The beeping of the alarm was an unwelcome sound to Vic's ears, and she fought desperately to stay asleep. But she finally gave up and fumbled to reach her phone on the bedside table to turn it off. With a groan, she collapsed back on the bed, and then stretched, her arm coming into contact with something warm and solid beside her. It took her only a second to realize what she had made contact with and she turned and brought her cheek to rest against Walt's shoulder.

"Morning." Walt's throaty voice sounded like her foggy brain felt.

"Morning." She slid her hand up his chest. "If we lie here and keep our eyes closed, can we just pretend that the alarm did not go off?"

Walt chuckled. "If you don't mind missing your flight, we can pretend all you want."

Vic groaned again. "Whose bright idea was it to book a flight that required us to get up on a Sunday before it's even light outside?"

"I won't name any names." He ran his knuckles along her forearm. "But I think the trouble you're having has less to do with how early you had to wake up and more to do with how late you went to bed."

"I did not go to bed late."

"Correction. How late you went to sleep."

"So you're saying this is all your fault since you're the reason I stayed up so late?"

"I believe you were an equal contributor."

Vic pressed her lips into his shoulder. "Yeah. Plus, I did convince you to stay." She lifted her head with a grin, and propped herself up on her elbow. "But in all fairness, you told me to keep pushing you to ensure we are moving forward. I didn't want to cut you off on the progress you were making last night. Even if it meant my sleep suffered."

Walt held her eyes.

Her expression sobered. "You ok with...everything? I didn't rush you, did I? I don't want you to regret—"

"You didn't rush me. I wouldn't have stayed if I didn't want to."

She smiled. "You told Henry I was irresistible. You finally couldn't resist me last night?"

Walt laughed. "I believe I said irreplaceable." He brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "But yeah...irresistible too."

"And last night...did you fulfill those great expectations of yours?"

Walt paused. "Exceeded those great expectations."

She grinned back at him and then lowered her head to the bed, keeping contact with his side. He rolled toward her, and placed a hand on her hip, and then slid it under her t-shirt.

"But speaking of fairness, there seems to be a mismatch in nakedness again. While I'm finally at that eight eighths naked goal you were aiming for, you seem to only be four eighths naked."

Closing her eyes as his hand slid further up her abdomen, Vic grinned. "I got a little cold last night. Plus, I wanted to wear the t-shirt while it still smelled like you."

A small moan escaped her lips as his hand made its way higher. She opened her eyes, finding Walt still facing her. His eyes sleepy, but watchful. Reaching out, she placed her left hand on his neck, her thumb tracing his earlobe. The corners of his mouth lifted, and she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. When she started to pull back he held her to him, his lips continuing to roam over hers. When his mouth finally released hers, he pulled back, holding her eyes as they both breathed in deeply. Her hand dropped to his chest.

"Morning."

She felt his greeting rumble through his chest and grinned. "You said that already."

"I wasn't fully awake then, so I'm saying it again."

Her smile stretched across her face. "Morning."

Applying pressure with the hand that was on his chest, she pushed Walt down on his back. Slipping her hand below the sheet, she lifted the material and swung her left leg over his waist to straddle him, taking a position similar to the one she had taken the previous morning.

Walt looked up at her, his eyes now alert. The corners of his mouth slowly rose, and he placed his hands on her hips. "I'm not sure you built in enough time for this...level of distraction, before we need to leave."

"I think there's always time for a little distraction, especially since we're going to have to be distraction-free for a week."

He chuckled. "Six days."

She grinned. "Right. Six days. And what's with calling me a distraction?"

He dropped his hands and propped himself up on his forearms. "Oh you're absolutely a distraction. You've been driving me to distraction...going on two-and-a-half years now."

Her grin grew. "I think we can distract ourselves for a little while. We don't need much time to get ready. I'm packed. You're just going to be slipping back into the clothes you wore yesterday."

He glanced at the stairway. "I have a change of clothes down in my truck."

Vic paused and then poked him the chest. "Walt Longmire, did you have designs of spending the night? And here I thought I had to convince you to stay, when you were planning to do it all along."

