A/N: Well, there are still some out there reading this! Thank you! I also really appreciate the few reviews, both for the feedback and for the encouragement on my other writing project. :)

Again, this story is pretty much complete. Just some little editing, maybe a couple new things, and a few tweaks to things. I did finally connect to the ending - which has been written for a long long time. That was the reason I had stopped this so long ago so ...YAY!

I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's going to start jumping forward a tiny bit. Remember, we are back to Steph and she has reached her low point. So upwards and onwards!

Reviews are always so gratefully appreciated.


A Change In Me

Chapter Twenty-Three


I had broken up with Tom after our weekend away. He didn't seem too surprised about my decision when I told him what had happened. He also let me know that I talked a lot about Joe when I was drunk. He wished me luck and said that if I ever was really ready to move on to look him up. That was nice I guess, but it just made me feel worse. I was finally ready to admit that I hadn't really dealt with my feelings about Joe or, even worse, Dickie. It was time for me to be on my own again and work through things. I was even considering counseling. As bad as I felt about what happened, I couldn't help but be thankful that not only was Sophia okay, it was probably the wake up call I needed to make a change.

Unfortunately, life doesn't really care about our plans. It was the week before Thanksgiving when my world once more took a sharp turn. I had just put Sophia to bed on Wednesday night when the phone rang. Something suddenly seized my chest, and I somehow knew it was not good news. No one ever called that late on the house phone. I immediately thought of Valerie, wondering if her little slip about her marriage during our last call was coming to a head. Walking down the stairs, I saw my mom sitting on the couch, nodding along to the phone in her hand. Dad brushed past me on the stairs.

"Steph, it's your grandfather. He's in the ER. We will call you when we know more." He ran on up the stairs, leaving me feeling helpless and scared.

"Mom?" I called softly. She looked at me, and I could see the tears in her eyes. She gestured for me to come on down.

I sat on the coffee table in front of her and just waited. Once she was done, she surprised us both by reaching forward and hugging me.

"He's had a heart attack. They aren't sure if he is even healthy enough for surgery." She hugged me again. "I'm not ready."

We both cried together for a minute while Dad returned with his shoes. He handed Mom her sweater and shoes before going over to the closet to get their coats.

"Helen, let's go. I want you to be able to talk to him before they take him back. Stephanie, I will call you as soon as we get there and I know what they are doing."

"I want to go," I blurted out, jumping up from my seat. "Please, I can be ready in two minutes."

"It's going to be a long night, honey. Sophia is asleep. Just let us get there first before we make any more decisions. I'm sure Joe will come get her if we need him to."

And with one more hug from my mom, they left through the back of the house. I stood there in the living room, numb, as I watched their headlights drift past the front window.

I ran up the stairs and quickly got my phone from its charger, making sure not to disturb Sophia. There was nothing I could do but wait. I did decide to call Val and let her know in case no one else had. Unfortunately, I had to leave a message since she didn't pick up.

After about twenty minutes of me channel surfing, the phone rang again.

"Steph, you may want to come down," my dad said tiredly. "They're going to do a triple bypass, but he wants to see you before they take him."

"When is the surgery?"

"The surgeon isn't here yet so it will be probably another hour or so."

"Okay, should I just bring Sophia?"

"I don't want her to see him like this. I think it will scare her. Why don't you try to get Joe to watch her before you get her up?"

"Okay, I'll call Joe."

I buried my face in my hands for a moment and took a deep breath. I felt just like my mom. I wasn't ready either.

Glancing at the time, I noticed it was only a little after 10. I didn't think Joe would be asleep yet so that was good. I figured he could just come here, and I could take off.

"Steph, you okay?" he answered softly.

"No," I choked out. "I need you to come over now and watch Sophia. Grandpa's in the hospital."

"Oh," he breathed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Um … I'm not at home right now."

"Okay. How long until you can get here?"

"I'm actually with Heather. We're at an awards night for her job. It's kind of a big deal."

I blinked several times. "Um … so you can't help me?"

"Shouldn't you take her with you? She will be devastated if she doesn't get to say goodbye to him."

"He's not going to die, Joe!"

"Well, then why do you need me to hurry? This will be over with soon and then I'll take Heather home and be on my way. Give me another hour or so and I will be there."

"Never mind." I disconnected the call and then stared at the phone, willing him to call me back.

I couldn't believe he was choosing her over us. Then again, it wasn't about me any more. It was only about Sophia. And she was fine. She could go with me. She could go to Mrs. Morelli's. She could even go to Mary Lou's. Joe's job wasn't to make my life easier.

