Playing With Firewhiskey

Kaitlyn waved her wand, trying out a spell that Hannah Abbott had taught her in her fourth year, in an attempt to fix the rogue pieces of hair that wouldn't stay clipped up. After playing around with her hair for several more minutes, Kaitlyn was finally satisfied with the way she looked. She had spent the better part of the day preparing Zach's favourite dinner and was now getting ready to pack it up to bring over to his flat.

"Whoa," Kyle's voice exclaimed from the living room as Kaitlyn passed him on her way to the kitchen. "Special occasion?"

Kaitlyn laughed as she used her wand to cool the casserole dish that had just come out of the oven. "No, just a peace offering. Don't even start." Kaitlyn added the last part as an afterthought, throwing Kyle a look of warning.

Kyle merely rolled his eyes in response and pouted. "Well, what am I supposed to do if you're going to Smith's?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could go see Oliver," she said with a smirk as she cast a charm to keep the dinner warm while she transported it to Zach's flat.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about that. I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Kyle grumbled.

"Oh, please," Kaitlyn scoffed. "I would've known about it eventually. George would've told me," she said matter-of-factly. "It was his idea anyway. He figured you guys needed a little push."

"Yeah? Perhaps he could give you a little push towards breaking up with Zacharias," Kyle retorted.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Kyle said innocently, standing up and going to the kitchen himself to see what his options were for supper.

Kaitlyn eyed him suspiciously for a moment before turning around to slide her coat on over the dress robes she was wearing. "I don't think I want to know," she finally decided, picking up the casserole dish. Kaitlyn walked up to Kyle and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later. Don't wait up for me."

Kyle grumbled in reply and Kaitlyn could only smile, concealing her wand quickly before Apparating over to Zacharias' flat. Kyle watched her go and rolled his eyes. Why Kaitlyn felt she needed to make dinner and get dressed up for the git was beyond him. She should have waited for him to come to her with a massive apology.

Kyle heaved a sigh and looked around the flat, deciding that he had better find something to amuse himself with, or his night was bound to end early. Maybe he would see Oliver after all.

Kyle's stomach gave a little flip at the thought of the Keeper, a feeling he hadn't experienced in quite awhile. Even though he realized that he had been totally set up by George and Kaitlyn the previous night, Kyle couldn't bring himself to be the slightest bit angry. It had turned out to be a really fun night and he was glad that he and Oliver ended up confessing, albeit very drunkenly, that they had some sort of mutual attraction to each other. Kyle wasn't sure where it would go, since he was sure they would have to deal with the consequences of playing on the same Quidditch team and whatnot, but the young Chaser found that he didn't particularly care. He was content with how things stood at the moment, and he supposed that was all that mattered.

He wished the same could be said of his sister. Oliver had hinted to him the previous night that, perhaps, the lone Weasley twin might fancy Kaitlyn. From every point where Kyle was concerned, anyone was better than Zacharias, and the fact that George had taken care of his sister when he didn't have to won more points with Kyle in one night than Zacharias had ever won in the past three years. It was a shame that Kaitlyn was still so taken with him.

"I've got to stop thinking about this," Kyle muttered aloud to himself, making the decision that he should go out and find some company, so he wouldn't spend all night analyzing his younger sister's relationship. With that thought, the elder Thompson Apparated out of the flat and to the first place he could think of: Oliver's flat.

____

After Kaitlyn had left her home, she landed, slightly dizzy, in front of Zach's flat door. She quickly did a self-check to make sure her hair was still perfect and that her dress robes weren't wrinkled. Finally sure that she looked presentable, Kaitlyn raised her hand and knocked gently on the door. She waited for a few moments, fidgeting with the casserole dish in her arms, but no one came to let her in. With a frown on her face, Kaitlyn knocked once more, a bit harder this time. After a few more moments, the door swung open to reveal Justin Finch-Fletchley, one of Zach's flat mates.

"Hello, Kaitlyn." He seemed surprised to see her, which made Kaitlyn apprehensive, but she pushed the feeling to the back of her mind.

"Hello, Justin. Is Zach home?"

The boy in front of her looked uncomfortable and shook his head in a negative, "Er... "

Kaitlyn sighed. "Do you know, by chance, where he might have gone? I sent him an owl earlier this morning telling him to keep his dinner plans free so that we could finally spend some time together. He said he would be here."

