He opened the door to her.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied uncomfortably. He didn't know why she was here.

"Can I come in?" she asked. He nodded.

"Sure," and drew back as she entered.

"Do you want something to drink?" he walked her over to the kitchen table.

"Coffee would be nice," she replied, but her tone seemed as if she was trying to repress tears, so he glanced up sharply.

"Emily-" he began.

She held up a hand to stop him. "You left," she stated. He started to say something, but she waved her hand. "You left and I didn't know where you were…and it-"

Not fully understanding the implications of what she was saying, he shot back. "It wasn't like we left it on the best of terms,"

"I know that!" she exclaimed, moving towards him. "But after everything happened, I knew it wasn't you, and I'm sorry-"

Suddenly she exploded into his arms.

"I missed you," Emily said, hugging him tightly. She touched his face. "I thought you were dead,"

He gave her a crooked smile. "Not so much" He noticed the tears, and moved to wipe them with his hand, but she kissed it warmly. His hand stilled, and he looked at her. For the first time, Toby had no idea what Emily was feeling. But she on the other hand, knew exactly how she felt. She seized upon his hesitation and pressed her lips against his. He stood shell shocked for a moment but when Emily brought her arms around him, he responded hungrily.

When they broke apart for air, she leaned her forehead against his. "Don't ever leave," she murmured.

"Don't ever give me a reason to," he murmured back.

She pulled back and looked at him puzzled. "Did you leave because of me?" she asked. "Don't you even know what this has done to me?"

He protested, "No…no. You know I'd never hurt you," his piercing eyes met hers. "You know that at least,"

She stepped back. "Your leaving hurt me," she said.

"I didn't know how much," he admitted honestly. "I thought you'd forget me and move on—to someone else…I thought you thought now I was a freak…your friends—what they said-it seemed like you believed them—"

She silenced him a wave. "You say you know me. But you didn't know I couldn't sleep for nights, that I had our CD on repeat, that I tried so hard to deny what I felt-even though everyone around me knew, including M-some other people," she ended lamely.

He needed to hear so badly that she cared for him like he did for her. "Felt what Emily?"

Emily whirled around "Do you really need me to say it?"

"Yes," he said.

"That I think I'm falling in love with you?"

His voice caught in his throat, and he caught her arm and drew her in a hug. "I love you," his voice was muffled in her hair. "More than you can even imagine. I've always been in love with you,"

She drew back and looked up at him, confused. "Always?" she asked.

"Ever since I first saw you," he answered honestly.

"For that long?" Emily was awestruck. She never imagined that he could have felt that way for that long. She thought back to the times her friends had laughed at him, and she too had avoided him. But to know that he had feelings for her the whole time was extraordinary. A lump rose in her throat.

"Yes, for that long" he repeated and moved her hand to his heart. "I need to tell you something-" he began.

"What is it?" she touched his face.

"Something I wanted to tell you about Jenna and me. I don't want to tell you but I have to if we're going-"

"I already know," she interrupted.

He blanched. "How?" he asked hoarsely. "Jenna?"

"Sort of," she put a finger to his lip before he could say more. "But I know-I know you stopped it, that you told her it was wrong. And I've made mistakes too, so I'm in no position to judge you"

"I was scared," he admitted. "After all that happened, so I ran after I got you to the hospital. I thought that if you didn't believe me, then no one would. And you were the only one who mattered,"

"I do believe you," she said. "Believe that I will never let you down and I will never be unfaithful. You will always be in my heart,"

He touched her again and felt her tremble. "Are you scared?"

She shook her head, and reached to take his hand. "The only thing I was scared of was losing you," her hand tightened around his. "I'm not scared anymore-I'm with you."

FIN