"Fi! The work day ends at five."

"I'm aware, mom."

"It's eight!"

"I'm aware of that too," she snapped, her tone going steely.

"Fiona, baby," implored Molly, hoping a gentler tactic would help, "you haven't even been back at work for a week yet, your body is still recuperating. And don't tell me it isn't. Do you think I haven't noticed the dizzy spells, or the ridiculous amounts of Advil and caffeine you've been consuming? You look exhausted, Fi."

"I know, mom," she sighed. "It just doesn't change anything."

Fi made for the stairs, seriously considering moving into town, as the door bell rang.

"I'll get it," Jack called out.

"Hello, I'm looking for a Fiona, is she here?"

Fi froze. She knew that voice, she loved that voice, she hated it too. He couldn't be here, she couldn't afford the complication. She couldn't handle being around him. Why would he come?"

"Fi?" came Jack's voice from right behind her, making her jump. "Didn't you hear me calling? There's someone here for you."

"Right," she murmured, heading toward the front door.

"So, how do you know Fi?" she heard Ned ask as she entered the room.

"He's just an old acquaintance," she said casually before he could answer though her death glare at the man contradicted her claim.

"I missed you too, love," he smiled and she tried not to think about how sexy he looked leaning against the wall. His expression fell as he took in her appearance though, "Are you alright, love?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, tired of being asked the question.

Concern evident in his expression, Dorian walked over to her and gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "You don't look fine, love, you look like you should be in bed."

"Outside."

"What?"

"We'll talk about why ever it is you're here, outside," she snapped.

"You always did neglect your own well being," he sighed draping an arm over her shoulder.

She shrugged it off and tried to push ahead of him. He just wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his side.

"Don't be like that, love."

She sighed, but let him leave his hand where it was, determinedly avoiding the stares of the Bell family audience.

"Alright," she snapped, once the door had closed behind her. "What's going on?"

"Can't I just want to see you again?"

"Dorian" she sighed, falling into the porch swing. "Just stop. We are nothing anymore and if you are here to… fix us, then please just go."

"You really aren't well are you, love?" he asked, surprised by the lack of fight in her voice. Kneeling in front of her, he asked "What happened?"

"Nothing you need to know about."

"Fine," he sighed, pulling himself up and next to her. "I am actually here for business reasons. There are some… unpleasant rumors going around."

"I haven't heard anything out of the ordinary."

"Rumors going around the Dregs."

"Oh… there're always rumors there, what's the big deal?"

"Just look over this, please?" he asked, pushing a flash drive into her hand.

"Fine, but you had better not be wasting my time."

"I'm not… Love?"

"What?"

"Look at me?"

She did and found Dorian's lips on hers. She moved her hands to push him away but he quickly pulled her closer so she couldn't get enough leverage. And she was just so tired, was it worth fighting?

Fi felt herself leaning into his kiss as her arms wrapped around his neck. And taking that as an invitation, Dorian's tongue slid into her mouth. All thought flying from her head, Fi maneuvered herself so she was straddling his lap. She leaned into him and felt her stomach flip as he started slowly bringing his hand lower down her back, his finger tracing the line of her pants. Fi felt herself growing dizzy from lack of air but didn't stop.

"Easy love," said Dorian, breaking the kiss. "While I'm usually one for jumping back in the saddle, we both know you're not changing your opinion on us anytime soon. I am going to get you back but I'm going to do it the right way."

Fi tried to fight down her disappointment as he lifted her off him and back onto the porch swing.

"Look over the file, love, then get in contact with me when you're ready," he said, heading toward the steps. "I love you, Fi."

"Good night, Dorian," she answered quietly.

Fi watched him walk, swiftly disappearing into the darknesss. She tried to make herself feel angry over what had happened but all she managed was regret, which frightened her more than she wanted to admit. She could not let herself love him again, but then she wasn't sure she'd ever stopped.

"Dorian visited?" came Will's voice from the door.

"Yes," she told him, quickly tucking the flash drive up her sleeve.

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" she snapped. "I ended things, not him. Something he's never been happy about."

"Fi-"

"No Will, this isn't the company's concern," she told him, heading inside, hurrying to her room to avoid questions- moving into town was sounding better and better.

"And then, he's like, 'dude, I don't think that's my guitar!'" finished Clue to a chorus of laughter.

"God, Clue, where do you find these people," laughed Fi.

"You don't want to know, my friend, you don't want to know," he answered.

"You're probably right," she agreed, standing up, "I'm going to get a refill."

"Fi? Isn't that your third already?" asked a motherly sounding Irene, with an approving nod from Molly.

"Yea," she answered, but when their expressions didn't change she sighed, "Guys, I spent the past couple of years hanging out in English Pubs, trust me, this is nothing. I have a long way to go before you need to worry."

