xxxxxxxxxx

It had been only one month since she'd left Boston. Only one month since she ended the engagement she'd fought so hard to get. Somehow, it seemed like longer. Probably because some days she still wasn't sure she had actually left, maybe this was all a dream or something. The book wasn't going so well. She had five more months before she was supposed to return to Boston and to Cheers, but she had already started to feel that wasn't going to happen. Now that she had come this far, even if this book deal didn't go through, she had to accomplish something before she went back. She couldn't go back having done nothing.

But those were her thoughts before.

After leaving Sam, basically, at the alter, like she had done with Frasier and Sumner had done to her, she left, questioning her decision. Her will to be a published writer made her mind speak without talking to her heart. She knew if she had been thinking completely clearly, she probably wouldn't have left. She had been torn. Either opportunity was a risk. Leave her fiancé to write a book that could fail, or give up the book offer to start a marriage that could fail. Neither option was foolproof.

After a week or two of being in Maine, the constant headaches and complete exhaustion started. She chalked this up to regretting her decision and being miserable. After all, it was awfully lonely in Maine. But everyday when she woke up, she couldn't help but think, How did you just leave him after everything? She had fought so hard to get him to propose to her again, and he did, and she left. It seemed ironic, really.

However, once the constant sickness came, she couldn't claim it was only the flu after more than a week of this mysterious flu that seemed to appear only before noon. The morning sickness, paired with the exhaustion and the headaches, and the occasional dizziness she felt told her it was something else.

And now, she stood leaning against the counter in Sumner's cabin holding a pregnancy test with a result glaring at her.

"Positive, huh?" she said aloud to no one in particular. Perhaps she was talking to her newly discovered child. "Boy, Sam, did we do it this time," she added with a sigh. She didn't know what to do now. She had to tell him, she had to go back to Boston, didn't she? The idea of staying in Maine and not telling him briefly flashed through her mind before she realized she could never do that. She couldn't do that to Sam, or the baby.

The baby. Oh my God, she had a baby.

xxxxx

"You miss her, don't you Sam?" Woody asked out of nowhere as Sam stood behind the bar, staring out into space with his chin propped on his hand. Carla and Norm inhaled and looked towards Woody and Sam with huge eyes. It had become an unspoken agreement around Cheers that no one was to mention Diane, especially to Sam (or Carla, for that matter. And Frasier still didn't react too well to her name either).

"Huh?" Sam asked, breaking out of his trance and turning to look towards Woody.

"You miss her, don't you?" Woody repeated, obviously oblivious to the warning glances everyone was shooting him. Remembering how Sam had reacted to the mention of Diane's name after he returned from Italy without finding her, they had decided her name was a dangerous topic once again. Woody, of course, hadn't been around to witness the ramifications of the mention of her name back then.

Sam sighed and stopped leaning against his chin. "I do," he said. Everyone looked around at each other cautiously, wondering if there really wasn't going to be an angry outburst.
I feel like I shouldn't, I mean, I don't know. I'm Sam, she's Diane, once she's gone I'm supposed to remember that I hated her and be glad I got myself out of that one. But it's just not working this time," he admitted.

"Well, she's left before, Sam. She always comes back."

"She's not coming back this time, Woody," he said. "I know it. It's not like when we broke up and she came back because I was drinking, she knew I was in trouble. After she almost married Frasier she only came back because I hunted her down and asked her to. And then after she quit that last time, she only came back because I proposed. There's no driving force to bring her back this time."

"All you have to do is hunt her down again. Or propose again?" Woody stated.

"No. I can't this time. I let her go this time, I can't bring her back. We parted on good terms this time, not bad, 'we'll make up later' terms. She's never coming back here again."

"Never say never. That's something we used to say in Indiana," Woody advised before leaving Sam to tend to a customer at the other end of the bar.

"Okay, look." Sam said moving across from where Frasier was sitting. "She broke your heart too. How do you get over this damn woman?"

"She made fools of us both, Sam," Frasier said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, obviously you aren't over her after all." Sam said, putting a napkin down near Frasier's newly refilled beer and standing up from his position leaning on the bar. He bumped into Carla who was coming behind the bar to fill her orders. "Oh, shut up," he told her before going into his office. Carla gave Frasier, Cliff and Norm a questioning glance.

"What did I do?" she wondered with sarcasm.

"You hated Diane," Frasier stated. "He's going mad, I've never seen him like this."

"He sure is irritable," Norm agreed. "Anything that reminds him of Diane sets him off. Carla included, apparently."

