A/N: Hopefully there are still people out there reading this :D

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review so far, I hope you enjoy the latest update! I can't wait to hear about your reactions to the chapter!

Chapter 14

"Leave it alone, Eric," Tami hissed under her breath as she glared at her husband. She sipped at her coffee and rubbed sleep from her eyes.

Glaring at his wife in return, Eric put the baby monitor back down on the kitchen work top and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "They should be awake by now," he insisted.

"They're teenagers. The alarm clock hasn't gone off yet this morning; of course they're not awake yet!"

"This isn't my fault Tami!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you or did you not tuck Tim Riggins into bed with Julie last night? After I told you to go to sleep?"

"Yeah…well, that's not my fault!"

"What?"

"You were the one that rolled over off to sleep!" Eric said, trying to shift some of the blame off onto his wife.

"Eric Taylor!" Tami exclaimed, her voice rising. "You did not just say that!"

"Well it's true!" he insisted. "If you hadn't gone to sleep I'd have never had the chance to be so stupid. You'd have stopped me."

The unfamiliar sounds of her parents arguing broke through Julie's slumber.

Drowsily, she frowned and buried her face back into the pillow she'd been sleeping on.

With a yelp, Julie stopped the movement, her hand reaching up to the back of her skull. Slowly she became aware of the warmth pressing along her back, and a heavy weight draped over her waist.

Blearily, she opened her eyes. Sunlight peered in through the thin curtains hanging in her window and illuminating the objects in her room.

It was her room.

Her body tensed in fear as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

"Ssshhh," a sleep roughened voice whispered, "'s 'k, Jules. Go bac' sleep."

Julie winced as Tim moved his head closer up behind her own, the weight of his skull pulling on her hair.

The discomfort was quickly forgotten though, as she became aware of his thumb brushing back and forth across the ticklish skin on her stomach.

Glancing down, Julie became aware of the fact that they'd kicked the bed covers down during the course of the night, and the thumb that was brushing along her stomach was tucked beneath the tank top she'd gone to sleep in.

"Tim?" she hissed, desperately keeping her voice down. "What are you doing in here? My Dad will kill you!"

"He knows," Tim mumbled, still half asleep as he buried his face in the crook of Julie's shoulder.

Her heart skipped a beat. "What?" Rolling over onto her back with a bit of a struggle, Julie pushed at Tim's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up a little more and get some sense out of him.

"Jules, your alarm hasn't even gone off yet," Tim groaned in protest. "Jus' let me go back to sleep."

Julie sighed in frustration. Tyra had mentioned, during one of their past girly talks, that Tim would take forever to wake up in the morning, but this was ridiculous.

If her dad walked in there would be hell to pay. Tim was obviously still dreaming if he thought for one second that her Dad wouldn't commit bodily harm if he found them asleep together in bed.

Regardless that nothing of that nature had happened.

She sighed, trapped beneath the weight of Tim's arm and his head on her hair.

Lazily, Tim's hand slid across her stomach and curled around her hip, his pinkie finger slipping just beneath the waist band of her pajama bottoms. The next thing she knew, he was pulling her closer and curling his body in along her own.

It was then that she noticed.

Tensing, Julie held her breathe as she felt the blood rushing to her face.

Oh. God.

Oh. God.

Oh. God.

Suddenly she remembered she had to breathe, and tried to do so with as little movement as possible.

It was pressed up against her thigh.

IT!

Tim's e - e…jeez! She couldn't even say the word in her mind! Tim's little…Tim (for lack of a better word she actually had the balls to think, no pun intended) was pressed up against her while its owner slumbered on peacefully.

Swallowing hard in embarrassment, Julie was dismayed to feel another rush of heat making its way across her cheeks.

Oh. God.

This was the closest she'd ever gotten to a pe-…the male reproductive organ, and it belonged to Tim Riggins.

Sure, she'd felt Matt's before, but that was through several layers of clothing, and usually when she'd been sitting in his lap or something.

Her decision to have sex with him had been a sudden one; they'd just barely gotten to second base, with Matt fumbling and blushing as he groped over her clothes, while she hadn't even worked up the courage to start touching him in any way similar.

Matt respected her.

He didn't do anything without her permission.

Which was nice. And she was lucky that he thought so much of her. After all, if it hadn't been for him they'd have probably ended up sleeping together at Bradley's lake house, and that would have probably become one of her biggest regrets.

Things had cooled off between them significantly afterwards, with Matt backing off anytime he became a little too aroused. It was almost as if it was physically painful for him to allow her to touch him.

It wasn't something they'd discussed either.

She'd always been too embarrassed to bring it up, and it wasn't in Matt's nature to push for more than he thought she was willing to give, so things just settled into a quiet routine of kissing and cuddling.

Which was probably just as well as there wasn't any place else in Dillon that they could have gone, too, to do more on a regular basis.

He'd been busy with school, football, work, and his Grandma.

She'd also been busy with school, extra curricular activities, and pissing off her parents, while ensuring that she never did anything to warrant a punishment so severe she'd end up grounded or without her allowance.

It was one of the things that had stung so much; that he'd slipped so easily into a physical relationship with Carlotta.

It served to remind her of the differences between them.

That she was still just a girl; not entirely ready for that sort of relationship, while his new girlfriend was already a woman and sleeping in his bed, both literally and figuratively.

Well right back at you Matt! Julie thought vindictively. I've got Tim Riggins and his erection, (see I can say it, she chided herself mentally) in my bed.

Okay, so maybe they'd appeared there for completely different reason's to Carlotta's presence in his bed, she admitted reluctantly.

After all, Tim was sleeping next to her because of her nightmares. And Little Tim was there because he was a teenage boy and it was the morning, and according to a few of the magazines she'd sneaked off of Shelley and girly talks with Tyra, it was pretty typical behavior.

If her parents found out that he was in bed with her though, erections for Tim wouldn't be an issue, since in all likeliness her father would castrate him, or at the very least load his body full of buckshot.

The piercing beeping from her alarm clock had her jolting in surprise.

As if it was an everyday occurrence, Tim pushed himself up, reached over her and hit the snooze button on the alarm before dropping back down next to her.

"Ouch! Tim, you're on my hair!"

With a grunt of exasperation, he lifted his head for a split second to brush her hair out from underneath his head and dropped his arm back around her waist.

No more than a few seconds past before her bedroom door was being pushed open. "Time to rise and shine, kids," Tami announced as she wrenched Julie's curtains back from the window and let the early morning sunlight drench the room. "Breakfast, fifteen minutes," she ordered, eager to have this particular conversation out of the way before Shelley made her early morning appearance.

It had been good of her sister to take the time to come and help out the family while Eric had been coaching college football, and even now that Eric was back, Shelley was a huge help. Unfortunately, her little sister was also a huge gossip and Tami didn't want the whole of Dillon knowing the specifics of life in the Taylor household, now that Tim was living with them and Julie was having problems staying in her own bed at night.

