Confronted by two pairs of questioning eyes, Ethan experienced a moment of slack-jawed stupor, with his mouth opening and closing, as his brain struggled to come with a proper response that would provide a satisfactory explanation for this inappropriate-seeming situation.

How exactly does a happily-married father explain the presence of an unfamiliar woman in his bedroom, on the same morning his dear wife had departed for a work trip, no less.

Funnily enough, it was Laura who broke the silence first, though her voice was as shaky and uncertain as Ethan himself felt.

"Mr. Winters! I am so sorry for disturbing you like this, but Rosie wanted…" The young babysitter's rapid expulsion of words paused, as she erratically gazed back and forth from Ethan to Daniela. Seems like whatever Rose wanted had to take a backseat as Laura's own unbridled curiosity could not be contained.

"...Does Ms. Winters know about…ehm… ugh… this?" Laura's eyes stopped right at Daniela's face, as she mumbled out the meekly-spoken question, and Ethan would've surely found the question beyond outrageous, were he himself not in such a compromising spotlight. Indignity boiling in his veins was tempered by raw dread pooling in his stomach - preventing him from immediately pointing out that it was none of her damn business.

"Gosh, I am sorry. I am so sorry." Laura must have realized how inappropriate her question was, considering her status in the Winters' household. Her gaze fell to the floor, and Ethan finally recovered enough of his wits to address the elephant in the room…

…except the aforementioned elephant decided to speak for herself first, it seemed.

"Of course Mia knows about me! We are good friends, back from when the Winters family stayed in Romania! Ah, such good times we had, just the three of us, right, Ethan?" Daniela's passionate speech was followed by a light bump of her ankle against Ethan's foot, as if saying, 'play along!'

Clearing his throat, Ethan decided to do just that, "Right, ehm… Dani–-ela." Merely pronouncing her nickname felt like an infidelity, so the man was quick to amend himself.

Happily nodding along at his cooperation, Daniela continued, in such a fluid and natural way, that Ethan could not help but be astounded at her incredible capacity for spontaneous lying - in this particular situation, it was quite welcome, however. Glancing at her face, Ethan saw only a relaxed smile gracing her full lips, as she told a story she likely came up with on the spot.

"I am taking a vacation from my work in Romania and decided to visit my good friend Ethan! But, unfortunately, " The way Daniela's own gaze fell to the floor, with her lips twisting into a cute pout, would've been enough to sell the story to Ethan himself, were he not aware of the actual truth. "The house I am renting from another friend is an awful mess, so Ethan - being the gentleman that he is - had invited me to spend the night in his guest bedroom!"

The way Daniela flawlessly articulated her story made Ethan consider that she would've made a fine actress, if she decided to pursue that profession. Nevertheless, he only hoped that Laura did not visit the aforementioned guest bedroom today, since its pristine state would speak to the contrary of the redhead's story.

Luckily, it appeared the Laura failed to see through Daniela's perfect play and nodding along, relaxed, while remaining somewhat animated - and Ethan could even guess why - she was quite enchanted by the prospect of becoming a software engineer herself one day and meeting another person from a similar field was always an excitement for her. "Oh, I see! I didn't mean to pry, but thank you for explaining it to me!"

With the potentially volatile situation seemingly diffused by Daniela's quick wit and remarkable acting skills, Ethan let out a breath he did not know he was holding. Not wanting his little Rose to feel dejected, the father promptly picked her up, only to place a loving kiss on her tiny forehead, to her obvious delight. "Good morning, daddy!"

Rosie's angelic voice never failed to evoke a smile from Ethan. "Good morning, sweet pea." Gently ruffling her hair, for a moment, Ethan allowed the world and its myriad of problems to fade away, leaving only the proud father and his beloved daughter.

Apparently, someone also wanted in on their little world, however. "Awww, that is so sweet!" Daniela's voice was filled with admiration, as she clasped her hands together. The display of genuine child-parent affection was something she clearly cherished.

Laura did not want to be left out as well, and continued with her previous, somewhat unwelcome line of inquiry. "So, Miss Daniela, you've used to work with Mr. Winters before?"

Daniela did not miss a beat, "Oh, yeah! I am… uhm… a pro-gamer like him!"

The image of Daniela shouting obscenities as she downed a can of energy drink, while smashing her digits against a keyboard in a bid to win some online gaming tournament suddenly assaulted Ethan's mind, causing him to let out a guffaw. Still, the confusion in Laura's eyes had to be addressed.