Justin still looked incredibly uncomfortable and Kaitlyn realized that Zacharias must have told Justin not to say anything to her about his whereabouts. It wouldn't be the first time he forced his flat mates to lie on his behalf. It caused that apprehensive feeling, which Kaitlyn had pushed away just moments prior, to re-surface once again. Still, she forged on in her inquiry.

"I know you know where he is, Justin," Kaitlyn finally said flatly.

Justin finally gave in. "I'm sorry, Kait." He looked at her, guilt written all over his face. "It's just he... bloody hell, I can't do this." He said the last part to himself, before shaking his head and looking Kaitlyn in the eye, blurting out, "None of us know why you're with him."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's just... " Justin sighed. "He's my mate and all, but even Ern and I can see that he's always being a right arse to you. He told us that you would be stopping by, and to tell you that we had no idea where he was. But we do and I can't just not tell you. You've been so nice to all of us, always making us supper and bringing nice gifts over, and Zach always just treats you like shit."

Kaitlyn listened as her former schoolmate rambled on and on, knowing with each passing second that she probably didn't want to know where Zach was. In fact, she had a feeling that once she found out, she would regret ever wanting to know. Nevertheless, Kaitlyn interrupted Justin, her voice coming out with a slight quiver, "Justin, tell me where he is."

"Okay," Justin finally relented after a long pause. "But please don't tell him I told you... "

"I won't," Kaitlyn promised.

"He's... he's out in Hogsmeade... with a girl he met last night."

Kaitlyn felt like Justin had just punched her in the gut. She stared at him, fighting to keep her expression neutral, even though she felt like screaming and crying and maybe hitting something all at the same time. Her stomach was churning and she felt a mixture of nausea and rage; she couldn't decide which one it was. But she fought herself to remain calm. After all, she could not give Zacharias the satisfaction of getting to her like this. She suspected that this was something he prided himself in being able to do: humiliating her.

"Kait?" Justin asked hesitantly, unsure of what to do next. He had betrayed his friend in telling Kaitlyn the truth, but he didn't feel badly about it; Justin felt worse for the girl standing in front of him.

Kaitlyn shook her head, suddenly finding it very difficult to breathe properly. She forced herself to take in a deep breath, and gave Justin a tight smile. "Thank you, Justin." At the boy's surprised and mildly terrified look, she continued, fighting to keep her voice steady, "For telling me the truth. I'll be going now. Have a good night."

With that, Kaitlyn turned on her heel and walked away. The frigid temperatures outside went unnoticed by the brunette as she wandered around Diagon Alley. She considered just Apparating home a few times, but she didn't know if Kyle would be there, and she refused to be humiliated again tonight, even if it was just by her older brother. All dressed up, Kaitlyn thought bitterly, and all I've got to show for it is a dirty bastard for a boyfriend and a bloody homemade Sheppard's Pie. Guess it serves me right for hanging on to such a piece of shit for so long. Everyone was right. How could I be so blooming stupid? I hope someday he hurts as much as he's hurt me.

The dusting of snow on the ground began to blur beneath Kaitlyn's feet, but she quickly blinked, fighting to keep her tears at bay. It was a particularly nasty gust of wind that brought Kaitlyn out of her miserable thoughts and back to reality. She was shivering, she noticed, and when she clutched the casserole dish a little tighter, she also realized that her fingers had started to become numb. She looked up to take in her surroundings and realized she had a ways to go before she would reach her flat. She had walked in the opposite direction of it upon leaving Zach's. But despite the cold, Kaitlyn still didn't want to go home as yet; she just didn't think she was ready to face Kyle. She'd been humiliated once tonight, she didn't need another embarrassing lecture about how terribly wrong she'd been about Zacharias.

"Kaitlyn?" a vaguely familiar voice startled Kaitlyn, causing her to gasp. "Sorry," he chuckled, "didn't mean to scare you."

Kaitlyn turned around slowly to see that it was George Weasley. "Oh. Hello, George." She couldn't muster up the energy to try and sound cheerful.

"What are you doing out here?" George asked, fumbling with one arm to retrieve his wand and unlock the door while balancing a large paper bag in the other. "It's freezing! Come in and warm up."

Kaitlyn, desperate to go anywhere that wasn't her flat, obliged readily, following George into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. She welcomed the warmth that enveloped her the moment she stepped inside.

"Thanks," she said to George, placing the casserole dish she had been holding on the counter. "What are you up to?" Kaitlyn wanted to make sure the conversation was steered away from her for as long as possible.

