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"𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 fresh one comin' in hot!" Daniel said as he grabbed a pizza out of the oven and placed it on the table. "You sure you got enough meat on this pizza there Johnny?"

"There's four different animals on top." Johnny said, leaning on the side of the table while drinking a beer. "That's a man's pizza."

Johnny heard Stella laugh at something Amanda and Janette said. He couldn't help but stare at the beautiful brunette, watching her, as she sipped her wine, and listened intently to the anecdote Amanda told.

Daniel noticed the blonde staring over at Stella, and said, "Trouble in paradise? I noticed you two came in separate cars."

"Nah, we're fine. She just wants to take things slow." Johnny said.

"Take things slow? I didn't know that was a speed you could go." Daniel smirked

"Oh yeah, wiseass?" Johnny said, as he tossed his bottle cap at Daniel, but Daniel caught it. "Nice catch."

"You know, I don't understand this whole thing." Janette said as she set her wine glass down.

"What do you mean?" Daniel said

"My granddaughter and this one taking it slow. They've known each other a whole year. How slow can you go?" Janette said

"She's the one who wanted to take things slow." Johnny said. "I was going over to her place to tell her how I felt, until—"

"Until the fight got in the way." Daniel said. "There's gotta be more than that, John."

"There is. August told her about his and Ali's lunch, and Stella thought more into it than what it really was." Janette said. "She overthinks everything, just like her father." she said as she sipped her wine

"Johnny, you need to tell her how you really feel." Daniel said

"I've been trying, but—"

"Johnny, she thinks you've been leading her on, now I know you haven't been, and you know you haven't been, but it's time to quit bullshitting and be honest with her." Janette said

"She's right Johnny." Daniel said. "You're always talking about striking first. She won't wait around forever."

"She's right Johnny. Y'know, down in Texas, we have a saying, called Cowboy up. It means man up and don't be afraid." Janette said

Before anything else could be said, Nathan, Amanda, and Stella walked in the kitchen. "Hey, kids! Dinner! Oh, thank you." Amanda said as she took her seat.

Nathan took a seat next to Stella, while Janette sat on the other side of her, and August sat beside Sam. "Stella, Nathan, Janette, would you all like some wine?" Daniel asked

"Oh, yes please." Nathan said. "Especially after today."

"Everything alright?" Amanda asked in concern

"Yeah, just some wild animal attacks out by coyote creek. We're telling all the kids to stay away, until we figure out what animal it is." Nathan said. "But um, you two, you seem to be getting along all right."

"Oh yeah, the last time these two were in the kitchen together, let's just say I'm glad the steak knives weren't out." Amanda said.

"I'll drink to that." Johnny said, toasting his beer with Amanda's wine glass

"So, how's buisness?" Janette asked

"The dealership's been the best it's been in years." Daniel said, as he sat down. "It should practically be on autopilot by the time Sam takes over, right?"

"Dad–"

"You're taking over the dealership? That's awesome." August said.

"Well—" Sam said, with slight hesitation in her voice.

"Nah, that's just an inside joke." Daniel said. "When Sam was a little girl, she used to walk around the dealership like she owned the place."

"Can you blame her? She was practically raised on that showroom floor, almost born on it too." Amanda said

"Whatever Sam wants to do with her life, that's entirely up to her." Daniel said. "If she decides to go to school nearby, get her MBA, USC, UCLA. I'm just saying. It's all icing on the cake."

"So, August, how's school going?" Amanda said, attempting to change the subject.

"Um, good." August said. "Great, actually."

"Straight A's this semester." Nathan smiled proudly

"Wow." Amanda smiled

"Yeah, a total nerd." Johnny teased

"Stella, how are things at the hospital?" Amanda asked.

"They're good. Busy, but good." Stella smiled as she sipped her wine. "I'm just proud of my brother's grades."

"As am I." Nathan said as he sipped his wine.

"With grades like that, you could go anywhere you want." Daniel said

"I'd like to go to Stanford." August said

"That's a pretty impressive school." Daniel said

"Yeah, I think it's like number six in the country and the campus is beautiful." August said.

"Hey, SMC's great too. It's right by the beach." Daniel said. "Have you checked out their campus?"

