Chapter 8

Celebration

To celebrate Kerry's staying in the states, Alex and the guys threw her a Not Going Away Party at Franco's the following Friday. Everybody showed up; the Hamatos, Phoebe and Rudy, Emily and Kiley and Erik. Even all of the O'Neil children were there, though pretty much all of the boys were spread out in Franco's, talking to other people.

The group pushed several tables together to make a big enough spot for everybody to sit. Alex was sitting next to Kerry, who had Don on her other side. Raph was on Alex's other side, of course, while Mikey was next to Raph. Followed by Leo, Erik, Kiley, Emily, Phoebe and Rudy.

"Dude, fuck England!" Mikey said.

"Mikey," Leo scolded, nodding in Phoebe's direction with a smack on the back of the head from Raph.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Phoebe," Mikey muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Phoebe just laughed. "None taken, Mikey," she told him. "England's not all bad though. Our food sometimes isn't the best, but still."

"It's has sexy accented guys," Emily said, back to her usual boy crazed self after what happened to her and Mikey. The two of them seemed to be getting along fine, just as they had before they really took an interest in one another, which everybody was thankful for. Neither were people to really hold grudges.

Don and Kerry, on the other hand, were rather off. Ever since they had kissed things had been extremely awkward between the two. They were stuck in that awkward stage between just being friend and something more. It was extremely cringe worthy to watch.

Alex was tempted to just go over to the two of them and force them to kiss again. She was still rather shocked they had done so in the first place. She had been right there when it happened and she could barely believe it. When she had told Raph, he didn't believe her at first. Then he was rather annoyed that he had missed it for himself.

"You were right," Alex told him. "They needed the threat of losing each other to push them."

"Yeah, I just never really wanted that to actually happen, you know?" Raph sighed. "I didn't want them to go through that pain."

"Yeah," she sighed, "But look at the bright side," she said, shifting in her seat to look at him better, "at least we managed to fix the situation. And it's set Operation Korny in a new direction."

"A very awkward direction." he chuckled a bit watching them. Kerry and Don's hand were close, pinkies overlapping and sometimes curling around the other's but never taking their hand. "But it's a step closer."

"I kinda just want to hit them both and snap them out of how dumb they're being," Alex told him, taking Raph's hand in her's, playing with his fingers.

"Yeah but, you can't. Let the two nerds figure it out. I mean, they did almost kiss when we showed up remember?" Raph said tightening his fingers around hers.

"Almost being the operative word," Alex sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Give it a week. Donnie's hooked, I guess you can say. One taste and he's going to want more." Raph chuckled.

"Oh, how do you know that, Pumpkin?" she teased. "Have you been cheating on me, Raphael?"

"Nah, just intuition." He teased back. "I'd never cheat on you babe. Kinda like the feeling that made me think losing each other would bring them closer. Don's addicted now." he chuckled.

She chuckled, grabbing his chin with her free hand to bring him down. "That better be it," she giggled, kissing him on the lips.

"Tch," Raph smirked kissing her back with fever. "You know Kerry and I would murder each other if we ever tried to be romantic. It'd be a blood bath."

"Well, I thought about us when we first met," Alex old him, kissing him again.

"You didn't tackle me and try to beat the shit out of me before though." Raph chuckled kissing her nose. He sighed. "I'd kinda miss the hick if she left...kinda."

"Oh, you'd miss her a lot, don't lie," Alex said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well...okay maybe a bit more than I think now that I know she's staying." Raph grumbled. "I also wouldn't like how hurt you'd be." Raph murmured kissing her cheek. "I know how much she means to you, so she's important to me too."

Alex looked up at him, seeing the honesty in his eyes. He was telling the truth. And that was what made Alex's stomach flip. "You're kinda pretty perfect, you know that," she admitted without thinking.

"Thanks, I try." Raph grinned brightly at her, slicking back his spikes jokingly. "Don't fall too hard, okay? Don't want you hurting those pretty legs."

Alex knew she had to say something couply since all of her school friends believed she was really dating Raph, though there was a lot of honesty in her words. "Far too late for that, Loverboy," she told him softly.

"I'm sorry then Firecracker." Raph said kissing her lips.

"God guys, stage me up at my party with you being so fucking cute!" Kerry laughed. Though she was probably happy. She was used to throwing the party not being the center of one. She fought Alex, the guys, and Elliot tooth and nail every step of the way.