"I'll tell you, he better get over this soon," Carla demanded. "It's bad enough we had to deal with her here for five years, let alone this new heartbroken Sammy,"

"Hey, cut him some slack, Carla," Norm said. "He obviously loves her. Have you ever seen him like this before?"

"No, and I have to say, I don't care for it now," she replied as she filled glasses with beer. "Why her? Why does he love that bleach bag?" Carla wondered, practically spitting out the words.

"Well, Carla, let me pose you this. Why does anyone love anyone?" Frasier asked. "Sam and Diane had a complex relationship. They were so opposite on the outside that they knew they should hate each other, but they didn't. To mask the fact that they loved each other they piled on the insults and hatred. When they finally both let their guard down and fell for each other things never worked out like they should because in fact, they were not opposite, they were very much, too much, the same."

"Sam and Diane, alike?" Cliff asked with a laugh.

"Sure. They're both extremely stubborn, hence the constant fights. They're both extremely intelligent, but Diane in a book smart way and Sam in a street smart way. Not to mention they're both a little immature."

"You think he's going to get over this? Carla asked, crinkling her nose.

"Hard to say," Norm said "It's not like we can compare it to his previous heartbreaks.

"I don't think she really wanted to go," Woody said, joining in the conversation from behind Carla.

"What are you talkin' about?" Carla asked. "The walking brain has been waiting for something like this all her life."

"Maybe so, but I don't think she wanted it at the expense of Sam," Woody added.

"Then why'd she go, Mr. Smart Guy?" Carla asked.

"It sounded good on paper," Woody said. "Everyone was telling her she had to take the opportunity, her brain was telling her to take it, so she did. She ignored what her heart was telling her. I tell you, I saw it on her face when they stopped the wedding. I know these things. Back in Hanover this was the only type of entertainment we had, watching people suffer from brokenhearts."

"What fun," Frasier mused, taking a sip of his beer.

Yeah, I sure miss it," Woody agreed. "I've yet to see one heartbreak here in Boston."

"Woody," Cliff asked. "What about Sam?"

"I don't think he's seen one heartbreak either, Mr. Clavin. But I'm not sure. He has been a bartender longer than I have."

Everyone sighed and went back to work.

xxxxx

"Okay, guys! I'm selling the bar!" Sam announced out of nowhere. He had stepped out of his office and blurted it out. The bar went silent for a moment before Carla laughed nervously.

"Hey, good one, Sam!" she said with a laugh.

"No, I'm not joking, Carla," he said. I've already looked into it. There's this corporation, The Lillian Corporation, I can sell it to them, they'll just take over. And they'll keep Woody and Carla on.:

"Wait, wait , wait," Carla said "You're serious?"

Sam nodded. "Guys, I can't work here anymore. Everything reminds me of her. I have to sell this place, get out of here, do something else. Change of scenery will be good for me."

"I know you're hurting, Sam," Carla said, but please, think about this. You want to sell Cheers?"

"I don't want to, I'd love to hang on to this place forever," he explained. "But it's just too hard right now."

Norm jumped in. "You can't sell the bar. What about us?"

"The bar is still going to be here, Carla and Woody will still be here- so long as they're up to the new manager's standards, so Carla, watch the attitude for a while- it's only me that won't be here."

"Please, just take some time to think about this," Carla exclaimed. "You don't want to regret this later. Where are you going to go, anyway?"

"I was thinking of sailing. Around the world. Use the money I get for the bar," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice "and buy a boat and take her around the world."

Carla sighed and slammed her tray down. "Fine, it is your bar. I'm taking the afternoon off," she said, untying her apron and going out the door.

Everyone was quiet for a moment after Carla left.

"When she comes back someone tell her that that's exactly the kind of thing she can't do once I'm gone if she wants to keep her job," Sam said and then went back into his office.

xxxxx

"I'm leaving," Diane told Sumner. He had stopped by his cabin, something she had a hunch he was planning on doing often while she was there, to check up on her.

"Oh? Going out for the night?" he asked.

"No, Sumner, I'm leaving. I'm leaving Maine. I'm going back to Boston."

"Nonsense! Diane, your book is coming along so well-"

She shook her head. "No, Sumner, it's not, and we both know it. Right now, some things are more important, " she said. "This book is not everything. In fact, right now it's the last thing I'm worried about. I shouldn't have ever come."

"Diane. I know you're still a little shaken up about leaving Sam. It happened so fast. But you will feel better in a few weeks, just give it time and you'll see."

