Harrison Wells brushed his hand through his hair one last time. Spotting the right apartment number he spun his hat on his hand and tried to shake the nerves away. He wasn't certain why he was so nervous. After all, he'd already saved the woman's life. Now they were just having a first date. First dates were nothing after saving a woman's life. Right? Taking a deep breath, he reached up and rapped on the door.

Like always, he rapped out "Shave and a hair cut, two bits." If someone asked him why that was how he knocked, he wouldn't be able to answer. He waited a moment, nervously running his hand through his hair. After a minute or two, he knocked again, same pattern. A moment later the door was thrown open.

"Harrison, sorry," Tess greeted. He stared, the words trapped in his throat. He'd seen her in a bikini, had his arms wrapped around her supple form. Still he was shocked into mute stupidity. "Come on in." She was actually wearing more than the last time he'd seen her. Dressed in sweatpants and a baggy shirt, she moved back into the apartment. Mentally shaking himself, he stepped inside, pushing the door closed when he realized she'd vanished into the kitchen.

"Umm... am I early?" He glanced at the watch on his wrist.

"Sorry?" Tess poked her head out of the kitchen, her brow wrinkled in confusion. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a green polo shirt. His hair had been neatly brushed and parted, and he held the newsboy cap she'd bought him in his hand.

"For our date?" God, had he gotten the day or time wrong? She'd set it, calling him almost a week after he'd saved her life and given her his number. He'd been so surprised when she'd called. After a week he'd thought that she wasn't interested in him.

"Oh, sorry!" Flinching, Tess glanced at the clock on the wall. "I was reviewing data from my experiment and lost track of time! Forgive me?"

"Well, that depends," he said. "What are you working on?" If she'd asked him, he would have happily told her that he spent part of his week consuming all of the papers that had listed her as one of the authors. Perhaps that was why he was nervous. She wasn't just good looking, her brain was a massive turn on.

"I've been researching telomere size in cloned individuals," Tess said. "I'm trying to develop a way to either stop or reverse the shortening of the telomere."

"Right, I've read some of that. The theory being that if you can stop the shortening of the telomere you might just slow or stop aging," Harrison agreed.

"Right." She paused. While she'd dated intelligent men before, most of them were either intimidated by her intelligence, or felt it was over rated.

"Do you want a second opinion?" He was genuinely interested in the work, his nervousness forgotten in the excitement of science.

She hesitated at first, but the excited gleam in his blue eyes was enough to convince her. "Okay." Motioning him over, she waved at her desk, which occupied a large portion of the dining area.

"Woohoo!" He couldn't stop it, the hoot of excitement was out before he knew it. Deciding to just go with it, he rushed over to the computer, his eyes rapidly scanning the data before he was even at the desk.

"There's a lot here and I'm just having a hard time wading through it all." Coming over as Harrison sat, Tess stood behind him, her hand resting on his shoulder.

"Well, have you tried sorting it differently?" Absorbed in the world of science, he didn't even notice her hand on his shoulder. In fact they both rapidly became absorbed in the work, forgetting the planned date and losing track of time completely.

Nearly two hours later, Tess stood, having pulled a chair over to look over the data with him, and stretched. She was mid-stretch when the phone rang. Glancing at Harrison, still lost in the data, he had a pen he was idly spinning in one hand and hadn't heard the phone at all, Tess went to answer the phone. Harrison was vaguely aware of her leaving, but didn't really process it until he heard her whimper as if in pain.

Looking up, he was shocked to see her standing with a hand to her mouth and the other hand was holding the receiver so tightly the knuckles were white. Saving the work they'd done on the computer, he stood, uncertain if he should invade on her pain. Would it be rude if he listened in on her conversation? Deciding he'd rather be rude than ignore her pain, he stepped forwards, hovering just at her elbow to offer support.

"What do you mean you don't know?" She was demanding from the phone. "Well when will you know?" She started to pace the room, her stress levels apparently going through the roof. "No. I don't have a way to get home right now! My roommate is out of town and my car is in the shop."

"Tess," he said softly, touching her elbow. "I'll drive you." He didn't know where she needed to go, but he knew it didn't matter. He'd take her if it would help ease her pain.

"Hang on." Pulling the phone away from her ear, she stared at Harrison. His face was painted with concern, his usual sparkling eyes dark and serious. "It's 400 miles, Harrison, but thanks."

"I don't care. I'll drive you." He pressed his lips firmly together, trying to communicate his determination in his stance as well as his voice. "Wherever you need to go, I will take you." Letting out a long sigh, she stared at him. He'd already saved her life physically. Now it seemed he was about to do the same emotionally.