"It's a programmer, Daniela." with a slight wince, Ethan added, addressing Laura next, "Her spoken English is a bit rusty, Laura."

At that Daniela pouted in mock offense, before sticking out her pink tongue at Ethan, but recovering her composure in an instant.

"That's what I said! A programmer. And my English is flawless, thank you very much!"

Laura awkwardly giggled at the redhead's antics, but her eyes never stopped roaming Daniela's exotic frame and Ethan could visualize the barrage of questions that was begging to be let loose. Why is she so pale? Why is she wearing a beanie hat indoors? What's with her weird eyes? What about the creepy forehead tattoo? Is that a speck of blood at the hem of her shirt? How come her clothes hug her perfect, hourglass figure so tightly? Okay, that last one might have been just him projecting…

Laura was a good kid, but perhaps a tad too earnest and straightforward, and Ethan was not looking forward to hearing her interrogate Daniela, and therefore, decided to cut their morning meeting short. Clearing his throat to attract her attention, the father attempted to get her to leave in the nicest way possible.

"Hey, Laura, why don't you take a break for the rest of the day? Rosie and I are overdue for some quality bonding time, and this Sunday is looking like it." The young woman opened her mouth in protest, but Ethan anticipated it, "You'll still get paid for today, don't worry." Regardless of the situation, it was only fair, since she did plan to spend her own Sunday tending to Rose.

Perhaps he was too hasty in dismissing her, since that spark of suspicion returned to her keen eyes, as she glared at both him and Daniela for a couple of seconds, before yielding, "Alright, Mr. Winters, if you say so…"

Approaching Ethan and Rosie, Laura playfully bops the child on her nose - to Rose's vocalized delight - before bidding her farewell, "You stay good for daddy and his friend, alright short stuff?"

Giggling in return, Rose nods her tiny head, before adding, "I will! Bye Laura!"

The way Laura smiled at his child got Ethan's own lips to widen in contentment. Laura was a decent kid - dutiful but still knowing how to have a good time. But more importantly, she was really good to their Rose, and Ethan knew that he and Mia were lucky to find someone like her.

The kid deserves a bonus… or at least a nice present for her birthday in a couple of weeks.

"Have a good day, Mr. Winters…" offered Laura, before angling her head towards Daniela, in question, "Ms…?"

In response, Daniela merely produced another of her cute giggles, before waving her delicate hand in a dismissive manner, "Just Daniela is fine, little one!"

Despite the friendly tone of the redhead's voice, Ethan did not miss certain signs that implied Daniela's guarded stance towards the babysitter - like her slightly narrowed eyes, that followed even the tiniest movements of Laura's hands or somewhat tense arms, as if expecting trouble to start at any moment now. Clearly, while outwardly attempting to exude friendliness, Daniela was quite wary of strangers - not that Ethan could blame her for that, considering the fact that the vast majority of strangers she had encountered in her life so far were either victims or intruders.

Thankfully, it appeared that Laura failed to note the small hints that betrayed Daniela's guarded disposition; instead focusing on the peculiar term of address, "I am not little! I'll be turning seventeen in three weeks!" Huffing in annoyance, the babysitter had to crane her neck to glare into the redhead's eyes, who was almost a full head taller than her.

In turn, Daniela merely chuckled once more, while gazing down at Laura with mischief in her amber orbs, "As you say… little one!"

Apparently having enough of this strange woman, Laura huffed one last time and proceeded to depart without saying a further word.

Even Ethan had to suppress a chuckle as the peculiar exchange, but before he could remark on Daniela's antics, the girl in question beat him to it by making a statement of her own.

"She seems like a noisy little thing…" Turning her gaze from the empty doorway towards Ethan, Daniela continued, though her next words sent some unwelcome chill running down his spine, "She won't be a problem, won't she?"

Daniela spoke with a nonchalant voice, as if inquiring about the weather, yet Ethan could not help but think of scenarios that were less than pleasant. A number of questions rushed through his head, such as - 'What kind of a problem?', accompanied by the immediate image of Laura dialing Mia the moment she stepped out of the Winters residence; or he himself responding with a positive, only for Daniela to visit a gruesome fate upon the poor babysitter. Naturally, the father could not give voice to his questions and concerns, not with his innocent baby girl right in his arms.

