Author's note: Thank you to NotMarge, partygirl98, Muirgen79, kmj1989 and Guest for the reviews! It's so nice to be on again. I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who had issues with it yesterday? It sucked! I finished editing a chapter, went to save, and... it disappeared :-(

But anyway, today's post is Zoey's view of chapter 33. Let the cuteness begin!

I Love You

Hank knocked on my door unannounced a few weeks later, looking much more excitable than normal. Usually he was outwardly calm and collected, even if he was anxious- I had a feeling it came from keeping such a stern handle on his emotions.

But today he looked nervous.

"Hello," I greeted him, smiling.

Even though I hadn't expected him to visit today, I was more than happy to see him. I missed him when he wasn't around, even if I'd just hung out with him the day before.

I stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss. "Come on in."

"Actually, I was hoping you'd come with me to the Institute," Hank said.

"Ok," I agreed, immediately curious. Usually he was very go-with-the-flow, so this decisiveness with a little surprising. "What're we doing?"

He grinned mischievously- the sight made my stomach do a somersault and my heart skip a beat. "It's a surprise."

"A surprise?"

Hank nodded in mock solemnity.

Ok, you have my attention.

I happened to love surprises.

"Come on," he cajoled, holding out his hand. "And please don't wear sandals."

"Um, ok," I agreed, thoroughly intrigued now. What were we doing? "Just give me one second."

Within minutes he'd helped me into his T1 and we were on our way.

"So, do I get a hint about this surprise?" I asked.

"I can't risk giving you a hint," he replied, sounding completely serious. "With your dazzling intellect you'd be sure to guess, and that would ruin it."

I giggled, my cheeks flushing. The man certainly knew how to play a compliment, and that was part of the reason I loved him. He was so charming, without even trying.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Hank," I told him.

I glanced over to see his ears turning red.

My Lord, he is so cute.

Having a lot of experience with blushing myself (curse you, red hair!), I knew he was feeling rather hot at the moment.

"Phew," I teased, fanning myself. "It's warm out today."

"It is," he agreed. It sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "Want to roll the window down?"

"No!" I replied quickly. "You know what it'll do to my hair."

"Ok, I need you to close your eyes," Hank told me when we got to the Institute.

I smiled and immediately covered my eyes.

"You're being surprisingly cavalier about this," he commented, sounding bemused over my quick compliance. He gently took one of my hands and started to lead me along.

"I think the more I cooperate, the faster I'll get to my surprise," I reasoned. "The suspense is already killing me."

He chuckled. "Fair enough."

Hank led me forward by the hand. I could tell we were inside, but not much else. The anticipation was making me anxious.

"I need to pick you up, ok? Keep your eyes closed still," he said.

"You're going to pick me-?" I began.

And then he literally swept me off my feet, causing me to giggle. I buried my face in his shirt, still laughing, as he started carrying me bridal-style.

Being in his arms like that was fantastic. I felt safe... warm... protected. I could tell that carrying me was no strain at all for him. His strength was very sexy, but I couldn't help teasing him about it.

"Am I hurting your back?" I joked.

"On the contrary, you're much too light. Have you not been eating enough?" Hank retorted playfully.

"Maybe not," I muttered. "I'm starting to realize I can't cook."

The smoke detector was not supposed to go off almost every day, was it? I had a feeling I was doing something wrong, even though Hank never complained about the food I made for him.

He snorted. "Yes, I know."

My eyes opened in horror.

"Hank! Why didn't you say anything?" I demanded, glaring at him. "I thought you liked my cooking."

Crush my delusions into the dust, why don't you?

"Close your eyes, please," he begged.

I complied, though I was still wounded. All those nights when I fed him my best attempts at cooking, and he ate them without complaint... I honestly thought he didn't mind. Or at least that I was getting better!

"I'm sorry," Hank said earnestly. "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"Well, they're hurt now," I muttered.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'll teach you how."

"You know how to cook?" I asked, allowing myself to be distracted. "How'd you learn that?"

"Self defense," Hank replied sardonically. "Before Moira came back and whipped this place into shape it was just Charles, Alex, Sean and I. Alex burns water, Sean can barely work the microwave, and Charles can't reach anything in his wheelchair. So it was learn to cook or starve to death."

I could picture that in my head somehow, a group of four men living together in this massive version of a bachelor pad. The thought was actually rather amusing.

Especially when I tried to visualize a blue furry version of Hank wearing a flowery apron and slaving away over a hot stove.

He set me down at that moment, and I heard a door open. He led me inside by the hand while I kept my eyes squeezed shut.

"Can you teach me how to bake?" I asked finally. "I've always wanted to learn to make cookies."

"We'll see," Hank replied, though he sounded reluctant. "I really do apologize for insulting you."