I quickly called Mary Lou, who immediately headed on over to take care of Sophia. She asked me if Joe was coming by to get her, and I looked at my phone. No missed calls. No, he wasn't coming for me anymore.

Grandpa ended up not having surgery that night. The doctors felt that it was too risky as things were worse than they had originally thought. He looked so frail and weak, and it just made my heart ache to watch him in that bed. Dad had been right to not bring Sophia. It was hard enough for me to see him there. It would be easier to explain things to her and let her see him at his house.

Joe did call me back, an hour and a half after our first call.

"I'm on my way. I'm sorry that took longer than I thought. The ceremony was — "

"Joe, I don't care. Mary Lou is at the house with her." I sucked in a quick breath, trying not to cry. "He's not even getting surgery now. He's probably only going to have a few more months."

"Steph, I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry?" I huffed. "I needed you … I …"

What was I doing? This was exactly the problem with us. We couldn't ever let go. Or I guess I couldn't. Joe had let go of me just fine. "I'm sorry I expected you to drop your plans for me. I will be more considerate of your schedule in the future. Tell Heather congratulations on her award. Goodbye, Joe"

"No wait! Steph, you don't —"

"No, I get it. I really do. I need to go. My mom needs me with her right now. Bye."

I hung up and then turned off my phone. I just couldn't deal with him right now. I needed to stop thinking that he cared about me. He still hadn't told me he wanted to marry Heather, but it was just a matter of time. He was probably going to propose next week during Thanksgiving. I could see him doing something like that. Family was important to Joe, but I was starting to realize that sharing Sophia did not make me his family.

~oOo~

For the first time, I really understood why some people hated the holidays. I was so stressed about my grandpa, and on top of that, Joe had mentioned custody again when we made arrangements for Thanksgiving day. I knew I was being irrational, but the custody thing was freaking me out. One second I would completely understand what Joe was doing, and then the next, I would picture Sophia calling Heather mom and having to actually share custody with them. It was during those moments that I lashed out at Joe in the most ridiculous ways.

The only bright spot was that Sophia didn't really like Heather. I have no idea what happened between them, but my little girl had decided that Heather was just not for her. I could see Heather trying too hard maybe. I also think that Sophia was old enough to understand that Heather was in the way of me and Joe being together. Considering I didn't even want to deal with that, I wasn't about to ask my sweet girl about it.

Joe was pretty baffled about the riff between them as well, telling me there had been a tense moment between them when I called to pick Sophia up from his mom's house on Thanksgiving.

When I pulled up, Joe and Heather were standing on the porch with Sophia who had a terrible scowl on her face. Joe made a gesture, and she rolled her eyes before giving the briefest hug to Heather and then ran straight to the car. Heather seemed to take it in stride, and even managed a cheerful wave to me.

Joe jogged out to the car and snagged his own brief hug and kiss before giving me a bewildered look. "Hey, Steph. We ate at 1, and she didn't get dessert so I told her she could have some with you."

"Yeah, of course." I nodded and did a pretty good job acting like I hadn't noticed the little drama playing out between them. Sophia was sitting stiffly and twisting her lips.

"Love you, princess," he added with a brief pause, waiting for a reply, before shutting the door. I watched him shake his head as he crossed back to Heather, who gave him a warm embrace.

I turned my head so I could make a face without Sophia seeing, but I think she was still lost in her own world.

Once we had turned the corner, I asked casually, "Did you have fun with Daddy today?"

"With Daddy." I caught a full on eye roll through the rear-view mirror.

"Did something happen, bug?"

"Why did Heather have Thanksgiving with us?"

"Well, she's Daddy's …" Ugh. I hated saying this, "girlfriend. You know that. You had such a fun time with her trick or treating, remember? And you went to the movies together."

"Hmm," she grumbled low, crossing her little arms.

"Did she upset you?" I tried to not sound either eager or overly upset by this.

"She's an- an- annoying." She leveled a serious look at me through the mirror.

I took a moment to process this. "Well, what exactly did she do, Sophia? Maybe I can talk to Daddy and Heather and make sure everything is okay."

"Mommy. No." She huffed loudly.

I decided to let it go for the time being. I was sure Joe would tell me if there were something to know.