He might have been just seeing things, but Ethan swore that Daniela's eyes glinted with certain wickedness - perhaps his imagination was not that far off the mark, or perhaps it was painting her in completely undue light. Regardless, all he could manage was a negative shake of his head.

Rosie, in her childhood innocence, failed to note anything odd about Daniela's question, and hearing no reply from her father, produced one herself, "Laura is so nice!"

Seemingly content with that, Daniela let out a cheerful, "Alrighty!" before clapping her palms together and, now that the stranger had departed, focused her entire attention on Rose. With a warm toothy smile and eyes wide in joy, Daniela was not shy about gushing all over the child, "Gosh, Rosie, last time I saw you, you were this big," the redhead articulated her words with her thumb and index finger. The empty space between her two digits was far too small for even a newborn baby, making Rose giggle a little at her seemingly exaggerated display and cooing voice. For Ethan, however, Daniela's little gesture invoked a memory of when his beloved daughter was literally taken apart by that psycho Miranda, as Rose the Baby's tiny head could fit perfectly into the space shown by Daniela right now. A slight shudder went through his frame, but Daniela herself appeared unaware of his discomfort, as she was taken completely by his child.

"You're just so adorable!"

It was clear by her tone and the mirth all but shining in her expressive eyes that Daniela was utterly charmed by his baby girl, and the father could not help but mellow out himself, dismissing his grim thoughts.

"Oh, Rosie, you're just the prettiest girl!"

Interestingly, Rose - a normally shy child, who would bury her tiny face into her parent's clothing when confronted by a cooing adult - held Daniela's gaze.

Compounding the peculiarity, Rose herself responded, "You are very pretty too, Dani-ela…", though in a particularly quiet and meek voice, barely audible. Nevertheless, both adults heard her loud and clear, and Daniela's already wide amber eyes opened up to a nearly comical degree and a small gasp of delight left her pink lips.

Tilting her head to the side, Daniela gazed at Rose with raw affection - a heartwarming sight for Ethan himself. "Thank you, dear… but it's just Dani for friends!"

"Dani…" Rose seemingly savored the nickname as it left her tiny lips, before glancing at the pink beanie Daniela still wore, "I like your hat…"

"Oh…" Daniela's smile died down a little, as a conflicting thought no doubt rushed through her head. It was clear to Ethan that her first desire was likely to lend Rosie her hat, but the fear of exposing her scar was enough for her to reconsider.

In a bid to keep the spirits high, Ethan decided to help his redheaded friend, "Dani is a bit cold, Rose, so she wears this cute little hat. But I am sure that she will be happy to let you borrow it once it gets a bit warmer."

"It gets warmer!?" Spluttered out Daniela, appearing bedazzled. Momentarily stunned by her lack of knowledge on the subject, Ethan let out a subdued chuckle before providing a response.

"Of course it does, Dani. We are in Spain, after all - it gets way warmer, " Ethan winced, recalling the time he almost got a heat stroke after they had just arrived in Valencia, "sometimes it even gets oppressively hot here."

In turn, Daniela focused her attention on the positive aspect of the remark, and her eyes lit up, reminding Ethan of a kid in a candy store, "Really…? Wow… I can't even imagine…" Her last words had a hint of sadness in them and a small cloud of gloom soon manifested in Ethan's head upon her longing look. Of course she can't… she was stuck in her cold castle for her entire life…

The gloom didn't last, however, as Daniela - likely recalling her castle herself - once again addressed the child in a particularly loving voice. Ethan wasn't sure on whom that affection was directed at.

"Did daddy ever tell you about all he had done for you, Rosie?"

The girl merely shook her head, making Daniela cutely pout and gaze at Ethan himself, with question in her eyes.

Letting out a playful scoff, Ethan proceeded to gently rub Rose's back, while noting, "Come on, Dani. Rose doesn't need to know anything about all that stuff."

Putting an index finger to her lips in thought, Daniela promptly nodded her head in consent, though Ethan was not blind to gears grinding in her head. Feeling slight fidgeting from Rose, the father placed the child back on the solid floor. Only when he did so, did he realize that he felt completely at ease next to this blood-drinking creature, to the point where he would even trust his cherished child to be in her immediate presence. The realization momentarily shocked the man, making him miss the next words that finally came out of Daniela's mouth, even as she knelt on the floor in a bid to be on an even eye-level with Rose.

"I know what you mean by that, though I'd argue that Rose deserves to at least know that her dad is a real hero."

