Elle took a deep drag from her cigarette before exhaling cringing as the gray smoke slipped between her lips. If there was any possible way to go back in time and slap fifteen-year-old her for ever picking up a cigarette in the first place, Elle would so do it.

She guessed that most smokers probably shared that exact sentiment though some had probably started smoking much later than Elle.

She'd had her first cigarette with her own mother. Meredith Brannock had held the pack out to Elle her voice a drunken slur as she sipped the Mint Julep Elle had mixed up for her. "Take one. You're old enough now. Might as well start feeding your demons young Eleanor. I know they feed kids nowadays that lung cancer, cigarettes kill garbage, but we all gotta die eventually. Just don't tell your brother I'm letting you indulge your vices. He will never get off his high-horse if he finds out."

Elle shook her head at the memory; just another trademark of Meredith's highly skilled parenting and Elle's messy childhood.

She'd also had her first alcoholic beverage with her mother. Elle could still remember the burn as she, then at thirteen years old, felt as she took a big swig of the Old Fashioned Elle herself had mixed up.

She'd been mixing drinks since age ten mostly for her mother. It wasn't until she was in her late teens that it had hit her that this wasn't a normal activity for any child.

Elle guessed her childhood was just another symptom of the famous Brannock Dysfunction. They were cursed; addiction, madness, and tragedy.

Elle was sure her father's side hadn't been any better. The Burkes weren't any less dysfunctional or at least the Burkes she'd met weren't any less screwed up. Grandfather Burke had hung himself at forty allegedly after knocking up one of his mistresses, this mistress allegedly being all of barely eighteen. Great Grandmother and Grandfather Burke had died in a murder suicide. Her aunt Gertrude Burke had been institutionalized off and on from the age of eight and on. Then there was her father of course; a powder keg of rage and a real bastard of a man.

Madness and tragedy were just family traditions on both sides of the family apparently.

She would have guessed that dysfunction attracted dysfunction. Or at least she would have guessed that if her parents' marriage had been one built out of love and attraction. The only attraction between Reginald Burke and Meredith Brannock had been the attraction of combining fortune and "good" breeding.

Elle shook her head trying to shove the thoughts and memories from her mind. She guessed being at this therapist's office was pushing her brain into doing its own psychoanalysis.

Elle could admit that she was tempted to run away from this entire experience. It would be so easy to walk across the hot parking lot pass Dan's SUV and head to a bus stop. She could just walk away from this entire appointment. She could just run far far away. She could just keep on running and running until she ran out of steam. She could just disappear. She was good at running when pain seeped in. She was great at numbing pain so she didn't have to face it.

She pushed the desire to run from her brain reminding herself that she was doing this for Dan. She had promised Dan she was going to get help and she wasn't going to break her promise.

The things we do for love. She cringed at that thought; love. It was too soon to be making any declarations of love.

Elle stared down at the still burning cigarette in her cast-free hand, her mind a muddled mess. She wasn't ready for this appointment. She wasn't anywhere near ready to face her past. Then again, she guessed she had never been ready to face the past.

She had been running away from her past for so long now.

It was kind of funny; people always insisted that the future was scary, but in Elle's opinion the past was far more frightening.

In a way she'd always assumed that she knew exactly what her future held; pain and death rather it be by her own hands or by someone else's hands. It was the Burke and Brannock family way; destroy yourself repetitively until there was nothing left to destroy.

She sighed rolling her eyes at the thought. She sounded so overdramatic. Her thoughts rang true though, or at least she'd always assumed they did. The dark corners of her mind always tried to remind her of the truth; that the family curses were bound to catch up with her eventually.

A part of her had to wonder how long it would take Dan to discover all the dark corners of her mind. How long would he stick around once he discovered just how fucked up her family history was?

A sick little voice in the back of her brain told her that she should just save Dan the trouble and the pain and tell him to get the hell away from her before she either destroyed him or forced him to watch her destroy herself.

