Tomorrow May Never Come

Leaning back in the chair of the office where he worked, Zack sighed, thinking of all the things that had conspired in the past few days. He thought everything was going to go smoothly, that Brian's plan would work -- and it did. The two of them just hadn't counted on Kate finding out about it. And now that she had, he wished he'd kept his big mouth shut. Because now, not only didn't he have Kate as his, he didn't even have her as a friend.

Groaning when the phone rang on his desk, he leaned forward to answer it.

"Hello?" he answered, voice low.

"Hey, Zack."

It was Kate. Zack's eyes widened; he couldn't believe she was calling him. Sitting up straighter, he cleared his throat.

"Hey..."

"...Where are you?" Kate asked on the other end.

"At the office."

"I kinda...wanted to speak with you. In person."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Going out to the mailbox that morning, Dani pulled out all the letters and magazines that had been acquired there. Flipping through them as she headed back toward her house, she came along a note that read 'Private and Confidential' across the top of it. Pausing a moment, she thought.

"Private and Confidential? ...D. Phillips?" Brows furrowed, she tried to think of who could be writing her. Suddenly her eyes widened to the likes of saucers. "Oh my God, it's Frankie's letter!"

Quickly she ran up to the house and into the living room, where here sister, Jess, was working out. Looking down on her as she did the last few crunches, Dani nearly squealed.

"Jess, guess what!"

"What is it?" Jess asked, getting up onto her feet just as Brian waltzed through the front door which Dani had left wide open.

"Guys, you'll never guess what just happened," he said, the corners of his lips twitching in a smile that really wasn't all there.

"Frankie sent me a letter!" Dani gushed, holding the letter out for both to see.

"Oh...uhm, that's great!" Brian said, trying to be excited for her; he was far too busy with other things on his mind.

"So, what happened?" Jess asked Brian, completely dismissing her sister who was standing between them.

"Zack asked Kate on a date tonight," Brian answered with a smile, this time a little more true. Sure, he was happy for his two friends. He'd just have to fight his internal battles away from everyone else...

"And Frankie sent me a letter from London!" Danielle tried to butt in again.

"Are you serious!? This is great news! I'm going to go over there tonight and help her get ready; I know the perfect dress she can wear," Jess gushed, still ignoring her sister, though the news of Zack and Kate's date was a bit more important. It seemed everyone in their family and small, intimate friends had known of the blow up that had taken place between Kate, Brian, and Zack a few days prior. Anything to get them to at least be friends again was good news, and this was something more.

"You know what else?" Dani asked, trying to take a different approach in sharing her news.

"Yes, we know, Frankie sent a letter," Jess interrupted her again. "Now, are you going to help me put together something for Kate, or just stand there?"

Frowning slowly, Danielle walked away, intent on finally reading the letter in her hands. Slowly Brian followed her; he knew that her feelings had been hurt in the midst of all the other excitement of the past few minutes, and figured he'd at least try to make her not feel so glum. Sneaking up behind her just as Dani pulled the letter from the envelope, Brian snatched it from her hands.

"Brian, give it back! That's my letter!" Danielle called out as he dashed off with it. Ending up in the living room, Brian held the papers high above her head so she couldn't see them.

"Hold on...we shall see what he has to say," he said with a smirk, and Dani huffed, crossing her arms as Brian prepared to read. But as soon as he looked down at the letter and began reading in his mind, his mouth closed and his brows furrowed.

"It's...it's not Frankie's letter."

"What do you mean?" Danielle asked.

"It's for Denise. Must have been brought here by mistake... Nevermind, I'll go take it to her," Brian said, his voice in a monotone as he still read the first few lines of the letter. Things were finally starting to make a little more sense...

Leaving Jess's house, Brian slowly walked next door, where Denise was returning inside with her own mail.

"Denise..." he called out from the sidewalk. Slowly she turned, question in her eyes.