George motioned for Kaitlyn to follow him into the back room of the shop, where he set down the bag he had been holding. "I was just getting a few last minute ingredients that I'll need to try out some new things. I'd like to release a new product while the Hogwarts kids are on holiday." He straightened back up, flicking his wand to place the items that he'd purchased on their respective shelves.

"Oh," Kaitlyn said, nodding along with him. "That's a busy time for you, isn't it?"

George nodded. "Anytime Hogwarts is on holiday is a ridiculously busy time for the shop. Kids need to stock up, you know." He grinned over at Kaitlyn, walking back out into the main part of the store. He turned to Kaitlyn, asking her, "What are you doing out tonight?"

Kaitlyn just shrugged. "Out for a stroll," she replied, coming up with the first excuse she could think of, which, even in Kaitlyn's opinion, was pretty pathetic.

George raised an eyebrow, looking at her done up hair and the dish that sat on the counter, as well as the dress robes Kaitlyn was wearing. "You were out for a stroll," he began dryly, "looking like you were about to go to a ball in sub zero temperatures? Kaitlyn, I'm not stupid."

Kaitlyn blushed and looked down at her shoes - her nicest pair of heels - and closed her eyes, not really sure of how she should explain to George that she was not only stood up again by her boyfriend, but that said boyfriend was also in the midst of cheating on her at the moment. At the thought of that ridiculous statement, Kaitlyn let out what sounded like half of a laugh and half of a sob, her hand clamping over her mouth as the well finally broke and tears finally threatened to spill over.

George didn't miss a beat. It had only been that morning that he had seen Kaitlyn, and last he knew she was getting ready to spend some time with Zacharias. It didn't take an Auror to know that her current state was most likely directly related to the prat.

"Kaitlyn?" he asked gently, taking a cautious step towards her.

The brunette violently shook her head and George froze where he was. She was clearly on the brink of hysterics and he didn't want to provoke her any further. The need to breathe was the catalyst Kaitlyn needed. She took in a gasping breath and, unable to hold back any longer, started to bawl. She had been holding this back for hours by now, trying to tell herself to be angry instead. Zach didn't deserve her tears, she'd told herself. But it was to no avail. She was disgraced by someone who was never supposed to disgrace her, hurt by someone who was supposed to love her, and embarrassed in a way she didn't think even Pansy Parkinson could embarrass her. And worst of all? Everyone had told her so.

George, who had never been very good at dealing with girls when they were crying, stood awkwardly for a moment before he quickly sprang into action, doing the first thing that came to his mind. He grabbed the stool from behind the counter and placed it in front of Kaitlyn, gently guiding her into a seated position. This only made Kaitlyn cry harder, and George was at a loss for what to do next.

"You know," he began uneasily, wracking his brain for a good solution, "I should really go tell your brother to come and get you safely home..."

"No!" Kaitlyn objected immediately through her tears. "Please. Please don't do that."

Reluctantly, George nodded and knelt down in front of the still crying girl, gently prying her hands away from her face. "Alright," he said softly. "I won't go get Kyle. But... what's happened? Are you hurt?"

Kaitlyn shook her head, trying to hide her face again.

George frowned, letting go of Kaitlyn's hands so that she could go back to sobbing into them and tried to remember what Bill would do when Fleur was upset.

Hug her, you dolt, Fred's voice said indignantly in his head, making its first appearance since this morning.

George's eyes widened. Really? He was afraid to touch her, as though afraid she would physically break if he did. It wasn't his place, he barely knew her.

But you care about her. Just stop thinking and comfort her, the voice commanded.

George bit down on his lip, shuffling a little bit closer to the younger girl. He awkwardly put his long arms around Kaitlyn and pulled her closer to him, rubbing her back as he did so. He remembered seeing Harry do that once when Ginny was crying. It seemed to work because the brunette had leaned into George's touch instead of pushing him away. Her sobs became more muffled and less hysterical as she began to calm down, her salty tears making two large spots on George's jumper. He cast a glance at the door and shifted so that one of his hands could take hold of his wand to bring the blinds on the store's windows down, giving Kaitlyn more privacy.

George couldn't be sure how long they sat like that before Kaitlyn's sobs subsided to hiccups and her gasps to a more regular breathing pattern. He didn't mind at all; he was just concerned. He saw the way she cried that night when everyone was over at her flat, but as he'd gotten to know her, he'd come to think of her as a fairly happy person. It was shocking to see her completely break down like this, and George only wanted to make it all better, but he didn't want to make her upset again by asking what had happened. Last time he did that, she only started to cry, and that was the last thing George wanted.

