Fran led Max to her bedroom so she could gather some things to bring to his room. She picked out some clothes for the next day, and then went into her bathroom to gather up all of her toiletries and put them into a basket, then she came back and looked at her dressing table.

"Need to make second trip?" Max smiled.

"No, just wondering if I need my hot rollers tomorrow or not. I know you like it when I go curly…"

"You do? But I never said anything about that, did I?"

"Not in words," she smiled and sat down next to him on the end of the bed. She wrapped her arms over his shoulders.

"I do like those curls. But your hair always looks beautiful. You don't have to curl it every day, you know. I mean, if it's a hassle…"

"It's not really a hassle. It just takes longer. Curls might look better with certain outfits, though. And since we're going on our first date tomorrow, I was kind of looking at wearing this outfit," she patted the stack of clothes on the bed. "This is a little more 60s style, so I was thinking of maybe going straighter, with a headband…" Max tried to picture how she would look. He looked over at the clothes, and then back at Fran.

"That could be quite nice, too," he nuzzled up against her cheek and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back, deeply, and he sighed. "Mmmm, Fran! You're so incredible, do you know that?"

"I think you're pretty incredible, Max." They kissed again. They got up from the bed and he picked up Fran's basket of toiletries and her stack of clothes as she grabbed her bag of makeup and filled her arms with grooming tools and hair products, then grabbed a pair of low boots from her closet. She shut off the lights and they headed for the master bedroom- their bedroom- to get ready for bed, and for the next day.

Max brushed his teeth as Fran put her things away, setting shampoos and conditioners in the shower, rearranging things on the counter by the sink.

"Oh! Darling, I forgot about calling C.C. Would you mind if I call her now in case I forget to call her tomorrow?"

"Go ahead, sweetie. It might be hard to remember tomorrow." Max squeezed her hand and rushed out to the bedroom. Fran finished setting out her things and brushed her teeth, then removed her makeup. She shut off the bathroom light and joined Max in the bedroom.

"C.C., just talk to Niles, he can arrange to pick up the paperwork when it's time, or have a courier get it. I'm not going into details, it's a family matter. C.C., no- I don't expect to be coming by the theater at all, that's what I need you to take care of. If I can't reschedule a meeting then we will have to figure something else out. Maybe we'll need to cancel it, who knows. We'll decide that when it comes up. And don't try to pull anything to get Niles to let you in the house, he already knows to not let you come in. No, it's not about you. No one will be coming here. C.C.- I need to hang up now. I will keep you posted, or Niles will. Otherwise just use a courier, or Niles, to deal with paperwork. Alright? I'm hanging up now, C.C. No. Goodbye, C.C. Goodbye!" Max hung up the phone, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, exhaling in frustration.

"Aw, poor baby." Fran walked over to where Max was sitting on the side of the bed. She cuddled him to her belly and stroked his hair. He wrapped his arms around her legs.

"Why does she have to be so exasperating sometimes?"

"It's who she is. Don't let it get to you. Let Niles handle her, he might like that." Max chuckled.

"You want the fire on tonight?" Max looked up at her.

"Sure. You don't need to put it on too high though." She let Max get up from the bed, and she walked around to her side and pulled the covers down and got in. He turned on the fireplace and shut off all the lights except for his bedside light, which he just switched onto low. Then he got into the covers with Fran, and pulled her to him.

"Sweetie?" She asked, wrapping an arm across his ribs.

"Mmm?"

"Will you cuddle me a while? I think I'm feeling a little wiped out. If you can't sleep yet, you can turn on the TV or something, that'll be okay."

"Honey, don't worry about that. Just rest if you need to. As long as we're in each other's arms, that's good enough for me. We had a busy enough day today. Just close your eyes and rest if you need to. I'll be here."

Max and Fran slept straight through the night and into the next morning. It took Max a while to be tired enough to sleep, so he just cuddled with Fran and thought about everything they would be facing soon. He was still worried she might have another bout of fever and he wanted to keep an eye on her, but this night it didn't happen, so they were both allowed to sleep through.

Her head rested on his chest, and when she began to stir, he woke up as well. He clutched her as he startled awake, and they both seemed to realize where they were and who they were with at the same time, and relaxed back into each other. The sun was still low in the sky, and wasn't coming through the curtains yet, but the sky was getting lighter quickly. Max glanced at Fran's arm around him, and pulled the covers over it to keep her warm. He kissed her forehead.

"G'morning," she mumbled to him softly.

"Mmmmorning…"

They lay in silence for a while, trying to wake up, but enjoying the quiet and the feel of each other's bodies. Max finally yawned and rubbed his eyes, then opened them all the way. Fran's eyes were already open- she was watching the low flames still flickering in the fireplace. Max looked over at it, making sure all was well. He didn't normally leave it on all night, but this was a special circumstance.

"You sleep okay?" Fran asked him.

"Yes, I think I did. How about you?"

"I was out cold. But warm. You know what I mean. You kept me nice and toasty." She smiled and squeezed him tightly. "Do we have to get up yet?"

"Not if you don't want to. It's still early."