"Hurry up!" she instructed, casting an eye over the two teenagers still in bed.

The conversation between the pair of them as Julie had woken up had somewhat calmed her worries that there was anything going on between the pair of them, but that didn't mean she was happy for her sixteen year old daughter to be in bed with a seventeen year old boy; especially when his name happened to be Tim Riggins.

He was a good kid at heart, Tami fully admitted it, but he had a reputation and he'd done a hell of a lot of things, and women, to get it.

And apparently he was a cuddler.

"Get up, the pair of you," Tami said on her way out of the room. "We're going to be discussing this over breakfast. Being late will not improve your father's mood."

Sighing, Julie rolled her head to the side to look at Tim who was lying next to her, his eyes still closed with strands of tangled hair hanging across his face. "Tim?"

"Mmm." The grunt she got in response, Julie presumed, was supposed to be an acknowledgement of some kind. Perhaps a question of what did she want?

Brushing his hair back from his face, Julie made the decision that she would be the first one in the shower that morning. It was embarrassing enough that she could feel his erection pressed up against her hip without actually seeing proof of it, or the flush she knew would cover her skin as she tried to look anywhere else but him and the knowing smirk that would flit across his face and have her blushing for days afterwards.

Tim wore his sexuality in exactly the same manner as he wore his jeans and flannel shirts; in a matter of fact, uncomplicated manner.

While he might have been in this position hundreds of times before and found nothing unusual or embarrassing about it, she hadn't (and didn't) have any desire to make a fool out of herself.

"I'll jump in the shower first. I won't be long," she assured him, conscious of the time that was ticking on before they had to be in the kitchen.

His arm tightened around her waist for a few seconds before relaxing and Julie took the opportunity to slide out from next to him, grab the first few items of clothing that she managed to find out of her drawers. She disappeared into the bathroom wondering just what exactly her parents were planning on saying.

When Tim entered the kitchen, his hair still damp from his shower, Julie was tucking into a plate of pancakes.

It seemed her Dad had tried to stay busy in the time leading up the conversation rather than waiting around and watching the clock.

As a result, when Tim sat down at the table a plate of food, pancakes, bacon, and eggs was set in front of him to accompany the glass of orange juice.

Eric took his seat next to Tami across from the two teenagers. "Last night was a one time only deal. Do not expect it to become a regular occurrence."

Both of them nodded, and Tim was thankful of the mouthful of food that prevented him from having to say anything.

"And?" Tami prompted, looking at her husband with raised eyebrows.

"And what?" Eric said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked at his wife. "What else do you want me to say?"

And that was exactly the problem, Tami thought. What else could they possibly say? With a sigh, she let the conversation go at a total loss for words.

Julie toyed with the remainder of her breakfast before dumping the remainder of it in the bin, announcing that she was going to finish getting ready for school.

Tami watched her daughter go before glancing at the clock and realizing that she needed to do the same thing. Passing Gracie across into the care of her husband and dashing off to the shower, she resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't have time to wash her hair that morning.

"Riggins," Eric said, drawing the fullback's attention as Gracie fussed on his lap. "Thank you for proving my trust in you was not misplaced." He let the words sink in and made sure that he looked Tim straight in the eye. "Now, Shelley is going home this weekend, as originally planned, which means that you'll be moving into your own room."

Swallowing the remainder of his bacon, Tim shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You don't have to do that, Coach. I'm fine on the couch."

"Of course you're fine on the couch," Eric retorted. "You think I'd buy an uncomfortable couch knowing that at some point I'd be kicked out to sleep on it?"

With a shriek of frustration at being ignored, Gracie turned to her father and smeared oatmeal down the front of his clean panthers polo shirt. "Gracie, you are going to get me in so much trouble with your Mom." Standing up, Eric balanced the infant on his hip and dropped the empty plates in the sink.

As he passed behind, Tim he dropped his hand onto the fullback's shoulder in a worldwide masculine sign of affection. "You're part of this family now, Riggins. Like it or not that's just the way it is."

Entering the living room, Tami paused and glanced at the clock on the coffee table wondering if she'd gotten the times muddled up.

"Julie?" she called, catching her daughter's attention from where she was sitting on the couch, watching TV with Tim, who'd propped his feet up in her lap.

Twisting her head round to look at her mom, Julie tightened her hand on Tim's shin, silently indicating that he didn't need to move. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you going out at 7pm?" Tami asked, referring to her daughters date with Joe Hague. "It's nearly six now, honey."

Shrugging, Julie turned her attention back to the TV unconcernedly. "I've got plenty of time."

Okay, Tami thought as she headed into the kitchen. Was that the same girl who'd spent two and a half hours getting ready for her first date with Matt Saracen?

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Tami turned her attention to what she was going to be doing for dinner that night.

Tim was going to be out with Jason.

Julie was going out on a date with Joe.

Shelley had finally left the Taylor household just over a week ago, and that meant that it would just be herself and Eric she had to worry about feeding.

Decisions, decisions, she mused, eyeing the leftovers in the fridge.

Grateful for the fact the radio was on, Julie fought not to roll her eyes at the sight of Appleby's as Joe directed his car into the parking lot.

Great.

Fantastic.

She sighed, hoping that the sound of it would be masked by the music playing. Really, could he have not thought up something more unpredictable?

Almost immediately, she chastised herself for thinking that. Joe had been nothing but polite to her in all the time they'd spent together, and if Tyra thought the guy was okay then he was, because her best friend wouldn't have let her go out with just anyone.

Especially after the fiasco with Matt.

He had a nice car; it was clean and ran quietly, but to Julie's surprise she found that she preferred Tim's ride. His truck had much more character to it, much like its owner, she suspected.

As they'd walked to the car after Joe had collected her from the front door, he'd given her a spiel about how his father had bought him it as a reward for doing so well on his SATs.

Julie had made a few appreciative sounds while wondering what he saw in the purple 1992 Chevrolet Camaro.

"I hope you don't mind. I just thought we'd be more comfortable here," Joe said in reference to Appleby's as they got out the car and headed across the parking lot to the diner's entrance. "We'll find it difficult to run out of conversation."

Julie smiled. "I don't think that'll be a problem." She laughed, "There's always history homework if we get really stuck."

"Well, next time we'll go somewhere nicer."

Offering him yet another smile, Julie pushed the door open, thankful for the noise of the diner which gave her an excuse not to answer.

They hadn't even gotten through this date and he was already talking about the next one?

It was flattering, Julie reassured herself. Okay, maybe it was a little weird.

Was he coming on a little too strong?

Didn't most guys like to play it cool?

Was she totally over thinking this and making it into something that it wasn't?

She jumped as she felt Joe's hand place itself on her lower back and realized that while she'd been busy analyzing every little thing since they'd arrived, he'd been busy speaking with a waitress and they were about to be lead in the direction of their table.