"Yeah, you're exceptionally touchy and kissy today," Kiley added.

"It's disgustingly cute," Leo muttered.

"Hey, don't mess with my OTP!" Emily yelled.

"Sorry," Alex muttered, but cuddling into Raph's side, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Huh? Why did you apologize?" he asked completely confused. "Screw them." he laughed, grinning at her, partly putting him in a good mood obviously.

"More like screw Lex," Emily giggled. "Oh, is that why you're all mushy?" she squealed. "You two slept together, didn't you?! Kiley and Erik were the same way when they did it!"

"Emily!" Kiley gasped, hitting her sister's arm.

"Emily, no! Bad," Kerry scolded. "Penalty! Hand over your phone for 10 minutes."

"Uh, n-no, Emily, that's not the case," Alex muttered, her face as red as her hair. Though, Alex had to admit, not for a lack of wanting to.

"Oh come on, Lex! Those sex toys are only good for so long. Raph's gotta practically be begging you for it!" Emily went on.

"No phone for an hour!" Kerry said snatching the device from her.

"Fuck your friends, Alex." Raph grumbled to her. "Kerry, amazingly, you are now my favorite of Alex's friends, congratulations you freaking hick."

Emily grumbled as she handed her phone over. "But they'd make extremely cute babies," she sighed.

That comment just reminded Alex of the conversation she had had with Kerry about her and Raph and Kerry and Don. How adorable they thought the babies would look if they ever had children with them. Her face grew even darker at that.

"You just lost your phone for an hour and ten minutes." Kerry said, seeing her friends embarrassment. If anything the girl got even more protective after almost being sent away.

"Hey, I'm entitled to an opinion," Emily said.

"But you don't have to say it out loud." Kiley groaned.

"Freedom of speech!" she declared.

"That's not how it works!" Leo rolled his eyes slightly.

"Technically it kind of is," Don muttered, getting all smarty pants on them.

"Donnie...stop being smart." Kerry said hitting his arm.

"But you like that I'm smart," he muttered with a small smirk on his face. Kerry's face turned red at the obvious flirting. Another new, and rather enjoyable, part of the relationship.

"Hmm, I do." Kerry said smirking right back. "But not when it works against me," she chuckled.

"Oh, sorry I'm late." A voice said over the music, coming close to the table. Esme Perin walked up with a soft smile on her face. She was dressed pretty, with a lovely short heel on her prosthetic and real foot. A peach colored skirt flowed around her hips matching her white lacy shirt perfectly. Her dark mane of curls swirled around her loosely for once. "I just got off from work."

Elliot will be happy, Alex thought with a smirk, tightening her hold on Raph's hand. She could just make out Ellie noticing Emse from across the room. He smirked and started to make his way across the room to where they were all sitting.

"Oh Essy!" Kerry blinked standing up. "I didn't think you'd come. I thought you worked late tonight."

"I did, but I took off early so I can celebrate with you!" Esme said a bright sweet smile on her face that could stop any boys heart. She handed the girl a small bag. "I got you something as well."

"Y-You didn't have too." Kerry mumbled embarrassed but took it not to be rude. She opened it up to reveal a repaired cell phone. On it was a stylish custom phone case, black with colorful dio de muertos skulls. Perfect for the borderline goth. "I-I love it! Thanks!" she said hugging the woman.

"No, I wanted too." Esme laughed as she hugged the girl back. "It's my job to provide stability remember. Also it's a high durability case so if you have a temper tantrum again, it won't break as easily," she mumbled with an eye roll.

"Hey!" Kerry pouted. "It was not a temper tantrum!"

"It was a hysterical breakdown, there's a difference," Alex laughed. "You look nice, Esme. Did you get all dressed up for Elliot?"

Esme's pale cheeks colored brightly. "N-No I did not."

"Really? Cause nobody would blame you if you did," Elliot said right behind the young woman. "I mean, I'm me!" He finished it off with a playful and flirtatious wink at the girl.

Esme yelped a bit stumbling to the side as he startled her. "Mr. O'Neil! I did not! I didn't want to show up in scrubs!" she mumbled through her blush said something else.

"You can stick with that story all you want, Beautiful, but I'm still going that it's for me," Ellie told her. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, giving her knuckles a gentle kiss before saying, "You look escuisit, Esme."

