A/N: God! This was like getting blood from a stone and I think it shows. Oh well, I give up. Reviews (as always) are appreciated!

"You gonna tell me what's on your mind?" Claire asked as she folded her pajamas and stuffed them under her pillow.

"What?" Quil tore his eyes from the T.V and glanced at her before shrugging. "Nothing."

"Okay," she climbed and the bed and crawled towards him, sitting on her knees and resting her chin on his shoulder "I may not have known you for that long but I have learned a little bit about you in that time. You're loud and talkative, blunt, crude and energetic to a point where I think you should be prescribed Ritalin but you've done nothing but sit there and stare at the T.V screen all morning. This isn't you Quil!"

When he failed to answer she leaned towards him, bringing her hand up to grip his chin and turned his face toward her. "What's wrong?"

Quil's eyes roamed her face, finally locking onto her eyes and he let out a soft sigh. "I think we should go home." He said quietly. "You need to be far away from this place, from…him. I promised your dad I wouldn't let anything to happen to you and I broke that promise-twice. I can't keep you safe but your parents can and there'll be and ocean between you and…"

"I don't want to go home." Claire cut him off. "I'm not ready to go home…not yet."

Her hand slid down to rest on his neck and she smiled softly. "You're my best friend Quil, I know you would never let anything hurt me and I've never felt safer than when I'm with you. James is behind bars, he can't get to me anymore so please? Relax."

He closed his eyes, breaking his gaze and swallowed deeply. "You should at least let your parents know what's going on."

"I will," She nodded and sprang from the bed "as soon as I get back."

"What? Where are you going? You can't go out!" He frowned, standing up and following her as she walked into the bathroom to grab a towel.

"I was reading the hotel information and they have a pool and spa in the basement, I thought I'd go for a swim." Claire dropped the towel onto the bed and grabbed her swimsuit from her bag. "I'm not even leaving the hotel but for future reference, if I want to go out? I'm going out! Besides we need to book the room for a couple more nights."

Quil opened his mouth to protest only for the bathroom door to shut in his face. He dropped to the bed with his head in his hands, desperately trying to think of a way to stop her as he waited for her to come back out.

"Why don't you come with me?" Quil prayed she didn't notice the widening of his eyes when she emerged minutes later dressed in a teal one piece and white shorts.

"Uh," he shook his head and pinched his nose "I don't have my swim shorts. Why don't we just go and do something else?"

"But I wanted to swim." Claire pouted. "Come on, you got boxers right? Can't you just swim in a pair of those? Can't be much different to wearing your Speedos?"

"I do not wear Speedos!" He growled. "And fine, I'll come with you but can you wait an hour? I had that really big breakfast and I don't want to get a cramp and have to come back early and you know, I was just thinking I might take a quick power nap cause' yesterday was a long fucking day and I'm still…"

"Ugh, fine Quil! Whatever!" Claire sighed cutting her eyes at him and flopping on to her side of the bed.

Quil quickly turned away so she wouldn't see the triumphant smirk plastered across his face. He slid onto his side listening as she flicked the T.V on to a music channel and mumbled under her breath.

A little while later Claire heard his breathing soften and level out. She sat upright and leaned over to see his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open- completely asleep.

As quietly as possible, she stood from the bed and walked to the desk, scribbling on a piece of paper before folding it and placing it on the pillow next to his head. She shoved her feet into a pair of hotel slippers, grabbed her towel and key card and tip toed out the room.

"Bonjour!" Claire waved at the officer that sat against the wall opposite the elevator and door to the stairwell. She had been surprised when she opened the door to put out the mornings breakfast dishes to find him standing there watching her closely, but Quil had told her it was just a precaution in case Laurent decided to show his face, although she didn't think he would.

"Bonjour mademoiselle." He nodded. "Vous allez quelque part?"

"Oui, la piscine." The elevator dinged and she stepped inside. "Au revoir!" The officer gave her a tight lipped smile and pulled his radio up to his mouth as the doors closed.

The pool area was quiet. Two people had got into the elevator just as Claire was getting out, leaving just her and the life guard who sat stoically at the other end of the room.