He laughed as he pulled her hand from his chest, clasping her fingers in his. "I just wanted to be prepared, in case I did stay. I didn't bring the bag in, so I wasn't making any assumptions."

She pulled her fingers from his grasp, resting her hands on the bed on either side of him as she leaned over him. "Is that what you were doing yesterday when I came back from my run and found you staring inside your truck? Were you trying to decide whether you should bring your bag in?"

Walt looked up at her. "Yep."

Vic shifted her weight, splaying the fingers of both her hands across his ribs, and then raised an eyebrow. "When you were packing your bag, what kind of 'spending the night' activities were you picturing? The kind we did on Friday night, or the kind we did last night?"

He blinked. "Both."

She grinned, an unmistakable twinkle in her eyes.

Walt pulled himself up to a seated position, his head almost level with hers. He brought his hands back to her waist and in one swift movement lifted the t-shirt over her head. Dropping the shirt on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her, molding their upper bodies together. One hand came to rest at her lower back, the other slid slowly up her spine.

Her arms encircled his shoulders, and then she leaned in, her lips near his ear. "Now we're even. Eight eighths naked all around."

He shook his head slightly. "Irresistible."

She pulled back and beamed at him. "And irreplaceable."

XX

"Holy hell. You can't go ten miles without hitting static and being forced to find another station." Hanging her sunglasses on the collar of her shirt, Vic leaned toward the radio and turned the knob to advance to the next station. Finding static, she turned it again.

Without looking up she reached over and lightly punched his shoulder. "You know, if you had a CD player in here, or an iPod adapter, we could listen to music steadily."

She glanced over at him, and saw that he was actively ignoring her, with his eyes still on the road, but the small grin on his lips gave him away.

She laughed lightly. "Ignoring me doesn't make me go away. I thought you would have learned that by now."

He continued to look straight forward but his grin grew broader.

As she advanced the tuner to the next station, a static-free song came through the speakers.

"Finally!" Vic sank into her seat, slipping her sunglasses back on and plopping her booted feet on the dashboard. Smiling at the sight of her untied laces, she thought about the morning's distractions that had caused them to run a little late and have to rush out of the house. Tying her shoelaces had clearly not been a high priority.

Pulling her left leg toward her to tie the lace in her boot, she rotated her head to the left. "How long have you had this truck?"

"A while."

She pulled on the bow to ensure it was tight, and then gave a quick look over at Walt. "A while like ten years?"

With a glance in her direction, he grinned. "It's a '96 Bronco. Got it new a few years before becoming Sheriff."

She switched legs, extending the left and bending the right. "Have you ever thought about trading it in for a newer model?"

With a pause on her bent leg, he turned back to look out the windshield. "Nope."

"Loyal through and through."

"Yep." His eyes found hers again. "Or set in my ways."

She laughed out loud as she repositioned her right foot back on the dashboard. "Or both."

His eyes stayed on her.

She squirmed a bit under his attention. "Why are you looking at me that way?"

His eyes flitted to the road and then back at her. "I'm looking at you in a way?"

"Yes, you definitely have a look on your face."

He smiled as he looked back to the road. "I...I just missed this. These past weeks."

"Missed what?"

"This. Driving together. You..."

"Chatting up a storm?"

His eyes drifted to her. "And laughing. And giving me a hard time."

"And you...silently bearing it, but glancing over at me from time to time with an expression that's part bemused, part annoyed, part entertained, and part..."

"Bewitched."

She grinned. "Is that what that last part was? I could never figure it out."

Eyes back on the road, he moved his left hand to the steering wheel, and lay his right hand next to hers on the middle console. "As I said earlier...driven to distraction."

"Well, it sounds like we were lucky you weren't so distracted you drove off the road." She grinned, and then pursed her lips. "Oh wait, you have driven off the road. Only it wasn't because I was there distracting you. Sounds like you're just easily distracted."

He laughed as she leaned her head back against the headrest. She paused a moment and then looked over at him, her fingers sliding over his. "You better not get distracted while I'm gone."

He looked over at her. "Remember? Loyal. And set in my ways. No other distractions for me."

