Nolan had not approached Emily in the water on learning of their shared nudity beneath the surface of the pool. He had not been the one to kiss her and once it had happened, when Emily rose in the water and pressed her lips to his, he had not reached to touch her or press for anything more than what she'd offered to him.

His friend had kissed him in wordless gratitude, a simple expression of how she truly felt.

No.

The man had not followed the nude Emily back into the house with any thought to indulge his neglected libido - she had not invited him to her room and even if she had, Nolan had more control than that, and more respect for the woman. Instead, he only watched her return to the house and stayed in the pool for a while more, reclaiming his view of the shore below and the sea that stretched out to forever.

Curious, he pressed his fingertips to his lips, applying the same pressure that Emily had in her surprise kiss. It was not the same. He had learned early on that his own touch was a disappointment when compared to the touch of another, be they man or woman.

Nolan yawned and rubbed at his temple, knowing that he should go back inside and try for sleep. Like that's going to happen now, he chided himself. She always keeps me on my toes.

True enough, there would be no sleep but he couldn't stay in the water all night.

Nolan climbed out of the pool and quickly tugged on the pair of pants he'd set aside earlier that night.

Once he made his way into the house, the man did not let himself pause at Emily's door.


It had not been a planned thing to kiss Nolan, but Emily had done it anyway. A pop of spontaneity in a world where she'd done everything to maintain control.

I shouldn't have done that. He might think - Emily didn't let herself finish the thought. She knew Nolan, he was different from other men. He was better.

But what if...?

Nolan was a man and so might expect more from her than the simple kiss as a show of her gratitude. Sadly, Emily was no stranger to the demands of men – she had learned during her time spent in the institutions and foster homes, and then later in the detention center, how easily men could demand more from her than she was willing to give.

Not that Nolan would find her unwilling if he chose to cross into her room.

Emily shivered.

She had been without a man's touch for months, and revenge, her longtime companion, had been taken from her. She was lonely and afraid in a strange new way.

Emily tensed when she heard him come back inside from the backyard. The woman listened, her senses sharp as wariness rose within her. There was the snick of the locks on the backdoor, then the soft ping as he reset the house alarm.

And there, soft measured footsteps were approaching…and then went past her door without breaking stride.

Emily released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

A piece of her was cheering silently in relief while another, smaller piece of her was almost disappointed that Nolan's self-control had won out in the end.

Emily dismissed her conflicted feelings for the night, unsure and on edge. Trust existed between them, though she had fought against trusting Nolan for years. With the kiss, she had changed the dynamic they shared, recklessly introduced a new element.

She slipped under the comforter and sighed to herself. There was no regret in kissing the man, that had been a moment for them to share.

What came next, she would let Nolan decide.


Nolan and Emily did not speak of the kiss the next day, or the next or the day following. Their time was spent in guarded avoidance of the topic, choosing instead to focus attention on each other.

He wanted to serve her a life's worth of distraction from the new charges against Victoria and the trial of Conrad - he was wired into the prosecution's every move, of course, but he was doing everything he could think of to keep her attention away from her former obsessions.

For her part, Emily relented her control, allowing the man to veil her eyes against the happenings outside of his home. At once it was the most difficult and the easiest thing she had ever done. To put her future into another's hands for even a moment was unthinkable…but if her future was safe with anyone, she knew it would be Nolan.

The man claimed that he held no grudge for how she'd treated him, and Emily wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him and she wanted to do this little thing he'd asked of her and simply be happy.

But how?

The vengeance that had consumed her for a decade had come to an abrupt halt – any lingering urge she had was immediately quieted with the remembered sight of Nolan's furious burn.

She glanced over to him as they walked along the shore. Now that she knew of his wound, Nolan had given up wearing long sleeves and had put on an orange polo for the day, fully exposing his bandaged forearm.

On his opposite arm, she glimpsed the knife scar gifted to him by Tyler Barrol over a year in the past. Nolan had proven himself as her shield with no complaint. It was not often that Emily felt gratitude, but when she did the feeling was always felt toward her friend.

In time, she thought that she would accept with satisfaction that the Graysons and the others had been decimated – careers destroyed, families broken and names ruined. Yes, she could accept that her promise of revenge had been fulfilled, even if it had not gone her way.