Claire glanced around before making her way over to one of the loungers and dropping her towel and slippers on to it. She pulled a hair band from her wrist and piled her hair on top of her head and made sure the room key was safely tucked in her shorts pocket before slipping them off and stuffing them in the fold of her towel.

She resisted the urge to cannonball into the still water, opting instead to use the steps in the shallow end and sighing at the surprisingly warm water and wading in up to her hips.

With one deep breath she fell forward with her arms outstretched, slicing her way through the water, her legs propelling her until she felt her fingers touch the tiled edge and then pulled herself up.

"You're kicking too high." A deep voice made her jump as she clung to the side of the pool and wiped the water from her eyes "At the rate you're going I won't have any water left in my pool."

"Sorry!" Claire blushed as she looked up to find the lifeguard crouching down in front of her and he chuckled.

"I was kidding," he shook his head "you're not that bad, although I may have to warn anyone else who get's in and doesn't want their hair wet. I'm Charley."

"Claire." She replied reaching out quickly to shake his offered hand. "You're not from around here."

"Ah you noticed!" He smiled and cocked an eyebrow at her, sitting down slipping his feet into the water. "I'm from England, London to be exact. My girlfriend is from here and at uni so I'm here until she graduates. You?"

"Seattle." Claire moved to rest on her arms. "I'm taking a little break from college. It was a little spur of the moment and it's not exactly gone to plan so far but I'm really enjoying myself."

Charley pursed his lips and pointed at her neck, and Claire blushed again remembering the bruise. "Would that be something that wasn't in your plan? What is it anyway?"

Quil snorted, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light streaming into the room. He brought a heavy hand down on his face and rubbed his eyes, frowning as he peeled off a piece of paper that had stuck to his cheek with drool and tossed it to the floor.

He pushed himself up, his back and neck popping as he stretched and yawned before glancing at the bedside clock.

"Claire?" He glanced around the room. "Are you here?"

Quil jumped to his feet and darted to the bathroom, pausing to knock on the door and pushing it open to find it empty.

"Fuck!" He ran back to his side of the bed and grabbed at his shoes, yanking them on his feet, his eyes catching the discarded piece of paper.

'Quilly!

I know I said I'd wait but you're boring when you're asleep! I'll meet you at the pool.

(heart) Claire-Bear'.

Quil barely stopped to find his key before he sped out of the room and down the hall and began hammering on the elevator call button. He stepped inside and pressed for the basement level, shoving his hands into his pockets and bouncing agitatedly on the balls of his feet.

He swallowed a growl when it stopped on the first floor and two girls walked in, glancing at him in what he assumed was supposed to be an inconspicuous manner but failing badly and giggling behind their hands. When they failed to select a floor he huffed.

"What floor?" The giggling halted abruptly.

"Ground please?" One of the squeaked before turning to the other and they continued their descent.

When he finally made it to the basement floor he was greeted by the officer that had been outside his and Claire's room, sat in sight of the pool room.

As he got closer he could hear voices and walked in just in time to see a dark haired lifeguard sit at the edge of the pool next to where Claire was leaning and drop his feet into the water.

Quil pulled his t-shirt over his head and threw it down on top of Claire's towel. He pulled at the button of his jeans and let them drop to his ankles before perching on the end of the lounger and pulling off his shoes and socks and left them bundled on the floor as he stalked quietly along the pool side.

"Would that be something that wasn't in your plan?" He heard the lifeguard ask "What is it anyway?"

His eyes narrowed as the guard pointed at her neck and reached towards her. His eyes darted to Claire, he saw her cheeks flush and a growl rumbled deep in his chest.

"Oh…I" she stammered, bringing her hand up to shield the blemish.

"I got a bit…carried away." Quil said and they finally noticed him, Claire's eyes widened as he slid into the pool and walked towards her, the water barely skimming the tops of his shoulders and his dark eyes never leaving the lifeguard.

His arm slipped possessively around her waist, her stomach tightening under his touch as he pulled her back against his chest.

"Quil!" Claire exclaimed, releasing her grip on the pool side and twisting in his arms to see his face, her arms hooking over his shoulders to keep her above water. "I wasn't expecting to see you for at least half hour. I thought you wanted to sleep?"

