“Karen, I thought you were busy with Sydney?” Chris asked surprised to see her at his door.
“Gail came by to visit and offered to stay with Syd so I could go to work for a few hours and I was on my way home and thought I’d stop in to see you.”
“I’m glad you did, I was just thinking about you,” He said with a smile, “Sydney seems to be doing pretty well. I mean, all things considered, she actually looked happy last night.”
“She’s definitely a fighter. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was a Baldwin!”
“I could certainly see that. You two have quite the bond going. She’s really lucky to have you.”
“We’re so much alike, it’s kind of scary,” Karen told him, wishing she could just admit her problem to Chris, but she didn’t have the courage, “I feel like I should be the lucky one, to have her. I don’t feel quite so alone anymore.”
“Karen, you were never alone, there’s always someone for you to turn to. I want to be that someone for you. I want to be the one who gives you a shoulder to cry on. The one who you call in the middle of the night because you had a nightmare and you can’t sleep,” He offered, touching her soft cheek, “Let me be the one you run to when you have the most exciting news and you can’t wait to share it. Eve asked me today about us and I couldn’t find the right words to describe it. We’ve been taking things slowly and just seeing each other, but there’s more to it, Karen. I think it’s time we define our relationship and be totally honest with each other,” Chris prepared himself to tell Karen everything.”
She bit her lip, knowing that there was no way she could be totally honest with him and tell him about returning to her old habits. The stress of the situation had her body craving a fix.
“Chris, I…”
“Wait, before you say anything, I have something I have to tell you. With everything that happened with Julie, I guess I was just afraid that our relationship was too good to be true and that it could never happen. My marriage was doomed from the beginning and Julie turned out to not be the person I thought she was. I know that you’re not Julie, and that things will be different with us. Which is why it makes it so easy to tell you that I’m so incredibly in love with you Karen Wexler.”

“Chris Ramsey! I still can’t believe it. What in the hell is that girl thinking? Is she thinking?” Scott yelled throwing down the newspaper after reading the article about Chris and Julie’s divorce.
“Reacting like that, it’s no wonder she’s not speaking to you. Now, I’m not exactly a fan of Chris, but he can manage to put a smile on her face and we know that she hasn’t exactly had much to smile about lately. When I ran into her the other day, she seemed really off. She was talking really fast and couldn’t sit still. She just wasn’t herself.”
“Well Luce, if your boyfriend turned out to be a total jerk and your new so-called boyfriend’s divorce from an accused serial killer was all over the papers, you’d be acting a little different, too. Then there’s the fact that she thinks I don’t care about her. Not that’s a crazy thought if I’ve ever heard one…that’s it! She’s dating Ramsey to get back at me for not paying enough attention to her!” Scott concluded, “I need to talk to her.”
“What was that you were saying about crazy thoughts? She’s a Baldwin, Pal. You need to give her some time to cool off before you go and try to work things out with her. Otherwise, she’s just going to toss you out the door. You guys will work things out, I’m sure of it. You just have to be patient and understand where she’s coming from on this. I’m going to take Christina for a walk, you want to get those fish sticks cooking while I’m gone?” Lucy asked, picking up the infant and walking to the door.
Before she could open it, the doorbell rang.
“Are you Mr. And Mrs. Scott Baldwin?” The man asked.
“Yes, what can we…”
“Consider yourself served,” He cut her off, shoving the papers into her hand and leaving.
“What’s this all about?”
Lucy didn’t answer him. Her face fell and all of the color drained from it. The papers were dropped to the floor and she held Christina tighter.
“No! She will NEVER take my baby away from me! That monster can not be your mother, it’s not possible!” Lucy cried as Scott read over the papers that had her so worked up.
“I don’t believe it! That nut job Devlin is claiming to be Christina’s birth mother and she’s suing us for sole custody.”

“Karen? Did you hear what I said?” Chris asked, unsure about her blank expression.
“I…yes, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting it. I’ve dreamt about hearing you say those words, but I never even imagined them sounding that amazing. After everything that happened with Joe, he had me feeling like I would never be loved again and I didn’t deserve it. You’ve shown me what a caring, generous, warm-hearted person you are and I couldn’t help but fall in love with you.”
“You what? You love me?” Chris smirked, his stomach dancing with excitement as he put his arms around her waist.
“Did I say love? I think I meant tolerate,” Karen teased, trying not to smile.
”Look, Wexler, you’re not as funny as you think you are! You’re lucky you’re so damn cute,” He kissed her forehead.
“That all you got?”
He responded by dipping her backwards, letting his lips fall upon hers in a kiss that made her entire body tingle. Kissing him back, she ran her hands over his muscular chest, feeling the connecting as her warm skin met his.
“I thought you wanted to take things slow?”
“I lied,” Karen whispered, removing his shirt.

My tea’s gone cold, I’m wondering why I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window and I can’t see at all
And even if I could it’d all be gray, but your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it’s not so bad, it’s not so bad

They found their way to the bedroom as they helped each other out of their clothes. Chris scooped up Karen and gently laid her on the bed.

I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there’ll be hell today, I’m late for work again
And even if I’m there they’ll all imply that I might not last the day
And then you call me and it’s not so bad, it’s not so bad and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life

“I love you so much, Chris. Every time I’m with you, I feel like a princess who can have anything she wants. You make me believe in myself.”
“You are the most amazing person I know, Karen. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t believe in yourself. Promise me you’ll start giving yourself more credit.”
Instead of answering, she leaned in and kissed him, pulling the sheets up around them.

Push the door, I’m home at last and I’m soaking through and through
Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you
And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn’t have a clue
Because you’re near me and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life

'Thank You' by Dido off her album 'No Angel'