Teagan awakened, immediately checking her phone.

She let out a sigh of relief. All night long she kept waking up and checking the time, hoping Aaron had gotten home safely. She knew he was capable of making the long drive, that he enjoyed driving and would do whatever it took to ensure he remained awake. But she worried nonetheless, praying nothing would happen to him. Not now. Not when they finally got their second chance.

She shook her head, realizing how much fear had run her life. When Aaron invited her to stay at his house for the first time, she feared he would disappoint her. When Aaron drove from Colorado Springs to see her, she kept him at arm’s length, fearing he would hurt her. When he returned from training and told her the awful news, she’d fled, fearing the truth. And when he came back into her life, she’d fled once more, afraid of getting hurt again. In none of those cases was her fear justified.

After getting ready for work, Teagan headed downtown for her first class. That day, she met her new batch of students and looked forward to Aaron’s call. She didn’t worry about him not calling. If he didn’t, he would have a damned good reason. But that evening, Aaron called.

“Good evening, Major,” she said.

“Hey.” It was a tired hey, but a happy one. “How are you?”

“Happy to hear your voice. Are you exhausted?”

“Yeah. But the drive was good. No bad weather, and it gave me plenty of time to think.”

About good things, she hoped. “How did the meeting go?”

“Good. The General seemed happy with everything, and that’s always a good thing.” He paused. “I hung my new Captain America poster in my office. He commented on it, and asked me where I got it. Turns out he’s a big fan.”

“Really?” she said excitedly. “That’s so cool!”

“I told him about you. That you write science fiction and lured me to comic con, and now your nerdy ways have rubbed off on me. He laughed at that.”

“Oh, so you scored points with the Big Boss! Because of me.”

Aaron chuckled at that. “Well, that’s only one way you’ve made me a better man.” Teagan’s heart melted and tears came to her eyes. But before she could respond, Aaron went on. “Hey, I’ve been thinking. I want to see you, if you’re up for it.”

“I’d like that.”

“I can come up in a couple of weeks, if that’s okay. For the weekend.”

She checked her calendar. “I’m free that weekend.” But then she had a darker thought. “Aaron, I have a question. A hard one.”

“What’s that?”

“Your divorce. When does it finalize?”

“Oh, right. I’ll have to check the paperwork. It’s sometime in March. Is that okay? I promise you, she and I are done—”

“I know. I believe you. But… I know it sounds old-fashioned… but I think we should take it slow. Until it’s finalized.”

“Okay… do you still want me to come up there?”

“I do. But… I need you to stay in my spare bedroom.” She bit her lip, amazed at how hard it was to ask for that one concession.

“I can do that,” he said, as if it were nothing.

Relief fell over her. “Thank you. I know it’s silly—”

“It’s not silly.” He paused. “I’ll check the flights and shoot you an email.”

“Sounds good.”

They talked a little longer, until Teagan ordered him to go to bed. The next day, when she checked her email, she had a Facebook friend request from Aaron. She smiled and accepted it. When she went to send him a sweet message, she saw that he’d posted a pic of his office, with his Captain America poster, on her timeline.

Teagan’s phone beeped. A text message. It could be Diana, or Aaron. She grabbed her phone from her desk.

An unfamiliar number. But she recognized the 520 area code, same as Aaron’s. Did Aaron have a phone he used for work? She opened the message.

Teagan’s throat tightened. Aaron’s ex-wife. Texting her. She stared at the message, reading it again and again, any excitement she’d felt about Aaron’s upcoming visit draining away.

They’d talked? Had the ex called him again and asked him for another try? Was he again reconsidering out of a sense of duty? Or, worse, did a part of him still miss her? If Aaron believed they were finally over, why didn’t she? Dread came over her. Why was this happening?

Teagan sat down, tears in her eyes as she watched her newly budding hopes dissolve. She called Diana and read the text to her.

“What the hell?” Diana said. “I thought he said it was done!”

