A/N: I'm so sorry it has taken me several weeks to post an update on this fic! It is always my intention to update more often, but I struggle to do so with work and also trying to update my other fics. :) Anyway, for those of you who have been reading "Beyond the Elevator", this chapter also contains a Demily shower scene. I didn't think you would mind, lol. I actually wrote this "shower scene" before the other, so I didn't want to take it out of the chapter.

Okay, enough about that. Thank you for the gracious feedback on my previous update! Your words of encouragement are what keep me writing. As long as you want to read more, I will do my best to continue to write more.

P.S. Ktlynrose – endgame is Demily, to answer your question. :)

Chapter Five

The morning sunlight cast itself on Daniel's face through the cabin windows, awakening him. Slowly, his eyes came into focus to find Emily's sleeping figure to his side. Unusually, she was facing him, sleeping somewhat on her stomach with her long, dark blonde mane splayed on the pillow. Looking ever so peaceful and content with her bare back exposed, Daniel resisted the urge to run his fingertips along her soft skin. Instead, he gently crept from the bed and into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

As he brushed his teeth, he stared at himself in the mirror. How had he become such a horrible person, he wondered? He was lying to his wife, and the lie only paled in comparison to the fact he had shot and nearly killed her. And now, he had taken advantage of her vulnerability and made love to her the majority of the night.

It had felt so right in the moment, but now in the light of day, Daniel felt a great deal of remorse. He was making Emily believe the lie, and what was worse, it was no longer just to save himself, but because he didn't want to lose her. Perhaps, a shower would help clear his mind, break his train of the thought. As the hot beads poured down his body, Daniel closed his eyes, willing himself to think of something else...anything else.

A slight draft caught his attention a few minutes later, but it immediately dissipated as Emily closed the shower door, gently pressing hers fingers to his shoulder. Daniel abruptly turned to face her, wishing she weren't unknowingly making it so difficult to resist her. "Good morning," She breathed, placing her lips to his. She tasted of mint, obviously having just brushed her teeth as well. "I hope you don't mind my joining you," Emily added with a tone of sweet seduction.

Daniel took her in her beauty for a moment as she stood, almost innocently, but so dangerously before him. "No...no, of course not." This shower was not going according to plan. His morning resolve to do what was right by her was quickly fading. Surely, Emily should be out of his system by now. But she wasn't. She was far from it.

So Daniel gave into his weakness yet again and ravenously kissed her. The forceful motion knocked Emily's body against the shower wall, but she barely noticed. It felt so good to be wanted him, to feel alive again. Daniel's wet hands gently gripped her hair as he moaned in desire for her. Absently, he turned off the shower faucet and guided their dripping bodies back to the bed. Neither cared that they had forgotten about the towels.

"We've sitting here for hours," Nolan complained from the passenger seat of the rental car. He looked over at his counterpart who was sitting stoically behind the wheel.

"They can't stay in there forever," Aiden replied, facing forward. Nolan had successfully tracked Daniel and Emily's location, and he and Aiden had been sitting in a parked car just far away enough from their cabin to go unnoticed.

"Don't you find this stakeout the least bit creepy, considering we're spying on Emily?"

"It's for her safety. I'm going in there, if they don't come out soon."

"And say what? Sorry to interrupt your "honeymoon", but we think your husband is an attempted murderer?" Nolan asked sarcastically. He understood Aiden's concern, but he wasn't being reasonable.

Aiden found no humor in Nolan's wisecrack. "I don't trust him. He could be hurting her."

"I don't think Daniel's that cruel or stupid." Their banter was interrupted by Daniel and Emily emerging from the cabin hand in hand wearing horseback riding gear. They stopped on the porch steps to kiss, and Emily clearly laughed as Daniel whispered something into her ear.

Nolan slid his eyes over to Aiden. "She doesn't exactly look unhappy, does she?"

"He's brainwashed her," Aiden muttered with a clenched jaw.