"Thank you," Esme finally muttered. "You look wonderful too." Her shy grey eyes shifting to the ground.

"Care to dance?" he asked with a slight bow.

"O-Oh no no!" Esme said quickly. "I can't dance." she mumbled peeking at her leg and shifting a bit so it was behind her, as if ready to run.

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed. "There's nothing you can't do when you set your mind to it, Beautiful." He took her hand and pulled her gently out onto the dance floor as a slow song came on. It was I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz.

"Uh, s-speaking of dance," Don muttered, looking at Kerry. "Do you want to dance with me?" he asked her shyly.

"Of course Donnie." Kerry said softly, a slight grin in place. "Let's try something a bit slower than last time, yeah?"

Alex's attention was torn between watching her brother romance Esme and Don and Kerry awkwardly trying to get closer to one another. Esme was clinging to Elliot for dear life as she stumbled on her fake leg, a little embarrassed every time she did. Elliot would just smirk every time, finding it rather adorable and held her closer to him.

What she hadn't notice was Raph getting out of his chair beside her. "Oi," Raph said getting Alex's attention. He was out of his seat and looking at her expectantly. "Keeping me waiting huh? Hurry up," he motioned for Alex to join him on the dance floor.

"You want to dance?" Alex gaped, blinking in shock.

"Huh, yeah," Raph said as if it were a stupid question. "We always dance at Francos."

"When I look into your eyes it's like watching the night sky, or a beautiful sunrise. Well, there's so much they hold and just like them old stars.."

"Sorry it won't be as, um, memorable as last time." Kerry joked slightly as she took his hand to pull him with her onto the floor.

Don blushed, remembering Halloween. "Anytime I get to spend with you is memorable, Kerry," Don told her.

"You always say stuff like that!" Kerry groaned. "You're giving me a cavity." she chuckled a bit turning to him once in place, unsure how he prefered to slow dance, or if he really even knew how too.

"Well," he chuckled softly. "I'm good at fixing things."

"You going to fix my cavity?" Kerry raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan on doing that, hmm?" she took initiative and pulled his hands forward to wrap around her waist as her's came up around his neck.

"I could think of a couple ways," he smirked, a blush deepening on his cheeks. Kerry eyes widened a bit but she was not going to back down.

"Hmm, you might have to explain it to me, I'm not the genius here, after all." she snickered a bit.

"I see that you've come so far to be right where you are. How old is your soul?"

"Uh, well, I didn't think slow dancing would be your thing," Alex admitted, getting out of her chair. She took Raph's hand and walked out to the dance floor with him. "I mean, the last time we dance was on Halloween and you know how that ended."

"Well I won't let that happen tonight." Raph said seriously. "If any of us see that bitch we'll take her out." He said talking about him and his brothers. "She is not going to ruin this for Kerry. Or for you." he said in a deadly tone.

Alex chuckled, wrapping her arms around Raph's neck as he placed his hands on her hips. She was very thankful she decided to wear heels despite the snow outside. She was not tall enough where she didn't have to really reach to do that. She was perfectly comfortable. "I wasn't talking about Amanda," she giggled, remembering that she had practically made out with him out on the dance floor, as well as grind up against him far more than she most likely should have.

"Oh...then what's the problem? Other than that the night went great." Raph laughed as he pulled her close to dance with her.

Alex blushed not only from her proximity to Raph, but because he had liked what she had done on Halloween. "Well, I'm glad you liked it," she muttered, biting her lip.

"Of course, we always party hard, right Firecracker?" he grinned.

"Actually, I'm not much of a partier," she admitted, resting her head against his chest. "I'd just come out because Fred wanted me to. Then I had fun with Kerry so…"

"Well now you do." Raph grinned. "Sides, even just the two of us can party hard right?" Raph said. "I'm a pretty fun guy."

"Hmhmhmhm," Alex chuckled threw a hum. "What are you proposing, Raph?" she teased, her voice low to push the tease even further.

"I-I don't even know." He laughed slightly. "I'm riding on the high of victory, I guess. Mush is all coming out of my mouth. "

"Victory? What did you win, Loverboy?" Alex asked, moving back just slightly to look up at him.