~oOo~

Sophia's mystery grudge was revealed a week later when she opened up to the last person I expected her to talk to: Santa. Joe and I met at the mall, sans Heather, to take her to see the big man. Last year, Dickie and I had taken her to Macy's while in New York. It was really awesome to go to the Macy's Santaland, but now I can't believe I had not let Joe be a part of this for their first Christmas together.

"Daddy, I'm so excited!" Sophia squealed right in Joe's ear as he carried her through the mall. We were trying to cut through the crowds as quickly as possible, knowing there was probably already a line for Santa.

"I can tell," he laughed and gave her a kiss. "Me too, princess."

"Sophie, you gonna to be okay by yourself?" I asked, since she was hit or miss with these kinds of things.

"Of course, Mommy!" She clutched Lady to her tightly and squealed once more. I was so surprised when she insisted on bringing Lady. The beloved toy had not been out of the house for a long time.

Joe and I made small talk and entertained Sophia for the 20 minutes we had to wait in line. It was nice, but I didn't feel like Joe was being himself. He acted kind of weird when I mentioned Heather, and I figured that was because Sophia was still not warming up to her.

We finally made up to the front, which was really done up right with tons of decorations, fake snow, and lights. There were also a handful of miserable teenagers dressed as elves, working to keep things moving steadily. Sophia happily trotted over to Santa, but she looked back to make sure we were close by before she let one of the elves sit her upon his lap. She started prattling about her Christmas list, and I looked over to Joe to watch him for a moment. His smile was so sweet, one I had only seen him give our daughter. And then, Sophia dropped the bomb.

"And I want my daddy and mommy to get married and have a baby."

Santa chuckled and looked over at the two of us. "Sophia, Santa brings you toys. You have to ask your parents about something like that, okay?"

"Then can you get rid of Heather?" She leveled right back at him. And frankly, the delivery was hilarious, but I managed to stifle my reaction.

"Oh!" Santa was now starting to look little less jolly. "Let's make sure I know which dolly you want!"

"I'll give you Lady, my best and favorite, if you just tell Heather to go away." Her sass had quickly faded, and she started to tear up.

"Sophia," he replied seriously. "I know your mommy and daddy love you so much." He glanced at us. "And you should keep your toy —"

"Lady," she interrupted with a sniff.

"You should keep Lady, okay? And I promise that on Christmas morning, you are going to be such a happy little girl."

He made a slight gesture with his hand, and the elf swooped in, grabbed Sophia, and swung her around with a "Merry Christmas!" before depositing her right in front of us.

Sophia blinked up at us, a little shocked at the quick turn of events, and then lifted her arms up to me like when she was a toddler.

I hoisted her up on my hip, and she clung tightly to my neck and whispered, "I wanna go home."

Joe grabbed Lady from her loose hands and peered around my shoulder to make eye contact with her, but she turned her head into my neck. I looked up at his torn expression and didn't know what to say.

Joe went over to collect the photo and then ushered us back through the crowd. It was a silent walk back to the parking lot, only broken up by Sophia's sniffles into my hair.

When we got back to the car, I set her on her feet and looked over to Joe. After all, it was his girlfriend that was the problem.

He sighed as he knelt down to her level. "I'm sorry you don't like Heather, princess. But I know she really, really likes you. And … you don't have to be mad at her because of mommy."

I huffed at that. "What!? I don't . Uh …I'm not mad at her!" I defended angrily and then realized that was not going to help so I quickly added for Sophia, "Me and your daddy are just fine, bug. And Santa was right, we both love you so very much."

"Sorry," Joe inserted with a glance up to me, "I didn't mean it that way." He took a deep breath and cupped her cheeks. "Sophia, I don't want you to think …" He sighed before waiting for her to make eye contact, "Heather is not why Mommy and I aren't together, okay?"

"Okay," she breathed out softly, but I knew she wasn't on board with this for one second.

Joe looked relieved to have this over, but I could tell he was still pretty unsettled about this conversation. I kind of wish he would just tell Sophia that he would be marrying Heather, that way we both could move on. Wait. I'm not …am I not moving on?

~oOo~

My grandpa was still doing okay at Christmas, but we all knew it wasn't going to be long. We celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa's house so he wouldn't have to get out. My aunt Mary and her family all came to town too. Of all the kids, Sophia was the only one either not afraid or just delighted to spend the day at Grandpa's side. That girl was so sweet. She loved so deeply, and I wondered if that was something she got from me or Joe.

"Hey, bug, get your coat!" I called to the back of Grandma and Grandpa's house, where they had set up the hospital bed.