Thanking the waitress, they sat down in the booth provided for them, and Julie raised her eyebrow at Joe in a silent question as they both caught sight simultaneously of a group of his teammates sat on the opposite side of the diner, a couple of tables down.

"I am so sorry," Joe apologized. "If I had any idea that they were going to be here…"

"Don't worry about it," Julie replied, picking up her menu. "It's just one of those things."

Unable to think of anything else to say, she glanced down at the menu she almost knew by heart.

She really hadn't done enough preparation for this date. She should have spent more time thinking about things to ask him to ensure that they wouldn't sit in silence, both looking for something to say.

They made small talk for a moment over the food they were in the mood for, and then placed their orders as the waitress reappeared.

Small talk moved from food to school, parents, and then basketball. And basketball. And basketball.

Even Tim wasn't that bad when it came to football, and the lord knew that he was obsessed with the sport.

The bell above the door rang, drawing Julie's attention away from Joe for a couple of moments.

She smiled, seeing Tim enter the diner, Jason rolling along behind him in his chair and she waved to the pair of them in greeting before dragging her attention back to her date.

Joe Hague, Julie realized, was a lot more interesting when she was discussing him with Tyra than he was in person.

"Righhhhttt," Jason Street drawled, understanding easily clearing the confusion from his brain.

Brow furrowed in perplexity, Tim couldn't help but question the random word use.

"Nothing," Jason replied in amusement. "Nothing at all. I'm just suddenly understanding why we've spent the last 20 minutes driving around Dillon past all of the other diners in town, that's all."

Tim scowled at him. "Just didn't know what I wanted to eat. That's all."

"Sure thing, Timmy," Jason said with a laugh. "But what's Julie going to say when you get back later on about you following her?"

"Jules won't mind. She knows I'm looking out for her. We discussed it the other day," he replied unnecessarily. Why he was explaining it to Street, he didn't know; it had nothing to do with him.

Their conversation was interrupted by a waitress, and the pair of them quickly put their order in without glancing at the menus or the special board.

"Was that after she'd been busy yellin' at you for lying to her about who was on the phone?"

His eyes narrowing, Tim pursed his lips, his voice low when he spoke. "Who told you about that?"

Jason sighed, realizing what he'd been told was true. Of all the shit Tim got himself into when it came to girls, this was something new. "Tyra," he answered succinctly.

"She needs to keep her nose out of other people's business."

"She does," Jason said. "Julie Taylor just happens to be her business just as much as she is yours."

"She'll thank me for it later."

"Julie will thank you for crashing her date?" Disbelief echoed Jason's tone of voice. "Which happens to look as though it's going really well by the way," he said, looking across at Julie and her date who were laughing together.

Tim snorted. "Please. She's having a lousy time. Her laugh is fake. And she keeps playing with the straw of her milkshake," he pointed out.

"So?"

"So, she's uncomfortable," Tim explained.

Looking at his friend in shock, Jason almost couldn't believe that this was the same guy he'd know for the past 17 years. Hell, he and Lyla had always laughed over Tim's oblivious nature of what he'd done wrong to piss off Tyra.

As if knowing that he'd been thinking about her, the bell chimed and Lyla entered the diner, a shy smile on her face as her eyes met Jason's.

Jason smiled back, feeling a pang inside of his chest at the friendship and future they'd lost because of his accident.

It was times like these, hanging out at Appleby's with Tim, and late at night as he drifted off to sleep, that he was reminded of what he'd lost.

During the day, when he was busy with school, football, his family, and friends, he didn't get a minute to himself. He was kept so busy, but it was in those quiet moments that the past and the future he could have had came rushing back to him; pangs of nostalgia.

Hesitantly Lyla made her way over to their table and offered Jason a smile in greeting before she turned her attention to Tim and gathered up her courage.

"Hey, Tim."

"Garrity," Tim responded bluntly, his eyes flickering across to the girl he'd once loved, or thought he had, before they flickered across to Julie once again.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" she asked Tim. "Outside," Lyla said pointedly when Tim nodded his head, but made no move to leave the table he and Jason were sitting at.

Reluctantly, Tim glanced across at Julie sitting with her date before heaving himself to his feet and heading straight for the door, eager to be over and done with the conversation.

Lyla requesting his company could never end in a good way. What had he done now? He thought resignedly.

The bell rang noisily as he opened the door and stepped through it without bothering to stop it from swinging back in Lyla's face.

She never expected manners from him anyway and only picked at them if he used the few he possessed.

Tim carried on walking until part way across the parking lot and stopped by a random truck, which still allowed him a good view inside of Appleby's; and Julie.

"What do you want, Lyla?" he asked tiredly.

Lyla frowned at him, disappointment clear in her brown eyes.

It was an expression that at one time would have cut him up inside; now it just made him weary.

He'd had enough of trying to be good enough for someone who would clearly never see more than his surname and the mistakes he'd made in his past.

"I know it's coming a little late, but I've been thinking about things. A lot of things, really, since I spoke with Julie the other week," the brunette began, her hands twisting around themselves awkwardly as she stood in front of him.

Dragging his attention back to the girl in front of him, and away from his errant thoughts, Tim remained silent, wondering where she was going with the grand speech she seemed intent on making.

Everyone was looking over at them curiously from behind the diner's windows, and as they walked into the restaurant, their attention momentarily diverted from Julie making her first dating appearance since her relationship with Saracen. Some of them even lingered outside as long as possible, trying to determine what was being said, or get some snippet of the conversation if they were lucky.

After all, Lyla always liked to have heart wrenching conversations in public with an audience to watch from the sidelines as she gutted him and stomped over his heart and emotions.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Julie watching them, a concerned expression on her face.

She was worried; about him.

And there wasn't anything superficial about the concern either. Unlike some of the rally girls who weren't ashamed to use it to their advantage and offer 'comfort' in the form of sex.

It was a nice feeling.

"She made me realize a few things. One of them being that I haven't been fair to you. You were trying to help me and-"

Frowning, Tim studied the way Joe had snatched Julie's attention away from him, his own hands sliding over Julie's as he turned them over on the table to trace some kind of pattern on her palm.

Julie smiled awkwardly at him, although Joe probably didn't know that. He probably thought that she bit down on her bottom lip in a moment of nervous anticipation, not because she felt anxious over the gesture.

Julie was affectionate, but it had taken her a while to get to the point where she felt as comfortable with him as she was now.

As much as Matt had danced around the idea of dating Coach Taylor's daughter, Tim had realized, on reflection, that Julie had also taken her own time to feel comfortable stepping out with the Quarterback.

There had been the odd time or two were he'd unwittingly interrupted a kiss between them, and it had always been Julie to pull away first, blushingly putting some physical distance between her and Saracen despite her boyfriends attempts to keep her within the circle of his arms.

"Typical!" Lyla spat suddenly, the other patrons leaving the diner hushing at the sound of her voice.

Snapping his attention back to her, Tim tried to catch up on what he'd just missed.