Elle took a deep breath doing her best to shut this voice up. Dan had sworn to her that he wasn't going to run away from being with her. He wasn't going to let his past commitment issues convince him to run away from her. The least Elle could do for Dan was keep the promise she'd made to him about not running away either. She couldn't allow her fears and issues to force her to run from him.

She was unable to stop her hands from shaking ever so slightly as she took another drag from her cigarette hoping that the nicotine would calm her frazzled nerves. It was seeming to do very little to help though. She guessed her anxiety was just too far gone for even a nicotine blast to soothe her.

Elle finished off the cigarette contemplating lighting another one, but quickly decided against it as she caught sight of the time on the watch on her right wrist.

She tossed the cigarette butt on the ground grinding out the flame grimacing as she realized that there was no ashtray nor garbage can in sight to deposit the cigarette butt in.

Elle left the butt on the ground pushing back any guilt she found over leaving the litter behind. Usually she would have shoved it into her jeans pocket and disposed of the evidence at the first trash can she met. She had a feeling though that this would only make her smell like an ashtray. She probably wouldn't be able to ditch the cigarette butt until after her appointment given that she hadn't spotted a trash can in the waiting room inside.

She at least made sure to give herself a quick spray of perfume from the travel bottle she kept in her purse, before she headed back inside.

Elle attempted to give Dan a smile as their eyes met from across the waiting room but knew that the smile came out as more of a weak grimace than a genuine smile.

She rolled her eyes ever so slightly as Dan curled his lip probably catching a whiff of the cigarette smoke still hanging on her clothing. She spoke attempting to defend herself. "I know it smells horrible and it's horrible for me. I've cut back though. This is the first cigarette I've had in weeks…and I've stopped the menthols."

Dan chuckled softly shaking his head not helping but to allow a bit of sarcasm to slip from his lips. "I'm sure the non-menthols won't give you COPD."

Elle waved her hand as if to shoo away his comment a small chuckle slipping from her own lips. "Very funny."

She bit the inside of her cheek tempted to tell him that he sounded a lot like Jake right now. She held back though sure that comparing Dan to her older brother probably wasn't the best choice especially considering the subject of her brother was still a little bit of a fresh wound for the both of them.

Elle herself was still more than pissed off at Jake over the entire stunt he'd pulled telling Dan to leave her alone. Elle was pretty sure that Dan was on the same page as her given that anytime her brother was brought up Dan's body went tense and his face became fixed into a scowl.

Elle began to fidget in her seat unable to calm her nerves. She trained her eyes on the closed door leading from the waiting room to the therapists' offices, her stomach in knots.

Dan let out a sigh swallowing back any desire to further nag her over her cigarettes. Lord knows he'd probably damaged his own lungs the years he'd spent smoking pot like marijuana was going to be depleted from the earth at any second. He probably didn't have the right to criticize her over her smoking cigarettes when he himself wasn't entirely innocent.

Still he couldn't help but to worry about her vices. At least she was cutting down he told himself. Cutting down was a step towards quitting.

Elle visibly jumped as Dan reached across the armrest of the lumpy waiting room chairs his hand grasping over hers. Elle took a deep breath trying her best not to grasp down too hard onto his hand.

She spoke a shaky breath escaping her lips allowing herself to repeat the same thing she'd said a million times this morning. "Thank you for coming with me…you really didn't have to. I mean I know we both had to leave work early for this…I would have been fine on my own. I mean going on my own would have sucked, but you really didn't have to fuck up your recording schedule to tag along with me. I mean I'm making you miss work and thus probably screwing with Arin's schedule as well as yours all so you can sit in a waiting room bored out of your mind waiting on me to do something I could do on my own."

Dan gave her hand a gentle squeeze soothing her the same way he'd done at least a thousand times today. "I wanted to come…I wanted to be here for you, I know you're going to need the support. Arin's and my recording schedule won't be too messed up by me leaving early. We'll just have to pull a late one tomorrow night to make up for today."

Elle gave him a tight smile struggling not to let her eyes water. How could he be so sweet? She really didn't deserve him. "Thank you."

Dan gave her hand another gentle squeeze continuing to soothe her. "You don't have to thank me."