But what Nolan asked of her seemed an impossible task.

Happiness.

Happiness was a thing meant for the innocent and the untried. Emily was neither.

Nolan wouldn't hear of it.

He'd tapped his knuckles against her door. "Want to get some air?"

Emily had been leafing through one of his old comic books more out of boredom than any true interest. "Where do you want to go?"

Nolan had shrugged, "Nowhere exotic. I was thinking the beach. Unless you'd rather stay in and keep reading my comics, I have plenty more where that issue came from."

Given the choice of the beach or more comic books from the 80s, Emily had leapt at the former.

From there, their time spent on the shoreline became something of a routine for the next several days.

Somehow, Nolan had coaxed her into walking on the beach, digging for clams and crabs and, despite how foolish they felt for being seen doing so by the joggers going past, they'd built several sandcastles that disappeared with the tide.

Nolan could be just as manipulative as she, though his ends were rarely as devious.

Rather than glare her refusal, Emily had found herself indulging him and truly enjoying their outings to the shore; the days were bright with cool breezes and they were both feeling well enough to enjoy it. Her bruises were fading with each new day and the wound to her head was no longer causing her headaches.

She'd smiled when he joked and she baited him into banter. For hours, Emily was pleasant company, though she remained her usual guarded self.

Until it happened.

They were sitting in the sand, with three little crabs scuttling between them on a strip of dried seaweed. Nolan prodded a crab with a stick he'd picked up along their walk. "We could make another sandcastle for these guys," he suggested. "Every bug should get to be king for a day."

In the waning sun, Emily had grown tired and wordlessly shook her head against the idea.

"All right, never mind."

It was not what Nolan had said so much as the way he'd said it that struck her.

"Never mind."

At once, Emily found herself laughing hysterically at him, laughter so true and free bubbling up through her chest with such force that she fell back in the sand.

Confused, Nolan had only frowned, moving to stand above her like an indulgent parent, watching the girl giggle herself into oblivion. "What's so funny, Ems?"

The woman could only go on laughing until her ribs ached with recovered joy.

Nolan might not have understood that he had given Emily back a flash of her childhood for a few precious moments but he did know the significance of the woman losing herself to a fit of giggles. He had never seen her laugh outside of her practiced society smiles, it was a wonderful sight to see, Emily doubled-over and laughing over nothing.

"Want to let me in on the joke?"

Emily gasped out, "You just...I can't..."

"I knew you were nuts, kiddo. Come on, we've been out all day." Nolan extended his intact hand and pulled Emily to stand up before him. He linked his uninjured arm with hers and together they began to walk again, the gritty sand coating their bare feet.

"Are you hungry?" She asked once she'd gotten her laughter under control.

They had taken to sharing the responsibility of making dinner, and after Nolan had charmed her with an authentic French beef stew the night before, Emily was determined to impress the man with a Japanese dish she had learned while abroad with Takeda.

Nolan cleared his throat as his house came into view farther up the shore. "For your cooking? I'm starved."

"You look starved." Emily pinched his waist, looking for a bit of fat.

He brushed her hand away, afraid to betray himself as ticklish. "I look great. I could eat, though. You think your dinner can hold a candle to mine from last night?"

"I think you'll beg me for the recipe."

"Keep dreaming, the only thing I've ever had to beg for is my life."

Emily shook her head, "Those days are over, Nolan."

He nudged her, "Is that a promise?"

Together, the pair enjoyed the walk back to the shared house in content silence. There was no pressure, no caution, no bitterness to undercut their time together.

The knot of angry tension she'd been carrying was unwinding itself, slowly allowing Emily to finally relax and even have a bit of fun as she tried to follow Nolan's carefree lead.

They continued on their lazy stroll back up the shore, unaware of the suspicious eyes that followed their every step.


Author's Note: The exchange in which Emily has a laughing fit over Nolan saying "never mind" was inspired by Gabriel Mann telling a behind the scenes story of how Emily VanCamp started laughing over how he'd said "never mind" during the Revenge panel at PaleyFest, which I watched on Hulu. Please read, review and enjoy!