At his uncomprehending look, a spark of fire flashed in Lyla's eyes, eating away at her good nature.

"Why am I not surprised?" she hissed at him. "This is just so typical of you! I'm here trying to apologize and put things right between us and you're not even listening to me. I don't know why I even bothered, why I expected for one moment to get anything different out of you."

The attack caught Tim off guard, and he had to fight to keep the humiliation of being publicly criticized off of his face.

"Your just the same as you always are! Lazy, rude, heartless! How could I ever think that I could possibly care for you!" The words are out of Lyla's mouth before she knows it, too caught up in her anger to understand exactly what it is she's saying.

She wasn't normally like this.

She's normally even tempered and sweet natured, but there's something about Tim that just sets off her temper at times, as much as she wished otherwise.

The feel of Joe's hands on her own drew Julie's attention away from Tim, Jason, and Lyla, and back to the boy in front her.

There's a burning sense of curiosity as she wonders what's going on, but, she reminds herself, it's between Lyla, Tim, and no-one else.

After all, that's what she'd lectured the cheerleader about, wasn't it?

And if he wants her to know, Tim will talk about it to her later, when it's just the two of them.

"So, I was thinking, perhaps we could do something on Friday night. I know there's a game on, but if we left early we would have time to head on up to the lake, maybe take some food up with us…"

"A picnic?" Julie asked in surprise, her attention diverted by the sight of Tim and Lyla leaving the diner.

Joe's face wrinkled playfully. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

"There's a game on Friday though," she pointed out, gently trying to remove her hands from Joe's but being unsuccessful in the maneuver

"Well, I figured that you'd seen enough games, what with your Dad being Coach an' all," Joe responded. "Unless you're still…is it cause of Saracen?"

"What? No!" Julie replied adamantly. She glanced away from Joe, her eyes flicking over to Jason before straying back towards Tim and Lyla, who was looking agitated and annoyed, if the expression on her face and the movements of her hands were any indication. "I mean, yeah, I've seen enough Friday night games for most people, but it's a family thing. As much as you argue about going, you still do, y'know?"

Joe laughs, the sound of his amused understanding low and husky. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Besides," Julie added off-handedly, "I've already told Tim I'd be there."

She looked back over at Tim. He was looking at her, but he wasn't looking at her. She tried to meet his eyes without success. Her brow furrowed and she dropped her eyes to try and see what had captured his attention, because he was certainly looking at her and Joe.

Suddenly, comprehension clicked into place and, without a second thought, she slid her hand out of Joe's and wrapped the pair of them around her milkshake glass.

Joe snorted and sat back in his chair. "Please," he scoffed. "Riggins won't mind if you're not there. He's got his own cheerleading squad, the initiation test consists of sleeping with him!"

Julie frowned at him. She couldn't really refute the fact that Tim had all but slept with the entire cheerleading squad, but that was beside the point. She shrugged, resolute in her decision. "It doesn't matter whether or not Tim would mind me not going. I told him I would be and that's all there is to it."

The tone of her voice caught the basketball player off guard, leaving him floundering for a moment.

"So don't tell him!" Joe argued. "I bet he won't even notice you're not there."

Julie's lips tightened. "I'm not the sort of person who agrees to do something with a friend and then backs out because something better comes along."

A smug smile made it's way onto Joe's face and his retort had Julie biting her tongue. "So I'd be classed as 'something better' then, right?"

The bell rang from above the door as a group of teenagers entered and paused there, trying to catch the conversation going on outside.

The sound of Lyla's voice drifted in, silencing the majority of voices within the establishment. "This is just so typical of you! I'm here trying to apologize and put things right between us and you're not even listening to me. I don't know why I even bothered, why I expected for one moment to get anything different out of you."

At the sound of her voice, Julie's head snapped round to look out of the window along with everyone else in Appleby's.

Everything seems to happen in slow motion, and yet in no time at all.

"You're just the same as you always are! Lazy, rude, heartless! How could I ever think that I could possibly care for you!"

With her breath caught in her throat, Julie was stuck watching the scene unfold, as the ferocious lash of Lyla's words struck home inside Tim and pushed at his emotions.

What concerned her most of all though, was the way Tim just stood there.

He just stood there, his eyes adverted from the girl in front of him, hands dug deep into his pockets and his shoulders slightly hunched.

He stood there, not offering any word of defense.

Sliding out of the booth, Joe forgotten in the heat of the moment, Julie headed over to the table Tim had been sitting at.

Shoving past the waitress who was glued to the scene as much as everyone else in the diner, Julie reached over and snagged Tim's sheepskin denim jacket from the back of the chair.

"You're supposed to be his best friend and you just sit there!" she growled at Jason, furious at his lack of support. His lack of action as Lyla attacked his 'best friend'.

Without a backwards glance at anyone in the diner, Julie hightailed out of Appleby's, eager to catch up with Tim before he stormed off out of her sight, because he certainly wasn't hanging around now that Lyla was done with her whipping boy.

As if in a daze, Lyla wrapped her arms about her body, as if she was the one who'd been used as a verbal punching bag, and turned to look back towards the diner, clearly unsure about what she was going to do next.

Bitch! Julie thought viciously. So now she's going to play the innocent in all of this! As if she didn't know what she was doing! As if her temper got the better of her! Just because she hadn't gotten the reaction she'd deemed worthy of herself!

Stalking up to her, Julie gave the older girl a hard shove to gain her attention, with the added satisfaction of forcing Lyla to stumble back a few steps.

"I don't know what new little game this is that your playing with him," she spat in the brunette's face, "but it stops now. You've spent enough time fucking with his head and I'm not going to let you do it any longer. You stay away from him!"

"I-"

"I don't want to hear it. You weren't fucking apologizing! That was you trying to show off your holier than thou attitude by publicly stirring up things better left as they are. Saint Garrity graciously forgiving Tim Riggins!" Julie continued sarcastically. "Stop acting as though you're the victim in all of this! Your not blameless in what happened. How many times did he seek you out? How many times did he turn up on the doorstep of your house?"

At Lyla's lack of response, Julie sneered at her, unable to hold it back. "Yeah, that's exactly what I thought. You stop with your pathetic little games, and you leave him alone. Otherwise next time, I won't be so polite."

Spinning around, Julie headed in the same direction she'd seen Tim disappearing off in, determined not to waste any more time on Lyla Garrity.

She paused on the sidewalk outside the diner, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness as they scanned the parking lot, looking for Tim's tall figure.

Her brow knitting in concern, she looked back over at his truck which remained where it was, its owner nowhere near by.

Damn! She'd spent too long berating Lyla and Jason and Tim had disappeared off in the meantime. Well that was just fantastic!

Her heart sinking despondently, Julie had all but given up until she glanced down the road towards the end of the block.

"Tim!" she called out, darting off towards him at a run, worried that he'd disappear out of sight once again.

Panting lightly, she slowed her pace as she neared him to a jog as he stood waiting for her to join him at the same spot where she'd noticed him.

