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Jan 3, 2014

All You Need Is Love || Danastasia

WHO: Daniel Clarington and Anastasia Anderson

WHEN: New Years Eve

WHERE: Stasia's Car, Danny's Car, The hospital, Stasia's house.

WHAT: Stasia has a panic attack, Danny takes her to the hospital and then home. And then a midnight kiss, and relationship talks.

Anastasia carried Caroline in her arms out to her car, walking quickly to keep her out of the cold air as much as possible. The poor little thing was sick and the last thing she needed was to be out in the cold weather. Stasia opened her door quickly and leaned in, putting the small girl in her carseat and making sure she was buckled in tight. Closing the door and opening her own at the same time she climbed in and started the car. The vents automatically pumping out cold air, causing Anastasia to turn the heat off until the engine warmed up. She sighed, looking in her rear view mirror at the girl before slowly putting her car into drive. She hated driving when the roads were icy, and have Cara definitely wasn't helping to settle her fears, but bringing her home and taking care of her was the least that she could do for Danny, and she wasn't about to call him back and tell him that he needed to come and get her because she was too much of a chicken to drive. She slowly pulled out of her spot and moved to leave the parking lot. It was going well but when she took the corner to leave the lot her back tires hit some ice, sending her into a slight fishtail. She gasped, but gained control and then took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself. She looked in her rear view again, checking that Caroline was okay, and then concentrated on the road. After a few minutes she had slightly calmed down, but there was a strange pain in her stomach. She rubbed her hand over it and then to her horror, watched as a car in front of her fishtailed wildly. She pulled over into a parking lot on the side of the road as she felt like she was about to cry. She took a deep breath, before pulling into a spot and getting out of the car. She stood right outside so that she could see Caroline and make sure she was okay as she dialed Danny's number on her phone, tears already pouring down her face, and her breath shaking.

Danny laughed as a group of the guys from work started chanting Christmas carols, waving off a beer when it was offered to him. It wasn't that he was against drinking, but it was still pretty early, and he wanted to at least wait for Anastasia to text him that she and Caroline were home before he cut off any chances of him driving home. Patrick, a guy he'd befriended on the force, managed to get him to join in on the singing -- the guy was horrifically convincing, with a bright smile that you'd be heartbroken to make go away -- but at the same time, he tapped his foot impatiently, checking his phone every few seconds. He knew he was overreacting, and that Anastasia might not have even left yet, but he couldn't help but be worried for the both of them. Leaving Caroline alone was hard enough for him, let alone leaving her with someone who made him worried all on her own. It was twice the stress for Danny, and he felt like he could explode. Finally, though, his phone rang, and, blushing, he politely dragged himself out of the hold of a very drunk woman -- one of the only ones on the force -- trying to drag him under a sprig of mistletoe to take it. He nearly collapsed in relief when he saw that it was Anastasia, and brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He asked, swatting Patrick away as he tried to get him to hang up.

Anastasia sucked in a sharp breath when she heard his voice, but filled with guilt when she heard the music in the background. "Hey, Danny." She said, her voice cracking in the middle of his name. She bit her lip, taking a deep breath, "Everything is fine, and I don't want you to worry," She started, and then mentally kicked herself because that sounded horrible, "I was just driving home and the car in front of me hit ice and started fishtailing and I got kind of freaked out so...I pulled over. I...I don't know why I'm calling you. I'm sorry. You should go back to your party...I'll call you when we get home." She stuttered out, wiping her tears away and taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. But even as she said the words, she could feel her heart beating too quickly and her palms sweating and panic setting in.

Danny furrowed his brow when she started to speak, holding a hand over his other ear so that he could hear her better, and stepping outside of the room. "It doesn't sound like everything's fine." He stated, his voice tainted with concern. When she explained what happened, his heart sagged, and he ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. "No, don't -- don't apologize. If you had to call me, you're obviously not fine, Anastasia. And that's -- I mean, I understand, because ..." He trailed off, sighing a little. "Where are you?"

Anastasia cringed at his words, feeling more and more guilty by the second. She shook her head at his next words, not knowing what to say, "I shouldn't be worrying you when everything is fine. And...I should have Caroline home by now, she's sick, she shouldn't be sitting in my car. I'm so sorry, Danny." She said. She felt her tears welling back up when he asked where she was, "I'm at the gas station, down the road from the.." She cut herself off with a hiss when she felt a sharp pain her stomach, practically making her double over as she clutched her stomach with her free hand. She took a deep breath, trying to push the pain, "Dammit." She cursed, more to herself, as she pushed herself back up and steadied herself. "Down the road from the daycare." She finally finished.

Danny shook his head. "I always worry, now stop feeling so bad about it." He said, his words harsher than the tone of his voice. "Don't worry about her being sick -- I mean, unless she looks close to death, or something. She doesn't right?" He took a moment to be worried, but then snapped himself out of it. "Look, it doesn't matter, I'm--" He cute himself off when she hissed, and waved off a group of questioning coworkers, moving further down the hall. "What's going on? Are you okay?" He asked when she cursed, and then moved back down the hall, grabbing his coat. "I'm coming to get you two, okay? You shouldn't be driving if you're this upset."

Anastasia bit her lip, "Can't help it." She said, and then looked through the back window at Caroline when he questioned her, "No, she's fine. She's asleep, actually. Sucking her thumb and everything. It's just a cold." she said. She shook her head and then rolled her eyes at herself, remembering that he couldn't see her. "M'fine." She said, but then she felt another sharp pain and she groaned. "My stomach is just...Being weird." She said, though it was starting worry her, she hadn't felt pains like since shortly after her accident. "Danny..." She started, but didn't know what to say, because she was upset, and she shouldn't be driving, especially when the pain in her stomach was becoming so bad it was practically making her vision blur. "I'm sorry." She said a final time.

Danny frowned. "I know." He admitted, and then nodded a little, smiling despite the situation when she heard that Caroline was sucking her thumb. He opened his mouth to protest when she said she was fine, but closed his mouth when she groaned, his heart jumping at the sound. "Your stomach?" He asked, his mind immediately moving to the worst case scenario, and he stepped into his shoes, shrugging his coat on. His stomach dropped when she said his name, and for the first time since he'd known her, she sounded small. Small, and weak, and scared. He swallowed when she apologized, and shoved his wallet into his back pocket, grabbing his keys and leaving. "Don't be." He said. "Knight in shining armor complex, right?"