Hearing such genuine praise spoken about her father, Rose's own eyes lit up in joy, but Daniela was not done yet, "Do you like fairy tales, Rosie?"

Nodding vigorously, Rose was blind to the fact that her dad had finally recovered from his stupor, only to chuckle at the question. Both Mia and him had spent seemingly endless hours reading her favorite bedtime stories, after all - not that either of them minded performing such activity. The child plopped to sit on the floor herself, ever eager for a story.

"Ah…" The sound that left Daniela's lips bordered on sensuality, and Ethan wondered where that train of thought took her now, especially since her face had adopted a dreamy look, while turning to gaze into the open window. Not wanting to tower over the rest present, Ethan also lowered himself to sit on the floor cross-legged. A part of his mind scorned him for then proceeding to admire the radiant beauty of Daniela. Bathed in the gentle winter sunlight, with her face relaxed into an expression of solace, a traitorous thought wormed its way further into Ethan's mind - a thought he would never dare say aloud.

Daniela is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen…

Not looking at him, and therefore hopefully blind to his conundrum, Daniela continued speaking to Rose, now sounding like a professional story-teller.

"Like a valiant knight, he rode to save a princess who was held by a dragon in her castle." The fairy-tale-like statement was narrated in a way that made it ambiguous enough that Ethan could not tell exactly who Daniela meant by 'princess'. The obvious candidate was Rose, of course, but…

"Daddy did?!" Rose's incredulous gasp put an end to Ethan's musings, with Daniela chuckling and turning to look at the child, once more.

"He sure did, honey!" Her playful voice swiftly morphed back into that narrative one, however, "But little did he know, that there was more than one princess that needed saving…"

The adorable way Rosie opened her mouth in surprise was enough to make both Ethan and Daniela let out a little coo, "More than one?!"

"Uh-huh!"

Some confusion was starting to bloom in Rose's eyes, and Ethan was wondering where this conversation could go without touching upon the distasteful parts of his journey back then - which happened to make up the vast majority of it. Daniela's mesmerizing voice helped his curiosity overcome whatever discomfort he was feeling about the subject, however. It took a further moment for Ethan to realize that he was shamelessly staring at her sunlit face; with heat soon reaching his own cheeks. It felt like he could gaze at the lovely angles that made up her face for hours.

"Mhm… let's just say that your daddy…" slowly, she rotated her head in a way that saw her amber orbs locked with Ethan's own gray eyes. It seemingly only took her a moment to wisen up to his inner thoughts, as a self-satisfied smirk soon graced her full, delectable lips. He still remembered well how they tasted.

Am I that transparent?

Now gazing at him with longing in her gorgeous eyes, Daniela finally concluded her previous sentence, "...saved more than one person in Romania…like a true knight… a true hero."

The weight of that statement forced a reverent silence to settle upon their sun-soaked room.

It didn't last for too long, however, as Ethan felt less than stellar as Daniela's unyielding gaze seemingly kept on increasing the ambient temperature. The hot emotions she experienced were reflected in her expressive eyes, and many of them were not exactly appropriate for a married man to reciprocate, regardless of how hard he wished to.

Clearing his throat, the father recalled the reason for Rose's presence in his bedroom in the first place - a good way to lead the subject away, "Anyway, did you want something, Rosie?"

The child turned her head to gape at him for a moment, as if forgetting it herself. Not that he could blame her for that - not with this strange redheaded woman who had seemingly stolen all of their attention. Nevertheless, after a couple of seconds, Rose's eyes lit up with recollection and she let out a delightful gasp, "I wanna go to the zoo today, daddy! Let's go to the zoo! Please?"

Oh…

By 'Zoo' Rose likely meant Bioparc Valencia, which was a 10-hectare park with a large collection of African fauna. With streams and rocks - instead of traditional railings and cages - separating visitors from the animals, it was quite an experience when the family had visited it around six month ago. Rosie absolutely loved it, with Ethan almost completely sharing in his daughter's glee; Mia was a bit more reserved, but even she found seemingly endless joy in just taking in the happy features of her loved ones.

It was not a surprise that Rosie was aching for a repeat visit, though it was quite a coincidence that she desired one today.

Then again, I did mention how I wanted some quality daughter-father bonding time today, and what better way to achieve that?

"Sure honey, we can go today." Mumbled the father, while looking at his child with parental affection.

