He was having what had to be the strangest dream he'd ever had. He had no idea why Danny was in his dream but he could guess why Emma would be there, she'd been in them enough lately as it was. But why Danny was there? No clue. To make matters worse, it didn't help that Danny was stealing Emma away. What gave him the right? How dare he! But yet, there went Emma off with Danny to do God knows what and where.

His chest felt constricted, and he felt like he was having to gasp for air. Suddenly his blue eyes popped open and he found himself not in his apartment, but in the room of the bed and breakfast he'd gotten them for the weekend. Don sat up quickly, his heart nearly pounding out of his chest. She stirred next to him, rolling over to face him better. Her sleepy eyes met his and she sat up, looking a little alarmed. "Don?"

He felt like an idiot. It'd all been a dream. A stupid dream. He shook his head, forcing a small smile, "sorry..I didn't mean to wake you up."

It'd been a peaceful sleep for her at least. Probably the first in awhile. They'd gone out exploring around the little town and found a restaurant to eat dinner at. Both were stuffed by the time they came back to their room. TV held their attention for a little while before Emma was sound asleep, curled up under the covers. And then he'd gone and ruined it, damnit.

Emma yawned and moved to lay back down, "did you have a bad dream?"

"No. I mean, it was more weird than bad." Don finally did the same and laid back, feeling his heart beat return to a somewhat normal pace.

She immediately moved to curl up against him, sighing when she felt his arms wrap around her. "Wanna talk about it?"

Yeah right, that wasn't going to happen. Plus he couldn't even remember exactly what it was about. Just that Danny had appeared, used whatever "charm" he thought he had and then stole Emma away from him. And that sounded really stupid to Don. He knew it'd sound just as ridiculous to her. He leaned over, kissing her forehead, "Nah it was nothin'. Promise."

She just nodded, already on her way back to dreamland.


The next time he woke, he found the room bathed in a light orange glow as the sun continued its ascent into the sky. He stretched out, still feeling a tad ridiculous for the dream he'd had. He had to remember, he did introduce Emma and Danny in hopes of setting them up but that the two had fallen into more of a brother/sister relationship than anything else. Plus, Don knew he could trust both of them.

He glanced over, expecting to find Emma still next to him. But the other side of the bed was empty. He frowned and moved to sit up, glancing around the room. Okay, it was a pretty big room but it's not like she could completely disappear. His muscles pulled and moaned their displeasure at moving as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. For some reason he was feeling more and more like an old man every day. 'Not good for someone not yet in their 40's,' He thought as he stretched his arms over his head, hearing his arms and shoulders pop. Yes, Don was turning into an old man. Damnit.

He found her after a bit of searching (though the deck door being open was a big hint) and slipped out behind her. She was leaning on the railing, watching quietly as the sun rose. In the not so far distance, a few boats were heading out on the bay for their day's work. The first thing he noticed was how utterly quiet it was. He'd been used to the city noises for far too long that it was strange to be away from it all. It'd been like that when the two of them went to Georgia. He had a hard time falling asleep; it was way too quiet! Emma glanced back at him when she heard him step out onto the deck. He'd been trying to be quiet but for someone well over 6 feet tall, being quiet was a tad difficult sometimes. She smiled, leaning back against him as he slipped his arms around her from behind. How they'd fallen into this slightly lovey-dovey relationship, neither of them knew. All they knew was that it was nice.

Don rested his chin on top of her head, "so..having fun?"

She laughed, "I just like getting up early sometimes and watching everything wake up." Emma turned to look up at him with a grin on her face, "plus you snore."

He scoffed at that, playfully glaring at her as he pulled away. Don moved to the other side of the deck, leaning over the railing to see what was down below. "I do not snore, thank you very much."

"Oh whatever!" She laughed, "you really do snore. But I figured you must've been sleeping pretty hard right about that time, so I let it slide. This time."

He shrugged his shoulders, still leaning over the railing about as far as one could get without falling completely over. "Whatever you say. I'm just gonna agree with you."

She leaned against the railing, watching him carefully. It was always a bit nervewracking when someone was leaning over a railing or staircase. Of course, every bad scenario ran through her mind. What if he fell over? It wasn't that far of a drop but still a person could get seriously hurt if the railing broke or he fell over or...okay, she really had to stop. She shook her head, glancing over the edge wearily before moving away from it some. "So what were you dreaming about last night? You jerked and nearly took the bed with you."

Of course he knew she was going to ask about it. It was just a part of Emma's slight nosey-ness, and he knew she'd be a little more than curious. After all, he wasn't usually the one to be affected by too many things. Years in the NYPD had seen to that. He smiled as he looked over at her, "It's nothing, I swear."

"Are you sure? You looked pretty...alarmed."

"It was a stupid dream. A really stupid dream." He laughed, "It was completely out there. I don't even want to tell you about it, you'll laugh your ass off."

Emma gave him a look but moved to go back into the room. "If you say so. Are you hungry? I read that this place has breakfast...which should be here in a little while."

He nodded, following in behind her, "Of course I'm hungry. That's like asking if the sky's blue, the answer is always yes."

She laughed, "I know. I'm going to shower..want to head out after that?"

Don shot her a grin as he sat back on the bed, "I could always join you, you know."

"Mmhmm, you'd like that too much." She opened her bag, digging through the clothes she'd brought with her, "and you might be disappointed if you saw me naked."

He snorted, "Do you really believe that?"

"Oh that's right, you don't date ugly people." Emma grinned teasingly, leaning over enough to press her lips against his.

He laughed, grabbing her by the hips to pull her closer. "What's that supposed to mean!"

"One time in high school, we were at some party and you drunkenly told me that you don't date ugly people," She said barely concealing a giggle.

"And you remember that? After all this time?"

She nodded as she slipped away from him, "yep. I remember a lot of things. Apparently, I have a better memory than you do."

"Possibly." He smiled, "But fine. Go shower by yourself. I'll just wait here like a good gentleman."

Emma laughed as she walked towards the bathroom. "I will thoroughly enjoy my shower, thank you very much. Maybe if you're lucky, later you can shower with me."

The grin grew on his face at that. "You better not be teasing me.."

She just laughed again, disappearing into the bathroom. He laid back on the bed as he listened to the water turn on. He had no idea where the whole 'showering together' thing had come from. Don couldn't lie and say he wouldn't jump at the chance, he was obviously attracted to Emma. And she seemed to be obviously attracted to him. He rubbed a hand over his face, covering up a yawn as he let his eyes close. She was teasing without even trying. Damn her.


AN: I'll get to your all's reviews later when I'm not half-asleep. I do apologize for this being more than a couple days late than I said it'd be. This week was a bit more crazy school-wise than I anticipated. But I've got the next few days off (yay!) so I will hopefully be able to write a ton more. Ch. 44 will probably be up Saturday. It's already running through my head ;) And can I just say that I hate not having my story at the Season 3 point yet? I'm liking this season more and more, I don't know about you all. Lost was also pretty good but that's another ramble for another time. Enjoy the chapter and enjoy your Saturday!