Anastasia she nodded, and then rolled her eyes again, "Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing." She said, but she had to open her car door and sit down, because standing was becoming too much. She sighed, "Yeah, I know." She answered, "But I should be able to drive home...You shouldn't have to come and rescue us like this." She sighed, and then pulled the phone away from her ear as she felt another pain, this time almost making her throw up it hurt so bad.

Danny sighed. "Stop dismissing it, okay? I don't want you to freak out about it, or anything, but at least be honest about it." He said, getting into his car and buckling. He chuckled hollowly, starting the car. "Too late for that, actually. I'm on my way, so don't try and drive anymore." He said, and then waited, but heard nothing, pulling his phone away to glance at it, but she was still on the line. "Stasia?" He asked, his brow furrowing again as he pulled out of the driveway.

Anastasia bit her lip, "Yeah, sorry." She said, "I don't know what's going on. It just hurts. Like...Sharp pains." She said. She brought the phone back to her ear just in time to hear him say her name. "Hmm?" She said with a groan, "Sorry, what did you say?" She said, sitting back in her seat and reclining her seat slightly, pulling her knees up to her chest, hoping the position would help to stop the pain.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Stop saying that." He paused, then, frowning deeply at her words, but hated the thought of her doing the same. "How bad are they?" He asked, determined to keep her distracted. He stepped a little harder on the gas, trying to get there quickly without risking a crash, and sagged in relief when he remembered that he was much closer to where they were than he would be if he was home, or at work. "I said it's too late. I'm on my way." He told her.

Anastasia let her lip go with a pop and started to apologize again but snapped her mouth shut, instead. "They're...Getting worse." She said, "I couldn't stand anymore, I had to get back in the car." She said, wiping a thin layer of sweat off of her forehead, because she was still feeling panicky and she was hot and felt nauseous. "Oh." She whispered, and "You shouldn't be on the phone while you're driving." She said, unsure of what else to say.

Danny cursed softly when she said that they were getting worse, trying to think where the nearest hospital was. "Do you think you need to go to the hospital?" He asked without thinking and, oh, right. Her opinion was sort of the more important one. He rolled his eyes, turning a corner. "Don't worry about me. Worst case scenario, I get into a crash, but my car is a tank. I'll be fine. I'm only thinking about you right now."

Anastasia 's eyes widened when he mentioned the hospital, "No." She blurted out. "Absolutely not." She added, and shook her head, "I'm sure I'll be fine if I just rest." She said, trying to convince herself, too. Her eyes widened again again at his next words, "Don't say things like that, Danny. I don't care if I'm on fire, and you're coming to put me out, don't say things like that."

Danny sighed again, his mind racing. "Look, Stasia, I get that it's a hassle, and that this is scary, but you have to be honest with me." He said, and then turned one of the final corners, trying to keep himself calm for her. He paused. "Things like what?" He asked. He knew. And he knew that he shouldn't have said it, and he knew why, and he didn't want to hear why, but he had to keep her distracted.

Anastasia sighed, "Look, even if I did, you're not bringing me. Cara is sick and you can't bring her to a hospital, she'll be exposed to way to many germs." She said, and then rolled her eyes at his next words. "Don't make light of getting into an accident Danny, especially not to me." She said, her words probably colder than they needed to be.

Danny glared to himself, shaking his head. "Fine, I guess I'm going to have to be the judge of whether or not you're going." He mumbled, and then rolled his eyes. "I'm not making light of it, I'm making a point." He said, and then sighed in relief when he saw them. "I'm hanging up now, okay? I see you." He said, and then hung up without waiting for an answer, pulling over next to her car and getting out.

Anastasia was about to say something when she was cut off by the beep that had meant he'd hung up. She turned her head and watched as his car pulled in next to her. She opened her door, uncurled her legs and stood from the car, though it only lasted a second before she bent over, the pain searing back into her stomach.

Danny watched as she got out of the car, inspecting her, and then nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to her when she hunched over in pain, his hand finding hers. Fuck, she looked wrecked. "Get in the car, we're going to the hospital." He decided, not leaving any room for argument as he walked over and pull Caroline out of the car by her car seat.

Anastasia stood again, looking up at him and shaking her head. "No!" She said, probably a little too loudly. "You need to take Caroline and take care of her. I'll bring myself to the hospital, okay?" She said, watching him as he pulled her car seat out of the car. "I'm not getting your baby more sick because of some stomach pain. Absolutely not."

Danny glared at her, not with much heat, as he transferred Caroline to his own car, and turned to look at her after shutting the door. "I'm sorry, I don't remember telling you that you have a say in this." He said, and okay, maybe he was being an asshole, but he was smarter than to leave Anastasia to drive herself in so much pain, when she was stressed out enough without it. "Get in the car."

Anastasia bit her lip, not moving from where she was standing. "Danny," she said, trying to be firm, but her voice cracked and she felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly. She'd cried in front of him once, she wasn't going to do it again. "Please. I don't want her getting more sick," she said, pointing the sleeping girl in the back seat. "Can.." She trailed off, "Can you have Lindsay watch her, or something?" She questioned, knowing that she wasn't going to get out of a hospital trip.

Danny 's heart sank when she said his name, and he moved to her, helping her to the passenger side of the car. He sighed, knowing that Anastasia was right, that Caroline would definitely be exposed to more germs and that was the last thing she needed, but he didn't know what other options he had. He frowned a little. "I don't think we have time ..." He trailed off, but one look at her heartbroken eyes and he gave in immediately, nodding. "Okay, alright. Just get in, okay?"

Anastasia smiled sadly when he finally agreed. "Danny, I'm not dying, here. It's not life or death, okay? What's the worst case scenario, I still can't have kids?" She said bitterly and then nodded, climbing into the car. She pressed the button on her keys to lock her car. "Thank you." She said softly.

Danny sighed. "No, worst case scenario --" He stopped short, shutting his mouth audibly. "Nevermind." He didn't want to scare her, but in his experience, there were a lot of bad things that could come from a symptom of stomach cramps. "You're welcome." He returned, softly, kissing her on the temple and the rushing around to his side once she was in and buckled.

Anastasia turned to look at him as he spoke, and then watched as he ran to his side of the car. "Tell me." She said, hissing again as another wave of pain washed through her, "What were you going to say?" She asked, though she didn't know why she was asking. She really probably didn't want to know.

