"You know… I am a grown up," Cassie said after a moment.

Ian looked over at her, and his gaze lingered a moment longer than it would have if the truck had been moving.

"I've noticed." He said, making her blush because it sure sounded like a compliment, even though there wasn't any of the invitation in his voice that there was whenever River tossed her – or someone else – a compliment. "Why do you mention it, though?"

"Because I can take care of myself."

He nodded.

"I'm sure you can." Coming from her mother it would have sounded patronizing, and would have caused Cassie to immediately bristle. From Ian, it didn't. But it also didn't sound complete. It was obvious he had more to say, so she gave him the opening.

"But…?"

"But you're my responsibility right now, and that means I get to look out for you, too."

He pulled the truck back out into traffic, and Cassie couldn't help but smile. Not that she needed him to look out for her, but the fact that he'd admitted that he wanted to made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She reached out and put her hand on his leg again, only hesitating because she wasn't sure if he'd allow her to leave it there. He didn't exactly smile, but his features softened noticeably.

"Crazy woman…" he murmured, and to her delight he put his hand over hers, intertwining his fingers with hers loosely – in case he needed to put his hand on the steering wheel for something – but firmly enough that they actually were holding hands.

Cassie's cheeks went just a little red, and she felt a happy surge go through her as they drove back to her house. Asshole or not, he was perfect as far as she was concerned, and she was right where she wanted to be.

OOOOOO

There was only one car in the driveway when Ian pulled the truck up to her house a bit later. Emmett's car was gone, but the house was dark, with only the porch light on. It was almost seven – and nearly dark – but it looked like Janet was either gone, or had gone to bed. Cassie noticed, too.

"Mom must be off with Emmett somewhere." She said as she opened the door of the truck before Ian could get out and come around and do it for her. She didn't want him to think that he had to do it all the time – although she loved it when he did. He got out of the truck and walked with her to the door, listening to her dog bark on the other side.

"Maybe she went to bed early…"

"At seven?"

He shrugged and watched as Cassie unlocked the door, then bent to greet her dog, who was jumping enthusiastically and trying to lick her and Ian at the same time.

"You never know…"

Ian caught up the dog, giving Cassie a chance to go inside without being mauled. That was the benefit of a smaller dog than a lab; you could simply pick them up if they got annoying. She turned once she was through the door.

"Aren't you coming in?"

He shook his head.

"If your mom's not home, it'd look bad if I was here when she-"

"It'd look worse if there was a stranger in the house waiting for you to leave me alone…" She interrupted.

Ian snorted, knowing that her dog wouldn't be hanging out at the door waiting for her if there was someone in the house that didn't belong there, but he stepped through the door and closed it, putting her dog on the floor once more.

Cassie turned on the light in the hallway, and they both spotted the note on the bulletin board next to the hall entranceway. Cassie grabbed it, and read it aloud.

"Went out to dinner with Emmett, call me when you get in…"

She smiled, looking at him.

"See? I told you she wasn't in bed."

He shrugged, willing to let her be right. Once.

"You'd better call her," he said. "I'll go make sure there's no one hiding in the house and waiting for me to leave you alone…"

He headed into the kitchen, with her dog right behind him. Yup, there wasn't anyone in there. Just for the hell of it, he walked down the hall towards the bedrooms, watching the dog who was walking beside him, watching him to see what he was doing. The dog didn't seem to think there was anyone in the house, so Ian walked back to the living room, and saw Cassie was on the phone, obviously talking to her mom.

He leaned against the back of the sofa watching her, but she hung up only a moment later.

"Mom's on her way home."

"Good." He didn't like the idea of her being home alone – even though she was a grownup and well able to take care of herself. "There's no one in your house, so I'm going to head back to Jack's."

"Will I see you again before you go back to school?" She asked him as he stood up. She placed herself between him and the door, so he had to stop.

He had a lot on his plate just then, but he had to admit that he liked the idea of another visit before the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas – and he wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do for Christmas, so he might not be able to see her then.

"Unless something comes up, I'll call you tomorrow," he told her, reaching for her hand, and pulling her a little closer, to her delight. He put his hand under her chin, tilting her head up, and he brushed a soft kiss against her lips.

Cassie's breath caught in her chest at the contact, but he pulled away after only a moment, his dark eyes on hers, watching her reaction. She smiled, and squeezed his hand – wishing that her mom wasn't on her way home just then. She definitely wouldn't have minded another hour of kisses like that – although she was pretty sure Ian had no intention of sticking around that long or doing anything more than that one kiss.

"Thanks for coming to the movies, Cassandra."

"You're welcome."

She walked him to the door, and leaned against it, watching while he walked back to the truck and got in. He didn't wave or anything as he started it, but he did look her way once more as he backed out of the driveway, and Cassie sighed, kneeling down and cuddling her dog. River who?