"Well, One, we get to keep Kerry and you and my brothers are happy. All of them, and I guess I am too. Two, we stuck it to her mom a bit. Three, Operation Korny is moving along nicely, as you can see. And Four, I get to dance with the hottest girl here. Quadruple Victory."

Alex blushed. "You flatter me far too much, Mr. Hamato," she muttered, biting her lip.

"And you deserve every bit of it," Raph swore. "Not everyone would fight tooth and nail to keep someone that close. I'm proud of you, Firecracker."

"You would have done the same thing," she muttered, resting her head back on his chest.

"Yeah, if you would have been the one sent away, you better believe skulls would be smashed to prevent it." Raph said. "And if it was still Kerry...maybe...but of course England would have sent her back anyway. She's a hazard to the public."

"Well, I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love. I'm still looking up."

"There's the obvious fixes," Don told her. "Painkiller until I can give you a filling. Pull the tooth, but nobody wants to do that for a simple cavity. And then there's the," he trailed off, "distraction method."

"Hmm that last one sounds promising." Kerry smirked darkly at him. "I mean, I can get distracted pretty easily."

"That's true," he muttered. "And there are so many different ways to do it."

"I'll take your recommendation, Doctor." Kerry grinned. "I'm in your hands."

"Well, I could give you a little demonstration, if you'd like," he muttered, moving in closer so that his nose was touching hers.

"Please?" Kerry mumbled pulling herself closer to him, enough to where he could feel her long lashes brushing his cheeks,

Don closed the distance, placing a sweet, gentle kiss to Kerry's lips. One of his hands moved away from her waist to the back of her neck, preventing Kerry from pulling back. Not that she really wanted too as she threw her own enthusiasm into the kiss. But of course air was needed, the damn stuff, and she had to pull back for the substance.

"Hmm, I think my cavity is already gone." Kerry smirked at him.

"See? A simple fix," Don chuckled, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"And when you're needing your space to do some navigating. I'll be here patiently waiting to see what you find."

Alex chuckled, shaking her head, which resulted in her nuzzling his chest. "You're an ass," she teased. "But I guess your fine ass is mine," she muttered without thinking.

"You bet your fine ass it is," he joked.

"It's not as funny when you say it right before me, Loverboy," she laughed with a blush.

"Is too," Raph snickered a bit, a grin plasters on his face.

"Oh hush," she told him, gently pulling a tiny put of hair at his neck.

"Ow watch it.." he grumbled."...Holy shit!" Raph suddenly whispered in her ear

Alex pulled away, worried something bad had happened. "What? Raph, what's wrong?

"I-I wasn't going to believe it until now..." Raph mumbled staring at something. "but I guess I was right about addictions."

"Huh?" Alex asked, turning to look in the direction Raph was looking in. She eyes landed on Don and Kerry, who were locked in a kiss. She giggled, wrapping an arm around Raph while the other hand rested on his chest. "Told you," she sang.

"You weren't joking!" he gaped. "He fucking did it."

"Don't let him fool you," Alex giggled. "Don's got balls."

"Did he really yell at her mom?" Raph asked. "Tch and he has to to like Kerry Medina."

"I wouldn't say he yelled at her," Alex said. "He was just very...Passionate about it."

"Don doesn't like people taking his stuff away, even as kids." Raph grinned.

"'Cause even the stars they burn some even fall to the earth. We've got a lot to learn. God knows we're worth it. No, I won't give up."

"You really can fix anything, can't you?" Kerry chuckled, arms tightening around him a bit more.

"Kerry?" Don asked, pulling back slightly to get a better look, to look her in the eyes.

"Yeah?" she asked lifting her head from his chest to meet his gaze again.

"W-What are we now?" he stammered, unsure about bringing this up yet.

"I-I..." Kerry stuttered, question throwing her a hard ball. "I really don't know, to be honest." Kerry sighed a bit. "Our relationship didn't necessarily follow protocol normal ones do."

"W-Well, what do you w-want us to be?" he asked nervously.

"A-Ah Donnie, you asking me some tough questions here." Kerry said, for once being honest with her feelings, he deserved that. "Ones I really don't know the answer to. I promise. I've never been like this with anyone before, no where close. I don't know where we're going, but if it helps...I like it." she grumbled looking away embarrassed she had said that, a blush on her cheeks. "A lot." she also tacked on.

"I do too," he reassured her. "A-And if you want, we could take whatever this is slow. One step at a time."

