I want to apologize for taking so long to update this story, I know I have a tendency of saying that a lot, those of you that also read my story Unexpected Changes are well aware of that. I originally started working on this chapter in the beginning of November, but then I was dealing with some very bad anxiety. I got myself together just in time to panic about my first experience with college finals in mid-December! :/ After all that, I just needed some time to unwind before I even thought about writing a new chapter. But, I'm back and I hope to have another chapter for this story up very soon, as well as the next chapter of Unexpected Changes. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I truly enjoyed writing this one.

Worth the Fight

Chapter 3: Remembering is Hard, Forgetting is Worse

Tim ran his tongue along the collarbone of the blonde draped across him. Smash and the rest of the players were long gone by now and at this point, Tim was well past drunk. He knew he probably wouldn't remember much of what happened come morning, but he didn't care. All he cared about was that, right now, he felt good. He didn't have to worry about practices or game plans, he didn't have anyone breathing down his neck waiting for his next mistake; he was free. He had a sexy woman wrapped around him that he knew was just dying to come home with him tonight; things were good. Were, being the operative word.

"Hey what the hell do you think you're doing?" A guy asked pulling Tim away from the blonde, who was desperately trying to shove her tongue down his throat. He wasn't complaining. A girl that hot could do whatever she wanted to him. But this guy was killing his buzz. He turned around to face the man, almost laughing. He was maybe 5'9," 5'10" tops and probably only around a buck eighty from what Tim could tell. He could take this guy on in his sleep.

"You got a problem, man?" Tim asked standing up to face the guy. He towered over the other man, so much so that he needed to look down to properly look at the guy's face, but he didn't seem to be backing down. Tim had to give him props for that. Not a lot of people were willing to fight Tim because they knew who he was, what he did for a living, and on the odd occasion they didn't know who he was, they usually backed down once they saw his size.

"Yeah, you were just making out with my fiancé." The guy said, attempting to look intimidating by getting in Tim's face. Tim turned around to look at the woman and looked at her left hand, and sure enough, there was a ring on her finger, a very nice ring, in fact. Tim just shrugged, looked back at the man, and laughed.

"I guess you're not giving her what she needs then, seeing as she's here with me instead of at home with you." Tim said casually, not even caring that he could have just ruined someone's marriage. It's not like it would be the first time. Plus, it's not like it was his own marriage – not that he would ever get married – so what did it matter to him? He turned back around to look at the blonde again, she looked sheepish now that her fiancé was here. "So what is it, blondie?" Tim asked, using a nickname because he was too drunk to remember what her actual name was. Something with an 'S' maybe? "He doesn't give it to you the way you like it? Or you just saw "Tim Riggins" and had to have a taste?" He asked the last part bitterly. Although, he's not sure why he's so bitter about it. He's been with many women before simply because they wanted to spend a night with the football star, and he never complained because it's given him many warm bodies to lie next to at night.

Before Tim could dwell any longer on why it suddenly bothered him that women only want to be with him because of his celebrity status, the guy turned him around and sucker punched him. For such a small guy, he had a pretty mean right hook, Tim thought. If he weren't so drunk, it might have even hurt a bit. Tim just rubbed his jaw and chuckled as he straightened. He grabbed the guy by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eye, letting him know what was coming, he's not about to be a little bitch and sucker punch the guy like he just was. And he wanted him to know that. Tim swung his arm back and threw it forward, connecting with the guy's face with a sickening crunch. He was sure he broke the man's nose, but that didn't stop him from throwing another punch, and then another. He didn't stop. Not until his knuckles felt raw and were bloody from the other man's wounds, and blondie was screaming at him to stop.

He stormed out of the bar after that. He was angry; he wasn't sure why, but he was and that fight had only added fuel to the fire. He was itching for another. He walked towards his truck, completely ignoring Smash's early words of wisdom to take a cab, and drove away in a frenzy of screeching tires. Where he was going? He had no clue. He just knew he needed to get away from everything. He just wanted some peace and quiet.