"Good." She paused. "But I'm also talking about the 'not-taking-unnecessary-risks-and-putting-yourself-in-harm's way' kind of distractions." She squeezed his hand. "I want you in one piece...and still breathing...when I return. Doc Weston thinks you're lucky with all those chances you take. I have another word for it."

He flipped his hand over to thread his fingers through hers. "I'll try my best."

She grinned and then looked down when her cell phone started to ring. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she saw her brother's name displayed on the screen.

Releasing Walt's hand, she turned down the volume of the radio, hit the answer button and brought the phone to her ear.

"What's up?"

"What the hell! You don't call me back?"

"What the hell are you taking about? When did you call?"

"Friday night."

Vic bit down on her lower lip as she realized it was Michael who had called when she had decided not to answer her phone Friday night while Walt was over.

"Sorry. I was occupied. You didn't leave a message."

"I thought you would see that I called and wonder why I had called and then call me back to find out."

"What can I say? I'm a shitty sister sometimes."

Michael laughed. "Where are you right now?"

Vic looked out the window. "Still in the car. We're probably an hour away from Billings."

"Someone giving you a ride to the airport?"

Vic looked over at Walt. "Yep." She slid her hand back into his.

"Who?"

"A friend."

"Do I know this friend?"

"Do you know any of my friends out here?"

"Have I ever been invited to visit so that I could meet your friends?"

"I didn't know you would be up for it."

"Well, kind of a moot point now. Unless your friend is hot. Then you'll have to plan a visit to Wyoming at some point, and bring me with. Is she hot?"

Vic looked at Walt again. "Yep."

"Is she available?"

"Nope. Just got involved with someone."

Walt glanced her way, and she gave him a wink.

She returned to her call. "So what's up? Still planning on picking me up?"

"Yeah. What time do you arrive, again?"

"Around 6:30. Delta. From Minneapolis. I emailed you the flight number."

"You did? Ok, I'll take a look."

"Is that why you called on Friday?"

"That, and to see if you're up for going out to dinner when you land...to celebrate."

"What are we celebrating?"

"I found out I made detective on Friday."

"No way!" She could picture Michael smiling into the phone.

"A couple of the guys are going to join us. They want to see you."

"Who?"

"O'Donnell and Krupowski."

"God, I haven't seen them in close to...what...three years? How are they doing?"

"Good. Really good. O'Donnell got married a couple of months ago, and Krupowski just had his second."

"Shut up! Alex has two kids?"

"Can you believe it?"

"Shit. Time flies. I remember picking your sorry asses up on numerous nights when you two were too drunk to drive home from the bar. Now he's a father?"

"His staying out late drinking days are behind him. You should consider it an honor he's coming out to see you tonight."

"I think he's coming out to celebrate your achievement. I'm just an added bonus."

"No, he didn't agree to come out until he heard you were going to be there. He always had such a crush on you."

"Shut up. He did not."

"Think about how many times he came over for dinner, all the way up until you got married."

There was a pause.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to bring him up."

"That's ok."

There was another, longer pause.

"You doin' ok?"

"Depends what day you're asking."

"I'm asking today."

"Today I'm good."

"You up for dinner? If you're not, that's ok."

"I'm up for dinner."

She looked over at Walt again, her thumb tracing circles on his hand that was still clasped in hers. She knew she was going to need to talk to Michael about her plans to return to Wyoming. Might need to be sooner than later. "So, I'll see you when I land?"

"You bet. And tell your hot friend goodbye for me."

She laughed. "Sure thing. 'Bye."

Vic hung up her phone and stuffed it back in her pocket. She let go of Walt's hand to turn the radio's volume back up, and then sat back in her seat and looked over at him.

"My brother Michael says 'hello.' Or actually 'goodbye.' He wanted to know if you were hot and available. Of course he assumed you were a girl friend of mine."

He glanced her way, his eyebrow lifting.

"And he made detective, so we're going to go celebrate tonight with a couple guys he joined the academy with."

He stayed on her briefly and then returned his focus to his driving. "Your brother made detective?"

