"Well good morning, sleepyhead!" A chipper Karen bounced into the kitchen, Chief Masterson not far behind, both wearing matching robes.

Lacey had been leaning haphazardly across the cool granite countertop and straightened up quickly, "Hi, good morning—"

Karen went straight for the coffee maker, "How was prom?! Did you guys have a good night?"

Lacey scratched at the corners of her mouth, looking up at Karen and Kyle's anticipation faces, "Yes. You?"

Karen's cheeks turned pink and she sipped her coffee.

"The best." Kyle smiled before kissing Karen's forehead.

Lacey smiled back at them and their obvious love and excitement for each other. Lacey missed that. She decided then that she and Danny needed to talk. Now.

"Girls still here?" Karen asked pointedly.

"Indeed."

Karen nodded and took another long sip from her mug, "What are you doing about all of that?" She asked Lacey seriously.

Lacey's eyes darted over to Kyle who was taking his turn at the coffee station, completely oblivious to their conversation.

"It won't be happening again." Lacey tried to reassure her.

"That's what you told me last time." Karen reminded her, unimpressed.

Lacey nodded, "Things have changed."

Karen shrugged, "That's what Phoebe Daly does, changes things." She said quietly into her cup.

Lacey looked down at her water glass and swallowed hard, that she did.

"I'm asking him today if he'd like to try again." Lacey said with great relief. The words made so much sense.

Karen smiled, "It's about time."

Kyle walked up behind Karen and kissed her neck, fresh coffee in hand.

"Kyle and I are having a spa day today, upstairs. Tell Danny not to disturb us, will you?"

"I will."

"Nice to see you Lacey." Kyle nodded to her before pinching Karen's ass, making her squeal and scamper out of the kitchen.

Lacey waited until she heard Mrs. Desai's bedroom door shut before she crept back up the stairs toward Danny's room. Regina was in the hallway and shuffling toward the bathroom, her ass just barely covered by one of Danny's not so large t-shirts.

"Hey." Lacey smiled softly, ready for Regina to need a real friend to break down in front of if she needed it.

"Hey." She answered completely devoid of emotion, "Don't go in there, you know? Just wait—" Regina squinted uncomfortably.

Lacey stepped closer to the bedroom door and heard Danny and Phoebe fully involved in morning sex.

"That's it, just like that, c'mon—" Danny panted and slapped what Lacey could only imagine was Phoebe's ass.

"Captain—" Phoebe whined.

"Ride it—yes, fucking best I've ever had—" She heard Danny admit.

Lacey winced. Damn.

"I can't do this anymore, Lacey."

"Neither can I." Lacey said before sliding down the wall just outside the door.

Regina walked over and sat beside her.

"So what are you going to do?"

They cringed at the sound of Danny finishing with grunts and expletives.

"I'm going to ask him to be with me again exclusively."

Regina nodded before standing up, "Excuse me." She continued on to the restroom.

Lacey felt terrible for adding to Regina's heartache, but this needed to end. She scrambled up and headed into Danny's room. Her heart hurt as she spied Danny's relaxed, satisfied face. His body was slumped over behind Phoebe, cuddling in a post-coital spooning session.

Danny was rubbing her back lovingly, swirling his hand across the top, down her side, gripping her hip and back up to the top. He repeated the pattern, worshipping Phoebe's body in appreciation of her talents.

"Danny, can we talk?" Lacey ignored Phoebe completely.

Danny buried his face into Phoebe's neck and pressed a kiss there, "Hm?" He side-eyed her casually.

Lacey sighed and folded her arms across her chest. She looked down at her feet. Danny groaned, stretched and rolled onto his back.

"You didn't bring me any coffee?" He joked.

"Danny—" She tried again.

Phoebe rolled off the bed and pulled her prom dress back into place, "I've got you, D. Black?"

"Mmm, yes please!" He smiled at her, "Thank you." His eyes were all over Phoebe.

Regina returned as Phoebe exited.

"Sorry for the rude awakening—" Danny said sweetly to Regina before he sat up and ran his hands through his hair.

"Danny—" Lacey was annoyed that he wasn't paying attention to her.

"Hey, Phoebe and I were talking about heading to Johnny Cakes for brunch, you ladies in?"

"No." They both said with the same energy.

"Really? 'Cause I can be ready in like twenty minutes—" Danny scrambled off the bed and wrapped himself in his sheet.

Regina found a more appropriate set of clothes and slung her dress over her arm before heading for the door, "I'm out. Good luck, Lace. Text me later."