Danny stiffened when she asked what he was going to say, but shook it off and started up the car, sighing a little. "I don't know, Jesus. A lot of things. Have you had your appendix taken out?" He asked, looking over at her.

Anastasia looked back over at him when he spoke and thought for a second before starting to laugh. "I actually don't know, to be honest with you. I should know something like that, shouldn't I?" She said, but her laugh was cut off by more pain, and more sweat, and just a bit more panic.

Danny raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't know if you've had your appendix out?" He asked incredulously, and then winced when she cut herself off in pain, willing himself to get to his house as fast as he could.

Anastasia sucked in a sharp breath when the pain faded a bit and nodded, "Yeah, I mean. ...I think it may have come out after the accident, actually." She said, shrugging, "It's not like it's needed, so I wouldn't have really noticed if it was gone. And since you mention it, I feel like I remember the doctors saying something about it, but I don't really know."

Danny hummed in thought. "Well, that's just one possibility. I mean, there are other things, like ruptures, or food poisoning, or ..." He trailed off, sighing. "Look, I don't wanna scare you." He said, hoping that she'd drop the conversation. He hurried into his driveway when he got there, and looked up at Anastasia. "I'll be right back." He assured her, and unbuckled and picked Caroline up out of her carseat. She woke up instantly, and he smiled again, despite himself, when her eyes seemed to light up a little. Hugging her to his chest, he moved to the door and unlocked it quickly. "Lindsay." He called, his voice more frantic than he'd hoped.

Anastasia Lindsay came out of her room when she heard her brother's voice, rushing down the stairs, because she knew that he rarely ever sounded anything but calm. "What's wrong?" she questioned, looking to see Cara in his arms and starting feel a slight panic that there could be something going on with her.

Danny handed Caroline over to her, his heart sinking at the confusion on both of their faces. "I have to take Anastasia to the hospital. I'll be back soon, though, okay?"

Anastasia Lindsay took Caroline without question and nodded, "Okay." Was all she said, not wanting to hold him up. "Come on, baby. I think Dora is on!" She said excitedly, trying to get the little girl to smile again.

Danny kissed his daughter quickly on the forehead and then smiled as best as he could at Lindsay. "Thank you." He said, and then rushed back out the door, climbing quickly into his car.

Anastasia watched as Danny ran back to the car, watching as he climbed in, "Danny, really...I'm fine. You can probably just take me home, honestly. " She tried to argue, one last time.

Danny shot her a warning glare when she protested again, and turned the heat on high, puling out of the driveway. "Nice try. You're still going." He said, his words not sounding as harsh as they were meant to be.

Anastasia withered a bit in her seat when he glared at her and just nodded at his words. She knew that he was just looking out for her, but she hated worrying him, and the fact that he had to come get her, and that she had Cara in car and something could have happened to her. "I really am sorry..." She whispered.

Danny 's expression softened, and he sighed a little, reaching over to put a hand on her knee. "Don't be." He said, simply, squeezing. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being a dick, I just --" He cut himself off with a deep breath, frowning a little.

Anastasia looked up when she felt his hand, smiling weakly. She let out a small chuckle, shaking her head. "Only you." She said, chuckling again, but it was cut off by another pain in her abdomen. When she regained her composure, she sighed, "Only you could come rescue a girl, insist on taking care of her and then call himself a dick for it."

Danny kept his eyes on the road, willing the sudden blush that threatened to flood his cheeks to go away when she spoke, but she found himself smiling anyway, although weak, as she groaned again in pain. "That's me for you, I guess." He said, softly.

Anastasia was going to say something, but she snapped her mouth shut as more pain seared through her, making her dizzy in the process. She cluthed onto the handle on the door, closing her eyes and willing the pain to go away.

Danny glanced over at her when she didn't respond, and his heart leaped when she seemed to be writhing in pain. "Christ." He swore, turning a corner a little more sharply than was what necessary, and sagged in relief when he saw the sign for the hospital come into view.

Anastasia looked up when he swore and then saw the sign herself. She swallowed, her body starting to shake slightly when she was reminded of just how much she hated hospitals. She looked over at Danny with wide eyes, and then bit her lip, "I don't want to go in there, Danny." She said, "I know that I have to, and I know that you're going to make me...But I really don't want to."

Danny frowned at her when she said that she didn't want to, and for a minute or too, didn't respond. He pulled into the parking lot and shut off the car, and then reached over to take her hand in both of his. "I know." He said, finally, his eyes large and apologetic. "I'm sorry, but if there's something wrong, I can't just let you go home and pretend like it's nothing. ... I'll be there the entire time, okay?" He tried to compensate, pushing her hair back from where it was sticking to her forehead.

Anastasia kept her eyes down after she spoke, waiting to see if he'd say anything. She looked up when he shut the car off and bit her lip, nodding. "I know...I know." She said, but honestly this was even scarier to her than driving home, and she wished she'd just sucked it up and continued driving. Still, she couldn't deny that the pain in her stomach was getting worse, and she was starting to feel like she was going to be sick. No wait, she really was about to be sick, she realized. Stasia threw the door open and pulled herself out of the car as quickly as she could, only getting about two feet away from the door when she doubled over, throwing up in a pile of snow, feeling like her inside were being ripped out.

Danny nodded when she replied to him, feeling horribly guilty but knowing that he had to do this, anyway, regardless of what she wanted, and he could tell that she knew that it was for the best, too. He started to get out, but when he heard the passenger door fly open and her feet hit the ground, he whipped his head around, wondering if she fainted, and then winced when she started retching, violently. Frowning, he moved around to her side and pulled her hair back while she finished, wiping the sweat away from her brow and rubbing her back, trying to avoid looking at the ground below her. "Oh, sweetheart." He whispered miserably, grabbing a plastic bag from his glove compartment and handing it to her, in case she got sick again, shutting the passenger door and locking the car. "C'mon." He beckoned softly, his arm low around her waist.

Anastasia groaned when she finally finished, and stood back up, "God, I'm so sorry." She said, before spitting onto the ground to try and get the taste out of her mouth. She leaned into him slightly, her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach, "I swear, if you just want to drop me at the door and leave me, I wouldn't blame you one bit."

