Ruth's heart was pounding hard against her chest as she slowly made her way back to the table, her phone clenched tightly in her manicured hand. Her brown knuckles were as ashen as her face, all color drained from it as she struggled to breathe through the painful squeezing of her heart. Nose stuffy, plane ticket bought, and mascara freshly applied, she hoped she could hide the evidence of her crying. It wasn't ideal, but she needed to finish the night smoothly.

The phone call rung through her ears again.

"You need to come quick, baby. He doesn't have a whole lot of time left."

Ruth couldn't breathe.

It took her a while, but she eventually found her way back to the table on shaky legs and trembling feet. Her gaze was unfocused, and she had to blink a few times to draw herself back to the present. Everyone at the table was happy, enjoying their night as their world continued, whereas hers was ending. For Emily, life had just begun all over again on that particular evening. And Ruth didn't want to ruin that for her, even if a part of her wanted to curl up on the hotel bed and sob her woes away.

When Emily looked up at her with a beaming grin sprawled across her cheeks, a part of Ruth's chest eased. It was a look that shook the Earth's core. A meteor sent straight to the floor beneath Ruth's feet and rattle up her world and everything she knew about it. It was a look that saved her from the turmoil of dark thoughts that used to resonate within her mind.

One smile, and she could soften Ruth's heart into a puddle of affection. And that was exactly what Emily did, and Ruth almost gave into her guilty conscience and told her right then that she bought a plane ticket without her knowledge. Instead, she kept guzzling down her water and flirtini, desperate to keep busy.

For the rest of their evening, Ruth shoved her emotions away and focused on getting out that forced laughter and those fake smiles. If it wasn't for the news she received, she could easily say it was a beautiful night.

But it wasn't. It was an absolute nightmare, and she hated how suffocating the big city of Manhattan was for her.

Ruth thought she had everything under control when she and Emily walked their way back to their room, but as soon as the doors closed, a frenzied switch went off in her head. Suddenly, she was in the bathroom packing up her hair product, ignoring Emily's confusion, and then she was by the hotel door, grabbing her four different pairs of shoes, but before she can head for the dresser, a pair of soft hands grasp at her upper arms, halting her from doing anything else. Her concerned dark brown eyes peered into Ruth's, an anxious frown tugging at the corners of her lips.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emily demanded. "Why are you packing your stuff?"

Ruth's heart pounded in her ears, her mouth dry. "I got a call."

"Yes, I gathered that at the restaurant. Who called?"

"My great aunt," she whispered, tears swelling at the rim of her eyes. "My—my Uncle Rickey's wife."

Emily's eyebrows furrowed. "What's happened?"

"He—he's sick and they want me to come back right away. That's all I know."

Emily's worried frown didn't go away, but she moved forward to wrap her arms around Ruth's shoulders, her embrace warm despite how terrifyingly cold Ruth felt. She pushed her forhead into the crook of her girlfriend's shoulder and cried with all of her items still cradeled in her arms.

It took awhile for the shuddering to stop and the sobs to cease. She hated when she got that way, but there was no avoiding it. And Emily held her close the entire time.

"I have to go," Ruth whispered, her voice hoarse. "It can't wait."

"Okay," Emily said. She rubbed her arms down Ruth's comfortingly. "I'll go with you. We can both go together and--"

She stopped after seeing Ruth shake her head roughly. "No, Emmy. You are just getting promoted. You can't leave yet."

Em frowned. "I don't care about that. I'll give up the promotion if it means making sure you're okay. That promotion doesn't even matter!"

Ruth didn't have to be a psychic to know that that statement was a lie. Emily wanted the promotion more than anything else in the world, and they both knew that. Hell, they even stayed at an expensive hotel in Manhattan because of the meeting!

"Babe, you know you don't mean that," Ruth said, grabbing one of Emily's hands and giving it a soft squeeze. "You've been wanting this promotion for months and I'm not going to let you throw something important to you away. I'll be back in a couple weeks, okay? Just a couple weeks to be with my uncle and my family is all I need."

Emily's frown deepend. "Ruth, you're important to me. Which means your family's important to me. That matters more than some job."

Ruth shushed her. "I'll be fine, Em. We can't come back to New York jobless, right? I won't be gone for long. I'm catching the first flight out of here tomorrow morning, and in, I don't know, three to five weeks, I'm coming back. There's nothing to worry about."

"Well . . . if you're sure."

"I am. I promise."

Emily hesitated. "How about I at least go out there with you for a few days in a few weeks and then come back? It'll be my weekend off anyway. And on Tuesday morning, I'll fly back to work and give you time with your family. I just want to support you, Ruth. Even if you feel like you don't deserve it."

Ruth's chest warmed at her words and she dove straight into her arms. "Thank you."

*****