She turned around, anger flooding her mind and causing her to only focus on one thing: leaving.

"Meggie, wait," Jeffrey called after her, still stunned to see her leaving after their New Year’s Eve kiss.

Ignoring him, Meggie continued to walk through the crowd until she reached the parking lot.

"Damn it, wait!" he called, running after her. As he came up behind her, Jeffrey grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him.

"Let go of me! You’re hurting me."

He instantly relaxed his grip. "I’m sorry. What is going on here, between us?" he asked, staring directly into her eyes.

"Why don’t you tell me? You’re obsessed with Sid and instead of ignoring him, you go get plastered." She pulled away from him and began to pace. "Why? What’s so terrible about Sid? And why do you turn to drinking when you crawl inside that "Wigand Dark Hole’ where no one can reach or touch you?"

He was taken aback by her words, partially realizing they held some truth. "I do drink, sometimes more than I should. I did that before, during the whole B&W fiasco and dealing with 60 minutes. I just, I shut down, Meggie. You know that. It’s how I deal with my emotions, the world."

"You could talk to me. I’m not like Liana, Jeffrey. You don’t have to impress me with expensive presents and a perfect life. I just want you to talk to me."

He reached out for her, but she backed away. "Meggie, I know you’re not Liana. You two are complete opposites. But understand the things I’ve done, what I’ve become, don’t turn away from me. I’ve spent half my life out there doing what I thought was right, correct, and then everything I had, my wife, my kids, gone in a flash. And for telling the truth."

She had the sudden impulse to just run away, leaving everything behind her. Of course, she had done that already, ending up here, in Australia. Sighing, Meggie realized arguing would get them nowhere. Something needed to give, to make way for a small ray of light to shine through the darkness and uncertainty. Jeffrey’s voice, soft and gentle, finally broke through her confused thoughts.

"You’re right. I do pull away and shut down. It’s easy, familiar to me than facing the unknown out there. Or worse still, end up losing something I love incredibly once again." He watched her face, looking for any sign of hope, of willingness. Carefully, he moved closer until he stood in front of her. Meggie continued to stare into the distance, as if searching for the very answer they needed. He longed to reach out to her, to pull her close to him and just hold her.

"Jeffrey…" Meggie finally spoke in a quiet voice. Her blue eyes, filled with both pain and anger, focused on him. She crossed her arms in front of her, trying to keep the chilly night air away.

He saw her move, begin to slightly shudder from the evening air, and quickly took his jacket off. "Here, you’re freezing," he said simply, slowly and carefully wrapping his jacket around her small shoulders. So close, he could smell the light flowery scent in her hair, almost feel her soft skin. Meggie, please he thought. His hand reached out for her face, cupping her cheek as his thumb wiped away the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes.

With her left hand, Meggie reached up. Small fingers wrapped around his hand, squeezing slightly. "I’m sorry."

"Meggie," Jeffrey whispered, pulling her closer against his chest now. He could feel her bury her face against his shoulder, feel the tears turn into sobs of frustration. As he held her, Jeffrey’s hand caressed her back. "Darling…I’m sorry. I know how fast and easily I can shut down, pushing everyone around me away. I didn’t mean to hurt you, God, that’s all I keep doing anymore."

Meggie looked up into Jeffrey’s sorrowful eyes. "You said you wanted to start over, take things slowly. Back in the States, we were both so busy with work and real life. You starting over again, and me with my new career. But," she paused, brushing a piece of his loose grey hair away from his forehead, "we found a shelter together, from the raging storm of life. I want to start over again, Jeffrey, so much. And this time, just focus on us and leave the mess and debris of everything else behind us. Focus on us, a future."

Jeffrey nodded his head, a slow smiling spreading across his face. "You know, I’m not the easiest person to deal with, Meggie?"

A small laugh escaped from her lips.

"I want to place my life, my heart in your hands and take that leap of faith into the great unknown without second guessing and fearing anything around us. I want…."

Her lips brushed his mouth, silencing him. For a moment, the world stood still as if they, and only they, existed in one of those picturesque and well-crafted scenes in a snow globe. No worries, no pressure, nothing at that exact second breached their souls as they clung to each other. Jeffrey responded to her kiss, leaning forward and kissing her mouth, her face, her neck. He paused, looking down into her flushed face and shining blue eyes that looked up, searching his own.

"May I have the pleasure of escorting you home, Miss Ward? It’s late and I can’t leave you… alone…on this new day of the year," Jeffrey finally spoke. A gentle breeze blew a lock of brown hair into her face. He smiled, his hand reaching out automatically to brush it away.

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Wigand," Meggie answered. "It would be a pleasure."

Offering his arm to her, the two headed towards the silver car in the parking lot.