Disclaimer: Rebecca and Kathryn Lennox are mine...all mine! (insert evil laugh here). Unfortunate as it is I own nothing else (well I do own the plot but I really don't give a rats behind if someone wants to copy it...not that much of a plot anyways). Cinderella belongs to The Brothers Grimm (or possibly Disney, I'm not really sure anymore) and the song Bippity Boppity Boo belongs to Disney...I think...I own neither okay? Let's just go with that.
A/N: I am so totally making this story up as I go along which is kind of drawing out my updates. I write about a paragraph per night and in a four page chapter it takes a while and I'm balancing this with another story I'm writing (CSI: NY). I hope y'all are enjoying what I've got so far!
A/N 2: Okay class let's say it together – FLUFF – that's right...F-L-U-F-F. As an adjective it is FLUFFY as in "This chapter is going to be very fluffy". I'll try to avoid saccharine sweetness but I have the strongest urge to write fluff!
A/N3: Oh muse where art thou?
Dan relaxed as Zoe's hand rubbed distracted circles on his back. He leaned back onto the bed and pulled her with him, holding her close. His hands moved through her hair gently, lulling her into relaxing and temporarily relieving her fears about Taylor.
"Dan?" she asked quietly. He looked into her eyes and Zoe slowly moved so her face was level with his, her eyes flickering back and forth from his mouth to his eyes as she moved in to kiss him. Dan's hands moved to cup her face as her lips met his, sending waves of pleasure through her body. Zoe shifted her body so she was straddling his thighs, her hands roaming across his chest, whimpering softly in disappointment when she felt his hands leave her face and hair. She frowned as he pulled away from her, "What's wrong Dan?" she reached out and caressed his cheek.
"Zoe..." Dan sighed as he looked into her eyes, "you're upset, I'm upset, do you really think we should be doing this?" he gestured to their somewhat compromising position. Zoe stiffened and moved off of him and returned to her side of the bed, pulling the blankets up around her and keeping her back to Dan to hide the tears of rejection that flowed down her face. "Zoe? Oh honey don't be upset..." Dan reached out and rubbed her back, feeling her muscles tense under his touch. He thought he detected some other kind of movement from her and it took him a moment to realize that her shoulders were shaking with quiet sobs. He tried to move closer to her, only to have her get up from bed and walk out of the room. Zoe descended the stairs softly before collapsing to the couch and allowing the sobs to overtake her. She heard the stairs protest softly as Dan walked down them, making his way over to her and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders before sitting down beside her with his arms around her.
"Just stop pretending Dan. You don't want me...I get it. You don't have to pretend like this is just bad timing and when it all blows over you'll be here waiting to love me." Zoe spoke through her tears, trying to pull away from Dan as he whispered into her ear,
"Oh Zoe...how could you ever think I don't want you? Not only are you absolutely gorgeous, you have an incredible personality and a big heart, I mean not many people would forgive me for what I did. I love you Zoe, and I just want you to be absolutely sure that you aren't going to regret anything we do because I don't think I could live with myself if I knew I'd forced you to do something you didn't want to. You're emotional right now...I need to be sure that you won't hate me in the morning."
"How do you always know just what to say?" Zoe smiled at him as he gently wiped the tears from her face.
"C'mon, let's get back to bed," Dan stood up and offered her his hand, and they walked back up the stairs, Zoe pausing to check on each of the kids before joining Dan in her room.
"Dan," Zoe took a deep breath to steady herself as she walked across the floor to join him on the bed. "I won't regret anything in the morning," her voice dropped to an almost inaudible whisper, and she refused to meet Dan's eyes. She jumped slightly when she felt his hand under her chin, tilting her face up so he could look into her eyes,
"You're sure Zoe?" She smiled and nodded as he leaned in to kiss her.
