The texts overwhelm her phone almost instantly. The device buzzes against the nightstand about three times, maybe more, a loud, rapid knocking that causes Kristina to stir. She snuggles her face into the pillow, her eyelids fluttering open.

"Ugh…" she groans, her arm awkwardly covering her face. The material of one of Dex's button-down shirts rubs against her skin. She lays flat on the bed, relaxing for a minute, before reaching over to check the litany of messages sent her way.

From: Dad (7:57 AM)

Heard the news - I'm so sorry.

I love you sweetheart.

Give me a call when you can.

From: Mom (8:04 AM)

Molly told me what happened.

I hope you're okay.

I love you. Call me.

From: Sam (8:09 AM)

If you want to talk, I'm here.

Love you Krissy

Let me know that you're ok?

"Kristina?" Dex gently knocks on the door.

"Yeah?" she asks, rubbing her eyes as the door opens. There are two white mugs in either hand.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, just…checking the messages that woke me up."

"Your family?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Just a hunch," he sits on the bed, "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock," Kristina stifles a giggle, "You?"

"Could've been better, honestly. It isn't everyday that I sleep on my couch."

"Thanks for your bed, by the way. And thanks for the shirt."

"You're welcome," Dex smiles sadly, offering the mug in his right hand, "Are you…feeling any better?"

"Um," the cup is smooth to the touch, "a little bit. I'm more put-together than yesterday, that's for sure," she takes a sip, "Mm, not bad."

"Milk and two sugars," Dex sits down closer to the end of the bed, "just how I like it."

"A job at Perks may be in your future."

"Thanks," he laughs before taking a sip himself. Her phone buzzes a fourth, fifth, sixth time, "Who's calling?"

"My mom," Kristina places the mug on the nightstand. She waits until he closes the door behind him to answer, "Hello?"

"Oh good," Alexis sighs, "you picked up the phone. Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," she replies meekly.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Dex's apartment."

"...Why?"

"I asked to stay over. I need some time away from my place after what happened."

"Okay," the sound of Alexis taking a deep breath comes through the speaker, "okay. I'm assuming your father orchestrated this…arrangement?"

"Arrangement?"

"Dex watching over you."

"Oh, um, I mean, staying over isn't, but…yeah."

"Well, I just hope Dex is taking good care of you. I doubt he'd want to deal with both your father and I."

"It'll be fine," Kristina's phone shakes in her hand. She pulls it away from her ear to see the cause.

"What is it?" Alexis asks.

"Sam's calling. I gotta go," she hangs up and swipes right to answer, "Hello?"

"Kristina?" Sam's voice pitches up at the end.

"Yeah?"

"How are you?"

"I'm…fine."

"Are you?"

"Yeah…yeah, of course," she feels herself wilt the more she says it.

"Do you want to talk about it? I can come get you and we can go out-"

"Um, that's okay. I just need some time to myself, but…I'd like to talk to you later about it, if that works."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Whatever you need."

"Tell Danny and Scout I love them."

"I will. I love you, Krissy."

"Love you too," Kristina smiles sadly before hanging up. A moment later, there's a knock at the door, "Come in."

"Hey," Dex pokes his head in, "you hungry?"

"What'd you make?"

"Something less elegant than yogurt parfaits."

"Eggs and toast?" Kristina gets out of bed, grabbing the coffee mug on the nightstand as she approaches the door.

"How'd you guess?" Dex grins. She passes him by, stopping in her tracks the closer she gets to the couch, seeing two plates of food on the coffee table. A small smile flashes on her face before she goes to sit down. Dex joins her a moment later.

"Well" she says, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs, "you can add 'Michelin-star chef' to your career list."

"Yeah, right after 'coffee shop barista,'" he laughs, "But you like it?"

"Yeah," she takes a sip of coffee, "all of this is really good. Those online tutorials are really working out for you."

"Thanks," he rolls his eyes playfully, biting down on a piece of toast. Crumbs rest on his lips as he continues, "So, do you want to do anything today?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know; I was just thinking that maybe you don't want to be cooped up here all day."

"Better here than back at my place. Besides," she gestures around, "it gives me a chance to check your place out."

"Oh yeah? Find anything interesting?"

"You have," she points to the black structure hanging above his fireplace, "this world map here and one," she then points to the open door in the back, "in your bedroom. Were you a geography nerd in high school?"

"Well, I won't deny that I was good at it," he smirks at her, "but I've always wanted to see the world. Besides escaping my family, the prospect of going overseas made enlisting in the military appealing to me."

"Did you?"

"I did: Afghanistan and Germany."