Tim awoke with a start. He was sweating, the sheets clinging to his naked chest. He remembered. Well, something at least. He still couldn't remember what happened after that moment. He knew enough because it was all over the press. There was an accident. He was the cause of it. He almost killed a man. He didn't even know that man's name. Tim looked over at the clock, 4:30 AM. He groaned and threw a pillow over his head, he just wanted one good night's sleep. He hasn't been able to get a full night's sleep since the accident, memories of what happened kept plaguing his unconscious moments at every opportunity. Only in bits and pieces, though. He wished he could remember what happened, even if just so he could get one solid night's rest.

Knowing there was no chance of getting back to sleep, Tim got up. After going to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and brush his teeth he came back into his bedroom and dug through his suitcase for some workout gear. He still hadn't unpacked. He didn't want to, if he did, it would make things seem permanent. He had already rented an apartment, that was permanent enough for him for now. It wasn't the nicest place, just a one bedroom in a dingy complex in East Dillon. He could definitely afford something nicer, but all the other month-to-month lease places he looked at were too . . . "frou-frou" for his tastes. Guess that's what happens when booster wives get bored, he thought. He quickly changed into the workout clothes he'd picked out, just a pair of black mesh shorts, a Dillon panthers t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, and a pair of Nike running shoes. He grabbed his phone and a pair of headphones and was out the door. If he couldn't sleep his thoughts away, maybe he could work them away? It was a longshot, but at this point, he would try anything.

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Julie sat across from Jason in her classroom the next day at lunch. He stared at her as she ate her spicy chicken burger. She was hoping to avoid talking to Jason, she even left school to get her lunch today, rather than bringing it from home like she normally would. Usually, if Jason stopped by her classroom and she wasn't there, he would just leave and come back another time; that's how she's managed to avoid him for so long. But today, today he waited for her. When she got back and walked into her classroom, he was there, sitting at her desk with his food, just . . . waiting. Julie knew then that there was no more avoiding him; he would just keep coming back. So, she sat down across from him and ate her sandwich with her head down, attempting to pretend he wasn't there, which was proving difficult with his eyes drilling a hole into the top of her head.

"Jules." Jason said firmly, effectively getting her to look up at him. "We need to talk about this, you can't just keep avoiding it." He said. Julie sighed. Why couldn't he just understand she that couldn't talk about it, she didn't want to talk about it, at least, not with him. He wouldn't understand. He's never been cheated on. He has a wife and two beautiful children that are his own world.

"If we talk about it . . . if I tell you what happened . . . will you back off." Julie said, finally just saying what she was feeling. She was tired of him breathing down her neck, trying to force her talk about her feelings, forcing her to talk about the one person she just wanted to forget.

"I can't promise that, Jules. It's my job to look out for you. JD clearly hurt you and I'm truly sorry for that. But, you can't keep shutting out the people that care about you. It won't help." Jason said sincerely. Julie looked at him with slumped shoulders, she knew he was right. It was just so hard. She knew he would be mad, that he would probably want to go have a "chat" with JD, but that's not what Julie wanted. As mad as she was at JD, she didn't want everyone attacking him. She just wanted to be able to move on. She can't do that if people are constantly bringing him up.

"Alright, I'll tell you." Julie finally said. If the only way to get him to stop asking was to tell him, then she would do just that.

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Julie told Jason everything she told Tyra, minus walking in on JD, figuring that little part was best left out. He let her talk, not interrupting once the entire time, something Julie was quite thankful for. She imagined he had a lot to say, but as she looked at him, sitting across her desk, she wasn't so sure. He had that blank expression on his face again, covering up whatever emotion he was really feeling, making it hard for Julie to know what to say or do next.

"Say something, please." Julie finally said. She'd take anything, even him telling her the divorce was her fault, over him not saying anything at all. She just . . . she needed to know what he was thinking.

"I could kill JD." Jason said through gritted teeth as he stood up and paced the room. Julie knew now. He was angry. Not only was it evident in his tone, but he was finally letting it show on his face and body. He paced back and forth, hands clenched into fists at his sides, jaw clenched so hard she thought it might break under the pressure. It truly amazed her just how much he looked like their dad when he was angry, normally he showed his emotions more like their mom. But when it came to his anger? He was Eric Taylor to a T. "He thinks he can just treat you like this and get away with it?"