"I said I'd join you remember?" His fingers splayed across the exposed skin of her back, a tight smile forming on his lips. "I woke up and you were gone, I was worried Claire. Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I left you a note." She said squeezing his shoulders and sighing. "I didn't mean to worry you; I just got bored so I came down here. It's not like I'm alone, Charley's here, he's been keeping me company."

"I'll bet he has." He frowned glancing up at the life guard who merely grinned and pursed his lips.

"Well it's been nice meeting you Claire, but my shifts nearly over." Charley got back to his feet. "I hope the rest of your break goes to plan and if you'd like, my girlfriend is having a party tonight and you're more than welcome to come…both of you."

"I don't think…" Claire clamped her hand over Quil's mouth.

"That would be great!" She exclaimed. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I wouldn't ask if I did." He shrugged. "I'll write the address and leave it at the front desk for you on my way out."

A few minutes later Charley left with a wave and was replaced by a girl, who took her place in his chair with a quick glance at Quil and Claire before pulling out a rolled up magazine and flicking through.

"What are you doing?" Quil asked, dropping Claire on to her feet when they got to slightly shallower water but keeping his hands firmly on her hips. "We can't go to a party!"

"Why not?" She frowned. "It'll be fun Quil; we can go and meet some new people, have a drink and a little music. I need this Quil, we need this."

"Fine." He sighed rolling his eyes and Claire squealed jumping into his arms and locking her legs around his. "But you're not drinking. You're still underage remember?"

"How could I forget when I have you to remind me?" Her smile was saccharine. "You spoil all my fun!"

Quil's face dropped along with his hands and he slipped under the water leaving Claire standing there in silence.

"Quil?" She whispered as if he could hear her through the water. "I didn't mean it like that, I was just…"

Her words were cut off by a loud scream as she felt large hands grip at her waist and thigh and lift her out of the water.

"Don't you dare Quil!" She yelled, clawing at his shoulders. "I mean it, I'll…" And she was engulfed by water, her knees hitting the tiled bottom of the pool.

Claire coughed and spluttered as she broke the surface. "You asshole!" He laughed, backing away into the shallow water as she continually swung her arms out to hit him.

"Hey, now who's the one spoiling all the fun?" He chuckled grabbing her hands and pulling her too him.

Claire poked her tongue out and pushed away from him, her smile faltering and her eyes wide as she looked at him.

"Your um," she let out a shaky breath and Quil watched her tongue flick out to moisten her lips "your underwear's gone see through."

Her eyes darted down to his once white boxer briefs and back up again, her cheeks flushing red as Quil stood there, seemingly without any shame, staring back at her with one eyebrow cocked.

He rolled his eyes and sank to his knees. "Few more laps before we go?" He asked and Claire nodded, disappearing under the water.

Later that evening found them standing on the stoop outside the address that Charley had given them. Quil insisted on taking a cab even though it was less than a ten minute walk away from the hotel and spent the entire journey - door to door- fussing over her outfit.

"I'm just saying I don't see what was wrong with you wearing your jeans." He exclaimed looking down at her bare legs. "You're gonna get…cold."

"It's June." Claire sighed pressing the buzzer. "And we'll be inside all night so it wont matter, will it?"

"Are you sure about this? We don't know these people." Quil whispered as the walked up the stairs that were already lined with people, cups and bottles in hand.

"Well I didn't know you and I flew halfway across the world the day after I met you!" Claire pushed open the door and stepped into the apartment. "Just try to enjoy yourself Quil, please? For me?"

Quil nodded. "Fine, just…stay where I can see you okay?"

Claire beamed and grabbed his hand, pulling him through the throng of people, until she finally found who she was looking for. "Charley!"

"Hey Claire!" He grinned pulling her into a half hug before stepping back and looping his hand around the waist of the girl next to him. "I'm glad you made it. This is my girlfriend Sabine, Sabine this is Claire and her boyfriend…" he pursed his lips "Quil right?"

"Oh," he started as he reached out to shake their hands "we're not…"

"You want a drink?" Claire asked cutting him off.

"Sure, stay away from the hard stuff though." He said letting her lead him away from their host and towards the drinks table.

She grabbed a bottle of beer from a bucket under the table and handed it to him then took a soda for herself. "You wanna dance?"

