'Angela?' he questioned gently, slowly withdrawing his hand. 'What's wrong, love?'

She immediately straightened and waved a hand in airy dismissal, 'Nothing's wrong, Shawn. Just a little cold, that's all.'

Shawn looked towards the windows but they were tightly sealed. In fact, the atmosphere inside the room was getting rather oppressive and Angela herself was clothed in a full length gown, the material of which seemed like heavy cotton.

Shawn grimaced as he surreptitiously pulled at the collar of his shirt. Huh. The room was anything but cold.

He looked at Angela and sighed inwardly. She was fixing a gaze at a random point on the bedspread and Shawn knew full well that she was avoiding any further talk on the issue.

But he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He'd give Angela some time to recover from the shock, but he'd observe her closely in the meantime.

'Sh..Shawn?'

Her trembling voice brought her out of his thoughts and he looked up from absently caressing her hand. Instantly, he was moving closer to her. 'What is it, baby? Do you need anything?'

Angela looked up at him with eyes that held a desperate plea. 'Please hold me?'

Shawn's gut twisted painfully at hearing the need in her voice. He wanted to grab her and take them both away to somewhere far away, a place where it would be just the two of them, happy and content, and free from pain. Their relationship was so strong now and the last thing Shawn wanted was for anything to come in the way of that.

He moved to sit next to her and didn't miss the way her body curled to fit snugly into his and her tight grasp around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him, as closely as he could without hurting her. Her head came to rest on his chest, tucked warmly under his chin and he pressed a kiss to her hair.

Stop shaking! Angela told herself repeatedly, but it was no use. It was as if her body had a mind of her own and was utterly refusing to obey her. She tried to ball her fingers into fists, only to find that they were locked around fistfuls of Shawn's shirt. Terrified, she tried frantically to remove them but they wouldn't let go. Tears of frustration began to leak out and frightened by the intensity of her feelings, Angela pushed herself further towards Shawn. She moved her head so that it was directly above his heart and willed the rhythm to give her peace.

Shawn was safe. Shawn was alive.

A shudder wracked her body and Shawn held her quaking frame in a vise-like grip. Worry, anger, terror and happiness battled for equal dominance in his mind. He'd never seen Angela like this before – she'd always maintained her composure even when emotional. He was happy that she felt comfortable enough with him to let go so openly but seeing that haunting desperation in her eyes had rocked him to the core.

His hands squeezed her shoulders and he whispered words of affection and reassurance in her ear. Thankfully, the shaking seemed to be subsiding but Angela refused to let go of his shirt or him and Shawn was absolutely fine with that.

In fact, he was fine with that for the rest of his life.

And even as the thought wandered aimlessly into his mind, Shawn knew with every fiber of his being that it was absolutely true. He never wanted to let her go. He wanted them to be together.

Always. For the rest of their lives.

A breath escaped his lungs in a rush as he realized what his thoughts implied. He'd known long ago that he could never be just friends with Angela. As he'd told her he could 'only love her for the rest of their lives .'

But knowing that you were in it for the long term and actually contemplating converting that into reality were two different things, and very big leaps when it came to a complicated relationship such as the type that they shared.

Shawn was coaxed out of his thoughts by a warm pair of lips gently touching his chest, directly above his heart. He looked down to see Angela's hand slowly caressing his side and her lips pressing soft, quick kisses to his heart.

A rush of blood thundered in his ears and he felt unbelievably lightheaded. Shawn closed his eyes, savoring the sensation but more than that, the gesture in itself was so much more intimate and loving, more than any kiss they had shared that he found himself blinking back the tears that stung his eyelids. His hands caressed her hair and shoulders and he tilted her chin, making her look up from her task.

She attempted to smile even as her fingers replaced her lips and managed to speak past a sob, 'I love you, Shawn. You…you'll be here, wont you?'

Shawn stared back, amazed. When he'd recovered, he shook his head and kissed the fingers that had touched him so delicately minutes before. 'I'll always be here, baby. What brought this on? You know I love you. You mean everything to me, Angela, everything.'

Angela struggled to speak past the huge lump that seemed to have taken permanent residence in her throat. 'I'm scared, Shawn.'

Shawn blew out a breath. Thank God, she was opening up. He intertwined his fingers with the hand on his chest and inserted a leg underneath hers so that she felt his presence. He kissed her cheeks, and her eyes and then queried softly, 'Why are you scared, love? Please tell me what happened.'

'Shawn, have you ever thought about the fact that we're…well, that we're different?'

Her question was asked in a low voice but Shawn felt as if he'd heard the boom of a cannon shot.

He worked his mouth a few times, but no words came. Trying to comprehend her, he spoke carefully, 'What exactly do you mean by different?'

Angela sat up but Shawn didn't let her move out of his embrace. He kept her close to him as he nodded at her encouragingly. She brushed a curl out of her eyes and answered softly, biting her lip in thought. 'You're white and I'm black.'

Shawn goggled. If the circumstances weren't serious, he might have laughed. As it was, Angela was looking at him warily and he wanted to assuage any fears that she had. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. 'Have you ever wondered about this before?'

She looked down at their linked fingers and brought them to her mouth, brushing her lips across his knuckles. 'Perhaps a little, on and off, you know, when there were jokes about it or so but it was never a big issue with me.'

Shawn immediately replied in a firm tone, 'It's not an issue with me either. It never has been, Angela.' He rubbed his lips against her forehead and suddenly jerked away in alarm. 'Your…your Dad, he isn't…he doesn't have a problem with it, right?'

Angela couldn't help rolling her eyes at which Shawn poked her impertinently. She swatted his hand and chuckled, 'You're the first guy that Dad has actually liked. And the fact that he told you that himself, is unbelievable. It's ridiculous; when we talk, he asks me so enthusiastically about you, that I feel almost neglected.'

Shawn puffed up his chest and Angela smacked their joint hands against him soundly. He promptly deflated with an 'ouch' and stuck a tongue out. Angela's eyes softened and she moved two fingers in a slow line over his stubble and small goatee. 'He's never called anybody else 'son' before.'

Shawn kissed her finger as it moved across his lips and gazed back in shock. Angela's eyes were looking at him warmly but as they comprehended what had slipped out, he saw her floundering to cover them up. 'I meant that he really likes you, of course. Not that there are any expectations or that it's all planned out, or that…'

'Hush.' And Shawn leaned down to kiss her senseless. He couldn't find the words to explain the multitude of feelings all clamoring for release, and he belatedly realized that the wetness on their lips had come from both their tears. Cherished dreams of a morning with Angela sitting in their home flitted through his mind and the sense of acceptance into a family that her father had so openheartedly bestowed made his spirits soar.

Framing her face with his hands, he rubbed the pads of his thumbs on her cheek and said hoarsely, 'I said I could love you for the rest of my life, remember?'

Angela grinned tremulously and placed a hand on his heart again. 'Mine?' she questioned, eyes luminous with love and affection.

Shawn placed a hand over hers and pulled her towards him again. 'Yours' he whispered against her lips as they opened for him at the slightest touch. 'Always yours.'

Angela felt like she was drowning – surely it was only Shawn's grip keeping her upright, and then he was suddenly pulling back. 'Hey, I nearly forgot…what brought this on? Not that I mind getting kisses from you at any time but…' he trailed off with a wink.

Angela's answer was in a low monotone but Shawn understood every word and it chilled him to his bones. 'I…I don't think my fall was an accident.'

She looked up at him and swallowed before mumbling hoarsely, 'I think I was pushed.'