This is where Part 2 of the story begins! It's written a little differently than the previous chapters, the story is told through one-shots and drabbles but will go back to normal story format for Part 3!

Ambush

Act like it didn't happen? How do you just act like something like that never happened? Granted, there had been many a time when Duncan had slept with a girl and split after as if nothing happened. It was exactly how Vanessa was conceived. With Courtney though, it was different. Courtney wasn't the type of girl to make a habit of those things but more so, he and Courtney had history.

History that couldn't be easily ignored. For a month they acted as if they didn't give into temptation. If Courtney was going to pretend, then so was he. Now, when they saw each other they would leave the conversation and the eye contact to a minimum, but that didn't mean that Duncan hadn't thought about that night. The more he tried not to think about it, was the more he did. It's wasn't like they could avoid each other, acting like everything was normal meant seeing each other at least five days a week. The past month had also made Duncan start to ask himself the same question over and over again: how did he feel about Courtney? He heard the doorbell ring which signaled that she had arrived to pick up Addison.

When he opened the door she gave him a small smile and looked past him. Then two girls came running up to her and hugged her legs.

"Mommy, mommy look what I drew!" Courtney picked up the drawing that was handed to her and she instantly felt an emotion she couldn't place. There in crayon was a picture of the four of them. The most heart melting yet heart wrenching part was the fact that Duncan and her were holding hands in the picture. She didn't want to give her daughter a reason to think that she didn't like her drawing but she was at a loss for how to react. She put on her best smile.

"It's beautiful honey. I love it."

"I helped too!" Vanessa chimed in. Duncan leaned over to see as well and mimicked Courtney's reaction for the children's sake.

"Wow, that's great." A silence fell over them that stretched for longer than was comfortable. Courtney took it upon herself to be the one to cut the tension.

"Vanessa, did you know that your dad used to have green hair?" Vanessa's eyes lit up.

"You did?" She asked looking up at Duncan.

"I did, it was awesome."

"Says you." Courtney muttered under her breath. He shot her a dirty look.

"Addie, did you know your mom used to have a pole up her bu-"

"Shhh!" Courtney covered his mouth with her hand then took it away once she realized what she'd done.

"Yup. It's still there." He smirked. She glared at him but felt more at ease that they were bantering in their normal way. She rolled her eyes, if it weren't for their children she would have given him a earful.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"When a boy picks on a girl it's because he likes her, right?" He instantly dropped his smirk. "Cause you pick on Courtney a lot."

"Uh..."

"Dunkie, do you like-like mommy?" Addison asked and Courtney raised and eyebrow. She had never told Addison to call him that, but all the same she found it funny that her four year old came up with the same nickname she had.

"Yeah, Dunkie, do you like me?" Courtney joined and Duncan looked back and forth at all the interrogating eyes.

"You know what? It's bed time."

"But-" Vanessa whined.

"No buts, time for bed." He turned Vanessa around in the direction of her bedroom then picked up Addison and handed her off to her mother.

"Time to go. Goodnight!" He had turned Courtney around as well and guided her out the door before she could respond. He let out a sigh of relief when the door closed behind him.

"I really need to watch what I say."

Fears

"What were you thinking?"

"They wanted to hear a scary story!" Duncan tried to defend himself against Courtney's wrath.

"They're four!" The four year olds in question were balling their eyes out. Neither of them had stopped crying for the past half hour and Duncan had been getting berated for twenty-eight of those minutes.

"I didn't think they'd get that scared, I told them that it was make believe."

"A story about an evil monster who eats cute little girls was probably not appropriate."

"We're little girls!" Addison cried out.

"And we're cute!" Vanessa added. Duncan sighed and knelt down to the girls who were clinging to each other.

"How about some ice cream? That will make it better, right?" They shook their heads and Duncan looked to Courtney for assistance. Vanessa and Addison were supposed to be having a sleepover at Courtney's house but had begged Duncan to tell them a bed time story before he left. Courtney wasn't one to give into desperation but she wanted to able to get some sleep herself at some point.