Zoe awoke to Dan's hand drawing lazy patterns on her bare back and her body pressed cozily against his. She tilted her head and managed to glimpse the clock, groaning softly when she saw the bright LED light glowing 2:41am. Dan woke as he felt her stir "Hey beautiful, what're you doing awake?" he kissed the top of her head. Zoe's breath caught in her throat at the realization that she was naked, as was Dan and she was sore in some places that she hadn't been sore in for quite a while. She willed herself to relax, she loved Dan, and he loved her, she hadn't done anything wrong. She felt Dan's hand still on her back and she realized that her lack of response was making him nervous.
"Hey yourself," she whispered, scooting up to kiss him before snuggling back under the blanket.
"You're regretting this already, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question.
"No! Never...It's just going to take some getting used to," Zoe tilted her head to look at him, her fingers tracing patterns on his chest.
"I love you, Zoe. Never doubt that."
"Show me..."
Zoe yawned and stretched out, wincing at her sore muscles. She lifted her head off of Dan's chest long enough to check the time, 8:58am, before nestling back against him as he stirred beneath her. "Hey," she whispered, "kids are gonna be up soon."As if on cue there was the distinct sounds of a child's footfalls descending the stairs followed by two more sets. Zoe yawned once again before rolling out of the bed, pausing to scoop her pyjamas up off the floor and slip back into them. She turned to find Dan gazing at her appreciatively, rolling her eyes she threw his pyjamas at him, "Up and dressed mister, I don't want the kids coming in and finding you like this," she gestured to the sheet barely covering his body. As he rose and dressed Zoe caught herself staring at him and butterflies made their way into her stomach, flitting around nervously. She had no time to contemplate the sudden appearance of the butterflies because at that moment she heard a crash from the kitchen and she raced down the stairs, Dan following on her heels. The couple burst into the kitchen finding the three kids standing in a cloud of pancake mix, a shattered mixing bowl on the floor.
"Sorry Aunt Zoe," Cliff apologised, "we just wanted to make breakfast."
"We'll clean it up," Taylor volunteered.
"That's okay, I don't want you guys getting hurt by the glass, go watch some tv and I'll clean this up and make breakfast." The three children traipsed out of the kitchen, Hannah scooping up a book from the couch and asking Dan,
"Mr. Lennox will you read a story with me?"
"I've gotta help your Aunt Zoe clean up Hannah, how about after breakfast?" Hannah's face fell, a small pout forming until Zoe said,
"It's okay Dan, you've done so much already, I'll do this." Zoe smiled at his reaction to the slight stress she placed on her words. Dan followed Hannah to the table and pulled her up into his lap.
"So kiddo what are we reading?" Dan leaned over the little girl's shoulder to see the title of the book, A Compilation of the Very Best Fables and Fairytales.
"Can you read me Cinderella? It's my favourite!" Hannah opened the book to the correct page without even looking, the spine cracked from repeated readings.
"I haven't read this story since I was little," Dan smiled at her and began to read, "Once upon a time..." Zoe moved around the kitchen with practised ease, quickly cleaning up the mess and starting breakfast. She giggled when she caught herself humming Bippity Boppity Boo knowing she had definitely spent too many hours watching Disney movies. She was nearly finished preparing breakfast when she heard Hannah say,
"And they all lived happily ever after. The End. Mr. Lennox?" Hannah asked as she shut the book, "What does 'and they all lived happily ever after' really mean?"
"Well Hannah I think it means that they were a happy family for the rest of their lives and no matter what hard things they had to face they always stuck together." Dan looked at Zoe as he spoke, watching a tear slip down her cheek, wanting more than anything to kiss all her pain away.
"Do you think I'll ever have a happily ever after?" Dan hugged her tightly, the innocence of a child never failed to amaze him.
"You know Hannah, I think you will. You'll find your prince and he'll love you more than anything in the whole world and you'll get that happily ever after." Dan repressed the tears he felt building.
"Are you Aunt Zoe's happily ever after? I thought Mr. Morales was but then he left and you've always been here. I think I'd like you to be Aunt Zoe's happily ever after, you'd make a good prince." Zoe choked on the water she was drinking and waited for Dan to answer.
"You know kiddo, I would really love to be her happily ever after, if she'll be mine," the glass slipped from Zoe's fingers, crashing into the sink.
