APRIL 2nd, 1994, SEATTLE, WA

             THE IDEA HAD not been hers — in fact, Jack was the one who had called Lindy's phone and invited her over to his house for Saturday lunch.

Lindy had been weary at first, for no other reason except that she'd been craving a day all to herself. In no way was she bothered by the idea of visiting another man's home for lunch, not when that particular man had been an incredible friend to her. If Kurt ever in the future expressed a problem with it, Lindy would have shut him down immediately.

She pulled her beat up car up to Jack's house, the very place that she had once thrived in as his steady girlfriend. It was neither big or small, and despite the amount of money that Jack had, the place was relatively modest.

There was a car sitting in the driveway that Lindy did not recognize. It was a sleek black BMW, complete with shiny rims and a spotless detail paint job. Lindy raised a single eyebrow, apprehensively parking her car a good distance away from the BMW and wondering if Jack had perhaps recently purchased the vehicle.

She was early, but Lindy walked up the pathway to Jack's front door anyways. He was supposedly cooking her a meal and she wanted to help if she could, so as to not leave him on his own.

It was almost strange, being at the house that she had nearly wound up living in. If Lindy had not ended her relationship with Jack, the house she then saw before her eyes would have ended up being partially hers. It caused her to feel the remnants of old guilt, back to haunt her for leaving Jack once Kurt had come back into her life. The only way Lindy managed to reason with herself was by admitting that Jack hadn't been right for her. He was perfectly polite, kind and well off, but he was also conventional, and Lindy was far from conventional. Or at least, she didn't see herself living conventionally.

She walked up to the front door, crafted out of glass with a pattern of intricate designs carved in. from top to bottom. Ringing the doorbell, Lindy looked around, noticing the recently added plant decor and a welcome mat. Her nerves were kicking in, buzzing as she waited to greet her ex-boyfriend and now, one of her dearest friends.

A figure appeared behind the distorted glass, but it did not look anything close to Jack. When the door opened, Lindy came face to face with a stranger that was most definitely not the man that she'd been expecting.

In Jack's place was a tall, auburn haired woman with wine colored lips and shocking blue eyes, the kind of blue that only people like Kurt possessed. She was in a fancy black pantsuit and had the air of someone who had been in a fluster to get ready. She widened her icy eyes as her jaw hung slack. Lindy lost control of her facial muscles, feeling her forehead wrinkle with confusion.

"Hello," Lindy said, taken aback.

"You must be Lindsey," the woman guessed. Her voice was smooth and professional, though they were hardly in a professional setting. When her mouth broke into a welcoming smile, Lindy realized that she was not being snobby with her — her voice was naturally business-like, a reflection of her appearance.

"Lindy," Lindy corrected, an automatic instinct that she had been acting upon since she was a child. The woman outstretched her well-manicured hand, a diamond bracelet sliding down around her thin wrist as she smiled once again.

"It's great to meet you. Jack has told me so much about you in so little time. Come in," the redhead greeted, pulling the front door open wider.

Cautiously, Lindy stepped inside, becoming painfully aware of her t-shirt and jeans. Jack's house was a beautiful shrine to modern interior design and with the equally beautiful woman standing next to her, Lindy felt terribly out of place.

"I'm Dawn, by the way," she added, shutting the door and joining Lindy in the foyer. She carried the scent of perfume, light and floral and expensive-smelling. Lindy tried to remember if she had spritzed her own perfume on before leaving the apartment that morning.

"That's a pretty name," Lindy complimented. As awkward as she may have felt, she would do all she could to minimize any tension in the room. It wasn't very hard for her, adding up who Dawn must have been. Young, gorgeous and clearly adept, Lindy's common sense was racing to conclude what Dawn's role in Jack's life was.

Well, Lindy thought. She definitely isn't the maid.

"Thank you, that's sweet of you to say," Dawn said pleasantly. She flashed another winning smile before flicking her sleeve back, revealing a gold-plated watch. "Jack's still getting ready, he should be down any minute . . ."

"I'm here, I'm here!"

Jack's thumping footsteps rumbled down the stairs. As Lindy looked up, she saw him jogging down the steps and buttoning the neck of an iron-pressed long sleeve. If she didn't know any better, she would have guessed that he was in a rush. He had maybe even forgotten that they had plans together that day.

"I see you two have met," Jack grinned, hopping off the last step and gravitating towards Dawn's side. Lindy avoided watching them both too carefully as Jack pecked a kiss on Dawn's cheek, wrapping a hand around her slender waist.

"We have," Dawn confirmed, wearing the same dazzling smile. "Finally!"

"I've talked her ear off about you," Jack told Lindy apologetically, a playful twinkle in his eye as he leaned in to Lindy like she was in on the joke. Lindy smiled back uncomfortably, unsure whether or not Jack's frequent mentioning of her to Dawn was a good or bad thing.

"I wish I could stay, but I'm already late," Dawn announced, checking her wrist watch for a second time. She kissed Jack, this time squarely on the mouth, and floated in the direction of the spectacular glass front door.

"It was great meeting you, Lindy!" Dawn called, grabbing a purse and set of keys laid out on a foyer table. Lindy waved weakly, calling out a goodbye as she caught one last glimpse of Dawn's silky red hair dashing out the door.

She turned to face Jack slowly, rounding on her heels with contemplation. She supposed that she could have attacked him with a barrage of questions, but there was still a part of her that had no idea what to say about what she had encountered. She was even more shocked that Dawn had breezily left him alone in the company of another woman — and Lindy didn't even know if Dawn knew just exactly who she was.

"I know what you're thinking," Jack laughed, reading Lindy's face quickly. He adjusted his collar, tugging and loosening the fabric away from his throat.

