October 28-November 1st, 2002

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This takes place in about current time...but I'd rather it be a little bit before Ghost Ship comes out. So let's say it was this past summer (of 2002) when this takes place. I know the people in this fic would probably be busy with acting and movies and stuff, but let's pretend they weren't as you read this, LOL (well, except for Ron. He sort of gets busy in the beginning).

+o-----------------------o+

Julianna and her sister Alexandra were sitting at an outdoor cafe enjoying their lunches. They were talking amongst themselves when a thin blonde woman approached their table.

"Excuse me." She said. Julianna and Alex looked up. "Are you Julianna?" She asked, looking Julianna in the eye.

"Yes, yes I am." Julianna said and cleared her throat. She placed her fork down on the table and prepared to sign an autograph or listen to this woman gush over her as she had become mostly used to, being an actress and all. She glanced quickly at her sister and Alex rolled her eyes and sat back, preparing to enjoy the show. The woman smiled.

"My name is Sandy, I'm an old friend of Ron's." She said and flashed her pearly white teeth at Julianna.

"Oh." Julianna said, somewhat surprised. Both Alex and Julianna's eyes widened a bit and they glanced at each other for a moment. "Have a seat." Julianna said and gestured towards the open chair.

"You don't mind?" Sandy asked as innocently as she possibly could.

"No, of course not, go ahead." Julianna said. Sandy smiled and took the seat. She placed her purse in her lap and smiled.

"How is Ron?" She asked.

"He's fine..good." Julianna asked, still a little unsure about this woman. Something about her didn't seem quite..friendly, Julianna thought. Julianna glanced at her sister briefly once again. Alex shrugged. "Sandy, this is my sister Alex." Sandy barely spared a glance in Alex's direction.

"Oh." She paused for just a moment. "So what has Ron been up to lately?" Alex's eyebrows raised. Who did this woman think she was, Julianna and Alex simultaneously thought. They both instantly disliked her.

"Working."

"He always was such a hard worker. What a bore!" Sandy said and smiled.

"Hmm." Julianna murmured in her throat. "How do you know each other?" She asked.

"Oh, we knew each other from one of his movies. 'Sex and the Other Man', actually. I was a make-up artist." She grinned, but it wasn't a friendly grin. "We had sex." She said. Julianna swallowed uncomfortably and she looked away from Sandy. Alex's eyes widened further. Sandy's glee only heightened.

"Excuse me?" Julianna asked and met Sandy's gaze head on.

"Yeah..About five or six years ago that was." Julianna turned away, her mind reeling. Ron had cheated on her? She couldn't focus. It seemed like her life was suddenly chipping away, bit by bit. Alex could see the distress her sister was in and decided to get rid of the stupid blonde bimbo.

"Hey blondie." Alex said. Sandy turned to her and raised an eyebrow, as if Alex was nothing more than a pesky servant. "Was there a reason for that?"

"For what?" Sandy asked innocently.

"Get the hell out of here, bitch." Alex said coolly. Sandy only grinned like a cat, as if she felt sly after catching a mouse. She simply picked up her purse and eased it onto her shoulder and walked away, swinging her hips. "Are you alright, honey?" Alex asked and reached across the table. Julianna looked up.

"He cheated on me." She said simply.

"I would hardly believe that sly little bitch." Alex said vehemently. "She probably just had a crush on Ron and was upset because he was with you." Alex sighed then when she saw her younger sister's eyes fill with tears.

"But what if she wasn't lying?" Julianna whispered. One tear slid down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away. She never knew who would be around to take a picture.

"Before you jump to any conclusions you should ask Ron first. He'll tell you the truth. He loves you."

"But what.."

"Julianna you're a strong woman. One of the strongest women I know. You're my younger sister but I look up to you. You need to get it together. You know she was just a scheming asshole. Fuck her." Alex said. Julianna nodded firmly once and then she straightened her shoulders and lifted her head higher. Her eyes cleared and she sniffled just once.

"Alright." She said.

"Good girl. Now let's go." Alex said. She opened her purse and then dropped some bills onto the table. Then she stood up and wrapped her arm around Julianna's waist and headed to their car.

