Falling

You're Not Leaving?

This chapter is a little shorter, but the next chapter their back in California so I didn't want to break it up! No warnings, and no worries because Link and Noah will be back together next chapter :) Thanks for reading!!

"10! 9! 8!..."

Link stared at the timer as it ticked down the seconds, beer bottle in his hand that wasn't stroking Jade while Louis yelled to his Mom, Sue, that it was almost time.

"...7! 6!..."

Lily secured a sparkly party hat to her head, a tradition every year regardless of how old she was getting, while she shouted the numbers along with everyone in time square.

"...5! 4!..."

Lincoln took the glass of sparkling cider his grandma offered him as she quickly made her way back into the room, stepping over Lando who had fallen asleep on the floor about an hour ago.

"...3! 2!..."

Link looked around at his kids, his Mom, Jade, and even Louis as the absence of the familiar blonde head of hair wasn't tucked against him like usual, waiting for a kiss at midnight.

"...1!..."

Link took a big breath, waiting for the anxiety.

"Happy New Year!"

It never came.

He could've cried when he realized the icy cold trickle of a panic attack never crept up his spine. He thought that the painful memory of not having Christy by his side might kill him as the clock struck midnight but it didn't, and he realized with clarity that for the first time he was totally fine. The worst year of his entire life was over and he had survived it. He knew this upcoming year would be hard too, but there was no way it could be as difficult as last year. Last year.

Link smiled and sipped his beer, laughing at Lincoln who said something funny before standing to hug Lily who had approached him for their annual "first hug of the New Year". He kissed his mom on the temple, moving to his youngest who had miraculously continued sleeping through the commotion. He scooped the boy into his arms as gently as he could, lifting the small blonde and cradling him against his chest as he moved down the hall and into the bedroom all three of his children were sharing for the night.

There hadn't been a plan to be at his Mom's on New Years, but when he had flown back from Pennsylvania he had called Sue immediately, knowing he wasn't going back to Christy's parents. Then he had called Christy and they had both agreed they needed more space, but he had wanted his kids. It had been a few days since he'd seen them and would take them for the night and pick Christy up on the second to head to the airport.

He had told his Mom everything when they had talked. Well, he had told her almost everything. He had made sure to leave out the parts where he had fallen in love with someone else. He told her that, in general, he had met someone but when she questioned him he had brushed it off as not important.

It wasn't that he was ashamed or he didn't want to scream it from the rooftops, but he and Noah both had decided that right now wasn't a great time to come out with it. He needed to battle Christy in the courts; he hoped he wouldn't need to but he had a feeling. Then there was the community he and Rhett had built. He'd taken his ring off and he knew the beasts would notice the second his naked finger flashed across the screens of their computers. He needed to address his divorce before he addressed his dating someone who worked for him, which could be an issue in and of itself. He'd need to talk to Rhett about the conflict of interest, talk to the beasts about it, and talk to Noah about what she was comfortable with.

When he'd left the day before, they had talked over breakfast and had concluded they were exclusive but not official. Link didn't feel right calling her his girlfriend, a word he didn't care for much anyway when they couldn't be open about what they were doing. He wanted to date her, wanted to be able to hold her hand and introduce her to his family. He wanted to meet her family too, and not feel like he had to hide her in the shadows.