There's the night Daniel shows up on her doorstep, shaky and bewildered looking. She can tell from his ruffled hair how often he's been running his hand through it. On the richter scale of Daniel Grayson distress, this is an 8.
"Daniel," she rushes forward, puts her hand on his wrist, "Are you all right?"
He shakes his head, looks at her sideways. "I don't know, Em. I really don't."
This sounds serious.
"You know how, when you're a kid growing up, the world makes sense? Right? Your folks have all the answers. They teach you everything you know. You figure, this is life. This is the world. This is true." He shakes his head again. "But what if it's not?"
Her heart begins to beat faster. It's just a small leap of hope, one she immediately denies. But still… what if Daniel is beginning to see the truth? What if he's beginning to see his family for what they truly are? She laughs lightly, "I think that's what they call growing up, Daniel."
"No," he says. "No, not like this. It's… jesus. It's a crisis of faith. It's like when Antony turns on Ceasar. The world just totally shifts, and it's a different place than you thought it was."
"What happened?" she asks, her voice soft.
"It's about David Clarke."
She forces herself to ask, "The terrorist?"
"Yeah, no. I mean, yes. Him. But I don't know if I believe that anymore."
Her heart leaps, and Emily finds herself hoping against hope that Daniel really is different from his family. That he really is a good person.
"I don't understand," she says, sinking down onto her couch.
He barks out a laugh and sits beside her. "That makes two of us." He takes her hand in his, interweaves their fingers. "My mom was in love with David Clarke."
"Oh, my god," Emily says. There's no faking the disbelief in her voice when she asks, "She told you this?"
"Eventually, yeah. First she just sobbed. God. My mother's sitting there, sobbing like her heart's gonna break, and all I can think is that the bastard must have raped her. She nearly let me think that, too. So, I'm furious. This guy hurt my mother. And my poor sister has no idea what she's the result of. And so I'm swearing to myself she's not gonna learn about it from me. And I'm about to leave when my mother finally manages to say something."
"Wow," Emily lets her breath out, only now realizing she's been holding it.
"You know what she says?"
"I honestly have no idea," she tells him.
"She says, 'I loved him. More than I'd ever loved anyone… except my children.' Then she tells me it's the biggest regret of her life, that she was too scared to stand by him and instead she helped my dad frame him. The love of her life."
"Jesus," Emily says. She hadn't seen that admission coming. Without thinking about it, she squeezes Daniel's hand. "I wonder if that's why she's always seemed so… bitter."
"Yeah. Maybe. I don't know. I just… I believed them. I believed what they told me. About David Clarke, about their marriage, about how much they loved me and Charlotte, and now…"
"Daniel," she says, tugging on his hand until he looks straight at her. "Your parents love you. And Charlotte. You know I'm not your mother's biggest fan," understatement, "but even I can see how much she loves you." How has it come to this, that she's defending Victoria? But she knows. It's because Victoria regrets what she did to David Clarke. Because Victoria told Daniel the truth, even though she must have been terrified what he'd think of her.
"Maybe that's why she holds on so tight to me. Because she feels like she gave up the love of her life to protect me, so she has to make it worth it, you know?"
And again, Daniel surprises her with a moment of such insight. She really needs to give him more credit.
"So, what now?"
Now Daniel's eyebrows pull together and he looks lost again. "I don't know. What can I do? I can't tell Charlotte. But… it's wrong. What my parents did. And this poor guy… he lost everything because of it. Hell, how can I ever look at Amanda Clarke again and not feel like a scumbag? My parents ruined her life."
He pauses, gauging her expression. "I know she's your friend. I know. But she's not in a good place. You don't have to look hard to see that her life has been pretty messed up. What would she have been like if her Dad was around to raise her?"
Emily places her hands on either side of his face and kisses him. An honest kiss. Letting some of her wildness, her rage, through, and in the process he gentles it. Rage turns to passion. She will never be sweet and gentle, not truly. But for this moment, she feels like she truly does love Daniel Grayson.
Daniel pulls her tight against him, once he gets past the initial surprise.
Emily's never touched him like this before. He thought he'd seen her passionate. Thought he'd seen her wild, or at least as wild as Emily Thorne ever gets. There's always been a reserve around her. The sense of something pent up.
He'd never felt dissatisfied with what they had, but now, feeling her lips against his like this, the hunger in her touch… He'd never known what he was missing.
Soon they're on the floor of her beach house, him holding her down as she wraps her legs around his hips. He's careful not to hold her too tightly, not wanting to hurt her. And that's when she flips them. In a maneuver he can't even describe, she's suddenly the one on top and when she holds him down by his wrists, she's not worried about being gentle.
She's also not worried about the integrity of his shirt. She pulls, tearing the top few buttons off. It's suddenly his very favorite shirt ever, and he will never replace those buttons. Now he pushes at her, until he's on top again, and pulls his shirt off over his head in one smooth motion.
She undoes the button on the top of his trousers before his shirt even hits the floor. Soon they're both naked and he's thrusting into her as she digs her nails into his back.
"Harder," she demands.
He obliges.
After, they're both lying on the floor, Emily's head resting on his shoulder. He's pretty sure he has bite marks. He knows she does. He traces the red imprint of his teeth against her neck and feels a primal satisfaction.
"Not that I'm complaining," he says, half smiling, "but…"
"Where did that come from?" she finishes for him, before laughing. "Kinda sudden, huh?"
"As I said, not that I'm complaining," his smile is now a full blown grin.
"I noticed that," she grins back at him. "I guess I just have a passion for justice."
He raises his eyebrows. "Wow. So just admitting my family screwed over David and Amanda Clarke gets me that kind of enthusiasm?"
She keeps grinning at him as she says, "Yup."
"Wow. What happens if I clear the guy's name?"
"Something beyond your wildest dreams," she promises.
He bursts into laughter. "I love you, Emily. Don't ever change; you're gonna make me a better man. A much better man."
She goes serious, brushes her fingertips along the line of his cheek. "You're already a good man, Daniel Grayson. Far better than I deserve."
He tightens his arms around her, immensely grateful for the luck that brought Emily Thorne into his life.