"Yep!"

"That's good."

She took in his profile.

"You're awfully quiet. Even for you. Something happen in the last few minutes?"

Walt briefly looked over at her, before returning his eyes to the road.

"Just tired. Someone kept me up late last night."

"And wore you out."

The sides of his mouth lifted. "Yep."

"Are you going to be ok driving back to Durant on your own?"

He looked back at her. "I'll be fine."

"You could pull over somewhere before you head back and take a snooze."

"That might make things worse."

She placed her hand on his thigh. "Well, I'll be thinking about you as I sleep on the plane."

He gave her a smile. "I doubt you'll be thinking of anything while you're sleeping."

She gave his thigh a squeeze and then started to slide her fingers upwards along his jeans. "Oh, I beg to differ. I believe you gave me a lot to think about last night."

Arching an eyebrow, he laughed as he stilled her hand. "I'm not sure I'd call that thinking."

"So all those times I caught you staring at my ass or my legs and asked you 'what's up?' and you responded 'just thinking,' what was going on there?"

He refused the bait and continued looking forward, but his lower lip twitched, and she knew that a smile was lurking below the surface.

"Oh. And you owe me twenty bucks. Like I guessed, it was my brother who called Friday night to confirm what time my flight would be arriving."

Walt's forehead creased. "I don't remember actually agreeing to that bet."

"Your agreement was implied by your silence."

"I don't think that's what silence means when it comes to bets."

"Well, that's what silence means when it comes to Walt Longmire."

Walt shook his head, a grin visible.

The truck lurched slightly when one of the front tires hit a bump. Vic's feet slid a bit to the right as the radio turned to static.

"Seriously! That wasn't even ten miles." Pulling both feet from the dashboard, she removed her sunglasses and leaned toward the radio to adjust the tuner once again. "You're just lucky I find you so damn distracting, Walt, because the crappy pizza and shitty stations around here could drive a girl crazy."

XX

Walt pulled Vic's suitcase out of the back of the truck, brought it to the curb and extended the handle so that she'd be able to roll it into the airport. She grabbed his wrist as he let go of the bag.

"What's going on Walt? You were quieter than usual the past hour. I can tell it's more than just being tired."

He gently pulled his hand from hers and brought it to rest on the back of his neck.

She pulled his hat off his head so he couldn't hide behind it and dropped it on the passenger seat through the open window. "Are you having second thoughts about me staying?"

Walt leaned back against the side of the Bronco. "Are you sure about all this?"

A knot started to form in her stomach. "Am I sure about what? Us?"

"Well, I guess that's part of it."

The knot grew as she adjusted the backpack strap on her shoulder. "Part of what?"

Walt paused. "On the phone with your brother earlier you seemed..." He paused.

"I seemed?"

"You have a lot of history back in Philadelphia. And a lot of people in your life. Family, and friends, and colleagues. Out here..."

"I have people out here."

He looked up at her. "You didn't really choose Wyoming. And with Sean out of town for work a lot, the hours we spend doing the job we do, and the nature of small towns when it comes to how they embrace outsiders...you haven't really put down roots like you had in Philadelphia."

"I've only been here a couple years. You can only do so much in that time."

"You don't have the same support system or sense of connection you probably had back home."

"Are you saying you're not part of my support system?"

He looked to the side. "You said earlier this weekend that you're staying because of me. What if...what if I'm not enough? What if you're giving up a chance at a happier life?"

Vic released her hold on her suitcase's handle and then removed her backpack and set it on the ground.

Walt's eyes darted over to her. "What are you doing?"

"You're talking about something important, and I think it may take some time to discuss."

"Your flight..."

"We're fine. I'm not going to miss my flight."

He paused. Vic walked up to the truck and then turned around, leaning back on the vehicle, mirroring Walt's position.

She kicked at the curb. "You think you're not enough? You think I can't be happy here?"

"You seemed like you had a full life in Philadelphia."

"I have a life here too."

"In your conversation with your brother...you seemed so at ease with him. And you have shared history with people who are excited for you to return."

