Disclaimer: Puh-leeze! I seriously DO NOT OWN THEM!!

Dan's POV

It was in my office, sitting there doing paperwork, that I realized it. As I glanced over to Zoe who had insisted that we work in my office because the garbage never got dumped in hers and it smelled in there, I realized she wouldn't need me the way that she had when she was in that crisis mode.

Things were back to normal for her, maybe even better than normal.

That night, I got a phone call at home. I glanced at the clock. 1:27 a.m. Who the hell would be calling at this hour?

"Hello?"

"Hey, I knew you'd still be up. Could I come over?"

Zoe was far too cheery for this hour of the morning.

"Sure. But... why?"

"I saw you out of the corner of my eye just gazing at me today. I have a feeling we need to talk after what happened at the hospital."

"Really, Zoe, I am completely fine. It's 1:30 in the morning. Go back to sleep."

"I'm actually downstairs. Buzz me in."

"Arrghh!"

A minute and a half later, Zoe rushed through the unlocked door. Throwing her coat on a nearby chair, she was soon beside me on the couch.

"Dan, I am not exactly sure what happened at the hospital, but it was big. You haven't forgotten it and neither have I. I guess I was completely scared about my whole family thing."

I wasn't sure what to say.

"I love you, Zoe."

When she turned pale, I realized I had just said that recurring thought out loud to her.

"I... I... I have to go." Zoe whispered.

"Zoe wait! Don't go. It doesn't really matter. We don't have Sophia to help us this time. Forget what I said. We can't let this come between us. Not again."

She had stopped now. She turned to me.

"Dan, I had those same feelings, but I also have the kids, now. Taylor loves the idea, but what about the other two?" tears surfaced in her eyes.

"Look, if you want to try this... us... I would be so happy. I understand. We are going to have to take it slow. You have been through one relationship gone sour since you moved back here. I saw how you looked at me and Candy when we were together. We broke up because she could see how I love you and you are her best friend. She cares about you as much as I do, Zo."

She was sobbing, now. She picked up her jacket and headed out the door.

I sat down on the couch and rubbed my temples. It was now 1:35.

At precisely 1:41, there was a knock on my door. As I got up to answer it, I finally noticed how hard it was raining. I opened the door to a very wet, sobbing Zoe. I put my arms around her and she whispered in my ear, "Taking it slow sounds good."

I laughed, literally picking her up a foot off the ground and swinging her around in a circle.

We sat down on the couch and she was starting to shiver. I went in to my room and found an old pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. While I threw her clothes in the dyer, she asked where the wine glasses were. I came out and found my favorites, and a very expensive bottle of wine.

Zoe's POV

Dan had a certain innocent look about him that made me love him all the more. Wait. Did I just say... I mean think, LOVE?! What is happening to me? I have always had the chance to be with him before, and once, I almost crossed the line, on a case! I knew that I was falling in love with that adorable boyish face when we were on that case where we had to share a hotel room. The way he looked at me when we lay on that freshly made bed was... well all I know was that I liked the way he looked at me.

Dan handed me a glass of wine and smiled at me.

"Okay. If we are going to go through with this, it'll be really slow for the first while. Taylor will be so happy about the idea, and I'm sure Hannah will be fine with it, but it's Cliff I'm worried about. He took Sue's death the hardest. It was also his teacher and coach I was dating last. And to tell you the truth, you have barely met him. If we are going to move things along with us, you are going to have to spend a heck of a lot of time with me and the kids. Try to get through to Cliff. He is also a twelve almost thirteen year old boy. He needs a man around as a role model. And I would appreciate if it wasn't Marcos."

"Well, if it means I have a chance with you, I'll spend as much time as I can with you guys."

I thought then. If Dan came into my life like this, it would be like having a real family. Marcos had spent time with the kids and I, but it was over dinner, at school, or just briefly with the kids. I was going to have to break the icebergs that would be in the way of Dan and Cliff being at all close. That was what I was worried about.

At 2:30, Dan and I crawled into his bed. Right now, all I wanted was Dan close to me, so we fell asleep.

Dan's POV

When Zoe asked if she could spend the night, I knew that she just needed someone close. She often puts on this 'tough girl I can take care of myself' show. Underneath, she cries.

I didn't start to get tired until about 3:45, so I just watched her sleep. It was a fretful sleep. At 2:57, Zoe started to yell and scream in a dream. I listened to what she said.

"No, Sue! Don't die! Taylor, Cliff, Hannah! Don't let me die! Hannah! I'll try to live! Dan! Help! The accident is going to kill me! Dan! Help!"

I tried to wake her, but the terror just continued. Finally, she sat straight up in bed and was sobbing.

"Zoe, Zoe, shh, shh. It was just a dream, okay?"

After she had calmed down a bit, she began explaining the dream.

"First, I see Sue dying on the operating table, and I'm asking her to stop and to live, not to die. All of a sudden, the kids are in a car accident and are all dying, and I beg them not to die. After that, it's me. I am in my car and it is crunched. You are there, in your car. You get out and try and save me. You are holding me and wiping a lot of blood from my head and all over my body. I am in pain. Then, as things start to fade, I hear the ambulance in the distance, yet it is right there. Then I am dead. That's when I wake up."

I held her in a hug for the rest of the night. She slept soundly, now, without any nightmares. I now truly believed that we could make it as a couple. As for becoming like a father to the kids, well that would take some time. I was not the best with kids, especially suffering ones. Hopefully I could do it. Zoe needed me to. And I just knew I could. One day, we would be a family. All five of us.