Friday afternoon, Alan arrived home after volunteering at the shelter. Walking inside, he heard voices in the kitchen. Alan walked into the kitchen and found Jordan rolling out dough and Charlie grating cheese. They were laughing.

"What's going on?" Alan had a bemused face.

"Hi Mr. Eppes! Umm.. I mean Alan." Jordan smiled. "We're making pizza bowls."

"Well, Jordan is making them.", Charlie wrinkled his nose in Jordan's direction. "She's making me do the all the work though." He laughed.

"Pizza bowls?" Alan walked over to peer over their shoulders.

"Yeah.", Jordan showed how she sprayed cooking spray inside small baking dishes, and rolled the dough out thinly, placed the thin dough into each bowl, and then filled it with pizza ingredients. Then she brought up the sides of the dough and closed them up. "Sort of like a calzone, but not." Jordan finished. "Plus, everyone can make their own, the way they like it."

"I thought you two were going out tonight." Alan looked curious.

"We probably will later." Charlie said, "but we decided to stay in, make dinner, and watch the game." Charlie grinned at Alan.

"What do you like on your pizza, Alan?" Jordan asked.

"Sausage!" Alan told her with a smile.

"Sausage it is!" Jordan declared, and started filling the pizza bowls.

After dinner, Alan, Charlie, and Jordan watched the game. Alan noticed with amusement how Jordan would occasionally reach over to poke Charlie in the ribs, making him jump. Then she would smile at him innocently when he glared at her. Then Charlie would laugh, and smack Jordan with a couch pillow. It was childish and silly, but neither one cared. It was fun.

The game went off. Alan announced he was going to bed. Charlie wanted to watch an old movie that was coming on, and convinced Jordan to watch it with him before calling it a night.

Charlie drew his legs up onto the couch and pulled Jordan over, so she'd sit close to him. They curled up against each other. Charlie had an arm around Jordan, and her head was on his shoulder. The movie started, and they sat watching, in silence. Charlie loved feeling Jordan's warm body. Her skin was soft and she smelled so good, like baby powder. He tilted his head, feeling her hair against his cheek. He closed his eyes.

Jordan was happy. She loved snuggling with Charlie. She wanted to melt into him. His breath tickled her hair. She could feel his heart beating. She closed her eyes and sighed blissfully.

Early the next morning, Alan Eppes came downstairs to find Charlie on the couch with Jordan laying against him. They were sound asleep. Alan grinned and quietly slipped out of the room.

Charlie woke up. His back hurt and his legs were numb from sleeping in such a strange position all night. Jordan was still cuddled against him, sound asleep. Charlie didn't want to wake her, but he had to straighten out his cramped legs and get the blood flowing. He tried to move gently, hoping not to wake her. But the second he moved, she opened her eyes. She looked into his eyes and gave a little smile.

"Good morning.", Charlie smiled, momentarily forgetting his cramped legs.

"Good morning." Jordan said, and yawned. She sat straight up and stretched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I can't believe we slept like that all night."

Charlie grinned. "We both fell asleep."

Alan appeared from the kitchen. "Coffee?" Charlie and Jordan both gratefully accepted.

They headed for the kitchen. Charlie poured coffee for both of them, hesitated for a moment, his eyes glancing over to her. But he said nothing, and then added sugar and half-and-half.

Charlie passed her a steaming cup, and Jordan leaned back against the counter. Charlie sipped his coffee, watching her over the rim up his cup. She wrapped both hands around the cup for warmth. She smelled the coffee first, and then sipped. She smiled at him. "Just right."

Charlie smiled at her over his cup.

Two Months Later...

Charlie was packing supplies while Alan sipped coffee and watched.

Don walked in. "Hey." He started pouring himself some coffee. "You ready for this Charlie?" Don grinned at him.

Charlie rolled his eyes at Don. "Of course."

Charlie was looking in his backpack, and put in a compass, cell phone, a map, several bottles of water, matches, water purification tablets, a light weight blanket, and some protein bars.

Charlie and Jordan had decided to go on a day long hike in the Angeles National Forest. Larry had suggested it, and Charlie had loved the idea. He and Jordan could take their time, and enjoy being outdoors. The weather forecast had predicted a warm sunny day. Charlie was excited. He had no doubts the day would be perfect.

Jordan arrived at the Eppes home at 7 A.M..

"Good morning", she said smiling. "I can't wait!"

She saw Charlie's backpack on the table and peeked inside.

"I brought these too, umm, just in case." Jordan laughed and blushed as she tucked some wet naps into the bag. Don snickered.

"Ready to go?" Charlie smiled at Jordan as he grabbed the backpack.

"I sure am." Jordan grinned at him. She was excited. "Don, thank you for volunteering to drive us there."

"No problem." Don smiled. "Dad will pick you two up at the other end of the trail since you're not doing a loop." Charlie grinned at Alan. "We'll see you this evening Dad. If we don't turn up, send out a search party."

"That's not funny Charlie. And no, I won't forget to pick you two up." Alan gave Charlie a look.

"I was just joking!" Charlie hadn't meant to get Alan upset. He knew how much his dad worried about him and Don. "It's a joke. C'mon Dad, we'll be fine. And we'll see you this evening."

Alan sighed. "Be careful."

They said goodbye to Alan, and headed for Don's car. They were on their way.