"Alright," she finally agreed. Slipping the phone back into place, she resumed her conversation. "I have a friend who can drive me. We'll get on the road as soon as we can. If you could have an extra room, I'd appreciate it. Let me know if you find anything out." Hanging up the phone, she turned to Harrison. He was standing with his arms crossed, his shoulders raised a little as if he'd absorbed some of her stress.

"Come on, you can tell me what's going on after you tell me where we're going," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door. Tess didn't resist him, but she thought about stopping him so she could pack a bag. No, she'd just buy whatever she needed when she got there. It would be expensive, but this was more important.

"Where are you parked?" Tess asked as she pulled her apartment door shut and locked it.

"Right out front," Harrison informed her. Taking her hand once more, he led the way to an old battered blue Toyota. Tess didn't comment on the age of the vehicle. Instead she slid into the passenger seat, Harrison holding the door for her. Once she was in, he closed the door and ran around to the driver side.

"We're going to Mountain View City. It's near Capital City," she informed him as he slid in and buckled up his seat belt.

"Okay. I know the basic way. Buckle up." He started the engine of the car while she pulled the seat belt across, securing it as he pulled the car out onto the street.

"Thank you," Tess said softly after a minute of silent driving. Glancing at her, Harrison nodded.

"No problem. Want to tell me what happened?" He wasn't trying to be nosey, he just sensed she needed to talk about it.

"It was my sister on the phone," Tess started. Taking a deep breath, she jumped in, "she said Dad had a heart attack at the restaurant. An ambulance took him to the hospital."

"That's awful," Harrison said, glancing at her sympathetically.

"Well, Dad's the only one who understands me and doesn't think I'm weird for putting my career first." Bitterness crept into her voice, and she felt bad that it was there, but she couldn't help it. "I'm sorry you're getting dragged into this." He snorted and shook his head as if shaking the comment away.

"Forget it. I'm here for you. Whatever you need to get you through this," he promised.

"But you barely know me," Tess protested.

"Doesn't matter." He stole a glance at her. "I know you're important. I know that your dad would want somebody with you through this. Any good dad would want someone to be there for his daughter through this."

'Yeah, Dad would want me to have someone," Tess agreed. "Thank you." Once more he nodded and glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road.

"If we make good time, we should get in early in the morning," he informed her. "Do you know which hospital we're headed for?"

"St. Giles in the Fields," Tess answered.

"Yeah, I know it," he declared. "If you think you can rest, go ahead. I'll wake you if I need directions."

"I don't think I can sleep," Tess said. Tears were starting to leak out of the corner of her eyes, as she realized that her father might not be there waiting for her.

"Okay. Then tell me about your dad. All about him." Harrison hoped it was the right request. Maybe if he could get her focusing on good things she'd be able to let go of the bad a little easier. With a gulp and a nod, Tess started talking as they drove on into the night.

*Much Later*

Tess practically dragged Harrison into the hospital. He'd offered to drop her at the door but she'd insisted that he come in with her. As they'd driven around trying to find parking she'd just gotten more and more agitated. When he finally found a spot and parked Tess was out of the car in a matter of moments. Shouting at her to slow down, Harrison had raced after her until he'd caught up.

"Tess, look I will be here for you, but I don't want to invade on your family's privacy," Harrison said, pulling them up short of where they'd been directed. Just past the doors, he could see a small group of people waiting.

"Harrison, you've just driven all night with me to get me here. I want you in there with me, now." With her lips firmly set, Tess took his hand and dragged him into the little room. "Mom, I'm here," Tess said as they entered. An older woman with brown hair looked up from a little huddle with a younger woman who had blond hair.

"Tess?" The younger woman said the name as if she was shocked and disgusted at the same time. "We didn't expect you so soon. Where's your friend?"

"Harrison and I drove straight through. We only stopped once to use the bathroom and gas up," Tess explained.

"This is your friend?" The other woman stared at Harrison, her eyes widening in shock.

"Umm... Harrison Wells," he offered the hand that Tess wasn't holding. The other blond glowered at the hand he offered.

"We thought when you said you had a friend driving you, you meant a girl friend," the older woman said. Standing, she came over to the group.

"I'm a girlfriend now," Harrison whispered so that only Tess could hear him. "Not the kind of friend I wanted to be." Despite the situation, Tess found she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"I'm afraid we only reserved one hotel room. We figured you and your friend would be okay sharing," the older women kept going, ignorant of Harrison's complaints. "Oh, dear, where are my manners. I'm Sharon Morgan, Tess's mother. This is my other daughter Jessica." She waved at the other blond. Managing a smile, Harrison nodded a greeting to them each.