"You don't get it, do you? Of course not. You never have."

"Apparently not. I know that you have a terrific opportunity at your fingertips, and you're about to throw it away. Don't do this, Diane."

"I already threw my opportunity away, Sumner," she yelled." It's obvious you don't understand that! And that's one thing for me to live with that choice that I do regret so, but now something else has come up, and I have to go."

"What could be so pressing that you can't wait six months?"

She laughed at the irony. "I have to go." Diane began gathering her papers from the table.

"He's no good for you!" Sumner told her solemnly. "He's changed you. You're turning into one of those women who will drop anything and go running to a man who's placed a spell on her." Diane stopped gathering papers but didn't turn to face Sumner. She stood with her back to him in silence.

"I'm going back, and it's none of your business why or to whom I'm going back to."

"You're brilliant, Diane. You could take the world by surprise. Novels, poetry, short stories, you could do it all. Plays, even! Think of the opportunities!"

"Sumner," she stated, finally turning around to face him. "I want to go back."

"Are you pregnant?" he asked suddenly. Diane spun around and looked up at him in surprise- how could he have possibly known?

"What? Why would you even ask me such a thing?"

"Why else would you have to go back? Why else have you been feeling sick and been so overly emotional? You're no good at keeping secrets.".

"Maybe I am. So now you can clearly see why I must go back to Sam. Immediately. Not in six months."

"You still don't have to. A baby is a wonderful thing! A baby shouldn't defer you from your dreams. You can stay here. My cabin can easily become your home."

She shook her head. "I can't just stay here! Sam has to know, this is his child. Not to mention I can't just tear my child from his or her father."

"Oh, Diane," Sumner said hesitantly. "I made a mistake letting you go years ago. I never should have done it! You know my feelings on that subject. You can stay here, we can get married! I'll be here for you and your baby. I'll support you as you write. You know I would."

She frowned at him in disbelief. "Are you telling me to stay here and never tell Sam about his child?"

"What's the difference if Sam knows or not? The same inevitable ending is going to come your way. I've only met Sam a handful of times, but I don't think children are in his plan."

"This insane! Sumner, I know you regret letting me go. But that was years ago, and it was for the best."

"You and I belong together, Diane. We're a perfect match! I don't know how you found Sam, but you two don't match at all."

"I'll tell you how I found him," Diane said, calmly. "You took me right to him. You took me right in that bar, right to Sam, and abandoned me there. With him. Not only that, but I do believe you told him to keep an eye on me. Well, he has. Now you have to live with the consequences of your actions."

Sumner sighed. "I wish you would reconsider us."

She shook her head. "We don't belong together."

"And you and Sam do?" Sumner asked, holding back a laugh.

She sighed and shook her head. "I know you and I don't work, so I'm taking the chance on Sam. The difference between you and me and Sam and me is that I want to make Sam and me work. Thank God for this baby, because otherwise who knows if I would've gotten the push I needed to go back. I don't care to make us work, Sumner. We ended a long, long time ago, possibly before you abandoned me in a bar with total strangers. I admit, I thought I loved you. Had you not abandoned me on our wedding night, we probably would be married now. But then I got into the whirlwind that is Sam and I realized that just being alike doesn't mean anything."

"If you leave now you'll regret this!"

She picked up the suitcase she had already packed earlier in the day and headed to the door.

"And just like if I don't go back to Sam I'll always regret leaving him."

"Just tell me," he said suddenly. "Why Sam? What is so great about that man? He's not like you! He hurts you. Why would you choose him over me?"

Diane looked down at the ground and shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. "I used to ask myself the same question. The answer soon became obvious. I love him."

"I can't believe you honestly think you're in love with this man. He's nothing like you, you have nothing in common! He owns a bar for heaven's sake. He's never going to be ready for a family. He can never give you what you need. He's no good for you. He's uneducated and self-absorbed."

Diane nodded as if she was taking in Sumner's points. "Thank you, Sumner," she said suddenly. "Your points have made my choice clear."

"I knew I would get through to you, Diane!" Sumner exclaimed.

Diane nodded, then reached for the doorknob. "Goodbye," she said before leaving and pulling the door closed behind her, leaving a dumbfounded Sumner standing in the middle of his cabin.

xxxxx

"What do you think?" Sam asked Frasier. The bar was quiet. Carla was in the back room serving her customers and Woody was lost in his own world while drying glasses. "Do I sell this place?"

