The next morning, Daine woke up to the late sun shining in her face. Eyes bleary, she slowly woke up, a small smile playing on her face. It's nice not having to wake up for an alarm for work. Stretching her arms out, Daine sat up in her bed and unplugged her phone. Burying herself back into her nest of thrifted blankets and pillows, she unlocked the screen and scrolled through her notifications. Checking the time, she said blinked in surprise. It's almost twelve? I really did sleep in! Cloud, noticing her human was up, leaped onto the bed and made herself comfortable on Daine's chest. Daine smiled down at her reluctantly affectionate cat and dropped a kiss on her head, laughing when Cloud responded with an dismissive look.

Going through the texts she'd accumulated through the night, namely Miri worrying about whether she'd actually reached home, she made her way through them, replying to each appropriately. When she came down to Numair, she paused before skipping over him and responding to the others. Last night was fun but odd… What if he didn't mean his proposition? Finishing up and returning to him, she read his texts. "Good morning!" he started with a smiley face emotion. "Would a late lunch be ok today? I could pick you up at around 1:30?"

Daine glanced at the clock again. 12:30? I can do that. "Good afternoon!" she replied. "1:30 sounds good. I'll see you then!" Gently picking Cloud off of her chest, Daine slid out of bed and shivered as her bare feet touched the cool weathered wood. Shoving them into her worn slippers, she opened her window and set Cloud down at the sill, one of her favorite lookouts.

Stretching her back once more, she shrugged on a sweater and made opened up her creaky drawers. Searching through her short stacks of clothing, she decided on a sleeveless shirt and actually distressed jeans; she'd got them that way through years of hiking and otherwise exploring the great outdoors back when she'd had the times. Luckily, and rather surprisingly, "worn out" was in style so it was appropriate for her to wear out. Making her way to the bathroom, she when through her daily routine, this time taking a bit more time to pamper herself.

She rushed out close to an hour later, still straightened hair put up in braids and a claw necklace on. Cutting it close, Daine… She hurried over to her kitchen and rifled through the cabinets for some cat food; Cloud had meowed at her all throughout her shower. Searching around blindly, she pulled out what seemed to be the last tin. Gosh, got to buy more cat food. Daine quickly filled Cloud's bowl and leaned against the counter to check her phone. Oh, he texted. "Sorry, running late. Just started," he'd said, about two minutes before. Daine glanced at the time. Onua's place was fifteen minutes away from her, probably twenty because of the tourist traffic. Well, might as well make some coffee. She pulled open a cabinet and found it to be quite bare. Ok so, we need human food as well as cat food… She settled down with a cup of tea instead and made herself comfortable on the couch. Idly flicking through the few channels she got without cable, Daine settled for a local news station.

She texted Miri as she let the TV run in the background. They were currently doing the weather report and it was going to be hot and sunny, just as expected. Miri was telling her about how great last night had been, and how Daine "really became a different person" and should "really let loose more often."

Daine soon heard a hesitant knock at the door. She opened it and greeted Numair with a smile.

"Sorry i'm late, I got caught up in some reading," he explained sheepishly.

"No problem! Would you like to come in?" Daine opened the door wider, keeping a curious Cloud back with her foot.

"Well, it's getting pretty late so we should probably just get going. Maybe later?"

"Sure! Let me just grab my stuff." Daine grabbed her bag, still packed from her shopping trip the day before. She slipped her feet into her flats and shooed Cloud back away from the door. Pulling it shut and following Numair to the car, she asked "So where are we going?"

They ended up at a neat little sandwich shop outside downtown, one of Daine's favorite places. Having ordered and enjoyed their lunch, the pair settled down to talk business.

"So," Numair began, crumpling up his napkin and getting settled in his seat.

"So," Daine repeated, mimicking him and leaning back into her chair.

Numair's face flashed into a crooked smile and he leaned forward on the table. "So," he began again, "Have you given any thought to what we talked about last night?"

Daine shifted in her chair. "Honestly, it's the best news I've heard in… a while! You've already got the advantage seeing my proposal and all, but what are your expectations?"

