I think Aaron sensed that I was in no mood for bullshit. He had room service on the way when I re-emerged from the bathroom and our night was spent in companionable silence.

I didn't sleep again, spending most of my night sitting on one of the couches, legs curled under me, as I listened to Aaron snore softly in the bed.

The spiteful part of me wanted to use the situation to rile Dean up further, but I was actually too angry for that. I was too angry to even consider speaking to him.

My temper had cooled a bit once the sun rose, and I was able to be a bit more sociable with Aaron. He had, after all, saved my ass when I'd desperately needed it.

Our flight left for JFK at ten. I would be back home before the sun set.

I shouldn't have been surprised when we were escorted to first-class seats. I began to realize, uncomfortably, just how much I owed Aaron.

"I'm sorry I took you away from your family," I said after we had taken off and leveled out in the sky.

He shrugged. "It's all right. I'll be headed back next month anyway, for Christmas. I'm just glad I was nearby and able to hop a flight to get to you."

I managed a smile before I carefully covered his hand with mine, squeezing it. "Thank you. Truly." I pulled my hand away after that, desperately wanting to not give him the wrong idea.

"Of course, Liz."

"I'd like to repay you for everything you spent."

He waved his hand. "No need. Paul is actually taking care of my reimbursement. He insisted."

I felt marginally better at that. I could handle Paul helping me in this situation, but feeling like Aaron was, as Dean put it last night, trying to be my "white knight" made me uneasy. I wasn't helpless – at least, not usually – and I didn't want the kind of man who wanted a helpless woman.

"You know, if you want," Aaron said, obviously choosing his words with great care, "I could help you file for a restraining order."

I nodded. "I appreciate that. I'll definitely think it over. Right now, I just want to get home. I'll give Paul the benefit of the doubt and believe that he'll handle this appropriately."

"Do you have a security system at your house?"

I turned and saw the genuine concern on his face and had to smile. "I do. And I wasn't lying; if he shows up I will call the police." I rested my head back against the seat. "I'm over this whole thing. I'm ready for the nightmare to be over."

"I understand." He fell silent, but I could tell that there was something he was holding back.

I turned to him. "What is it that you want to say?" I asked, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"I'm sorry that I was the reason he went off the rails."

I shook my head. "Aaron, really –"

"I know, you're going to tell me it's not my fault," he interrupted. "It may not be. But I still...I hate that I had any part in it. I know you don't want to hear that, but I need to say it. Just like I know you don't want to even entertain the thought of you and I having anything other than a professional relationship. I get it. Really. I do. I just..." He sighed. "I like you. Obviously. But that had nothing to do with me helping you. That's what any decent person would do. I don't want you to feel like...you owe me or something. Because you don't. I didn't do anything with the hope that you would fall into my arms and be so grateful you'd... I just wanted you to be safe."

I nodded. "And I am. Thanks to you." I reached out and lightly touched his hand again. "I appreciate everything you just said. I don't blame you any more than I blame the sun when it rains. It was inevitable that something like that would happen with Dean. I think I can finally see that it's who he is. It was just a question of when."

I felt my heart pound against my ribs. "I like you," I admitted. "I think you're sweet and intelligent and funny. I think if I met you at any different time in my life, I would've done everything in my power to be with you."

He managed a small grin, and I smiled back.

"But we met at a really awful time in my life," I continued. "I can't even entertain the thought of being with someone right now...and for so many reasons, not just the stuff with Dean." I paused, biting my lower lip. "Don't wait around for me, ok? I can't keep you from all the other women in the world who need a decent man."

He nodded. "If someone catches my attention, I won't wait. But honestly, Liz, it's pretty rare that someone like that comes along. I don't exactly have the time to go out looking. I don't date that much – don't look at me like that; I'm being honest. I think the last time I was on a date was about a year ago, and it was to appease me mom," he laughed.

"You can't tell me that you've spent the last year sleeping alone every night."

He gave me a small smile and shrugged. "That's different. Does that bother you?"

"Not in the slightest," I assured him. "As long as that's not the case when you're in a relationship with someone."

"Nope," he said promptly. "I've been cheated on myself. It's a pretty shitty feeling."

"It is that," I agreed.

"Is that one of the reasons you need more time?"

I nodded. "We – Mike and I – were together for a long time. I thought we were going to get married. Everything was perfect, until it wasn't." I turned and looked at him. "It seems like there's always this switch I hit with men, this switch that turns everything from good to terrible."

"Was it like that with Dean?"

I managed to laugh. "With Dean it was like there was a toddler playing with the switch, clicking it on and off all the time. I could never tell if I was coming or going."

"Well, you're going now – and that's the most important thing."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Yeah it is."

"Any idea what you're going to do now?"

I shook my head. "I think the first thing I'm gonna do is go home and have a glass of wine. Beyond that, I'm going to wait to hear from Paul and go from there."

"And if Dean calls..."

"He'll wish he hadn't," I said firmly. "I meant it when I said that I was tired of all of this drama."

I would learn soon enough that even though I was done with this nightmare, it wasn't necessarily done with me.