Standing up from her spot swiftly, the energetic girl let out a joyous, "Yay!" before jumping in place and twirling around, evoking another giggle from Daniela. The giggle started happy - showing how easily the redhead was able to find joy in the emotions of others, once again proving her empathetic nature. Ethan was not deaf to how it ended on a sorrowful note, however. Standing up herself - with Ethan mirroring the gesture - Daniela did not let her gaze wander from the floor, as she spoke.

"Well, I think I have intruded upon you guys long enough… It's probably time for me to head home and let you have your quality time."

She probably tried her best to mask it, yet the sadness was positively seeping from her every word and it was clear that the last thing Daniela actually wanted was to return to her lonely, empty house. A large part of Ethan wanted to immediately extend the invitation to Daniela; though a larger yet part reminded him of how inappropriate it could be seen as. Perhaps it would be best for them to part ways for today…

"No!" Or maybe not, since a heated yell, coming from Rose, preceded a passionate plea, "Don't go, Dani!" Like a bolt of lightning, the child was at Ethan's side, clutching his hand with both of hers, while her sky-blue eyes gazed into his own gray ones, "Daddy, can Dani come with us? Please?"

Normally, Ethan could never refuse Rose's puppy eyes, though the subject in question was a complex one. Moreover, the father was shocked at how swiftly Rose took to Daniela; how eager she was to spend time in the redhead's company.

Still, shifting his gaze from his beloved child to the pale-skinned visitor, Ethan felt torn between emotional and rational outlooks.

The way Daniela kept silent at the moment, while looking at him with hope in her expressive eyes, even as she lightly nibbled on her lip in anticipation of his verdict, or the way she clutched her own hands together; combined with Rose's passionate request - it was all too much for the poor father.

"Sure."

Another 'Yay!' from Rosie, accompanied by a wide smile from Daniela was enough to dismiss his worries. Was the situation truly as complex as he thought, anyway? They stood a good chance of not running into any acquaintances, and even if they did, all Ethan had to do was relay Daniela's earlier story - that she was a mere family friend, all the way back from Romania, who had come for a business trip or something. A certain voice in the back of his mind tried to tell him that weaving a web of lies would only result in him eventually being entangled in it, but seeing the obvious joy from these two, precious to him, people was enough to shut it up.

Precious?

It took a moment for his conscious brain to register the fact that Daniela somehow got into that category already. Shrugging the weird sensation off quick enough, however, the father committed to his chosen course by taking a glance at his watch - 11:28 AM - only to be distracted once again.

We sure have slept in today… Was it his treacherous body, shamelessly drinking in the comfort the redhead eagerly provided or was it his greedy mind, afraid that were he to wake up, the beautiful stranger would disappear? It seemed like Daniela did not merely re enter into his life, yesterday - instead, she smashed her way, breaking every wall, only to claw her way deep into his very heart, becoming a drug he couldn't live without. It was probably insane and most definitely unhealthy, and Ethan was loving every second of it.

Once again noting that his frenetic mind has wandered off as he registered two pairs of curious eyes gazing at him, Ethan cleared his throat and sheepishly attempted to return back on track. Considering the fact that Bioparc Valencia had shortened visiting hours during the darker winter seasons, they would do well not to tarry too long if they wanted to experience the full majesty of that incredible place.

"Let's depart at twelve o'clock, girls - Rosie, you can get ready for the day while I and Dani will take a short trip to her house."

Rose didn't question her father's peculiar decision to visit their neighbor's house and just scurried off with a happy and carefree, "Okay!" Daniela, however, kept silent and simply stared, first at the departing form of Rose and then straight at Ethan's face, with an unchanging expression - one of unbridled adoration.

Gazing back at her and recalling that simple fact that he didn't even bother asking if she wanted to join them on their trip, the father felt somewhat embarrassed. She looked elated at the prospect, but in such things one should not just blindly assume stuff and actually make sure that their guest is comfortable with the idea.

"Hey, Dani…I and Rose are happy to have you, but do you actually want to tag along? You don't have to, you know."

For a second Daniela appeared flabbergasted by the question, tilting her head to the side and slightly parting her lips. The confusion was replaced by certainty soon enough, though, "Of course, I'd love to join you and little Rose!" The woman made a step closer to Ethan, while placing her dainty hand on her chest, "To have both of you guys invite me to share in such a wonderful journey means the world to me, Ethan…"

Still, remnants of doubt clearly gnawed on her mind, as she proceeded to amend her previous statement, "But… are you sure you'd want me there with you? Am I… truly worthy to share such a special moment with you and Rose?"