Danny watched as Regina left without a second look his way, "Hey, Reg—" He objected to the inside of his now closed door, "What's her problem?" He was clueless.

Lacey moved to sit on the edge of Danny's bed as she watched him gather clothes, "Danny—"

"I'm taking a shower." He announced and left her sitting there in a frustrated heap. She fell backward and stared up at the stars on the ceiling like she had been when she first woke up.

"Haaayyyy, I have the cof—oh. Where'd he go?" Phoebe deflated as she carried in the coffee cups to an empty room.

"I'll give you three guesses." Lacey snarked.

Phoebe could play catty girl games all day. She set the cups down and plopped into Danny's desk chair, "Let's see, milking a cow?"

Lacey didn't respond.

"No, that's just silly. Homework?!" Phoebe took a big sip of coffee.

"Why are you like this?" Lacey's monotone voice was edged with a hint of absolute sadness.

"What's wrong with you?" Phoebe snapped back.

Lacey closed her eyes and prayed for strength. Danny walked back in and spied what appeared to be a dozing Lacey on his bed.

Phoebe proudly handed Danny the cup of lukewarm coffee, "Here you go!" She beamed.

"Thank you." Danny smiled and leaned forward for a kiss before chugging it down.

Lacey grumbled and sat up just in time to see Danny going in for another kiss. She watched as he held her face and smiled big.

"She just brought you a fucking coffee, Danny. You drink it black for god's sake it's not like it was rocket science!"

"Whoa—" Danny was caught off guard by her sudden jealous outrage.

She felt sick again. Lacey scrambled for Danny's bedside trashcan and threw up much louder than expected.

"Oh my god, Lacey—are you okay?" Danny finally connected with her and came over to assess.

Lacey whimpered into the trashcan and handed it over to him before turning and tucking herself into his bed.

"I need to sleep."

Danny turned back to Phoebe, "Hey, um—"

"You can't go." Phoebe laughed to herself.

"Rain check, okay?"

Phoebe shrugged in defeat, "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Danny watched a frustrated Phoebe walk out without another word, the second woman to do that to him today and he had only been awake for an hour. He sighed and looked over at Lacey lying peacefully in his bed. He walked over and felt her forehead, no fever.

He went to the kitchen, made a quick breakfast for himself and fished a few water bottles from the fridge for Lacey.

"Hey honey!" Karen smiled as she met Danny in the kitchen en route for a coffee refill, "You talk to Lacey yet this morning?"

"Mum, hey. Yes, I have—"

"Good! You had a busy night, I'm glad that's over now—"

"Yeah, it was fun—" Was he missing something?

"Anyway, now that everything is back to normal, I think you need to do something nice for her."

"For who?"

Karen paused mid coffee assembly and turned to look at Danny curiously, "For Lacey." She squinted at him, "Now that you're back together I think maybe some sort of promise ring or a necklace or something—"

"We're back together…." Danny was confused.

They had spoken this morning, but not really. He ran back through the last hour and realized that Lacey had been trying to get his attention and he had blown her off.

"I know, I can't believe it either!" Karen smiled and carried the two cups toward the stairs, "Anyway, think about it okay? We can go shopping together."

Danny nodded, "Two cups, mum?"

"One's for Kyle." She smiled coyly, "Like I told Lacey this morning, we'll be having our spa time for the whole day, don't come looking for me." And with that Karen left him standing there dumbfounded.

"I need to talk to Lacey." He said to himself.

As he crept back into his room his phone began vibrating. He grabbed it and settled into one of his bean bags.

Regina: Hey

Regina: You two talk yet?

He really messed this up, Danny thought to himself. He missed the moment he had been waiting for forever, did Lacey really want him back? He decided to try to glean as much information as possible from Regina, a little white lie wouldn't hurt, not if this meant what he hoped it did.

Danny: We did

Regina: She was so emotional this morning I just wanted to make sure she was alright. She's not answering my texts

Danny: She passed out, still a bit hung over. Why was she so emotional?

Regina: She heard you and Phoebe, you know, waking up

Danny: Oh

Regina: So when are you going to tell everybody?

Danny: I'll let her decide that

Regina: I'm not going to lie, I was struggling this morning too. Last night, it was a lot, but when Lacey told me her plan to ask you out again, I was hurting so much

Danny: Thank you for coming last night, I really did want you there with me. After prom too, you mean a lot to me

Regina: I'm happy for you guys

Danny: Thank you

Regina: You're where you belong

Danny: You're a great person and I'm lucky to have you in my life. I hope we can stay friends?