+o-----------------------o+

Julianna lay on her couch, wrapped up in blankets. Alex had left her only an hour ago after making it a point to stay with Julianna for most of the day so she wouldn't have a nervous breakdown, waiting for Ron to come. And for the past hour, that's all Julianna had done. Sat and waited for Ron to return home. So far she had managed to keep herself under control, but she knew if he didn't return home soon, she might have to be in the bathroom, emptying her stomach.

The entire time they had been dating, all eleven years of it, she had never once considered he would cheat on her. She had fallen in love with him from pretty much the day she had met him and she had thought he felt the same. Not once did she ever expect anything like this would happen. They were in love. She trusted him with her life, her soul. And if he told her that he had cheated on her, she thought she might die.

Fifteen minutes later she heard the key in the door. She swallowed and sat up a little, tensing. Ron opened the door and she heard him shuffling about for a few seconds before he closed the door and walked down the little hallway and into the kitchen. He looked out into the living room and saw her curled up on the couch.

"Hey babe." He said. She swallowed.

"Hey." She replied softly.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked.

"We need to talk." Julianna said. He nodded.

"What is it?" He asked and made his way into the living room. He took a seat across from her in a big brown leather chair.

"I talked to your old friend Sandy." She said and her heart flipped in her chest when he froze. He cleared his throat.

"Sandy?" He asked. Oh God, Julianna thought.

"You know who I am talking about."

"From 'Sex and the Other Man'?" He asked. Julianna nodded. "How is she?"

"Do you really care that much?" Julianna asked.

"We were friends." He said. Julianna closed her eyes and her chin trembled slightly as she tried to fight tears. "Jules.." He trailed off.

"Just tell me." She whispered and then opened her eyes to stare back into his. She would know if he was lying.

"I slept with her."

"Oh God." Julianna said and felt nausea billowing in her stomach.

"Only once, Jules, I swear to God." He said.

"Only once..Jesus." She said. She stood, letting the blankets fall away from her. "How could you do that to me?" A tear slid down her face. She could no longer hold them in. He stood also and tried to move to her, trying to explain. "No, no, no! I don't want to hear it." She said and pushed him away from her. She began moving quickly toward the stairs.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I cannot be here right now. I cannot look at you." She said.

"Jules, please, just listen to me."

"Fuck you!" She shouted and bound up the stairs. He followed her, but she slammed their bedroom door in his face and locked it. She quickly grabbed a small bag and shoved a few days worth of clothes and undergarments into it and a pair of pajamas. She went into the bathroom and began to pile her other things inside. Then she closed the bag and leaned against the counter. "C'mon, Jules, pull yourself together. Don't let him get to you." She said. She took a deep breath and then straightened. She brushed the tears off her face and let out a breath. "Okay." She turned and made her way to the door. She took a deep breath and opened it. He was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall. She walked past him and went quickly down the steps.

"Jules.." He tried once more. She ignored him. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed her car keys. She quickly put on a pair of shoes and walked into the garage, shutting him in behind her.

+o-----------------------o+

Julianna had debated going to her sister's house, but she knew if she went there, Alex would turn into warrior and likely murder Ron. Right now that was the last thing she needed. She knew that she would eventually have to call Alex and tell her what happened, but for right now, she didn't want to have to deal with it.

Instead she was sitting in her car outside of George's house. A few lights were on inside the house, in the main area that he usually lounged when he was home alone, so she knew he was home. She was genuinely grateful. She grabbed her bag and walked up to his front door and stopped. Tears filled her eyes and she tried to shut them down. It amazed her at how much she could rely on George. He was a rock when she needed him and she knew now that it wouldn't be any different. She was so grateful for him that she didn't know what she would do if he wasn't there for her to run to.

She resigned to the tears falling down her face because she couldn't stop them, and she reached out and ran the doorbell. Within moments he was opening the door to her.

"What happened?" It was the first thing he said to her as he ushered her into the house.

"Ron cheated on me."

"What?" George asked, immediately wanting to switch into fight mode, but he knew she hadn't come here for that.

"I found out today that about five or six years ago he cheated on me." She said and sniffled. "Oh God." George took her bag from her and placed it on the floor.

