Maybe Larry had ruined it for her. After being with him, she knew how happy and fulfilled her life could be like. Now that he was gone, it was like a part of her was missing. Ally sat up in her bed and looked out the window. A light snow had begun falling. It looked pretty romantic. Too bad she didn't have anyone to share it with. Tears started to fill her eyes, but she shook her head in protest. She was *not* going to cry. She didn't want to feel sorry for herself. She should feel proud of herself. Never before had she acted so selflessly. When Larry's son, Sam, came to Boston and was in obvious need of his father, Ally didn't even hesitate once when she told Larry that he had to move to Detroit to be with him. She had read once somewhere that true love was about letting the other person go so they could be happy. It wasn't about *your* needs or *your* happiness, it was about the other persons'. And it made Ally happy to know that her relationship with Larry was clearly something very special if she could have made such a powerful decision like that in the blink of an eye. Sure, it hurt her terribly that he was gone, but the fact that he was with his son and hopefully happy there made Ally content with her decision. But still, it hurt......

Ally looked over to her phone on the nightstand next to her bed. It had been a few days since she last talked to Larry on the phone. They kept missing each other and it had Ally worried. She did not want to lose touch of him. She still needed to hear his voice every once in awhile. It would keep whatever sanity she had left intact. She'd been having hallucinations of Larry recently that had produced some very embarassing moments. She already managed to hug Richard Fish at the conference meeting, and she even kissed Jackson Duper right smack on the lips! Thank goodness Renee was an understanding woman.

RING! Just then, the phone rang interrupting Ally's thoughts. She went for the phone so fast she almost fell out of the bed.

"Hello? Hello?" she answered, breathlessly.

"Ally, hi. It's me."

It was Larry.

Ally's face broke into a wide grin. "Hi, sweetie. Thank god you called! I've been missing you so much."

"I miss you, too," he replied. "I'm sorry we haven't been in touch much these last few days. It's been kind of hectic for me."

"Oh, that's all right," she fibbed. "I'm just glad we're talking now. How's Sam?"

"He's doing great. I took him out sledding yesterday. We both ended up frozen."

"Oh," she giggled. The thought of them sledding reminded Ally of the snowman she had in the freezer in her room. Larry had left her a snowman designed to look just like him, complete with his glasses, hat, scarf, jacket..... Of course she had to keep it! She bought a new freezer especially for it and liked to look at the snowman every night right before she fell asleep. She realized that she hadn't checked it yet that night and made a mental note to look at it after getting off the phone.

"Frozen, huh," she said, resuming their conversation. "That's right, it must be really cold there in Detroit."

"It is. Were you sleeping just now?"

"No, I was just laying here thinking," Ally replied.

"About?"

"Stuff..." Ally's words trailed off. She wanted to ask Larry when he'd be back. That's the one quesiton that was bugging her. Lately she'd been having doubts if he would ever come back. He gave her no indication whatsoever and she wanted to just come out and ask him.

But she didn't.

She didn't want to put any guilt or pressure on Larry. She loved him too much to do that.

"Stuff...... what kind of stuff?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Work. You. Stuff like that," she tried to say casually.

"Oh, I see." Ally could almost see him smiling. There was a silence as neither one of them knew what to say next. Wow, Ally thought to herself. Larry Paul is at a loss for words.

"I'm really tired," Ally blurted out to fill in the dead silence.

"Oh, okay. So I'll let you go," Larry said gently. Ally smacked her head, cursing herself for saying that. She didn't want to hang up. She wanted to talk to him all night long.

"I love you, Ally," he said, interrupting her thoughts. Ally smiled.

"I love you too, Mr. Larry."

"Keep playing that song I wrote you in your head, okay? It'll make you feel like I'm close by."

"I will," Ally whispered. "Goodnight. Sweet dreams." She hung up the phone and sighed. It was good to hear his voice. She replayed their phone conversation in her head. It had been short but sweet. She was glad that Larry took Sam out sledding the day before. It sounded like they were having fun together. That was good, Ally thought. She really wanted Larry to be happy, even if he wasn't with her.

She closed her eyes so she could start doing what Larry told her to do. He wanted her to play the song he wrote for her in her head. It was a beautiful song and it always made Ally feel better.

The first notes of the piano bars of the song began playing.

Only..... it wasn't in her head.

The sounds of the piano bars were coming from outside Ally's bedroom. They were coming from her very own piano that was kept in the living room.

Ally gasped. It was Larry.

It had to be. Only he could play that song. The sounds of the piano bars kept playing, almost like they were inviting Ally to come and see for herself. Ally, a little shaken, slowly got up out of bed and made her way slowly out of her bedroom. She opened her bedroom door slightly and stepped out. She still couldn't see her piano because there was a wall blocking her view so she tiptoed her way closer and closer.......

She finally made it to the wall that was blocking her view and, as quietly as she could, she peeked out from behind it so she could see.

She gasped again. There he was. Larry.

He was sitting at the piano, gently stroking the piano keys, as the melody from "Chances Are" filled up the room. Another object caught Ally's attention. She saw Larry's cell phone sitting on top of the piano.

Larry looked up and caught sight of Ally. He almost lost contact with the piano at the sight of her, but he kept on playing. There she was. It had been so long since he last saw her, he almost forgot how beautiful she was. It had been six weeks, but it felt like an enternity. A loving smile formed at his lips, but he still said nothing. It was true.... Larry Paul was at a loss for words.