"Harrison Wells, umm, have you heard any news on Mr. Morgan?" At the moment, Harrison wasn't ready to deal with answering twenty questions about his relationship with Tess.

"Oh, Tess told you," Mrs. Morgan said.

"Umm... I was over when she got the call." Harrison looked to Tess, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do. For her part, Tess was too confused and upset to know what to do or say. Glancing at her, Harrison realized she was still in shock of sorts, so he forged on with the conversation. "So, what's the news on Mr. Morgan?"

"There's no news yet," Mrs. Morgan said. "We've been waiting for several hours now." With a dejected sigh, she sat back down, eyeing the clasped hands of her daughter and the man in the hat. "Have you known my daughter long?"

"Uh," Harrison looked at Tess, realized he was holding her hand and tried to figure out if he should let go of her hand or try to just shrug everything off. What kind of man did Tess want to bring home to her family?

"I'm sorry about the hotel room. Tess never has boyfriends," Mrs. Morgan said.

"Oh, I'm not a boyfriend," Harrison said. "I mean, I'm a friend and I'm male, but not a boyfriend." He looked frantically to Tess desperate that she save him from himself.

"Oh. I understand," Mrs. Morgan said with a knowing nod. "Well, thank you for bringing my Tess all the way out here."

"My pleasure. I mean, not that her pain brings me pleasure," Harrison looked to Tess, flustered. To his surprise, she was smirking at him. "Oh boy. Sorry."

"Do you always wear your hat indoors?" Jessica snarked at him. Rolling his eyes up towards the newsboy cap, Harrison practically jumped out of his skin trying to get the hat off.

"No. Umm. No. Sorry." Without the hat on to hold it in place, his hair was free to hang down into his face. With a frustrated sigh, he brushed his hair out of his face.

"Mrs. Morgan?" A man in a lab coat stood just inside the room. Feeling extremely out of place, Harrison did his best to fade into the background.

"Yes." Standing once more, Mrs. Morgan stepped forwards.

"You're Mrs. Morgan?" Wiping at a tear, Mrs Morgan nodded. "Your husband suffered a massive heart attack. We did everything we could but…" The doctor didn't get to finish as Mrs. Morgan and her daughters started crying. Mrs. Morgan and Jessica hugged each other. Seeing Tess left out and by herself, Harrison moved forwards, reaching out to slip his hand into hers.

Tess didn't know what to think or how to express what she was feeling. She'd spoken to her father the night before, complaining about all the data she was trying to get through. Earlier in the week she'd told him about Harrison saving her life. Her father was the only person she'd told. Her mother and her sister simply didn't understand her. Now, she'd never speak with him again. Instead of having her father there to comfort her, she was alone. Completely alone, forced to watch her mother and sister support each other. As the loneliness washed over her, a hand slipped into hers and gave it a squeeze.

Feeling the loneliness chased away, Tess looked up to see Harrison looking at her. In fact, he only seemed to have eyes for her. As she gazed at him, he reached up and wiped at a tear on her cheek. "I'm here for you," he whispered to her. "You aren't alone." Letting the tears fall freely, Tess threw herself into him, burying her face in his shirt. At first she was afraid he'd just stand there, but then she felt his arms wrap around her, one hand patting her back. The longer he held her, the less the pain felt so absolute; the more it felt like she had someone who would be able to understand her at least as well as her father had, if not better.

"I'm here till you don't need me anymore," Harrison informed her. As he spoke, he wondered if he meant it, realized he did, and decided to just keep patting her back. Looking over at the doctor, he spoke over Tess's head. "I'm sorry Doctor, I didn't get your name." While Tess still clung to him, he rocked gently.

"Dr. Edward Mills," the man said, a little surprised. "Were you his son?"

"Friend of the family. Dr. Harrison Wells," Harrison said. Despite the fact that he'd earned the title, repeatedly, he didn't like using it. That said, he'd found that doctors tended to open up more when speaking with a colleague. "Can the family see him?"

"Yes, of course," Dr. Mills said with a nod. As the women of the Morgan clan started to follow the doctor, Harrison briefly considered staying behind, however, Tess dragged him along. It seemed she was not about to let go of him any time soon.