I buttoned up my coat and shoved my hat on my head. Mom handed me a shopping bag with Sophia's presents for Joe. "You are coming back, right, Stephanie?"

"Yeah. I'm calling Joe on the way over, and I should be able to just drop her off and then come straight back here."

"I don't understand why he can't just come get her?" She grumbled for the 10th time in the last two days.

"Mom, you know they switched him to nights. He worked last night and went straight to his brother's when he got off. I told him to just sleep until I got her there."

"Still, he knows …" She blinked back some tears. "He knows how precious this time is."

"Mom, I'm trying really hard to not pick a fight with him right now, you know that. I won't be gone that long."

"Okay," she smiled and nodded. Mom was a lot more needy since Grandpa's heart attack. It was weird to see Helen Plum need something from anyone, especially me. But it was also nice to be spending time with her not arguing. She valued my medical knowledge and even believed me whenever I answered her questions. That was saying a lot after the Halloween nightmare.

I walked to the back room and found my little girl curled up next to her papa, reading one of her new books she received that morning.

"Grandpa, I have to take her to her dad's now."

He gave her a tap on the nose and kissed her head. "Off you go, pixie sticks. We can finish this book tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Papa. Love you!" She hopped down and then turned back. "Don't finish it without me! I will know if you cheated." She gave him a little finger wag and then skipped past me to the living room to get her coat.

"I'll be back in a little bit, Grandpa"

"Come here, Steph."

I tried not to tear up as I crossed over to him. These moments were precious, and I was trying so hard to embrace them all.

"You doing better?"

"I'm trying," I admitted. "You remember when Sophia was one, and I just needed you and Grandma to watch her for me so I could have a break? And then I just kept putting off coming back to get her until you brought her to me?"

"Of course I do. You were struggling there for a while, but it was just a few days."

"I think … I have a tendency to run from things."

"Hmmm," he nodded. "You do have a tendency to run from your feelings."

I took that in for a moment. "Was grandma like that when you were younger?"

He smiled, his eyes lifted as he thought about his past, then he laughed. "Your grandmother is all about feelings. She lives more in the present than anyone I have ever known. Never worries about the past or the future. I think that's what makes her so much fun."

"Yeah, I guess I can see that." I took his hand and squeezed it.

"You need to stop being so afraid, Stephanie." He gripped my hand lightly. "You are so much stronger than you think."

"I'm not so sure." I felt the first tear slip down my cheek and turned my head so he wouldn't see it.

"I am." He took a deep breath, and I could tell he was getting tired.

"I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Be brave, Stephanie." He smiled softly as he closed his eyes. "Life is more exciting when you take the good risks."

~oOo~

When we arrived at the Morelli Christmas, Sophia was surprisingly sad. I turned around in my seat and looked at her as Joe came out the front door.

"Sophia? You feeling okay?"

"I want you to stay with me," she said with a tiny voice, her lip jutted out.

"I have to go help Grammy and Nana; you know that." Not that I would be welcome in Tony Morelli's house anyway.

"But I never get to see you and daddy together anymore." She turned her head away from me and let out a low breath.

This was true. Our adventure with Santa was the last time we had been together. Tension was also high between us since Joe informed me last week that he had already filed for custody. We would have to meet with the court representative, but I had no plans on fighting him. He apologized repeatedly for making me go through this, but he also said he needed to make sure that Sophia was legally his child in every way. Again, I understood, but I also felt physically ill when I thought about Joe and Heather raising Sophia together.

"Will you and Daddy get me a new baby for Christmas?" she asked, still in her sad little voice.

"Sophia," I sighed and leaned my forehead against my arm draped across the front seats. She had not mentioned a baby since we took her to see Santa.

"Hey, princess!" Joe opened the door and leaned in to kiss her. "Merry Christmas." He glanced up at me briefly but did not make eye contact long enough for me to indicate there was a problem.

"Is Heather here?" Sophia asked with not a little bit of attitude.

"Um, no. No, she's not here, okay?" He looked up at me and half smiled. "I'll bring her home tomorrow morning by 10."

"Yeah, sure." I nodded and then reached back and tapped Sophia's knee. "Love you, bug! Don't forget your presents."

Sophia grumbled something under her breath, but then leaned forward to give me a kiss before grabbing her gift bag and jumping down from the car. I watched them walk hand in hand back to the front door before pulling away. Joe never looked back.

