It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Bristol pulled the hood off her head as she knocked on the white, painted door. Her hair was slightly damp, the clothes on her back smelt of rain. She tried shaking the chill that ripped down her spine and all she could keep her mind on was nestling a hot cup of coffee between her hands; if and when Kris decided to answer the door. For the first time in nearly three days, Bristol smiled. The presence of Kris was just what she needed; the sight of him was enough to rid the sourness welling in her belly.

“I brought food.” Bristol held out of the pink and white box containing twelve of their favorite donuts. It was a challenge for Bristol not to eat one on the drive into Philly. She was beginning to miss the city; the skyline seemed almost too unfamiliar as she crossed over from Jersey. It had been nearly a week since Bristol packed up and left.

Kris, dressed in only sweats, took the box from Bristol’s hands with great delight as he settled on the couch. The sight of his stomach disgusted her; the staples and stitches keeping the surgical wound closed were crusted with blood and pus. Iodine still stained his milky skin. Bristol removed her hoodie once she felt the heat in the apartment before sitting down. Kris said nothing as he flipped the top open and turned on the tube. “How are you doing?” she asked.

He shrugged; took a big bite out of a chocolate glazed donut. “Besides the fact I haven’t takin' a shit in three days, pretty good. Still sorer than a mother fucker.”

Bristol had no idea how to respond. She rubbed her eyes with her two free fingers and grabbed something to eat with her free hand. The cast was beginning to become a nu sense. She hated it; the simplest tasks were her biggest challenges. Bristol gave up on showering days ago, now washing her hair in the kitchen sink with Danny’s help and scrubbing her body with a long handled loofah in the bath. It was the longest she had gone without blow-drying or straightening it her hair.

“How are you doing? That’s the real question here.” Kris always took Bristol’s feelings personal. They had grown so close in such a short amount time, even his parents considered her to be part of the Versteeg family. Last summer she spent nearly a month in Alberta partying with him and his brothers.

She swallowed the bite she had in her mouth before suddenly losing her appetite. “Honestly, I have no idea. Everything is just one big…cluster fuck.” Since the night she slept with Danny, Bristol can’t get her thoughts straight. While her heart was still aching for Daniel, her head was telling her to move on. Make the best of it and finally settle with what was in front of her. Settle, Bristol was afraid of that word.

If it hadn’t been for the staples and stitches inside his body and out, Kris would have kicked Dan’s ass days ago. Kris knew Bristol wasn’t perfect, but he was more pissed at his teammate over the fact he so easily gave up. Dan should have never walked out of the night she told him to leave, he should have reasoned with her; everyone knew Bristol wasn’t ready for marriage yet either.

“He called me the other day; looking for you. Bristol, you’ve got to call him.”

“I’ll see him in a few days, when we head down to Cabo.” Out of the corner of her eye, Bristol could see Kris sulk. If it hadn’t been for his surgery he’d be chilling under the Mexican sun with them. The thought of having to spend another few days cooped up in his apartment was about to make him crazy. There were only so many hours of lame MTV reality shows he could take.

“How long do you plan on staying with Danny?” Kris was more than happy to have her come stay with him. Maybe move her back in and the two could go back to living the dream.

Just hearing Danny’s name had sparked something odd in Bristol’s brain. There was no way she could answer the question seeing as to how something heavier was weighing her down. Her conscious was far from clean and it would have come out eventually. “I fucked Danny.”

“Again?” Kris didn’t seem too surprised. “Bristol, you’ve got to stop that. You are messing with the poor guy; all he’s looking for is someone who will be there for him and the boys and you’re too much of a wild card. He doesn’t know you in the ways that Carcillo and I do; at twenty-four, you’re still a kid and you’ll end up either really breaking his heart, or, with a ring—that you don’t want—on your finger.”

Bristol tucked her legs in underneath her and rested her head against the sofa. She hated it when Kris was right. If she kept up her relationship with Danny, there were only two ways it could end: either she ends up breaking his and the boys hearts or she breaks her own. Committing herself to Danny when who she really wants is Daniel will cause her to go crazy. There was no doubting Danny was a pleasing lover, but Dan satisfied her ways no man ever could.

“What do you think I should do?” Bristol knew Kris was the last person she should be taking relationship advice from, but at least his insight could clear some of the fog from her mind so her own thoughts could surface.

“Quit sleeping with Danny and go home and make things right with Dan. You and Carcillo should be together. Not you and Briere. You may think I’m totally wrong, and you’re going to head back into Jersey and cuddle up with Danny tonight, but Bristol, it will never work out between the two of you. All you’ll end up being is either another roommate, or a fourth child for him to raise.”

Removing three more donuts from the box, Kris set them on the table as he closed it up. “Take the donuts with you. They’re a peace offering. Men love it when women bring food over while talking relationship bullshit. You have to do it now or else Cabo will be un-enjoyable for everyone.”

“You want me to go now?” Bristol didn’t look to amused, Kris thought. He figured she’d be all over the idea of trying to rekindle their relationship. Maybe there was more than he knew about. He had only heard Dan’s side of the story, with Bristol being MIA and closing herself off to the world, communication with her had become rather difficult.
She watched Kris’ expression begin to harden as it became increasingly difficult to hold back tears. Her eyes blinked rapidly, sending salty tears streaming down her face. Looking Bristol straight in the eye, Kris spoke, his tone colder than ice. “What did he do to you? What did he say?”

He hadn’t seen Bristol freeze up the way she did on his couch in years. She looked terrified and broken. The second she began defending Dan, Kris knew something more than what Dan had said, went down. “It’s not his fault, it was me who drove him—,”

“To other women?”

Bristol nodded, using her tee shirt to wipe her tears away. Seeing Bristol break down on his couch hit Kris hard. It was the first time he had really seen how his own actions of picking lose women up at bars was affecting his girlfriend. On the outside, he may not see the upset, but he knew Allison must have been an emotional wreck. He was disgusted with his own self. Pulling the collar of Bristol’s shirt, Kris wrapped his arms around her as she collapsed against him. Her eyes couldn’t produce any more tears even if she tried. Bringing his lips down to her forehead, Kris placed a soothing kiss to the warm flesh. Slowly Bristol could feel her heart rate and breathing return to normal.

“Do you still think I should break it off with Danny?” She joked.

In just ten minutes, it became painfully obvious to Kris he had been wrong telling her not to be with Danny. Bristol was her own women, capable of making her own decisions and if they made her happy, Kris was happy too. Resting his chin on the top of Bristol’s head, Kris spoke in his most serious tone. “If you break Danny’s heart, I will be forced to kick your ass.”