"C'mon." He said. He took her into his arms, wrapping her up tight. God he loved her so much that it hurt his every cell to hold her this way, but he knew she needed it. He would endure hours of torture for her. "Forget him for now." George said. "You just let all those tears come." He whispered soothingly into her ear. And so she did.

Sobs racked her body and she just curled herself into his chest and let him hold her up. She fisted his shirt in her hands and buried her face into his shoulder and let it all go. She hated to cry, especially in front of other people, but for some reason, George's arms were always the place she wanted to be when she needed to cry. He didn't judge her and he always just held on to her, keeping her up. As much as she loved Ron, and as much as she was hurt by this, he had never known just how she needed to be held when she was upset.

Before she knew it was happening, he had picked her up off her feet just a few inches and had carried her to the couch. He sat down with her and let all of her emotions flow out. When she was finished, he pulled her away slightly.

"Thanks." She said. He smiled.

"Anytime." He said and kissed her forehead gently.

"I can't breath." She said because her nose was so stuffed up from all the crying. He chuckled.

"I'll get you some tissues." He said. He walked to the bathroom that was just down the hall and grabbed a box of tissues. He grabbed a wash cloth and ran some slightly cool water onto it and he carried everything out to her. "Which do you need first?" He asked.

"Tissues." She replied. He handed them to her and she dutifully used them. Then he sat beside her and hooked his finger under her chin. He wiped the damp cloth over her cheek and smiled a bit.

"I think you cried enough to fill the Mississippi River twice." He said and handed her the washcloth. She giggled a bit and wiped her face.

"I'm sorry about your shirt." She said.

"No problem. I've got plenty more. I'll go upstairs and change into one of those shirts, and I will get us a big pile of blankets and pillows and we can camp out down here on the couches together, okay?" He asked. He would have suggested they sleep in beds, but all of the bedrooms only had one bed in them and he wanted to sleep in the same room as her so that if she needed him he would be there, but he didn't want to sleep in the same bed as her, because he knew it might kill him.

"Okay." She replied. He nodded and made his way upstairs. When he came back down he saw that she had changed into her pajamas and pulled her hair back in a high ponytail. She was sitting on one of the couches. He handed her a pile of blankets and then held out some pillows.

"Take your pick." He said. She reached over and took two of them and he threw everything else onto the other couch.

"I'm exhausted." She said softly. He smiled.

"Rightfully so. Get under the covers." He said. She immediately obeyed, grateful.

"Thank you so much." She said.

"What are friends for?"

"You're more than that, George." His heart rate quickened for a moment. "You're an angel." She said.

"That's all?" He asked. She laughed. "I thought I was God."

"Maybe to some women." She teased. He chuckled.

"Go to sleep you little brat." He said. She curled up under the covers and left only her face sticking out.

"Yes, Dad." She said. He sighed.

"Always a brat." He muttered. She giggled and closed her eyes. He turned off all of the lights and the television and glanced at her for just a moment in the moonlight. Then he quickly turned away and settled himself into his own couch.

"Goodnight George." She murmured.

"Night Jules." He replied and she sighed softly as she settled down. He lay awake for along while, just listening to her breath as his entire being ached for her in every way.

+o-----------------------o+

In the morning Julianna awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. She stretched her arms above her chest and sighed. She leaned back into the couch for just a few minutes more, taking some more time to be thankful for George again. Then she pushed all the covers off of her and stood slowly before making her way into the kitchen.

"Mornin'." George said and looked up at her from his morning newspaper.

"Hey." She replied and made her way to the coffee.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked.

"Pretty good, actually. I was exhausted I think." She said as she poured her coffee into a mug.

"I bet." He said softly.

"Anything going on this morning?" Julianna asked and motioned toward the newspaper. He shrugged and laid it onto the table as she took a seat across from him.

"Not really. Nothing too exciting." She nodded and took a sip of the coffee as she wrapped her hands around the outside of the mug. "So." He said.

"So." She replied.

"What happened?" He asked. She smiled a bit.

