I'm really enjoying writing this. I know it probably doesn't have a very universal appeal, as it's not exactly all smiles and happy endings, but I promise you there will be loving moments, funny moments, happy moments between them (although there will be a tinge of bittersweetness). I'll be honest though, I haven't a clue what the next chapter is going to be about. Most likely I will jump ahead again to a different moment in time. Anyway, thanks for all the great responses. Very much appreciated!

Oh and just in case anyone gets confused, when it goes to the first person narration, it goes from Will to Emma to Will to Emma...etc. So with each new section it will change to the other. Don't worry too much about it, hopefully I've made it clear enough who it is speaking anyway.

The City of Angels

It was the year 2015 that Will finally told Emma what she had been waiting to hear. He had actually figured it out a lot earlier than that.

Five years earlier. 2010. The year after she left him.

He took some time of work. The Glee kids were sad at his departure, but he promised them he'd be back soon and told them to keep working hard.

For about a year of on and off sessions with a therapist, he finally felt at peace. Emma had been right; he hadn't dealt properly with the fact that the baby he thought was growing in his wife's stomach for 3 months had never actually been real. It felt real though. The loss.

So he talked, and talked

and cried, and cried

and when his mouth became tired and his eyes grew dry he gave his therapist a firm handshake and thankful smile and walked out of that room, never looking back.

***

11/17/2010, 7:48pm

He rushed home from his last ever therapy session and knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Pulling out his wallet, he retrieved a crumpled, well-handled note from one of the leather sleeves. He didn't really need the help of the paper to dial her number, but he liked the feel of it between his fingers. It had been hers, after all.

He waited nervously as it began to ring. One. Two. Three...

"Hello?" The voice was male.

Will froze.

Silence.

"Who is this?" The unknown man sounded fairly young, his voice was smooth and soft.

"Uhh sorry this is... wait um," It may not have even been Emma's phone. Maybe he had gotten the wrong number.

Then he heard someone laughing in the background; a laugh that was unmistakably hers. Will felt his heart drop and without a second thought, he hung up.

***

It was by pure coincidence that he saw her nearly five years later.

He never did call her back.

It had been a decision based on illogical but highly emotional reasoning. He knew she didn't have any siblings so that ruled out any chance of the man being her brother; the voice was too young to be her father. And both her parents had been only children. He also knew that Emma didn't invite just anyone back to her house. In fact she was a rather private person. It took a while to get to know her; she had built up walls around her, a coping mechanism for her little problem. She had learnt a long time ago that her incessant cleaning and need to be clean wasn't normal and the world judged her for it. Some people just couldn't understand; most didn't bother to understand, just mocked her instead.

So this man must have been her friend, if not more than. Will felt sick, he didn't want to know. Even if it turned out to be completely innocent, the fact that it might not be was what he couldn't handle. He couldn't take that risk for some reason. And he wishes he could have had the strength, the conviction to ring her back and find out who the strange man was. But his heart had grown fragile since she left and after he hung up, he ripped up that little piece of paper and threw it in the bin.

Anyway, the phone works both ways and she never tried to contact him. Her silence was an answer in itself.

***

When they did unexpectedly meet, it was in a completely random place and yet weirdly perfect, almost meant to be.

The City of Angels.

Finally he was able to tell her. And for a fleeting moment he could see a strange look in her eyes, almost like longing or lust or love... But as soon as it had come, it was gone and with it, her smile.

See, none of it mattered anymore because by then she was married.

And so was he.

***

1/19/2015, 9:56am

My wife and I were on our honeymoon. We were doing one of those around the world trips. First stop, L.A.

We had arrived at the airport at about 7:40 in the morning and caught a taxi straight to our hotel. My wife was suffering jet lag even though the flight had only been a couple of hours. So I left her in peace sprawled out across the massive double bed, and decided to go for a walk.

The weather was rather refreshing. At least compared to Ohio where everything was covered underneath nearly a foot of snow. There was a slight chill in the air, although nothing that couldn't be fixed with a light jacket. The sun was out and the day was just beginning.

***

10:04am

We had been in L.A. for about a week. My husband was here on a business trip.

The weather was nice but besides that, I didn't really like this foreign city. Everything seemed that little bit dirtier, especially downtown. I visited there only once and definitely wouldn't be going back.

I was sitting in the hotel room, watching a news channel, rather bored. My husband had already left for a conference and wouldn't be finished till about 8:30pm.

Switching the TV off, I got out of bed and decided to go for a walk. After all, I hadn't seen all that much of L.A. and we were going home tomorrow. I took a quick shower, got dressed and was out the door in less than an hour.

I walked out into the street, contemplating where to go.

That park Jonathan took me to yesterday was nice, I thought, turning left from memory.

***

10:23am

I walked rather aimlessly around the streets near our hotel.

The chill in the air had gone, leaving only a merciless Californian sun. Needless to say, I was grateful when I spotted a park and quickly crossed the road. I stared up at the sign hanging above the entrance: James Irvine Garden.

The name sounded familiar.

Then I remembered Bree mentioning it to me while we were planning the places we were going to visit. It's cooler in this park...garden, whatever. And darker. It's nice.

***

10:38am

I was surprised that I managed to find the park so easily.

The day was already starting to heat up and I had forgotten to bring a hat with me. Just before I entered the park, across the opening was a sign.

