It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Bristol knew it was bitchy, but it had to be done. Slipping her key into the lock of the empty house in Jersey, she toed her shoes off at the front and jogged up the stairs. It had been weeks since her last stay; the interior looked no different. Finally cast free, Bristol gripped the railing, skipping steps and dashing straight into the master bedroom at the end of the hall. Her belongings were exactly where she had left them. Danny couldn’t bring himself to pack any of it up for her. Under the bed she found her Nike duffel and proceeded to fill it with everything she had left.

After her day trip to the Shore with Danny and the boys, she could see how heartbroken Caelan, Carson and Cameron had been as she told them about her decision to move back in with Dan. The three boys sat on the edge of their father’s bed as she collected a few items, the essentials: her clothes, toiletries, shoes. She couldn’t go through that again, that’s why she waited to come back until she was sure the boys and Danny would be gone. Seeing their faces would only make it harder.

Packing her lotions from the bathroom, a little black dress from the closet and a few pairs of yoga pants from the basket on the floor, Bristol moved as quickly as she could while still remembering to get everything. She wanted to get out of there; the feeling of anxiety was kicking in fast. It seemed her chest tightened and her breathing became shallow with every passing second. Panic attacks were becoming a frequent thing for Bristol. The reason for was unknown.

Dan hadn’t been home for ten days; he was a busy man in Ontario. Between signing secessions at Real Sports Apparel, charity golf tournaments and visiting his family in King City, Bristol knew he’d be dead tired by the time he got home later that night. Like the good girlfriend she is, Bristol would have a light dinner ready after his flight landed in Philly. That way the two could relax on the sofa, watch movies and enjoy each other’s company and she listened to the details of his trip. A few days ago she had seen photos of Danny and Dan together at Danny’s golf tournament. They were laughing and smiling; it looked as if they had put any hard feelings for one another aside.

Slinging the strap of her duffel over her shoulder, Bristol walked downstairs to the kitchen jiggling her keys in hand. She had never been a master at removing keys from key rings. Closing a tight fist around the house key, Bristol took a strong, deep breath. She could hear it bounce on the granite as she tossed it on the counter. Bristol felt weird having his house key on her key chains now that she was no longer staying. When he came home and found the key, Danny would be slightly disappointed. He had told her she was welcome any time and just knowing how tumultuous Dan and Bristol’s relationship was, Danny would have a sense of security it the key stayed at least at the bottom of her dresser.

His house was a safe haven, a place where she could come if she needed her spirits lifted or a minute to cool off after an argument. It made him nervous thinking about Bristol leaving Philadelphia eventually during the summer; where would she go after an explosive argument with Dan. He hated to think about it, but common sense told him it was bound to happen again.

Locking the handle before heading out, she tossed her bag on the passenger seat and started the engine. It was the longest twenty-minute drive Bristol had ever made back to Philly. She had been in a haze for most of it. Sitting outside the townhouse for several minutes Bristol started talking herself out of the idea of driving out to Chicago. Why not? She asked herself. Sitting beside her was a packed bag with two changes of clothes and she could always buy a few things in town. But she realized she would be pissed at herself for not being home when Dan got there. She missed him more than she thought she would. A bed has never felt so empty before. To keep herself sane, Bristol slept in the middle with Chief at her left side. The bull dog knew he wasn’t allowed to sleep in the bed when Dan was home and now that Bristol was back, she began spoiling him again.

The air conditioning felt good as she walked in the clean house. Bristol was surprised at how clean Dan had kept the place while she was gone; with the exception of a few bottles of booze idling in several rooms. Chief greeted her at the top of the stairs which lead her into the front room. She scratched the top of the dog’s head as he dropped in pleasure to the floor. Like his master, Chief had a weakness for Bristol scratching behind his ear.

Not bothering to bring anything upstairs, Bristol dropped the duffel on the floor beside the couch as she flopped down. Tossing her legs over the arm of the leather sofa, she examined her newly freed hand. Yesterday Kris had accompanied her to the doctor’s office to have the cast taken off. While the bones had successfully healed, her wrist was still sore. The same afternoon, Bristol couldn’t get to the local nail salon fast enough for a manicure. She went for a fun look with the polish; black topped with a coat of pink Crackle.

Snuggling her head deep into a pillow, Bristol wished she could forget cooking and just fall right to sleep. The past week and a half had been hell—she wasn’t a girl who enjoyed sleeping alone in an empty house for days on end. But when hockey season started up again in October, Bristol knew she’d have to suck it up.

Around six after resting her eyes for a good two hours, Bristol found herself in the kitchen. Heating up a frozen brick of her homemade spaghetti sauce in a pan, she turned up the music on the radio as she dumped pasta into boiling water. Single Ladies had always been her favorite song to dance to. She had memorized the dance by watching the video dozens of times at the request of her friends. A few of her girls had been desperate to dance as sexy as Beyoncé leading them in Bristol’s direction.

She laughed at herself as she sang along; supremely aware of the fact the song couldn’t fit her and Dan’s relationship any more perfectly. “…if you liked it then you should’a put a ring on it. Don’t be mad once you see he want it. ‘Cause if you liked it—fuck!”

Turning around, Bristol placed her hand on her chest, surprised her heart hadn’t popped out. Dan smiled mischievously as he laughed. He scared her good; he had caught Bristol in her natural state, not remembering the last time he caught her off guard singing and dancing as she completed a domestic task. “Christ, Danny. You scared the shit out of me.”

Danny, she called him. Bristol never called him Danny—suddenly she found herself panicking, wondering if he had noticed her slip-up. Which he had. Brushing it off, Dan pulled Bristol in for a hug enjoying the feeling of having her arms around his neck. He kissed her lips.

“What are you doing home? I thought your flight wasn’t supposed to get in until seven.”

Opening the bottle of wine he had picked up on the way home, Dan grabbed a glass from the cabinet pouring her a glass of red. “I was beginning to miss you, believe it or not. Somehow I managed to get on an earlier flight.”

“Well, I’m glad you did.” On her tip-toes, Bristol leaned up and pressed a kiss to his awaiting lips. “Because believe it or not, I was beginning to miss you, too.”

Sticking his tongue out at her, Dan hopped up and sat on the counter. He saturated a sliced piece of fresh bread in olive oil and parmesan cheese; popping torn bites into his mouth. Hunger pangs in his stomach roared loud and the smell of Bristol’s spaghetti sauce wasn’t doing much to help. “So, I don’t think I can keep you safely hidden from my family any longer. The entire time I was up there my mom was all over me about brining you up. I figured we’d fly up there in two or three weeks—once we see what happens on Friday.”

“You’re brining me up to Ontario to meet your parents?” Bristol turned off the flame under the pasta as she gave the sauce one last stir. “I get to meet the Carcillo family?”

Dan was impressed Bristol had pronounced his last name the true Italian way with a rather cute accent. Car-chill-o. It sounded natural rolling off her tongue. “Only if you want to, I don’t want to pressure you into anything. Besides it’ll just be my parents, my older brother, his wife, their kid and possibly my younger brother and his fiancé. Nothing too big.”

She smiled at his nervous rambling while she drained the pasta. It was rare he rambled on with anxiety. “I—,”

“You can think about it,” he cut her off. “I really hope you want to because I want you to meet them and they want to meet you but, if you don’t, with everything that’s happened I understand.”

“Daniel,” Bristol cut him off. “I would love to go.”

“Really?” The nervousness fell from his words as he was sure he understood her correctly. Dan could hear Bristol smile in her response.

“Yes, really. Now, let’s eat before the food get cold."