Danny shook his head. "Stop saying that." He requested quietly, his hand steadily running up and down her back. "And don't be ridiculous. I've got nowhere else to be and my friend looks seconds away from puking out of her eyeballs. I'm coming with you."

Anastasia sighed, "Don't expect that to actually happen anytime soon," she said when he told her to stop apologizing. "I know you are, I'm just saying that after all of this, I wouldn't be surprised if you wouldn't." She said and then paused for a second, "Well, no. I would be surprised if you, specifically didn't. But if it were anyone else, I wouldn't be surprised." She said, trying to joke, but she swallowed thickly as they approached the door.

Danny chuckled softly. "Well, you should still work on it." He told her, raising an expectant eyebrow. He stared at her as she explained herself, and didn't respond, again, until they were through the doors. "I'm glad to hear that you'd be surprised with me, at least." He tried for a smile, and squeezed her hip gently. "Ad rightly so. Because I'm not going anywhere, alright?" He didn't leave room for a response as he approached the front desk and explained the situation, sighing a little when they just handed him a form to fill out.

Anastasia just rolled her eyes at him, even if he couldn't see it. She nodded at his next words, "Alright." she agreed, and then followed him to the desk. She stood silently, too terrified to even say anything and then shrunk a little when Danny took the form. She headed towards a seat and plunked herself down, holding her hand out for the form, not wanting him to have to fill it out for her.

Danny moved back to where she'd sat down, and then stared blankly at her hand, having half a mind to deny her filling out her own form, but then, he nodded. "S'probably a good deal." He admitted sheepishly, handing it over to her. He wanted to fill it out for her, but one, she deserved some sense of taking care of herself in this situation, and two, he knew next to nothing about her health insurance, health issues, etcetera. He had the name, age, and birthday down, but looking at the rest of the form, he could tell that that was about it.

Anastasia She laughed when he finally gave her the form, and rolled her eyes, "I knew you'd give up this battle, it's hard to be knightly when you can't remember someone's birthday," she tried to tease, nudging him with her elbow, but it came out pretty dry and didn't sound as funny as she'd wanted it to. She just rolled her eyes at herself and then filled out the form. She looked up at him and bit her lip, not wanting to ask him to bring it back, but she didn't think that she could stand on her own and walk to the desk.

Danny rolled his eyes fondly, trying to get her to feel like there could be something light about this situation, no matter the dry tone of her voice. He caught her elbow, like he always did when he nudged him, but decided against poking her, and instead just gave her a squeeze before releasing her. "I remember your birthday, smartass. It's all the other stuff." Without even having to look at her, he took the form and brought it back to the desk, sitting back down next to her.

Anastasia pouted when he grabbed her arm, but couldn't help but smile, even though it was weakly, when he squeezed it, rather than trying to make her squirm, she really didn't think either of them would enjoy the squirming quite as much as usual. "Being a smartass is still better than being dumbass." She said, and then watched as he took the form, her mouth hanging open to protest, but he'd already walked away with it. She sighed as she looked around at the other sick people, her nerves were really get the best of her and she could feel herself shaking about it. When he returned she frowned and bit her lip, not wanting to repeat herself about how scared she was, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. She couldn't even think of anything but how scared she was period.

Danny smiled when she did, because even if it was weak, it was still genuine, and he could never help but smile back at her when he caught a genuine one from her. "Touche." He mumbled, still smiling a little, and ignored the fact that she looked like she was going to say something, even as he sat back down next to her. He looked up at her when he saw her shift a little, though, and saw her nervous eyes flick around the room. Frowning, and not knowing what to do, he reached over and gently took her hand, not saying anything, not staring at her, not willing to put her on the spot. He just wanted to let her know that she was safe.

Anastasia bit her lip again, and was about to say something when she heard her name being called. She looked over at him nervously, "You can stay here, if you want." She whispered, as she stood on shaky legs. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, or anything. ...Or obligated." She said softly.

Danny looked up when Anastasia's name was called, and shook his head, standing up with her. "I'm not obligated." He clarified. "Look at you, you're shaking." He whispered, not pitifully so much as sadly.

Anastasia watched as he stood after her and sighed a little in relief when he said he wasn't obligated. She nodded at his next words and then shrugged, "I'm just nervous." She said again, and then rolled her eyes at herself, making her way towards the nurse that had called her name.

Danny shrugged. "Nervous, scared, or whatever, I'm going in with you." He said, stubbornly, and followed her.

Anastasia pursed her lips and just nodded, "Thank you." She said softly as she started following the nurse. She felt another pain stab into her and before she could really stop herself, she grabbed onto Danny's hand, squeezing it tightly through the pain. When she realized what she was doing, she pulled her hand away, looking at him apologetically. The nurse led them into an exam room and gave her a gown to change into. When the nurse left the room she started stripping down. She already had her top off when she realized that she hadn't given Danny a chance to leave the room. Anastasia picked the gown up, and held it out in front of her, "Sorry," She whispered, "You can leave the room if you're uncomfortable, or anything."

Danny didn't even flinch when she grabbed his hand, instead squeezing it back when she did, trying to distract her from the pain he guessed she was feeling, when she bent over a little. He followed the nurse and Anastasia into the room and thanked the nurse when she left, moving to take a seat, and then raising a careful eyebrow when Anastasia started to strip right down. Clearing his throat, he turned away, and then laughed a little, shaking his head. "No, that's -- s'cool, nothing I haven't seen before. I'll just, keep my eyes -- over here." He mumbled, not taking his eyes from the wall."

Anastasia smiled at his response, and shook her head, "I mean, you don't have to, but okay." She said, as she continued to strip down, "Like you said, it's nothing you haven't seen before. And it's not as if this is some seduction scene from a romance novel, or anything." She rambled as she pulled the gown on. She tied the top of it and then fumbled with the tie at her lower back. She pulled it closed and then turned her back to Danny, stepping closer to him, "Would you mind..." She trailed off, hoping she wasn't making things more awkward.

Danny shrugged a little. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, though. And anyway, I wasn't gonna just stare." He did turn to her, though, as she slipped on the hospital gown, and chuckled softly. "No, couples from romance novels aren't nearly as fucked up as we are." He added without thinking, and reached for the tie at the back of the gown when she came close, tying it off quickly, tight enough to keep her covered but not enough to press against her stomach. "How are you feeling?" He asked when he released the strings.