Frasier shrugged. "Well, Sam. Ultimately it's your decision. But I think you're substituting the bar for Diane. You're hurt that she left you, and by getting rid of the bar you feel you're getting the last word and getting rid of her."

Sam sighed. "I don't want to sell this place. I mean, I bought the bar when I was still drinking. It's been with me through some tough times."

"You know Sam, if you stay here, you'll get through this tough time with the bar, too."

Sam nodded, taking in Frasier's advice. "I don't know though, man. I just feel like I need to get out of here. I need a change! I mean, here I was all set to get married and settle down, and now that that's not happening. I have a house I have to sell. It's like I want some other type of change now."

"Only you know what's best for you, Sam. If you feel the need to leave, you should. Don't stay because others want you to stay."

He sighed. "I've got to. I've got to do it," he decided. "Yes! I'm going to go call that corporation and tell them I'm doing it," Sam said, heading to his office. "You have to move on from everything sooner or later, right?" he asked before going into his office.

"He's really gonna go through with this, huh?" Cliff stated.

"I can't believe he's really gonna sell the place," Woody said sadly.

"Me either," Norm said. "This really stinks." Norm paused, looking at Woody. "Another beer?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Peterson," Woody said, filling another mug of beer and handing it to Norm.

"Where's Sam?" Carla asked as she walked back into the room.

"He's on the phone telling that corporation he's going to sell the bar," Norm told her.

"Oh man! You mean he's really going to go through with this?" she asked in disbelief. "I have to stop him!" she said, running toward his office.

"Carla, Carla," Frasier stopped her. "If this is what he wants to do, you have to let him."

Carla sighed, looking at Frasier. "You really think so?" she frowned. "I still say this blows," she added, flopping down into a chair at an empty table.

"Hey, hey, great news!" Sam exclaimed, exiting his office. "This baby is as good as sold. I just have to go down and sign some papers! Then it's boat shopping for Sammy."

"Just tell me," Carla said, "Are you sure?"

"Look, I know you don't want me to do this, Carla, but I'm sure. I feel so much better now, knowing this is no longer my responsibility."

"Sam's right, Carla, look at how his demeanor changed since he made that phone call." Frasier pointed out.

"Yeah, alright," Carla said with a resigned sigh. "If you're completely, 100% sure."

"I am, " Sam said, practically skipping out the door.

"Hey, at least I'm not losing a job, right?" Carla said.

"Let's just hope whoever takes over this place is just as good as Sammy," Norm said with a sigh, taking a sip of his beer.

"Why'd he do this?" Carla groaned. "All because of Diane," she whined.

"I never did like that woman either," Frasier growled.

"You almost married her," Norm pointed out.

"But I didn't, did I?" he asked with resentment. "No, no, she wouldn't allow that to happen, GOD FORBID."

"Let's just enjoy the last few hours of being under Sam's rule before some old hag takes over," Carla shuddered, thinking of it.

"Hello everyone," a timid voice called out from the steps. Carla froze. Frasier froze. Norm, Woody, and Cliff looked towards the door in surprise.

"Di- Diane?!" Norm finally asked.

"Yes, Norman," she said with a nod. "How are you?"

"Uh, good, good, I'm good," he told her, confused.

"Uh, Diane," Cliff said. "Didn't you, uh, leave there? What are you doing back here?"

"It's a long story, Clifford."

"Back?" Frasier asked. Diane nodded. "Good heavens, this is ironic," he said as he thought of Sam, about to sign his bar away because Diane had left him.

Carla picked up on Frasier's thought. "Oh, God! Someone has to stop Sam!" she whispered to Norm and Cliff.

"Ms. Chambers, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but why are you back?" Woody asked. "Because if you've come back for Sam then I think that you need to stop him from making a huge mistake."

Diane looked at Woody with confusion. "What do you mean, Woody? He's not here?"

"No, Diane. You see, the man's been miserable since you left him. Much like I was after you left me. But I'm over that now ,"Frasier said, his voiced laced with resentment.

"Look, Bleach Bag, Sam's been so broken-hearted," Carla said, trying not to gag, "that he got the idea he needs to sell the bar and sail around the world to get over you. He just went down to sign the bar away.

"What? No. Sam would never sell the bar." Diane was unsure if they were tricking her or being honest.

"Honest to GOD, Diane," Carla said. "That's where he is, that's what he's doing."

"I have to stop him!" she exclaimed. "Where is he?"

The gang looked at each other, unsure.

"Uhhh, Lillian Corporation?" Norm asked. "We've gotta start listening to the details more often."