"It's more complicated that it seems, Jay. We haven't been happy for a long time, something like this was bound to happen eventually." Julie said, trying to justify the situation, thinking it might help him calm down a bit. It didn't. In fact, it only seemed to make him angrier as he stopped pacing and whipped his head in Julie's direction.

"Are you being serious right now, Julie? How can you just sit there and defend him?" Jason asked. "Tyra's right, you are too nice for your own good." Jason said with a sigh, calming down as he looked, really looked, at his sister. She looked exhausted, both mentally and physically, and she looked sad. He could tell just by looking at her that she wasn't dealing with this, at least not in a healthy way. Knowing his sister, she's just been bottling everything down. She probably hadn't even cried yet. She always tried to be stoic in bad situations; she didn't cry when their dad got sick, she was the rock while everyone else fell apart around her. She was the one to pick up the pieces. Jason always regretted that; he was the oldest, that was supposed to be his job, not his baby sister's. He shouldn't be yelling at her right now. That's not what she needed. She needed someone to finally be her rock; she deserved it after having to be everyone else's for so many years. "Come here." Jason sighed extending his arms out to her.

Julie walked towards him and accepted his embrace. Jason wrapped his arms around Julie and rubbed her back soothingly, he didn't say anything, he didn't need to. He just needed to show her that he would be there for her. Julie hadn't realized just how much a simple embrace could make her feel, how much comfort it could provide. She let a sob, a loud, ugly sob. One she would probably be embarrassed about later, but right now she couldn't find it in her to care as Jason squeezed her tighter and let her cry openly onto his shoulder.

"I just want it to stop hurting." Julie said through her sobs, hiccupping every other word. "I j-just want to forget." She cried. But she couldn't, she'd never forget what JD did. The image would forever be burned in her brain.

"I know, Jules, I know."

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"So, I heard from Corrina, who heard from Angela, that Tim Riggins is back in town. Did you know anything about this?" Tami asked Eric, who was currently sitting across from her looking at the Applebee's menu, despite the fact that they eat there once every other week and he probably had every item memorized by now. Not that it mattered, seeing as he order the same thing. Every. Single. Time.

"Yeah, I knew." Eric said, peaking at Tami over the menu. He chose not to tell her because he knew she would make a big deal about it. She'd tell Eric that they needed to invite him over for dinner, see how he had been doing, ask what it's like playing for the Cowboys, find out if he's got anyone 'special' in his life. All that jazz. Eric, spending most of his retired days watching SportsCenter and trying to take over his son's practices, already knew how the boy was doing. And he for one, wouldn't imagine Tim wanting to come visit and share all his problems with his former high school guidance counselor and football coach. Granted, they were much more than that, Tim was like family to the Taylor's, he knew that – hell, everyone in Dillon knew that – but Eric knows Tim . . . he's not one for all that "feelings" talking like Tami is.

"And you didn't tell me? What the hell, hon?" Tami asked, taking Eric's damn menu from him, he knows she hates it when it tries to avoid eye contact. "Well, we've got to invite him over for dinner, see how he's been doing. We haven't seen the man since Julie's wedding, I'm sure he's got a lot to catch us up on." Tami said eagerly. "We could make a family night of it, invite over the kids, tell Jason and Tyra to bring those beautiful grandbabies of ours." She loved getting the family together, forcing her children to come over to the house for family dinners once a month was not enough. Sure, she saw them much more than that, they would pop by and visit, or she would visit them, but they don't sit down and talk like they used too and she never usually gets to see both her children at the same time. Plus, she's been meaning to talk to Julie, she's missed the last three family dinners and every time Tami stops by to check on her, she's conveniently not home. JD kept telling Tami he should try to call her, that she's been working a lot, but she won't answer Tami's calls either. Maybe, she can get Jason to drag her to this month's dinner, which was quickly approaching.

"You see, Tams, this is exactly why I didn't tell you. I knew you would do this." Eric said with a sigh. "Do you know why Tim's back in town?" He asked, at Tami's shake of her head, he continued, "He got suspended from the team, indefinitely, because he was driving drunk and got in an accident. It's all over SportsCenter and EPSN. I wouldn't be surprised if it's also been on those gossip shows you claim you don't watch, but we both know you do." He said giving her a pointed look.

