After dessert was had, Suzy brought out some coffee and everyone sat around for a few more hours, talking and reminiscing. Around ten, Brent and Amy left to put the children to sleep and Kate and Brian were getting ready to leave.

“It was so nice to meet you Kate, and I hope to see you again!” Suzy said happily. Kate smiled and nodded.

“It was so nice to meet you too and I hope I see you again too.” She said with a smile. Brian Sr. put his arm around Suzy and nodded.

“Well, we’d better take off.” Brian Jr. said. He gave Suzy a hug and patted his dad’s shoulder, then he and Kate left.

“So, what did you think of my family?” He asked as they walked home. Kate smiled.

“I loved them. They are so loving and kind.” She said. Brian smiled and looked up at the stars.

“It’s a beautiful night isn’t it?” He said. Kate nodded.

“It is. It’s so quiet. New York is so different at night. It’s so loud and busy all the time.” He nodded in agreement.

“See why I couldn’t leave?” He said. Kate nodded and walked up the steps to the house.

Brian just leaned against porch and looked up.

“Are you coming in?” She asked. He nodded and followed her in the house.

Pinkly was sleeping soundly on the couch when they walked in. Kate smiled and patted her head. She slowly opened her eyes, then stood up and stretch. Brian picked her up and put her in her tiny bed by the kitchen. Kate smiled at Brian and he smiled back.

“I’m going to bed.” He said. Kate nodded.

“Goodnight Brian.” He nodded back to her and they disappeared into their bedrooms to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian got up earlier than usual and went outside on the patio. He paced around and called Val.

“Hey Brian.” She said. Val always was the early riser.

“Hey Val, listen can you do me a favor?” He asked.

“Sure honey, what is it?” Brian peeked his head around the corner and saw that Kate was making her way to the kitchen.

“I need you to take Kate shopping today.” He said. Val laughed.

“Sure thing! I’ll be there in a half hour.” She said.

“Thanks Val.” Then they hung up and Brian went back in the house.

“Good morning.” Kate said. Brian nodded.

“So what are your plans for today?” She asked him. He poured a cup of coffee.

“I have some studio work to do today.” He said. She nodded.

“Boring.” She said with a giggle. Brian chuckled and went into his bedroom.

Kate went into hers and got dressed. She put on a black Motley Crue off the shoulder top with some cut off shorts. She straightened her hair and did her makeup, then went back into the living room.

Not but five minutes later, Kate heard the door open.

“Kate!” She heard Val scream from behind her. Kate jumped off the couch and ran to her.

“Val!!” She shouted as she threw her arms around her. Val laughed and hugged her back.

“Hi babe!” She said.

“What are you doing here?” Kate asked as they walked into the house.

“I’ve come to take you shopping of course.” She said with a huge smile. Brian had come into the room behind Kate.

“Here, have a good time.” He said, handing her his credit card. She smiled and put it in her pocket.

“Thanks Brian.” She said. He nodded and watched the girls walk out of the house.

He smiled to himself and picked the phone up and went into his bedroom to make some calls.

Val took Kate all over Huntington Beach to shop and see the sights. When they came home four hours later, all the guys and their girlfriends/wives were in Brian’s back yard.

Brian was standing behind the grill with Matt, Johnny was sitting in a chair with a tiny brunette beside him, Jimmy was doing something crazy as usual, but this time a red haired woman was beside him, laughing hysterically, and Zacky was talking to a short blonde by the bar.

“Honey we’re home!” Val shouted from the kitchen. Matt turned around and smiled.

“Hey baby, hey Kate.” He said. Kate waved and smiled and Val walked over and took a sip of his beer.

Kate set her bags down on the couch then went to join the others. Brian smiled and waved her over.

“Did you have fun today?” He asked. Kate nodded and looked at the three unfamiliar women.

“Who are they?” She asked. Brian looked and smiled.

“The brunette is Johnny girlfriend Cindy and the redhead is Jimmy’s wife Leana and that blonde with Zacky is Mel, his bestfriend that he secretly wants to fuck.” He said. Kate giggled and shook her head.

“Oh I see.” Brian chuckled and took a swig of his beer.

“The bar’s all stocked if you want something.” He said. She nodded and walked over to it.

“Kate, this is my good friend Mel. Mel, this is our new friend Kate.” He said. Mel smiled warmly at her.

“Nice to meet you Kate. I’ve actually seen some of your work.” She said. Kate was taken aback.

“You-you have?” She said. Mel nodded and took a magazine out of her bag that was lying on the floor.

