31 December

Ainsley had no idea why, but after Dan finished singing, the tension between them had lifted considerably. So much so, in fact, that she was now leaning heavily on him as he led her to the kitchen.

"At least let me get you some aspirin," he protested, practically picking Ainsley up and sitting her on the counter. Dan opened a cupboard beside the refrigerator.

"It won't help. Nothing helps," she complained, rubbing her wrists. "I just have to wait for it to stop hurting."

"There has to be something. Don't you have braces? Anything?"

She shook her head. "It's never been this bad." Ainsley raised a hand, pointing to a drawer and wincing at the movement. "There's an elastic bandage in there. I can wrap my knee at least." Dan shook his head, beginning to wrap the elastic cloth around her knee. "Dan, I can do this myself. I'm in pain, not dead."

He rolled his chocolate eyes. "You're in so much pain you can hardly walk. You can't wave without wincing. You couldn't even hold the microphone." She opened her mouth. "Ainsley, love, shut up." After her knee was wrapped, Dan grabbed her wrist and began to rub it.

"What are you-"

"Shut up," he repeated, rotating and bending her wrist forward and backward, up and down. "Tell me if this hurts, yeah? I don't know what I'm doing."

After a few seconds, Ainsley had to admit she felt a bit better. Perhaps, a tiny voice in her head suggested, it was the warm feeling she got as Dan gently rubbed circles into her wrists and hands, massaging her pained joints. His fingers gently moved to hers, twisting and pulling on each individual digit. Ainsley's eyes fluttered shut and she breathed deeply, relishing the feeling of slight relief flowing through her joints.

"Am I hurting you?" questioned Dan worriedly. She shook her head, immediately regretting the movement.

From the living room, Phil yelled. "Is everything alright in there?"

"Yeah, it's great." Dan sighed and whispered to Ainsley. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah. This used to happen all the time."

"It's almost midnight, guys! Come on!" Phil called.

Dan groaned. "We should probably go back in," Ainsley whispered.

"What time is it?"

"Two minutes to midnight."

Again, he groaned. Dan took a step back and held out his hands. Ainsley took them and he helped her slide off the counter gently.

As they got back to the lounge, the countdown began from sixty and Auld Lang Syne began to blast through the television. Phil reached for her and Ainsley took his hand, Dan's arm still around her waist.

About halfway through the song, the pain in Ainsley's wrists returned, even worse than they had been before. If Dan hadn't been supporting her, Ainsley felt like she would fall over. She didn't trust herself to move. As the clock struck midnight, she barely registered Dan's lips pressed against her temple. Her wrists felt like someone was hitting them with a hundred tiny hammers.

After the celebration was over, Ainsley slowly lowered herself into the sofa. A look of concern crossed Dan's face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm fine. Honestly. It's just my wrists again." Dan stared at her for a moment before stalking out of the room. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back." Ainsley heard the front door close roughly.