DJxDANGAAxCRNPPS: Thank you so much for the review, I'm glad your enjoying it. I like making them protective, especially sense Fi has a habit of running off to do whatever without always thinking it through =) I just hope it doesn't come off as too cheesy, lol. Thanks again.

And thanks to everyone who follows it and puts me on author alert and so on, hope you continue to enjoy it.

And, no, I do not own anything... =(

R&R Please.

"No, absolutely not."

"What? Why not?"

"Are you blind? It's awful."

"It's got character!"

"Is that what you call it?"

"Yes! What would you call it?"

"Ugly," said, Dorian, reaching carefully around Fi, so as not to jostle her, and clicked the mouse. "Now that is a good chair."

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because it's leather! It screams bachelor pad."

"It's better than what you were looking at," he insisted.

"No," she snorted. "It's not, not by a long shot."

"Fine, next," he said as she clicked the mouse.

"I like it!" said the two together.

"That's everything then," said Fi, ordering the chair. "By tomorrow night, this apartment will actually look like people live here."

"Good," he said, as the door bell rang. "Perfect timing."

Dorian helped Fi sit up a little so he could climb out from behind her, careful not to knock her too much, and went to get the door. Fi slowly climbed off the bed and went to her purse. She had to dig around a bit but finally managed to find her cigarettes and lighter. She hadn't had one since before her run the day before and was seriously going through withdrawal. She stepped out onto the balcony, and, carefully, lowered herself down, leaning against the wall. She closed her eyes as she inhaled, savoring the taste.

"Love?"

"Outside," she called.

"You okay with soda?" he asked, closing the door behind him and turning around, his face falling.

"Fine with me," she said, looking up at him. "What's wrong?"

"You're smoking," he grimaced.

"Yeah."

"You quit."

"I restarted."

"When? Why?"

Fi shrugged, wincing at the movement and taking another drag off her cigarette.

"Fi!" he growled, his patience running out.

"What? Are you seriously going to get on me for smoking? You're the one who got me started in the first place!"

"And you hated it, it's why you quit, remember? It's why you got me to quit."

"Well, I don't hate it anymore. You want one?"

"No."

She shrugged and again regretted it.

"Fi, why did you start again? When did you start again?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes," he insisted

"Let's just eat dinner, I'll put it out if you want," she offered, hoping he'd drop it.

"What I want is for you to answer my question."

"The night you got arrested, happy?" she snapped, angry at him for pushing it, it wasn't his business.

"No," he said sitting down across from her.

"Then you should have left well enough alone," she told him, taking another drag on her cigarette.

"You shouldn't have restarted because of that, Fi," he tried to reason.

"What exactly was I supposed to do, Dorian? The council wouldn't let me be involved in anything! I spent three hours at their office just for them to tell me to go home. I couldn't get anything out of them, and trust me I tried. They just said they'd call me in a few days, and that was it! They dismissed me like I was nothing more than some insignificant new hire.

"And when I was leaving, do you know what they said to me? 'Considering it's your fiancé who is responsible for all this, we can't begin to imagine what a precarious position that must put you in. Why don't you just step back and leave things to us.' In a three day period my sister was buried, my fiancé was arrested for her murder and the betrayal of our people, and the Council stopped trusting me! I couldn't do anything and I had no one to go to! So, yeah, I had a cigarette, heck, I had a whole pack! Sue me!" she ranted.

Dorian's face darkened as he busied himself with the pizza, he didn't say anything. Immediately, regretting her outburst, Fi leaned her head back puffing on her cigarette.

"Here," he said coldly, holding out a paper plate with pizza on it.

"I'm not hungry," she told him, sick with herself for having brought it all up to him, knowing she'd hurt him.

"I don't care. You need food," he said, his tone clipped. "Eat."

She nodded sullenly and took the plate.

They ate in silence.

Fi sat in silence as Dorian finished rewrapping her ribcage. The tension between them was palatable and the two had maintained a strained silence since dinner the night before. He finished and went into the kitchen. Fi went to find sweats.

She had hurt him, and the worse part was it had been intentional. She had just been so angry at him, that he would get upset with her when he didn't know anything about it. So she had hit below the belt, knowing it would make him back off. They had never talked about that night before, and she had regretted her words the moment she'd said them. But, regret or not, she had said them and couldn't take them back. She had hurt him, and now he was angry; though, whether he was angry with himself or with her, she didn't know. And she didn't know what to say to fix it. So she'd said nothing instead, and he'd followed her lead.

Fi bit her lip as she bent to pull on her pants. Bending was not fun. Tying the drawstring, she grabbed a tank top. She slid her arms in, and started to raise them, in order to pull it on the rest of the way. She froze, moaning, as it sent pain through her. She heard someone chuckle behind her.

"Here," said Dorian.

Lowering her arms, he cautiously pulled the top over her head and tugged it gently into place.

"Um, thanks," she said, blushing.

"Where's your brush?"

"It's alright, you don't have to-"

"Fi," he said impatiently, "you couldn't even get your shirt on. And we both know your hair is going to drive you crazy if you leave it unbrushed. Where's your brush?"

"Bathroom counter," she sighed.

Fi made her way to the window seat in her room, and sat. He had broken their silence, that was good. She just wasn't where to go from there. She felt his fingers in her hair as he started brushing a section. She chewed on her lip unsure of what to do. He didn't say anything else.

A few minutes later he set the brush down and left. Fi put it back in the bathroom and went in search of him. The truth was, she knew what she needed to do, she just didn't want to do it. She found him in the kitchen pouring coffee.

"Dorian?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you… I shouldn't have pressed you… I…" he trailed off.

"Can we just, you know, forget it happened?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, relieved, handing her a cup of coffee, his usual demeanor returning. "Do you need a pain pill, love?"

"A half a one, I don't want to sleep the day away again," she told him, their awkwardness completely gone.

"Is it so difficult for you to let yourself rest?" he asked, shaking his head as he cut a pill in half.

"Do you really need to ask?" she smiled. "Besides, I don't have to be in bed to rest."

"Your hopeless," he sighed, handing her the pill. "And Jessa and Annie stopped by while you were still asleep. Your stuff is in the office. They said to email them with whatever you need them to do."

She nodded, "You could have woken me up."

"Didn't have the heart," he shrugged. "I know how hard you've been pushing yourself the past few months, love."

She nodded.

"Cold pizza?" he asked, opening the fridge.

"The breakfast of champions," she smiled, leaning against the counter.

"Here, love," he said, handing over a slice on a piece of paper towel.

"Thanks," she set down her coffee.

"What time should the all the stuff start getting here?"

"Um," she said, chewing slowly as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "A half hourish?"

"I still can't believe what you paid for overnight," he said, shaking his head.

"I didn't want to wait," she shrugged, forcing down another bite.

"Patience never was your strong suit," he chuckled.