~oOo~

I had very much expected Sophia to get a new step-mother for Christmas and then New Year's, but when she didn't, I started to wonder exactly what was going on with Joe and Heather. I hadn't heard anything through the Burg gossip chain. And I couldn't imagine there wouldn't be a line of women happy to be the first to inform me of any changes on that front.

Sophia, on the other hand, had seemed to finally accept Heather. I only knew this because she told me once that Heather did her hair for her and she loved it. I knew I should be relieved that my child was not having such a hard time anymore and was adjusting to her reality, but the truth was I enjoyed the feud between them. I also knew that I didn't want to dig into why that was. Heather babysat for Joe a couple times when he got called in, but I never heard anything else specific about her from my little girl. I, of course, preferred the don't ask don't tell policy when it came to Joe's romantic life.

When it came to me and Joe, there were a few moments where things seemed normal, but then there were moments where it was so easy between us that seemed like we were teens again. I always pulled away when he tried to tease me or return to our friendly banter. His flirty attitude also reminded me of the type of boy he had been when he worked his way into my heart at the Tasty Pastry. I didn't know what to make of him, but I was still freaking out over the approaching custody hearing at the end of January. So no matter how much better our exchanges were becoming, I always kept them short. I didn't want to risk another argument before we faced the hearing.

Everything with the hearing went as smoothly as it could have gone since I wasn't contesting anything. Joe wasn't even requesting physical custody. He simply wanted the option to have it, but he was fine with Sophia still being primarily in my care. I actually offered that holidays could be shared since Joe seemed to have not considered it. He was being so strange. The court representative actually gave us several looks throughout the meeting as Joe continued to apologize for putting me through it. Eventually, I snapped at him to let it go. I had so clearly let it go, right?

~oOo~

Valentine's Day ended up bringing a huge surprise. I ran into Heather outside the chocolate shop where I was going to pick up some treats for Grandma and Grandpa.

"Oh! Hi, Stephanie," she said happily.

I eyed her bag of sweets for a moment. "Planning your romantic evening?"

"What?" She shook her head and frowned. "I don't move on so fast."

"What?"

She looked up at the sky and laughed. "I can't believe he still hasn't talked to you."

"Um …"

"I should call Joe right now," she threatened, but with a smirk on her face.

"Joe and I ….We haven't really been talking too much. Just about -"

"The custody thing?"

I was actually going to say Sophia, but before I could correct her she continued.

"Oh, Stephanie, you do understand why he needed to do that, right? What if something were to happen to you or to Sophia? This gives him protection to be able to do what's needed in case of an emergency. He loves you both so much there's no way that he would ever do anything to hurt you."

"Um … I know." Which of course I knew that! But loves us both? What was going on with this woman?

"We broke up just after Christmas. It wasn't like we didn't know it was coming. And we have stayed friends. I would be so sad to not ever see him or Sophia again. And I've been so happy to help him with her when I can. Especially after Sophia finally warmed up to me. It's been my pleasure to watch her, but I thought you knew about us."

Whoa! So many things. I broke from my dazed look. "I had no idea; he never really talked to me about your relationship, Heather."

"I know he didn't." She rolled here eyes, but she somehow made it sweet and not sarcastic. That was a cool trick. "I really thought he would've talked to you by now."

"Like I said, we haven't really been talking much."

"Do you have plans tonight? Are you still dating that guy from the wedding?"

"No … and no." I frowned at her. "I haven't been dating for a while…. I need to work on me for a bit." God, I didn't want to have to reference the Halloween incident, but I knew she knew all about it. "I was, um, not really taking care of myself for a while there."

"Oh, sweetie. I know." She gave me such a warm smile that I could almost ignore the pity in her eyes. "I'm so glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself. And I know Joe is too." She leaned in to me a bit. "I know everyone says he's such a player, but you and I know that's not who he really is. He feels things very deeply, and if you're lucky enough to get through that tough exterior then he's such a beautiful soul." She sighed as she straightened back up. "Breaking up with him was something I knew would probably eventually happen, but I still wasn't happy about it."

What? My brows lifted immediately, and I cocked my head to the side. "So you broke up with Joe?"

"I did." She shrugged. "Well, I gotta go! I'm babysitting at the church tonight so parents can have a night off for the holiday. Good to see you, Stephanie! Happy Valentine's Day!"

And with that she bounced down the sidewalk to her car, turned and gave me one more cheerful wave, and then drove away.