"I didn't know. Is he alright? Was anyone hurt?" Tami asked concerned, ignoring Eric's little quip about the gossip channels. It was a guilty pleasure! Everyone's allowed to have one. Now all she cared about was knowing what was going on with Tim. He's done some reckless things in the past, but never anything this stupid, especially with so much at stake – with his career at stake. All the boy has ever wanted to do is play football, she can't believe he would throw all that away over something as stupid as driving drunk.

"He's fine, as far as I know; walked away with a few minor injuries. There was another man involved in the accident, older man, he was seriously injured. Don't know how badly, that's been kept pretty under wraps, probably the NFL trying to protect their image, and Tim's too, for that matter." Eric said with a shake of his head. He had a lot to say to Tim. Starting with "what the hell were you thinking?" but he hasn't brought himself to go see the man, yet. He doesn't want to yell at him, he's a grown ass man, that's not what he needs anymore. He wants to just sit down and have a chat about what's been going on, but right now, he's not capable of talking to him without letting his frustrations show.

"Well, in that case, we definitely need to have him over for dinner. We'll still invite over the kids, that way he doesn't feel like he's being ambushed, we can talk to him after dinner, maybe once everyone has left." Tami said gently. She hoped Tim was doing okay, this type of behavior wasn't like him. Not like the Tim she knew anyway. Maybe fame has changed him? If so, that's something she needed to find out for herself – from him, not from some stupid tabloids. "What do you say, Eric?" Tami asked a hopeful smile on her face.

"Alright, but if this all blows up . . . I will gladly throw you under the bus." Eric said with a sigh. He knew this would be happening with or without his consent. There was no saying no to Tami Taylor.

"Great, I'll call the kids later today then."

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Julie walked into Riggins' Rigs later that day to pick up her car. She's been without it for weeks, and taking the bus to work every day seriously sucked! Billy told her she needed to replace the old clunker ages ago and she knew he was right, she just couldn't bear to part with it. It was her first car after all . . . but now? Now she was stuck with the dreaded vehicle because she couldn't afford to buy a new one; she can't even afford to buy a used car right now. Has she mentioned how much she hates JD lately? Because she really does.

"Julie!" Billy said happily seeing her walk into the, now, quite large, auto repair shop. "I just sent Danny to bring your car 'round front. Should only take a moment." He told her breaking her away from her earlier thoughts of negativity.

She's grown really close to the Riggins family over the past couple of years, she saw them occasionally through Tyra, but it wasn't until they asked her to babysit their kids one day that they really started to hit it off. As it turned out she and Mindy actually had a lot in common, they read a lot of the same books, like the same television shows, love giving Billy hell. You know little things. Aside from that, Billy's been keeping her little Celica running for the past year or so, and free of charge, despite Julie's refusal. He would always just say "you put up with my kids . . . I owe you."

"Thanks, Billy. How much do I owe you?" Julie asked, she knows he won't let her pay, but she always feels so guilty that he doesn't. He has a business that needs to say afloat and a wife and kids at home that need to say fed. Granted, he's pretty well off, no longer is he struggling to make ends meet. Riggins' Rigs has been doing great for years now. Billy even expanded his shop and hired new workers just last year. Julie always suspected it might be because of the last name on the shop, but she never brought it up. Billy's relationship with his famous brother always seemed to be a sore spot.

"Julie . . . how many times do I have to tell you it's on the house? You watch Stevie and the twins when Mindy and I ask and you never let us pay you, consider this my way of paying you." Billy said. He knew his kids were a handful, they had that Collette snark with a Riggins' attitude. He could barely handle them half the time. So, for Julie to watch them as often as she does, he felt he owed her and if fixing her car pro bono was the only way she'd let him pay her than he'd do it with a damn grin on his face.

Julie conceded with a huff and followed Billy out to the front entrance when they saw her car pull up. "Now, I did what I could and I know you don't want to hear this, but it's time to trade the little blueberry in. She's eating up your gas and at this point she costs more to fix than what she's worth." Billy said blatantly, he gave her the same speech the last time she brought in her car a few months ago. As much as he knew she hated the idea, she really did need a new car.