"Good." She rolled over and pulled his arm with her, so they could spoon for a while. He kissed the back of her shoulders and she grasped his hand in both of hers. "What time do we need to leave?"

"Hmmm, maybe 9:30, 9:45? If you'd still like to go a museum or something after we eat." He nuzzled her back. She felt so nice.

"Yeah. A museum sounds good. But not too loud and crazy. That way you can tell me stories about things. I like to listen to your stories," She said. She smiled and clutched his hand against her tighter.

"My stories? You mean, like art history, or theory?"

"Mmm hmm, or whatever you think about when you see things. Like when you talked about that movie last night. I liked that. It tells me more about you."

"What does it tell you?"

"It tells me how wonderful you are, how passionate you are. It makes me want to hold onto you forever. I love you, Max."

"I love you more, my darling." He kissed her shoulder again and clutched her tightly. Fran took a deep breath and sighed. They dozed a little longer, but didn't fall asleep completely.

Fran started waking up more and began thinking about Max, about his body. She liked the feel of him against her. She had never felt so safe in her life as she did when she was with him. She was so attracted to him, like it might overcome her at any moment. But now, with all of this looming in front of her - her tumor- how would they handle that? Would they have to wait to be together? How long? Would she have to have surgery? What would that do to her body? Could it affect the things she wanted from her future? She started to get upset, and didn't want Max to know. She knew she had to change the thoughts in her mind to happier things before he noticed.

Max shifted his hand and wrapped his fingers around hers, and tugged her against him briefly. It made her smile. She lifted his fist to her lips and kissed his fingers. She relaxed with him and found herself dozing off again.

Fran woke up a short time later, and Max had fallen back to sleep with his arm still around her. She rolled over onto her back and looked over at him- his face was pushed into his pillow, as if he was exhausted, and his breaths were deep and steady. She smiled as she looked at him in the light of the morning sun, then remembered how they were supposed to go out together. She looked up towards the window to see how light it was outside, then sat herself up on the bed. She remembered that her things were in Max's bathroom, so she would be taking her shower there now, and her clothes were in his closet. Our closet, she reminded herself. Our bathroom. She smiled again and looked back at Max. He looked so sweet laying there, his arm still over her. She didn't want to wake him, but she knew it was time to get up and start getting ready to go out. She carefully slid out from under his arm, then got up to retrieve her clothes, and headed for the bathroom to shower.

Max woke up when he heard the shower turn on, and opened his eyes to see that Fran wasn't next to him. He saw that the room was now lit up by the sun, then turned to his bedside table to check the time. He flopped over onto his back and covered his eyes, then rubbed them. He yawned and stretched his arms, then let them drop at his sides. He opened his eyes again and let his eyes adjust to the light, then looked over towards the bathroom door. He was glad that Fran felt comfortable enough to use his shower, and felt safe enough to stay with him in the same bed. Then he remembered that it was their bed now. Their shower, it their bathroom. He felt a wave of emotion wash over him, making his face and his chest warm. He knew he must be blushing. He really loved her. How could he have pushed her away for so long, when he could have been spending all that time growing even closer to her? Sure, they needed time to become friends and get to know each other, but not that much time. And now, here she was. She was incredibly forgiving, and they had both thrown all the nonsense aside and had finally come together. He needed to take care of her now. He needed to show her how much he loved her. Because he did, so much.

His stomach twinged as he thought about how they needed to talk to everyone later that day, and how they would be going to the doctor the next morning to find out more information about her tumor. He worried about the tests they would need to do, and what the tests might reveal. But he couldn't let those thoughts overtake him- he had to be strong. He had to be strong not just for Fran, but also for the children, and himself.

Max pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around the room, then decided to get up and go to his closet to decide what clothes he would wear for their morning out. As he thought more about going out with Fran, he started to feel better. He picked out his clothes and brought them into the bedroom, then set them at the end of the bed. Soon, he heard the shower shut off, and not long after that, Fran came out of the bathroom. She was dressed for their date, but her long hair was still wet and she was without makeup. Max thought she was still pretty cute.

"Good morning!" He smiled.

"Good morning! Hey, where should I put my pajamas?"

"Go ahead and use the hamper in the closet, darling."

"Oh, alright. I guess it is all going to the same place, isn't it?" She walked towards the closet and patted his back as she passed by him. When she stepped back out of the closet, Max opened his arms to her and she reached back and they hugged each other closely. Max squeezed her tight and stroked her back, and Fran locked her arms around him.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" He asked softly.

"So far, so good. Slept good. That was nice."

"Mmmm… It was." Max ran the backs of his fingers down the side of her face. "You don't feel hot at all, so that's good."

"Yeah. So hopefully we should be good to go out for a while."

"Yes, but promise me you'll let me know if you start feeling unwell at all. Even just a little. Alright? And we'll come back home right away."

"I promise. I'm sure I'll be okay, though. I'm just looking forward to going out with you again. It makes me feel so much better than dwelling on everything." Max stroked her soft, wet hair and kissed the top of her head. Fran leaned back and smiled at him.

"Well, I'll go grab my shower so we can get out of here."

"Okay. I'm gonna go do my hair and makeup. Meet you back in here in a bit?"

