Together Again

by Lady-Ravenhawk

Feared by the Gods themselves, the first humans to walk the earth were torn into two bodies, each one half of one soul. Destined to search for each other through their many lives lived upon the earth, neither remembers who they once were. That is until a fateful meeting reunites them as they work to save an innocent child from the years of abuse no one else was able to see.

39. Out of Time

Rose's hands shook violently as she stepped into the cabin the next morning. She could feel the blood draining from her face and she knew she had to look terrified. Truth was, she was terrified. As she thought back over all the cases she'd worked on, all the parents she'd faced, all the times spent in court, she realized she had never been more terrified than she was at this very moment. The air was still rather cold this far north in the early springtime and she hoped that Goku and his mates would believe that was the reason she shivered so harshly now.

She should've let Dende come with her. He'd offered to, but she'd sent him home, saying it was her responsibility to tell Goku what had happened. Oh, how she wished he was at her side now.

She licked her lips and met Goku's eyes. She tried to give him an apologetic stare. "I have something to tell you," she began nervously, "and you're not going to like it. And I swear to you, Goku, if there had been any other way to do it, I would have."

Tien didn't like where this was going. He crossed his arms over his chest as he sat in his chair and fixed Rose with an intense stare as she stood there speaking to Goku. If Goten was in danger, he was putting an end to it. Now. He'd had enough and his patience was wearing thin with this whole mess. This had been going on for the better part of a year. One more snag, one more hoop they had to jump through and he was going to go straight to Goten and bring him home.

Rose drew a deep breath as she met Goku's eyes. "We set Mrs. Son up," she began. "We couldn't figure out any other way to prove that she was Goten's abuser. I set up a camera in her home and I, well, I had to leave Goten with her. She hit him again."

"WHAT?!" Sabriena screamed and jumped to her feet, knocking her chair over with a clatter. Her hair and eyes started to glow. "You better explain and you better explain now before I turn you into a crusty little pile of ashes on that floor!"

Rose gave a terrified squeak and stepped back. "We got to him and got him away from her!" she cried. "Dende was with me and he healed Goten. He's not hurt! I, I mean he WAS, but only for a minute and we got the evidence we need to close the case. Mrs. Son was arrested. She won't have custody of Goten anymore!" She cringed and tried to shrink away from Sabriena. "Please don't hurt me."

Sabriena flexed her fingers as if she wanted to reach out and choke Rose, but she calmed herself, righted her chair, and sat back down. "You're damn lucky Dende was with you."

Goku didn't know what to think. He was livid that Chichi had been allowed to touch his son again. He stood there quietly for a moment as he allowed his thoughts and emotions to run through his mind. He finally swallowed hard as he looked at her and nodded. He looked over at Tien and Sabriena before he turned back at Rose. "Is Goten alright? He's a strong kid. Did you explain it to him? Can I see him?"

"I can bring him out to visit soon," Rose promised. She peeked up at Goku, expecting to see anger in his eyes, but there was none. Relief crashed through her as she realized that he wasn't angry with her. "Goku," she said, an excitement touching her blue eyes. "Don't you realize what this means? You got Goten back! All I have to do is clean up my report a little bit, submit it to the judge and this whole thing will be over! You'll get your son back! And if you want him to stay with Gohan, I'll put that in my recommendation."

Goku felt as if a whole weight had lifted off of his shoulders and an excitement welled up in his chest. He rushed forward and lifted her up in his arms to swing her around, "Yes! Thank you, thank you! Please put it in your recommendation. I just want to be able to see my boy again without being watched all the time."

Rose hugged his neck, her heart swelling. "I understand! Okay, okay, I have to get back to the office. I have to get my final report written up so I can get it submitted first thing in the morning!"

Goku kissed her cheek and sat her back down on the ground, "Thank you so much again, Rose. For everything! I'll go tell Gohan the news! He'll be so relieved! Do you need me to take you back?" He was beaming, he couldn't contain himself.

"That would help! If you don't mind? It's a long flight back to the city," she answered, her cheek burning where he'd kissed it, butterflies erupting in her stomach. Goku told Tien and Sabriena he'd be back shortly, just as he always did, and the next thing Rose knew, they were standing in front of her office building.