Anastasia shrugged a shoulder, "Have you ever known me to be uncomfortable from being naked in front of you? Or, like...From being naked at all, really?" She questioned and then smirked, "I mean, you used to like to stare." She joked. She bit her lip at his next comment and looked down, "Well," She started, but bit her tongue before adding that they weren't a couple anymore, "I guess not." She said lamely, instead. She sighed as he finished tying the strings, moving to sit down on the bed. She shrugged, "I don't know. It hurts. And I keep getting dizzy...And I'm shaking and cold and...Sweating and...I don't know." She sighed. As she looked around the room, she could feel more panic setting in, sending another sharp pain through her and she groaned. She clutched her stomach and rolled onto her side, practically in fetal position. "I just want this over with." She whispered.

Danny smiled fondly, unable to help himself. "No, I guess not. But still. Ex-boyfriend and all that." He said, and then blushed darkly, shooting her a half-playful glare. "Very funny." He mumbled, his own smile pulling at his mouth. Then, he paused. "You know that thing I was going to tell you, when you came over that night? And then I dropped it?" He asked, half because he knew that she deserved to know and because it fit the topic, and half because he had to keep distracting her from the pain. He frowned deeply when she continued to talk about the pain, and pulled a chair close to the bed, sitting down and immediately taking her hands in his when she curled up in pain, his heart clenching. "It'll be over soon. I promise."

Anastasia grinned at his words, "Yeah, but if you were naked, I'd totally still stare." She said, only half joking and then couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face, even if it hurt. She looked over at him when he spoke again. "Well, I don't know the thing, because you dropped it, but I know what you mean, so yes." She said, her interest peaked. She looked up when she felt his hands, trying to find something to say, or someway to thank him, but thank you just didn't seem like enough. "I can't-" She started, but cut herself off, just shaking her head, not knowing what she could say.

Danny blushed even more deeply, so much so that now his cheeks were nearly a dark purple, and shifted a little. "You always were a flatterer in bed." He mumbled fondly, rolling his shoulders back. He nodded, then, and sighed a little. "When you said it was easy to get naked in front of someone -- I mean, while we're on the subject," he paused, cleared his throat. "That ... wasn't easy for me. I don't know why. I was never shy about my body, I just --" He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Christ, I can't believe I'm telling you this. Before ... you, I hadn't exactly ... been that way with anybody else." He finally admitted, staring down at their hands. "I never told you, 'cause I just -- thought it was pathetic, y'know?" He shrugged a little. He moved his chair even closer to the bed, so much so that his knees were tucked underneath it, but made sure to give her room to breathe, squeezing her hands in his. "I promise." He repeated.

Anastasia smiled "Well, I tried, anyways." she joked. She bit her lip when he continued, trying to let him finish before speaking but when he did, she swallowed, looking up at the ceiling. "God, I really am just a giant bitch, aren't I? I deserve all of this shit, the pain, whatever the hell is going on, it's all karma." She said, refusing to look at him, "Your first time is supposed to be with someone special, and who...takes care of you. Not someone who sleeps with your friend." She said, shaking her head. "You're not pathetic, though. That's me. It's been me since we first became friends." Stasia paused, thinking for a second, "If we're confessing things, I should probably admit something, too." She whispered. "I still don't understand how you can be so sweet to me after everything." She said as he squeezed her hand again.

Danny laughed softly, nodding. "You did." He agreed, simply, deciding not to add any more onto the subject. He startled a little when she called herself a bitch, her brow furrowing. "Hey, stop that." He told her, his voice probably firmer than it needed to be. "You don't deserve this, stop that. First of all, this doesn't even count as you doing something wrong, because you didn't know. And, you were someone special to me." He paused for a second. "You still are. I don't regret it, and isn't that what matters?" He asked, and then stopped talking to listen to her, and then snapped his mouth shut, not knowing how to respond. Looking back down at their hands, he frowned a little. "What good would come out of being awful to you?"

Anastasia she flicked her eyes up to his face when he told her to stop it, her eyes starting to tear up when he said that she was still important to him and that he didn't regret it. She nodded at his question. "I'm glad that you don't regret it. Do you regret me? Dating me, and falling for me, I mean?" She said, before she could stop herself and then shook her head, "You don't have to answer that." She whispered. She bit her lip, "I regret it." She said, clearing her throat and pushing herself up slightly, "Not you, I mean. I don't regret being with you but...I said that I didn't regret what I did, but I do. I know that I'm supposed to be happy for you, because you have Cara, and you're not stuck with me, and I am happy for you, but I regret ruining what we had all the time. I think about it all of the time, and I never got over you. I don't know that I ever will. That's the real reason why I haven't been with anyone else, because even if I could get past the whole not being good enough for them, thing...I can't get over you. I've never stopped being in love with you." She said, not realizing that she was crying again. She hated this, she never cried in front of him, and now she was doing it all the time. "I know that I shouldn't have said anything, but...I don't know, maybe you should know." She said, and then shrugged at his next words, "I don't know, but it's not like it wouldn't be justified."

Danny search her face as her eyes stated to tear up, trying to make sense of her actions. But dammit, no matter how well he knew her, she was still so damn hard to read. He was taken aback, just a little, when she asked if he regretted her, and took a deep breath, thinking about it. He pinched his lower lip between his teeth and waited to answer until she was finished speaking, his heart swelling a little when she went on to explain herself. Swallowing a little, he finally opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again, once she was done. "It makes sense that you would regret it." He started. "I mean, not to say that I'm super great, or whatever, I don't mean it like that, but if you loved me, and ... if you still love me," he stared a hole through their hands, unable to look at her, "it makes sense. And I'm not mad at you for it." He shook his head. "And I'm glad that you said it. I want you to stop trying to correct what you've said, alright? I want to hear what you have to say, always." He said, and then sighed a little. "And I don't know. If I regret it or not. The easy answer is no, because I have Caroline, and she's my whole world, but ... when it comes to you, setting Caroline aside, then ... yes. Of course I do." He said. "It just ... it depends on how you look at it." He finished, hoping that that was a good enough answer. Then, he rolled his eyes a little. "Even still."

Anastasia looked at the wall as he spoke, not letting any emotion show on her face, she felt numb, anyways. She couldn't believe she'd just said all of that and she was mentally kicking herself over and over again. She just nodded when he said that it made sense. "Yeah." She whispered when he told her to stop watching what she said, and then looked over when he spoke again, "That wasn't what I meant." She said with a shrug, her face still blank. "I mean...Do you regret being with me in the first place. Like, having feelings for me and loving me. I mean...If you could still have Caroline without ever having to have been with me, would you?" She said, looking back at the wall, refusing to let the pain in her stomach or her heart show through on her face.