He avoided her gaze, strands of dark hair falling across his face while his hands were dug deep inside the pockets of his jeans, feet scuffing the ground as he kicked at a lone stone.

"I was worried about you," Julie scolded him lightly, knowing if she pushed too hard that it would drive him away from her. "What's the matter with your truck?" she asked, wondering why he was out pacing the road instead of driving away.

"The keys were in my jacket," Tim mumbled, shame running through his body at the thought of the scene back at the diner. Yet another one Julie had witnessed that had been caused by him.

God, how much longer was Jules going to want to be friends with him if she kept getting such glaring signs of how obviously fucked up his life was.

"Yeah, it would have kinda ruined your exit if you'd had to go back in for your jacket," Julie said lightly. "Just as well I picked it up then, right?"

At her comment, Tim raised his head to look at Julie, his jacket pressed tightly to her chest as she wrapped her arms around it.

She'd followed him out.

Left her date sitting inside Appleby's by himself, his basket ball buddies all congregating in one of the booths on the opposite side of the restaurant.

She'd been looking forward to it for so long and he'd gone and ruined it!

As Julie watched the various emotions cross Tim's face she could help but sigh. "Tim…c'mere."

Stepping forward, she transferred his jacket into her hand and stretched up on her tip toes and wrapped her arms about his shoulders as best she could, tugging him down a little to make it easier to hug him.

Squeezing him tight, she felt him exhale against her skin, his arms winding themselves around her waist as he pushed his face into the side of her neck. They stood there quietly for a quiet moment, Julie absorbing the feel of Tim's eye lashes brushing against her skin, and the contrasting prickle of stubble that lined his jaw as it grazed against her. "She doesn't know what she's talking about," Julie whispered in his ear. "Not a single thing."

Reluctantly, they let go of one another, knowing that they couldn't stand there all night.

Someone would spot them soon, if they hadn't already, and then they would be subjected to even harsher scrutiny than they were now, and Tim didn't want that for Julie.

She was still getting the cold shoulder from some residents of Dillon for breaking Saracen's heart.

Julie shivered as she drew away from the heat of Tim's body, the cold night air finally hitting her.

Cursing himself for letting her stand around in a t-shirt, Tim pulled his sheepskin lined denim jacket out of Julie's hands and draped the fabric around her shoulders.

Smiling gratefully at him, Julie put her hands into the sleeves and giggled softly as Tim folded back the excess fabric to expose her hands waiting patiently as he buttoned the front of it and flipped the collar up around her neck before freeing her hair over the back of it.

"Thank you," Julie said softly as she snuggled deeper into the warm lining of Tim's jacket. "You're not going to be cold are you?"

Tim smirked at her in amusement, but couldn't help the warm burst of satisfaction in his chest that originated because of Julie's concern. "Nah, I'll be fine."

Voices spilled out onto the night air as a group of teenagers left Appleby's, disturbing the peace that had settled between them.

Tim scowled, not in the mood to head back to his truck and past all of the gawking teenagers and patrons that had been lucky enough to witness his humiliation first hand.

As if sensing his thoughts, Julie drew his attention back towards her. "We'll come back later and get your truck. Let's go get something to eat and then we'll come back when it's a bit quieter."

Indecision wavered across Tim's face.

Julie was supposed to be on a date.

But hadn't mentioned the guy at all since she'd been out here.

Hadn't dropped off his jacket and then made some excuse to hurry back inside.

He rubbed guiltily at the back of his neck.

She hadn't spent that much time getting ready for the date, had she?

The more time a girl spent getting ready for the first date always told you how much she was into the guy, didn't it?

Should he say something?

Or would that give the impression that he didn't want her with him?

Cause he did. He just didn't want Julie to be disappointed that she'd spent the evening babysitting him when should could have been out with Joe Hague.

A breeze drifted past them, catching hold of Julie's hair and making it dance around her shoulders. Reaching out, he tucked a couple of the strands that had been disturbed behind her ear, his eyes wandering over her shoulder to land on a lone male figure standing in the entrance way of Appleby's that was looking out towards them.

Fuck it.

Julie hadn't mentioned it, so he wasn't going to.

Joe Hague would just have to go find some other blonde and work his way into their pants.

He wasn't in a mood to share Julie right now, and he'd never been a particularly self-sacrificing person.

If Julie wanted to be with Joe that was one thing, but she'd chased out after him and seemed to have forgotten all about the person she'd left behind.

He wasn't going to bring it up.

"Gertie's is pretty close," Tim announced, tucking his hands back into his pockets before they could do anything else without his permission.

"Gertie's?" Julie questioned.

With a chuckle, Tim grinned down at her. "I'd forgotten that you've not lived in Dillon all your life. Gertie's Grill," he began, "is one of the best kept secrets of Dillon."

Smiling back at him, Julie linked her arm through his, her hand curling around his forearm as they slowly moved off in the opposite direction of Appleby's, Jason, Lyla, and Joe. "Intriguing. Tell me more." Then she realized something. "Have you got cash on you? I left my bag back in the booth at Appleby's, along with my coat."

Tim smiled. She hadn't forgotten Hague; she'd just chosen to be with him instead. "Trust me, we won't need it where we're going."

Sighing, Julie dropped her gnawed on rib bone back down on her plate and picked up a napkin to wipe her hands on. "I am officially stuffed. I couldn't eat another bite." Wistfully, she looked at the remaining ribs on her plate. "My eyes are bigger than my belly. I can't believe that I haven't heard about this place before."

Tim grinned at her and dropped his own rib bone down onto the plate in front of him before sucking the sauce off his thumbs and forefingers. His eyes looked over at the remaining ribs on Julie's plate.

"Help yourself," she offered, nudging the plate towards him.

Tim shook his head. "Nah. I want to have room for a slice of Gertie's apple pie. We'll take them home though, for breakfast."

Julie scrunched up her nose and shuddered. "Boys." Cold barbeque ribs for breakfast? "I think I'll stick with cereal thanks."

"Everything okay kids?" the owner of the establishment asked as she materialized before them.

Julie smiled back at Gertie, her eyes taking in every little detail of the woman in front of her. Gertie, as she had insisted on being called, 'don't let me here the word ma'am out of your mouth while you're addressing me, sugar,' was small and slim with red curly hair that clearly came from multiple trips to the hair salon and a bust line that had Julie's back aching in sympathy. Her face, aged with wrinkles, was covered with foundation, fire engine red lipstick, and bright blue eye shadow, the likes of which Julie hadn't seen since her cousin's Princess Makeover Collection when she'd been nine years old. It had been a sore point at the time that her parents had refused her requests for one, despite the fact that she'd been the same age as Carly.

Combined with a personality that was as outspoken as her appearance, Gertie was certainly one of a kind.

Despite the colorful look though, her eyes were friendly, her smile warm and the tone of her voice welcoming.

"Yes thank you," Julie replied.