"Or maybe...you might need to face the fact that she's falling in love with him. Look, Aiden...there was a time when Emily didn't hate Daniel, and I believe her feelings for him were true. Maybe now that there's no trace of revenge in her system, she's subconsciously giving into how she once felt."

"Well, if that's the case, it's a misconception. Because he is a Grayson and she does wants revenge. I think it's time we start forcing her to face who she really is."

"Are you sure you want to do that? She may not be ready."

Aiden looked over at Nolan pointedly. "The longer Emily goes without remembering her past, the greater the chance is that we'll lose her forever."

What Daniel had thought would be the longest week of his life, had wound up flying by. Being away from home with Emily had been blissful and free of the reminders of their sins. But it was time to come home, for him to go back to work, and for them, hopefully, to find some way to exist in a peaceful future.

Daniel was now terrified of Emily regaining her memory. With each passing day, they had grown closer and had spent time genuinely enjoying each other. Emily was easy to be with, unassuming and innocent. Her mind wasn't clouded by her jaded memories or ulterior motives. And in her eyes, Daniel was the man he once had been before he had allowed the darkness to consume him. It was nice.

"Home sweet home," Daniel announced as he and Emily entered the beach house. Emily moved in front of him to set her keys down on the kitchen counter while Daniel set their luggage down on the floor.

"As much as I didn't want our vacation to end, it's good to be back home." She said with a wistful smile.

Daniel frowned. "Listen, I'm sorry to do this, but I do really need to go by the office for a few hours."

"I understand. What sounds good for dinner? I'll go to the market."

"Actually..." Daniel began, slipping his arms around her waist. "Why don't you put on one of those sexy dresses in your closet, and I'll take you out tonight?"

Emily smiled broadly at his suggestion. Seeing her happy now made Daniel happy, and he leaned in with a smile to give her a peck on the lips before heading to the door. "I'll be back later. I love you." Daniel halted after realizing what he had just said. He turned around to find Emily standing with a slightly surprised expression lighting her face. "Sorry – habit."

"It's a nice habit," She softly replied to which Daniel smiled in relief and turned to leave again. "Daniel?" He turned back to look at her once more. Emily took a breath. "I love you, too."

"Daniel, welcome home." He looked up from the paperwork on his desk to find Charlotte smiling in the doorway of his office. He smiled back at his sister who was also Voulez' newest employee.

"Thanks. I'd being lying if I said it's good to be back though."

"So you had a good trip, I take it?"

"It was nice."

Charlotte arched her brow. "Nice?"

"Okay, it was great...better than great, actually," Daniel admitted in fond recollection. Charlotte now raised her brow with a knowing smile. "Emily and I have...found common ground."

"So, I was right?" She proudly asked causing Daniel to release a small laugh. After all, she had been the one to tell him there was nothing he and Emily could not work through together, and that they had been given a chance to fall in love again.

"Yes, you were right, Charlotte."

"Nolan." Emily opened the door in pleasant surprise. "Come in."

He shifted awkwardly. It was still quite weird not having her remember who she was or their history. "Hi, Ems. Actually, I was wondering if you might want to go for a walk? There's something I want to show you."

"Sure. Do you mind if I change first?"

"By all means." Nolan waited on the porch as Emily traded her expensive dress and high heeled shoes for a running outfit which consisted of cropped leggings, a light-weight jacket and tennis shoes. They walked quietly up the beach sharing easy conversation. It felt strange to Nolan, and surprisingly comfortable to Emily. He obviously was a good friend, and she innately felt she could be herself with him.

When they reached Nolan's home, Emily took in the impressive structure admiringly. "Is this where you live?"

"Yep. It was your present to me."

"I bought this for you?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"What can I say...you're a generous friend." Nolan waited patiently as Emily looked around, hoping he would see a flicker of recollection reflecting in her eyes. But none came.

Unaware of Nolan's guest, Jack let himself in, somewhat exasperated at his friend. "Nolan – you home? Why haven't you answered any of my phone calls?" Jack's voice stopped short upon seeing Emily, a forced smile immediately coming to his face. "Emily – hi."