"It's fine," I told him glumly. "I should've known better when you said you liked that pot roast last week."

It had had the consistency of a hockey puck, but Hank had just smothered it in the lumpy gravy I made and said it was "tasty."

"It wasn't so bad," he retorted immediately.

I glowered at him for fibbing. And here I was, thinking he couldn't lie at all! In reality he'd been trying to save my feelings all this time.

"Right this way, please," Hank said quickly, like he was trying to change the subject.

He took my hand again and led me into another room. I could tell this one was quite large from the way my footsteps echoed, though Hank, of course, moved as silently as a mouse.

Then we just stood there for a minute or two. Just when I was about to ask him what exactly we were waiting for, the air got very chilly.

I shivered. "It's cold," I muttered.

"There's a reason for that," Hank said. "You can look now."

I opened my eyes and couldn't stop a gasp from escaping my lips.

We were standing on a snow-covered, stone bridge spanning a frozen river that bisected a small clearing. A blanket of fresh powder lay on everything- the pinewood forest that stood on one side, and the cute little Tudor-styled cottages on the other. Smoke trailed from their snowy chimneys and up into the pearly gray sky, which spit out an occasional snowflake.

"What-?" I asked, laughing, as I looked around. "The Danger Room?"

Hank nodded, grinning at my reaction.

"There's no robots coming, right?"

"No," he replied, grinning even more. "No robots. Just snow."

And then he offered me a jacket that had been lying there, and helped me put it on. It went past my knees and smelled just like him. I had to stop myself from burying my face in it to take a deep inhale.

"There's gloves in the pockets," he told me.

"Thank you."

I felt my face splitting into a huge smile as I stepped off the bridge and looked around. I scooped up a handful of snow and laughed in delight. It was cold, the moisture bleeding through my gloves slightly. Just like we were really in a snowy clearing somewhere, instead of inside a mansion in the middle of August.

The details Hank put into his simulations were incredible. I was completely awestruck.

"This is amazing," I said, palming the snow. "Why'd you do this?"

He shrugged. "You just seemed to really like the simulation that one day, so I thought I'd make one for you," he explained. "Give you a little break from the heat. Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding?" I replied excitedly. "I love this, Hank! Thank you. You're such a sweetheart."

He'd done it just for me.

And he claimed he was bad at romance. Ha!

"I'm glad you like it," he said, flushing sweetly.

An evil idea crossed my mind just then. Really, it was just too perfect. All this fresh powder was just begging for a snowball fight.

I met his gaze and grinned. "Catch!" I laughed.

And then I threw the snowball I'd made, and hit him right in the chest.

For a second Hank just stared at me like he couldn't believe that had just happened. But then he recovered from his surprise.

"Hey!"

I giggled, turned, and ran for the trees. I was in trouble and I knew it.

And Hank was fast.

Before I'd even taken five steps I felt his hand slipping around my waist-

So I took drastic measures and let myself dissociate into heat, leaving him empty-handed.

"That's cheating!" he called, frantically rotating in place in an attempt to find me.

I pulled myself back together as he turned his back, snatched up another handful of snow, and lobbed it at the back of his head. He whirled around just in time to see me vanish again.

But this time I got too bold. My plan was to re-materialize and shove a handful of snow down Hank's shirt, but he tracked me somehow and grabbed me by the waist as soon as I reappeared.

Then he plopped a snowball right on top of my head, laughing maniacally.

"Nooooo!" I shrieked, squirming to get away. I did not appreciate the tables being turned on me!

My escape attempts were pointless, though I could tell Hank was holding me very gently. But in my vehemence to get away we fell down. He twisted his body at the last second so I landed on him instead, breaking my fall.

I straddled his chest, looking down at him.

He had that purely- happy grin on his face, the one that lit up his handsome features and made my stomach do back-flips.

All of the love I had for him came rushing up as we looked into each other's eyes.

I'd been waiting for Hank to say "I love you" first, but in that moment, as he looked up at me with those big blue eyes and his cheeks all rosy from the cold, I realized that it would need to be me who took that big leap. Raven had broken his heart too badly for him to risk it again like that.

Take a chance, I told myself. You won't know how he feels for you unless you try.

"I love you," I whispered, giving him a hopeful smile.

Hank actually stopped breathing for a moment. I could see the emotions play across his face- surprise, disbelief, and then a pure, unadulterated joy.

Oh, Hank. How could I not love you?

"I love you too, Zoey."

It felt like I could fly. He loved me! This wonderful man loved me, and my smile was exultant as I leaned down and kissed him. I felt his own emotions mirroring the joy I poured into the kiss, returning everything I gave to him in equal measure.

You have my heart, and I have yours.

I promise I won't break it.