They checked into the hotel late in the afternoon. Harrison and Tess had pulled an all nighter, helping Tess's mother and sister go through her father's stuff. They'd also ended up helping plan the funeral and notifying family. Through it all, Harrison had been right there for Tess, always ready when she needed more than just moral support. Around mid-afternoon Tess had told her mother and sister good-bye for the day and dragged Harrison out to a store to pick up what they needed in basic essentials.

Tess got them checked in and led the way up to their room. Harrison carried the bag containing everything she'd bought and brought from her parent's house. In the hallway he looked around, still uncertain how to behave while Tess got the door unlocked. Without saying anything, he followed her into the room. As he put the bag down in a corner he looked around.

"Oh, one bed," Harrison observed. "I'll uh, sleep on the floor."

"Harrison," Tess chided. "We can share the bed. Honestly, I was hoping we only had one bed."

"Umm," Harrison's brain shut down. Tess started going through the bag, pulling out toiletries and clothes.

"I'm going to take the first shower," she informed the still speechless man. Though he tried to speak, Harrison didn't manage to get anything out. Instead he opted for pacing the room and trying to decide how to deal with everything. Tess was amused to see him prowling the room when she came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her midsection.

For a moment she stood in the doorway, watching Harrison muttering to himself and gesticulating with his hands. Finally she took pity on him. "I'm done, you can shower now." She smiled as she saw him look up, his blue eyes going wide. "Relax, Harrison. Nothing is going to happen tonight except us sleeping."

"Right. I didn't think anything would happen, first date and all." Sighing, Harrison relaxed some. He'd not known how to behave all day.

"Go shower, Harrison. Tomorrow is another day." Grinning, Tess came into the room, dropping her towel and starting to pull her clothing on without looking at him.

"You know, you sure do know how to test a man." Sighing, Harrison, picked up everything he'd need and took it into the bathroom with him. As he let the water wash over his body he felt some of the tension of the day's and night's events wash away. He wanted to be there for Tess, he couldn't say why, but he knew that he did. When he was done getting clean he was tempted to just stay in the shower, but that wouldn't be helpful for Tess.

"Hey Tess," Harrison said, coming out of the bathroom with the towel round his waist. "I think I left my underwear on the bed." Shouting, he jumped back, clutching at his towel as he was greeted with the sight of Mrs. Morgan and Jessica Morgan.

"Sorry Harrison dear," Mrs. Morgan said, barely sparing him a glance. "Tess forgot a few things, so we thought we'd stop by to drop it off."

"Oh, huh. Well." Scampering past the two women, Harrison grabbed the underwear he'd forgotten. Realizing he'd have to walk past the two women again to get to the bathroom, he opted to pull on a clean shirt.

"Oh, your gay is shy, how cute," Jessica chuckled.

"Excuse me?" Harrison looked to Tess who just shook her head.

"Anyhow, we'll be leaving now," Mrs. Morgan said. Instead of leaving though, she walked up to Harrison. After a long moment, she leaned in and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad my daughter has you for a friend. Even if you're gay."

"Uh, okay," Harrison mumbled, completely at a loss. Then the two women left. As the door closed, Harrison whirled to face Tess. "Why do your mother and sister think I'm gay?" Tess was laughing at him.

"I think it has to do with you telling them you aren't my boyfriend. Just a male friend," Tess said, finally taking pity on him. "In case you hadn't guessed, I've never actually brought a boyfriend home before. Dad was the only one I told about your rescue the other day."

"So, that's why your mother's okay with us sharing a hotel room? Cause I'm gay?" With a grumble and growl he flopped down onto the foot of the bed. Laughing, Tess came up behind him and wrapped her arm around him, putting her cheek to his.

"Be honest Harrison. Does it matter if they think you're gay so long as I know you aren't?" With a grin, she kissed his cheek.

"No," Harrison finally said after a long moment. Reaching up, he interlaced his fingers with hers. "But, what are they going to say when they find out I'm not gay?"

"Who says they're going to find out? I know you'll be a perfect gentleman while we're here." Harrison started to lean back while she was speaking until they ended up sprawled on the bed, Tess between Harrison and the bed. It made her laugh.

"Oh, yeah, perfect," Harrison agreed. Rolling off her, he faced her, propping himself up on an elbow. "Look, promise me one thing, Tess Morgan?"

"Okay, what?" Tess mirrored him, a little surprised that he was able to cheer her up so much.

"That our second date won't be nearly so exciting." With a laugh, Tess grabbed a pillow and bashed him in the face.

"I agree," she said. Exhausted, they both sprawled on the bed and soon fell asleep in each other's arms.