"What can we do to make it better? What's going to get you two to bed tonight?" Famous last words.

An hour later the girls were fast asleep.

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind." Courtney said in a hushed voice.

"At least they're asleep." Duncan whispered back. The only light in the room came from a Disney Princess nightlight that illuminated the room in a pink glow. All four of them were tucked into Courtney's queen size bed. The girls were cuddled in between them with Courtney and Duncan on the outsides. "I guess telling them that story wasn't the best of my ideas."

Courtney was too tired to argue that he didn't have any good ideas, or to come up with another retort that would distract her from the fact that they were in bed together; even if it was under special circumstances. Instead she was more agreeable.

"At least it wasn't that story about the guy with a hook for a hand. They would have never slept again." Duncan looked back fondly at the memory of telling the teammates of the Killer Bass his go to horror story, and everyone being terrified, including Courtney.

"You were so terrified Princess. It was priceless."

"I was not!" They were now facing each other while using their palms to prop up their heads.

"You were! If I remember correctly, you were the one all over me that night."

"Whatever! It was cold and raining. I was not scared."

"Sure you weren't." He answered sarcastically.

"I wasn't. I don't scare that easily." Courtney said matter of factly.

"Two words. Green jelly." She mock gasped.

"Three words. Celine Dion standees." Now she was grinning from ear to ear.

"That's low." Despite her calling out his embarrassing phobia, he was having a good time rehashing the past. He also remembered that after he had conquered his fear by embracing the cardboard cut out, Courtney had hugged him and called him awesome. For a sixteen year old Duncan, it had made it more than worth it. Courtney had been the first girl to make a hug feel like a home run, just getting a girl like Courtney to smile felt like an accomplishment.

"At least there's one thing I'm not afraid of that you are."

"And what's that?" The light feeling in the room suddenly grew serious.

"Us." Courtney sighed with aggravation. Why couldn't he just let them have this moment? They were getting along so well.

"There isn't an us." She rolled over to face the other way. "Goodnight." Her eyes closed tightly as if to will herself to go to sleep.

Courtney awoke the next morning to the sound of deep breathing. It wasn't unpleasant though, she felt like she was being lulled back to sleep. She felt warm and cozy and didn't want to move. As she began to gain more consciousness she heard voices down the hall coming from Addison's room. The girls sounded like they were playing nicely, so maybe she could just doze off for a few more minutes. Then it occurred to her that the breathing she was hearing was attached to another human, and if Addison and Vanessa weren't in the bed anymore then there was only one other person it could be coming from.

She opened her eyes and was confused when all she saw was black. She shifted when she tried to sit up but found she couldn't easily move. After a little wiggling she was able to see that her face had been pressed into a black t-shirt. She could also discern that what had kept her from being able to move were the arms that were wrapped around her. Courtney noted she wasn't innocent in all this, she had one leg wrapped around his hip and the other in between his legs. Courtney wasn't sure when or how she and Duncan had gotten entangled but she knew that she needed to fix it before he woke up. She would never hear the end of it.

She used her arms to push against the mattress which freed part of her upper body. She was relieved but then froze. From Courtney's position she had a close up view of Duncan's face. She hadn't had a chance so far to really study his face up close. His features were completely relaxed and he looked so calm. She could view how dark his lashes were and a small scar on his forehead. She wondered what stunt he must have been doing when he got it.

Duncan needed to trim his facial hair soon and without thinking she brushed the tip of her finger against his jaw. He was so handsome, she even thought so back when his face was ridden with metal piercings. Suddenly, she drew her hand back.

Courtney needed to get away from him before she did something she would regret. She struggled to unwrap his arms but managed to get herself completely free. Duncan appeared to still be sleeping when she pushed off the mattress and snuck out of the bedroom. She released a sigh of relief that she had escaped the physical and metaphorical hold he had on her. She couldn't look back because she was afraid that if she did she would stay with him. He was harder to resist than she let on but this was for the best, at least that was what she kept telling herself.