He let out a small sigh clearly able to see her still fidgeting. He spoke still attempting to calm her. "Just take some deep breaths, remember in through your nose and out through your mouth. Breathe slowly."

Elle nodded her head attempting to follow his orders struggling to calm herself.

She widened her eyes realizing that she didn't have time to calm down as a tall woman opened the previously closed door looking up from the clipboard she was holding. "Eleanor Brannock."

Dan stood up with Elle unable to stop himself from giving her a light hug his lips pressing to her temple as he tried to reassure her. "I'll be right out here waiting for you. You're going to be okay. Just be honest, okay babygirl. She can't help you if you aren't honest."

Elle nodded her head biting the inside of her cheek as she resisted to joke that being honest might get her committed to the nearest psych ward.

She reluctantly parted from Dan turning to follow the woman from the safety of the waiting room to the last thing she wanted to face.

Elle tried to scooch up in the leather sofa Dr. Lopez had gestured for her to take a seat in. The brown leather sofa seemed to be bound and determined to practically swallow Elle's frame.

Elle allowed her eyes to scan the tiny office as Dr. Lopez finished scribbling down the information Elle had provided so far. Elle knew that Dr. Lopez was more than likely reading over the checklist Elle had been directed to fill out when Dan and she had arrived at the office. It was just a form asking about her psychiatric history; asking if she hallucinated, if she abused illegal substances.

Elle was just relieved that Dan hadn't looked over her shoulder as she'd filled the form out. No, it wasn't like she was hallucinating or hearing voices, but still filling out the form hadn't been something she'd enjoyed filling out while sitting beside her boyfriend of less than a month.

The office was tiny with old retro looking dark wood paneling and ugly gray carpet. She guessed the dreary gray was meant to hide any wear and tear from foot traffic. There were several metal file boxes which was a strange sight to see given Elle had assumed most of these places had moved past keeping paper files. Wasn't everything filed electronically by now in order to cut back on paper usage? There were several degrees hanging on the walls; Ivy League universities where Dr. Lopez had apparently been educated.

Dr. Lopez sat in a modern looking white desk chair beside an old mahogany desk. The desktop background on her computer was a cheerful looking Golden Retriever. Elle had to wonder if it was Dr. Lopez's dog, or was it just some random stock footage dog?

There was a large mahogany coffee table placed between the doctor's desk and the couch where Elle found herself sitting. The coffee table was practically covered with helpful pamphlets for just about every disorder in existence; Bi Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Post-Partum Depression, Clinical Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, and OCD.

What Elle noticed the most though were the boxes of tissues. Tissue boxes sat on just about every available surface. Apparently, this was a room where a lot of crying took place.

Dr. Lopez herself or Gina as she had insisted Elle should call her was an older woman, almost old enough to be Elle's mother. Although unlike Elle's mother Dr. Lopez was clearly lacking the extensive plastic surgery and gaudy jewelry Elle's mother had indulged in. Dr. Lopez was far heavier than Elle's mother would ever dare to be as well.

Still though Dr. Lopez was an attractive woman though her hair was graying she wore it elegantly, her brown skin held a few wrinkles but she clearly wore them without shame. Her hair was fixed back into a tight twist and the navy pantsuit she wore seemed to be tailored to fit her tall frame.

Elle continued to shift in her seat tempted to ask if she was allowed to light a cigarette. She had a feeling Dr. Lopez wouldn't approve her request though.

Elle was pulled out of contemplating this question as Dr. Lopez spoke. "So, Eleanor, why don't you tell me what brings you to my office in your own words."

Elle tried not to cringe at the sound of her full name. She cleared her throat hoping she didn't sound like a total brat. "It's Elle…I prefer Elle to Eleanor."

She cleared her throat already picturing just what Dr. Lopez had to be scribbling down on her notepad. She tried to shove the thought out of her brain as she spoke again. "I'm here because my boyfriend thought it was a good idea."

"Your boyfriend is the gentleman in the waiting room?" Dr. Lopez asked still scribbling away on her notepad.

