Last one! I hate to break it to you kiddos, but you won't find out her choice in this one either. We find out during the party. The party is going to be big for most of our couples of fifteen. There are some hints in here, though. So keep your eyes out ;) I can be quite tricky. And I kind of like Josh as a recurring character too... Maybe I'll toss him in later on as well. :) Thank you for all of your reviews! They're wonderful.

In the words of FireEthereal: *Like* ;)

Enjoy!

Happiness and Fragility

"Joshua! Answer me!" Megan whined into her phone. "You said you were very metro. I need a guys' perspective!"

"Yes, Megan, and I'd be happy to help you any time after four o'clock, when I'm not working." He repeated, chuckling.

"Please? Please? Checkout is in an hour, and I want to surprise Dov." She gazed out at the two dresses lying out on the hotel bed in front of her.

"Okay, hold on. I've got to deliver flowers to 814 for the couple's anniversary." He said monotonously.

"Awe, that's so cute." Megan sighed, and a knot twisted into her stomach. An anniversary. Something that was so close, yet possibly so far away.

"Give me fifteen minutes." Josh offered.

"Okay, thanks." They both hung up. Megan closed her eyes and tied up her hair again, shivering in her thin slip. Both dresses were rather sheer, and required something underneath. Tonight, the night of the Christmas party, had to be special. It had to go off without a hitch. She fell back onto the chair behind her and strapped on her high but workable heels. She knew she might not be getting a ride home that night.

Her makeup was done, outfit almost worked out and all that was left was her hair. She set her hot rollers and laughed at herself in the mirror.

"The things we do for beauty." She grinned. "God, I'm so nervous." She placed both hands on the sides of her face.

"Don't be nervous." Josh called, entering the room. "Thank you all access room key." He grinned. Megan jumped out of her skin and pressed her palm to her chest in surprise.

"One thing you should know about me, is that I really don't like being snuck up on." She laughed breathily.

"Sorry, I didn't know!" Josh began, but Megan waved him off.

"It's fine." She smiled.

"You look great." He let his eyes wander down her body.

"Joshua!" She snapped her fingers. "Stop gawking." He blushed but laughed along with her. "So," she walked into the bedroom and motioned for him to follow, "which one?"

"Show me. I can't pick just by looking at them, I'm not that metro." He laughed. "Come on. Hurry!" He laughed. "I'm still working!"

"Ah fine!" She giggled, grabbing the dresses and scampering into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged in a purple wrap dress with similar purple heels. There was light ruching carried down the side, with statement jewels along the top. "With a blazer?"

"What's a blazer?" Josh said, obviously distracted by the form fitting dress.

"What did I say about gawking?" She pointed her finger at him, placing one hand on her hip.

"Fine, fine. Sorry. Yeah, blazer. It's gonna be cold. Where is this party anyway?" He inquired.

"Some hall. Not sure exactly where." She bit her lip as she surveyed her reflection. "Okay, hold on. Next option." She turned on her heel and walked back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Much quicker this time, she swung the door open and sashayed out. "I think I like this one better."

"It's a tough choice, but I think I'm with you. It goes better with your shoes. And it's shorter, you have nice legs." He pointed out, eating a package of M&Ms he had in his pocket.

"You swear this is the better one?" She turned to the mirror again, critiquing her own appearance. "I'd have to wear the blazer with this. I'd freeze." This time, she was donning a silver sheath dress with sequined and beaded pattern, barely reaching mid thigh.

"I swear. Dov will love it." He grinned.

"Any word from Amy?" She looked up at him and was relieved to see that he didn't appear upset about the whole thing.

"Yeah, she called and apologized. I was like, can we talk later? I'm kinda busy. She just about had a conniption, because guess what, or who, she thought I was doing." He smiled wolfishly.

"Ha! That's fantastic." She laughed. "I have to admit, we are quite the team." She shrugged her shoulders, still looking at her dress in the mirror.

"Yeah really. I'm glad that happened. Because honestly, I didn't realize it until now, but she was suffocating me. I need to go be a man for a while, not a boyfriend." He sank into a chair.

"That's a good way to think of it." Megan smiled. "I think you made the right choice."

"Now, all I have to do is deal with the whole job issue." He shook his head, ruffling his hair with his hands.

"Hey, you know, my boyfriend is a cop." She walked a little closer. "No guarantees, but maybe I could get him to put in a good word with the department. I don't know if it's directly related in any way to like, fingerprint analysis and that part of forensics but it's worth a shot right?" She shrugged. "Like, you've got the credentials. So why not?"

"Really?" He sat upright, smiling widely. "You'd do that for me? That would be so amazing." He beamed.

"That way, you can get where you want to be. And you will freakin' cherish that, understand me? Being happy." She sighed.

"He'll understand." Josh placed one hand on her knee, and she was a little surprised. There was no sneaky, ulterior motivated undertones to it. He was just consoling a friend. 'Maybe he's gay.' She shrugged.