He did have to admit, albeit selfishly, that it was nice to have Kaitlyn in his arms. She was nestled against his body, her head against his chest and George couldn't help but feel like he wanted to protect her from anything and everything.

She's upset and all you can think about is how nice it feels to hold her? Blimey, George reprimanded himself.

Can't be helped, brother. You fancy her. That's what happens when you fancy someone, you know, Fred's increasingly annoying voice teased.

Would you just shut up for a minute? George silently argued with him.

Can't do that, I'm afraid. You'd be a bumbling idiot if I wasn't around to tell you what to do.

Before George could come up with a thought to retaliate - he was only vaguely aware of how pathetic it was that he was having silent arguments with his dead twin in his head - Kaitlyn sniffled and brought George back to the present situation. He loosened his grip on Kaitlyn when he felt her lift her head and swipe at her face with the back of her hand. She bit down on her lip and looked up at George through her still moist eyelashes.

"I'm sorry," Kaitlyn apologized in a soft voice.

George gave her what he hoped was a gentle smile and shook his head ever so slightly, unconsciously reaching out to brush a few stray tears from Kaitlyn's cheeks. He leaned back so that he could look at her and said honestly, "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Kaitlyn let out a choked laugh. "You're too nice."

"No." George shook his head, choosing his next words carefully. "I just think that, perhaps, you are not used to being treated well."

Kaitlyn looked at him for a moment, and George was afraid that he pushed the issue too far; however, the brunette only looked away.

This encouraged George to continue. "Kaitlyn... " He gently untangled himself from her, having only realized at that moment that he was still holding her, and frantically tried to come up with something to say. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn's puffy eyes and splotchy cheeks only brought to George's attention just how incredibly sad she looked. And despite all of this, George couldn't help but notice that she still looked absolutely beautiful.

Come on, you git. Think of something to say to her! His subconscious was ruthless. George desperately searched for something - anything - to say that might make things better, although he had no idea what happened. Fortunately, Kaitlyn spoke before he had to ask about what had happened.

"Everyone was right," she whispered, still refusing to look up, instead staring at the burn mark on the floor as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

George conjured a few tissues and handed them over to Kaitlyn as he asked, "About what?" He was pretty sure he knew exactly "what", but he didn't want to make Kaitlyn more upset than she already was. George wasn't very sure about many things in his life, but at the moment he was positive of two things: first, that Kaitlyn was okay; second, that the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach was not jealousy, but absolute rage. Whatever he'd done, George silently promised himself that Zacharias would pay for it.

"Zacharias," Kaitlyn said finally, looking up at George with tears still shining in her eyes. She considered him carefully, wondering if she should tell him about what had happened. Kaitlyn was feeling so many different emotions, sadness and anger being two of the most prominent. But it was how Zacharias had absolutely humiliated her that hurt Kaitlyn the most. Everyone, literally everyone, Kaitlyn knew had told her countless times that Zacharias wasn't good for her. How many times had Kyle warned her? She knew the moment everyone found out about what had happened, they'd have to bite their tongues to keep the "I told you so" from coming out. Thinking back on it now, Kaitlyn couldn't believe how undeniably blind she had been; all signs pointed to Zacharias cheating on her. And now? Now she was the one crying over it and Zach was out having fun, with not a care about her. Why did she let this happen?

"I feel so stupid," she finally said aloud, wiping her eyes with the tissues George had handed her.

George frowned. "You shouldn't."

"But I am," Kaitlyn insisted, the floodgates of rage now opening. "I'm so stupid. Everyone knew he was awful and they all told me. Kyle, Hermione, even Ron had mentioned something about it when he was at the office last week. But I was just so... stupid. All those times he was late, all those times he just didn't show up. Every time he was completely insensitive to mum and dad's condition. I should've known. He was never telling the truth, was he? Hell, every time he encouraged me to visit St. Mungo's was insincere. He just wanted time. Time away from me so he could do whatever he bloody well wanted to do! And every time we fought was even a lie. It was never about us. It was about him. Every bloody fucking thing was about him," Kaitlyn scoffed, angry with Zach and angry with herself. She was standing now, pacing the floor in front of the shop's counter. "I bloody well deserved this for being so blind."

