A/N: I'm putting a little thank you note here, instead of below or on the next chapter as usual. I didn't want to...interrupt any sort of flow. Miss Nori and Miss Ruthless, thank you for the constant and unending support. Mrs Tall Blonde and Dead, Princessnerra, crimsonsky123 and RosesrrRed45, I'm so glad you've stuck with me for so long! And JakkiSukaru - thank you, thank you, thank you! You're all genuinely wonderful and I appreciate you all so very much. I hope the next chapters hit the spot. Things are definitely progressing. I have a very distinct end goal ahead and I love the guesses! Big things will happen, there's no doubt about it. Have a wonderful week ahead, wherever you are!

"That was good grub, thanks Mom" Sammy said, adjusting his seat belt a little, "I didn't think Santa Carla could do more than fast food but that was really decent. I liked it. I think I like it here, there's definitely potential. It's not all greasy diners, huh?"

Really decent.

Elizabeth smothered her grin, it was such an underwhelming compliment but it seemed fitting and highly complimentary coming from Sammy's mouth.

He wasn't be factitious about it, either. It had been a really nice dinner, the atmosphere had been good, the food had been nice, the company great.

Plus, she had asserted her strength and authority with Paul and that felt amazing. She felt like his equal and his smile had lifted her spirits, knowing that he liked her matching him was so incredibly satisfying.

Sammy didn't know, of course, but it certainly added a special element to her own opinions of the night.

She felt amazing, really in control of herself and her thoughts.

Elizabeth felt empowered, stronger than she had ever been it was a feeling she liked.

"It was lovely, sweetie" Lucy murmured, sounding like she wasn't listening in the slightest.

Elizabeth found herself ready to agree and reply because dinner really had been a nice affair and she was in a really good mood, even with him ordering for the table at large, but she paused.

She wasn't quite sure she wanted to humor him just at that moment, bundled in the back and cold as she was.

He had called shot gun about two minutes into dessert - forever thinking ahead - and he was currently comfortably sat right in front of the vents, having adjusted all of them so they blew warm air onto his face.

"Could I get some heat back here?" Elizabeth asked mildly instead, staring out of her window at the pouring rain.

A crack of thunder had preceded the downpour, just as everyone's mains had been delivered to the table. For a second, a hush had fallen over the restaurant as people took the change of weather in. It had been funny, almost, the way silence had descended before idle conversation picked right back up.

The rain wasn't light and it looked like it wasn't going to stop any time soon, either.

When it had started to fall, both she and Lucy had shared a secretive, happy smile, their grins becoming even wider as Sammy started to complain. He didn't share their poetic view of the storm. He hadn't wanted his sneakers to get wet and that particular conversation dominated almost the entirety of their main course and dessert.

In the end, Lucy had driven the car right up to the restaurant while both Elizabeth and Sammy had waited. Their mother's skirt had been wet and damp, the shoes she was wearing stained dark but thanks to the umbrella she always kept, she was generally fine. After all, rain didn't kill people. Elizabeth had pointed that out to Sammy but in all fairness to him, he had been somewhat right to be concerned about his footwear.

"Bundle up more, sucker" he replied simply with a smile, catching her eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Sam, share the heat please" Lucy commanded, driving slowly and carefully.

She sounded distracted and her eyes were narrowed, focused on the road.

"Of course, of course" he replied easily and graciously, pretending to fiddle with the vents, "hey, should I tell the Frog Brothers to bring anything for dinner?"

"Their best behavior?" Elizabeth quipped dryly, unimpressed that her younger brother had managed to snag an invite for the two clowns.

Why should they be present at the family dinner? The first time Lucy introduced her boyfriend to the family, those idiots would be sitting there. Probably causing a ruckus or stuffing their face with the food, leaving nothing for the others.

She was glad that Lucy had found the confidence to talk to Sammy about Max, she was even happier that he'd been nice and open to the idea but The Frog brothers?

Really?

Of all people, why them!?

"You hate them, don't you?" Sammy laughed at the same time as she spoke.

"I don't hate them I just...I think they're hard work..." she returned, embarrassed that he'd managed to call her out so perfectly.

"You hate them. I knew you wouldn't wanna meet them. You're so predictable, Liz"

"Oh please, I'm not predictable! They're hard work, OK?"

"Of course you are"

"I'm not?"

She noticed that he didn't comment on the difficulties of being friends with the two boys and had instead waded into what he thought he could actually defend.

"Got your dinner order right, didn't I?"

He had. He'd got it spot on except for the fact that, "I was going to get the fries, actually"

"But you loved the sweet potato mash, right?"

She bit her lip, looking out the window once more.

Again, he was right.

She did kind of hate the Frog Brothers and she had loved the mash. It was so creamy, kind of sweet but savory and it just seemed to work so well with the thick, juicy hamburger patty. She would have never, ever thought to pair them together and she would have never thought to cook it at home, either.

His choice was far better than fries.

He'd actually done her a favor in ordering for her and he knew it. It was kind of infuriating though undeniably delicious.