"I don't think so." Quil scoffed. "I'm gonna need to be a lot more pissed before you can get me out there."

"Oh a challenge!" She grinned and he chuckled and shook his head.

"No it's not a challenge, I don't plan on drinking a lot tonight." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and tucked her into his side. "I've got you to look after."

"I'll be fine Quil!" Claire rolled her eyes but squeezed him back. "You don't have to worry about me all the time."

His smile tightened. "I'll be the judge of that."

"I'm gonna go see if I can find Charley again, will you be okay on your own?" She asked and chuckled at the look he gave her in return. "Just checking. I'll be back in a minute."

Quil watched as she disappeared through the crowd of people and worked his way over to a small couch, willing himself to give her the space she needed.

He was finding it harder and harder to stay away from her and not just because he knew James was still on the loose. He knew she was beautiful, it had been completely obvious since the first time he'd seen her but when he'd found out how old she was he made a point of locking any thoughts of attraction in the back of his mind and with everything that had happened he'd been doing pretty well.

At least until she came out of the bathroom wearing that damn swimsuit. There was nothing he could ignore while she was dressed like that.

When he found her at the pool with Charley, the need to protect her completely fell away instead replaced with an undeniable jealousy that she would let someone else that close to her, that she would even look at someone else.

It was stupid, he knew that but it didn't change how he felt.

The underwear thing was a total accident. It hadn't even occurred to him that they might go see through in the water, all he cared about was making sure that the life guard knew that Claire was out of bounds. Although admittedly he may not have handled it in the best way.

But it was the look in her eyes that had done him in completely.

When Claire had pulled away from him and noticed what he was wearing, her reaction was comparable to the one he'd had when he'd seen her suit…except his was more obvious.

Now he was struggling to get back to the appropriate way of thinking about her. The fact that she had decided to wear shorts that didn't even deserve to be called shorts for what they covered and a tank top wasn't helping him.

Quil had tried so hard to persuade her to change both for his sanity and the safety of anyone else who dared look at her. He'd tossed her jeans, one of his long sleeved t-shirts and his sweater and she'd looked at him in disgust as she slipped her feet into a pair of sparkly sandals.

As far as she was concerned? He was in a lot of fucking trouble.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Sabine sat next to him, handing him another bottle of what he was drinking.

"Thanks." He nodded. "Cool party."

"You're welcome and thank you, although I think you may be humoring me!" She smiled her accent thick and slightly wobbly from the drink. "Charley tells me you and Claire are here on a vacation?"

"Uh yeah, she told me she wanted to see the Eiffel tower so I decided to bring her." He shrugged and Sabine 'awed'.

"That's so sweet! I can see it though, you two are smitten with each other." Quil opened his mouth to protest and she cocked her eyebrow. "I just left her with some of my friends, she's not stopped talking about you the entire time and you? You haven't stopped searching for her since she left your side…she's in the kitchen, just so you know." She smirked and Quil blushed a little.

"I best go find Charley before he drinks too much and embarrasses himself. Au revior Quil." She pressed her lips to his cheek and stood from the couch.

Quil sat back into the couch, swigging from the bottle with a slight frown on his face. Every now and then he would catch a glimpse of Claire or hear her laugh but it wasn't until he saw her bolt across the room with her head down that he got up to follow her.

She disappeared down a short hallway and he turned just in time to see a door at the end close.

He leaned his head against the wood and knock softly. "Hey Claire, it's me. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He heard her sniff "I'll be out in a minute."

"Can I come in?" Another muffled sniff was the only reply so he tried the door handle and found her perched on the edge of the bath tub. "Hey what's going on?"

"It's nothing I'm just being silly." She shook her head and wiped her face. "Just ignore me."

"How am I supposed to do that when you're sitting here in tears huh?" Quil crouched down in front of her, brushing her hair behind her ear so he could see her face, her eyes reddened from crying. "It can't be that silly if it made you feel like this. Please talk to me Claire-bear?"

Claire glanced up at him through her lashes. "I was talking with Sabine and a couple of her friends," she shrugged "Sabine left to see some other people so I stayed with them and after a while they started talking between them selves so I turned to talk to Charley. I think they thought I couldn't hear what they we're saying and it really is stupid!"

