Brenda and Dylan stood in the doorway for a while longer, not speaking. She was still wrapped up snugly in his arms, with him drawing comfort from her presence alone. It amazed him sometimes how Brenda was the only person able to calm him when he was at his wit's end.
"Penny for your thoughts, " Brenda's voice drew him from his thoughts.
" They're worth at least a quarter, " he teased her dryly.
She pinched his arm and he glared playfully down at her.
"Abusive wench. Now I'm really not going to tell you what I thinking, " Dylan muttered against her ear.
"Oh, is that right? I bet I can persuade you to change your mind..." Brenda's voice trailed off as she turned in his arms to face him.
He lowered his head to hers and smiled slightly.
"Do your worst, woman, " he challenged her.
She kissed him sweetly, her arms reaching up to twine around his neck. His arms tightened around her waist and he smiled against her mouth.
"Well, that's certainly a start, " he whispered when they broke away for air.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm far from done, " Brenda replied before she caught his mouth in another kiss.
They stumbled out of the doorway, with Dylan kicking the door shut behind them.
Valerie mused over how times had certainly changed when she went down to breakfast that morning and only found Jim and Cindy in the kitchen. Brandon hadn't been in his room and Brenda hadn't returned with them the previous evening.
"Good morning, " Valerie chirped cheerfully.
"Good morning," Jim and Cindy replied.
"Where's the rest of the house, " Valerie inquired.
"Oh, Brandon went to meet Kelly for breakfast at the Peach Pit and Brenda stayed with Dylan last night, " Cindy replied.
"Oh, so you guys found him," Valerie replied casually.
"Yeah, we found him. Now I'm working on tracking down the criminals that took his little sister, not to mention his money, " Jim said.
Valerie paused. She remembered hearing about the missing money, but she must have missed the part about them taking his sister. She felt a small pang of sympathy for the guy. Not only did they rip off his money, they took his sister.
"Where's Dylan's parents in all this, " Valerie questioned.
"Oh, Iris lives in Hawaii and his father passed away last year, " Cindy said quietly.
Valerie had no reply to that.
"Brenda and Dylan should be coming by later, so I can see the note Erica left and we can plan on the best course of action for him, " Jim told them.
"Oh, cool. I can't wait to meet the guy who has stolen Bren's heart, " was all Valerie said.
It was Brenda who awoke first this time. Dylan was sleeping beside her with that little smile on his face that she loved so much. She lovingly trailed her hand down the side of his face and he stirred. She paused and his eyes fluttered open. His arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her closer to him.
"Ready to tell me what you were thinking about earlier, " Brenda teased lightly.
"Hrm, I can't remember now..." he said, voice thick with sleep.
Brenda laughed and he pulled her down for a kiss which she returned eagerly before pushing him away.
"Keep it up and we're never going to get out of this bed."
"Trust me, I have no problems 'keeping it up' where you are concerned, " Dylan grinned.
Brenda looked amused as she wiggled out his arms to grab the t-shirt she had previously discarded.
"Mind telling me what the rush is, " Dylan asked curiously as he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans.
"I told my father that we'd stop by over there, so you two could talk about getting your money back, " Brenda replied quietly.
"Screw the money, Bren. I just want Erica back, " Dylan snapped.
"I know that, Dylan. Daddy says the best chance we have of finding her though, is to track the serial numbers on the money that Suzanne and Kevin took. We find the money, we'll find them. Then we can bring Erica back here, " Brenda responded, unfazed by his outburst.
Dylan looked almost ashamed by his previous response, but Brenda didn't even seem to notice. She was too busy trying to straighten up the bed. Dylan shook his head. Some things really never did change.