"I knew you would! Predictable. I just knew you'd like the mash more. Annnnd I know that you're gonna go home, change into your ugly old pajamas and read a book in bed. No shower, no cocoa. Early night for you, as usual. P-R-E-D-""

"-I had chocolate cake for dessert" she said, interrupting him, "I don't need cocoa on top of that and I showered this morning. That's just common sense, that doesn't make me predictable"

"Kinda does" he said and, as she caught his eyes in the mirror once more she saw that he was smiling widely.

"You're a moose"

He laughed, "and you're easy. I know just how to push your buttons. So! Mom, my guests?"

"Have them bring their manners" Lucy confirmed, still squinting at the road ahead, her shoulders kind of hunched over the wheel.

She was fully and totally concentrating on driving safely, she probably hadn't been paying any attention to them.

"Why'd you invite them anyway?" Elizabeth asked, wondering what Dwayne was doing.

Did the boys still go out in the rain? Did they ride their bikes? Had Paul left his girl or was he still there, soaking wet and wild on the boardwalk?

He shifted in his seat a little, "Eh. I spend all my time at theirs, I figured it was about time again, you know?"

"You didn't see them today?" she confirmed.

She'd been up in her room for most of the day, thinking about Dwayne. That's literally all she had done. Thought and mused and contemplated and made a plan of exactly what was going to happen.

She'd planned everything perfectly.

She was going to tell him everything, show him and prove to him that she was there without doubt or question.

She was going to show him that she was there for him no matter what and that he could trust her.

He could be himself with her.

After a morning of doing nothing more than that, she had ambled down for a small lunch and while nobody had been milling around the house, she had heard Sammy in his own room and knew he hadn't been out.

Still, she hadn't gone to sit with him.

She had been too busy with her thoughts.

Thinking about her future.

Thinking, thinking, thinking.

Even now, she was thinking but she was starting to feel nervously excited, too. Sammy was right, she was going straight to bed but she wasn't going to read and she sure as hell wasn't going to sleep.

She was going to be waiting for Dwayne.

It all started tonight.

A clean slate.

"Nah, they said they were busy? I phoned them but no dice..." he sounded almost disbelieving, "...busy. Doing what I have no idea but they can't hang with me tomorrow, either"

"Huh?"

"I said they're not free tomorrow"

"Oh...that's weird? Why?"

"No idea! Clean your ears, already. They just said busy, didn't really go into any detail"

Elizabeth felt a little bad for him all of a sudden. It sucked going from having his friends and his routine and then being suddenly solo, "oh..do you think they're so busy that they can't make it for dinner?"

"It's free food. No such luck for you, Liz. They'll definitely be down, I'll phone them tomorrow to check"

"Not tonight?"

"Nah, I'm bushed. That pasta was so carby"

"Hey, Sam. Quick fire: what's worse? Being impossible or predictable?" Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head.

"Ha-

"-alrighty then! I'm just gonna pull up right to the steps, OK Sammy? Save your sneakers"

Both Elizabeth and Sam looked at their mother, surprised that they were home already, surprised by her interruption.

It had almost felt like they were alone in the car.

"You too, Liz. Hop out!"

"I can wait while you park, I don't care about my shoes? It's just a little rain, not like it's going to hurt me"

Sam tutted at the disregard she was showing for her clothes but it felt kind of mean that Lucy was going it alone. Why should she get wet just so they could be marginally comfortable? They were going right to bed, anyway. So what if their clothes got a little damp?

"Thanks sweetheart but I'm parking right here. I'll be gone before your grandpa is back tomorrow morning, anyway" Lucy cut the engine, leaving the car parked awkwardly, right in front of the porch, "it's not like the car will be in his way"

She'd even turned so Sammy's side was closest to the steps, "let's run together"

"Where is he? With his Widow?" Sammy asked, unbuckling his belt and frowning over at the porch. It wouldn't be a mad dash for him but a bit of damp sneaker was looking like an inevitability.

"No, no. He's fishing, of all things! Camping out tonight. Said he loves being in a tent when it rains...though he'll be seeing her tomorrow. It's written on the calendar, sugar. Don't you ever check it?"

"What calendar?"

"Under the wolf's head. Sammy, that's where I put my work schedule, too. Have you really never looked?"

"Oh. Didn't realize it was there" Sammy shook his head, "whatever. Come on. On three...one, two-"

"-three!" Lucy and Elizabeth finished, all three of the Emersons screaming and laughing as they launched themselves from the car, doors slamming loudly behind them.

Their laughter continued as they sprinted up the wet and slippery stairs to the safety of the porch, Nanook's excited yapping greeting their ears over the downpour.

"Nanook!" Sammy said sounding equally excited, hovering close to his mother as she started to open the door. She was still giggling as she fiddled with her keys and Sammy himself seemed elated, "this is so great, he can sleep in my bed tonight!"

"You've missed him?" Elizabeth asked, smiling as she patted herself down, "doesn't he breathe all over your face while you sleep?"