"This...this ended up in the neighbor's mail," he said, reaching her and handing the opened letter to her. Looking down, Denise knew what it was, and her heart pounded now that someone else knew the secret she'd been keeping from everyone for many years. "I'm sorry..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, a congregation of people stood in the entrance hall of Denise's home. She, Dani, Gia and John, Allie and Joe, Brian and his mother; all were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Kate to come down after having Jess make her up for the date that evening.

Finally, Jess descended the stairs, alone, wide smile on her lips.

"Alright everyone, she's coming!"

At those words, everyone quieted their idle chatter, looking up at the stairs as they waited for only a few moments more.

Surely enough, Kate arrived slowly making her way down the stairs in a stark white, strapless dress that hung to her knees, and silver heels. Her hair was pulled back in a simple way, but she still looked beautiful as ever. And as she descended the stairs slowly, looking down on everyone with nervous eyes, Brian felt his heart jolt in his chest, breath catching in his throat. She was absolutely breathtaking.

"Oh, honey, you look so beautiful!" Denise gushed, kissing her daughter on the cheek.

"You're gonna knock him dead," Jess said with a wink before everyone else complimented her on how well she looked. When the time came, she headed to the front door, ready to go out. Little did she know there was a limo waiting outside for her; Zack had sent it to get her.

"Kate," Brian called out, just as her hand was on the doorknob.

"What?" she asked quietly, turning to look at Brian; he took a few steps toward her.

"Your hair..." Brian said bluntly, before reaching out and pulling it out of the tie it was up in. "...Looks better down." He let out a weak smile as he and Kate seemed to share a moment. He knew Zack would thank him in the end -- he was the one that liked Kate's hair down anyways. Brian liked it no matter how it looked.

"Go," he finally whispered, nodding his head toward the door, and Kate turned, smiling briefly at him once more before she left the house.

After a rather leisurely drive, the limo pulled up in front of a rather regal looking building. Stepping out, Kate realized that the building she was stood in front of was the dance hall where she and Zack had taken the salsa lessons together. Smiling to herself, she slowly made her way up the steps and into the building, where it was dark.

She stood there, a few feet inside the entrance, confused. Where was Zack? She was supposed to meet him wherever the driver of the limo dropped her off, but he was nowhere in sight.

But suddenly, a bright, blinding light flooded over Kate. She shielded her eyes for a moment, before realizing that somehow, there'd been a spotlight put on her. Whatever Zack had done in preparation for this, must have cost him quite a bit. What with hiring people with spotlights, obviously renting out the entire dancehall for the night...having a limo pick her up. She began to wonder just what was up his sleeve...

Footsteps were heard not too far away, the sounds echoing in the large, empty room, and suddenly another spotlight turned on, shining on Zack who was stood a few meters away.

"Zack? ...What is all this?" Kate asked in surprise as he walked up to her. He donned a nice-looking suit, though it looked more like a tuxedo actually. Suddenly her heart was pounding and she didn't know why.

"Sshh... There's something I have to do..." he whispered, coming to stand directly in front of her.

"I...I know that after everything that has gone on, I'm probably not your favorite person at the moment, but...I can't keep this in any longer. I don't think you love me quite like I love you," he finally confessed, his heart pounding just as hard as Kate's, "but I think...someday you will. And I'll wait for that day, because I know it'll happen. Call me egotistical, but after those days we spent together I can just feel that there was something there; I know there was. But right now...please...have faith in the love that I feel for you, because I think it might just be enough for the both of us, Kate."

She smiled, and for some reason could feel tears coming to her eyes. Maybe because what Zack was saying was true, and he was being quite sincere about it.

"And I'm going on a huge leap of faith right now, but...I know that this I what I want, and I know that...eventually...this will all work out."

Heart pounding harder than ever, Zack slowly leaned in, placing a hand on Kate's cheek. He kissed her, and Kate could feel all the love he felt for her in that kiss. And suddenly all she thought about was him; not her family, not Brian, nothing. Just Zack. And she could feel what was coming...

