Blaise returned home shortly after having lunch with Thea.  Even with the sleep she'd gotten and Thea's tea, her bones felt tired and her body protested the short walk to her front door from the car.

            Protesting body or not, Blaise was completely awake, though she wished she could slip back into the glory of unconscious dreaming.  Awake, all she could think about was kissing Nick, the wonder and the tenderness she felt in his arms when they were around her.

            Thea had received an urgent phone call and told Blaise she would have to go somewhere late that evening – around nine.  Blaise had waved her cousin off, saying she was planning on going home soon anyway.  With another round of "thank you"s, she had packed up and Thea drove her home.

            Now that she was there, she desperately wanted to be anywhere but her apartment.  She had nowhere to go, though   - Thea wasn't home - so she sat, unavoidably bored and making her depression worse.  Her mind was playing an infinite loop, making her relive kissing Nick, over and over.  Every touch and every feeling seeming more intense than life's everyday sensations.  Anyone who knew Blaise, or even knew of her, would have been stunned to see her on her couch, a wistful look on her face.

            Thea left her, worried, but knowing she would be okay – if not now, then in an hour when Nick would be knocking on her door.  She smiled to herself in the fading light of day, driving once again to the airport.

            Nick and Diana ate their processed fast food in silence, still feeling a little oddly about their short visit to the diner.  But then, who wouldn't?  Diana dipped a fry into her chocolate milkshake, one of her more disturbing habits in Nick's opinion.

            "Nick," she said as she dug the last fry out of the box, "are you ready for this?"

            "No," Nick answered without hesitation.  Diana looked at him in surprise.  "No, I'm not ready to love someone the way I already love her.  I'm not ready to change my life by adding someone to it.  But, I'm willing to try to get ready."

            Diana nodded, truly impressed by his willingness to work things out with Blaise.  How many times had she seen him disappear into his shell when dealing with girls?  Any girl... And now, here he was, chasing one down because he loved her.  Diana really couldn't wait to call Cassie.

            Nick checked his watch frequently, anxious to get to the airport.  They had asked at the counter how long it would take to get there and the girl had told them to allow at least tow hours with all the traffic on a Friday.  That meant they had to get on their way around five.  It was one.  "One o'clock," he groaned.

            "Oh, come on, Nick, we're in the city, let's explore a bit.  I'm sure there's something we can find to do for a few hours."

            They found something.  An arcade, glowing and flashing with neon lights, loomed ahead of them.  They had exited the McDonald's and just started walking.  The arcade had signs plastered in the windows "Play all day, $10!"  Diana clapped and drug him inside, ignoring his protests that he would just stay outside and smoke.  "Not for three hours, you aren't.  Come on," and she tugged him over the threshold of the door.

            "Diana, it's an arcade... I hate video games."

            Too bad, I'm buying, let's go," she kept a tight grip on his arm and took him to the counter where Diana paid for two all-day tokens.

            "This really isn't my idea of a good time," Nick said, even as she was hauling him to the Jurassic Park shooter.

            She grabbed up the red gun and he reluctantly took the blue.  Taking a few hesitant shots at the approaching velociraptor, he found out his aim wasn't all that bad.  In fact, they sat long enough to defeat the entire game.  By the time they finished, Nick was acting like a normal person in an arcade, yelling and whooping when something good happened and swearing when he got hit.

            Diana just sat back and laughed at him, glad he was having a good time.  When the victory screen popped up and the credits started to roll, the small audience around them clapped and they retreated from the game, returning the guns to the bolted-on holsters.

            "Thanks, Diana.  Shooting something to bits was just what I needed."  Diana nodded in agreement.

            "I know."

            Nick smiled and checked his watch: 4:45.  "Diana, it's time to go!  Let's get back to the car."  He nearly dragged her down the sidewalk of two city blocks, back to the parking garage.

            "All right, all right," gasping to keep up.

            Diana and Nick crawled back into the car and they were on their way to LaGuardia.

            Thea parked close to where she had been to get Blaise and hurried into the terminal, looking at the light board to find the gate number.  She had a few minutes before the plane taxied to the jet way.  She stopped off at Starbuck's and ordered a tall mocha with a shot of raspberry syrup, then moved on to the gate.  Once again, she sat in the uncomfortable plastic chairs and played the waiting game.  This time, a makeshift welcome sign bearing the name "Nick" was lying in her lap.  When people started to flow through the gate, she stood, holding the sign in one hand, the coffee cup in the other.  She felt silly displaying the sign with his name, like some kind of limo driver, but others were doing the same, so she smiled, hoping for a good first impression.