"It's easy talking to Michael because he's my brother. I've known him for over thirty years. And those are just my brother's friends. I know them through him, but we're not really close."

She looked at him. "Plus, I've always been comfortable with you."

"You have, but I...I don't want to be all you have here."

He looked over at her. "These past weeks, as your marriage ended and our relationship was strained, you didn't really have anyone here to talk to about what you were going through."

She looked back down at her boots.

Walt ran his hand along the hair at his neck. "I've been that person you've confided in before, but this time...since I was part of the problem, I couldn't be that for you."

She placed the sole of her left boot flat against the passenger door. She could see Walt watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"Vic, there are going to be times in the future where our relationship will be strained again. We saw how easily it happened yesterday. I want you to have people to turn to. You have that back in Philadelphia, but here..."

She nudged his upper arm with her shoulder. "You haven't exactly been all that good at turning to others for support."

"I'm not a good role model. But I still have people here. In addition to you. Henry. Cady. Lucian. Ruby. When I refuse help, they push back and give it anyway. I want you to have that."

She took in a deep breath and crossed her arms. "When Sean and I relocated here, in the back of my mind I thought of it as temporary. So I didn't invest in many relationships. I think I fought against it, in fact. In rebellion. I was pissed that we had to move."

She looked over at him. "But things with you...just happened. I didn't fight it with you. I found myself opening up. Letting you in. You made being here not so terrible."

"I want things to be more than 'not so terrible.' I want you to be happy, Vic."

"I am happy. Now. I'm saying you made things 'not so terrible' when I was initially unhappy about the move. And unhappy with how things were with Sean."

She uncrossed her arms, and dropped her right hand to her side, reaching out and wrapping a couple of her fingers around his left pinky. "You're my best friend, Walt. I know you've had Henry as your best friend for most of your life, but I've never really had that with someone before."

She looked at the entrance to the airport. "When Sean and I were having problems back in Philly, I didn't really talk to anyone about it. I knew a lot of people because of my family, and the neighborhood I grew up in, and school and the police department. But you can be surrounded by people, and live almost on top of your neighbors, and have access to endless choices of things to do, and still feel alone. Even though I had people in my life back in Philadelphia, I often felt separate from it all."

She inched her fingers across his until their palms were lined up and their hands clasped. "I was completely miserable when you were avoiding me these past weeks. And even more miserable when I decided to make the move back to Philadelphia. When I thought it was my only option."

She turned her head toward him. "You're worried that I am giving up on a chance to move back to Philly where you think I could be happier. If I were to move back there, I'd be giving up the person I feel most connected to. The one person I've actually been able to open up to. Moving back and losing you would make me anything but happy."

He looked over at her and held her gaze. Vic straightened, turned, and releasing his hand, stepped in between his legs so that she was facing him. Walt paused only a moment before pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her.

She leaned in to his chest. "Still freaking out?"

"I wasn't freaking out."

"Yeah you were. I was worried your feelings for me might have changed."

"Nope." He pulled her in closer.

"Or that you were worried that mine had."

"You're making a big decision...a big sacrifice...for me. I wanted to be sure you were sure."

She pulled back, looked up at him and brought her hand to rest on his cheek.

"It's not a sacrifice...me staying in Durant. I want you to know that I want to stay. I'm choosing happiness. You're a big piece of it, but not the entirety."

Walt bowed his head.

"You've taken on a lot of blame these last few years. And denied yourself happiness. I think sometimes you think you don't deserve what others want to do for you, but it's not true. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Cady gave up her life in Philadelphia to move back here. That's a significant thing to do. And Henry held on to a few of Miller Beck's teeth as insurance...to protect you...and spent some time in jail and on trial because of it. That's big. They think you're worth it. I don't want you to think you don't deserve us. That you don't deserve me. You do."

She held his gaze. "Ok?"

He paused as his eyes searched hers. "Ok."

"Now kiss me like I'm going away for a week so I can go catch my flight."

"It's only six days."

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know I'll only be gone for six days, but I want you to kiss me like it will be seven. I want to—"

Before she could say another word he captured her mouth with his.