The way she turned her gaze away from him, as if afraid of imminent rejection, tore at Ethan's own heart. For all her strengths, Daniela was also a fragile creature - constantly at the mercy of her shifting emotions and crippling insecurities - and Ethan was suddenly all too aware of the burning urge to protect her from whatever threatened her physical or mental state.

Gently placing the right hand's thumb under her chin and the left hand around her shoulder, Ethan proceeded to lift her head, so that he could once again stare into her expressive eyes, that all but served as windows into her colorful soul. "Come on, Dani. Don't give me that crap about worth. You're a hu—" Cutting himself mid sentence as he swiftly realized that this particular term might not quite apply to her, Ethan, nevertheless, came up with an appropriate alternative within a heartbeat, "...A person. A troubled person, perhaps, but a person nonetheless - and you are most definitely worthy of love and deserving of companionship. Never let anyone tell you otherwise." Seeing that spark of joy reigniting in her amber orbs, Ethan went for the kill, "You saw how happy Rose was to be in your presence - and she is quite shy around strangers, normally." And I don't even wanna talk about how happy I am to be in your presence…

Melting into his embrace and resting her head on his shoulder, Daniela let out a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh, before mumbling out a relieved, "I am so happy right now I could just die…"

"Well, let's not go that far…" immediately remarked Ethan, while drawing gentle circles on her back with his fingers.

Seemingly for several minutes, the couple merely stood like that, drawing endless comfort from each other's presence. Still, time moves ever onward and Ethan gently detached himself from her, while offering, "Mind if we head to your house for a bit before our trip? I wanted to check something out."

With her whirlwind of emotions apparently under control once again, Daniela adopted a curious expression, with one delicate eyebrow raised in an unspoken question.

Rubbing the back of his head with one arm, Ethan responded to it, somewhat sheepishly, "Well, I did promise you yesterday that I'd take a look at your house. Wouldn't want you to get cold again tonight, after all."

The truthfulness of that statement was immediately put under scrutiny by Ethan's own treacherous body and wandering mind. A part of him - a part that was seemingly growing larger with every passing moment in her company - was hardly opposed to the notion of the redhead getting cold - if that resulted in her paying him another late-night visit.

As if aware of his inner thoughts, Daniela let out a particularly long, "Mhmm…", even as her lips started to split into a conspiratorial smirk. "Wouldn't you, I wonder?" Not a trace of the crippling insecurity that plagued her mere moments ago remained in this seductive creature.

Clearing his throat - a habit he realized he was doing far too often lately - the man tried to regain his bearing, and, somewhat succeeding, responded, "Well, a promise is a promise, Dani, and I do want my friend and neighbor to be comfortable."

For a second, her seductive gaze shifted to an adoring one, as she cooed, "That's so sweet, Ethan!" but it didn't last, as her full lips once again morphed into a sensual half-smirk, "That said… I was quite comfortable last night." Suddenly, Ethan could not tear his gaze away from her fluttering eyelashes, as she blinked her gorgeous eyes so very slowly. Moreover, their persistent close proximity started to evoke conflicting feelings in Ethan, as the man simply could not keep up with her rapidly shifting emotions.

"Come on, Dani…"

His feebly-muttered words sounded pathetic beyond comparison to the man's own ears, yet Daniela shockingly relented and, with a simple "Alrighty!" made a motion for the open window, with Ethan reaching his hand for her and voicing his protest just before she managed to reach it.

"Uhm… perhaps we should use stairs instead?"

Swirling around with mild confusion, it took a moment for Daniela to realize what he meant by that. "Oh… but we are only on the second floor!" Her half-pout was unbearably cute to Ethan's sight and the man almost wanted to disregard the conventional norms and leap from the window, with her by his side. Perhaps, the whirlwind of raging emotions and bubbling insanity that was Daniela Dimitrescu started to suck him in…

Still, Ethan had enough self-control left to dismiss the crazy idea and instead grace the redhead with a moderately scolding gaze. In turn, Daniela merely grunted something akin to 'boring old men' under her breath, but yielded and pranced through the open door and down the stairs.