"No, actually, I haven't." August said, as he was getting a bit nervous. As he attempted to stretch his arm, he knocked down Daniel's wine glass, spilling wine everywhere. "Oh shit - I mean - I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry about it." Daniel said as he cleaned himself up. "Please. It's just a little wine, right?"

──────

"So, you still okay with me taking the Eagle fangs tomorrow?" Daniel said as he walked Johnny, Stella, Janette, August and Nathan to the door

"Yeah, I had some ideas on how to get your kids' offense up to snuff." Johnny said, turning to August, he said, "Make sure all that defense doesn't turn you into a cream puff."

"Tomorrow is gonna be great, as long as sensei over here brings everyone back in one piece." Daniel said

"No promises." Johnny said

"You better promise." Daniel said

"Okay, down, boys." Stella chuckled

"Yeah, don't want to have to arrest anyone." Nathan teased

"Goodnight, LaRussos." Johnny said as he along with the Walkers walked out

Once Janette, Nathan, and August left, Stella stood beside her impala and looked for her keys in her purse. "This was nice." Johnny said as he walked up to the brunette

"Yeah, it was." Stella smiled as she grabbed her keys.

"Listen Stella, I—"

"Can we talk later? I have to go in early in the morning, and I'd kind of like to make it home before midnight." Stella said

"Yeah, call me later?" Johnny said

"Yeah." Stella said. "Goodnight."

Before he could even respond, Stella had already closed the door, and turned on the ignition. She drove away and turned on the radio, as REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling began to play. "Seriously?" Stella thought to herself. Changing the station, which was Sirius XM's Prime Country, George Strait's I Cross My Heart was playing.

Damn, the universe is really telling her something. However, she decided to leave it on the station, because, even in her most melancholy moods, nothing makes her feel better like a George Strait tune, even if it is a love song, that tugs at your heart strings and is from — in her opinion at least — one of the greatest movies of all time — Pure Country.

    ──────

Stella sat at the nurse's station, in the company of April, Lori, and Kara as each nurse was charting on their patients. "So, are we still coming over to your place after work for movie night?" Lori said

"Still as planned." Stella said as she continued typing on the computer. "I invited grandma too, hope that's okay."

"Of course." Kara smiled as she signed off on a chart. "I love your grandma."

"What movie are we watching?" April said as she put in a charge for one of the patients.

"She was wanting to watch Pure Country. Is that okay?" Stella asked as she sipped her coffee

"I don't mind. I love that movie." Lori smiled as she grabbed a pen from the drawer

"What's Pure Country?" April asked as she placed a paper into the scanner

Kara gasped then turned to her best friend. "You've never seen Pure Country? Oh honey, George Strait, those tight wrangler jeans, those—"

"Uh, Kara, he's married." Lori laughed as she sipped her Starbucks drink

"Yeah, and? I can still look." Kara said. "April, you are going to love it."

"I certainly can't wait to see it." April said

"We'll start around 7." Stella said

"Sounds great." April said

──────

Johnny walked around the roof top of a building, while the Miyagi-Do kids sat around quietly, and Sam sat on a wooden platform on her phone.

"All right, what's the problem, LaRusso? Don't tell me you're scared of heights." Johnny said as he approached her

"I'm not scared." Sam said

"Then what is it? Worried you'll mess up your hair?" Johnny said

"My dad wouldn't want us doing this." Sam protested.

"Oh, gimme a break. Do you do everything you're mommy and daddy tell you to? If they told you to jump off a bridge, would you?" Johnny questioned

"You're telling me to jump off a building." Sam fired back 

"Yeah, onto another building." Johnny said. All I'm trying to do is help you doormats survive the All-Valley."

"If we do your training, I don't think we'll survive the afternoon. Look, we came here with an open mind, but this is dangerous." Sam said

"I know what I'm doing." Johnny said

"Do you? Based on your track record, you don't have the best judgment." Sam said

"Oh, you wanna talk judgment? How about smashing into my Firebird and driving off with your girlfriends? You wanna explain that?" Johnny asked

"I wasn't even driving. I was in the back seat." Sam retorted

"How about showing up at my place drunk, causing your dad to kick down my door? Guessing that wasn't your fault either?" Johnny said

"I'm a teenager who's made a couple of mistakes." Sam stated, standing up. "You're a 50-something-year-old man who lives alone, drinks all day, and clearly hasn't figured out his own life."