"That's probably for the best when dealing with me." Kerry chuckled. "If not I might send you off a really high place, like a cliff or building."

"Well," he chuckled. "I've always wanted to try base jumping," he joked.

"I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily. I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make. Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use. The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake."

"Maybe this means Operation Korny is a success," Alex thought to Raph.

"I'll believe that when they say it out loud." Raph grumbled a bit. "Until then, they're just messing around."

"I don't really think either of them are the type of people to just mess around if there isn't feeling behind it," she stated, putting her arms back around his neck to continue dancing.

"I know they care about each other, but they need to say it, to each other. I don't think they're ready for that kind of thing." Raph sighed as she pulled her close to his chest, arms entrapping her against him.

"You never know," Alex said. "For all we know, they could be doing that right now."

"Yeah yeah, dates don't mean love." Raph rolled his eyes.

"But it's a step forward," she said. "A big step for them. I mean, a couple days ago, Kerry would barely even admit her own feels to herself. Now look at them."

"And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend for us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn. We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in. I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am."

"S-So," Don muttered. "I-I guess the first step would be," he muttered, "Would you go on a date with me, Kerry?" He was looking at her with those big brown hopeful eyes of his.

Kerry's breath caught and it was like her limbs locked up for a second. Come on you are not freaking out while dancing with Donnie! Say it!...Say it! Oh look at him, so sweet and innocent. She should not do this to him, she should not corrupt him, she shouldn't-

"Y-Yeah." Kerry said. "I-I'd love to go on a date with you."

-Say that.

"R-Really?" he asked completely shocked that she had agreed. "You will?"

"Yeah, I totally will," Kerry said, it being too late to back out now, with out killing him and breaking her own heart in the process. Maybe his won't end in disaster? Maybe? Please?

Don let out a rather loud laughed, pulling her into another kiss, this one much deeper and less gentle. Kerry blinked for a second, eyes wide as plates before she gather up the courage to return the kiss in the same manner, not able to stop the hand that ran through his curly hair.

"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love. I'm still looking up, I'm still looking up."

"Whoa," Alex muttered, having seen the eager kiss Don had just planted on Kerry. "Well, that was unexpected."

"You'd think she just told him he won the nobel peace prize," Raph mumbled.

"Maybe that's how precious she is to him," she said.

"She is." Raph chuckled slightly. "Trust me, she is."

"Well, I don't have to worry about either of them being with someone I don't like," she said. "Do you know how many guys Emily's gone out with that have been sketchy? It's going to give me a heart attack worrying about her someday."

"Well if her judgement is that bad, I'm glad Mikey and her split," he chuckled a bit. "That boy makes enough bad decisions on his own.

"I worry about Mikey," she admitted. "He sees the good in everybody. And I don't want him to get hurt because of it."

"Yeah, I felt the same way too, but I came to realize I can't always be there to protect him, not without sacrificing both of our happiness. We need to live our lives, and that means experience our own pains," he mumbled, obviously not happy about it.

"And that's very hard for you," Alex giggled, moving her hand to his face to caress his cheek. "You're extremely overprotective, Pumpkin."

"Can you blame me?" Raph murmured. "You've seen how horrible this world can be, how can I not worry? How can I not fight tooth and nail to protect my family."

Hearing that made her stomach flutter. Raph cared so much about his family. He put up such a thick wall up, but behind that wall was a protective brother who would do anything for the people he cared about. "No, I can't," she told him softly. "You have a good heart, Raph. And that's why I l-" Alex froze before she slipped up. She couldn't believe she had almost told him that was why she loved his so much. "T-That's why we all love you so much," she corrected herself.

"Thanks, I know I can be a bit of an ass sometimes." Raph said. "I don't exactly make it easy."

"That's just part of the Raphael charm," she laughed.

"Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up). God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved). We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved). God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)."

"So what do you want to do?" Don asked her. "We could go to the movies, or go ice skating. Or go out to dinner and a walk in the park," he rambled, thinking of ideas for them to do.

"Hmm, or the museum." Kerry suggested. "They just had an Ancient Greece exhibit open up and it's supposed to be really good. Oh, and the deep ocean exhibit is starting up again this year." Kerry rambled thinking of the stuff she thought of going to with Alex.