Rose was practically bouncing on the sidewalk. "Oh, I'm just so happy! Everything's going to be great now! Don't worry, Goku, Dende healed Goten up as quick as he could. He's not hurting now." Rose put a hand up to her mouth and loudly whispered, "You ex has been arrested. I wish you could've seen the look on her face!"

Goku chuckled and moved to get the door for her to go into her office building, "Do you think it would be okay if I came in and took a look around? I've been wondering where you've been disappearing too all this time! I promise I won't get in the way!"

"Yeah, sure! Come on," Rose said leading the way. She practically skipped down the tile hallway, Goku laughing at her. "This is me," she said, opening the door to a small office. There wasn't much there and it surprisingly reminded Goku of Rose's apartment. She flopped down into the computer chair behind her desk and it rolled a bit; she had to grab onto her desk to stop from hitting the shelves behind her. "Okay," she said, calming her excitement. She was smiling widely as she looked at her desk. "That's weird," she said, looking around. She pulled open some drawers, shuffling through them. "I could've sworn I left the file right here." She spun around in her chair, pulling open a drawer to the filing cabinet. "No... What in the world?" Her fingers walked across the long drawer full of case files. "I don't understand..."

Goku tilted his head, "Something wrong?" He looked around, he didn't like that look that was taking over her face or the tone in her voice, "What are you looking for? Can I help?"

"Barb!" Rose called out the open office door. "Have you seen the Son case file?"

The heavyset woman appeared in the doorway, never looking at Goku. She gave a grim nod. "Amy has it."

Rose looked confused. "Why does she have it?"

"Rose, you've got a lot of explaining to do," Barb said cryptically.

Rose's heart sank and her stomach turned to ice. There were a LOT of notes in that file. Personal notes. Things she didn't mean for anyone to see. She got to her feet, "Barb..."

Another woman entered Rose's office. She had long black hair and looked to be in her late thirties.

"Amy, give me back that file!" Rose demanded boldly. "I've worked really hard on that and I have new evidence that I need to include so I can write up my recommendation!"

"This file?" Amy asked, holding it up with one hand. "Sorry, Rose, but I've taken over this case."

Rose gaped at her for a moment. "W-Why?"

"Oh, let's see," Amy said casually, leaning against the doorframe and opening the file. "Aliens? Evidence of abuse from both parents? Family members aware of and participating in physical fights with the child? And you were considering recommending that the boy stay with his brother..." Amy looked up, shaking her head slowly, tsking at Rose. "Not to mention your little INFATUATION with the boy's father."

Rose felt her face burn.

Goku blinked and decided he did not like the tone of their voices. He wanted to say something but what could he do? Aliens, physical fights, infatuation? He looked at Rose. What all had she put into the report about him? She didn't seem like she would string him along like that and he certainly didn't feel like she had betrayed him. Not after everything they had been through, "I'm sure its just a misunderstanding, that's all. She's been purely professional in dealing with this case! You can't take her off of it when she is so close to closing it"

Amy fixed him with a bored stare. "I assume you're Mr. Son?" She looked down at the file, "Oh, no, that's right. You asked her to call you GOKU." She looked back up at him. "She likes your name, you know." Amy snorted, and held up the open notebook, "See? She drew little hearts around it. And your smile is dreamy, apparently."

Goku blinked at Rose. Did she have feelings for him? How on earth had that happened? Oh goodness. He rubbed at his face for a moment. He'd always been accused of being a bit too personal and he must've given her the wrong impression. He didn't understand it. He'd assumed she had feelings for Dende with the way she always blushed and giggled around the Namek. He would never, ever betray his mates. Surely Rose knew that. He shook his head. He didn't have time to figure it out now. He could talk to her about it some other time; all he was interested in was friendship.

"Amy, shut it!" Rose barked, angry tears burning her eyes. She was so embarrassed. "That's MY case and any personal notes are just that! You've never gone through my stuff before! What's gotten into you?"

"I spoke with Goten's foster parents," Amy answered as she flipped through more pages, "Swimming with them on your day off? Christmas parties? DREAMING about them? Really, Rose? You could lose your job for that." She looked up and tossed her hair over her shoulder, snapping the file shut. "Anyway, it seems the new parents have become quite fond of little Goten. And after this rat's nest of a report, I think it's safe to say the best thing for the boy would be for him to be adopted by his foster parents. I'm going to recommend that both biological parents rights are terminated."