Elle shifted in her seat trying hard not to focus on Dr. Lopez's scribbling. "Yes, Danny…his name is Danny. He…he thought it might help me."

Elle felt the words fly from her lips without much thought. "I don't really know why Dan puts up with me to be honest. I'm kind of fucked up, but he's still here. I really don't deserve him."

"Why do you feel that you don't deserve him? He clearly cares a great deal about you to attend this appointment with you." Dr. Lopez asked looking up momentarily from the notepad as Elle stared down at her lap her stomach knotting up tighter.

Elle let out a shaky breath keeping her eyes locked on her lap as she spoke. "I'm a mess. He's so sweet and gentle. He's too kind for his own good. He's really something special and he deserves someone just as special. I'm afraid that I'm not special. I'm too…damaged. I'm just a spoiled poor little rich girl. I pour so much onto him and he just takes all my issues…listens to me and tries to be there. I hand him all my baggage and he's carrying it. He's so wonderful and…and I'm just…not. I'm so pathetic. I'm a bad person…I've done things that I'm not proud of. I've been in screwed up situations that I'm so not proud of. I don't deserve the love he gives me."

Dr. Lopez scribbled down onto her pad before speaking causing Elle to look up at her. "I'm going to ask you a few simple questions Elle. If a good friend came to you saying what you just said to me, what would be your response? Would you agree with them? Or would you tell them they're wrong and try to reassure them?"

Elle frowned a bit thrown off by the question. "I wouldn't agree with them…. I mean I don't really have friends…or I don't think I do…It's complicated. I'd like to believe I'm making friends here, but…I don't know…I guess if I did have a good friend though and they said that to me I would try to reassure them."

She was even more stunned by Dr. Lopez's next statement. "So, you would be willing to give a friend a kindness that you wouldn't allow yourself?"

"My hypothetical friend would probably deserve the kindness…I mean my friend probably wouldn't have my history." Elle argued her eyes locking back down on her lap.

Dr. Lopez stopped scribbling for a moment as she spoke. "Perhaps it's time that you start treating yourself as a friend Elle. Anytime you have a negative thought about yourself I want you to start asking if you would accept it as a statement from a friend about themselves. If the answer is no, then you need to tell yourself not to accept it from yourself."

Elle frowned part of her wanting to insist that it wasn't that simple, but the other half of her couldn't help but to wonder if perhaps it really was that simple. Maybe she really did need to start treating herself as a friend?

Dr. Lopez stayed silent for a moment seemingly allowing Elle to absorb this information before she spoke again. "How long have Danny and you been a couple?"

Elle felt her stomach roll quickly guessing that Dr. Lopez would tell her that she'd jumped into a relationship with Dan far too quickly after leaving her past relationship. "Not long…we were friends first…my, I moved to the area recently. Dan and my brother are friends…that's how we met…I kind of, well I moved to California very suddenly…my ex fiancé, Adam…"

Elle paused her throat growing tight. She was quick to push back the need to cry. She wasn't going to cry. She refused to cry. Crying meant weakness. "He…Adam, He wasn't a nice guy…I-I didn't know that when we met. When we met he was wonderful…a little egotistical and kind of a jerk sometimes, but I looked past it. He spoiled me, bought me so many nice things. He offered to buy me my own shop, so I could sell dresses…I'm a seamstress…. I refused though. I didn't want another thing handed to me. I've had things handed to me all my life. Adam and I…we moved way way too fast. We both drank and partied too much…Adam he owns a nightclub, a lot of them…and I guess he lives a lifestyle to fit it. I know there's drug use on his end…Cocaine…I'm pretty sure steroids too. He tried to get me to try the cocaine with him more than once…but I refused…I sobered up pretty soon after he started trying to push the coke on me. I probably should have left him then, but he just, he got really discreet about it after that. Pretty soon after Adam asked me to marry him, he got…he started to become angry…physically. At first, he'd just throw things…sometimes the things he threw…they'd hit me…sometimes he'd aim for me. He would always apologize…always buy me gifts; jewelry, fur coats, a car. He was always pretty possessive…he didn't like me to go out alone. He was always very critical of me…always pointing out my faults, reminding me of my past…of my childhood. I should have left the first time he hit me. I was weak though…he told me I just pushed his buttons, that it was my fault. I believed him…and then he'd buy me more gifts and promise it wouldn't happen again. I'd always convince myself that it was going to get better…that this was just normal couple shit…The last time was the worst. I found an earring in his car…I knew it wasn't mine…I don't wear cheap jewelry…so I knew what it meant. I confronted him…it wasn't the first time he'd been unfaithful. He didn't have the decency to deny it. He told me that he was allowed to stray…that I didn't have the right to tell him what he could and couldn't do. He said I needed to remember my place. I argued with him and he…he beat me…he beat me pretty badly."