Ethan, feeling more amused than offended at her childish remark, followed the redhead along out of his house and all the way back to her own at the other side of the street. In turn, Daniela, as if pretending to be cross with him, kept a short distance away from him and did not look back throughout the short trek. Of course, the spring in her step betrayed her true mood to Ethan.

Halfway through the mostly empty street, suddenly recalling her vocalized hunger earlier, Ethan felt himself a poor host for leaving his guest without breakfast. Their plans did change drastically after Rose's proposal to visit Bioparc Valencia, but that was hardly a reason enough to skip the most important meal of the day. "Uhm, sorry for forgetting about breakfast. We can get some nice food in the park though, unless you're really hungry, then we can stick around for some cereal or something…" Ethan realized that he was rambling like an awkward schoolboy; the humiliating situation wasn't helped by the fact that Daniela didn't even deign him with a response, simply continuing on her trek without saying a word or even slowing down.

The awkward silence continued and persisted until they reached their destination. Stopping just before the entrance to her house, Daniela swirled around to face Ethan, a mischievous flare glinting in her eyes, even as her lips were still in the shape of a mock frown.

A further moment of silence had passed and Ethan started to consider apologizing for his refusal to employ a window as a proper way to depart his house - as laughable as the notion was - but before he could do so, Daniela's frown morphed into a carefree smile once again.

"Damn, it's hard to even pretend to be angry at you, Ethie! Why you gotta be so nice!"

Letting out a guffaw, which Daniela quickly mirrored, Ethan just shook his head in amusement. In turn, the redhead theatrically spread her arms open in a clear invitation.

"Mi casa, su casa."

Ethan couldn't help but wonder if that also applied to her family's property back in Romania. Somehow he felt that her brunette sister and mother would be less than thrilled to have him as their guest again. Then again, recalling Cassandra's horrifying grimace of hatred that promised dire retribution, Ethan supposed that she wouldn't be too opposed in crossing paths with him again - only he would not enjoy the experience, that much was certain.

Shrugging off the grim thoughts about Daniela's murderous sibling, Ethan entered her - or more precisely, the Duke's - house, with her trailing just behind.

"And don't worry about me, I just exaggerated a little about being hungry…" Daniela suddenly spoke, making the man turn to glance her way, "I actually had a very filling, ehm…" the woman turned her gaze away from him - a telling sign of her discomfort - "...meal… before visiting you last night."

A shiver went through Ethan's spine at her words. Something told him it was not his definition of a late-night snack Daniela had enjoyed yesterday. The inquisitiveness that saw him rummage through all those drawers and dressers in Louisiana and Romania demanded that Ethan find out exactly what… or whom Daniela dined upon yesterday.

But is it truly worth it..?

To his shock, Ethan realized he didn't want to know the answer to the burning question. Not when they had such a wonderful morning, and not when they were about to have such a wonderful day - just him, Rose…and Daniela. If it turned out that Daniela had cannibalized some poor soul during the night, that would ruin everything, but as long as he remained in the dark, they would all still be able to enjoy the day.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss…

The way she stared at him now, with both hope and fear in her expressive amber orbs, sealed the deal.

Gulping in anxiety, and against his better judgment, Ethan decided to let the sleeping dogs lie - at least for today. Whatever atrocious crime Daniela had committed - or did not - for now, he would remain willfully blind to it. Did that make him a weak person, unable to handle the truth? Perhaps, but the man had suffered enough for multiple lifetimes and he was not looking forward to returning to that bleak and miserable existence of his past.

A gentle, if slightly unsure smile graced his lips, followed by a calm, "Alright…"

And the reward for his lack of scrutiny was the most beautiful smile Ethan had ever seen.

Staring into her gentle eyes, Ethan felt like he had made the right choice. No unredeemable creature of malice could ever possess such eyes - filled with remorse for her past and hope for a brighter future. Even if Daniela's past atrocities could never be truly forgiven, Ethan knew that with guidance and kindness, she could overcome the monstrous nature imposed on her by her unnatural rebirth.

He knew that this would be a day to remember - for once, in a good way. Shall there be consequences for his inaction, he will face them. He just hoped that there would be either none at all… or at least the ones he could bear.

"A vampire attack? Is that a joke, Marina? Does it look like I'm in the mood for fucking jokes?"

Chief Inspector Ignacio Vázquez massaged his temple with one hand, as his other hatefully motioned at the huge pile of documents that dominated the majority of his table.