Goku felt his heart snap in half. "What?! No! Check the police footage! My ex-wife has been abusing my son, NOT ME! Not his brother! You can't do this! Don't do this!" He dropped to his knees; his legs felt like jelly. They were so close, but the foster parents wanted to adopt his son? "He's my son! MY son! You cant do this. Please dont do this, I can't bear to watch him be taken away from me again, not after everything I've done to protect him. Please?!"

Amy rolled her eyes at Goku. "Good god, man, get a hold of yourself and stand up. Begging isn't going to change my mind," she sneered.

Rose was seeing red. "AMY, YOU GIVE ME BACK THAT FILE RIGHT NOW!"

Amy held her arm back, keeping the file out of Rose's reach as Rose approached her. "Watch yourself," she said dangerously, "Your job's on the line as it is!"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT MY JOB!" Rose shouted, "I JUST WANT TO HELP GOTEN!"

"What is all this ruckus?" came a tired voice. It was Mary, the blonde lady with the tired eyes. She rolled her eyes as she saw them, "Amy, give me that file."

"Mary, please," Rose begged the blonde, "Please, let me finish this case! No one understands them like I do! I swear, I'll be unbiased! I'll do it by the book! Please, let me finish it!"

Mary shook her head sadly as she took the file and shooed Barb and Amy from the office. She closed the door and turned to Rose again. "The things in this file are highly unprofessional, Rose. I expected better from you."

Rose looked quietly at the floor, casting an apologetic glance at Goku.

"Go home, Rose," Mary said.

"You... You're FIRING ME?!" Rose gasped.

"Leave of absence," Mary corrected her, "Until we've had time to review your other case files."

"But my kids, the cases I'm working on," Rose breathed.

"They'll be reassigned," Mary said. "Now go on."

Goku looked at the new woman; he vaguely remembered seeing her the day they'd first contacted CPS. "Ma'am please, she's told the truth in her report. If you need proof, please just talk with Dr. Briefs at Capsule Corp or Bulma. You remember watching the Cell Games? Did you see the green man? He is an alien and so am I. Anything you need for proof, just name it. She's not lying. Please let her finish the case. I just want to save my son. I want to get him back to our family."

Mary looked to him and drew herself up to her full height, her expression stern. She suddenly looked much more intimidating. "Sir, I have been with this agency for over twenty years. In all that time, I have never seen such a jumbled up bunch of nonsense in my life!" She slapped the back of her hand against the file. "I don't know what's happened to you, Rose. Is the pressure too much? Because this sounds like you've completely lost your mind!"

"I know," she said softly. "It sounded crazy to me, too. That's why I wanted to clean it up before I presented it."

Mary shook her head and looked at the file again. "Nonsense. Utterly ridiculous."

"NO, IT'S NOT NONSENSE!" Rose shouted, making Mary jump. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's real! It's all real! The magick, their powers, the aliens." Rose had a wild idea, but it was the only thing she could think of that could convince Mary. "Goku, go get Dende and Piccolo!" Rose ordered. "Bring them here right now!"

Goku wiped his eyes and nodded, pressing his fingers to his forehead and vanished for a second. He reappeared a few moments later with just Dende. He looked pleadingly over at the older woman before he looked back at Rose, "Sorry, Piccolo wasn't there."

Dende blinked a moment, he hadn't been expecting that, but he should have known better. He had been watching the situation, watching Rose. He couldn't let her go it alone. He had sensed her, the anticipation as she set the trap for Chichi, the elation she had felt at finally getting her proof and then horror and terror. It hurt him so to feel her like that. He looked to the people around them, sensing the situation. He looked to the elder woman, at her expression. He looked her in the eyes and smiled at her, "She is not crazy Mary. My name is Dende. I am from the Planet Namek. Please, allow me to answer any questions that you have."

Mary stared at Dende for a full two minutes before she spoke. "That's it. I retire," she said, slamming the file down on Rose's desk. She leaned heavily on the desk with one hand, the other pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is absolute insanity." She lowered her hand and looked over at the two men who had just reappeared in the office. "Never, in twenty years."

"Mary, PLEASE," Rose begged. "Don't give this case to Amy." She lowered her voice, daring to step closer to her supervisor, "You KNOW what she does. She loves ripping the kids away from good parents and you know it. She's done it before. She's the one who makes the rest of us look like monsters."

