Pushing open the door, Violet waited for Dell to go inside before following him in. "It's kind of a mess, I'm sorry," she told him as she closed the door. The first thing she did was lock up, still paranoid from the attack. She was pretty sure that she'd never be able to step ten feet into her house unless the door was locked. When she looked over at Dell, she could tell that he noticed the way she rushed to get the door closed. They looked each other in the eyes for a couple seconds and Violet tried to think of something to say to break the silence, but nothing came to her mind.

Dell could tell she was struggling to come up with something to say and it was awkward for her. Right where they stood was where the attack took place. He couldn't blame her for rushing to get that door closed. "Umm…" He took his eyes off of her for a moment, looking around the house. "If you call this a mess, you'd probably beat me if you saw my apartment."

She smiled at his attempt to change the subject. He was an angel. "Yeah, that bad?" she asked, a grin pulling from her lips. "And just for the record, I wouldn't be able to beat you," she walked past him, messing with his hair. Looking back at him, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "You'd have me in a headlock in a split second."

"Hey," he fixed his hair before following Violet from behind. "Do you really think I'd pin you down? Maybe if you were an asshole and I couldn't stand you, but you're pretty cool."

"Hey thanks, I'm pretty cool," she mocked teasingly.

"More than pretty cool, you're amazing Vi. You're not headlock material. Plus I'm sure if I tried, you'd come out with some hidden taekwondo shit and kick my ass."

As they entered the living room, Violet turned her body around to face Dell with a laugh. "Me kick your ass? You're kidding right? You're like a body builder," she reached out and squeezed his arm. "God damn Dell, what are you on steroids?" she teased as she moved her hand to his chest which was rock solid. "Wow."

He had a grin on his face, but it faded slowly as he looked down at her. "What?"

She shrugged her shoulders, looking up at him. "I don't know. It's actually pretty hot," she told him with a bit of a smirk.

"What's hot?" he asked and she could tell he was asking her just to hear her say it.

Violet rolled her eyes with a sigh. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?" she asked, watching his terrible attempt to hide the grin on his face. "You're hot. There, are you happy?"

"Not when you say it like it's a chore or something."

She didn't want to, but she started laughing anyway as she looked him in the eyes. He started to laugh with her, which made her a bit more comfortable. "You're hot Dell. It's not a chore telling you, I'll tell you as many times as you want if that's what it takes to prove it.

For a minute they were silent, just looking each other in the eyes, as though waiting for the other to say something. Neither did for a while, until Violet of course broke it. It wasn't like Violet to be quiet, ever. "Why was it so important for you to hear me say that anyway?" she asked. "Now I'm putting you on the spot," she teased, sticking her tongue out playfully like a child.

Dell reached up and tapped her chin with a finger. "Real cute Violet, thanks, I hate being put on the spot," he told her with a laugh before realizing that it was only fair. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted to hear it. It actually means something coming from you.

"Why does it matter what I think?" she asked with a smirk. It made absolutely no sense that an attractive man so much younger would care about how she feels about his physical appearance.

"Well you're someone I know personally and someone I care about on top of that. There aren't many people that I have good relationships with, so it means something especially when someone so beautiful compliments me," he smiled.

Violet smiled up at him, shaking her head. "William Dell Parker, don't you joke like that."

"William? Am I in trouble?" he asked teasingly before growing a bit more serious. "I do mean it though Violet. You're a very beautiful person. Why would I joke like that?"

She could have put up a fight, but instead, she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. When he put his arms around her waist, she looked up at him with a smile. Confidence has been extremely low since the attack and he was helping in ways she was sure he didn't understand. It was the little things really, but sharing the moments with someone who's been through something very tragic as well helped. Having someone who could relate on some level helped a lot. "What I said wasn't a compliment. What you said was though. Saying that I'm beautiful is something that you want to hear, not that you're hot. I mean you are but Dell, you shouldn't settle for just being called hot because you are beautiful. You're very beautiful."

"You don't have to say it just because I did Violet, but you're sweet," he told her in a very soft voice to the point where it was almost a whisper.

"Okay, now you are in trouble William," she teased. "I wouldn't say something if I didn't mean it and you know that for a fact. You're a very beautiful person and not just on the outside, so don't doubt yourself for a minute. If you do, then I might have to unleash my taekwondo."

Dell let out a chuckle, nodding his head. "See, I knew you were a ninja in hiding."

Violet shook her head with a laugh. "You're ridiculous."

"But you love me," he grinned.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I do love you," she felt him pull her a bit closer to his body. It didn't make her uncomfortable or anything. She got up on her tippy toes in hopes to stand his height, but she was still off slightly.

Seeing what she was attempting to do, he grinned softly and got up on his tip toes just to mess with her.

"Hey," she whined like a child.

"You're adorable," he told her with a laugh as he stood flat on his feet even though Violet didn't, still trying to gain more height. "Violet, it's not going to work."

She shook her head with a laugh. "Yes it will, I have an idea," she could see the look of doubt on his face so just to prove him wrong, she made a great attempt to hold herself up, her arms still around Dell's neck, trying to gain even a centimeter more just to prove her point.

"I have a better idea," he told her with a laugh, seeing how her idea was an epic fail and she was oddly determined. Moving his hands down her back, he moved past her butt. To his surprise, it didn't even seem to phase Violet. "Jump," he finally told her and as she did, he lifted her up a bit.

Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he held her. She looked at him, a grin on both of their faces. "And I thought of that all by myself."

He laughed. "You thought of that? Funny, I kind of remember it being my idea."

"Oh shush, let me win."

"Okay beautiful, whatever you say."

Violet flashed a grin of defeat even though it didn't really count. Dell would let her win no matter what. She could be arguing that the sky was green and he'd let her win just to give her the satisfaction. "Good choice, wise one," she smirked before placing a quick kiss on his lips. She could tell that Dell was a lot calmer now than he was when he first showed up at her office today. He was himself again now and better yet, she was herself for the first time in such a long time. He was exactly what she needed.