She made her way over to the bar, glad she was finally having a relaxing night out. It also helped that no one was pestering her about overdoing it, either. The night was about Molly, in celebration of her latest release's success, and Fi was more than happy to stay out of the spotlight.

"You wanna refill, honey?" asked the bartender.

"I'm gonna switch to a long island."

"Sure thing."

"Why don't you save it till she get's back?" came a British accent from behind her. "She and I have a dance, isn't that right love?"

"I suppose it wouldn't kill me," she sighed, turning around to face Dorian. "I'll finish that off for you, though."

Dorian smiled as she took his bourbon and knocked it back in one go, "I wasn't finished with that."

"Then maybe you should drink faster, I'll be back for my drink afte this song," she told the bartender over her shoulder.

"Sure thing, honey."

"I didn't think you'd actually agree to dance with me, love," Dorian told her as he lead her onto the dance floor.

"I didn't want to cause a scene," she told him bluntly, throwing a worried look in the direction of her family.

"Don't worry," he assured guiding her through the mass of gyrating bodies, "Nobody noticed, and even if he had, he still wouldn't have recognized me from across the room, and nobody is going to notice us in this mess. So relax a little, love."

"Are you kidding me? My position is precarious enough as it is."

"I don't care," he told her, pulling her against him as they started to move with the music. "Your position is your own making, you could walk away from the company."

"I won't though, you know that," she told him, trying to think clearly as thoughts of how good he smelled kept trying to confuse her.

"Why not? Are they really worth it? I walked away, after all."

"Yea, and look where that got you Dorian. Besides, you never had the obligations I do."

"Yes," he said, pulling her suddenly closer, too close. "I was lucky enough to escape the burden of family."

"I didn't mean it that way," she tried to apologized, as he slowly slid a hand down to grip her hip.

"Yes, you did, love," he told her, suddenly dipping her. "That's exactly how you meant it, but it is the truth, so you needn't apologize. Though, you could afford a little more tact next time."

Fi nodded dumbly, as most of her mind was preoccupied with how his breath played on her neck. He yanked her back up, non too gently, and spun her so her back was pressed against his chest, their bodies molding together as he continued to move them in time to the music. She tried to ignore the way his fingers tickled as they dug into her waist.

"Did I ever tell you how much I like this dress on you?" he whispered, his lips brushing softly against her ear.

"Y-yes," she stuttered, leaning into him willingly, her resolve fading. "You should stop."

"Oh but, love," he murmured, nipping at her neck and smiling as he heard her breath catch, "seducing you is so much fun."

"D-dorian, please?" she whispered, her body tingling traitorously.

"I suppose I'll have to have my fun later," he said, obligingly turning her back to face him, though he kept her body close to his. "Besides, we have business to attend to. Have you looked over what I gave you?"

"Yes," she answered, thankful to feel her head clearing.

"And?"

"I think it's worth looking into."

"Good, it's a date then," he smiled, looking like temptation itself.

"D-dorian, I d-don't think that's-"

"Relax love, I'd keep it strictly professional," he smiled.

"I still don't-"

"Fiona," he said, suddenly serious, "I'm seeing this through, with or without you. I'd just rather do it with you… I know you blame me for what happened, but I do miss her too."

Sighing, she let her head fall against his impressively toned chest, "Just… Just give some time to think of something, alright?"

"One week, love. I've already given you over a month and I don't have the time to wait much longer," he told her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Alright," she agreed, trying not to think about how much she just complicated her life.

"And sadly, now that the business is over, we don't have much time for the pleasure," he sighed as the song neared to an end. "Fiona?"

She looked up at him, knowing he was going to cross a line, knowing she was going to let him. She felt her breath hitch in her chest as he slowly slid a hand down her waist and over her hip. When he reached her thigh, he gripped tightly and yanked it up, wrapping her leg around his waist. The move forced her other leg to go up onto its toes, which, to his pleasure, caused her to fall against him. Smiling, and supporting her slight weight, he bent his head down.

Fiona felt her walls melt as he pressed his lips to hers. She had missed kissing him and noticed how small the voice in her head which always told her to push him away had become. So, she happily ignored it, kissing him back. To her surprise, he kept the kiss gentle and slow. It wasn't driven with the usual passion that emanated from him but instead possessed a delicate heat that stripped her defenses. Even when she opened her mouth to him, his tongue only teased her, catching her lips or the edges of her teeth softly. She felt desire burning through her as he pulled her lovingly along, waking up feelings she thought she had buried deep. And all too soon, leaving her longing for more, he pulled away, and let her body slide back down.

"In a week, my love," he smiled, causing her stomach to squirm even more, and with that, he left her dazed and alone on the dance floor.

He better have made that drink strong, she thought as she made her way over to the bar, trying to regain her composure.