting up from the couch.
Hearing the front door open, Nick walked into the living room, from the back rooms. When he saw his daughter, he smiled and said, "Summer." Expecting to see Kyle, follow her, Nick was surprised to see she was alone.
"Is Kyle too afraid to come in?" Nick joked.
"No, I came by myself," Summer said.
"You drove alone?" Nick said, "Summer you just got out of the hospital."
"I know," Summer said, "But I had to get out of there."
"Did you and Kyle have a fight?" Nick said.
"I don't know what happened with Kyle," Summer said, "It all started when Fen came by the house. He wanted to check on me and he had a gift for me. We were having a friendly visit and then Kyle flipped on his jealousy and it got ugly."
Nick took Summer's hand and lead her to the couch, sitting with her. "What did he do?" Nick said.
"He embarrassed me in front of Fen, he insulted him and yelled at everyone," Summer said, "Then he made some weird attempt to solidify his relationship with Rachel, right in front of me. I know he just wanted to get to me. Kyle turned into someone I didn't know. When I tried to talk to him about it, he just wasn't interested. He walked away from me, so I came here."
"I'm sorry he subjected you to that," Nick said, "And I'm not his biggest fan, but maybe enough time has passed that you can go home and talk with him now. He can't ignore you forever."
"Kyle knows how to hold a grudge," Summer said.
"I don't even see what you did wrong here," Nick said.
"Right?" Summer said, "I guess Kyle doesn't trust in us like I thought he did. He was so threatened by Fen's visit."
"If that's the way he is, he doesn't deserve you," Nick said.
Summer's phone signaled a call coming in. Noticing it was Kyle, she put her phone away without answering.
"Was that him?" Nick said.
"I'm not ready to talk to him yet," Summer said.
"Daddy?" Christian walked into the room, rubbing his eye.
"Hey buddy," Nick said, "Look who's here."
"Hi Christian," Summer said, "I'm happy to see you. Did you have a good Christmas?"
Christian nodded. "I'll say he did," Nick said, "Santa was very good to him this year."
"As it should be," Summer said.
"What do you say we get you ready for bed," Nick said, "Summer, has to go home."
"Actually, I was hoping I could stay here tonight?" Summer said.
"Sure," Nick said, "Are you sure you're okay? No lasting effects from the bump on the head?"
"No, I'm fine," Summer said.
"Did you get hurt?" Christian said.
"Oh, I was just clumsy and I fell and hit my head," Summer said, "It was a silly thing to do. Not to worry, I am okay."
"Would you read me a bedtime story?" Christian said.
"I would love to," Summer said, "You go and get ready. I just have a quick phone call to make and I'll be right there."
Giving Summer her privacy, Nick stood up and said, "Let's see if you can beat me in a race to your room."
Christian darted away. Looking at Summer, Nick said, "He's so fast." He smiled at Summer as he retreated.
Picking up her phone, Summer paused with a sigh, before making her call. As her call connected, Summer said, "Hi, it's me."
"Summer?" Fen said, on the other end, "I'm surprised to hear from you." Fen put a hand over one ear, to block out the singing and laughing going on around him.
"Sounds like you're having fun with your family," Summer said.
"Yeah," Fen said, "Give these people some turkey and they start acting like one."
Summer laughed. "You know I just really wanted to call an apologize about before."
"It's forgotten," Fen said, "That wasn't your fault. Summer, you don't sound like yourself, are you okay?"
"Not really," Summer said.
"Is Abbott still giving you a hard time?" Fen said.
"No, I'm staying at my Dad's tonight," Summer said.
"Things got that bad after I left?" Fen said.
"I don't really want to talk about it," Summer said, "I just needed to hear a friendly voice."
"Well, thing are still in full swing here, if you want to come over," Fen said, "We would love to have you. I can pick you up if you like."
"As much as that sounds like fun, I'm really tired," Summer said, "Thank you, but I think I'm going to turn in early."
"Of course," Fen said, "You need your rest."