Pulling away, Zack stayed close to her, resting his forehead against hers as the lights in the dance hall slowly faded on.

"Kate..." he whispered. "Marry me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone moved to the living room after Kate's departure to idly watch the television while they waited for her to come home (though it had gone past Gia and John's bedtime, and they had been sent up stairs). Sat between his mother and Denise, Brian felt nothing but nerves. He had made the plan to set up Kate and Zack, but it still pained him to do so, because he really did love her.

Suddenly his cell phone rang, and he hurriedly answered it, seeing that it was Zack on the other line. His first thought was that the date had gone horribly wrong.

"Hello?" he asked. Denise and Suzy looked over at him curiously, watching as the conversation unfurled. "Oh!...oh...uhm, wow. Well, that's just great," Brian said, trying to keep a happy look on his face, though it was harder the more he heard Zack talk on the phone. Shortly afterward he hung up after telling his friend goodbye, and found everyone looking at him expectantly.

"...They're engaged."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next step in the equation was getting Zack's parents into New York from their large home on Long Island to meet Kate's parents, as neither of them had ever met. The whole idea of the engagement was a bit sudden; for the most part, Kate and Zack weren't even "together" prior to the engagement. Though now that it had happened, Kate had to admit she was quite happy with Zack.

The two had discussed when exactly they would follow through with the marriage. Zack said he didn't care; he knew it'd happen eventually, so if they wanted to wait a few years to see how things turned out in the near future, it was fine with him. Kate, on the other hand, had a feeling that if she didn't follow through with it now, she might not do it at all. And so they had Zack's parents come into Denise's home to discuss the matter, on when the wedding would be, where it would be, and all the other little details that needed to be taken care of.

"So, what I was thinking was that since we're having an interior decorator come for our wedding anniversary in two weeks," Maria started, gesturing to her husband seated next to her, "that we could have the engagement party the same day, in the evening after the anniversary party."

"Engagement party?" Kate asked, feeling bewildered.

"Well, if you would like one, that is..." Maria offered.

"My parents like spending money; just go with it," Zack whispered as he leaned into Kate' ear, her hand linked with his as they sat together on the couch adjacent to Zack's parents.

"Uh, sure," Kate answered to Maria, giving small, rather uncertain smile.

"Have you two set a date for the wedding?" Denise asked, not having been filled in on that detail.

"Um...well...we decided to do it as soon as possible, so we were thinking by the end of the month?" Zack answered, looking between Kate and her mother.

"Nothing wrong with getting things done quickly, son," James said with a smile.

"Yes, I am just so happy we got such a nice boy for Kate," Ally said, speaking up as she was included in this family meeting of sorts. "...Though it makes me miss my son terribly. It's a shame he couldn't be here for this."

"Zack told us," Maria said quietly, hanging her head a bit as she gave an apologetic smile. "We are terribly sorry. If you don't mind me asking, how did he--"

"Heart-attack," Ally said quickly, cutting Maria off before she could even finish her sentence.

Maria and John just nodded, keeping quiet as Denise shot a look of near anger at Ally. The lie had gone on for too long.

"I'm just waiting for Kate and John to settle down before I can move back to Australia," Ally continued, ignoring the glare Denise was sending her.

"What about Gia?" James asked, knowing from Zack that Kate had a younger sister.

"She's not ours," Ally said in the most nonchalant way, dismissing the fact.

"Grandma..." Kate hissed; she hated it when her grandmother acted this way with company. Glancing at Zack's parents, she could clearly see they were both very confused, and quite shocked at what Ally had said.

"No, Gia is as much ours as Kate is," Denise pressed, sending a tight smile to the Bakers. "And...my husband didn't die of a heart attack. He committed suicide."

The silence that fell upon the room was so thick, Kate felt like she could hardly breathe. This wasn't the time for what was going on.