Laurie woke up with one of the worst hangovers she could remember having, and she woke up on a couch that she didn't know, under blankets that weren't hers, in a room that she had never seen before. None of these things were good signs, and she slowly tried to get up, wincing as she did so. What had she done the night before? She remembered being upset with Jon and she remembered trying to confront him about things, only to be told that he was too busy, and she remembered going to the comedy club with Dan like always, but the night began to blur there.

As she struggled to remember it, little details came back here or there, and the picture they painted was not a pretty one. She could remember talking to Eddie, alone, and she could remember some of the things she said and the way that she acted and, dear God, had she actually come onto him? Once again, her memory blurred, but that was sure as hell what it seemed like she had done.

Which did not bode well for her present situation. Waking up in a strange place after hitting on one of her least favorite people...could she have actually been lonely enough that she had done the unthinkable and slept with him? Though she dreaded for what she might find in this house, she knew that she would have to investigate eventually and figure out exactly who she had gone home with the night before.

But just as she was about to stand, she heard a voice from the doorway. "Laurie? I didn't know you were already up."

Relief washed over her as she realized it was only Dan, and for a moment, she forgot her nasty headache. At the very, very least, the signs suggested that she had not slept with Eddie. The problem of waking up in a new place was not completely solved, but at least if it were Dan, she could comfort herself in knowing that it had been one of the greatest guys she knew. Not that she deserved someone like him if she were so willing to throw herself at anyone that moved just because she was lonely.

"Give to me straight," she said, wincing when even the sound of her own voice caused her head to pound. "What did we...I mean, did we?"

"Did we...?" His eyes widened. "No, no, we didn't, I mean...no. You just...I couldn't find out where you lived and I didn't know what else to do with you, so I let you stay here for the night."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she smiled. "Thank you for that. I know I must have been difficult to handle, I know how I get. God, I must have been all over you."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," he replied with a nervous look that she took to mean, yes, he would say that, except he didn't want to embarrass her anymore than she already was. "And it was no trouble, really. I couldn't just leave you like that."

"I'm really sorry, Dan. I know I must have acted really stupid, and I didn't want to ruin your night like that. You shouldn't have to look after me like that."

"Hey," he said gently, "you really don't need to worry about it. You didn't ruin anyone's time, and it's perfectly understandable. You were having a rough night, happens to everyone. Besides, looking after each other is what friends do."

"Oh, Dan..." She sighed, frowning. "You're too nice to me, you know that? You've done so much for me, and all I do is cause trouble and complain all the time. I haven't done anything good for you and I feel so bad about that."

He frowned. "Laurie, don't be ridiculous! You've been a great friend to have and I've enjoyed all the time we've spent together. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, you know? It's not your fault that things aren't the best for you right now and you're allowed to be sad about it."

"But it is my fault," she replied, shaking her head. "I could leave him at any time, and I haven't. I could be with someone who really cares about me instead of moping around all the time, but I don't. I've been with him for so long and I don't know anything else so I'm scared, and I'm scared that this is all I deserve. But I chose this for myself, and it is my fault." And there it was, the root of the problem laid out for him.

Listening to her confession, his frown only grew and he shook his head. "That's not true, not at all. You deserve a lot better than what you get, and it's not your fault that you're scared. Just because you chose this doesn't mean you're stuck with it, you were young! You probably didn't even realize you were making a choice, and you shouldn't have to suffer forever because of that. You're allowed to choose things for yourself again."

"I don't deserve what I would choose," she said, not letting go of that idea. She couldn't, not at this point. It had been too long since she had let herself believe that she was going to end up happy, that things were going to be better for her than they were for her mother, that she wouldn't get stuck in a loveless marriage. She had accepted the fact that that was what she was meant to have and that that was what she deserved. Someone nice, someone like Dan, was completely out of her reach.

"You can't keep saying that," he argued. "You just can't! You deserve more than anyone could ever give you, and I don't think there's any man in the world who wouldn't consider himself lucky to be with you unless he was crazy or stupid!" He flinched, as if he had only just realized what he had said, and looked sheepish, and that was when it dawned on Laurie why he was getting so passionate about this.

Dan had feelings for her. And what was more, she had feelings for him, and she knew that, she knew that they had been there for a long time, but she hadn't wanted to acknowledge them. She had someone else and she couldn't have feelings for Dan and she was afraid that she was just trying to find the first person who was nice to her and she would have never thought she was good enough for him, but now she realized just how obvious it was that he had feelings for her as well.

"Dan, I..."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "That was uncalled for, I know. You just...mean a lot to me, and sometimes I have feelings for you that are a little bit stronger than friendship. I didn't meant to let that affect my opinion of the situation."

"No, Dan, I'm sorry," Laurie said, shaking her head. "All this time, I was afraid to leave Jon because I thought there was no one else who would have me, and I knew that you were...the sort of person I wanted, but I never thought you would want me back. I'm sorry I was too stupid to figure out your feelings sooner."

"That isn't...of course I didn't expect you to figure them out, I should have told you, but I didn't think..." He trailed off when she began to laugh. "What is it?"

"Just that both of us were too busy thinking about what we thought the other didn't want that we didn't realize we wanted the same thing," she said. "I don't know, maybe it's not that funny, but..." Still, she continued to laugh.

"No, I think it is. But, I have to ask, what does this mean? For us, I mean?"

"I guess...I guess this means I'm leaving Jon. For real this time. I'm going to have to find work, a place to live, and stuff like that, but...I should have done that a long time ago. All of it, I never should have stayed with him this long."

"I'll help you with anything you need, you know," said Dan. "I'll help you with moving out, and finding a place. Anything you need."

"Thank you," she said. "You're so sweet, I just..." Laurie closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his in a gentle kiss.

She had felt trapped in her life for so long, and had never thought she would meet someone like him, someone who would care about her like she did. Even just being friends with him, she had always thought she was too lucky, and hadn't though having a relationship with someone like him would be possible. Now, for the first time in a long time, things were really looking up.