“He did!”

“What did Aaron say?”

“I haven’t talked to him.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m afraid of the answer. They’re in contact. You said yourself that he lied.”

“I said no such thing, Teagan. I said I thought he’d said it was done.”

“Why would she text me if that were true?”

Diana sighed. “Teagan, listen to yourself! You’re getting all freaked out over something without even finding out his side. What has gotten into you? It’s like you don’t trust anyone now.”

Teagan let out a giant sigh. “I just… I’ve been kicked hard a couple times now. I guess it’s going to take a while to let go of that fear.”

“I don’t think that’s all it is.”

“Oh, please don’t tell me I have daddy issues.”

“It’s more than that. It’s like you still see yourself as that nerdy kid whose parents never loved her for who she was. And you pick guys like Shawn, who don’t love you for who you are and reinforce that belief. Except for Aaron, who from what I can tell loves everything about you, but you keep waiting for him to reject you.”

“Well, in my defense, he did reject me—”

“No, sweetie. He didn’t. He walked away from what he wanted in order to honor a promise he’d made. That’s not the same and you know it. You remember what Stovi said about Aaron—that he does the right thing, even if it’s not what he wants.”

Teagan stared down at her hardwood floors. Diana was right. And she was doing it again. She was letting fear run her life. Even if the worst was true, it was better to hear it from Aaron.

“I’m not trying to hurt you, Teagan. But if your psychologist friend can’t tell you the hard truth, who can?”

“You’re right, D. I just… I never thought of it that way before.”

“Of course I’m right. They don’t give PhDs to just anyone, you know.” Teagan laughed at that. “Now, I want you to hang up the phone and call Aaron. Right now.”

“Yes, Doctor Fiorelli.”

Teagan took a deep breath and called Aaron. When it went straight to voicemail, her heart sank. He was talking to his ex… his wife. But she made herself leave a message, telling him what happened, reading the text message word-for-word, and asking him to call her. A while later, her phone rang.

“Hey,” Aaron said. It was a worried hey, with a tinge of anger.

“Hey.”

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“Teagan, it’s not true. What she said.”

“What isn’t?”

“We aren’t getting back together or working through anything. I don’t know why she said that.”

“Have you been talking to her?”

“She called this morning. She was having doubts about the split. I don’t get it, but I tried to be nice…”

“Did you lead her on?”

“No. I’m done, and she knows it. She’s done too. She’s just… I don’t know. She’s doing the same thing she did last time.”

“How much did you tell her about us?”

“I didn’t. We admitted we’d been seeing people but we never got specific. And I didn’t think it was any of her business. To be honest, I don’t know how she found out about you.”

“Your subordinates. They saw us hiking that time. Maybe word got back to her…”

A few moments of silence. “That’s it. I never hiked with the other women I dated. God damn it, she must have searched my phone and gotten your number.”

Teagan gasped. His ex went through his phone! And finally, she saw the truth. Aaron’s ex didn’t want him; she just didn’t want another woman to have him. She’d snooped through his phone and probably looked through his texts too, something Aaron would loathe even more than other men would. Teagan shook her head. How freaking sad was that? For all her own fears and insecurities, she’d never snooped or connived behind her partner’s back, especially while claiming they should “honor their word.” And she’d had good reason to do all of that with Shawn! Teagan had been so threatened by this woman. But in reality, Aaron’s ex was threatened by her.

“Are you upset?” he said.

“No.” And she meant it.

“I’m sorry she did this. Don’t respond to her, okay? Just block her and let me handle this.”

“Okay.”

“You know it’s you I care about, right?”

Relief flooded her at the sound of those words. “Yes. I’m sorry I freaked out.”

“It’s okay.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m telling you, that woman knows just how to get under people’s skin. It’s her special skill.”

Teagan laughed at that. “I have no doubt.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

Teagan smiled. “Me too.”

“See you Friday…”