"He's my best boy, of course I missed him! He doesn't have bad breath...not so much, anyway..."

"Well, your Grandpa likes him too" Lucy said, glancing down at her son.

Sammy was already speaking in a cooey kind of high pitched doggy voice and both the women grinned at him.

As the door opened, Sammy darted in.

He ran straight to his dog, loudly oohing and aawing and Nanook seemed equally thrilled to see his master, jumping up and covering him in big, wet, slimy kisses.

It was nice that they were reunited, recently it seemed that the dog spent all his time with Grandpa but still. Elizabeth he had better things to do, to prepare for. She didn't want to watch her brother french kiss his dog.

"I'm going to head up" Elizabeth said, shaking her head with a grin, "I don't wanna see this"

"My best boy! My buddy!"

"I don't want to hear it" Lucy laughed as Sammy planted a smacker of a kiss on Nanook's head, "are you coming back down?"

"Mmm probably not?" Elizabeth said with a shake of her head.

She was planning on sitting on her bed and waiting for Dwayne.

"OK well sweet dreams and be good tomorrow, OK? No parties"

"Hah I'll see. You know me, my social life is so wild...but uh, same goes for you, OK Mom? No...wild parties..."

Lucy grinned, her eyes twinkling, "good night, sweetie..."

"Night. Night Sammy?"

Her brother said nothing, still lavishing hugs and kisses on the dog.

She shook her head and headed towards the stairs, not noticing as Nanook tensed and bristled as she passed him.

"Nanook? NanooK? Buddy-hey-OH! Ohhhh! There we go, there's my good boy!"

Shaking her head but feeling happy, Elizabeth headed to the bathroom.

She was intending to brush her teeth, sort herself out with a brief wash and then head up to her room.

She planned to spend the whole evening there, locked away and waiting but she paused by the bathroom door, seeing a paper bag plopped right outside the stairway to the attic.

It was a simple brown bag but there was a little bit of pink tissue sticking out of it.

It hadn't been there when she left?

She smothered her smile, approaching it cautiously.

Dwayne?

Was he there, waiting up in her room?

Heart fluttering, she crouched down and peeked inside, brushing away the tissue paper as she did.

White fabric? Lace?

"What did you do?" she whispered to herself, scooping her hands into the bag and pulling out what turned out to be a night dress.

She smiled as she shook it out, standing tall.

It was long with lace detailing around the bust followed by a line of dainty little buttons. There were two straps though they were relatively thin. All in all, it was kind of old fashioned, though the straps did add a level of modernity to it.

It felt soft and it looked thin but the fabric had a bit of something to it, some kind of feel that she couldn't quite place.

Whatever the design or material, it was pretty, very simple but it was beautiful because of it. Old timey clothes kind of had that vibe about them and Elizabeth pursed her lips in thought.

It was lovely but at the same time, it was a very odd offering.

There was an attempt to make the gown kind of youthful but it did have an old-fashioned feel to it that she just couldn't shake off.

It was wholesome and practical, not sexy or sultry.

She looked down in confusion and saw that here was a note in the bag, too.

The dress didn't feel like it would come from him, not at all but followed by a note?

Notes weren't his style, either. A t-shirt left near her pillow or a piece of his jewelry was.

It just didn't feel like Dwayne.

She picked up the folded paper, reading it to herself.

"Lizzie. This is from Ms Johnson. It's thermal. Doesn't seem like much to me but she said you'll be toastier than a marshmallow in a s'more. Be safe, kiddo. Blankets in the cupboard if you need them"

There wasn't a signature but she recognized Grandpa's scrawl and while she feel an odd rush of disappointment that Dwayne hadn't been, she felt warmed by the gesture. It was so thoughtful and sweet and knowing that Grandpa had mentioned her to his girlfriend felt special. It was also kind of cute that when pen went to paper, he called her by her name, rather than the family nickname of The Widow.

If she was meeting Max, she wouldn't feel annoyed at meeting Grandpa's special friend, either.

She would actually welcome it.

It was nice, it made her happy to know that her mother and her grandfather had found happiness.

She smiled, looking down at the nightgown in her hands before heading back down the corridor and into the bathroom.

She had a lot to be thankful and grateful for and, when she finally made it up to her bedroom she was comfortable dressed in her present. Her shoulders and arms were cold but the length of her body felt kind of snug, so perhaps the dress was thermal?

She was glad for it, the rain and wind was absolutely relentless and the chill of the night seemed to permeate the house.

It actually made her feel kind of cosy, snuggled into herself while the wind and rain relentlessly pounded the brick and wood outside.

She sat down on the end of her bed, making sure to keep her eyes on the closed window, watching as the rain bounced off the glass panel.

She smiled.

It had been a good day.

It was going to be a good night, too.

She sighed.

"Hurry up..." she whispered to the night, simply waiting and listening to the pattering outside. She took a breath, sighing gently once more...

Waiting had never been so difficult.