Disclaimer: Not mine. Not making money from it.

Summary: Sequel to "Our Best Friend's Wedding." Must read that one first.

A/N: I wrote "Our Best friend's Wedding" as a challenge. Someone said they bet I couldn't do what happened in that fic, and I HAD TO prove them wrong...but they never said I couldn't write a sequel to make it all better! Shortly after I wrote "Our Best Friend's Wedding" I read a book by Nicholas Sparks called "Dear John." I loved it. Couldn't put it down...seriously, I took this book into the bathtub with me and read 100 pages My toes still have wrinkles I think! But then it didn't have the ending that I expected. The ending that I wanted, and my heart was broken. I was cursing Mr. Sparks for reeling me in and then ripping my heart out. Then I realized I kinda did the same thing to you guys! But not on the same level because I'm not nearly as talented as him! But it's the principle of the matter that's the same. I don't know if he has plans to write a sequel to Dear John, but the movie had a different ending than the book, so that was good enough for me! Here's my attempt to fix what I broke.

Pieces of Us

Wheeler landed in Australia with nothing but a suitcase. He had no place to stay, no job, no family, no friends, and no Linka…he was starting all over. He thought about the night before, how wonderful it had been. After all these years, he and Linka had finally had their moment together. It was perfect, except for the part where she chose to marry her fiancé anyway.

Wheeler had drunk his share of whiskey on the plane, until the flight attendant shut him off, which is why he now finds himself seated at a bar on the beach.

"You know, generally people leave their luggage in the hotel rooms, not bring it to the bar with them," a young female says to him.

When Wheeler doesn't respond, the bartender continues,

"What can I get ya mate?"

"Beer please."

"Any particular kind?"

"Whatever."

The bartender leaves and returns shortly to place a bottle in front of Wheeler.

"One Budweiser for my new American friend."

"Thanks. Start a tab for me will ya?" Wheeler asks as he tosses his credit card on the bar.

"Sure. Will you be needin' a menu?"

"No thanks."

"Why don't I just leave one with you to look over?"

"I'm not hungry," he says gruffly.

"Look, I've been doing this long enough to know when someone's been shut off at one bar and moved on to another. So which one were you at?"

"I was on a plane. Got off at the airport, hopped on a hotel shuttle, and this is where I ended up."

"Are you staying up here at the Ritz?"

"Hell no. I could never afford the Ritz. It was just the first shuttle I saw."

"So you don't have reservations anywhere?"

"No."

"Well, if you're looking for something more affordable, there's a Holiday Inn a few miles down the beach."

"That'll do…for now. Thanks."

"For now? You plannin' on stickin' around mate?"

"I guess."

"You guess? What brings you here? Work?"

"No."

"Runnin' from the law?"

"No." Wheeler says as he sips his beer.

"Girl?"

"No."

"Boy?"

"NO! I'm on vacation…but maybe I'll decide I like it here and stay."

"Well, as much as I love my homeland, I seriously doubt it has the ability to get a man to uproot his life and move here."

"What if I fall in love?" He asks as he looks at her over the top of his beer bottle with a quirked eyebrow.

"Sorry mate, I'm taken."

"I wasn't talking about you."

"Oh…uh…"

Wheeler smiles, happy to know that he still has the ability to make girls squirm.

"I was talking about Australia…the beach, the surfing, the friendly people…what's not to love?"

"The heat…and take it from one red head to another, you better stock up on sun screen if you're planning on staying here long," she advises.

"I'll do that."

Wheeler found his sour mood being lifted by the cheery bartender.

"So what's your name?" She asks.

"Jason…yours?"

"I'm Kate."

"It's a pleasure."

"Don't sound too sincere!" She teases.

"Sorry if I'm not my usual upbeat, friendly self. I got a lot going on…like where to stay. Where to work…"

"So you really are planning on staying here then?"

"Yeah…there's nothing left for me back home or anywhere else in the world. Gotta start over," he says as he tips his bottle back, finishing it off. "Another please."

"Comin' right up."

Kate places the bottle in front of him and presses on.

"You know, Australia got its start by being a place where England shipped off their criminals to…lots of people got a fresh start here. I think you made a good choice."

"Well, I ain't no criminal if that's what you're implyin'. I had to come somewhere that spoke English. America was out of the question, England was too close to what I'm running from…this was the last resort…but I think I'm going to like it here."

"So you admit it…you're running from something…someone I bet…ex girlfriend."

"Something like that…there were a few weeks that we made things work, but she was never really my girlfriend. Just someone I loved more than anything."

"Oh, is that all?" Kate says dryly.

"Yeah…well, it's complicated."

"I've still got 7 hours left in my shift and you've still got an open tab if you wanna talk about it…not bein' nosey…just part of being a good bartender…excellent listening skills."

To Be Continued...