"Alright. See you in a bit." They squeezed hands and parted ways, Max headed for the shower and Fran left the bedroom to her old room for her makeup and hair dryer.

Once they were both dressed and finished primping, Fran met Max back in the master bedroom and they put their shoes on and got ready to head out.

"Oh! I need a different purse! And I almost forgot- those papers from the doctor, I was thinking of bringing those down when we talk to everyone, in case they have any questions or want to see them. Do you still have them?"

"Oh, yes, they're in the bedside drawer. I didn't want Niles finding them. Hopefully he didn't go in that drawer."

"I don't think he did, otherwise he'd probably be behaving differently."

"True," Max agreed.

"I'll get the papers later, before we go talk to them. But there was, um, one other thing that I wanted to talk to you about…"

"Hmmm? And what might that be?" Max said tenderly, wrapping his arms around her waist. She ran her hands up his chest, and then around his neck.

"Well, I've been thinking a lot about this. And with how we've been getting closer now, and how crazy I am about you…" Max looked into her eyes and smiled.

"I'm crazy about you, too…"

"Well, I've just been thinking, I mean, if I have to have surgery- well, it's looking like that probably is gonna to have to happen- well, I don't know how long it will take to recover from something like that…"

"Darling, we don't know what they will want to do just yet."

"I know, but we'll probably know tomorrow. And, well…"

"What is it, Fran?"

She looked up into his eyes- his beautiful eyes- and figured she better just get straight to the point. "Well, we love each other, right? And physically, well, that's going pretty good," she looked over his chest, then up his neck to his face. He watched her, waiting for her to say what it was she wanted to say. "I've been thinking about it a lot, and… is it okay if I tell you that I want to be with you…? I know that more than anything, and if I do have to have surgery- well, then I feel like want to be with you before that happens. You know, if there's a long recovery, that will drive me crazy, to not be with you. And, well, if I end up having scars, that will make me look different, and maybe… depending on how extensive-"

"Fran, darling, don't worry about scars. I love you- all of you. If you have any scars, well, that's just part of your story. Don't you see? It's the part that had to happen to make you healthy again, so we could be together, always. And the scars may fade in time. I don't want to push you into intimacy like that when you're facing something like- like what you're facing."

"You wouldn't be pushing me, Max. I want to be with you. Completely. And if something were to happen with the surgery, if I didn't make it out, or-"

"Oh honey, don't say that!" Max gulped hard and hugged her tightly. "You'll be fine, you will! You've had surgery before- you didn't have any problems with it."

"I know I probably wouldn't have anything bad happen, but still. If the kind of surgery they had to do affected anything else, you know, and we hadn't been together before everything changed… That would be a huge regret- that we didn't get to be together. And even if everything goes fine, it could still be a long time before we'd be able to be together. I just- I want to be with you. I need you. It's hard right now, holding back from you. I know it's all new for us, finally getting together and everything. I just need to tell you that. Sometimes I just think I might- like my heart might just burst. I just want to stop the world, you know? Just stop the world and be with you."

"Yes, I know, I know… I feel the same. But we should take the time to get there, Fran. A step at a time. And we should talk to the doctors about that, too. They may say not to. But we can talk more about it, alright? We'll know more tomorrow. We'll talk to the doctors first, okay?" Max pressed his lips against her forehead.

"Yeah. Okay. And I know I can't make you, I don't want to push if you genuinely aren't ready for that. I just need you to know how I feel. That I want to be with you. And if we might actually really sleep together, then we better be prepared. You know, we better have some protection."

"Yes, of course. We can talk more about it." They kissed each other lightly. "We'll talk to the doctors tomorrow about that sort of thing. If they say that you shouldn't, that would decide things for us." Fran nodded, but she looked a little disappointed. "But if they say it's okay, then, well, we'll talk some more…" Fran looked up at him. "And we won't rush it, okay? I think that really would bother me, even though I know how I feel about you. I'm crazy about you. I'm very attracted to you. And I love you. If we didn't have all of this in front of us, and we still got together, I'd want things to progress at a natural pace, you know? Not rushed, or forced too soon." Fran nodded slightly and rested her head on his chest. He stroked her back for a moment. "I'm assuming- that you aren't taking anything?" He asked.

"You mean like the pill? No, I'm not taking anything. And I wasn't sure how to ask you if you had anything to use." Max chuckled.

"I don't have anything to use, either, darling. Let's just say it's been a long, long time."

"Do we need to talk about that? I mean, if it's been quite a while for both of us. You know how long it's been for me, but how long has it been for you?" She leaned her head back and looked up at him.

"I think you can probably figure that one out yourself, Fran. You know I haven't seen anyone, until you. And it took me a pretty long time to let you in. But I'm very glad I did."

"So am I!" Fran kissed him hard and then let it taper into gentle kisses.

"You feel okay about things now?" He asked her.

"Yes. Yes I do. Thank you. So we'll contain ourselves a bit until we talk to the doctors and see what they say." He kissed her again.

"Well, let's go get you a purse and be on our way. To our first date!"

"Yea! We're going on a date!" Fran perked up considerably. They hurried through the hall to her old room for a purse, then scurried downstairs and out the door.