1: Brittany/Adam

So, Brittany's a ball of energy, even when she hasn't had fully caffeinated coffee. When she has had a fully caffeinated coffee...

And really though, Adam had asked for decaf because he knew she got like this, but apparently the new barista is deaf because not a half hour after drinking her coffee, Brittany is literally bouncing off the walls.

And Dena? Dena is really, so unamused, that she has stopped working to just stare blankly at the redhead grin widely and explode with excitement every time she talks.

And then Dena pulls Adam over, says, "You got the coffee, this is your problem, I am giving you an hour to get her under control." And Adam doesn't even remind her that she can't give him orders, because she knows and she doesn't give a crap.

And he guesses it is his fault in a way, he should've checked the cup to make sure 'decaf' was written on it and he didn't, so he doesn't argue, just salutes and proceeds to take his girlfriend by her arm and nearly drag her to his office.

"Ow, ow, what?" Brittany sort of half-glares at him, and it's cute because she's Brittany and she doesn't glare at people. "What was that for?"

He places his hands on her bouncing shoulders, trying to keep the smirk off his face. "Brit, you need to calm down."

"I'm calm," she argues, her fingers moving a mile a minute by her sides. Adam quirks an eyebrow, and she seems to deflate a little. "Yeah, I know I'm being a pain, I'm sorry, I just can't help it."

"Just lay down for a little, take deep breaths," Adam suggests, gesturing to his couch.

"Lay down with me?" She pleads. "Pleeeease?"

And yeah, he can't really say no to Brittany so he gives in and lies down, and she snuggled against his chest. "You're warm," she says quietly.

Adam laughs, because this is adorable, and he presses a kiss to her forehead. "Well, I try," he replies, and she sighs into his shoulder and he thinks maybe he should accidentally get caffeinated coffee tomorrow.

2: Dash and Kara

Hunter is in surgery, and Kara is terrified.

Not the kind of terrified where your eyes are wide, and your breathing is heavy and your heart beats one hundred times too fast. No. It's the kind of terrified where she's sitting on the couch right outside the operating room with her knees tucked to her chest, completely silent and still freaking out because he's everything what if he doesn't come out, oh my god.

And so that's mostly why she doesn't notice Dash until he literally pokes her in the shoulder, hard. Kara glares at him, because duh, can't you tell I want to be alone?

She only realizes she's said it out loud until he shrugs and says, "Yeah, I don't really think you do."

"Oh really, somehow I think I missed the part where you're a mind reader, now," she shoots back, feeling sort of proud because that was a good one.

He doesn't even reply, the stupid idiot, only slinging his arm around her. "You do realize I have a boyfriend," she says dryly.

Dash rolls his eyes. "I'm not being romantic," he says, spitting out the last word like it's some disease. "You, are terrified and as a fellow Red Bander I am duty bound to take care of you, no matter how annoying you are."

"Thanks, you're doing wonders for my mental state," she mutters, but she does relax into his arm a little bit, ignoring the victorious smirk he shoots her.

Because maybe she just likes having friends, okay? Yes, they're all dorks, and the whole concept of the Red Band Society is dorky, but she... she loves them. They're her family now, and Dash reaching out to her when she's obviously upset, well, that doesn't go unnoticed.

And so she'll let him be there, because yeah, okay, she's terrified and the arm around her shoulder makes it a little, little bit better.

3: Leo/Emma

So Emma's dad is here, and that's all great and fine, except he keeps insisting that they go to lunch together.

And maybe he's somehow forgotten that his daughter has an eating disorder, because really, why would you? Leo knows, Leo knows that Emma is trying, but he also knows you can't force it. And he can't shake this bad feeling in his stomach, even as Emma gives a smile that is tighter than usual and grabs his hand and the three of them start walking to the restaurant.

They get to the food place inside the hospital, the expensive one for visitors, and Emma's dad immediately orders half the menu. And Emma's already tensing up, Leo can tell, and he tries to grab her hand again but Emma's dad shoots him a glance and he sort of sinks away.

They make small talk, about this college and that sports team, but Leo can tell that it's not what this lunch is about. Because as soon as the food comes, Emma's dad kind of tapers off in the middle of his sentence and just stares.

And Emma, to her credit, pretends not to notice as she sort of stabs at the pasta, moving it around on her plate and occasionally glancing at Leo. And Leo wonders what kind of person Emma's dad must be to not realize how uncomfortable he's making her, and then he realizes that it doesn't really matter, he just needs to get Emma away.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Emma excuses quickly after two minutes of being stared at like a test subject. "Wait here."

"Uh, I need to go, to," Leo says. Emma's dad sort of half-raises an eyebrow and half-glares, so Leo improvises. "The medications I'm on, they increase bladder functions, and sometimes I just can't hold it in." He shoots the older man a crooked grin, and it's both rude and total BS, but whatever.