Gertie smiled at the answer and pinched Tim's cheek. "I'd have thought living with the Taylor's they'd have fattened you up a bit, boy, but hollow legs, just the same as usual. I suppose you'll be wanting those leftovers to go?" she asked the pair of them.

Tim beamed at her much like a ten year old given an extra scoop of ice cream. The expression brought a grin to Julie's own face; it was a look she'd not seen on Tim before.

"And I suppose you'll be having a slice of apple pie?" Gertie continued on, not bothering to wait for an answer to her question. "And what about you, honey?"

"I'm fine thank you," Julie said ruefully. "I couldn't eat another bite."

"If you say so, honey. Just because you're out with a good lookin' fella doesn't mean that you need to stop eating. Men need to have something to hold onto at night."

Julie chocked on the lung full of air she'd just inhaled and felt the blood rushing to her face as she struggled to come up with a reply.

"It's nothing to be shy about, honey," Gertie told her in a matter of fact manner. "Keep a man happy in bed and havegood food on the table and you won't be able to get rid of him. Trust me, I know. Been married to Fred for forty years now, and not once has he looked at another woman. And I'll have you know he used to be quite the catch."

Speechlessly, Julie glanced across at Tim, who was grinning back at her. Embarrassment had her kicking her foot out at him and catching his ankle, but the move only caused his smile to broaden and the glint in his eye to grow.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Gertie said as another couple walked in through the door, the bell above it tinkling in warning.

With wide eyes, Julie watched their waitress greeted the new customers and got them settled in a booth. Obviously, Gertie was of the view that a woman kept her man happy both in and out of the bedroom, and that you stuck by him no matter what.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Julie turned back to Tim who was smirking back at her in amusement.

She scowled at him. "One word, Timothy. One word!"

Despite the fact that he raised his hands in the universally acknowledged gesture of peace, the smirk remained plastered on his face.

The hilarity of the situation couldn't be kept at bay though, and Julie burst into giggles as she imagined her parents reactions if they had been present for the advice she'd just been given.

Gertie was much the same as her Grandma Taylor.

Grandma Taylor believed in four things absolutely: family, food, football and God; in that order.

Every time they visited her, Grandma would corral her into the kitchen where she'd be taught several recipes that had been handed down through the generations of the Taylor family in preparation of the day that Julie herself got married and had children, because Grandma Taylor didn't do well with the idea of her feeding her family out of boxes and packaged food.

At the time they'd started the lessons, Julie had been under the firm belief that boys still had cooties.

Then, during her more recent years, she'd rebelled against the thought of slaving away in the kitchen for her husband. It had brought images to mind of being a barefoot, pregnant housewife stuck in some backwards town in the middle of nowhere.

She was now coming to realize though that being able to cook was a pretty handy skill to have, heaven knew Shelley couldn't, and that it was simply going to be up to her just who she cooked for.

Rolling her eyes, she excused herself and headed to the ladies bathroom to use the facilities and wash the remnants of sticky sauce off her hands.

The pair of them had been so intent on the conversation that they hadn't noticed when Billy had entered the diner, even if everyone around them had.

"Tim," Billy said quietly in greeting as he slid into the booth that Julie had only recently vacated.

Biting his tongue, Tim didn't say a word as he watched his brother, wondering what he wanted.

Several weeks had past since their argument outside the Taylor's, but the words spoken remained clear in his head as if they'd been said only seconds ago.

The silence grated on his nerves, but he didn't know what to say to break it.

"How's practice going?" Billy asked, breaking the silence with the one subject they'd always been able to talk about.

"Fine."

"Coach running you hard?"

"No more than usual."

"Keeping up with your classes?"

"Yeah."

"You going to help me out here at all, Timmy?" Billy asked, frustration coloring his tone at his brother's lack of response to his questions.

"Why?" Tim questioned. "What do you want me to say? 'Cause I don't have a damn clue." His eyes flicked away from his brothers and scanned the room as he desperately looked for something to focus on. His eyes landed on the ladies restroom. Of all the times for Julie to need the bathroom it just had to be now, didn't it?

"Here you go, hun," Gertie announced, sliding a slice of warm apple pie in front of him which had a huge dollop of cream sitting next to it. "You sure your girl doesn't want anything else?"

Strangely unbothered by Julie being referred to as 'his girl', when in the past such a comment would have had his racing for the door, Tim shook his head and attempted to offer Gertie an easy smile and wondered what he could say to keep her standing by the table a little bit longer and therefore avoid conversation with Billy. "No thank you."

"Hmm." Her lips formed a disapproving line. "You be sure to remind her of what I said earlier, y'hear me? She'll need to keep up her strength to keep up with you, and the only way to do that is by eating right."

"I sure will, and may I just say, Gertie, that I fully agree with the advice given," he added with a devilish smile that became wholly genuine when he spotted Julie approaching and within hearing distance, Billy momentarily forgotten.

Gertie snorted but was clearly pleased by Tim's teasing. "Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Why doesn't what surprise you?" Julie asked, coming to stand next to Gertie and smiling at the older woman before eyeing Billy warily.

"Tim Riggins agreeing with the advice I gave you earlier."

"Tim!" Julie hissed, color rushing to her cheeks.

Chuckling, Tim reached for her hand and moved over in the booth, pulling Julie in next to him as Gertie left. Instead of dropping her hand when she'd seated herself Tim laced their fingers together beneath the table, unconsciously keeping her connected to him.

Julie helped to keep him grounded, and right now, with Billy sitting opposite of them, that was exactly what he needed.

"Oh…I, ah, didn't realize that you were here with someone," Billy mumbled uncomfortably as he noticed, for the first time, the signs of someone having occupied his seat beforehand.

"I'm not here with 'someone'," Tim snapped. "I'm here with Julie."

"Right." Billy chuckled awkwardly. "Hey Julie." There was a beat of silence before he spoke again. "Would you mind givin' us a minute, darlin'? I was hoping to have a word with Timmy here."

Tim cut in before Julie could fathom a reply, his voice a low growl of seething fury. "Julie isn't going anywhere. And don't call her 'darlin'."

Moving her free hand atop of their joined ones, Julie stroked her thumb across Tim's knuckles while she eyed Billy with dislike.

He'd gotten together with Jackie knowing damn well Tim's feelings for the woman.

He'd kicked his younger brother out of their home.

He'd picked a fight with Tim the day Missy Sutton had dumped strawberry milkshake over her in the grocery store.

He'd hurt Tim.

Billy struggled to keep the scowl off his face, but didn't voice an objection knowing from past experience that Tim was in one of his stubborn moods and that there wasn't any talking to him when he was.

Nervous energy and anticipation churned in Tim's gut as he waited to hear what Billy was after. Tightening his grip on Julie's hand, he glanced across at her face as she returned the pressure to find her glowering at his elder brother.