Frasier nodded. "Yes, yes! That's it!"

"Well where on Earth is that?" Diane asked. Everyone shrugged again and Woody pulled out a phonebook.

"Here Ms. Chambers," he said, flipping it open to the L' section. She grabbed it and looked for the address then bolted out the door.

"Well, for once I was glad to see her," Carla noted.

xxxxx

"Okay, Mr. Malone, here are the papers you'll need to sign. We just need your signature on all the lines with x's next to them, then the bar is ours and a check is yours."

Sam nodded, picking up a pen and pulling the papers toward him. He hesitated, having a moment of doubt. This was his bar he was about to sell. Was he doing the right thing? He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and signed his name on the first page then flipped it to page two where he signed his name again. It's for the best, he reminded himself.

xxxxx

"I need to see Sam Malone!" Diane told the receptionist, out of breath.

"Sorry, Ma'am, we don't have a Sam Malone working here." the receptionist told her.

"No, no, he doesn't work here, he's a client! He's seeing someone about selling his bar to your company. I have to see him immediately." ,

"Ma'am, " the receptionist told her again. "I can't send you in. Mr. Malone should be out shortly, you can see him then."

"I need to see him now," Diane told her. "Before he sells his bar! Oh! I have to stop him from selling his bar."

"I can't possibly send you in there," the receptionist explained. "He's doing a business transaction."

"Good Lord, I don' t have time for this," Diane stated, going past the receptionist and into the only office with a closed door.

"You can't go in there!" the receptionist yelled. "Excuse me!" she said, following after her, just like a scene from a movie or television show. Diane paid no attention to her and burst into the room.

"Sam Malone, are you crazy?" Diane exclaimed, causing him to spin around and drop his pen.

"Sorry, Sir," the receptionist said. "I tried to stop her."

"It's alright, Lisa," the man said, nodding towards the receptionist but obviously not pleased. Lisa slunk out of the room.

"Diane?" Sam asked, rubbing his eyes to see if he was seeing things. He turned to the only other person in the room. "Hey, do you see a blonde woman standing there or is it only me?"

"Oh, she's there," he told Sam.

"Don't do this, Sam," Diane told him. "Why would you sell the bar?"

"Let's start at the top of list of questions people in this room might possibly have right now," Sam decided. "What are you doing here?"

"Obviously I'm trying to stop you from making a huge mistake!"

He shook his head in disbelief. "Diane, seriously."

She sighed and looked down at the ground for a moment before looking up at Sam. "What do you think I'm doing here?"

"You were only gone about a month," he noted. "Not six."

"And that was too long, anyway, Sam," she said with a sigh. "I never should have left in the first place."

Sam looked to the man who was standing in the room watching the events unfold before him. "Uh, sorry about this, but do you think we could have a minute alone?"

"Of course, Mr. Malone," the man said. "I'll be right outside." With that he walked out the door and closed it softly behind him, leaving Sam and Diane to look at each other.

"Are you trying to say that you're back as in…"

She nodded slowly. "Yes. But Sam, I know that by leaving I could have ruined everything that we ever had—"

"Oh come on," he interrupted with a laugh. "I don't think it's physically possible to ruin everything we've ever had. I mean, we got over a nose pulling fight."

She laughed softly, then smiled. "I was hoping so. Look, Sam, my leaving was the stupidest thing I ever did. Everyone was telling me I had to go, had to take the chance. My brain was so conditioned to 'if you ever have a chance to become a writer, take it' that it just took over without thinking. My heart, which was protesting wildly, never had a chance to get a word in edgewise."

Sam nodded and stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "I still think you needed to take that shot."

"I did, Sam," she said. "I took it. I left you to go write a book. And you know what? I realized it wasn't worth it. So I'm back. And now I can never regret my decision not to write that book because I now I know it's not what I really wanted."

He shook his head in disbelief. "This is really what you want?" he asked. "You, bright, educated, talented you wants, above all else, to spend your life with, not just any man, but me, your total opposite?"

"Don't you see, Sam?" she asked. "We're going to be together. One way or another, fate wants it that way. Look at everything we've been through in only five years. Every time we have a parting of the ways we end up doing this again. No matter what we say or what we do, how much we hurt each other or resent each other, we end up like this again. Who do we think we are to go against fate? That's what we've been doing."

He smiled and held his arms out for her. She smiled back and slowly stepped into his arms that quickly wrapped around her and pulled her in for a hug.

"I really didn't think you were coming back. Ever."