"That is not true," George cut in, stopping Kaitlyn. He was taken aback by Kaitlyn's outburst; he had never heard Kaitlyn raise her voice, much less curse. But he was more shocked by how much she blamed herself. He stood up and put his hand on Kaitlyn's shoulder to stop her from pacing and looked her in the eye. "Listen to me." He paused to make sure she made eye contact with him. "Whatever Zacharias did, you didn't deserve it. Sure, people may have told you how awful he is; I've definitely thought it before. But no one, and I mean no one, can fault you for standing up for him. You are an amazingly loyal girlfriend. You're not stupid. This isn't your fault. It's Smith's fault for being so bloody idiotic. Any bloke would be lucky to have a girlfriend as awesome as you are."

Kaitlyn felt her cheeks heat up, feeling slightly better after hearing George's compliments and grateful that she didn't receive a lecture from him instead. "Oh, stop it. You're being far too generous."

"Well, I always was the nicer twin," George conceded playfully, his encouraging smile wavering only slightly as he realized his unconscious Fred reference.

Kaitlyn's lips quirked up into a small smile and retorted, "I don't know... Fred used to drive all my housemates into a fit of giggles every time he walked by... "

"I never said I was the more charming twin. Just the nicer one," George explained matter-of-factly.

At this, Kaitlyn laughed. It was a good release, even better than crying had been. Laughing when her boyfriend was out there somewhere seeing another girl behind Kaitlyn's back seemed almost satisfying to her. It was as though her body was telling her that she was going to be just fine without Zacharias.

George, too, felt a sense of satisfaction when Kaitlyn started to laugh. He knew that he hadn't actually said anything that was extraordinarily funny, but it was nice to see a smile on Kaitlyn's face again, especially after she had been in hysterics merely minutes before. George wondered what else he could say to make that smile come back. There had to be something, perhaps, that could take her mind off of her rogue boyfriend and remind her that not all men were terrible.

What are you doing, you prat? Pay attention to her! Fred's voice rang through his head. Almost immediately, George looked over at Kaitlyn, who was asking him something.

"Er... sorry?" George stammered, feeling his cheeks heat up to match the color of his hair.

Kaitlyn shook her head with a wavering smile, dismissing George's apology, and repeated, "I was just asking if you were hungry." She tilted her head in the direction of the long-forgotten casserole dish. "It's just... I made this whole meal. And well, now I've got no one to share it with and I don't really want to just toss it... "

"I'm starved," George cut in, even though he had eaten dinner only two hours earlier. "What's on the menu?" He knew he had said the right thing when Kaitlyn's face lit up, reminding him of the way Ginny used to get excited when the boys allowed her to play Quidditch with them.

"I made Sheppard's Pie."

Kaitlyn walked over to the dish and pulled her wand out, muttering a charm at it so the cold dish could heat up again for them.

"Are you a good cook? Because my mum's Sheppard's Pie is literally the best Sheppard's Pie I've ever eaten." George motioned for Kaitlyn to follow him into the back room of the shop where he had a small table set up. He pulled another chair up to the table and motioned for her to sit in it while he retrieved a couple of plates and silverware with his wand.

Kaitlyn shrugged, looking around as George served the Shepard's Pie. "I'm no competition for the legendary Molly Weasley," she answered honestly. "But I'm alright."

The pair ate in companionable silence for the better part of the meal, Kaitlyn only asking a few times about some items in the storage area of the room. She was fascinated by the shop and kept prompting George to talk more about it. George found it strange to be talking about the shop in this way. Hardly anyone ever asked him about it other than the casual, "How's the shop doing?" He knew it was because they were afraid it would set him off. And in the past, it really had. The shop's inner workings were still a topic of conversation he tended to shy away from because it would lead to talking about Fred.

But, for some reason, talking about Fred didn't seem like such a bad idea to George when he was around Kaitlyn. For some unexplainable reason, George didn't choke up as much and he didn't get as angry when she threw him sympathetic glances through his stories. Perhaps it was because Kaitlyn never pretended to know what he was going through. Or maybe it was because she didn't make him feel like it was wrong to still be mourning his twin's death.

"I... started to work on a new product," George said in a shy manner that Kaitlyn could tell was not typical of the redhead. He had been explaining to her why one particular corner of the room was a bit of a mess.

Kaitlyn leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands, intrigued. "Oh, really? What's it going to be?"

George glanced over to the area where he had been experimenting earlier in the day and bit down on his lip. "Well... I'm kind of having trouble getting it to work the way... the way that Fred had imagined it to be."