I had forgotten the name after my husband had brought me here, and wandered into the park wondering who James Irvine was.

***

10:52am

The park didn't have your usual dirt path, instead I was walking upon bamboo. There was a beautiful waterfall which I stopped to stare at for several minutes; it was quite magnificent in it's own way. There were many different Japanese symbols, which were falling on eyes that could only appreciate them for what they looked like; their meaning was totally lost on me. There was also some angel sculptures around the base, appropriate I thought, given the city.

What I lingered on most though, were the beautiful pictures. There was one in particular that took my eye. It was a man and woman, their hands outreached towards each other, yet never touching.

It struck a chord within me and I didn't have to think twice about why. It always seemed to come back to her. Whether I wanted it to or not.

As I stared at the engraving, I felt an eerie feeling that someone was watching me. Reluctantly I dragged my eyes from the two lovers and had a look around my surroundings. There were a few other people admiring the fountain but no one was looking at me.

And then I saw her.

***

11:34am

The park had a real Japanese ambiance. I walked along the bamboo path, which wandered into other paths that went this way and that. I was taking the path, I hoped, that would lead me to the middle where there was supposed to be fountain of some sort.

I had been walking for a few minutes and I knew I must be close as my ears were suddenly filled with the noise of moving water. And low and behold, as I passed a bend in the path, there it was.

I quickened my pace and reached the clearing in seconds. The fountain was lovely, with Japanese designs and symbols; very picturesque.

But it wasn't the fountain that took my breath away.

***

11:43am

My first instinct was to run. Far, far away.

Mentally I shook myself. Get a grip Will.

She stood at the start of the clearing, frozen. I decided to walk to her.

Her mouth was slightly parted, her eyes wide.

Before I reached her, she started to walk as well, and by the time we reached each other she did something that took me by complete surprise.

She hugged me.

We stood there for what felt like ages. She was the first to break away.

"Will..." She looked amazed. Almost as if I was some sort of angel. "What are you...why?"

I shifted uneasily as I held up my left hand. No point in lying. "Honeymoon."

"Oh." She said, unable to hide the sadness laced in her soft voice.

"What about you?" I said, rather hastily.

This time it was her who looked uncomfortable. "My husband's in town for a business conference."

Almost involuntarily my eyes found her left hand where a massive diamond glimmered in the sun.

***

Surprisingly, it only took a few minutes for the awkwardness to fade away. They decided to have a walk around the park together; time to catch up.

They talked about their lives while leaving out vast gaps of detail that included anything to do with their significant others. They were pretending, and for the time being they could get away with it.

"Is it me or am I having some sort of deja vu?" Will said examining his surroundings. They had been walking around the park for about an hour.

"Nope," Emma smiled. "We've been going in circles for a while now."

Will laughed. "Oh right. Want to grab a coffee?"

She couldn't resist. "Sure."

***

By the time they found a coffee shop, their conversation had started to dwindle.

Both were reluctant to bring up the real pressing issues.

Why did you leave?

Why did you never call?

Why did you marry someone else?

They ordered two small lattes and took a seat inside.

"So..." Will said, trying to think of something to say.

Emma took a took a sip of her coffee, even though it was still too hot.

They sat in silence for a little while, both furiously trying to think of something to say.

Eventually he broke the silence with words he wasn't even sure he wanted to say. But suddenly they were out in the open and he knew there was no going back now. "I figured it out."

Emma looked up surprised. She gave him a questioning look as she put down her coffee.

He continued, "I know why you thought I wasn't ready. And you were right." He still wasn't sure this was a good idea. Dredging up a past he had tried to forget for so long.

A weird look appeared in her eyes, swept across her face. Only later, after he spent many hours replaying the short time they had spent together would he realise what it had been: longing, lust, love.

It was gone before she spoke, "Well, I'm glad Will." She gave him a small smile. Suddenly her two rings felt heavier than they ever had before.

They didn't really go into it too much. There was no point now. There was a relief though, from both sides.

Silence enveloped them again.

There was one more thing that Will was itching to say. Something he wanted her to know. And also a question that had plagued his mind for almost five years.

She was looking directly at him, almost expectant, yet she couldn't have an idea about what was going on inside his head.

He knew it was now or never.

"You know I tri-" He stopped.

What was the point...really, what was the point?

It was too late now anyway...

Emma sat across from him, patiently waiting for him to finish. "-truly am glad we met like this today."

She smiled, "Me too."

And that had been it. After that, they had said their goodbyes and walked their separate ways. He did stop and look back though, he couldn't help it. He took her in; tried to remember everything about her; the way her hair shone a flaming red in the sunlight; the way her hips swayed slightly from side to side; even the way her arms moved against her body as she walked. He did all this because he had no idea when he would see her again, if ever.

***

Now, in the present as he relives these memories, 74 years old, he almost feels like crying. Him at 38 years old, newly married to a wife he would grow to love, had lived with such a desperate ache in his heart for a long time after that brief encounter. It did fade with time, but the feeling was so tangible to him even now, forty odd years later.

He gets slightly distressed at these feelings and has to get himself up off his chair and take a walk around his small garden. It's out there he can finally breath again as he stretches out his old, failing muscles and limbs. He closes his eyes and lifts his head to the sun, soaking up it's life and his mind becomes clear, calm, peaceful.

Then he's able to remind himself that their story was far from over at that point and he would see her again.

Two years and thirty nine days to be exact.