"Were you ever on the front lines?"

"Yes, in Afghanistan. It was…hectic, to say the least."

"I can imagine," Kristina takes another sip of her coffee, the mug almost empty, "How was Germany?"

"It was alright, but…I was too caught up in military logistics to really enjoy it. I hope to go back someday and see everything it has to offer."

"Any other places you'd want to go to?"

"Japan, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada," he counts on his fingers, "and that's just to name a few. There are plenty of places on my bucket list."

"You know, I've been to the Dominican Republic before."

"How was it?"

"Oh," Kristina stops herself, a nervous sweat on the back of her neck, "um, it was…it was great. Really pretty place with some really fun clubs."

"...Why do I get the feeling there's more you're not telling me?"

"All in due time, sir, all in due time," she shoots him a playful look as she finishes off the mug. Dex shakes his head before finishing his own.

"Thanks for breakfast," she eats the last of the scrambled eggs on her plate, "it was delicious. I appreciate you going the extra mile like this, even though you don't have to."

"I choose to. I care about you."

"Even after the…messy spectacle you saw yesterday?"

"I don't think of it like that," Dex gazes at her sympathetically, pulling her closer to him. He wraps an arm around her, "You were hurting, grieving over something important you lost. You see it as a messy spectacle; I see it as a young woman in mourning."

"If only that mourning wasn't so…ugly."

"There's no such thing as a pretty crier."

Kristina stares at him, her eyes sparkling. Dex pulls his arm back, a hand smoothing her hair past the side of her face. Her face relaxes into a state of gentle bliss, a pull to him that didn't exist before. Her eyebrows furrow, a small mix of confusion and wonder on her face. There's a series of rapid knocks at the door as she moves closer to him.

"I'll get it," Dex slowly gets to his feet, turning the doorknob. Molly rushes by him, "...Come in, I guess."

"Krissy," she stands over her elder sister, "how are you?"

"Uh…" Kristina gulps, glancing between Molly and Dex, "I'm…okay…how did you find this place?"

"Mom told me."

"Of course she did."

"What brings you by, Molly?" Dex questions as he approaches them. He stands behind the couch, hovering over Kristina from the back.

"I was hoping I could talk to my sister," she stares at Dex head-on, "alone."

"I'll be okay," Kristina's voice is soft as she looks up at him. Dex gently squeezes her shoulder before walking into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. She looks back at Molly, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I came to check on you," Molly glances at the closed door and the woman in front of her, "preferably without the looming presence of your bodyguard."

"Dex is harmless, Molls."

"Even then, I just want it to be us," Molly grabs her hands, "How are you, really? And don't you dare say you're 'okay' or 'fine.'"

"I mean," Kristina takes a deep breath, "I do feel okay right now. I'm not crying or feeling a sense of suffocating emptiness. I'm just…existing in this…pocket of calmness right now."

"It probably helps that you're away from anything that could trigger you," Molly grabs her shoulder, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks."

Molly looks down at the empty plate and mugs on the coffee table, "Looks like your bodyguard is taking good care of you."

"I'll admit, he's a pretty decent guy," Kristina raises an eyebrow and purses her lips, nodding at the sight below her, "just like you're a pretty decent sister."

"Thanks," Molly's giggle comes out as a scoff, "but…I'm not as decent as you think."

"How so?"

"There…may or may not be another reason I tracked you down."

"...The surrogacy," Kristina sighs, settling into the couch, "You want to talk about it."

"O-Only if you want to," Molly scoots closer, "I don't want to force it."

"What kind of conversation do you want to have about it?"

"I was just…seeing if…you were…still…interested."

Kristina blinks a few times, turning to directly face her younger sister, "...You're here to see if I still want to carry your baby?"

"Um…yeah."

"Could you have made it any harder on yourself to ask that question?"

Molly grimaces, a forced smile on her face, "I didn't want to throw it on you…"

"It's fine."

"Well…okay," Molly clears her throat, "I was wondering if you still wanted to be our surrogate."

"You want to try again?"

"You don't want to?"

"Well, like I said at the hospital, I wasn't thinking about it. And after the miscarriage...well…"

"You didn't cause it. You took care of yourself and what was growing inside of you. What happened was unfortunate, but…it happened."

"You seem more comfortable talking about mine that way…"

"I think of mine the same way too. I mean, at first, I couldn't help but blame myself but…a dose of perspective really goes a long way."

"That it does," Kristina looks down for a brief moment, "I appreciate the fact that you still want me as your surrogate."