Elle took a deep breath refusing to look at Dr. Lopez. She didn't want to see her pity. She didn't want her pity. "He left after that…just tossed down a towel and told me to get in the shower…clean myself up and cover the bruises…we had a party to go tomorrow. A voice in the back of my head just…it just told me that this wasn't the way to live…that this was how I was going to die. So, I just left. I ran without telling him where I was going. I couldn't tell him…he'd kill before he let me leave him. I packed up my things and went to a hotel. I called my brother and got the first flight I could get to LA. Adam doesn't know where I am…I know if he finds out though he'll…he'll make me regret leaving…Dan…he knows about it all…he keeps promising me that no one will hurt me as long as he's around…he can't make a promise like that though. Danny can't protect me from everything."

With this statement Elle felt her eyes begin to water. She reluctantly snatched up a tissue dabbing her eyes as she spoke again. "I don't want anyone to get hurt because of Adam…If he found out about Dan and me…I don't know that he wouldn't hurt Dan too. I wouldn't forgive myself if Dan got hurt because of me."

Elle was stunned as Dr. Lopez spoke. "Have you considered the possibility of taking out a restraining order on your ex fiancé?"

Elle frowned knowing that her voice was sharp, angry. "I would have to face him in front of a judge for a restraining order to be instated. That would defeat the purpose of him not knowing where I am. What good would a restraining order do? I mean if he came after me what would I do with it? Roll it up and throw it at him?"

Dr. Lopez didn't seem to take offense to Elle's outburst. The woman simply nodded her head suggesting an alternative. "Perhaps you should consider taking a self defense class…once your out of that cast. The self defense class might make you feel more secure. If he doesn't come near you though Elle. You would need to contact the police."

Elle soaked the idea in her eyes still watering as she came to a decision. She was going to learn to defend herself.

She would learn to fight back. If Adam came for her, if he came to hurt Dan, Elle would fight back. No one was going to get hurt. Adam wouldn't hurt anyone again if she could stop it.

…..

Dan shifted in his seat his eyes continually shifting upwards to look at the closed door. Elle had been in Dr. Lopez's office for a long while now and Dan was beginning to worry.

He knew that she hadn't been willing to go to this appointment today. He knew she was only doing it because she had promised him she would.

A part of him couldn't help but to worry that he'd pushed her into something that might do her more harm than good. He did his best to shake this thought from his brain trying to tell himself that this would help Elle. Talking to someone capable of helping her handle her issues would help her a lot.

He continued to shift in his seat the thing horribly uncomfortable. The chair's cushion had gotten so worn down that it was like sitting on a block of wood. It of course didn't help that Dan's body was all too bony. He didn't have enough cushion on his butt to really help protect him from the chair's lack of cushion.

Dan tried to keep his mind off his worries and his lack of cushion as he stared back down at his cell phone. He'd spent more than a while scrolling Reddit mostly looking at memes and scouring the Rush subreddit. He had found himself quickly growing bored with this though and he was slowly growing restless.

He entertained the idea of perhaps texting Arin or maybe Barry but he imagined Barry was busy editing and Arin may have decided to attempt to record a few things on his own. He probably didn't need to interrupt either man while they were working just because he was bored out of his mind.