Mary tapped her toe as she looked up at the ceiling and exhaled slowly. "I don't know, Rose."

Dende walked over to her carefully, "Rose had a hard time believing too. Not exactly what you were expecting when you came in." He studied her for a moment, "No, you are not crazy either and no, there was nothing in the water cooler. You've done good work here, Mary. You've saved the lives of so many children. Given so many hope. You've had to rely on your gut instinct many times." He placed a hand on Rose's shoulder, shoving the buzzing feeling to the back of his mind. He remembered the grandmother's story about the first humans and he briefly wondered if it was true. He'd been thinking about that a lot over the past few weeks. "She has been nothing but the perfect example of what your employees should be. It is never easy when your views are challenged. Had anyone else been assigned to this case. Goten would be the one to suffer, but Rose stayed with it, working through what she saw, what she was told."

Mary studied him again. She knew his name from Rose's notes. She took a deep breath and let it out sharply. "All right, Rose. You take this file. You go home. You write your report and you include EVERYTHING in it. And I mean it. Every last detail. Except, of course, for your PERSONAL notes. And you bring this back to me by eight tomorrow morning. Make sure that you make your recommendation based on LOGIC and not your emotions. If I approve, I'll send it on to the judge. It will be up to him to sort through this fairy tale of a report you've created and decide what's best for the boy."

Goku let out a sob of relief at her words. Oh, thank the gods. He looked over to Dende who offered the woman a slight smile, "Thank you Ma'am, thank you for having an open mind."Dende looked over at Goku, then back at Mary. He took his hand and held it up, a warm golden glow formed around it, casting a soft light around the room, "I would like to give you something in return. If you will allow it."

Mary looked uncertainly at the strange alien. She threw her hands in the air. "Why the hell not? Can't get any weirder than this."

Dende reached out taking her hands in his closing his eyes for a moment letting the warm glow seep into her own, the glow spread to encompass her whole body, he spoke, soothing calm words, "I know this line of work is not easy. You give so much for so very little in return. You wonder if you will ever not be needed, but know that you will be needed day in and day out. It is hard to find peace among so much pain and suffering. Please accept this offering. May it ease your soul, if only for a day. Know that every soul you touch, that you save, eases your own."

Rose smiled at Dende. He was so kind, so compassionate. Everything about him was simply amazing. Even after Mary had slightly insulted him in her frustration, he offered to ease her stress. He was truly amazing.

The glow faded away and Mary looked like she could cry with relief. She composed herself after a minute and said, "Well, I don't know what that was, but thank you, young man." She turned to Rose, looking thoroughly confused, yet relaxed at the same time. "Eight a.m." And with that, she left the office.

Rose let out a shuddering breath before she flung her arms around Dende's neck. "You just saved us," she breathed against his neck. "You might have just saved Goten."

Dende's eyes widened for a second before he let his arms come up around Rose and held her close, barely lowering his head. He could smell her light perfume. Fragrant, flowery with a hint of spice. Her weight in his arms felt right and he thought he could just stand there in that spot forever. Content to just hold her, "How could I do anything else?" He reluctantly pulled away and looked over at Goku and frowned as he felt his heart broke again. How much more suffering did his friend have to go through?, "Goku, are you alright?"

The man nodded, he smiled warmly at the two. There was something amazing happening in front of his eyes, "Thank you, Dende. Thank you so much. I owe you so much, you've done so much for Goten and I. I can'. I don't know what I would have done if they took him away." That wasn't true and Dende knew it. It would be a dark day if that happened and there would have been no force on earth that would stop Goku and his friends to get Goten back.

"Come on Goku, the sooner we get the report to her, the better for all of us. She is a good soul. She will not allow Rose's co workers to take over the case."

"Okay," Rose said and scooped up the file to hug it protectively against her chest as if it were going to run away. "I need to go home. Goku, I know it's a lot to ask. But can you stay and help me? I just want to make sure that we can make our case as strong as possible. I might have a few more questions for you. If that's okay? I know you're worn out with this. I'm so sorry for the confusion," she said softly. "I swear, we will get this worked out soon. Just hold on a couple more days. Please?"

Goku nodded, "Of course, we can go to Gohan's. He will help us too. Let me take Dende back to the Lookout."

Dende looked at both of them, "Actually,if it is alright, I would like to come with you as well. Just in case?" Goku nodded, "Yeah. Sure! That would be great if thats okay with you Rose?"