Danny opened his mouth to answer that he did answer it like that, because he'd been doomed to what happened when he fell for her, but when she repeated herself, adding that he could have still had Caroline, he blinked at her. "No." He mumbled, easily. "Of course not. If I could have loved you, stayed with you, and -- somehow still have Caroline without it hurting us, then of course I wouldn't have regretted it."

Anastasia frowned and shook her head. "No." She said, with a sigh. "I mean, you slept with Chastity because I cheated on you. So, I mean...If you could have Caroline without ever having been with me. Would you rather have never been with me, if you could still have her?"

Danny stared at her, and then shook his head. "Why are you asking me these things? Anastasia, I don't regret you, or ... you and me. In any way, shape, or form. I don't know how to make that more clear to you."

Anastasia bit her lip. "Just forget it, then." She said softly with a shrug. "It doesn't even really matter anymore. ...I'm obviously just not absorbing information today." She said, pulling her hands away and rolling onto her back.

Danny frowned when she pulled away from him, moving his chair even closer. "You know that I don't mean it like that." He told her. "I'm sorry. I just ... I don't understand why that's all so important to you. I know that ... you still have feelings for me, but I don't ... get why."

Anastasia 's brow furrowed at his words, "You want me to explain to you why I have feelings for you?" She said, still refusing to look at him, "Is this some kind of humiliation tactic, or something? Because I think I've already gone above and beyond humiliation tonight."

Danny stared at the back of her head, silently willing her to turn around, even if he knew that she wouldn't be able to tell. "No. I want you to explain why you still do. After two years without seeing each other, and me ... just, disappearing. And now me with Caroline."

Anastasia sighed, "Isn't there a fucking doctor in the place?" She said under her breath. "I don't know why, Danny. You're the only person that I've been in love with...And I guess I just...Never stopped. Even over the past two years, I always thought about you and...I've never in my life cried over any other guy besides you...Or cried in front of one, for that matter. And ...I always wanted to look you up after you left, but I never did because I was trying to do you the favor of not having to deal with me, but apparently fate wanted to play a cruel joke on both of us, so. And..Caroline doesn't change me loving you at all. I mean...I know that I can't have my own but...I love kids, you know that...You having a kid would never change the way that I feel about you."

Danny smiled a little when she swore about the doctors, unable to help himself, but it quickly morphed back into a frown when she started explaining herself, and he sighed, staring down at his hands. "I just don't get it. I mean, what's so great about me. Not that, I'm not lovable, or whatever, but ... I just don't know what kept you so in love after all this time, even if you weren't over me when I left. I just ... I don't get what made you care so much." He admitted, his brow furrowing.

Anastasia sighed, not knowing how to answer him. "Danny." She said, finally looking over at him, "I was so in love with you that I purposely broke both of our hearts just to try and save you from me. Is it really that surprising? I mean...If I didn't care that much, I probably would have just stayed with you." She said, chuckling at the how twisted and backwards it sounded, even to her. "It's probably my fault, because I've never been that good at...Expressing how I feel but...Jesus, Danny, you were...My everything. Honestly, I felt like I could barely breathe when you were around and I felt so lost without you. And I don't even mean after we broke up I mean...Even when we were together and you weren't around, I felt like I was missing something. I know how corny and ridiculous I sound, but...It's true."

Danny looked up when she turned back to look at him, grateful that she was finally facing him again. Reaching back to grip the hair at the back of his neck, his mouth twisted into something unnameable and uncomfortable as she spoke. "Actually, it is kind of surprising. That stuff only ever really happens in shitty rom-coms." He replied dryly, and then sighed deeply, running his hand back over his hair. "I just don't get ..." He trailed off, staring at the floor. "If you really, truly felt all those things, how did you manage to just throw it all away?" He asked. "I never could have done that."

Anastasia looked back up to the ceiling at his words, because she didn't know if he meant for them to hurt but it felt like he just compared how in love with him she was to a shitty movie and she couldn't explain how much that hurt. That was nothing compared to how much his next words hurt, though. She sat up on the bed, putting her head in her hands and sighing, tears finally breaking through and her body started to shake against them. "I thought...I was trying..." She started, but she couldn't even talk through her tears. She took a deep breath, shaking her head, "It's not like it was easy, Danny. I just...I wanted to do what was best for you. I knew that you would get over me, and you'd be better off. And you did get over me, and you are better off without me. So...I threw it away because I did feel all of those things. I just wanted you to be happy. Like, really happy. Not just happy for a little while while things were good with us."

Danny looked up, his eyes wide. "Jesus, no, I didn't mean it like that." He quickly corrected himself. "I meant, the breaking my heart to save me from getting hurt later. That, that only ever happens in shitty rom-coms." He said, and then he felt all of the air in his lungs leave him in a crushing blow when she buried her face in her hands. When she spoke, her voice broke and quivered in a way that was so unfamiliar to him that he knew she must have been crying, and whatever was left of his heart immediately shattered. "Please, God, please don't cry. I'm sorry. Don't cry." He told her. "I didn't mean it like I was bad at you, or like you're a bad person. I meant, that I could never be that selfless to just throw it all away. Look, what you did hurt me, and even if it ... wasn't the best thing to do, you did it for me, disregarding yourself and how you felt." He said. "But, you have to understand that I was happy with you. I was so happy. You were my world."

Anastasia bit her lip, at least feeling a little bit better at his words, and hoped he wasn't saying them just to make her feel better. She wanted to stop crying, she really did, especially when he begged he not to, but it just made her cry harder. "You were mine, too." She whispered, and shook her head, "And I know you were happy, but...I never would have been able to keep you happy Danny. I wanted to be with you forever, and I know that that was premature, but I did. And...I just couldn't..." she stopped herself, not able to try and explain herself anymore. It all hurt too much. This conversation, and her stomach, and ...Just seeing Danny again after all of this time, it was all killing her. She felt like she was going to be sick again but she couldn't even move. She just sat where she was with her head in her hands, crying and shaking and looking like a complete moron.