XX

Looking at the blue sky and billowing white clouds out her window Vic thought about the week to come. About what she was going to say to her family and how they were going to respond. Would she be able to hold off from telling them about Walt?

She thought about her return to Durant next Saturday. About picking up where she and Walt had left off. Would it be like no time had passed, or would their time apart have resulted in them taking a few steps back?

She thought about looking for a new place to live, and finishing her packing and finalizing her divorce. She thought about her first day back at work after having said her goodbyes. About her first confrontation with Mathias. About the first run-in with Omar. Would they all just slip back into their old routines, or would something be different between them?

She thought about Walt being eight eighths naked, and exceeding their great expectations, and achieving that euphoric awesome. She thought about pretend phone calls, and bold steps taken in her closet doorway, and lying with Walt on lawn chairs in her favorite spot.

She thought about the fact that Durant was becoming her home, and that she was not running away. She thought about Branch healing, and Ferg growing more confident, and Cady finding a new relationship and the group becoming whole again. She thought about being connected with Walt in a way she'd only fantasized about. She thought about writing letters she believed she'd never share, and then sharing them with him. She thought about choosing the possibility of happiness.

Vic unhooked the tray from the back of the seat in front of her and lowered it. She put her notebook down and opened it to the last entry.

Henry,

Barlow is dead.

Vic stopped reading and looked out the window again. After a moment she took out her pen and turned to the first blank page.

Henry,

Barlow is dead. His death isn't a loss, but his life significantly impacted the lives of those around me. I have seen the pain in Branch's eyes. I have seen the burden on Walt's shoulders. And the frustration in your stance. While his death may not be a loss for me, I think it will ultimately be a relief for those he hurt the most. And who knows who he could have hurt, or hurt further, in the future, if he had not been stopped. If his crimes had gone unchecked.

Branch is still on suspension, and in counseling, and doing, surprisingly...better. If you'd asked me two months ago if I'd ever suggest Branch was in any condition to be serving as an Absaroka County deputy I would have laughed in your face and used some choice words to describe his batshit crazy behavior. But the death of David Ridges, as well as learning the truth about Barlow's involvement in Martha's death, have actually set Branch free. He spent his whole life in his father's shadow, always feeling like he would never measure up. But the truth is that Branch successfully carved a path of his own, and although it was often challenging, he is a much better man because if it. In time I think he's going to be ok.

Ferg is back at his old desk, but taking on more responsibility. Which isn't surprising given the reduced staff size. And given the fact he finally stood up to Walt and gained some respect. And given the recent strain between Walt and me, and how it was affecting our ability to work together. Ferg really did step up. Not just in the past weeks, but for much of this year. While everyone was keeping things from him, and distracted by their own problems, Ferg kept a level-head, stood his ground, grew more confident and became the backbone the department needed.

Cady is about to start a new job. One that is likely not going to be as exciting as the past months have been. Which is probably a good thing. She's a bit anxious about starting over at a new place. But, as you know, she will do fine. She will do better than fine. She is a Longmire through and through. And although I did not know Martha, from what I've heard of her, I'm sure Cady gets some of her tenacity, fairness and kindness from her mother. Cady was your and Walt's champion these past months, even when the outlook seemed dim. This next job will be a piece of cake.

Ruby has been going about her business in her usual way. But with knowing looks and sympathetic eyes. Ruby saw into Walt's avoidance of me these last weeks in a way that Ferg did not. She really does know all. Although I never directly told her about the problems Sean and I were having, I'm sure she got a good read on the situation a long time ago, and was likely unsurprised by the divorce papers. She's probably been observing Walt and me dancing around each other as well, and isn't going to be surprised when we're ready to make our relationship public. Yes, I know you know there's something going on between Walt and me. And not just because he sought your advice and you gave him a talking-to. Thanks for that, by the way.

Omar stopped by the office on my last day. He hasn't given up on pursuing me, but, surprisingly, his drop-by wasn't a final, last-ditch attempt to try to get me to stay, but rather a sincere goodbye. Flowers included. I'm not sure if he's going to be surprised that I'm staying, but he'll definitely take some of the credit for it. It's going to be fun to see how Walt deals with Omar's flirting, which is guaranteed to continue.