"Hi, Jack." Emily smiled softly.

Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No worries, compadre. I was just showing Ems the house she bought me," Nolan interjected.

"That's nice." Jack attempted to read Nolan's eyes inconspicuously to determine what they were inferring, but he didn't get much of a chance before Emily began speaking.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't look familiar to me, but...it's nice to know another detail from my past. We were about to head back to the beach house. Would you like to walk with us?" Emily invited.

Jack shrugged, forcing another a smile. He hoped Emily didn't notice. "Sure, why not?"

All was going well on their walk back until Aiden showed up out of nowhere. Emily bristled when she saw him approaching, and she, Nolan and Jack all stopped in their tracks. "It's you... You're the guy who tried to kidnap me from the hospital." The panic in her voice was apparent as she slightly moved behind Jack. This was not the Emily any of them knew, cowering and fearful.

"Emily, please." Aiden said gently, trying to calm her.

"Jack, Nolan...why are you two just standing there?" Emily asked with a mixture of confusion and frustration. Instead of protecting her, they each took a step back.

"Because they know I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you, Emily. I love you."

Emily furrowed her brow in mock horror. "Love me? What are you – some kind of sick stalker? Who else would try to kidnap me?"

"I wasn't trying to kidnap you. I was trying to rescue you."

"Rescue me? From what?"

"From the Grayson's."

Emily shook her head in aggravation. "They're my family."

"No, they're not. You hate them," Aiden countered.

"This ought to be good," Nolan mumbled, taking a seat on the sand. Jack looked back and forth between Nolan and Aiden, wanting to interject, but ultimately deciding to remain silent for the moment.

Emily scoffed. "Hate them? I hardly think I would marry a man I hate."

"Nothing is as it seems," Aiden replied.

Emily gritted her teeth. "You're lying."

"Aiden, that's enough," Jack began which caused Emily to look over her shoulder at both he and Nolan.

"I thought you two were supposed to be my friends."

"We are," Jack insisted.

"We just want you to know the truth, Ems," Nolan added quietly.

Emily could not believe they were all ganging up on her. How dare they have pretended to care about her well being. Surely, this was some sort of conspiracy among all of them. Her hands balled into fists as she continued to defend the only life she knew. "The truth is I love Daniel and he loves me. I could never hate him...not before and not now."

Aiden took a step closer to her, softening his voice. He did not want to argue. He just wanted to reason with her, to make her see the truth. "You don't love him. You just think you do."

"I don't have to listen to this." Emily turned to leave, but Aiden grabbed her arm. Instinctively, she spun around and in a swift maneuver, had him flat on his back within seconds. Nolan's mouth curled into an amused smile at the sight while Jack, having never seen Emily in action before, stood with his mouth slightly agape. Still on his back, Aiden grinned up at Emily. It didn't matter that she had completely caught him off guard, and essentially, kicked his butt. It was the first glimpse he had seen of the real her in weeks.

Emily stood over him with a startled expression, her breathing heavy. "How did I do that?" She asked in a whisper.

Aiden rose to his feet, dusting the sand from his pants as he did so. "You were trained for it. There's a whole lot more you can do. Just...let me show you."

"No." Emily began shaking her head. This was all too much. They were ruining the life she had come to know. She was happy with Daniel. They'd just spent the most amazing week together. Now this guy was talking nonsense. There had to be some truth to what Aiden was saying though, or else she would not have been able to drop him to the ground with little effort. Then there was Jack and Nolan... two people she thought she was supposed to be able to trust, but now she was not so certain. She needed to get away from all them. She needed to think. "No," Emily repeated. "Just...leave me alone."

Emily took off running before any of them could speak, and they all knew better than to go after her. Instead, they watched her slender figure disappear into the distance. "Good going, Aiden." Nolan said with that familiar sarcasm lining his voice.

"What the hell were you thinking showing up and saying those things to her?" Jack chastised.