Danny didn't reply when she continued to speak, half because he didn't know what to say anymore, and the other half being that he wasn't listening. He was too distracted by the cracks in her voice, the tears leaking through her hands, the shakiness, the uncertainty when she spoke. He didn't respond, instead pushing himself up out of the chair, slowly, and settling down next to her, cautiously pulling her to his chest and leaning his chin on top of her. Stroking his hand over her hair, he waited, until the sound of her crying was almost unbearable, and he couldn't stay quiet anymore. "It's alright." He whispered simply. "It's okay."

Anastasia jumped when she felt him next to her, but leaned into him as he pulled her to him. She shook her head at his words, "It's not okay, Danny. I can never make it okay with you. There's no way that I can ever do enough to make what I did to you up to you. And...There's no way that I can ever have you again. And thinking about that..." She said, and then trailed off as she realized what she was saying, swallowing thickly. She knew that she should just finish what she was going to say, he didn't want her to filter herself. "Having you back is all that I've wanted since you left, and I can never have that."

Danny kissed her temple softly, sighing again when she started to speak. "Don't think about it." He said, trying to calm her down. "It's all okay. I promise. It's all alright." He said, because it was. Or at least, he wanted it to be. He thought it was. He frowned deeply when she said that she just wanted him back, leaning down to bury himself into her hair. "I wish I knew how to reply to that." He answered, as honestly as he could.

Anastasia shook her head, taking a deep breath and willing her tears to stop. "You don't have to reply. ...I wasn't really expecting you to have anything to say." She said, clearing her throat and sitting up straight, pulling away from him slightly. Even though she wanted to stay pressed up against him. "How is there no fucking doctor still?" She practically spat, as another sharp pain shot through her.

Danny swallowed a little, when he felt his own tears start to build up in the backs of his eyes. He nodded a little when she told him that he didn't have to reply, and gave a watery laugh when she commented on the absence of the doctor, pushing her hair back. "Just breathe, okay? I'm sure one'll come, soon."

Anastasia finally looked over at him when he laughed, but immediately looked away when she saw the look on his face, "I don't want to be here, I don't want to sit in this fucking room anymore." She said, just praying that whatever it was it wasn't serious and she wouldn't have to stay overnight.

Danny reached down a grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly. "I'll make sure they make it quick. Once they get in here, I'll make sure of it." He said, ready to promise her anything if it meant she'd feel better.

Anastasia sighed when he spoke and hoped he was right. As if on cue the doctor finally walked into the room, and she felt another sharp pain right as she saw him. She clutched her stomach and groaned as the doctor shuffled through his papers.

Danny moved himself off of the bed when the doctor came in, to give both he and Anastasia room, but kept hold of her hand, squeezing it every few seconds to reassure her.

Anastasia rolled her eyes as the doctor introduced himself and asked what was wrong. She explained the pain, and how it had been getting worse, and then rolled her eyes again when he asked if there were any chance she was pregnant. "No." She said, and then squeezed Danny's hand to keep from slapping the doctor when his eyes flicked to Danny and then back to her, "How can you be sure?" The doctor asked, "Because I can't have kids." she said through her teeth, not wanting to go through the same game she went through every time she had to see a different doctor since she was 14. The doctor cleared his throat and nodded, scribbling something down in his file before telling Anastasia to lie back on the bed.

Danny winced when the doctor asked if she was pregnant, and then blushed a little when little doctor looked from Anastasia to him, resisting the urge to clear his throat. He sighed when Anastasia became irritated with the doctor, and once he became silent, he scotched his chair a little bit closer. "He comes in peace, sweetheart." He whispered, low enough so that he could be sure that only she could hear it.

Anastasia sighed at Danny's words and nodded, knowing he was right but her nerves were putting her on edge. The doctor came back to the bed and gently started pressing down on different spots on her stomach, making Stasia hiss in pain and squeeze Danny's hand some more to keep from squirming. The doctor asked few more questions and then stopped pressing down. "When did the pain start?" He asked and she explained about the drive home and how it had just gotten worse since coming here. "You don't like driving on ice, do you?" He asked, his voice sounding too sweet and sympathetic. "No, I was in a bad accident when I was 14, a drunk driver cut us off and we hit ice and flipped the car." She said, wondering what it had to do with anything. "And you came to the hospital after your accudent?" He asked, his voice a bit lighter now. "Yeah, I was unconscious for three days and had a few surgeries and then I was there for...almost another month after that because I kept needing more surgeries." She said, feeling herself start to sweat and shake again.

Danny smiled as reassuringly as he could when she nodded, and refrained from hissing himself when the doctor moved closer to press down on her stomach. He squeezed her hand back, gently, when she squeezed his, trying to draw her attention away from the pain, and sat quietly while the doctor went through the list of mandatory questions. He felt her hand tremling and his when she was fnished explaining herself, an didn't know what to do, so he just squeezed it again, staring directly at her with soft eyes.

Anastasia the doctor nodded as she spoke and sighed, pulling a chair over towards the bed. "Listen," he said, patting her arm, "Your stomach is tender, but there isn't any inflammation anywhere, or bruising, which tells me that it's not your appendix and it's not internal bleeding. It could be anything from your kidneys to your liver or stomach, but it came on suddenly. If it was one of those things you'd have had symptoms for weeks before pain like this. I can run a bunch of tests and charge your insurance through the roof to rule everything out, but I don't think either of us want that. To be honest with you, I think you're having a panic attack. The ice freaked you out and then it just spiraled from there." He said with a sigh, "I can keep you here longer if you want, but if you want to get out of here, I'm just going to give you this." He said as he opened a cupboard, and pulled out a sample packet of a muscle relaxer. "Take this now, and they'll kick in by the time you get home. You can get some sleep and relieve the pain. If the pain is still there in the morning come back right away. Or if it happens again, come back. There are medications that you can take, or therapies that you can try. But for now, I think this is really all you need." He said. Anastasia took the pills and thanked him, watching as he walked out of the room. "I'm so sorry." She said again, turning to look at Danny.

Danny listened as the doctor spoke, something like fear curling small in his stomach, but as he continued to explain the lesser possibilities, and the lack of symptoms, he realized almost as quickly as the doctor did that t must have just been her panicking. He took a slow, relieved breath, as the doctor handed her the muscle relaxers, releasing her hand to rub her arm, and then thanked the doctor along with Anastasia when he left the room. His head snapped to the side, back to look at her, when she spoke, and his brow furrowed. "Why are you sorry?" He asked, his voice coming much easier now. "This is good news, you'll feel good as new once you've taken these and calmed down." He said, tapping the cap on the bottle of pills.