Unsolved cases, missing person posters, reports on known criminal sightings, complaints on officer Gonzales' misconduct - all awaited his attention. Understaffed and overworked, the Valencian police precinct was swamped in all kinds of crime - which was seemingly only emboldened by the election of the new mayor, who had promised to take the city's crime prevention and fighting activities to the next level.

That is, the next level backwards, and now with their budget cut and many members of the force let go, Ignacio found himself dealing with all kinds of tasks that he never expected to perform in his role as Chief Inspector.

Of course, Deputy Inspector Marina Amado was well-aware of it all, that's why it was surprising to Ignacio that she would bother him with such nonsense, especially considering that they were dealing with a plague of pickpockets, a drug-cartel and an organ-trafficking ring right now.

"That's how the victim reported it, Jefe…" At the very least, Marina had the decency to sound apologetic. Still, it did little for Ignacio's growing migraine.

"Oh, the victim reported it? So vampires don't even kill their victims nowadays, eh? Well, live and learn, I suppose!"

Unable to withstand Ignacio's aggressive glare and biting sarcasm, Marina turned her gaze, but made no motion to vacate her superior's closet-like office, with her hand still clutching the relevant report.

Seeing no sign of her letting that go, the man decided to just get it over with. With a sigh that expressed the totality of his miserable existence, Ignacio grabbed the report and proceeded to skim over it.

His initial findings made the man let out an annoyed scoff, as the 'victim' was some unemployed youth from the impoverished and drug-riddled part of the El Cabanyal district. Probably high out of his fucking mind on goddamn Rapture, imagining vampires and werewolves…

The chiding words for wasting his time were left unspoken, however, as Ignacio read over the rest - where the unconscious victim - found by passersby before being delivered to the local hospital, with the doctors discovering the most curious facts. The bite marks on his wrist were most definitely made by human teeth, and at the time of arrival his body was missing more than a liter of blood. Moreover, the victim himself, once he had recovered lucidity, spoke at length about a 'beautiful but deathly pale woman that stalked him in the night, before knocking him out and having her vampiric ways with him.' Finally, unfortunately there was not enough of the culprit's DNA matter to run a proper identification test - just a couple of red hairs were found stuck to the victim's jacket.

A peculiar case, all in all. Not that he believed in nonsense such as vampires, of course, but the nature of crime left several possible culprits. The possibility of self-harm could be almost certainly dismissed, leaving only the outside forces. Could be just a random psycho, fancying herself a vampire, naturally… or, something more nefarious…

The local organ-trafficking ring was notorious for its creative ways, and Ignacio could not help but consider that the organization was expanding its business in a way that saw the least amount of heat drawn to itself, perhaps even by draining the blood from less-fortunate loners in the night, without actually resorting to kidnapping or homicide. The admittedly silly notion was somewhat helped by the fact that the victim had the rare and much-sought after Ro-subtype blood.

Regardless, while he was not going to drop all his cases and rush to Cabanyal to investigate the crime scene himself, perhaps it was something worth keeping an eye on…

"Not even a facial composite attached?" Ignacio could only scoff at his colleagues' lack of professionalism. Perhaps they could identify the attacker if the local police at least bothered to sketch a portrait…

Marina responded with a shake of her head, evoking another scoff from Ignacio.

"Well, you brought this to me, only fair that you see where that rabbit hole leads, Subinspector Amado. At the very least try to get the perp's composite from the victim."

Naturally, Marina was not happy about the order, "But… my shift is just about over!" The bags under her eyes lent weight to her words.

Nevertheless, shrugging his shoulders, Ignacio would have none of it. She should've known better than to pester him if she really wanted to go home early today. The case was just too peculiar to disregard completely, and it was better to handle it now, before the trail got completely cold.

A smirk and a dismissive wave of the hand was his only response, and Marina, huffing in annoyance, departed Ignacio's office, leaving the older man alone with the stacks of documents he still had to go over today. Giving one last wishful glance towards the closing door, Chief Inspector Ignacio Vázquez returned back to his work, while mourning the day that could be.

To think that some people are probably having a perfectly nice Sunday right now…

Author's Note:

I hope the update was enjoyable, as it was very enjoyable for me to write :) Also, I'd like to note that while this story will mostly focus on heartwarming moments and inappropriate romance, there will be some gory violence, as well. Ethan here is very good at navigating Daniela's moods, but if someone were to press wrong buttons, she could get very dangerous, very fast...

Have a great week and don't let the world bring you down!