Aiden remained calm, holding to the facts from Emily's medical report which Nolan had hacked. "Emily's condition is purely emotional. Not remembering is her subconscious' way of protecting itself."

"What, so you think stirring emotions in her is going to force her to remember?" Nolan questioned. Aiden gave a nod.

"Or she might just shut down completely," Jack countered. "Do me a favor, next time you decide to pull one of your little stunts... leave me out of it. I want Emily in my life and in Carl's life no matter which version of her it is. It's better than losing her all together."

Neither Aiden nor Nolan had rebuttal because they both knew Jack had a valid point.

Emily was back to the beach house in no time due the speed at which she ran. When she reached the porch, she was out of breath. Gripping the railing, she tightly closed her eyes, feeling utterly angry and confused. Who was she? Now, she really didn't know. "Nothing is as it seems." Aiden's words echoed in her head.

When Emily re-opened her eyes, they were stinging with tears, tears that soon rolled down her cheeks. She wanted to go back to Colorado with Daniel where everything was perfect. Daniel. Was he lying to her, or had she been the one lying to him? Emily didn't know who or what to believe anymore.

Daniel arrived home to pick up Emily for dinner in good spirits. Denial was quickly becoming a way of life. It was the only way he could live with what he had done and not be in constant anguish over what would happen, if or when, Emily remembered the truth.

She was waiting for him on the porch steps wearing a strapless black dress. "You look beautiful," Daniel complimented, taking a seat next to her and kissing her cheek. This did not elicit much of a reaction from her though which was unusual, and certainly not the woman he had left a few hours prior. "Em, what's wrong?"

She was hunched over with her elbows resting on her legs and her chin resting on her clasped hands. Emily titled her head to look at him. "Do you know a guy named Aiden?"

Daniel stiffened at the mention of the Englishman's name. This could not be good. "Yes. Why?"

"I had an...encounter with him."

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. He said things that... don't make sense. He was lying, right?" Her eyes were darting back and forth between his, desperately seeking confirmation.

Daniel had not a clue what Aiden said, but whatever it was, it would not have been favorable to him. What was with this guy? He just never went away. Maybe there was a lot more to Aiden's relationship with Emily than she had ever let on. She obviously had lied about it before, but of course, she could not answer any questions about it now. "I...don't know what he said, but you can't trust him, that's for sure."

This was what exactly Emily wanted to hear. She did not like the things Aiden had to say, and the fact that Jack and Nolan had seemingly backed him up, only made it more disturbing. "Daniel, did I study karate?"

Her question seem to puzzle him. "Karate? No. Why?"

"Just curious." Emily shrugged, deciding to drop it for the moment. There had to be some logical explanation as to her abilities. "I'll go get my purse and we can head out." Daniel remained seated as she stood and climbed the steps. Emily stopped suddenly in the doorway as her mind flashed with a scene which had taken place on the same porch.

"I'm sorry you're having to deal with all of this." Emily said apologetically. The night summer air was warm and the pleasant wind was catching them perfectly.

"It's all right..." Daniel replied, pivoting to face her with a smile. "As long as I still got you at the end of the day."

Emily blinked quickly as the flash passed. Realizing that she was standing still with an odd expression, Daniel jumped up and went to her, concerned. "Em? What is it?"

"I think I... just remembered something," She whispered, still trying to process what had just occurred.

Daniel swallowed with a sinking feeling, but as Emily recounted the brief memory to him, he breathed an inward sigh of relief. She had remembered a small, but good moment they had shared. "I remember that. It was shortly after we started dating."

"So, it was a real memory?"

"Yes," He softly confirmed, and a hopeful smile came to her face.

"Daniel, I know it's really small, but at least it's something." Emily wrapped her arms around him in happiness. She was relieved to have made a little progress and was also relieved to remember something about him, about them. "For the first time, I have hope that I might actually regain memory."

As Emily pulled back, Daniel feigned a smile, trying his best not to let on the panic he was internalizing. "That's wonderful."

A/N: Thoughts my fellow Demily shippers? :)