Megan Locke pulled aside Savannah shortly after the welcoming ceremony. Eliot watched surreptitiously from the corner. "I knew you'd make it in, sweetheart," Megan told her. "I'm very proud, and I have something for you." She reached inside the podium where the ceremony was done and pulled out a slim, velvet, midnight blue box. She opened it and presented Savannah with a delicate gold chain bracelet. He could see her shaking at the sight of it as she put her hands over her mouth in surprise.

"Damn, you got her so hooked, y'all gonna need a divorce lawyer at the end of this. Good job, girl," Hardison cheered.

"Yeah, that even beats Tracy's teddy bear from Jacob ," Dani chimed in.

"A teddy bear? Good sign. Go Tracy," Parker noted.

Eliot tuned back into Savannah and Megan. "Wha-what is this for?"

Megan just patted her hand as she put the bracelet on Savannah's trembling wrist. Megan and Savannah were joined at the hip the rest of the evening, occasionally visited by Jacob and Tracy; a few of the Van House girls, including Dani; and of course, Eliot, more than once.

That night at dinner, Eliot poked at Savannah from his usual spot next to her. "Hey, you look a little down. We're celebrating tonight, remember?"

She shrugged and tried to smile. "I guess I'm just tired. This whole thing is exhausting. And it hasn't rained in forever. I know, I'm a weirdo because I like the rain."

She trailed off and poked at her food, zoning out. He quietly got the waiter's attention. A few minutes later, said waiter came back by. "Who had the root beer float?"

Eliot pointed in front Savannah. "Over here."

She shook her head as the glass was placed in front of her. "But I didn't-"

"Thank you," Eliot told him. Savannah looked at Eliot curiously. "It feels like a root beer float tastes, right?" he whispered. There was a flash of confusion, and then she seemed to melt. Her eyes got glassy as she smiled at him, remembering the analogy she made the night she introduced him to her love affair with rain. "So, maybe we can really celebrate tonight and I can come by your place?" he asked quietly.

Her lips parted in thought and hesitation then she stared at the foamy glass in front of her. "Okay," she answered, then added in a whisper, "but you can't stay the night."

His eyebrows knitted with disappointment, but he started smirking as she made a show of playing with the foam in the float. "Alright, fine."

He was irrationally irritated about following her on her moped to her apartment, but it dissolved as soon as he opened her door. It was weird to see her so comfortable in a strange place. She stripped the Blue Suns robe off as soon as the front door closed and tossed it on the dark blue sofa. The only other furniture in the living room was a small coffee table, a small cushiony chair, a small TV and a crate of DVDs. He glanced toward the kitchen and saw a completely empty dining room with minimal groceries in the kitchen, just cereal and fruit. She plucked the com out of her ear, and he followed suit.

He followed her towards the bedroom. He watched as she stripped the bracelet off as if it burned her. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I hate wearing bracelets. They just remind me of handcuffs, restraints."

He nodded. "I get that. I'll keep that in mind." He nearly jumped out of his skin when and orange tabby ran between his legs. He yelped despite himself. "You have a cat?"

"Yeah, I got lonely, and I've always wanted one."

"A cat?"

"Don't tell me you hate cats?"

"I don't hate cats. I just like dogs better. You're a cat person?"

"Not specifically a cat person, I just thought a cat fit the apartment better."

"So you like dogs?"

"I like animals. They're generally better than people."

"That is true."

"We had a black lab named Ozarka. He loved to swim. Great dog..." She trailed off into nostalgia then tuned back into reality. "I'm gonna change into something more comfortable, so can you get out for a second?"

"Sure thing." He stepped into the living room and idly nudged his toe through the crate of DVDs. She had an odd mix of romances and sci-fi/fantasy movies, mainly of the comic book variety, and classic Disney. That was going to be a topic of conversation later.

"Alright, I'm decent. You can come back in here." Eliot rushed back to the bedroom with the excitement of a teenager.

When Eliot reached Savannah's bedroom once again, he gave himself just enough time to register that she was wearing pajama pants with clown fish on them and a tank top that did not hide the fact that she was not wearing a bra before he took her face in his hands and kissed her, hot and hard. She grunted from the impact before her tentative hands rested on his waist. His enthusiasm burned hotter as her lips parted, granting his tongue access to her mouth. He groaned, plunging his tongue as deep into her mouth as he could while hers flicked underneath his.

He broke the kiss to catch his breath. "I missed you. I missed you so much."

"Yeah," she panted. She darted forward and sucked on his bottom lip. He nipped her top lip in return.

"You missed me too, right?" He tracked one hand up the back of her head and squeezed the back of her thigh with the other.

He heard her breath catch as her hands slid up into his hair. "Uh-huh."

With his hands guiding her hips, he backed her up against the wall. He took her chin in a gentle but firm grip, imploring her wordlessly to look at him. "Tell me. Tell me you missed me."

She pressed her hands against his chest, not pushing him away, just holding him at bay. "Eliot. I missed you. Believe me." His hands dropped down to hold her waist. He exhaled shakily and with way too much relief. She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed gently. "Eliot, is everything okay? This isn't like you. What's wrong?"

He squeezed his eyes shut as he realized how vulnerable he'd gotten. "I..."