AUTHOR'S NOTE - This is faster than I expected and longer than I expected. Don't hate me if time is moving slowly. I just felt I needed to take my time, creating a foundation to build on. Every relationship needs that, right?

Those of you wondering; Alison is going to be herself; the strong, sharp and confident girl we all love. She just needs to pick herself up from this ditch. You will see that as this story progresses.

Thank you for your favs, follows and reviews. You made a girl very happy :) Please continue to tell me how you like the story and what you would like to read in future chapters.

YOU NEVER REALLY SEEMED LIKE A STRANGER TO ME

Alison had been hesitant, almost embarrassed to eat at first. A few morsels had made their way into her mouth, but she had tasted nothing. She kept watching the brunette, from the corner of her eye. Emily was seated at a distance, casually scrolling through her phone. She gathered Emily was trying to not hover while the blonde ate and Alison was thankful.

As Alison sat there, her mind was as stormy and chaotic; as it had been vacant, for the hours she had spent in the cold on that bench. What was she doing here? The proud person that she was, how could she accept this girl's sympathy and kindness, when she saw no way of repaying her?

What was she to do? Where was she to go in her current state, without a dime in her pocket? Who was she to turn to, when she had been let down by the very people, who a person would normally seek, in times of distress?

A drop of the saline water, that had ceased to flow just a few minutes back, made its way down her cheek and on to her plate.

"I didn't think that needed more salt." The voice startled her. She had not noticed Emily walk up beside her. "My grandma always said people shouldn't think on an empty stomach. Hunger makes you stupid." Her words were accompanied by another smile and Alison found herself liking those a little more each time.

"I need to make a call and take care of a few things," Emily continued as she made her way to the door leading to the back of the shop again. "I should not be more than a few minutes. Do you think you'll be fine, on your own?"

Alison nodded and Emily caught the hint of a smile, on the face she had been admiring earlier. After directing her gaze to the front door to ensure it was shut, she looked back at the girl and made a mental note of everything she needed to take care of. Then, she was gone.

Alison heard the sound of Emily's footsteps, running up a flight of stairs and then disappear. She wondered if she should just leave, before the other girl came back down. Her life had gone from plushy to tormented, scarred, painful and awkward in the span of a day; and all she wanted to do was to walk back to that bench and freeze to death.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a distinctly audible rumble, that seemed to come from her stomach. She looked around embarrassed and breathed a sigh of relief, to find herself still alone in the empty cafe.

'Hunger makes you stupid.' She heard Emily's voice in her head and for some reason she didn't want to run anymore. She looked down at the almost cold but still delicious looking lasagna and once again thought of the girl, that held her hand and dragged her in from the cold outside. The girl that somehow made her feel a little less cold inside.

She picked up the fork and finally tasted a mouthful. Ten minutes later, all of the lasagna on Alison's plate had disappeared.

Once done, Alison slowly walked to the sink behind the counter and washed her plate. Her feet stung. She shuffled back to the nearest stool and lifted up her feet, one at a time, to survey how bad it was. As she sat with her left foot over her right knee, wincing as she touched a deep cut below her big toe, Emily walked back into the room.

In one hand was a clean towel and in the other a shallow basin with smoking hot water. She had removed the jacket, that she had on all this time and her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. "Nurse Emily is here," she said with a smile.

Alison looked at her dumbstruck. She had never realised Emily had noticed she was hurt. Her heart felt so full with gratitude but she couldn't find the right words to thank the girl that stood before her. A 'Thank you' was too little.

Before she knew it Emily had placed the basin on the floor before her. "Its hot. Really hot. But it will feel much better once we are done. Hold on." She walked over to the sink and got a jug of water. "I'll add a little of this if its unbearably hot, okay? Gently try to lower your feet into the water," she continued, kneeling down beside Alison.

Alison did as she was told. But the water was so hot she cried out. Her hand flew to Emily's arm and she held on for dear life. Emily added a little of the water from the jug to the basin, till she felt Alison's hand relax. Neither of the girls said anything.

Emily placed the jug on the table to her right and waited. After about five minutes, she placed the towel on her lap and patted her thigh, an indication for Alison to place her feet atop the towel. Alison hesitated. She wasn't so sure about placing her feet on this nice girl's lap. "Go on. It needs to be dressed," Emily said casually.

Alison gently placed her feet on the towel, looking down — her cheeks as red as her feet, that had been in the scorching hot water. Emily patted her feet dry and then pulled out a few adhesive plasters from the back pocket of her jeans. "I came well prepared," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye, that earned Emily the first real smile from the blonde.

Emily looked on in awe. The blonde was stunning; that was clear before. But the sight of that perfect smile with the most adorable dimples, in both of her cheeks was something else.