"I don't know, if he will though. What if he hates me?" She asked quietly, closing her eyes.

"He won't hate you. If anything, he'll admire you for doing what you think is right and following your heart." He assured her. "You didn't see the constellation, what was it, Columba. You didn't see it last night. That's a confirmation by the Gods if there ever was one." He continued. "Megan, trust me. You always knew this is what you wanted to do, that this was the right choice to make."

"I hope you're right." She whispered. The calm that had settled over the room was shattered by the screeching of Josh's cell phone.

"Jesus." He jumped, pulling his phone out of his chest pocket. "Where's the fire?" He asked. "Alright, fine." He snapped it shut. "I gotta go. Life as a concierge, baby. That's the way it goes." He smiled.

"Not for long though, being a concierge. I'll call you, okay? If I can work anything out." She smiled. "Even if I can't find anything for you, promise me that you'll get out of here on your own."

"Promise?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know happiness until you're there one hundred percent. You aren't happy right now. Promise me." She repeated.

"I promise." He got up from his chair and stood a little under a foot away from her. "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Hayes." He smiled, extending a hand, which she timidly shook.

"Likewise. Now go make your bosses happy before you quit." She smiled up at him. "Thanks for everything." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Now seriously, get out." She laughed.

"I'll see you around, Megan. Thank you, for everything." He smiled from the doorway, before turning and jogging down the hall.

The rest, was all up to her. She waited for her hair to set before taking it down and dousing it with hairspray, sliding on her blazer and packing her things. Once the room looked like it had when she arrived, she picked up her cell phone and dialled Dov.

"Hey you." She smiled into the phone at the sound of his voice.

"Hey, babe. You're coming home soon, right?" He asked eagerly.

"You bet. I'm like a half hour away." She answered.

"Oh thank God." He laughed. "I missed you. Is that pathetic? I feel pathetic. We need a dog."

"That's not pathetic, it makes me really happy to know you missed me. I missed you too." More than he would ever know.

"Well, get back here! The party starts soon, I wanna get there early so I can show you off." He chuckled.

"We talked about this!" She smiled. "And by the way, I'm all done up already. So no pre-party sex, got it? None."

"But Megan…" Dov groaned. "You can't leave for two days and expect me to not be thinking about that and only that."

"Dov Epstein! Party first." She grinned, extending the handle of her suitcase and leaving her room.

"Yes ma'am." He answered curtly. "You know, it's kinda hot when you take charge like this."

"Oh, I'll take charge alright. After the party." She laughed, walking down the hall to the elevator. She talked with him all the way down to the lobby, laughing and loving every second of it.

"You torture me on purpose, don't you?" He asked her.

"Oh you know it." She lowered her voice. "I love hearing you beg."

"Megan! Stop!" He laughed. "You're killing me!"

"Oh, babe." She laughed, locking eyes with Josh and sending a smile his way. "Just wait 'till I get back."

"Oh my Lord." Dov laughed.

"I gotta go, I'll see you in like fifteen okay?" Megan said, approaching the front desk.

"Can't wait. Love you." He answered.

"Love you too." She whispered, closing her phone. Her heart ached, not knowing what the evening held for them. She checked out, thanked Josh again, and met her cab out front. True to her word, fifteen minutes later, she pulled up out front of their house where he practically bounded down the front steps.

"I missed you, I missed you." He spun her around. "Whoa, you look amazing!" He stood back, mouth gaping as he took her in.

"I missed you too." She pulled him in for a hot kiss. "But no sex. Go get ready, we gotta go!" She laughed, following him inside. "Oh, and Dov," he turned around to look at her, "remind me, we have to talk later."

"About?" He tilted his head.

"Later. Let's just go have fun at the party okay? We can talk after." She waved it off.

"If you insist…" He furrowed his brow, but continued inside. She shook off a familiar aching feeling and walked up the steps, before pulling together a quick snack. He only took about twenty minutes to get ready, so they were off, headed to the party in no time.

"Look, Megan, are you okay?" He asked as they sat in the car, driving to the hall.

"Me? Oh, yeah." She smiled at him meekly, wishing she wasn't so easy to read. "Why do you ask?"

"You just have that look on your face, like you're somewhere else." He held her hand over the console between the two seats.

"Baby, trust me. I'm fine. We'll talk about it later, okay?" She really tried to hold herself together as she watched his face slowly crack into a smile, knowing all he wanted to do was make her happy and be what she needs. He was what she needed. And as they drove to the hall, she gazed out the window, just hoping that her life wouldn't fall apart when she told him about the choice she'd made.

Megan's party dress! (Sans blazer): www[dot]asos[dot]com[slash]Warehouse-Deco-Style-Embellished-Silk-Dress[slash]Prod[slash]pgeproduct[dot]aspx?iid=1191064&cid=8857&sh=0&pge=2&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Grey