Spencer knew at that moment that her overtures wouldn't be rebuffed. She had been waiting for Ashley to break ever since the dark haired girl had shut her out after she had to leave the Davies mansion three days ago. Spencer was just glad Ashley had come to her before she fell apart. She quickly put her arms around the shorter girl and held on as tightly as she could, stroking her hair and rubbing circles on her back as well. She was determined to let Ashley know that she was there for her no matter what as she did her best to convey how she felt about the dark haired girl through the embrace. More than anything else, she wanted to kiss her girlfriend but she wasn't quite ready to deal with her parents yet. She settled for letting her hands roam over the other girl in an attempt to comfort Ashley. She murmured softly as she did so, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. I'm here now. I'm here for you. You're not alone, let it out. I love you so much, we're gonna get through this together, I promise. I'm not going anywhere no matter what. This sucks so bad and I'm so sorry it happened to you." She didn't even care if her parents heard or what they thought. Ashley was the only thing that mattered to her at that moment.

After a few minutes, the brunette calmed down a bit. Paula and Arthur had joined the boys at the table when Ashley had broken down and the girls could hear them passing the serving dishes around quietly in the next room. "Oh god, Spence! I'm so sorry!" Ashley pulled back from the embrace causing Spencer to look at her with a puzzled expression on her face.

"For what, baby?"

Ashley stared open mouthed at Spencer for a few moments before regaining her power of speech. "Did you just-"

"Yeah, was that okay? I know we didn't get a chance to really talk about things yet, but I want you to know I'm serious about this; about us, and I'm not going anywhere. You're so important to me and I need to make sure you know that, now more than ever."

"Are you serious?" Ashley looked like she might burst into tears again.

"Of course I am! I've never been more serious about anything in my life. You know I've felt this way for a while; I was just waiting for the right time to bring it up. I figured it might help a bit now." Spencer smiled cautiously at the other girl.

"It does. Wow, for real?" Ashley was afraid to believe. What if she just feels sorry for me? Can someone like her really want to be with someone like me?

"Of course, for real. I wouldn't dare kick you when you were down, Ash. You should know that by now. I'm not like that. Now, what are you sorry for?"

"Coming over here without calling first and interrupting your family's dinner. I've been walking around the strip. I left the house without my phone. I didn't want to go back and get it and then come here –"

"Shh, baby. It's okay that you came here, Ash." Spencer whispered the next, hating herself for doing it, but not wanting to cause any more drama that night. She just hoped the other girl understood. "I'm your girlfriend, you should be able to come to me when something like this happens. I'm always here for you."

"I know that, Spence and it means so so much to me, but I don't want you to get in trouble, or cause trouble with your mom." Ashley stared down at the floor, feeling the guilt wash over her as she reluctantly pulled out of the embrace.

"Ash, please stop. What'd you do that for?" Spencer looked at the other girl with concern on her face.

"I don't want your parents to give you any more grief. I know your mom hates me."

"My parents are busy eating. They're the last thing on my mind right now. They know you just had a huge shock and that you need your best friend. My mom's just going to have to get used to it. We're not doing anything wrong. I thought I told you that I think dad knows anyway and I'm sure he's going to be fine with us."

"You did. I just don't want to cause trouble for anyone else right now." Ashley looked like she was about to cry again.

"You're not causing any trouble. I bet you haven't eaten, right?" Spencer brought her hand up to wipe away some of the tears in the brunette's eyes.

"Right. I haven't felt much like eating." Ashley looked down at the floor; just wishing she could crawl in a hole and die. She felt a bit better being with Spencer and being in Spencer's arms, but she couldn't remember ever hurting this bad. She had no idea how to even begin to deal with her dad's death. The one semi-constant person in her life before she'd met the blonde was gone. Why would Spencer stick around when she was such a mess? She wasn't even related to her.

"When was the last time you ate?" Spencer looked at the older girl with a concerned expression.

"Um, I don't remember. I think I had something yesterday – no wait, maybe the day before. The days are blending together."

"That's still entirely too long. Lets get you cleaned up a little, then eat something quick and we can escape to my room." Spencer held out a hand to lead her girlfriend to the bathroom.

"No, I'm okay now, Spence. I'll just go. I don't want to be a bother. I'll be fine. Thanks!"