What just happened? And what had happened between them at Christmas? Did she demand an engagement? Had anyone ever broken up with Joe Morelli? So who the hell was he dating now? He wouldn't stay single for very long. That much I knew for a fact. I guess he was back to his friends with benefits arrangements. At least I wouldn't have to worry about Sophia being around anyone for a while. If Heather McDaniels couldn't get Joe down the aisle, who on earth could?

~oOo~

Near the end of February, Joe invited me to meet Sophia and him for lunch since I was off work too. We ate at that Mexican place I loved and then headed back towards the Burg. Sophia spotted the Tasty Pastry and immediately begged to stop by. Joe, as usual, was worthless when it came to saying no to her. Besides, I also wanted something sweet and wasn't going to pass up getting some of my favorite treats.

I'm not sure how I wasn't aware of it, but it didn't even cross my mind that Joe and I hadn't been in the Tasty Pastry together since high school. I refused to count the time he ambushed me with that bitch Terry. Oh yeah, then I hit him with the car. Probably best to just pretend that never happened. Joe seemed all too aware of our history in this place as he made a subtle face at me once we walked up to the counter.

Big Red came out the back and squealed in delight. "My goodness! If I didn't know any bettuh, I'd think I just went back in time 6 years." She eyed us both deviously, and then turned to Sophia. "How's my favorite cutie pie?"

"I'm good, Big Red!" She jumped up and down. "Can I decorate a cookie?"

"Of course, you can!" She walked over and opened the counter door. "Come on back, I just had some coolin' on the table."

As she led Sophia back to the cookies, I looked over at Joe. "She never trusted you, you know? She said you were a bad boy."

"Well, can't say she was wrong." He turned to me and leaned against the case. "You did let me have free cupcakes." He immediately blushed when he realized what he said and what it could mean to us.

I laughed out loud, shaking my head. I didn't think I had ever seen him blush. If I only knew why he wasn't telling me about Heather, then I would gladly let this conversation escalate. Instead, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Joe still wasn't flirting with me. In fact, if he had been, he would have said that very intentionally.

"I made you help me clean up the store too," I returned, both relieved and a little disappointed to not take this further.

He nodded in agreement, but he still looked uncomfortable. "Yeah."

"So, this is the first time I've seen all three of you in here," Big Red teased as she came back in. "Is there something I should know?"

I eyed her to drop it. "Um, no. We just took Sophie to lunch."

"Well, I guess technically y'all three were here the night you defiled my store," she returned innocently.

Joe put his hand on his forehead and groaned. "I'm so sorry about that."

"It's okay," she said breezily. "That's what bleach is for."

"Oh my God, Loretta!"

She cackled loudly. "Oh, Stephanie. I do miss teasin' you so much. These new high school girls I have are so boring."

"Big Red!" Sophia screeched from the back. "I've got a catastrophe!"

We all looked at each other, a mixture of amusement and concern.

"I'm okay, Mommy! Just a little messy."

"I'm coming, sugar!" Big Red smirked at me. "I think we may have an icing explosion. Help yourselves to some coffee and cupcakes." She threw her head back and laughed on the way out.

I walked behind the counter and poured us each some coffee. "You want something sweet too?"

Joe took me in for a moment, behind the counter. We both froze with the familiarity. I blew out a breath before smiling at him. Not going to let this get any weirder than it is.

"Heather and I broke up!" Joe blurted out, his eyes wide. "I should have told you. I'm not sure why I didn't."

"It's not really my business," I returned quickly. And I was pretty sure his reason was to not get my hopes up of any kind of repeat of last Mother's Day. "Besides, like everyone in the Burg knows about this."

He chuckled humorlessly. We just stood staring at each other for a moment. I had thought Joe telling me would change that feeling that he was still holding out on something. Apparently not. Nothing felt normal still.

"Well, I'm sorry about the break up," I offered, not really sure if I meant that or not. So I handed him the coffee and bent over to the case to avoid making further eye contact.

"It wasn't a surprise," he admitted. "Let's just say that we wanted different things."

"Hmm," I hummed in agreement, unsure of what to say to that. I continued to look around at the variety of pastries, pretending to debate about what I wanted.

"No manipulations. No ultimatums." Joe said quietly to himself.

Well, I guess Heather must have finally demanded that ring. And Joe clearly wasn't ready for that. Then why did I want him to flirt with me again?


A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review! I'm hoping to post again next week.

There's a surprise character in the next chapter, and I remember absolutely loving to write that part. Any guesses on who it may be?

Also, got one more major thing done this week on the dissertation. Let's hope next post I can say that chapter is written!