"Typically, I like to start off with a 20% buy in, enough to get people started. Since your clinic would be a nonprofit, most other angel investors won't be interested. I think your cause is definitely worthwhile; a clinic in the inner city could benefit many. We could negotiate a higher percentage and I can help you get a loan from the bank. That, however, still wouldn't cover starting costs and we'll probably have to find some donations…" He paused for a second, flashing her a crooked smile while tugging on the tip of his nose. "I would invest more but I want to leave the majority in your hands so you don't feel obliged to follow any suggestions, so I'd prefer below 45%. That being said, I don't have much experience in nonprofits so it would be a learning experience for us both. I could perhaps find some other private investments and endowments from others but I know there wouldn't be very many private investors. Maybe we could crowdsource? And do you have a location in mind because I do have some stake in certain properties in city, though not necessarily in the locations you'd be interested in. We would also have to figure out hiring and such too, I've dabbled in the medical field but really Alanna would be the one to ask, being hospital administrator and all-"

"Numair, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves." Daine hid her smile. "I know most investors don't care for small nonprofits since there's no income to be made, are you sure about this? And you're talking about a huge time commitment on your part."

"It's a worthwhile cause. You are truly, personally invested in this project and Onua and the others have vouched for you and your plans quite a bit. And not to pry but it also seems as if this hits close to home?"

Daine replaced her face by a smiling mask to cover up her grief. It's ok, it's ok. "My ma worked at a clinic in that same neighborhood I've suggested. She… She really made a difference. Once she passed, the clinic shut down and there hasn't been any replacement. All those hospitals are too expensive for the likes of us. And she loved that old place."

Numair gave a small smile. And leaned forward once more. "See? You're invested. You'll make a difference and you're worth the investment. You and your vision, not necessarily just your project."

Daine stopped fidgeting with the sugar packet she held and looked up at him in surprise. "But they say I'm too young" she blurted out.

"What?" he looked at her incredulously. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"I'm too… young… to take on something this large, I guess?"

"Age doesn't mean anything. So what if you're, you're 21? 22?" Daine raised her eyebrows.

"twenty… three?" Numair seemed to realize his mistake and started to look uncomfortable. Dain rolled her eyes and waved him on. He shot her an ashamed smile.

"Well it doesn't matter because you're driven. You should, however, have some sort of relationship in the field," he shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "You mentioned working at Carthak Inc. for a while. Did you work in their hospital administration by any chance?"

"Yes, I did. For a few years after my schooling. It was… an experience. But I did learn quite a lot," she flashes him a wry smile "You've worked there. I'm sure you understand the sort of environment it was."

His face fell for a moment. "Definitely.

Daine shifted in her seat a bit. So looks like we may have some shared experience. The afternoon sun was now warming her face and making her drowsy. We've definitely been here a while. She glanced inside the sandwich shop to see if they were getting any dirty looks.

Numair looked up and caught her shifting about. He took a deep breadth and stretched his arms out to the sides, leaning back in his seat. "But that's pretty much it! We can go through a few more revisions and I can get you in touch with some others and then we can talk solid numbers."

"Good plan. Great plan," Daine took the final sip of her water.

"So I'll be going back to the city tomorrow morning but am planning on coming back here for the next few weekends to keep an eye on the club. So we can meet between your weekend shifts for revisions."

"I usually don't do Sunday shifts so that works great."

Numair hummed in agreement. "Got any plans for the rest of this exceptionally magnificent day?"

Daine tilted her head and furrowed her brow a bit. What were my plans for today? "I… don't think I have any? Errands mostly. What about you?"

"I got to go deal with some club business maybe, get dinner someplace and…" his phone buzzed on the table, interrupting. Daine felt hers vibrate from her bag as well. Numair glanced at the screen and pulled an exaggerated wince. Daine snorted as she shifted through her bag to find hers.

"'Dinner, 7 pm at that one vegan place! Made reserv-s.' Reservations I'm assuming." Numair read out loud. He glanced up and saw Daine shifting through her bag's innards with even more ferocity. "From Onua" he added, watching her in amusement.

Daine pulled her bag into her lab and blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. She distractedly glanced up at Numair. "Oh I know which place. They have really good desserts, probably why Onua's dragging our butts an hour away for dinner." Her phone buzzed once more. She started taking things out and dumping them in her lap. Oh gosh I don't even know where half this stuff came from… a can of cat food? In my bag why? Her fingers finally brushed against the smooth glass of her phone screen. She pulled it out triumphantly.

Numair snorted and raised his glass of water up at her in mock congratulations. "Well, dessert sounds great."

"Yes! You'll have to try their cheesecake, it's amazing." Daine started tossing things back in her bag. She sighed happily, leaning forward in her seat and slipping her now full bag's strap onto her shoulder. "So I'll see you then?

"Definitely!"

A/N: Boy, oh boy has it been a while! I will finish this story someday, never fear. This chappie is 2 years overdue but still hasn't been edited. Go figure. I'm a little confused on how to proceed but I think it'll all work out! Hope you enjoy!