Dan found himself opening his phone's camera roll his thumb quickly clicking on the photo Suzy had taken of Elle and he the night they'd had their first date. He'd had Suzy text it to him and he was thankful for it.

He knew that he looked so anxious in the photo. It was almost pathetic how much he looked like a deer in the headlights. Elle was smiling though the flowers he'd bought her held up proudly as she leaned back against his embrace.

He felt a small tight smile cross his lips so thankful for the conversation Elle and he had on that date. It had cleared a lot issues that might just have come up later; his past issues with committing, learning to deal with the fans.

He couldn't help but to feel like he didn't deserve Elle. She was so willing to take on his weird career and all the bizarre little things that came along with it. She was willing to allow him to explain his past to her. She was willing to reassure him that she trusted him not to run away from her.

A part of Dan couldn't help but to wish that he'd met her years ago. Perhaps if he'd met her a few years ago he'd have saved himself a lot of heartache. Perhaps if there had been a way to meet her when he was in his twenties he might have gotten his shit together sooner. He at least might have been less miserable in his twenties if there had been a way for him to meet Elle back then.

He knew if he'd met Elle years ago he probably could have saved her a lot of pain too. Dan frowned realizing he could have saved her from Adam. Elle could have escaped ever knowing any of the pain Adam had subjected her to if Dan had met her first.

Dan pushed these thoughts away telling himself that there was no use thinking about what could have been. He had Elle now and as long as she would have him no one would hurt her. As long as Dan was around he wouldn't let Adam hurt her.

Dan swiped his screen coming across the next pic. It had been taken the day before at the Grump Space when Elle had sat in on Arin and his recording. Arin had taken it before Dan had a chance to stop him. Elle was fast asleep her head buried against Dan's chest the both of them still cocooned up in a blanket. Dan's chin was resting over her head his eyes locked on the screen in front of him.

Dan stared at the photo his fingers moving fast to open the Instagram app. He frowned as he debated his next move. He had been telling the truth when he'd told Elle he didn't want to hide their relationship.

She'd already assured him that she didn't care what anyone had to say, that this was their relationship not anyone else's. She had already said she wasn't going to scour the internet for comments about herself. She could always turn to Suzy or even Dan himself for support if she somehow happened to see anything that got to her.

There weren't any rules that said Dan would have to tag Elle in the photo if he uploaded it. Her face was obscured enough that it would be a decent photo to post as a little first step of making the fact that he was off the market public.

He knew that Jake seeing it wouldn't be an issue. Jake had deleted his Instagram app. Dan was thankful for this. After all Jake had used Instagram to confront Dan about Elle in the first place.

Dan made his decision telling himself that he would remove the picture if Elle was upset. He uploaded the photo typing up a quick caption: "When you're trying to be Not So Grump, but your girl needs a body pillow."

He pushed the post button quickly shutting the app before he had a chance to second guess himself. He knew people would freak out. He'd called Elle his girl after all. There was no being cryptic about the fact that she was his girlfriend.

Dan rarely read his comments though. He was the type to post and then forget about it as he moved on to doing things he'd much rather be doing. This was a big move, but he quickly decided he didn't care what anyone had to say.

He just hoped Elle felt the same way about this choice.

Dan stood up from the chair mentally kicking himself as he realized he'd practically knocked the thing over with the force in which he'd hopped up from his seat. He felt his heart twist as Elle walked out from behind the now open door. It was obvious she'd been crying; her cheeks were flushed and puffy and she was still clutching a tissue in her hand.

Dan was fast to embrace her allowing her to bury her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms tight around her. He pressed kisses to the top of her head unsure of what else he could do.

He managed to speak his voice soft. "Let's go home, okay? You can take a bath and I'll order something to eat for dinner. Are you ready to go home?"

Elle nodded her head ignoring the fact that he'd referred to Barry's and his place as her home.

Home sounded good. Maybe home wasn't a place. Maybe it was a feeling.

…..