"Oh my! Where were you hiding that perfect smile?" The words escaped her mouth before she could help it and Alison blushed a deep shade of red. Emily found the colour rise in her cheeks too and decided to concentrate on dressing the blonde's feet instead.

A few minutes later, Alison looked down at her now clean, dry and dressed feet. "That does feel much better. I don't think saying thank you will suffice." Emily responded with a small smile. She knew there was another wound, a bigger one, that needed to be tended to. One that she was afraid to bring up.

Emily didn't realise she had been staring at the dried blood, running down Alison's leg, as she processed how to go about offering to clean and dress the wound, that it originated from. She realised where her eyes were focused, when Alison adjusted herself on the stool and tried to get the overcoat to cover her leg.

"I'm sorry," Emily quickly mumbled and got up with the basin. She walked over to the basin and proceeded to clean everything. Alison looked at the brunette's back that now faced her. She did not want to be the cause for the girl's discomfort. She knew the girl meant to help.

"Its on my thigh. It doesn't hurt as much now, just stings a lot. I'm… I didn't… I know you want to help. Its just…" Alison was rambling, wringing her hands together frantically. In moments she found two warm hands on hers, calming her down. "Its okay. I know it can't be easy. Calm down. It is okay, I promise."

A second later Alison's arms flew around the girl in front of her and she completely broke down, for the first time that day. She cried long and hard, with her head buried in the girl's shoulder and her body shaking violently in the brunette's arms. The taller girl said nothing, just held her silently, doing the one thing no one had — caring.

After what seemed like ages, the blonde's cries were reduced to sniffles and though her eyes looked like pools of red; Emily could tell she felt much better. "The vampire look really suits you," she ventured. A smirk appeared on her face "Is that what you were doing outside the cafe at midnight? Stalking me before the kill? Let me tell you I have loads of garlic back in the kitchen, just in case you get any ideas into that 350 year old brain."

Alison smiled again. A big smile.

Emily was pleased with herself. "I think I am going to pat myself on the back. Anyone who gets that smile on your face, deserves one." Then she continued more hesitantly, "Alison, is there someone I need to call? Someone who might be worried?"

"No," was the solemn reply and Alison looked away, towards the pitch dark, outside the glass windows of the cafe.

Emily didn't want to push any further. "Okay. In that case, there's a living space upstairs. I lived here for a while, 2 years back. Now Cece, the day manager, lives there. But she is gone for a few weeks. Would you like to crash upstairs till you… we figure stuff out?" Emily's words fell casually from her lips.

Alison turned around to face the other girl. "I could be anyone, even a murdered. I could be in danger and in turn you would be in danger, for helping me. Why are you being so nice to a stranger you know nothing about?"

Emily stood up and shrugged her shoulders. "You never really seemed like a stranger to me. Besides, the most important people in our lives were at some point strangers to us, weren't they?" She continued in a lighter tone, "I maybe wrong, but if you wanted to kill me, don't you think I'd be dead by now? Come on, now. Lets get you into something clean and into bed." She held out her hand for the blonde who took it.

Fifteen minutes later, Alison was in Emily's comfortable plaid pyjamas and a tank; from among the clothes the brunette kept at the cafe, in case of emergencies. She had cleaned the wound on her thigh with a wet towel, as instructed and applied the cream provided to soothe the sting.

She walked back into the living area, of the cosy rooms above the cafe, to find Emily getting into her jacket. "Are you leaving?" she inquired, her voice filled with panic.

Emily looked up at her and smiled "I think those pyjamas look better on you than on me. And yes, I thought I'd let you get some rest. I got to be back here in a few hours to open up too."

"Oh. Yes, of course! You must be tired. I'll be fine. I wasn't thinking. You couldn't stay with me forev…" She looked terrified. She was terrified. It wasn't just the thought of staying alone. It was also the words that had tumbled out of her lips.

Emily's face softened. "This place is safe. You are safe. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you." She furrowed her eyebrows and continued a second later, "What if I stay right there?" She pointed to the huge easy chair in the bedroom by the window. "I have slept more in that chair, than on the bed, especially during exams. How does that sound? Does that sound better?"

Alison looked relieved.

Ten minutes later Alison was on the bed, snuggled in clean sheets, with Emily already asleep on the easy chair. The light from the window lit up her beautiful face and gave her dark tresses a soft glow.

As she closed her eyes, Alison's thoughts wandered to the horrors of her day. She had been hurt, confused and dazed today. But the one thing Alison knew with complete clarity was that she had lost nothing important. Truth was she had nothing that mattered before today.

The only thing that mattered to her was what she had found today - the girl sleeping soundly on the chair, kissed by the moonlight.

The night has officially ended. We can now move on in time :) Leave me a line. Nothing makes me smile more than reading your reviews - good or bad.