Ally was almost in a state of shock. Tears were filling her eyes again and she didn't even bother wiping them away this time. She didn't say anything either. She didn't have to. The look on her face said it all. She slowly made her way towards Larry and sat down next to him at the piano. He was still playing her song and she just quietly watched him.

He finally reached a break in the melody of the song and stopped playing. But the music kept on playing in Ally's head. Larry could hear it too. There was no doubt that they had a connection. Ally still did not say anything. She didn't trust herself to speak. Instead, she gently took Larry's hand in hers and began kissing it. Larry smiled and was almost shaken by the touch of her.

Ally looked deep into Larry's eyes and he returned the loving stare. Finally, both coudn't resist it anymore and began kissing each other passionately. Larry wrapped his arms around her and she did the same. It felt so wonderful to hold each other again.

When they finally broke free, Ally hugged him tight not ever wanting to let go.

"Larry..." she finally managed to say.

Larry gently stroked her hair, and then pulled her back to look at her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Ally looked at him and then it almost felt like a lightning bolt shot right through her body. She pulled away from him so forcefully that it caught Larry off-guard. Then she started smacking her head repeatedly.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!!!" she screamed.

Larry just sat there speechless. What in the world..... ? Ally got up very quickly and ran back into her bedroom. Once she made it inside, she slammed the door shut.

"No, no, no, no, no!!!" she cried to herself. "It's just another one of my damn hallucinations." She started smacking her head again.

"Bad hallucination! Bad hallucination!" she said each time she smacked her head. Well, actually, it was a pretty good hallucination, she thought to herself. Wow, they were getting longer and more detailed. It even felt real. Then she clasped her hands onto her mouth, in horror.

Oh my goodness, she thought. Who was I kissing out there? Renee?!

Ally sat down on her bed and tried to gather her thoughts. She looked to the right and saw her freezer. She quickly got up and went over to it. She needed to see her snowman. It would surely calm her down. But when she opened the freezer door, she was horrified to see that it was gone!

Ally ran out of her bedroom in confusion. Where was it. She went out into the living room again and, to her surprise, she saw the snowman there! She couldn't believe she missed it before but she must have been so caught up in her Larry hallucination. But what was it doing there? Who could have....

"You stuck me in a freezer?"

Ally froze. She knew that voice. She knew that deadpan tone. She whipped around and there stood Larry. He just stood there, with his arms crossed, looking at her a little amused. Ally noticed that he was wearing the exact same clothes as he was in her hallucination. Then it dawned on her. What if it wasn't a hallucination after all?

"Are... are you.... are you.....?" she stammered.

Larry raised his eyebrows and patiently waited for her to get her sentence out.

"Are you for real?!" she finally said.

"Uh, yeah, I think so." He smiled. He knew what was going on. He knew Ally well enough to understand what had just happened.

Ally, on the other hand, was still very confused. And surprised.

"Are you back?!" she asked, surprised at the bewilderment in her voice.

"I'm back," Larry said calmly.

It grew silent for a few seconds, both at a loss for words. Larry began shifting uncomfortably. "Look, I'm not much better at hellos then I am at goodbyes..."

"How long?" Ally said eagerly, interrupting him.

"What?"

"Well, I mean.... is this a visit or..... how long are you back for?" Ally was stuttering all the way through, still very surprised at what was happening. She almost felt like it was a dream. Butterflies crept into her stomach as Larry started walking towards her. It was that excited feeling she always got whenever she was near him.

Larry checked his watch. "Oh, well..... does forever work for you?" He smiled at Ally.

Ally, still very shocked, just stared at him in disbelief.

"I was hoping to move in," Larry threw out casually.

Ally broke free from his stare and bowed her head down, as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening.

"Are you thinking about it?" she could hear Larry ask. She shook her head a little and tried to gather her thoughts. Of course she didn't have to think about that. She would let Larry move in with her in a heartbeat.

"I promise I won't shave my legs in the tub," he joked. Ha ha, Ally thought. But she couldn't laugh for real. She was still trying to think.

Everything that she and Larry had been through..... The relationship they had.... the one they could still have. Larry was basically saying that he wanted to be with her forever, not in so many words but she could feel it. The love she felt for him was so strong that when he left her to move to Detroit, her heart broke into two pieces. One of those pieces belonged to Larry. She wanted to be with him more than anything, but she was also a little cautious. She finally looked up at Larry and weakly said what summed up her feelings.

"I just won't be able to take you leaving again."

The look on Larry's face told her that he understood completely. "Which works out well because I don't plan to," he said. Ally continued to stare at him emotionally. It was Larry's turn to sum up his feelings as he said to her, "I told you before.... I'm only at the beginning of loving you."

Ally couldn't speak. She didn't have to because Larry moved closer to her and kissed her. Ally returned the kiss but broke free. She had to be sure.

She poked at Larry twice.... just to make sure one final time that it really was him. He smiled at her and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she finally had back the love of her life. She managed a weak smile and then pulled him back to her and they both kissed again.

There were still many questions left unanswered, mostly concerning Larry's relationship with his son, but Ally didn't want to think about that just then. All she wanted to do was hold Larry and never let go. It felt so good to be....

.....together again.