Rose smiled widely at Dende. "Of course I want you with us." She reached for his hand and entwined her fingers with his, then stepped close enough for Goku to wrap his arm around her waist. There was a contented, butterfly feeling in her stomach and she tried not to blush again. Dende's hand felt warm in her own and Goku's arm was strong and firm around her waist. The office disappeared in a flash and she found herself in the living room of Goku's oldest son, Gohan.

"Hey Dad," Gohan said calmly without looking up from his textbook. This was his last semester at college before he would finally graduate and it seemed the homework was piled higher than ever before. In fact, he'd hardly had time for anything else lately. But it was finally going to pay off. He already had a job lined out as the newest cardiologist at the most prestigious hospital in West City as soon as he passed his board exams. "You here for lunch?"

Goku shook his head, going over to his son, "She did it. Rose got the proof she needed against your mother. We have to help her with the case file. She has to turn it in before eight am tomorrow morning. Can you help us son? Please? Goten, Chichi hurt him again, but it was for the last time. Let's not make him suffer for it again." He looked over at Rose, his son's guardian angel, "She almost lost the case to her co workers, but Dende saved us."

Dende blushed, his hand clutching at Rose's. It was warm and comforting. He didn't want to let go. He wanted to will her to see what was going on between them. He wanted her to see him the same way he saw her. He wanted her, but they had to help Goten during this small window of opportunity that they had. It had to work or everything would have been for naught, "It was nothing, really. She had a good heart, but let's get to work. I think Goten is ready to come home."

Gohan had lowered his book to his lap and stared wide-eyed at his dad. "Are you serious? He's not going back to Mom?" he breathed. He felt the relief as it crashed through him. It seemed that every moment not spent worrying about his schoolwork, he'd spent worrying over his little brother.

Goku nodded.

"Oh thank god," Gohan said and jumped up to hug his dad. "I'll do anything you need," he said to Rose eagerly. "Anything at all. You just name it."

"Is there somewhere we can sit?" Rose asked.

Gohan nodded and led the way to the dining room.

Rose still had a hold of Dende's hand and she didn't even realize it until she went to grab the back of the chair. "Oh, sorry, Dende!" she blushed. "I didn't mean to hold your hand for so long. I'm out of it."

Gohan looked curiously at his friend; Dende looked simultaneously enthralled and disappointed. He tipped his head slightly to the side. Dende had been holding Rose's hand. His eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to say something to him, but thought better of it and clamped his mouth shut. Perhaps it was too early in their relationship for Gohan to say anything, if there was even a relationship at all yet. No, it was better to let his dad make those sort of blunt announcements. He sat down at the table across from Rose as she started rummaging through her papers, every now and then stashing one in the chair next to her with a blush on her cheeks.

Goku moved and sat next to Rose so he could lean over and look at all the pages, his hand brushed hers as he reached out to help spread the pages about, "Gosh there's a lot here! Where do we even start?"

Dende didn't know what to think. He wanted so much and maybe that made him selfish and reading too much into things, but he could no longer deny that he felt something towards Rose. He rubbed the back of his head, he was not used to this. Every time he was near her it pained him to part from her. It really pained him to see her so taken with Goku. He wanted to tell her so badly that Goku couldn't be with her that way, but then she might reject him and that. He tried his best to suppress the shudder that coursed through his veins. He would surely die if that happened.

"Dende, sit," Rose said, waving him over towards Gohan on the other side of the table. She shoved aside the stack of photos. Goku didn't need to look at those marks again.

"All right, boys," Rose said, looking up and setting her hand on the papers. Her attitude was all business now. "If the foster parents are interested in adopting Goten, which does not surprise me in the slightest, then this is whole new ballgame we're playing. I know my supervisor. She may have been very fair just now, but she will also be that way in court. And that will mean putting it out there that there's already an approved home willing to adopt Goten. So we have to present the absolute BEST case we can to prove to the judge why it is in Goten's best interest to be part of your family."

"What about my mom?" Gohan asked, leaning against the table, his hands under it. He looked worried.

"Your mom isn't even an issue anymore," Rose answered dismissively. "The best she can hope for is an occasional supervised visit. And I will be surprised if the judge even awards her that much. She really screwed herself on this one."