"What did they say?" Quil leaned forward and frowned. "Have you been drinking?"

Claire nodded. "Sabine gave me a glass of wine. Just the one I promise!" She exclaimed as he opened his mouth.

"Fine," He pursed his lips. "Carry on."

"Please Quil? It really is silly, I don't even know why I got so upset, and they didn't say anything that wasn't true." She pleaded.

"I thought I was your best friend?" Quil smiled and thumbed her cheek. "Don't best friends tell each other everything?"

Claire managed a half smile and breathed out a whoosh of air. "When Charley introduced you as my boyfriend I didn't let you correct him because I liked the idea…I like the idea of me and you." She paused to gauge his reaction. "After Sabine left and I started talking to Charley, I could hear the other girls wondering why you were with me. They saw us come in together and apparently we're more like siblings than couple…you didn't even stay with me. Like I said. Silly."

Quil sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "It's not silly. Come on." He held out his hand for her to take and led her back to the party, stopping in the middle of the floor and pulling her against him.

"What are you doing?" She frowned as he pulled her arms up around his neck before gripping her waist and moving with her to the music. His eyes bore into hers and she could see the warring emotions speed across his face.

"If you were my sister I could be locked up for some of the things that I've been thinking about you." He whispered and he felt her tense. "You're beautiful, smart, funny and you call me on my shit. I didn't stay with you because I've been going insane trying to keep my hands off you since you came out the bathroom this morning. I think we both needed that bit of space.

It took all my will power to not hunt you down as soon as you left my sight. Like I said, I struggle to keep my hands to myself and in all honesty I'm looking forward to going home and going to bed just so I get to hold you again!"

Quil groaned and stepped away from her, rubbing his hands through his hair and a pained look on his face.

"Those girls have no idea what they're talking about." He shook his head and reached out to touch her face. "You're fucking perfect for me Claire!"

"I am?" Claire squeaked as her eyebrows slid up her forehead and Quil nodded, his face breaking into a wide smile.

"I think you pretty much owned me the moment your knee hit me!" He chuckled and she blushed. "You're the only girl I've traveled half way around the world for. That should tell you something?"

"You're a masochist?" She scoffed.

"Possibly." He agreed.

"Quil? Would it be….Is it completely inappropriate to kiss you right now?" Claire stammered and blushed.

Quil stood there, his hand frozen against her cheek.

"Or not." Claire moved from his touch, mumbling an apology as she span on her heel and fled from the apartment.

Charley tried to catch her attention as she passed him on the way down the stairs, but she didn't stop instead pulling at the door and almost falling out of the building.

"Claire wait!" Quil yelled running after her.

"Just forget it Quil." She replied without looking back. "I thought you said you liked me, obviously I heard wrong."

As she stepped of the bottom of the stoop Quil's hand encircled her wrist, snapping her back and against him with a force that sent them both stumbling backwards.

Any words she had were lost when his mouth pressed against hers with a gentle force, the sweet scent of the beer and Quil wafting around her, clouding her already hazy head.

His knees were bent awkwardly to meet her height and his hand cupping the back of her head, holding her to him and his lips were dry and a little rough as they worked against hers.

She felt his tongue sweep along the crease of her lips and hesitated to let him in, her grip on his shoulders tightening when she finally opened her mouth to meet him and she struggled to remember anything that tasted this good.

Quil grunted and straightened, his hands trailing to her hips, lifting her from the ground and helping her bring her legs to his waist before lowering himself to sit on to the top step of the stoop with her firmly planted in his lap.

A soft nip on her bottom lip made her yelp and she felt Quil's lips curve into a smile against hers.

"You heard me right." He said pulling back slightly. "I'm sorry I reacted like that, I didn't mean to make you feel…"

"It's okay." Claire blushed, her eyes trained on his shoulder as she picked at the material of his shirt.

"No it's not!" Quil exclaimed urging her to look at him, dipping his head down quickly to kiss her again. "You should never feel like that, especially because of me. I meant everything I said back in there, Claire. You're perfect for me. I'd like to try and be that for you."

Claire smirked and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "You won't have to try very hard at all!"

Possibly too soon?

Vous allez quelque part ?- Going somewhere?

Oui, la piscine . - Yes, the pool.