Elle managed to climb into the bath in Dan's bathroom. She felt a little ridiculous having to wrap her cast in a garbage bag and tape the stupid thing down in order to keep the plaster cast dry. Still though Elle kept her arm out of the water allowing it to rest on the side of the tub. She would be so glad to be rid of the cast. It made bathing a complicated endeavor.

Elle was just relieved that Dan's bathroom had a separate bath and shower. The old clawfoot tub looked as though it had never even been used. She guessed Dan wasn't a bath type of guy, not that many men were. A tiny part of her couldn't help but to wonder if perhaps she might one day get Dan to join her in the tub.

She had a feeling it would be a difficult endeavor fitting his long lanky body into the tub along with her shorter fuller body. Of course, taking a bath together would involve being exposed in front of one another. So, Elle was sure a shared bath might have to wait for a while.

She couldn't deny that she liked the idea of sharing the tub with him though.

She closed her eyes allowing herself to relax in the hot water as she tried to recover from her appointment. She was surprised at the way she'd opened up. Once the words had begun to leave her mouth she hadn't been able to stop them.

She wasn't sure if she felt any better now that she'd talked. Mostly she felt drained. She guessed that therapy wasn't an automatic fix though. Maybe the more she went the better she might feel. She was a little stunned at this thought after all before the appointment she'd been so unwilling to go, but now she was accepting that she would have to go again and again and again.

Therapy was going to be a long process, but maybe she wouldn't feel so damaged by the time it was all over.

Elle spent probably too long in the tub it taking her a while to wash and condition her hair as well as shave. She hoped that she'd managed to get herself as clean as she'd hoped before pulling herself from the tub. She couldn't help but to smile as she dressed not entirely surprised that Dan had handed over one of his Rush t-shirts along with her pajama pants and undergarments.

It was the same shirt she'd slept in that first night at his place. She guessed he really had enjoyed the way it looked on her.

Elle widened her eyes stunned as she walked into Dan's bedroom to find him plugging his iPod into speakers' music filling the room.

She spoke unable to stop herself from joking. "Mood music to go with the Chinese delivery?"

Dan chuckled shaking his head. "Something like that. Come here."

She raised an eyebrow giving into his request making her way over to him. She was stunned as he pulled her against him wrapping his arms around her waist. He rested one at the small of her back allowing the other the rest above it.

Elle wrapped her arms around him assuming this was a hug. She was surprised though as he began to move swaying them slowly. "Dance with me. It's our song."

Elle felt the laugh escape her lips as it hit her that Foreigner was playing over the speakers; I Want to Know What Love Is.

"We have a song now? Was there a vote on what it was? Cause I didn't get to place my vote." She teased feeling a little hopeless as she attempted to follow his lead.

Dan chuckled taking her comment in stride. "I thought about picking an NSP song…ya know something super romantic like No Reason Boner, or Everybody Shut Up (I Have an Erection). I figured I'd spare you though. Besides I dance to my own albums alone all the time."

"Oh, good. I might start worrying that you may need to check your ego if you wanted our song to be one of your own songs. If we were doing a Ninja Sex Party song though I would have chosen Best Friends Forever…nothing says romance like a homicidal ninja murdering all your friends." Elle replied the laugh leaving her lips causing Dan to smile.

She spoke again shaking her head as she continued to struggle to follow his lead. "I'm afraid I'm not doing too great at this…I blame it on you being a tall skyscraper of a human being. I have zero idea where to put my arms because I can barely rest them around your shoulders."

Dan snorted at this comment shaking his head. "You're doing just fine. It's not that I'm too tall it's that you're too short. Just turn your brain off and follow my lead. Just don't think."

Elle rolled her eyes ignoring his comment as she allowed herself to follow his suggestions. She was surprised that it became easier as she managed to move feeling less like a klutz.

She allowed herself to close her eyes letting herself sink into the feel of it; swaying gently close to him. She felt a small smile work its way across her lips as Dan leaned down his voice soft as he began to sing along. "In my life there's been heartache and pain. I don't know if I can face it again. Can't stop now, I've traveled so far, to change this lonely life. I want to know what love is, I want you to show me. I want to feel what love is, I know you can show me."