"Showed you," she teased. She sighed and smiled at him reassuringly. "I know you thought that." Everything seemed so perfect right at that moment, but she knew she had to tell him something else. she said tentatively, pulling away from the embrace. "There's kind of a catch."

He looked at her warily. "A catch to you coming back?" she nodded. "I don't think I like the sound of that."

She took a deep breath and then decided to just say it, get it over with. "Sam, it turns out that I am with child."

The look of shock on his face indicated clearly that he was not expecting that, of all things, to come out of her mouth.

"What?" he said, stunned. "What?" he repeated again, this time sounding more afraid. "What?" he said one last time, this time with a hint of disappointment. "That's why you came back, isn't it?"

"Well, partially," she agreed.

"If you weren't pregnant, you wouldn't have come back, would you?" he stated.

She shook her head. "I don't know! Probably not. But maybe I would have. I was miserable away from you. But you know me, I'm stubborn," she admitted, "and had I not found out about the baby then I probably would have pushed myself to stay and get past this heartbreak."

"This is just great," Sam mumbled. "You come back because you had no choice."

"I did have a choice!" she declared. "I could've stayed and finished writing the book and still come back within the six month timeline! I could have stayed, forever, and never even told you about your child!"

"That's not you, and you know it," he told her. "The only choice you had, being who you are, was to come back here to me."

"Don't you see?" she told him. "What I just said about fate wanting us together? Obviously it's true! It took something like this to push me to come back, to get me to realize that being here, with you, is the thing I want to most. This is where I want to be."

He studied her face for a moment. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said quietly "I want to be here, with you and with, well... " she trailed off, unsure of how he was feeling about the whole baby thing.

"Our baby?" he asked. She nodded, then looked at his face for a sign of what he was feeling. She felt relief wash over her when he grinned at her.

"I can't believe we got you pregnant," he stated. "How, uh, far along are you?" he asked, taking her hands in his and giving them a squeeze.

"About eight weeks, I imagine," she told him in a whisper.

"Pregnant," he said, still partially in shock. "I never thought it would happen this way, you know," he told her.

"I know, I know, you thought you'd be married and in love and trying to have a baby, right?"

"No, no, I thought it would be some girl who's last name or face I can't remember calling me up over the phone, yelling."

Diane rolled her eyes good naturedly. "So sorry to crush your dreams."

Sam continued on, "We may not be married and we may not have been trying, but, uh..." Diane smiled at how some things never changed. "I do love you."

She grinned at him when the words easily slipped out of his mouth. For a moment she had a thought of messing with him, but she knew now was not the time- at least, not if she ever wanted to hear those words out of his mouth again.

"Oh, Sam," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "I love you too," she replied before moving in to kiss him. It felt as if they had been apart much longer than a month from the intensity of the kiss. Diane was horrified at the thought that she may have stayed away longer.

"Sam, I…" she paused, tears in her eyes. "I mean, I just want to know that this-"

He cut her off. "It's going to."

"But it never has before," she said quietly.

"We were stupid before," he told her simply, kissing her on the forehead. "And we didn't have a baby before."

"That's just what I mean," she said. "I don't want to screw up someone else."

"It's going to work," he repeated. Diane was surprised at his certainty. Apparently the time apart had made him sure of their relationship. "I'll do whatever you want, whatever it takes. I want it to work."

She smiled brightly. "As do I," she told him.

"We've always put a lot of energy into our relationship," he said. She looked at him with a skeptic look. "I mean, energy in terms of jealousy, anger, annoyance, resentment, into hiding our feelings and into making insults and comebacks to hit each other with," he said. "Now imagine we take all this energy and put it into making us work and supporting each other and being there for each other. That can work." She nodded, smiling at him, basically agreeing with his statement. Sam continued. "I mean, what choice to we have? This is what fate wants."

Diane grinned and returned to his arms, where he pulled her into another hug. "I'm sorry for leaving," she said quietly.

"Don't be," he told her. "You had to take your shot, I wanted you to." He paused and kissed her on top of the head. "But make no mistake, I'm never letting you go again. You had your chance, Sweetheart. Now you're mine."

"Thank God." She smiled. She paused then looked at him, a little surprised. "And where did you come up with the whole energy thing?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I've been talking to Frasier. A lot."

She chuckled. "Oh. I see." He leaned in to kiss her. "So, Sam," she said with a tease to her voice. "Do you agree that we most very likely conceived this baby while polishing our floors?"

He smiled at first, reliving the memory, then a look of horror crossed his face. "Oh, God. We are never telling our kid that."

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