Goku felt elated and sad at the same time. Even after everything Chichi had put him through, put his sons, their sons through, he knew he would do what he could from danger. You never want to think that way about a mother. What had happened to him, he didn't know. He couldn't love her. He couldn't not after what he'd seen. It was Goten and Gohan he was worried about. What they thought. What would they think. Goten would understand everything when he was older and Goku was eager to have him spend more time with Sabriena. She was a proper mother for him, "Gohan, I'm sorry it had to come to this. Your mother, I don't know what happened to make her so bitter, so hateful."

Dende moved and sat next to Gohan looking over the pages and his eyes caught the photos. His eyes widened slightly. Good gods, Chichi had done all that? It hurt to just look at those marks. She hit his face? "Oh Goten."

"She's been this way a long time, Dad," Gohan said, shaking his head. "I don't know what's wrong with her. It's almost like she had me and Goten because she thought it was something she was supposed to do, not because she wanted us."

Rose wasn't listening. She was looking at Dende and the look of horror on his face, however subtle it may have been. It was like she could feel it from him. She shook her head and reached for the photos, stacking them a little neater, and turned them face-down. "He doesn't look like that anymore," she said softly to Dende. "You know that. You healed him. Try not to think of him like that."

She returned her gaze to the table, her mind working a million miles an hour. She hated to say this. She worried about what Goku's reaction was going to be. She heaved a sigh. "This is the new foster family I placed Goten with. I inspected their home myself and ran extensive background checks on them. I contacted references. The whole nine yards to make sure they were the best home for Goten to stay with while this whole thing was going on. They are really nice people with a fancy house in a good school district, with a good income and no children of their own." She looked to Goku, "You, unfortunately, have NONE of that. Goku, I hate to say this, but the judge is not going to give you custody of your son. I'm sorry. And now there's no hiding anything, no fudging some details to help you out because Mary's already seen everything I wrote. If I try to sneak something past her, she will destroy me in court and fire me on the spot." She chewed her bottom lip for a minute. "Our only hope is to recommend that Goten lives here with you, Gohan, and that you become his legal guardian. Are you okay with that?" she asked.

Gohan nodded, "Of course! My wife's fine with it too. We've already talked about it quite a bit. We have an extra room for him and in a few weeks after I graduate, I'll start my new job. Lindsey's going to stay home with the kids, w-well, I mean Phoenix, so she'll be able to watch Goten, too."

Rose looked to Goku, "Are you okay with that? You know what all that involves, right?"

Goku had thought about it, he knew that it had been a possibility. He swallowed hard, only one concern in his mind, "Rose, will I still be able to see my son?" He looked at her, a serious expression on his face, "As long as he is with Gohan, that is fine, but I don't think I could stand it if I couldn't see him. I would see him any way, but I don't want him or Gohan, Lindsey or Phoenix to get in trouble if I do, It's not their fault.."

Dende looked up at Rose. Her words eased his mind and he tilted his head, closing his eyes and looked on Goten. He was. He was alright. Confused, but he had his father's happiness in him. He looked to Rose. His heart was aching for her, so much.

Rose smiled widely at Goku and grabbed his arm. "Of course you can still see him! Look, giving Gohan guardianship means that all legal and medical decisions are up to him instead of you. Such as what school Goten would attend, where he receives medical attention if needed, extra curricular activities, that sort of thing. All those decisions would be up to Gohan and his wife. You're still going to see him. In fact, that's part of what we're going to write out in this recommendation. That you are a good influence in his life, but that your home just is not equipped to have a small child. You didn't do anything wrong. You as his father are still a VERY important part of his life. And that your husband and wife are a good influence on him. I'm going to require that you spend a lot of time with him. You understand? And he can come to visit you as often as you like."

Goku's smile spread across his face, beaming at her and he nodded, "That sounds perfect." He leaned over and wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her cheek, "Thank you so much. Thank you!" He released her and looked over at Gohan, "Thank you son. You don't know how much this means to me." He wiped at his eyes, more tears of happiness. He didn't mind crying those tears, but he was tired of all of this stress. He was tired of feeling so helpless. He was TIRED of crying, "Okay, where do we start?"

Rose's face flushed and she turned towards the table, trying to hide the silly smile on her face. She briefly touched her cheek where he'd kissed her. Twice today he'd done that. She felt giddy and bubbly inside. "Okay, so here's what we have to do."