Elle felt the words become trapped in her throat but she didn't allow herself to speak them. Now wasn't the time, and what if she scared him off by saying it too soon. She knew it was the truth though. She couldn't deny it.

So instead of speaking them out loud, she allowed the words to be said in her head: I love you Dan. I'm falling in love with you Danny. I love you. I'm so scared to tell you. Please don't break my heart when I tell you.

….

Elle took a bite of her Spicy Tuna roll trying hard to ignore Dan's eyes on her. He'd been staring at her all morning but anytime she questioned him about it he shrugged it off insisting it was nothing.

Dan stared back down at his Tempura roll silently trying to psyche himself up to do this. He'd purposely asked her out to lunch to do this. He had to man up and say it.

He stared up at her again causing her to raise an eyebrow as she took a sip of her Thai Milk Tea. She placed the plastic cup down not helping but to sound as frustrated as she was growing. "What? And don't you dare say it's nothing again Danny. You've been giving me that look all morning."

She paused trying to smooth over just how demanding she was sounding. "Just spill…do I have like spinach in my teeth or something and you've just been debating the best way to tell me?"

Dan let out a shaky laugh his stomach knotting up. Maybe the tempura was a bad idea? His stomach was cramping. "No, no. It's not that."

He took a few deep breaths reminding himself to man up already. Just ask her. "You know how I have that convention coming up soon?"

"Yeah the one Suzy made me make a million copies for and send a million emails around the office for." Elle remarked remembering how she'd silently groaned over how hard it was to type with one hand.

Dan chuckled nodding his head. "Yeah that one."

He paused forcing the words from his mouth. "Come with me. I mean come with me to the convention. I'd like you to come to the convention with me."

Elle widened her eyes totally thrown off by this offer. "I uh…is that even an option?"

"Oh yeah, Arin was actually the one who kind of suggested that it was okay to go ahead and ask you if I wanted to. All you'd have to do is buy a plane ticket. You can probably get a seat on our plane if we call today. I already took care of the hotel room. Arin has made the calls to get you the security pass you'd need to be with us." Dan blurted out hoping she wouldn't be upset that he'd jumped the gun and booked a hotel room for the two of them.

He was just sure that the hotel would book up fast. The hotel was only two blocks from the convention center so of course it would book up if he waited any longer. The courier had told Dan that he was lucky to have called when he did given that he'd actually managed to book one of the last rooms remaining with a queen-sized bed.

Elle cleared her throat her mind spinning. She wanted to go. Of course, she wanted to go. She'd just assumed he wouldn't ask her. She hadn't even thought it was an option. "Won't I be in the way…I mean you'll be working."

Dan was quick to slide his hand across the table clasping it over hers. "No, you won't be in the way. Brian's wife and daughter will be there…so ya know while I'm doing the meet and greet you guys can hang out. She'd probably love to have someone to hang out with…Holly too. I mean Holly isn't a Grump. So, she won't be at the panel or the meet and greet. When I do the panel, you can just stay backstage and watch….and when I'm not working we can look around the con…just hang out and see what there is to see. You've never been to a con or anything like that. So, you can have your first con with me. You said you've never been to Florida so maybe we could go out to dinner or something too…see some things around town when I'm free."

Dan paused fearing he'd made a giant mistake. Maybe she didn't want to go to this con. Maybe she thought it was too soon to take a trip like this together. He spoke unable to stop the words from slipping from his lips. "I just thought you might want to see what I do at cons…ya know let me share it with you. I can understand if you ya know aren't like ready for this kind of trip though. I totally get it if you don't want to."

Elle mentally cursed herself as she listened to his words. She'd shoved her foot in her mouth. She gave his hand a squeeze giving him a small anxious smile. "I want to go. I'd like to go. I want to share this with you."

Dan returned the squeeze excitement hitting him hard. "Awesome! We can pack when we get home tonight."

Elle chuckled that realization hitting her again. Home wasn't a place. Home was definitely a feeling.