"Thought it would be a good time to catch up," Billy started, his eyes flickering between the pair of them momentarily before they settled on Tim. "Jackie's gone. Got a promotion out of town. Figured that things have gone on long enough between the pair of us, an' I reckoned that the Taylor's must have had enough of you by now. Right Julie?" he joked as glanced across at the blonde sitting next to Tim.

"Wrong," Julie retorted immediately, pinning Billy down with a stony look. "If all you're going to do is sit there and insult Tim then we're leaving," she said furiously.

"I didn't insult him!"

"Really? Because it sure sounded that way to me! What you basically said was now that Jackie has left town you can be bothered with Tim again! That no one in their right mind would want him around for a long period of time. Well let me make one thing very clear, Billy Riggins," Julie snarled. "We do. If Tim wants to move back with you, that's up to him. But we've all gotten real fond of him back home and we ain't in any rush for him to be going anywhere."

There was a beat of silence before Tim's southern drawl entered the fray. "Well that sure told you."

"Have you even apologized yet?" Julie demanded to know with a glint in her eye that was reminiscent of her father when he was on the football field, about to give his players a talking to.

"Well now, just hang on a minute!" spluttered Billy.

"Billy Riggins, did you or did you not drive up to my house and pick a fight with Tim?"

"That is beside the point! I was looking out for his best interests."

Julie glared at him and tightened her grip on Tim's hand as she spoke again. "Like when you kicked him out? Explain to me how that was looking after his 'best interests'?"

"That doesn't have anything to do with you, Julie. That's between me and Tim," Billy growled.

Tim looked like he was about to interrupt and Julie rushed to beat him to it. "Maybe not," she agreed shrugging her shoulders. "But it becomes my business when you turn up outside my house and start shouting, screaming and pushing Tim around. But, let me tell you something, if you plan on sitting with us for very much longer then you will apologize now and damn well mean it, otherwise you get the hell out of that seat and leave us alone!" The angry words flowed out of Julie's mouth with all the attitude her sixteen year old self could muster.

Jeez, Julie thought to herself, that could have been her mom speaking!

His cheeks reddening, Billy shifted in his seat as though he were a four year old that had just been told off and not a full grown man. "I'm sorry, Timmy," he mumbled gruffly.

Silence descended upon them until Julie nudged Tim with her elbow. "Apology accepted," the fullback mumbled in return.

"You got a little firecracker there," Billy said a few moments later as his eyes glanced back and forth between the pair of them before settling on his younger brother.

Tim smirked and shot a devilish grin in Julie's direction. "Yeah, I reckon I have." He chuckled as Julie's elbow connected with his side in response to his comment.

"Not out with that Hague kid tonight?" Billy asked Julie, the town gossip coming to mind as he was faced with Coach Taylor's daughter.

Julie shrugged as she noticed Tim tensing next to her. She squeezed his hand, knowing that he was blaming himself for thinking he'd ruined her date and brushed Billy's question off. "The time it took to get to Appleby's was more than enough to convince me that it wasn't going to go anywhere. If I never hear another word about basketball again it won't be too soon."

Billy's curiosity and Tim's guilt firmly put into place, Julie switched the conversation away from Joe Hague and back to her conversation with Tim before the arrival of his brother. "So this is the pie you were raving about earlier?"

"It sure is," Tim drawled. "Want a bite?"

"Are you sure you can spare one?" Julie replied teasingly.

Tim slid the dish of pie in front of Julie. "Since it's for you, Jules, I'll make an exception."

Rolling her eyes, Julie dug into the apple pie and made sure to get to scoop up some of the cream onto the spoon as well. "It's good," she admitted. "Not as good as my Grandma's, though. She makes the best pie. Seriously, Tim, the best pie ever. When she comes to visit next I'll have her make you one."

Tim laughed as Julie handed the spoon over to him. "Just be careful you don't let Gertie hear you saying that. She's liked you up to now."

Going along with his gentle ribbing, Julie settled back further into the booth she was sharing with Tim and smothered her yawn. One nights sleep didn't fix anything, but she'd certainly felt more awake today than she usually did.

"So Billy," she started, eyeing the man in front of her. The elder Riggins brother didn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, and she had every intention of deflecting the heat off of Tim as much as possible. "Who serves the best pie in the world according to you?"

A knock at the door interrupted the quiet evening at the Taylor's.

Glancing across at his wife, Eric sighed and stood up to answer the door when Tami made no move to do so.

Another hour or so and Julie would be home, and Tim too if he was to be on time.

He doubted Riggins had ever had a curfew before, but the boy was sticking to it. Eric had to give credit where credit was due.

Opening the door, confusion flooded his face as he looked around Joe Hague, as if expecting his daughter to magically appear from thin air.

"Coach Taylor," the basket ball player thrust his hands out to pass over Julie's jacket and bag.

If he'd been as stupid as some of the other boys on his team, he'd have left her belongings at the diner. The thought of getting into trouble with one of the most respected men in town though quickly pushed that idea to the way side.

No way was he going to have rumors' going round that he'dabandoned Julie in the middle of their date.

Nope, tonight was going to fall solely on her shoulders.

"Where's Julie?" Eric questioned as he automatically took hold of her belongings.

Joe shrugged, answering the question before turning to go, "I have no idea. The last I saw of her she was off chasing after Riggins."

"What do y'mean she's with Riggins?" Frowning Eric stepped on the driveway after Julie's date.

Scowling, Joe spun around to face him. "I mean she ditched me at Appleby's before they'd even had time to put our food on the table in front of us. One minute we're watching Riggins and Lyla Garrity having a domestic in the middle of the parking lot, the next thing I know she's reaming Garrity a new one and chasing after Thirty-Three without a backwards glance in my direction. I don't know where she is or what she's doing, all I know is that she's with Riggins." With those final words he wrenched the car door open and got in seconds before shooting off down the road, tire's squealing as he went.

"Honey?" Tami called out from the doorway, "Is everything alright?"

Shaking his head, Eric ran his hand through his hair wearily. God, he was so tired of the constant drama. Could he not have one quiet evening with his wife?

Wiping the remaining makeup off her face with a clean piece of cotton wool, Julie continued talking to her Mom while Tami sat on the end of the bed watching her.

"I mean, god!" Julie huffed. "She was such a bitch!"

"Julie," Tami scolded warningly.

"Well she was! She just stood there, screaming at him in the middle of the parking lot while his supposed 'best friend'," she continued, making use of the air quotes motions all teenagers were familiar with, "just sat inside Appleby's and watched it happen! And do you know what caused Lyla freakin' Garrity to go off on a tangent? Tim didn't show enough appreciation that she'd taken the time to graciously apologize to him."

Pulling her hair down out of its pony tail, Julie ran her brush through it, untangling a couple of knots that happened to have formed.

"Julie," Tami started, wondering which was the best way to approach this conversation. "I know you care a great deal about Tim. And I think that's great, honey," she assured her daughter. "I really do. But you can't keep fighting his battles."