Johnny nodded his head. "I figured out one thing for sure. If I did everything my parents wanted me to do, I'd be wearing a suit and tie in some worthless job while I wait out the clock. But I didn't want that. And now I get to do what I love every damn day. I get to try to help kids like you find their own way. If you wanna sit in the back seat your whole life, go right ahead. It's no sweat off my back." he said, before walking away from her.

45 minutes had passed, and the Miyagi-Dos were still sitting around. "So no one wants to fly? You all just want to stay in the nest. Pathetic! All right, fine, you win. You can bore Cobra Kai into submission. You all failed. Grab your crap and let's go." Johnny said, then turning to Sam, he muttered, "Looks like you got what you wanted."

Sam dropped her backpack, and distanced herself enough from the edge, then ran as fast as she could, gaining enough momentum, so that she would land on the other side, successfully.

"Nice move, LaRusso!" Johnny cheered, as well as the rest of the Miyagi-Do students.

──────

After training the Miyagi-Do students, Johnny didn't go straight home. After hearing REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling on the radio, he had one place in mind he needed to go. To see Stella. All he could think about, for weeks on end, was how he screwed up, once again.

Once he got to the apartment complex, he parked his dodge caravan next to Stella's impala, and walked into the lobby, then got on the elevator, taking it up to the 17th floor.

In Stella's apartment, the girls and Janette sat in the living room watching Pure Country, while Stella got up to pour more popcorn in the bowl, the returned to the sofa.

"Damn, that man was so fine." Kara said, referring to George Strait

"Tell me about it." Janette said as she looked at the screen with a love struck face.

"Was he your first crush?" Amy asked as she sipped her cola

"No. Paul Newman was." Janette smiled

"Paul Newman? Alright get it grandma Janette" April laughed as she ate her popcorn.

"She's not lying." Stella laughed as she sipped her soda

"Watch a few of his movies, or even look his photo up on the internet. You'll see why women loved him." Janette said

As the ladies continued watching the movie, there was a loud knock at the door, and Stella got up from the couch. "You want us to pause it?" Lori asked

"Nah, y'all go ahead. It might be someone selling something." Stella said

As Stella opened the door, she found Johnny standing outside. Turning around, Janette and the girls also saw Johnny, and they turned the tv down so they could hear the conversation between the two.

"Hey, Johnny. August actually isn't here, he said something about—" Stella said

"I'm not here for August." Johnny said. "I know you wanna take things slow—"

"Maybe we should talk about this later?" Stella suggested

"I'm tired of waiting." Johnny said as he walked into the apartment. "I wanna talk about this now, with you."

As Johnny walked in, he saw Janette and the girls sitting on the couch watching the movie, but they were actually watching the two of them. "And your grandma, and your best friends. Ladies."

"Hey Johnny." Lori said as she sipped her soda

"Don't mind us." Amy said as she grabbed some popcorn from the bowl. "Act like we're not even here."

"I don't care, they can hear this." Johnny said as he stood in front of Stella, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. "Stella, when it comes to us, I can't wait any longer. It's not who I am. I'm a top down, hair blowing in the wind kind of guy. I'm not afraid to take the leap with you."

Janette and the girls looked at each other and smirked as they turned their heads back to the couple at the door. Stella herself was fighting the tears.

"Look, I know there's a lot of shit to figure out, but we'll figure it out together." Johnny said. "It's always been you Stella. I don't know if they got all of that."

"I think they got it." Stella said with a watery smile

"Okay, so I just wanted you to know." Johnny said. "Now, you do, so I'm gonna go back to my apartment."

"Hey, Johnny, wait. Don't go just yet." Stella said before he walked out of her apartment. Johnny turned around and looked at Stella, who had a beautiful smile on her face. "Okay."

"Yeah?" Johnny smiled

"Yeah." Stella smiled

Johnny walked up to the brunette, and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Johnny wrapped his arm around her waist, and Stella wrapped her arms around his neck. After pulling away they smiled at one another.

"I love you, Stella." Johnny said. "I've always loved you."

"I love you, too." Stella smiled as she rested her forehead against his