"Do you?" Lindy laughed back, though her laugh was unconvincing. The only thing she knew with utmost certainty was that she wasn't jealous. That would never happen, not when she cared enough about Jack to see him fulfill his life. But that didn't mean she could rule out any other emotions.

"Dawn must be your girlfriend, then," Lindy insinuated lightly. She wore a coy smile.

"That she is. I wish you both could have met sooner."

"Now seemed like a fine time," Lindy said, glancing back over her shoulder as if Dawn was going to pop back into the house.

"You look confused."

"What's there to be confused about?"

"You weren't expecting that."

"Jack," Lindy began sincerely. "It's none of my business who you have over and when they're here. I have no problem with you having a girlfriend. I mean, hey, she's gorgeous. And she looks like she just walked off the graduation stage at Harvard."

"Close," Jack smiled. "She studied law at New York University. Now she's a lawyer with her own firm."

Lindy raised both eyebrows, though on the inside, she had been expecting this. Dawn fit the type of an independent female lawyer, with her confident stature and elegant outfit.

"A doctor and a lawyer? How nice," Lindy teased.

"It's a little weird, I know."

"Weird as in oddly perfect?"

"I didn't expect to fall for her. A friend set me up with her on a blind date and I was irritated at first, mostly because I wanted to be with someone who would have time for a relationship. But it turns out that we're both pretty good at making it work."

"I'm happy for you," Lindy said gently. She meant every word. Jack's idealistic life was finally coming true, even if it was not with her.

"Good. I wanted your approval," Jack sighed.

"Mine? Why? I'm a lowly, knocked-up nurse."

"Stop that," Jack scowled. "You're the closest thing that I've ever had to a best friend. You liking Dawn means everything to me."

"Well, I may have only met her for two minutes, but as far as I can see she's a keeper. Maybe even the one."

"I don't know about that. I don't use that phrase for just anyone. Not since you."

Lindy felt the warmth in her cheeks before the pink could even pool to the tip of her nose, heating her face like a stovetop. It didn't feel natural to have Jack consider her as 'the one' when someone as regal as Dawn was around.

"Hard to believe she's okay with us hanging out," Lindy said smoothly.

"That's just how she is. She's quite trusting. She understands how close we are and knows our history."

"Does she know . . . everything?" Lindy asked nervously, moving her hand across her stomach. Jack's eyes fluttered to her abdomen as she did so.

"Well, not everything. But she knows you're pregnant. She didn't ask me for the details."

"Probably because she thinks I got knocked up by a deadbeat," Lindy snorted. Kurt may have been miles away in a rehab center treating his heroin addiction, but he was still the perfect father for her child.

"Not at all. In fact, she admires you just based off what I've told her."

"Really?" Lindy said, taken aback by Jack's response. He smiled knowingly.

"Really."

Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing doorbell. Jack winced, looking guilty of something, before answering the door and bringing inside two large brown bags, both of them clearly smelling of food.

Lindy couldn't help it. She laughed.

"So much for cooking," she smirked.

"It's the best Italian food in Seattle," Jack defended. "Way better than my cooking."

Lindy helped Jack empty the boxed food from the bags, setting up his dining room table with cutlery and glass plates. Together they laid their pasta dishes out, tossing the boxes away as if the food had never been ordered in the first place. Lindy's stomach was growling by the time they finished. She wasted no time plunging her fork into her spaghetti and meatballs as soon as they sat down.

"Interesting way to wear a ring," Jack remarked, setting his fork down and reaching across the table to touch Lindy's makeshift necklace.

She cupped a hand to her mouth, aware that she'd been in the middle of chewing a huge bite of noodles as soon as Jack made the comment. Swallowing, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and sat back.

"I've got an interesting relationship," she replied obscurely. Wearing the ring already felt wrong when Kurt was still wed to another woman. Jack was understanding, but not even her newly acquired ring was something she felt fully ready to explain to him.

"He must love you a lot," Jack said, pushing a meatball across his plate with his fork.

"We love each other a lot."

"That's all that has really mattered to me. That you were happy and loved. I was admittedly worried when I found out you were pregnant, but . . . I'm happy for you, Lindy."

"Thanks Jack," Lindy said, looking into Jack's honest gaze. As always, he was looking out for her, another strong protector in her life who also respected that she could also protect herself. It was undeniable that Jack was more than amazing. He was one of a kind.

"I know you mentioned that Kurt's in rehab," Jack began. "But if anything goes wrong, anything at all, I have a place in mind he can go to that would be really great. It's the same place I was at after high school. I think it would do wonders for him if California doesn't work out."

"Thank you so much," Lindy whispered. Jack had extended his reach of generosity so far already, but in his usual fashion, he surprised her again. Only he would offer help to the man who had taken Lindy away from him.

"And another thing — I'm here for you, Lindy. I know what you and Kurt have is obviously special and I won't get in the way of that, I swear . . . but if you ever need me, if you ever need someone in your life to lean on for yourself or for your baby . . . I want to be that person."

Silently, Lindy set down her silverware and stretched her hand across the table to take Jack's. Her lips were pressed tightly together, but that was only because she was grateful, more grateful for Jack and his existence in her life than she'd ever been. There was no possible way she could picture her life without Kurt, but knowing that Jack would always be there to pick up pieces of her broken heart, even in a non-romantic way, was satisfying.

"Thank you," Lindy said for a third time, her voice low. "Thank you so much."

Jack nodded his head. He looked like he could cry, maybe because a part of him, a part that he could not hide forever, still loved Lindy. He always would. Even Dawn knew that, though she accepted it graciously with the knowledge that Lindy would always be Jack's first real love. And that meant that he'd always have a place for her in his life forevermore.

Together they continued eating, though throughout the rest of the meal, Lindy kept her hand locked in Jack's.