"TJ and I wouldn't want anyone else," Molly grins, "We really appreciate what you're doing for us; I couldn't be more grateful. And thankfully, there are still some eggs to harvest. All we'd have to do is get you cleared and set up another appointment-"

"Whoa, whoa, Molls," Kristina holds out a hand, "hold on. I didn't agree to trying again. You're throwing a lot out there."

"You don't want to try again?"

"I need time to think about it. I want you and TJ to have a baby, and I want to help in any way I can. At the same time, I'm worried that if I go through the procedure again, I'll miscarry again. It's a lot to consider and I can't give you an answer right now."

"I understand," Molly sighs through her nose, her nostrils flaring, "It's just…I don't want to wait, you know? I can handle waiting for a year for a baby to be born, that's how long it'll take, but waiting to have that baby conceived…"

"I-I get it," Kristina absent-mindedly toys with her fingers, "You guys have been through enough with trying to have a baby without any third-party help."

"I don't want to pressure you, Krissy, I don't. But I want you to keep some things in mind as you're deciding what to do, both personally…and legally."

"You don't need to explain it all to me. I understand, Molly, I do, but it's only been a day. The miscarriage is still fresh for me and I not only need time to physically recover, I need time to mentally recover," Kristina holds her hands, "just…give me some time, okay? Please?"

"I can't give a lot."

"You're going to have to," the door opens as Kristina speaks. Dex stands in the doorway, watching from afar.

"I know this is hard for you, Kristina, but there's a lot more going on here. I don't mean to be cold or pushy, okay? I'm not trying to be that way; I just want you to recognize that you made a formal agreement to do this."

"I'm not trying to back out of it-"

"But you're asking for something that you can't get. Not a lot of it, anyway."

"I'm sorry I can't run on your timetable," Kristina frowns, "I'm not trying to be difficult-"

"I know, I know, you're trying to take care of yourself. I get it."

"But?"

"But you're not…" Molly pauses, closing her eyes, "this baby isn't yours. This isn't something you can just put on the backburner or decide not to do. You're not the baby's mother, and you're not going to be a mother-"

"Okay, that's enough."

Dex swiftly walks over to them, standing behind the couch. He frowns when he sees Kristina wince.

"I'm sorry?" Molly raises an eyebrow at him, letting go of Kristina's hands, "We're kind of in the middle of something."

"I can see that."

"So you don't need to insert yourself into this conversation."

"And you don't need to go after your sister like that," he walks around the corner of the couch to stand near Kristina, a hand gently squeezing her shoulder.

"Krissy, get this guy to back off."

Kristina looks between her sister and the man beside her. She bites her bottom lip, looking down before looking Molly's way.

"Give me a few days," she speaks gently, "until the end of the week. I'll make my decision by then, Molls, I promise. Just…please."

"...Okay," Molly nods, slowly getting up. She reaches a hand out, Kristina taking it, "I love you."

"I love you too."

The girls let each other go, Molly shooting daggers at Dex before turning and leaving his apartment. He lets out a sigh before taking a seat right next to Kristina.

"...I'm sorry," he finally says.

"For?" Kristina raises an eyebrow.

"Inserting myself into your conversation."

"It's okay. I know you were just trying to protect me."

"I didn't catch everything, but…I just…I didn't like how she was going about things with you."

"Molly's always been pretty…headstrong with what she wants. This is just a tricky situation for us both, and she's just trying to figure it all out."

"Sure, but…saying that you're not a mother and that you're not going to be one?"

Kristina gently bites the inside of her bottom lip, her eyes cast downward. Dex takes a sharp yet gentle breath, moving closer to her.

"I got what she was saying," she mutters. Dex lays a hand on top of hers, feeling a jolt of electricity run through him, "even if how she said it kind of hurt."

"She didn't have to say it at all."

"I know," Kristina's nostrils flare as she inhales, turning to look at Dex. They both tense as they gaze into each other's eyes, a tug at both of their hearts. Her breath hitches in her throat, and she's acutely aware of how still every inch of her body is.

There's a warmth that floods her cheeks, a sensation that hadn't graced her with its presence since Parker inadvertently rearranged her life. A part of her dreads the feeling, a deep-seated expectation that whatever this could be will absolutely blow up in her face clawing away at the back of her mind. She looks down at his hand, watching his thumb gently run across her skin, twisting hers around until her fingers rest in the grooves between his own. She meets his eyes once more, mirroring each and every glimmer that dances on his blue irises.

Her words are soft, a sweetness that tickles his ears and makes him melt, falling apart in a way he never knew was possible. It's a subtle defeat he graciously accepts, a bright smile on his face the whole time: "Thank you for taking care of me."