So he follows her - not to the bathroom, back to the hospital, who do you think they are - and when she plops down on his bed, almost in tears, he sits right down next to her and hugs her to him. "I though he'd changed, I thought it'd be different," Emma says quietly, shaking a little.

"Hey, it's okay," Leo whispers, brushing his fingers through her hair, and she sort of curls into him. "The nurses will get him to leave, you don't ever have to see him again, he doesn't deserve you anyways."

And so she sighs and laughs a little, and he holds her, and it's ok. A little.

4: Hunter/Kara

Pretty much everyone knows that Kara can get pretty loud and annoying. Hunter, who has subjected (voluntarily, enthusiastically) to spending most of his time with Kara, knows this. What pretty much everyone doesn't know is that when Kara gets especially loud and annoying, it's not just because she likes being loud and annoying, it's that she's scared. Hunter knows this, too, and he's probably the only one who does.

So they're hanging out together in his room, just the two of them, and My Cousin Vinny is playing on the TV. It's one of Hunter's favorite movies, but he picked it mostly because even though she doesn't seem the type, Kara loves comedies and he likes seeing her eyes light up when she laughs.

And they're sitting on his bed, watching the part where Vinny is meeting Stan in the jail, when Kara stiffens and gasps a little. Hunter turns to her, confused. "Kara, you okay?"

She brushes him off, shifting a little. "I'm fine, just a little cold, I mean what temperature is your room? Are you an Eskimo or something?" It's not even one of her best insults, and Hunter is barely affected by it, but something's made her scared and he wants it to stop.

"Kara, look at me," he says. And she turns her head, but even in the slight dark he can tell her eyes are nowhere near his face, and suddenly it hits him. "Kara, how many fingers am I holding up?" He asks, putting up one.

Kara rolls her eyes. "Obviously four, three - crap, I don't know, it's all black." She breaks off, looking down, and her voice changes from irritated to terrified in one second. "Please don't call someone, I'll be okay in five minutes, I promise," she says, and it sort of breaks his heart.

"Shh." Hunter tugs her closer to him, so they're both sort of propped up on the pillows next to his headboard. "Just, just close your eyes, and take deep breaths. Pretend like everything is completely normal." And she does, shutting her eyes and pressing her face into his chest, and he wraps his arms around her, and they stay like that, wrapped up in each other for a good five minutes as Kara calms her breathing.

And if she looks up and meets his eyes another five minutes later and kisses him, well, he's not complaining.

5: Dash and Emma

Everyone knows Dash and Leo are best friends. And everyone knows that Emma and Leo are dating. But what everyone doesn't know is just how good of friends Dash and Emma are. Partially because yeah, sometimes they both have to put up with Leo's crap, but it's more than that.

Emma's just... she has Dash's back. She's smart, and she's honest, and she makes him laugh during his oxygen treatments when he can't get his mind off I am dying this is killing me. And Dash likes to think he keeps her grounded in a way whenever she thinks too much. And that's how their friendship works, and Dash likes it.

But also, there are the times when he's got to be more than a friend for Emma, he has to be a big brother, a shield when she gets especially bad or she has a fight with Leo or the nightmares come back. And Dash doesn't mind, he's never had a little sister of his own and he likes protecting people and this is just one way he's there for Emma.

Tonight, she's gotten especially bad and had a fight with Leo and the nightmares have come back, and so she stumbles into his room at God-knows-when in the morning, and the first thing he does is rip a blanket off his bed and wrap it around her shoulders. Then he hugs her as she cries a little into his shoulder, saying something about Oh god I really screwed it up this time he doesn't want me anymore Dash, oh god I screwed up so bad -

And so he brings her to his couch and she sort of flops down, bringing him down with her, and he just hugs her, and he wants to take all the hurt away, he wants her to know that he's always here, for her. "It's gonna be okay, Em," he says, resting his chin on the top of her head. "You're okay. You're okay."

And slowly, her sobs die down, until she's just breathing really heavily into his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispers, her voice thick. She always apologizes, she never needs to.

"It's okay, little sis," Dash replies, and she smiles at that, sniffling a bit and resting her head on his chest. "Stay here as long as you need."

"Do you really think we'll be okay?" Emma whispers, her voice soft and uneven.

"I think Leo likes you way to much to let a little fight ruin everything you guys have," Dash says. And so Emma smiles, and relaxes. And he's done something good today.

XXX

So, did you guys like it? I tried to fit all your ship suggestions in, but you can still suggest them for chapter three, which is called Dance, Dance, which is... well, I think you can tell. So... review and all that!

-QOTX