George didn't have to say anything else for Kaitlyn to realize that this was one of the ideas Fred had come up with on that piece of paper George had been looking at that morning. Now that she was calmer and her problems were pushed further from the top of her mind, Kaitlyn noticed how tired George looked. She followed his gaze over to the table where the abandoned experiment lay, knowing that it'd taken everything in George to start working on one of Fred's products.

"What's it supposed to do?" Kaitlyn asked gently, reaching across the table to put her hand on George's arm.

George didn't move when he felt Kaitlyn's warm hand on him. He was feeling a bit confused. His skin was tingling where her hand lay, and yet, he couldn't help but feel as though he was betraying Fred for telling someone else about it. They had always kept their products a secret until they had tested their effects on each other several times. He felt like he could trust Kaitlyn with information like this, but there was a part of him that desperately clung to the belief that this shop and all its products belonged to him and Fred.

It's not a crime to move on, Forge. Fred's voice was back. George scrunched up his nose and took in a deep breath.

I mean it, George, Fred continued as though George had responded. She's good for you. If you were going to tell anyone about the things going on with new products, I'm glad it's her. You're going to need some help anyway without my brilliance to guide you!

George almost smiled, but he realized it would most likely freak Kaitlyn out so he contented himself with thinking, She'll never be you, Gred. But... thanks.

Then, he turned to Kaitlyn, who was patiently waiting for his response. George wondered how long he had zoned out for, but Kaitlyn didn't seem upset or frustrated at all. He wasn't sure if it was just because she was too nice to say something, but he did appreciate it nonetheless.

"It's, er... " George cleared his throat, taking in another breath. "Well, it's supposed to be for nosy dorm mates or siblings." He stood up and went over to the table, picking up a book that had been sitting on it. "You see, you buy this. Looks like a diary, correct?"

Kaitlyn nodded.

"But," George started as soon as Kaitlyn nodded, feeling a bit more at ease with the situation, "when you try to open it, it's locked."

"Most diaries do that," Kaitlyn pointed out.

"Right you are, Ms. Thompson." George took in another breath. This wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. In fact, he supposed he missed having someone to banter about products with. "But this one gives the intruder a set of instructions to open the diary. It will be information your sibling or dorm mates should be able to know about you, and you can set those questions yourself. Like you birthday, your pet's name, or your Hogwarts house for example."

Kaitlyn nodded, a smile starting to grow on her face as she realized what would happen once the diary was finally unlocked. "So, then what?"

The smile that started to grow on George's face faltered slightly at Kaitlyn's question. "Well... I'm not sure," he admitted. "That's where I got stuck." He shrugged and dropped the book back onto the table, heaving a sigh.

Kaitlyn frowned when she saw this, and made her way over to where George stood, reaching out to put her hand on his arm. " It probably isn't my place to offer... but if you'd like help on this... well... " she shrugged, flushing bright red. She knew she was treading on thin ice, so to speak, because this had always been something that belonged exclusively to the twins. Kaitlyn almost felt as though she was intruding on something very personal. But George looked so lost, she couldn't help but say, "I have an older brother who has always been extremely nosy. When I was younger, I always wished I could do something to get back at him. Maybe... maybe I could help you?"

George's immediate first reaction was to decline. He could do this. He could do this by himself because this was his and Fred's "thing" and it felt wrong to include anyone else in this. But the imaginary voice in his head earlier kept coming back to him. At this point, George could not distinguish if Fred's voice was saying things that the real Fred would have said, or if he was just imagining Fred saying these things so that he could feel at ease with himself.

Don't you think I'd just want you to be happy, brother? Fred's voice asked, not a note of teasing in his tone. She's the only one who has made you come close to who you used to be. She's the only one who has been able to bring you close to being happy.

Before George's guilt could get the better of him, he said softly to Kaitlyn, "You know, I think I'd really like that. If you truly don't mind, that is."

For the first time since she'd come into the shop that evening, Kaitlyn's face lit up into a full-fledged grin. Whether it was from relief that George didn't push her away or excitement to have something besides Zacharias Smith to think about, Kaitlyn didn't know. But it didn't matter because she was feeling good for the first time all day.

"I'm more than happy to."

George couldn't help but smile back at Kaitlyn, a warm feeling spreading from his stomach, through his chest, and to the tips of his fingers. "Right now?"

All he got in response was another grin from Kaitlyn as she began flipping through all of George's hastily scribbled notes. And for the first time in over a year, coming up with a new product for the shop didn't seem like such a lonely task to George.