"But that's just it Mom. He doesn't stand up for himself. Not when it counts. He's great at standing up for other people, but when it comes to himself he just stands there and lets them use him as a verbal punching bag. He's got this stupid notion in his head that it's all he's good for." Placing the hairbrush on top of her chest of drawers, Julie crossed the room to sit next to her Mom at the end of her bed. "He just stood there," she said quietly, staring unseeingly into the mirror on the other side of the room. "He just stood there and let Lyla tear into him without saying a word. He had a bit of attitude with Billy, but that was it. Didn't expect any kind of apology. Didn't expect anything."

Wrapping her arm around Julie's shoulders, Tami remained silent for a couple of minutes, the weight of Julie's words laying heavily on both of them.

"Just be careful," she cautioned her daughter. "I know you're only doing it because you care, but it could cause more harm than good. What if Tim doesn't want you butting into his business all the time? Just make sure you think before you act."

Instead of replying, Julie sat and contemplated her mothers words.

What if Tim didn't want her to butt in all the time?

It had never really occurred to her. She'd just taken it for granted that he would be grateful to have someone in his corner for once.

And that could very well be true, she knew. But perhaps there might be some aspects of his life that he wanted, or rather needed to deal with by himself. And Lyla could very well be one of those things.

Add in the fact that he was living with her family at the moment, he might very well feel that he couldn't say anything and instead held in all the resentment he was feeling.

He'd been quiet on the way back home. Along the walk through Dillon's fore street and in the ride back to the house. Even the country music he insisted on playing had been dialed down until she could barely hear it over the roar of the engine.

Tami pressed a kiss to Julie's temple, squeezing her daughter tight for a brief moment. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

With her Mom's words ringing in her ear later that evening, Julie wriggled in her bed, trying to get comfortable with little success.

With a growl of frustration she rolled over, fluffed up her pillow and then flopped back down.

A minute later and she was throwing the covers off and easing herself off the mattress, conscious of every noise and positive that her parents would be coming in to check on her at any minute.

Stealing across the room, she gently opened the door and paused to listen for anything that could have her rushing back to bed before she could be discovered.

Hearing nothing but the rhythmic tick tock's from clock in the hall, she crept down the hallway, the dull glow from a side light that her mom always left on illuminating her way into the spare room that Tim was now occupying. As quietly as she was able sheopened the door and paused, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room.

"Tim!" she hissed, cautiously making her way across to the bed. "Tim!" Julie hissed again as she poked him in the shoulder when he failed to show any signs of acknowledgement.

Slowly coming to, Tim pushed himself up on his elbow and turned on the bed side light before groggily turning to face Julie and find out what she wanted. His eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden light, he squinted at her, shielding his eyes with his hand. "Jules?"

Nudging his legs across to the other side of the single mattress, Julie squeezed onto the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. "Sorry," she said, apologizing for waking him up. "I needed to speak to you."

"An' this couldn't have waited until tomorrow?" Tim asked. The alarm clock blinking at him from the bed side table told him it was in the early hours of the morning. "It's two in the morning, darlin'."

Feeling her face flush, Julie bit her bottom lip, suddenly feeling extremely stupid for waking Tim up just so she could apologize in case she'd overstepped her bounds when it came to Billy and Lyla.

After all, just because she had problems sleeping, didn't mean that Tim did.

And he'd hardly been more receptive to an apology after she'd woken him up in the middle of the night. "You're right. Sorry, it can wait till the morning," she agreed, scrambling to stand up.

Her feet had barely hit the floor through before Tim had caught hold her arm and was tugging her back towards him and the bed. "Well I'm awake now. What's got your panties in a twist?" he asked with all the sensitivity of a sleep deprived male teenager.

Shooting him a look that clearly said she wasn't amused, Julie refrained from saying anything aloud. It was pretty insensitive of her to wake him up as she had done, especially taking into consideration all of her sleepwalking recently.

Pursing her lips, Julie searched for the words to begin. She sighed and picked at the chipped nail varnish on her toes. "I was talking with Mom earlier, and she pointed out that I may have over stepped my bounds this evening when I snapped at Jason and Lyla and then demanded an apology on your behalf from Billy. Sometimes I get so caught up, crusading for other people, that I forget that what I want isn't necessarily what they want. I just couldn't sleep, had the entire thing going round and round in my head and I just…wanted to say sorry I guess. Sometimes you just need to tell me to back off."

Tim snorted, tearing his eyes away from Julie's to study the bed spread instead. "I can't remember the last time he apologized," he confided gruffly. "If you hadn't said anything he wouldn't have this time."

Julie's brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, why not ask for one?" she asked, struggling to understand the Riggins' relationship.

"It's just not something we do," Tim explained. "We don't apologize or talk about things. Unless," he amended, "it's several months down the line after we've had a few too many beers. Then it'll be brought up and we'll get into some kinda fight or argument about it all over again."

"Oh…okay," Julie said quietly, unsure of how to respond. She got the impression that Tim's relationship had always been a little rocky with Billy. She knew that Billy cared about his younger brother, but she couldn't help but wonder if a part of him felt resentful that he'd been left looking after Tim while their parents walked out. "If I do though, overstep my bounds that is, you'll tell me?"

"Jules," Reaching out, Tim grasped hold of her hand, "I swear, if I ever think you are over stepping your bounds I'll let you know. Otherwise, you ream Billy a new one as often as you want and I won't give a shit. Alright?" he checked. "Jesus, your hands are freezing."

Julie grimaced. "Yeah, sorry."

"Don't worry about that. Here," he said pulling Julie up to the head of the bed while moving back the covers so she could climb in next to him.

He was doing pretty well until he realized that he could see the outline of her nipples through the thin cotton of her top. Damn.

Yanking the covers up over their shoulders so he wouldn't get caught gawking at her chest, Tim rolled over on his side to face Julie who mirrored his position.

"Oh that's better!" Julie sighed as the warmth of the covers, already nice and cozy from Tim's body heat, quickly warmed her up. "I didn't realize how cold I was," she admitted with a little shiver.

"C'mere." Wrapping an arm around Julie's waist, Tim pulled her closer, running his hand up and down her back in an attempt to finish warming her up. Struggling not to shudder himself when her chest came into contact with his.

Her lack of sleep, and the emotional conversation she'd been stewing over for the past couple of hours catching up with her, Julie nestled closer, sliding her own arm about Tim's waist and tucking her head beneath his chin while sliding her ice cold feet in next to Tim's legs.

She chuckled sleepily as he jumped, cursing at the sensation.

Time slipped by before Tim spoke, his words slurring together, "There'll be hell to pay if you're caught in here."

Julie yawned sleepily. The remark didn't bother her; he'd never relaxed his grip on her body. "Yeah," she replied, her voice a bare whisper as her eyes slowly drifted shut. "I'll go back in a minute."

A/N: Well, that's the latest chapter, all 12,000 plus words of it! Hope you enjoyed! Did it turn out like you were expecting?