"The museum sounds perfect," he told her. "Something we'll both enjoy. Though I'd have a good time doing anything if it was with you."

"We might just end up having a nerd off." Kerry chuckled a bit. "I am a mad history buff, let me tell you," she giggled a bit. "I'd love to go anywhere with you, Donnie."

Don smiled brightly at her, completely happy to hear all of what Kerry was saying. "I've been waiting to do something like this with you for a long time, Kerry," he told her, moving a hand up to caress one of her cheeks.

"S-Sorry I kept you waiting," Kerry mumbled, leaning into his hand.

"Hey, it's worth the wait," he told her. "You're worth it. You'll always be worth it."

"I wish I could believe that, but I don't. Thanks for waiting anyway, Kerry mumbled, kissing his lips quickly, as if to reward him for being patient with her.

"I'm going to make you see that you are," he told her, completely determined. "I promise."

"Donnie, it's okay." she laughed slightly. "It's just how my brain works."

"Let me have this, Kerry," he told her. "Because you're not going to change my mind. You know how this thing works," he said, tapping his head.

"Hmmm, okay this once, I'll let you get away it." Kerry said smirking a bit. "I'm to stubborn to let you have anything else, Brainiac."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Kerry," he told her, kissing her cheek.

"I won't give up on us even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love. I'm still looking up."

"I think I've only ever slow danced with my dad and my brothers," Alex admitted. "And that was when I was little."

"Really?" Raph asked. "You're a good dancer then." Raph complimented. "If you're this practiced despite all these years."

"Probably because of the martial arts," Alex thought. "What about you, Loverboy? How many dance partners have you had?"

"Hmm, I danced with a family friend's daughter at a wedding once, but we were like, I don't know, 10 maybe?" Raph shrugged. "I don't know, it was a while."

"Well, you're doing great," Alex said. "Though we're really only rocking back and forth so…"

"I can do better than that," Raph smirked slightly. Before Alex had the chance to ask what the heck he was talking about, he pulled back, keeping hold of one of her hands, spinning her out before pulling her back in. He securely wrapped an arm around her and dipped her backwards.

"Uh," Alex muttered, completely stunned. She blushed, looking up at Raph, who had a cocky little smirk in place. It was weird being at that angle, and her stomach fluttered, behind in his arms, trusting him to keep her secure and safe from falling. That didn't stop her from grabbing onto his forearms on instinct, which brought her that much closer to Raph.

"Wee?" she muttered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Wee? I just show you the amazing skills I naturally posses and you say wee?" Raph scoffed as if offended. He righted her back up.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked. She cleared her throat and made her voice higher than it really was as she joked, "Oh Raphael, you are so talented and such a gentleman. How could I ever thank you for gracing me with such moves? Oh, how could I ever live another second without professing my undying love for you? Marry me Raphael and make me the happiest girl in the world!" She snorted, her voice going back to normal. "How was that?"

"...no need to get sarcastic on me." Raph grumbled to her, crossing his arms and he started to sulk a bit.

"Oh come on," she said, grabbing onto his arm. "Don't be like that. I was only joking." She lead him over to the drink bar to get something. "It was fun. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smirked slightly as he let her pull him.

"You want something to drink?" she asked as she grab herself a water.

"Yeah can you hand me a root beer?" he asked as he looked out at the dance floor.

"Of course," she told him, grabbing a drink for him. She turned back around and handed it to him with a soft smile.

"Thanks," he nodded taking a much needed drink.

"Well, now that Don and Kerry are, uh, whatever they are, you think Kiley and Erik are going to bug them to go on double and triple dates with them?" she asked. "I mean, almost every other week she'd ask me to see if you wanted to have a double date with them."

"And? Why did you never say okay? Do they suck or something?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I just didn't think you'd want to," she admitted with a shrug. "I mean, we already have to pretend at things like this, or if we happen to see them out and about. I didn't want you to have to go out on a date and pretend anymore than you had to."

Raph shifted awkwardly on his feet for a moment before he peeked at her from the corner of his eyes before sighing a bit.

Alex was confused by his sudden change in attitude. Did I say something wrong? Does he actually want to go with them? "Why, did you want to go? The next time they ask I can say yes, if you'd like."

"Go ahead." Raph said not looking at her still, embarrassed over something.

