NORMAL POV

"Okay we need chips and dip, some candy, and we definitely need some ice cream." Val said as she was throwing stuff into the cart.

She turned to ask Kate a question, but she wasn't there. As she rounded the corner, she saw Kate standing by the magazines staring down at one. When Val got closer, she saw that Kate was looking at a picture of Brian and Zacky on the cover of a magazine. Val winced and put her arms around Kate.

"I'm sure he's missin' you just as much baby girl." She said softly. Kate nodded and tossed the magazine down.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Val asked. Kate shook her head.

"No, I don't want to bother him." She said. Val sighed and started walking again.

They wandered into the alcohol isle and Val pouted.

"I would kill to get smashed right now." She said. Kate smiled and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and held it up.

"I'll get drunk for the both of us then." Kate said. Val shook her head and grabbed the bottle from her hands.

"No way honey. If i gotta stay sober, then so do you." She said as she put it back on the shelf.

Kate smiled and nodded. She was really proud of Val. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, she had given up smoking and alcohol for the baby.

"Fine, but there's no way in hell I'm giving up my cigarettes for you." Kate said with a laugh. Val laughed too and they made their way to the check out.

Both girls groaned when they saw only two registers open, both with about a thousand shoppers each in the lines. Val picked up a tabloid magazine and started flipping through it. After a while of silence, Val cleared her throat.

"You know, if you wanna talk to Brian you're gonna have to text or call him." Kate raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Val shrugged and flipped the page.

"Well, Brian's not exactly the most romantic person in the world you know so he's not gonna be thinking about texting you all the time. You're gonna have to pester the hell outta him in order to talk to him." She said.

Kate just looked at her and then looked away. Val tossed the magazine down and took Kate's hand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." Val said to her. Kate just nodded.

Finally it was their turn and Kate started putting everything on the belt. When they were finished, they headed out to the car. As they were driving home, Val pulled out her cell phone and started to text someone. Kate looked over and Val sighed.

"Look, I told you, you've gotta make all the moves." She said. Kate nodded and looked out the window.

"But I don't want to bother him." Kate said. Val raised her eyebrow.

"Bother him? You're his girlfriend, how would you bother him?" She said.

"Well, he's not used to having someone back home to report to." Kate said quietly. Val glanced at Kate but said nothing.

When they pulled into the driveway, Kate sighed and gave into her nagging heart and pulled her cell phone out and sent a text to Brian.

'Hey Babe, I'm just missin' you like crazy.'

Once it sent, Kate went into the house and saw Val on the phone.

"Please? We would love to have you over Leana." Val said.

She was on the phone with Jimmy's wife Leana. Kate sat down at the table and picked up Pinkly.

"Great! We'll see you then babe." Val said before hanging up.

Val sat across from Kate and smile. Kate raised her eyebrow and waited for Val to elabroate.

"So I called Leana and invited her to our sleepover!" Val said happily.

Kate smiled. Leana hadn't had too much contact with anyone since Jimmy died. It would be good for her to have some girl time.

"That's great." Kate said. Val nodded and stood up.

"I'm gonna grab some pillows and blankets." She said. Kate nodded and went outside.

Pinkly trotted out with her and started roaming around. Kate anxiously pulled her phone out to see if Brian had texted her back.

He hadn't.

"Damn." She said out loud. Kate turned around to go back in and she whistled for Pinkly.

She didn't come. Kate clapped her hands together.

"Pinkly! Here girl!" She called.

The dog didn't respond.

"Shit." She said.

Kate jogged up the driveway, calling Pinkly's name as she went.

"Pinkly! Where are you?" She called again.

Kate made a right turn out of the driveway and jogged down the side of the road.

"Brian's going to kill me." Kate said to herself.

Then, on a bench across the street, Kate saw Pinkly. She was in the lap of a stranger. Kate sighed and ran across the street.

"Pinkly! There you are!" Kate exclaimed.

"Is this your dog?" The man holding her asked. Kate looked up at him in awe.

He was goregous. He was longish wavy blonde hair and piercing green eyes and he had just a tiny bit of stubble on his chin. From what Kate could see, he had an athletic build and had very broad chest and shoulders.

"Miss? Is the dog yours?" He said again. Kate blinked herself out of her daze and nodded.

"Yes. Thank you so much for finding her." Kate said. The man shrugged.

"She found me actually." He said, flashing Kate a smile. Kate smiled back and started to leave.

"I'm Chase." He called to her.

Kate turned over her shoulder to look at him. She could see now that he was standing, he was very muscular indeed. His white shirt was practically busting off of him. He stuck his hand out and Kate slowly put hers inside of it.

"Kate." She said. Chase gave her hand a little squeeze. Kate blushed and Chase smiled a crooked smile.

"Nice to meet you. I'll see you around Kate." He said. He slowly let go of Kate's hand, then bent down and picked up a soccer ball from under the bench and started walking away.

Kate watched him walk away until he was out of sight. Pinkly yipped and licked her face, pulling her from her gaze. Kate sighed and patted the dog's head.

"Well, thanks to Chase I will live to see another day." Kate said to Pinkly.

Pinkly barked and Kate walked back to Val's, but this time with Pinkly in her arms.