A/N: hihi everyone. Lady Swathi wrote this part. We're taking turns. Hope you like it. REVIEW!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed our first chapter... now go do it again. We really like reviews!



Disclaimer: No, surprisingly the characters and settings do not belong to us. They belong to Tamora Pierce... you know the drill.



"Shh, Neal. We can't talk here." She grabbed him by his arm and dragged him through the hallways, until they reached her room again. She put her key in it, opened the door, and walked in. Once inside, she let go of him.

"Sit." He sat. As soon as she had taken her seat across from him, he tried to talk again.

"Dai-"

"Wait, Neal. Before you say anything, do you remember last night? At all?"

Neal leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head and grinning. "Last night? I remember that I finally coaxed you to come out of your room for a bit of fun. We went into town and drank. And that's all I remember. I hope you didn't have to drag me all the way home, my head is still pounding." The corners of his eyes crinkled as he frowned. "Why? What's the matter?"

Daine bit her lip, and put her head in her hands. Steeling herself, she raised her head and looked Neal straight in the eye. "Neal, I got drunk as well last night. For maybe the second time in my life. And unlike you," she stopped and sighed. "Unlike you, I remember exactly what happened. Maybe a bit too well."

Neal stared at Daine. It was obvious he was very confused from the puzzled look in his eyes. "I don't understand, Daine."

Daine took a deep breath, and leaned forward, clenching the arms of the chair she was sitting in. She had to tell him. It was now or never. "Neal, last night we went home together. And, er, that is, we went, ahem, back up to your room. Both of us." She finished her sentence very quietly, her voice trailing away into nothing.

Neal leaned forward, brought up his hand to his ear, and rubbed it vigorously. "Did you say we went up to my room? The two of us?" Daine nodded miserably. Neal closed his eyes. "So that means, that we….well, you know." Daine nodded again, leaning back. Neal opened his eyes. "Yuki will kill me." He was grinning again.

Daine stared at him, and was certain her jaw was touching the floor. "What in Mithros's name is so funny?"

Neal was laughing now, and couldn't stop. "I can't…help…it. The…two of us! When I was younger, I used to dream about that!"

Daine stood up, livid. "Neal, are you still drunk? Have your senses dimmed? WE HAD SEX! And both of us have significant others!"

Neal took a deep breath and stopped laughing. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I think I was having an hysterical reaction. I think we will just have to explain ourselves and tell the truth to Yuki and Numair. In every philosophy book I've read, the writer always says it is best to tell the truth."

Daine sat back down, glad he had stopped laughing for the time being. But at this moment, that wasn't the least of her problems. "It's not that easy," she said, playing with the edge of her tunic.

Neal's brows furrowed together. "Why not? I'm not guaranteeing that they'll be pleased, but I'm sure they'll understand. Though I bet Yuki won't ever let me out of the house again," he mused.

Daine was sure she was blushing, but it had to be said so that Neal could understand the gravity of the situation. "Neal." She stopped, not sure how to voice what she wanted to say.

"What is it, Daine?" He paled. "I didn't get you pregnant, did I?"

Daine almost laughed out loud. "No!"

Neal let out his breath. "Thank the Goddess. What is it then?"

Daine focused back on her hands. "Mithros help me, Neal. Last night was," she took a deep breath and continued, "my first time."

Neal's eyebrows shot up, and he paled again. "You mean you hadn't consummated your relationship with Numair yet?"

"I didn't feel ready! And then you come hopping along with the promise of a good time, get me drunk, and make me fair forget Numair! I wanted him to be the one!" She was ashamed as she felt a tear leak out of her eye.

Neal saw the tear, stood up, and strode across to her. "Oh Gods, Daine, I never meant for it to happen," he said, pulling her into him.

"What will Numair say?" Daine leaned into him as more tears started to crawl down her face.

Neal affectionately kissed the top of her head. "Daine, it will be all right. You'll see."

Daine didn't want him to be so nice to her. She wanted someone to yell at her for the horrible thing she had done. Unprepared by his comforting, she let the tears flow readily.

Neal rocked her back and forth, unsure at what to do. He felt her shudder a couple of times, and then she was silent. He pulled back to look at her, and she let out a yawn. "I feel so tired," she said dully. "It must be a side effect of Alanna's hangover cure."

Neal nodded solemnly. "Then you should sleep, Daine." He slid his arms under her and lifted her up easily as she gave no resistance. He carried her to her bed and put her down.

"Sweet dreams, Wildmage," he said softly. She muttered something in response, and rolled over. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, and continued walking until he was out of Daine's quarters altogether. As he walked down the dark hall, he kept his eyes on the floor, trying to puzzle out the consequences of last night's actions.

A cheery voice interrupted his reverie. "Good afternoon, Neal." Neal looked up, and felt the blood rush out of his face. Chuckling, the voice answered, "Yes, I know it's a surprise, but it turned out I wasn't needed so badly after all. So, I'm back." Waiting for a response from Neal, and realizing there wasn't going to be one, he continued. "Well, I must be going now. I'll see you another time." The owner of the voice waved, and continued down the hallway.

Neal finally found his voice. "Yes, another time, Numair."