Lucian has not been by to play chess with Walt since his brother's death, but I expect this to change in the near future. Walt is good at giving others the space they need. Or the space he needs. A little too good. But he finally got around to talking to Lucian about his brother's death, and Barlow's connection to Martha's murder. Although Walt can often delay confronting difficult personal situations, when it really matters, he takes action. My decision to stay in Durant is proof of that.

Mathias has been surprisingly collaborative as of late, stopping by to share information or lending a hand when needed. No one had directly questioned his motives, until Friday, when I kind of suggested he felt guilty that he had refused to investigate some individuals and their involvement in Martha's murder, and that he's been trying to make amends. It didn't go over really well, but he also didn't dispute it. We'll see how long his 'good neighbor' behavior continues. Do you want to place a bet? I'm sure Walt and Ferg will want in on the action as well.

You're probably wondering why I've been talking about everyone else instead of Walt. Instead of Walt and me. I know you're curious, and I'll get to that, but you've been gone for a month, and only back for a few days, so I thought I'd briefly catch you up on things. Knowing you, you probably know most of this already. But I've been writing you letters I never sent you while you were gone, so I thought I'd write you one that I'll actually give you now that you're back.

Ok. Here's the part you probably wanted an update on.

Walt was being an asshole.

I'm sure he has told you something about it, and will share more with you in the future. I missed him terribly during this time. I missed what we had become to each other. Turns out he missed me too. When you stopped by my place on Saturday morning, you encountered Walt and me after we'd started to make some progress...talking, determining what we wanted to be to each other, starting to figure out how we can stop getting in our own way. I'll let Walt share the details with you, if he chooses...although you might need to pry a little bit. Progress is forward trending, but slow.

On Walt's behalf, let me tell you how happy he is to have you back. He needs your counsel. He needs you to be just as stubborn with him as he is bound to be with you. Now he has the two of us to prevent any future overly-stubborn, uncommunicative, try-to-bear-it-all-himself behavior he tends to gravitate toward.

Thank you for your suggestion to handwrite my letters. As I mentioned on Thursday, it was definitely cathartic. You also hinted (or more than hinted) that I should let the recipients of my letters actually see them, but I repeatedly and adamantly refused. Until Friday, when I decided to let Walt read them. It was really hard to do, feeling that vulnerable and exposed by letting someone in, but I finally realized what you knew all along. I really needed to do it. For me. For the two of us.

A little over six weeks ago, after an exchange with Walt, I believed he thought of me as just a replaceable part. It was due to some miscommunication on both our parts. I dwelled on that for weeks, and only shared how I felt about it in my letters, that no one saw but me. It turned out that what Walt felt about me was in fact the opposite. If I'd only talked to him sooner...I could have cut down on a lot of pain.

I've decided to stop writing letters in my notebook. I'm going to try talking instead. Sharing personal matters does not come easy for me, but I have motivation now, so we'll see how it goes.

As my last act, as I mentioned above, I'm actually going to give you this letter. And if there's ever a time I need to vent or seek some advice, I hope your offer for help still stands. I look forward to getting to know Walt better, and expect your point of view will be very informative. As you said, you've had forty years of practice with him!

Vic

-The End-

Thanks for sticking with this story! I know some of you wanted me to keep going, but I had originally envisioned this story to take place over the seventy-two hours leading up to Vic's trip back to Philadelphia. There were many times I almost changed my mind, and thought about scrapping my initial plan and continuing the story, as I have been able to picture their phone calls while Vic is gone, their reunion at the airport when Walt picks her up, their conversation on the drive back to Durant, her first day back at work, etc., but even though I had these scenes in mind, I couldn't see an ending if I didn't end it here. I worried that if I continued, I would write past my welcome, or abandon the story at some point, if there wasn't an endpoint I was heading toward. I did love writing about these versions of the characters and their developing relationship, so you never know...I could continue their saga if another story arc comes to mind. But for now, I hope you enjoyed this ending. Thanks for all the feedback along the way!