"A lot." She paused. "Alex and I were having lunch down at Sarah's Deli, you know the place?" He nodded, so she barreled on. "A woman came up to me and introduced herself as Sandy and said she was an old friend of Ron's, that she had worked with him on his movie 'Sex and the Other Man' about five or six years ago. And then she told me, very bluntly, that she had had sex with him." Julianna stared into her coffee because her eyes were threatening to well up with tears again. "She must have known that he was dating me then, I mean, it wasn't some big secret. We keep our life pretty much private to everybody but our close friends and family, but I visited him on the set. We were openly together. That wasn't a secret. She had deliberately set out to tell me when she saw me." She paused. "It was strange because when she first sat down, she didn't even acknowledge Alex's presence. Then when I introduced them she said 'oh' and didn't even look at Alex. She was friendly, but there was something going on...underneath that. Now I know what it was, but I should have seen it then."

"How could you have known she was going to tell you that?"

"Well, I couldn't, but I could have known she was up to something. She wasn't trying to hide the fact, ya know?"

"Yes, but you could not know what she was about to tell you." George reached across the table and touched her wrist. She looked up at him. "I know you're hurt, and you should be. But maybe he..maybe he has a reason."

"You're defending him?" She asked incredulously. She had counted on George to be on her side.

"No, of course I'm not. All I am saying is that you have been with him for eleven years. You've been happy, Jules. I'm your best friend, I've seen that. And I'm saying that maybe you should give him a chance, talk to him about it. He did this six years ago, maybe he had a reason." George paused and rubbed his thumb across her wrist. "I am in no way defending him. I think it is wrong and hurtful what he did to you. But maybe he can justify it." George didn't know why he kept talking. It was killing him inside to try and help Ron out. But George knew if Ron could make things better, it would make Julianna happy. And that's what George wanted, even if he couldn't be the one to make her happy. If helping Ron out was what it would take, he'd try. "You should just talk to him. If he can't fix it, if he can't make what he did right, then you can come back here and we'll work something out together. You're not alone. I just think that you should talk to him. That's all. You never know what he might say." Julianna nodded a bit.

"You're right." She said. His heart ached. "I'll talk to him." She paused. "But can I stay here for awhile?"

"You know you can." Stay as long as you want. Stay forever, he begged silently.

"Thank you, George, so much."

"You know that it's not a problem." He grinned at her. She smiled back, but her heart was a little heavy. She just wanted to hang out with George for the day and try to think of what to say to Ron. Being around George would help her. Being around him seemed to make everything better and she wasn't sure why. I guess that's what best friends are for, she thought. If only she knew.

+o-----------------------o+

Julianna quietly closed the door behind her and stepped into the hallway.

"Jules? Is that you?" She heard coming from somewhere inside the house.

"Yeah." She called back. She carried her bag down the hallway and into the kitchen, just as Ron walked into the kitchen from the living room. She placed her bag down onto the table and looked at him. They stared at each other for a brief moment that felt like at least a minute before she cleared her throat and glanced away.

"I was worried." He said softly.

"I went to George's house." Ron nodded, knowing now was not the time to get pissed. "He let me spend the night." She said. She knew it would piss Ron off a little bit, but at the moment, she wasn't worried about that.

"We need to talk." He said after a moment. "I need to explain some things." Julianna met his eye dead on.

"Yes. We do." She said and pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat in it. He paused for a moment and then took the chair diagonal from her.

"First off I should apologize." He said and paused. She didn't accept. Not yet. She wasn't ready to. "I already told you that I slept with Sandy. And I did. Only once."

"Is that supposed to make it any better?" She asked quickly. He shook his head.

"No, I suppose it doesn't."

"Why? Why did you do it?" She asked desperately. She couldn't sit here and let him take his time getting to the explanation. She needed to know. As she stared at him, her eyes pleaded with him. He looked away and cleared his throat.

"Do you remember that huge fight we got into toward the end of 'Sex and the Other Man'?" He asked. She nodded for a minute, suddenly remember the fight they had had about marriage. Ron had brought up the topic to Julianna, about how he wanted to get married and it had led to a huge argument. Julianna hadn't wanted that, and he was upset and hurt by it.