"It's not that I don't want to hear it . . . Yeah, I will be sad to see her go, I mean she was my first car after all. I just can't afford to replace it right now. Maybe later down the line, but it's just not in my budget." Julie said sadly, she didn't know why she shared that with Billy, they don't talk money, their conversations only ever consisted of his kids and light banter. They never delve into serious conversations. She doesn't remember ever having a serious conversation with Mindy either, come to think of it.

"Everything alright?" Billy asked looking at her suspiciously. Last he checked, she and that stick-up-his-ass husband of hers were doing pretty well, they weren't rich by any means, but they had enough to take care of themselves. JD's parents, on the other hand, were very rich. If Billy had to guess; he'd say they were the richest family in Dillon. Even if she and JD couldn't afford to replace her car, his parents definitely could. Or, JD could sell that expensive douche-y car of his and buy something more practical for himself and still have plenty leftover to replace Julie's car.

"Everything's fine." Julie said avoiding eye contact and cursing herself for saying anything. She really hoped he didn't ask about JD. She couldn't handle another conversation with JD as the subject, she'd never be able to move on if people, herself included, kept bringing him up.

Julie could tell by the look on Billy's face that he knew she was lying, but he didn't question her about it. He didn't ask what was going on, or why she was lying. He didn't ask about JD. He just stared at her for a moment. He wasn't scrutinizing her, trying to read her. Seemed like a lot of people have been trying to do that lately – first Jason and Tyra, then Tim, now Billy – eventually they're all going to realize there's nothing to read . . . She's still keeping so much from everyone, but it doesn't show on her face anymore. She's hollowed out at this point. So, what she heard next from Billy, something so kind, so unexpected, it made her feel just a little less hollow inside.

"You know it's not much, but if you need to you could always use Tim's old truck until you can replace the Celica. It's not much, and truthfully, it isn't much better than what you're driving now, but she's sturdy. She eats gas like crazy, but she'll always get you from point A to point B, and safely. Which is something I'm not sure that little blueberry is capable of doing anymore." Billy said with a nod in the direction of Julie's car. With a sigh, he continued, "And it doesn't seem like Tim hasn't any intention of picking it up anytime soon. I always kept the thing around, made sure she was in tiptop shape so he'd have something to drive when he came to visit. But, the damn boy hasn't even come by the house once since he's been in town. He stayed with Jason and Tyra his first night in town and by the second night he already had himself an apartment." Billy said with a huff.

Julie felt bad for the guy. Aside from his kids and Mindy, all Billy ever talked about was Tim. He was so proud of his little brother; of all he's managed to accomplish. She didn't know all the details, and she didn't need to, but she knew the two had issues. She remembered that Tim rarely ever spoke of his older brother, and when he did, it was usually negative. She couldn't relate to that, she loved her family and would do anything for them, and despite the fact that she's been avoiding them lately, she knew they would do anything for her. And to picture her life without her family . . . she couldn't even imagine what that life would be like. Standing there, looking at Billy as he looked off into the distance, Julie felt his pain. She knew all he wanted was to mend fences with his brother, but she also knew Tim was stubborn. Too damn stubborn to make the effort to do the same.

"Billy?" Julie said, getting his attention. He looked at her quizzically.

"Yeah?"

"You're a good guy." She said and then gave him a hug, despite his shock, he hugged her back. It was nothing more than a friendly brief hug but, Julie felt it was needed in that moment. And based on the small smile on Billy's face when she pulled away, she had to figure that she was right. She just couldn't shake this feeling that she needed to help him mend his relationship with Tim. She didn't know why, or how she even could help. She and Tim weren't friends, and if it weren't for the fact that he was best friends with her brother, she doubted the they would have ever associated, but she was going to find a way to make it happen. She was gonna help Billy get his brother back.

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"Hello?"

