"NO WAY are you getting me out on that ice. I'm too young to die!" I objected.

"Don't you trust me? C'mon baby doll, I've got you." Shawn insisted, taking my arm and pulling me onto the frozen lake.

It was one of the few winters in Mississippi where it had snowed enough to freeze the lake. Naturally, Shawn insisted I HAD to learn to ice skate. You know, just in case it happened again.

"Whoa!" I felt his arms wrap around my waist, holding me up before I hit the ground.

"No worries, you've got this. One foot in front of the other." Shawn gave me a grin and set me upright.

"Nope, I don't got this! Let's go watch Batman… and not skate today!" I tried to shuffle my way back to the shore, but Shawn pulled me further out onto the lake.

"I never thought I'd say this, but Batman can wait. There, you have got it! Try going out by yourself; I'll be right behind you." My soon to be ex-boyfriend let go of my hand and pushed me out further.

Shuffling forward, I slowly crept downward until I was crouching and Shawn had to pull me up to my full height. Pulling myself together, I started to slide forward one inch at a time. I felt my confidence grow, until I was striding toward the center of the lake.

"I do have it! I'm going to the Olympics and bringing you with me! We'll make millions!" I laughed, so happy I was dragged out.

Turning around I saw Shawn making laps around the perimeter. As I spun to join him, I was shot in the heart.

With a resounding CRACK, the world fell out from beneath my feet. The cold water surrounded me as I gasped, swallowing the icy surf. The world was starting to blur as I felt a hand pull me onto the ice. Shawn pulled me back into his arms as I coughed up water.

I heard him saying something, but it just sounded like nonsense to my ears. My whole body was shaking, and I just wanted to sleep. Vaguely I felt Shawn pick me up and carry me off the ice, muttering the words to my favorite song.

I have no idea when I fell asleep, but I woke up in Shawn's room wearing a T-shirt that was about 12 sizes away from being mine.

"What did you do to that poor girl? It looks like you tried to make flash frozen girlfriend to keep in in your basement!" Natalie Wolfe was clearly ecstatic about the situation her son her put her in.

"Nice metaphor, Ma we were skating on the lake when she fell in. Is she okay, can I see her? You can rant at me as much as you want AFTER Laurie wakes up." With that, I heard heavy footsteps before Shawn walked in and saw me getting up.

"Oh no you don't! We're going to pump some of Ma's magic soup in you before you even think of moving! Don't you ever do that to me again! Are you okay? I'm so sorry, it's all my fault!" he pushed me back into bed before having a SLIGHT mental breakdown.

He refused to hear me as I told him I was fine and that yes, I still loved him. He finally calmed as I gave him a kiss, and let him take my temperature for the tenth time. Natalie came in a little later with said magic soup, and an order from my parents to stay with the Wolfe's until they returned from their business trip.

We spent the rest of the day in bed, me all cuddled up in every blanket Shawn could find and him lying next to me as pillow. A pillow that interjected every few minutes, quoting along with his favorite version of Batman. Despite the fall, it was a good Saturday all around.

Because the answer to "Don't you trust me Laurie?" would always be yes.

By my last day, I'd given Shawn my extra room key. It saved me the hassle of hearing him pound on the door like a lunatic at ungodly hours of the morning.

However, when he walked in my room Thursday morning, I was wide-awake.

"Wait, what?" I asked the receiver, hoping it wasn't true.

"I was working in the ER when a kid walked in, and I thought it was just that flu that's been going around. But it wasn't, 7 days later, he's dead, and his family is suing for malpractice. Sky, I don't know what to do, when will you be home?" It was Chance, in an absolute panic.

I told him the time on my ticket and tried to comfort him as best I could before we disconnected.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" I jumped when I heard Shawn's voice behind me; he hadn't made a sound coming in.

"Chance is getting sued and wants me to defend him." I waited for some sort of joke about 'poor little rich boy,' as Shawn had taken to calling him.

"Oh, okay." He shrugged, visibly moving on when he knew nothing was going horribly amuck. "To I HOP!"

At his royal decree, we drove off into a pancake sunset, to the kingdom of I HOP-shire.

"Laur, I know you're going back today; but if you ever need me I'll be on the first flight out, just give me a call." Shawn looked comically serious, considering he had syrup on his face.

"What brings this on? It's not like I work in the slums trying to rehabilitate the mafia." That's another thing I learned from Shawn – making a joke to avoid awkward conversations.

"I'm serious here, I don't trust poor little rich boy as far as I can throw him, which is quite far because in my imagination he is scrawny and I am Superman, and I throw him into the sun… but that's beside the point. Call me at 3 in the morning and I'll be on the first flight out, just to be there for you." Shawn gave a little smile, and I knew he would. I knew I could say the word and he would drop everything, ruin a building and be in San Francisco to try and make it better. I also knew I'd never ask him to.

An hour later, we were at the gate, hugging and saying goodbye. It was amazing how close we had gotten in the week I was home, although we did spend A LOT of time together.

"Love you Laurie!" Shawn called out as I walked away, so casually I almost didn't catch it.

Spinning around I saw him adorning a huge grin, waving wildly like a child. As I gave the flight attendant my ticket, I was wearing one too – his smile was unbelievably contagious.

After a nine-hour flight back to San Francisco, I walked onto the terminal. I searched the crowd for Chance. I stood there for 15 minutes, and had him paged twice before I finally grabbed my bags and hailed a cab to his apartment.

"Where were you? You were supposed to be here a half an hour ago!" Greeted me as I walked through the door.

"Me? Where were YOU? You were supposed to pick me up at the airport, not stay home getting drunk!" I shot back, more than a little annoyed.

"Well obviously you're capable of getting places without me, since you're here. And if I'm a drunk why do you want me picking you up? Maybe I was protecting you, did you think of that?" Chance stalked back to the couch, stretching out with his bottle.

"Like you ever think of me when you drink."

"Like you think of me when you're sleeping around."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, resigning myself that I would get nowhere by fighting with him.

"I thought we should go over your case as soon as I got back. Our best bet is probably to settle though."

"What happened to 'I know you'll be fine, you're a good doctor and a good man'?" He shot up from his seat, furious at the idea that he might lose.

"Don't you dare throw my words in my face. You killed a child, Chance! Did you honestly think I could say 'hey, he's sorry!" and they'd just drop the charges?" I was astonished at how far his mood had swung since he called.

"I thought that my lawyer would make some attempt to help me, instead of settling for the first offer we get."

"Most cases go to the family for huge amounts, this way you might avoid jail time! Why won't you let me help you?" I knew what he was going to say before it left his mouth, but it still stung.

"Because you're a bad lawyer! A real piece of work in general actually, and if you weren't free I'd wouldn't consider hiring you!" He slammed his bottle onto the table after taking a swig, punctuating his statement.

"Who said – Forget it." I walked away. Just like every other time we fought, I was the one to walk away. Chance would take me to dinner tomorrow, apologizing profusely. The issue would be buried, and if it came up again we'd have another fight until it stopped being important.

Walking through my doorway, I threw my bags down carelessly. Sliding down the door, I started sobbing again. Just like every time we fought, I'd cry until my head hurt, then go to bed hugging the dog. The next morning I'd go to work, and go on with my day pretending I was okay with no one the wiser.

It occurred to me that if I was going to call Shawn, now would be the time.

But I knew I wouldn't.