"We can touch base in the next day or so," Summer said.
"For sure," Fen said, "Are you sure you're okay? You sound really off."
"It's been a stressful few days," Summer said, "And like I said, I'm tired."
"Okay," Fen said, "I'll let you go then. Take care of yourself."
"I will," Summer said, "Have fun over there."
"I'll try," Fen said, amused at the hijinks going on around him, "Have a good night."
"Bye," Summer said, disconnecting her call.
Summer brought up Kyle's number and hesitated to call.
Kyle sat alone in the Abbott living room, all others having dispersed for the night. Kyle kept checking his phone, hoping Summer would call him back. He had left her a message, apologizing for the way he acted, telling her he loved her and to please come home.
His phone beeped and Kyle checked his notification, quickly opening his message, when he realized it was from Summer.
"Hi Kyle, I am spending the night at my Dad's. I will talk to you tomorrow," Summer's message read.
Sitting forward, with his eyes on the message, Kyle exhaled, "What?"
Lola walked out of the bedroom the next morning, to find Austin sleeping on the living room couch. She walked over and watched him, deciding to let him sleep. She spied the ring box still sitting on the coffee table. Picking it up, she admired it. Looking at Austin, she whispered "I'm so sorry." She replaced the box and walked into the kitchen.
The sound of Lola rummaging in the kitchen, caused Austin to stir. Opening his eyes, he sat up when he realized Lola was there.
Noticing Austin was on his feet, Lola turned to him and said, "Good morning."
"Good morning," Austin said. He paused and said, "Is it really?"
"I'm sorry, you slept on the couch," Lola said, "I'm sure it wasn't very comfortable."
"You didn't give me any choice," Austin said, "You locked yourself in the bedroom."
"I shouldn't have done that," Lola said.
Austin waited for Lola to say more, but she remained silent. "So, that's it then?" Austin said, "You don't have anything else to say?"
"I don't know what to say," Lola said.
"How about explaining to me, what happened last night?" Austin said, "I proposed to you and you ran crying into the bedroom. Are you that repulsed at the thought of marrying me?"
"No, of course not," Lola said.
"Lola, I don't understand what's going on with you," Austin said.
"I can't marry you," Lola said.
"Would you like to tell me why?" Austin said, "I thought you and I were on the same page about starting a life together."
"We were," Lola said.
"Were?" Austin said, "Lola, you better start explaining yourself. I am getting more confused by the minute. When did things change? Did I do something?"
Taking his hands, Lola said, "You are an incredible man and heaven knows I love you. I can't accept your proposal, because I am leaving."
"Lola, if you are not ready to get married, then we can talk about your reasons," Austin said, "We can plan to do it in the future, but you don't have to break up with me."
"I've had a job opportunity come up," Lola said, "To open my own restaurant and maybe even a chain of them someday."
"That's wonderful," Austin said, "Congratulations."
"The job is in Miami," Lola said, "It's an incredible opportunity, I can't pass it up."
"And you shouldn't," Austin said, "When were you planning to tell me about this?"
"I was going to wait until after the holidays," Lola said, "Then you gave me this romantic proposal and I didn't know how to tell you."
"I don't want to be apart from you," Austin said, "But there's an easy solution to all of this. I can go with you."
"What?" Lola said, "Austin what about your job?"
"I'm a bartender," Austin said, "I'm pretty sure they have them in Miami too. Maybe I can even find a better job. This bartending thing was just supposed to be temporary anyway."
"Your sister is here," Lola said, "And I know how close are. You are each other's only family."
"Well, the only family that's not behind bars," Austin said. "They have these things called phones and video chats. We can come back to visit and maybe Tess can come out to see us. She will be happy for us and she's not alone with Mariah."
"You would really do all of this for me?" Lola said.
"All that matters, is us being together," Austin said, "No matter where we are."
"Austin…" Lola said, hugging him.
"Please don't walk away from us," Austin said.
