Chapter 1

He doesn't remember arriving at her front door.

He had been running for a long time. It felt like he had been running from the thunderstorm itself but that wasn't the case. Something had happened at home and he just broke into a run towards the one person that he had sent various emails to. She had never responded but if he showed up at her front door, she would have no choice. He needed to talk to her. No matter what.

He panted for a few moments before knocking on her door. He made sure to knock between thunder claps so that she wouldn't dismiss it as the storm. He stood back and waited.

He didn't have to wait long.

The door opened slowly, cautiously. Clare Edwards stood at the door, a shocked expression quickly falling over her features. "Fitz!"

"Please. Don't be scared." Fitz said, sounding weak. "I didn't know where else to go."

Fitz looked down at her hands ans saw that she had ended the call. She had most likely been talking to Eli. They were always talking. "Are you... hurt?" Clare asked. The disbelief in her voice was evident.

Fitz nodded, touching the wound above his eye. "Yes. Can I please come in? I won't be long. I promise."

He could see her struggle with this. Fitz knew that what he had done was terrible but Clare was a Christian. She shouldn't deny him when he needed her help, at least for the moment.

Reluctantly, she finally nodded, waving him inside. "Sure."

Fitz walked in and immediately sat down on her couch as Clare went into the kitchen to get a rag for him to clean himself off with. If he didn't mess this up, he might have a chance.

"Here." Clare said, handing him a warm rag. "You know you can't stay here."

He took the rag and pressed it gently to the wound above his eye and nodded once. "I know. But Clare... please. I've been wanting to talk to you."

"What's there to talk about?" snapped Clare. "Eli is going to be so mad that you've been trying to talk to me. He doesn't know about it. But if you keep hounding me..."

"Hounding you?" Fitz repeated. "I've been trying to talk to you! I haven't been able to sleep lately. I can't stop thinking about Vegas Night." He trailed off. Humble. Humble. "I can't make you listen to me. I can't make you do anything that you don't want to do. But, please, Clare. I just want to tell you this one thing and I'll be on my way."

She hadn't walked away. She was being quiet and her eyes were trained on the floor. After a long silence she said, "Well? What is it?"

"While I was locked away, I had a long time to think about my actions and how terribly wrong they were. I was lost. By being away, I found some answers. The answer." He looked down and frowned. "I want to be forgiven. I want you to forgive me."

An almost unbearable silence followed.

"What about Eli?" Clare asked finally. "Are you going to ask him to forgive you, too?"

Knowing this moment was crucial, Fitz nodded. "Of course. I didn't try to stab you. I thought it might be easier to talk to you first."

"So you also want my help in getting Eli to talk to you."

Fitz almost smiled. I can't forget that she's a smart girl. One of the reasons I liked her so much. "If it's too much to ask of you... then no." He handed her back the rag and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Clare asked as he tried to walk past her.

"I thought you might need some time to think about it." Fitz said quietly. "I'm going to make my way home."

She reached out and touched his arm. "The storm isn't supposed to end until morning."

Again, Fitz nodded humbly. "I'll be okay."

Knowing he was playing on some guilt on her part, he could see the fault lines that would become the breaks in her resolve. She looked away. "Do you want to stay the night? You can sleep on the couch."

"You wouldn't mind, would you?" Fitz asked hopefully.

A short pause before she shook her head. "No."

"Does that mean..." Fitz said, allowing the sentence to trail off. Hoping she would answer his unspoken question.

"Don't rush things." Clare said and smiled faintly. "But I'm willing to talk to you. Certainly that is better than nothing?"

Once more, Fitz nodded and sat back down on the couch. Shortly afterward, Clare sat down opposite him. He began by explaining the situation at home.

They talked long into the night.