"Really?" Alex asked, her own blush crawling onto her cheeks. He wanted to go on a double date with her? But why would he want to pretend anymore than he had to? It didn't make sense until he actually...Unless he actually had feelings for her. "You want to?"

"Yeah, I mean, why not? And 'sides it can be a triple date if we add Don and Kerry," he said in a rush, in order to escape the awkward moment.

Alex bit her lip, happy at he actually wanted to. "Okay," she told him, nodding her head. "Yeah, I'll say yes the next time they ask."

"Alright." Raph said clearing his throat and taking another drinking. "It's a date then."

A date? A real date? "It's a date," she repeated, hesitantly taking his hand.

Raph's hand automatically tightened around hers, almost as if out of habit. It was smooth and natural to do so.

"You want to go back to the table with the others?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting kinda hungry and you know Mikey will try and claim all the pizza." Raph chuckled a bit.

Alex chuckled, pulling him back to the table. They passed Elliot and Esme as they went, the two young adults watching them intensely without either redhead knowing.

"I can't believe you dragged me out here to dance." Esme mumbled a bit, though her eyes watched the two couples once more converge at the table.

"You can't tell me you didn't have fun!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Okay," Esme sighed a bit after a few moments. "It was a little fun," she chuckled a bit.

"Only a little," Elliot whined. "Okay, if was only a little fun, you have to let me take you out to dinner to make it up to you."

This wasn't the first time he's asked her that, but as she looked at him she found she didn't want to say no. This man was persistent. "...I suppose I could agree to a night out." Esme said looking down a bit. As she did her eyes caught the couples again. "Well well well." she giggled out of the blue. "Things look cosy over there."

"What do you mean?" Elliot asked, glancing over in the direction she was looking in. The only thing out of the ordinary at the group of teens was that Kerry and Don were acting far cozier than they normally were. Kerry was tucked away under Don's arm, nuzzled against his side happily as she laughed.

"Seems those two are a bit less awkward now." Esme pointed out. "After he kissed her I wasn't sure if they'd work through this stage, good to know they're making progress."

"Even if they were awkward, Alex would probably fix that," he told her, being a little more serious than he normally was. "She's kind of made them her mission."

"Wait wait wait, they're her mission. But Alex and Raph is Kerry's mission." Esme asked blinking at him, enjoying his serious side though for once. "She talks all the time about how she wants them together."

"Yeah, it's a whole mess of trying to get people together," Elliot told her. "Kerry, Mikey and Don are trying to get Raph and Alex together. Alex and Raph are trying to get Don and Kerry together."

"Wait, isn't Mikey helping Alex too?" Esme asked. "Is he a double agent?" she chuckled a bit, "Our kids are the best aren't they? So concerned about each other's happiness."

"Yeah, they're good kids," he said. "But not as good as you, Beautiful."

"I-I haven't done anything at all." Esme huffed a bit, but out of embarrassment, cheeks red.

"You haven't done anything, really?" Elliot chuckled. "Esme, you help people for a living. You helped us when my parents died. You're still around helping us. You're helping Kerry. You have no off button, Beautiful. You're beautiful inside and out."

"I-I'm just doing my job, and as for your family you needed someone so I stepped up to fill the role anyone else could have." Esme mumbled a bit, fiddling with her hair. "And I just couldn't sit there and let Kerry be taken away over just a silly quiz, I spoke before thinking." Esme succeed herself.

"And those instincts that you act upon are what make you such a good person," he told her. "You're a great person, Esme. You shouldn't put yourself down like that. I won't listen to it, that's for sure. I'll just have to go on gushing about you until you realize it yourself."

"I'm not putting myself down." Esme rolled her eyes, "And don't you dare! It's embarrassing!"

"You're downplaying your actions," he said. He chuckled, taking her hand that was fiddling with her hair into his hand. "Oh Beautiful, I'm going to be around to embarrass you for the rest of your life. You should just get used it it, Love."

"E-Elliot?" Esme blinked at him face exploding into a red hot blush. "Oh are you ever serious about anything!?" she huffed looking away, but her hand never leaving his. It was so warm and welcoming she couldn't bring herself to do so.

"I meant every word, Beautiful," he told her, kissing her hand. "Now, about that date…"

"Ugh, I'm going to regret agreeing to that, aren't I?" she groaned a bit.

"Never," he told her.

"Hmm, we'll see."