Pulling back from Austin's arms, Lola took a step away and clasping her hands in front of her she said, "Okay."
"Okay…what?" Austin said.
"Ask me again," Lola said.
"Ask you…you mean..?" Austin said, gesturing to the ring.
"Go and get it," Lola said.
Austin grabbed ring and approached Lola again. "Go ahead," she said.
Holding ring out Austin said, "Will you…"
"Ah…" Lola said, stopping him. Waving her hand downward, she instructed him to bend one knee.
Austin granted her request and his heart began to pound harder as he looked up at her and spoke. "Lola Rosales, you are the most amazing woman I have ever known. Would you do me the incredible honor or becoming my wife. Will you marry me?"
"Yes," Lola confidently said, breaking into a smile.
"Yes…" Austin repeated with a big grin. He stood up and put the ring on Lola's finger.
"It's so beautiful," Lola said.
"I love you," Austin said.
"Oh, I love…" Lola started, before Austin cut her off with a kiss.
Kyle entered the living room from the kitchen, just as the front door opened and Summer walked through the door. Stopping when they saw each other, Kyle was the first to speak. "Finally," he said, "I was beginning to wonder if you were spending a second night away from home."
"I was hoping you would be in a better mood by now," Summer said, "I guess I was wrong."
"You're right," Kyle said, correcting his tone, "I apologize. I really am happy you're home."
"Thank you," Summer said.
"Would you like to tell me, why you felt the need to walk out last night?" Kyle said.
"If you have to ask me that, we are in real trouble," Summer said.
"I know, I acted badly," Kyle said, "But we could have talked about things and got past this."
"I tried," Summer said, "You were not interested in talking to me. You walked away from me, so that's why I left."
"I went to put my daughter to bed," Kyle protested.
"It was the tone of your voice," Summer said, "Kyle, last night you turned into someone I didn't like."
"I saw things I didn't like either," Kyle said, "I thought you might have gone running right to him."
"What are you talking about?" Summer said.
"Baldwin," Kyle said.
"You think I was with someone else last night?" Summer said, "Are you actually accusing me of cheating on you? I was at my Dad's. If you don't believe me, ask him."
"I never said, I didn't believe you," Kyle said, "It's just you were so happy to see him before."
"Why are you so threatened by my friendship with Fen?" Summer said, "Do you not trust that I love you?"
"I know you love me and I love you," Kyle said, "But I saw the look in your eyes when you were with him yesterday. I thought I was the only person, who got that look from you. I misinterpreted and let my emotions get the best of me."
"They got the best of you alright," Summer said, "You were downright nasty."
"I'm sorry," Kyle said, "The thought of someone taking you away, made me a little crazy."
"Kyle, we need to talk," Summer said, "I'm afraid we're heading down the wrong path."
"We can get back on track," Kyle said, "We always do."
"It bothers me, that from one innocent visit from a friend, you thought I was looking away from you, for affection," Summer said, "Do you not trust me anymore?"
"Of course, I trust you with my life," Kyle said, "This is different for me. Not too long ago, you were with Fen and I was on the outside looking in."
Putting her hands on the sides of Kyle's cheeks, Summer said, "When are you going to get it through your head, that I am with you and only you?"
"From now on," Kyle said, "I really am sorry, I made you that uncomfortable. I will try to be more understanding of your friendship with what's his name."
"His name is Fen," Summer said.
"Yeah, I know," Kyle said.
"Why do we make each other so crazy?" Summer said
"I could show you why," Kyle said, kissing her.
"I'm sorry, I walked out on you," Summer said.
"I'm sorry, I made you feel like you had to," Kyle said.
"We can't keep doing this to each other," Summer said.
"I think I know a good way we can stop," Kyle said.
"Oh, what's that?" Summer said.
"What would you think, if we got married?" Kyle said.
Summer stared at Kyle, exhaling with a smile.
Waving his finger back and forth, Kyle said, "I'm not sure what this means."
Summer threw her arms around Kyle. "Ah, now I understand," he smiled.