"Breakfast is ready," she whispered, eyes down, picking the glass shards out of the sink as Dan sent Hannah to get her brother and sister. Zoe shivered involuntarily when she felt Dan's hand on her back.
"No matter how cliched it is, I mean that Zoe. I know every little girl dreams of a fairytale life and I want to give it to you, as best I can," Dan murmured into her ear.
"There's no such thing as a fairytale," her voice lacked conviction.
"Of course there is Zoe. This may not be the textbook fairytale romance and life, but it's our fairytale," his fingers trailed up and down her back, sending tremors coursing through her body. Zoe turned to face him, her back against the counter and his body dangerously close to hers. Tears glistened in her eyes as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before pulling back to reveal the same mixture of fear and love in his eyes that was mirrored in hers. She felt one of Dan's hands slide between her back and the counter, cushioning the sharp edge. It was at that moment that Zoe felt what it was like to be totally and completely in love with someone. The simplest gestures now held so much more meaning, his one hand behind her back and the other reaching up to gently brush a stray curl away from her face, pausing slightly to cup her cheek. Zoe allowed a secretive smile to pass across her lips and her head to tilt just slightly to prolong the contact of his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes and raised herself up on her toes, making it abundantly clear to Dan what she wanted. Dan's hand moved from her cheek around to the back of her neck as he stooped slightly to meet her lips. Neither heard the kids quietly enter the kitchen and take their breakfast to eat in front of the tv to keep from interrupting the adults. Dan pulled back from Zoe, feeling her rise further on to her toes to prolong the kiss as long as she could. "Breakfast is getting cold," Dan whispered breathlessly.
"Don't care," Zoe replied, reaching behind his neck and linking her fingers before pulling him back down to her lips. Their kisses we slow and languorous, drawing the breath from both, though neither cared and had they been able to go without breathing they may have never stopped. These were the kind of kisses that true love made, ones that not only aroused the body but the soul as well, intertwining the spirits of two people through a meeting of lips. "Dan?" Zoe whispered breathlessly as they broke, foreheads resting against each others, "I've never felt so much in a kiss before." Secretly she was worried that Dan could make any woman feel like she felt.
"Me neither Zo. I lo-..."
"Don't say it Dan, not unless you really mean it," as much as his presence comforted and relaxed her, there was still a part if her that was waiting to wake up from this to find it was all a dream.
"I know you worry that I'm a practised smooth-talker who can get any woman to do whatever he wants but around you Zoe, I'm just me. There's no smoke and mirrors Zoe, this is true, everything I have ever wanted and wished for I've found in you. I don't want to be without you anymore. I love you and I will never, ever lie to you Zoe and for the rest of my life I am going to do everything I can to keep a smile on your face." Dan caressed her cheek as he spoke, sending chills up and down her spine. He leaned in to kiss her again when they heard a knock at the door.
"Rebecca," they said in unison, looking down at their state of undress before being summoned by Hannah.
"Aunt Zoe! Mr. Lennox! Rebecca is here!" the young girl yelled.
"Hannah," Taylor hissed, "I said not to interrupt them!" Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Taylor's comment but she understood as soon as the couple exited the kitchen. They were the only two in the family still in pyjamas, lips swollen from kisses, hair messed, cheeks flushed, all telltale signs that Rebecca read easily. She rolled her eyes at her brother, whispering as she passed him on her way in,
"You had to jump her in the kitchen? Classy Dan, what are you sixteen?" sarcasm dripped from her words but Dan could hear the amusement in her voice. "Good morning, Zoe," she smiled knowingly at her, drawing a deeper pink blush into Zoe's cheeks. Rebecca giggled girlishly, adjusting Katy on her hip as she watched the two flustered adults attempt to regain their dignity. "Why don't you two go get dressed, I'll just stay down here with the kids."
A/N 4: Damn there's a lot of author notes in this chapter. I seem to have run out of steam...I feel like I need a fresh start on a new chapter so yeah I realize you don't care and probably won't read this but oh well.