"I remember." She said. He sighed.

"I was hurt. I knew marriage had never been a big thing for either of us, it wasn't something we had set out to have from the beginning. It had just never really been mentioned. But I guess I just started wanting it. And when you refused, I was hurt. I thought it meant you didn't love me enough or something." He paused as she looked down at her hands, somewhat ashamed. "So I decided that I would hurt you back the way you hurt me, so I had sex with Sandy. She had been flirting endlessly with me for a long time, and I knew she was willing." As much as Julianna felt bad for hurting Ron, she felt herself being hurt more with every word. He had tried to get revenge on her for it. She felt tears building up, but she blinked them away. "But when I realized how stupid I was being. I wasn't helping our relationship at all. I knew how much I loved you. I do, I love you so much. Having sex with Sandy only helped me realize it." He paused and stared at her. "You have to believe me." She looked up at him.

"I do believe you, it's just..I'm hurt." She said. He nodded.

"I know."

"I don't understand why you felt you had to...get revenge. I know I hurt you, Ron, I know that. We talked about that. But the fact that you had to try to inflict that same pain back on me...it hurts me even more." She said. He sighed.

"I know. I acted like a jerk. I don't know what I can say to you to make it better. I am so sorry, Julianna. I know that I hurt you. But I love you." He paused. "I love you so much and I want to make everything right again." She smiled a bit.

"I love you too." She said. He smiled then, a bit relieved. "I just might need some time to...get over this." He nodded.

"I know, I understand. I'll be here when you are ready." He said. She nodded.

"Thank you." She said and began to prepare herself for the time she would have to put in to making them all better, and to trusting him completely again. It would take time, but she knew she could accomplish it, as long as he understood.

+o-----------------------o+

Within a week, things between Julianna and Ron were the same as they were before. Julianna thought that maybe they were even stronger from it. She was still hurt by his betrayal, but it was a thing of the past and she loved him and he loved her and they were living in the now. That's all she needed. In her mind she kept trying to justify it by telling herself that she had hurt him when she told him she didn't want to marry him, so he had only been trying to make himself feel better. Deep down she knew that it wasn't really working, but she was putting it behind her. That's why she was calling George.

"Hello?"

"Hey George, it's me." She said. He smiled.

"Hey Jules. How are you?" The last time they had talked had been the night right after she had talked to Ron. She had wanted to give George the scoop.

"I'm good, I am." She said.

"That's great." He said softly.

"Yeah. Things are better. He hurt me, but I hurt him, so we're even. I've put it behind me." She said. Inwardly George was screaming, willing himself to just tell her that he loved her and he couldn't stand her tying him up in knots like this.

"I'm glad." He lied. "If you're happy that's all that matters." He said truthfully.

"I just wanted to call you and say thank you again, for everything."

"Jules, we've been over this a trillion times."

"I know, but you are..you're a wonderful man, George."

"Aww, shucks." He said and grinned when she laughed.

"Seriously though, what you did for me was beyond what normal friends do. You took me in, comforted me, let me stay with you all night and for a day and you talked to me and told me what to do."

"You're getting mushy, Jules." He warned. Tears filled her eyes but she didn't let them fall.

"I know. But I just want you to know that you are my best friend." She said. George was thrilled. Maybe he could never have her completely, the way he wanted to, but he knew they would always be friends and hearing her confirm that was just what he needed.

"You know you're mine, too." He replied. She sniffed.

"I'm getting all choked up." She said. He chuckled.

"Well, just so you know, you're welcome. You know that whenever you need me, I'll be here." She nodded.

"I know. That's why I love ya." She said. He froze for just a moment and then he chuckled.

"I love ya, too." He said softly, and wished for just a millisecond that she was his.

"Well I am going to go, alright? I've got laundry to do."

"Fun fun." He said. She laughed slightly.

"Yep, it sure is. I'll see ya, George."

"Bye Jules." He replied.

"Bye." She said and clicked off the phone. He listened to the dull noise in his ear before slowly shutting the phone off. He sighed and placed it on the stand beside him and leaned forward, rubbing his face into his hands.

"I'll always love you." He whispered.

+o-----------------------o+

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