“Yeah, I read AP and a photo of the guys was in it and in the corner is your name.” She said as she opened the magazine to the page.

The photo was of the show in Vegas with a rockstar strippers. Kate smiled when she saw her name in the corner of the page.

“Wow.” Was all she could say. Zacky and Mel smiled.

“You can keep it, I bought another one.” Kate smiled and closed the magazine.

“Thank you very much.” Mel smiled and nodded.

Kate couldn’t stop smiling. She grabbed a beer from the bar and went over by Brian.

“So you saw the photo huh?” He said. She smiled and nodded.

“I think I’m in shock actually.” She said. Brian laughed and turned a piece of meat over.

“What you didn’t think you’d be in a magazine?” He asked. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m not in a magazine silly you are.” She said. Brian just chuckled and took another sip of his beer.

Kate opened hers and took a sip, then she looked around. Val was sitting on Matt’s lap giggling and smiling, Johnny and Cindy were sitting at the table, holding hands and talking quietly, Jimmy and Leana were playing tag like five year olds, and Mel was going on and on about something that happened at her work while Zacky just looked at her with love filled eyes.

Kate smiled sadly at all the love that was surrounding her. She set her beer down on the table and went into the house. Pinkly was lying on the cool kitchen floor. Kate bent down and patted her head, then went into her bedroom. She sat down on her bed and pulled out an old photo album. It was filled with photos of her and Scott, before he started using drugs. He was smiling and so was she. There were shots of him kissing her cheek, of her kissing his, of them laughing and holding each other, eating, lying in bed, just everything. Out of nowhere, Kate started to cry. Tears fell freely from her eyes and spilled onto the album. She wiped her eyes and closed the album. She went into her bathroom to fix her makeup when she heard footsteps coming towards her room.

“There you are.” Brian said.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” She said quickly.

Brian noticed the album sitting on her bed and reached out to open it. As he did, Kate stepped out of the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” She asked. He quickly drew his arm back and stood up straight.

“Nothing.” He said. She sighed and picked the book up.

“Do you really want to see what’s in it?” She asked. Brian shook his head.

“Not if you don’t want me to.” He said softly. Kate lightly ran her fingers across the cover then closed her eyes.

“You’ll think I’m crazy.” She said quietly. Brian shook his head.

“No I won’t.” He said. She sighed and handed him the book. He sat down beside her and slowly lifted the cover.

He took a sharp breath when he saw the first photo. Seeing Scott made him think of the night he and Matt beat him within an inch of his life after he beat up Kate. He swallowed hard and flipped through the rest of the book. Kate watched his expressions as he looked at it. She could tell it was bothering him so she cleared her throat.

“You don’t have to look at them Brian.” She said. He closed the book and handed it back to her.

“They’re nice. You looked happy.” He said. She nodded.

“I was. These ones were right before he started using.” She said, pointing to a few in the back.

Brian nodded but looked away quickly. Kate sighed and put the book away.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you-“ She said but Brian cut her off.

“Kate it’s alright.” She sighed and nodded and Brian put his arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t know what came over me. I guess seeing everyone with their significant other just, hit me a little hard.” She said. Brian nodded and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I know what you mean. It’s alright to feel that way, but remember you’re not alone. We all love you so much Kate and we all would be lost without you in our lives.” Brian said softly.

Kate picked her head up and looked into Brian’s eyes. There was something about them that Kate couldn’t quite place. He picked up his hand and caressed her cheek with his thumb. Kate closed her eyes and slowly they leaned into one another. Just as they were about to fill the gap…

“There you guys are!” Val shouted from the doorway. Brian calmly opened his eyes and turned towards her.

“Kate was feeling a little sick so I came into check on her.” Val smiled widely then looked at Kate, whose face was bright red and who was looking towards the bathroom.

“Do you feel better now Kate?” She asked with a laugh in her voice. Kate swallowed hard and nodded.

“I walked in on her throwing up so she’s a little embarrassed. “ Brian said. Kate nodded and finally looked at Val.

“I feel better now.” She managed to croak out. Val laughed then turned around and walked back outside.

Brian chuckled and put his hand on top of Kate’s and pulled her to her feet.

“Well I need a drink right now.” He said. Kate just stood there, dumbfounded. Brian chuckled and walked out of the room.

Kate sunk back down on the bed and shook her head. Pinkly trotted into the room and barked at her feet. Kate picked her up.

“Was he going to kiss me? Was I going to kiss him back?” She asked her. The dog barked happily then licked her nose. Kate giggled then went outside to join the others.