"Julie thank God!" Tyra breathed a sigh of relief into the phone upon hearing the younger woman answer. "I know you're still without a car, but is there any way you can pick up Kinley from daycare and Noah from peewee practice? There's an emergency at the bar I have to take care of and I've tried calling everyone . . . nobody's answering and Jason's still at work. I even tried calling Tim to see if he could just drop Noah off at the field with Jason, but trying to get that damn boy to answer a phone is like trying to get Noah to eat his veggies." Tyra said with a nervous laugh. She hated asking Julie to go out of her way like this, but she didn't really have any options at the moment.

"Tyra, breathe." Julie said with a small chuckle. "Of course, I'll pick up the kids! It's really not a big deal, I even picked up the little blueberry today, so I'm not without a car. I'd love to see my niece and nephew, anyway. It's been way too long since I've sent some time with them." Julie counited. Tyra owns a bar and grill type restaurant. She actually bought Buddy Garrity's place from him when he decided he wanted to open another car dealership. With a bachelor's in business, Tyra was more than equip to keep the place afloat, but it was an old building and she's been having a lot of issues with it lately, so much so that she's been thinking about closing shop and reopening at a new location.

"Thank you so much Jules, you're a lifesaver! I gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon, alright?"

"Not a problem. Talk to you later." Julie said, and with that the two hung up and Julie headed out of her apartment to go pick up Kinley and Noah.

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By the time Julie picked up Kinley and drove out to the football field, practice was long over. Julie walked towards the field with Kinley attached to her hip when she saw Noah. He was talking to Tim, the peewee coach's back facing her. She smiled at Noah, who was talking animatedly to the fullback with the biggest toothy grin on his face. She couldn't hear what they were saying from this distance but knowing Noah, and Tim, she could only assume it was something football related. She watched as Noah moved his eyes away from Tim and in her direction, and if it was possible an even bigger smile broke out across his adorable face.

"Auntie Jules!" He shouted happily, running up to Julie and hugging as her legs. Julie smiled and hugged him with her free arm.

"Hey sweetie. How was your first practice?" She asked as she rubbed his head. The young boy continued to smile at her as spoke.

"It was awesome! Tim made me running back, just like Smash Williams . . . a-and he said I was the best player in the team!" Noah said, practically jumping up and down with joy.

"I'm sure there's no bias there, huh?" Julie joked, sending a smirk in Tim's direction. He just smirked back and openly checked her out. He had a habit of doing that lately, and it didn't go unnoticed by the blonde bombshell herself as her smirked dropped and turned into an annoyed eye roll. "I'm sorry about being late . . . that lady at daycare's front desk sure can talk." Julie said with a chuckle.

"It's no problem, Noah and I were just talking." Tim said casually, and added with a smirk, "And I am a little biased, but he really is the best player on the team."

"I wouldn't doubt it. Jason's had this boy learning football since before he even learned to walk." Julie said with a laugh as she pulled Noah closer to her. "You ready, kiddo?" Julie asked. Noah nodded and went to grabbed a small bag with his stuff in it over by the bleachers. He grabbed her hand when he came back and waited for her to lead the way to her car when Tim spoke up again.

"Hey, your mom called me today . . . something about wanting me to be at Saturday's family dinner. You know anything about that?" He asked. Julie turned around to look at the fullback, he looked worried, which could almost make Julie laugh. The idea of him being scared of her parents, her mother especially, was down right comical. But the Julie remembered what's been being said about him lately, about what he's done that's gotten him into trouble this time, and it made sense. He was scared about her parents being disappointed in him; they were the closest thing to parents he had, of course he wouldn't want to let them down.

"She has this big family dinner once a month. Jason, Tyra, and the kids come. JD and I . . . well, you know, before everything . . . we would go too. She just liked getting everyone together, she's even invited Billy and Mindy a few times." Julie said and noticed the way Tim's jaw tightened at the mention of his brother's name.

"You think Billy will be there?" Tim asked, praying the answer would be no. That would be just like Mrs. Taylor, though, trying to force the two together. She was all about family, after all. Julie just shrugged her shoulders and looked up at the fullback.