Regina: I'll keep you around, for now

Danny leaned his head back and took a deep breath. She did want him back. He sat and watched Lacey's sleeping figure, heart filled with so much hope. He couldn't stop the plans his mind laid out for him on behalf of them as a couple again. He was so happy.

"Oh god—" Lacey eventually groaned into Danny's pillow.

Danny hopped up quickly, "Hey baby, how are you feeling?"

"My head is killing me." Lacey rolled over, "Did you just call me baby?" She grumbled.

"I'm sorry—here, you need to drink this." He handed her a bottle of water as she struggled up, "Just sip it."

"Yes, Doctor Desai." Lacey said half irritated, half sincere.

Danny sat with her in silence for what felt like an eternity. How was he going to get her talking again?

"I'm sorry about this morning, I didn't mean to ignore you. You wanted to talk?" Danny held his breath.

"Oh that, yeah, it was just your mom, you know, and Kyle. She told me to tell you they're having a spa day today so leave them alone."

Danny's anxiety flooded every thought just then, she was backing out. He lost her again and he wasn't even supposed to know he was going to get her back.

"Hey lint-licker, don't be so upset about it. I really like them together—" Lacey assumed he was suddenly pale and horrified because of the spa day news.

Danny shrugged, "She seems happy." He said absently.

"Hey where'd Phoebe go? Weren't you headed to brunch?" Lacey took a longer swig of water.

"I took a rain check, wanted to make sure you were okay." He looked into her eyes, begging to be enough for her, begging for her to ask him to be together again.

Lacey smiled a little, "Thanks, D. I'm okay though, you should go, get in on Johnny's buffet before it's all gone."

"Nah, I'm good. I want to be here with you."

"I'm better than Johnny Cake's buffet? Now I know you're lying." Lacey giggled.

"You're better than everything." He was bursting for her.

"That's not what I heard."

Danny scrunched his face up, "What are you talking about?"

"This morning, you know, when you were with Phoebe? I think it was, 'The fucking best I've ever had' something like that—" Lacey raised her eyebrows at him and took another sip.

Danny's head dropped, he played with the frayed edge of his shirt. She was right, he did say that. He would have said anything to anyone who let him stick his dick inside them first thing in the morning. He thought they were alone. What he said, it wasn't the truth, not really.

"Anyway, that's none of my business."

Lacey scooted off Danny's bed and pulled off the clothes she borrowed from him. He watched the body it seemed he'd never touch again pull the green prom dress back on from last night.

"Zip me up?"

Danny stepped closer and pulled her in for a hug. Lacey melted against him but didn't hug back. He procrastinated as long as possible zipping her up. He knew that once she was zipped it meant she'd have no other reason to stay.

"I didn't mean it."

Lacey laughed and pulled back to zip her own damn self up, "Oh no, you definitely meant it, but like I said, it's none of my business."

"I want it to be your business."

"I thought I did too, but I'm happy I slept on it. I know what I need to do now."

Danny braced himself, "What's that?"

"I need to let you go."

Danny's blood pressure shot up through his brain and he was sure he'd stroke out right there in front of her. He gripped her arms in frustration and honestly to keep himself from falling over at the same time.

"Please, Lacey. Please tell me the string of disgusting bullshit that poured out of my hung over, half awake mouth this morning didn't bring you here to this decision."

Lacey shook off his grip and bent down to grab her heels before taking a seat at the foot of Danny's bed. Danny knelt down and took over, helping her strap them back on.

"If you tell me we're on again I'm in this. I'll be faithful, I'll be yours. I promise—" He was panicking.

Lacey smiled down at him, "Do you remember asking me to marry you last night? Twice, actually."

Danny smiled back, "Will you?" His position on his knees making it feel a little more real this time.

Lacey smiled, "Prom was fun, Danny. Not exactly as I imagined it in third grade, but I guess we didn't really know what an orgy was back then so, thanks for exceeding my expectations." They both giggled.

Danny squeezed her ankle as he fastened the last strap, "You didn't answer my question."

"Which was?"

"Marry me. At least be my girlfriend again, please?" He couldn't help the begging.

"Your mouth didn't do this, okay? It's Regina that's having the hardest time, you should talk to her."

"I have. We're good." Danny licked his lips, "Answer me."

"I'm saying no."

Danny's heart shattered, he nodded and bounced back up to his feet. Lacey watched his face turn to steel. He pulled her up gently and pushed his sadness as far down as he possibly could.

He spun her around, "Look at you, Porter. My best friend in this stunning dress."

"Danny—"

"C'mon, I'll bring you home." He left her standing there and headed downstairs.