"Doubt it, he's only gone to one dinner, it went well. I just don't think it's his type of thing." She said causally. Tim snorted at the last part, though, causing Julie to squint at him. "I know it's not my place, and feel free to tell me to back off . . . but don't you think you should try to build a relationship with your brother? I know you and Jay are great friends and you consider him and my mom and dad family, but Billy's your blood. And, no offense, but he's the only person from your family I see trying to stay in touch and you just keep pushing him away." Julie said, she sincerely hoped she didn't hurt him by anything she said, she just didn't think it was fair for him to keep pushing away the only family he had left, at least the only one that chose to stick around anyway. Tim looked like he was going to tell her to fuck off and mind her own for a minute but then his expression changed and he suddenly had this lazy smirk as he looked at her.

"This coming from the girl who's been avoid her family for months now?" Tim questioned his smirk widening into what could almost be called a smile when she blushed in embarrassment.

"Touché." Julie said with a breathy laugh, she hadn't even thought of her own situation. She probably looked like the biggest hypocrite. "In my defense, I don't harbor any ill feelings towards my family like you seem to with Billy. I just-I-I'm just trying to deal with some things right now. Things I don't think they would understand." Julie said solemnly because it was true, she really didn't feel like they, her parents especially, would understand. They grew up in the era where, if you had a problem, you worked it out; you didn't get a divorce.

"Things with JD?" Tim asked, although it was more of a statement based on the tone of his voice. She knew Tim already knew about her marital problems, at least to some extent. He knew she and JD were getting a divorce, but, as far as she knew, he still didn't know why. And she'd like to keep it that way. There's nothing more embarrassing then having people finding out your getting a divorce because your husband cheated on you. Julie knew she shouldn't be embarrassed, that JD should be the one feeling embarrassed, but that didn't change the fact that she felt like there was something wrong with her . . . That had to be it, right? You don't just cheat for no reason, it had to be something she did.

"Yeah." Julie stated plainly, hoping it sounded like she didn't have a care in the world and not like she was completely broken on the inside. Based on the look on Tim's face, tough, she knew he could see through her façade, so she did what she's been doing best lately, deflecting. "I know you and I aren't friends, but I am friends will Billy, so please tell me you'll at least think about seeing him, or even just talking to him over the phone or something, while you're still in town." Julie begged as sweetly as she could, sending him her best puppy dog eyes. Tim grinned, actually grinned, at her, not smirked, or did that half smile thing he does, he gave her an actual freaking grin. And boy, did it make her feel weak in the knees, not that she would ever admit that to herself.

"I'll tell you what . . . I'll go see Billy . . . if you promise to come to this family dinner thing at the Taylor's this weekend." Tim propositioned. Julie looked at him suspiciously, wondering what he was up to. He was grinning at her, and willing to see Billy, if she went to the dinner. What game was he playing?

"Hmmm – all I have to do is go to the dinner this weekend and you'll see Billy?" Julie questioned. It couldn't be that easy. Could it?

"Yep, that's it. Come on, you can't leave a poor guy like me alone with your parents. That's like dropping a slab of meat in shark infested waters. They'll eat me alive!" Tim said dramatically, causing Julie to laugh. She didn't realize the fullback actually had a sense of humor, she thought he was all one-sided, that he was just about playing football, drinking beer, and getting laid. But maybe she was wrong, maybe there was something more to Tim Riggins than the image he put out for the rest of the world to see. Maybe he had his own façade up too.

"Well, then – in that case – how could I say no?" Julie said just as dramatically. "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Tim Riggins." Julie said and held out her hand to seal the deal. Tim took her tiny hand in his much larger one and shook, holding it a little longer than he probably should have, but Julie didn't seem to be complaining.

"Uncle Timmy is coming to the family dinner? So cool! We can play after!" Noah said excitedly from behind Julie with a big toothy grin.

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Happy almost new year everyone! I don't know about y'all but this has been a very eventful year in my personal life, but also just in general, and unfortunately, not all events have been good ones. Hopefully, we'll see more positivity in the new year because Lord knows the world needs it right now . . . Anyway . . . I hoped everyone enjoyed chapter 3 of Worth the Fight! Be sure to tell me your thought on this chapter in a review or pm, as well as anything you'd like to see in upcoming chapters. Next chapter you'll see the Taylor's family dinner, as well as Tim's reunion with Billy. And of course, as always, don't forget to review, follow, and favorite!