Anastasia rolled her eyes, "Because, Danny. All of that..For nothing. I just got a little worked up and you had to leave your party, come pick me and Cara up, drop her off with Lindsay, deal with me while I was puking and freaking out and crying and then sit here for however fucking long we've been here. Because I can't figure out how to take deep breaths when I'm nervous." She said, taking the bottle, shaking two out into her hand and swallowing two of them. She stood from the bed and grabbed her clothes, pulling her pants on under the gown and then turning her back to Danny so that he could untie it.

Danny stared at her with sad eyes as she explained, watching as she swallowed the pills and pushed herself up. "It was worth it, Anastasia." He told her, softly, as she stood, and started to pull on her clothes. When she turned her back to him, him stood, and untied the knot carefully, pushing her hair away from her back and over the front of her shoulder, so that he could untie the top one, too, without it getting caught. "It was worth it." He repeated.

Anastasia sighed at his words, wanting to believe him but she felt like it just been a giant waste of time for both of them. She shivered when he pushed her hair aside, but hoped he hadn't noticed, since she was still shaking. Holding the the gown up to cover herself she turned to look at him as he spoke again. "How?" She asked softly, making eye contact with him for the first time in what felt like forever.

Danny met her gaze when she turned to look at him, and his mouth twisted into something that looked not quite like a frown, and looked more unsure than anything. "Because what if I hadn't brought you here and it'd been something serious? Or, hell, hadn't brought you at all?" He asked. "Bringing you and knowing it's nothing is much better than ignoring your pain, even with the same outcome." He explained quietly. "I wanted to be here for you."

Anastasia sighed and just nodded, of course if he hadn't brought her here, she wouldn't have said all of that embarrassing stuff about how she still loved him. But it was too late to change it so she just sighed, turning back around an pulling the gown off so she could finish getting dressed. "Well, now we both know so...If you don't mind just bringing me back to my car. I...Can give you gas money, or whatever for bringing me here, if you want. And I'm sorry you had to leave Caroline when she was sick."

Danny frowned when she just sighed and turned away, looking away when she dropped the gown. "Why wouldn't I bring you back?" He asked, only half-rhetorically. "And Jesus, stop apologizing. You're not paying me for taking you to the hospital, that's ridiculous." He said, rolling his eyes.

Anastasia shook her head, "I didn't mean that I didn't think you'd bring me back, I just...bringing me to my car is kind of out of the way when you could just drive home." She said, and then sighed, "Fine. Whatever." She said, with a yawn, too tired to argue with him, and too eager to get out of here to risk pissing him off.

Danny shrugged. "Do you think you can drive? I can always bring you to it in the morning." He asked, and then smiled a little when she gave up, admittedly cheekily, and opened the door for her.

Anastasia shrugged in return, "I'm fine right now, but I don't know how fast this will kick in." She said and then rolled her eyes, "If you're going to gloat, I'll start shoving money in your pocket." She teased with a smirk.

Danny rolled his eyes. "That's not an answer." He told her, smiling just a little, with the corner of his mouth. "Fine, fine, no gloating." He said, laughing softly, waiting for her to walk out the door first.

Anastasia sighed, "Well...I don't know!" She said, a little more harshly than she should have. She sighed and shook her head, "Probably not. Even if the pills don't kick in, I probably should send myself into another panic attack." She said, and then chuckled at his next words, "I mean, I'm not afraid to shove a twenty in your underwear." She said, opening the door to the room and heading toward the exit of the hospital.

Danny just stared calmly at her, frowning a little. "You don't have to know. Just tell me what you want." He said, and then nodded when she did answer him. "Alright, good. I agree." He said, fishing his keys out of his pocket. Then he laughed, turning away and blushing fiercely as she walked by him. "You would be if you wanted to keep that hand." He replied jokingly, following her out.

Anastasia nodded at his words, "Okay. Thank you. You don't need to bring me to it tomorrow, though. I'll find a way there." She said, feeling guilty for all that he'd done for her already. She made the best serious face she could muster at his next words, "I laugh in the face of danger!" She said, throwing loud, hearty laugh and then shaking her head. "Okay, I think they're kicking in."

Danny stared blankly at her. "Jesus, am I just, like, one gigantic asshole?" He asked, completely honest. He couldn't help his own smile at her next words, chuckled and staring at the ground. "And I thought I watched too much Disney." He joked, feeling oddly proud that he actually knew that quote. Before Caroline -- Hell, before Anastasia -- he never would have. "I agree. Let's get you strapped in and home, before you go completely insane." He joked, motioning towards the passenger side of his car when they reached it.

Anastasia looked back at him with wide eyes, "What..I didn't...That's not...What?" She stuttered out, not sure where that came from. She just laughed at his next words, shaking her head, "There's no such thing as too much Disney." She said simply and then nodded, heading towards the door and pulling it open.

Danny shrugged. "That's the only explanation I can gather. You keep expecting me to like ... ditch you somewhere. So, am I usually an asshole like that? Because I must be, if you expect that from me. Yeah?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Then he snorted. "I beg to differ. You haven't been forced to watch Disney cartoon on repeat for a month each." He said, smiling.

Anastasia frowned and shook her head, "No. Danny, you're the actual opposite of an asshole. That's why I..." She trailed off and shook her head again, resting her hand on his forearm so that he would stop walking and look at her, "You dropped Cara off at daycare so you could go to your party and I was supposed to bring her home because she was sick. You had to leave your party, drop your sick daughter off with your sister and then come and sit at a hospital with me, for literally nothing. And you had to deal with my emotional confessions and my crying and all my...Crap. After everything that I've done to you on top of it. Now you're bringing me home and you want to bring me to get my car tomorrow. It's not that I think you're an asshole. It's that I think that at some point there has to be a limit to what you're willing to do for me, and if there isn't, there should be because I literally do nothing in return for you. I don't want to be the person that just keeps taking from you. Not on top of all the damage that I've already done. And I don't want to hear that I had my reasons and it's okay, or that it's better that you brought me and found out it was nothing, okay? I get that you forgive me, or that you don't hold it against me, but...I don't want you to wake up one day and realize that I'm nothing more than a burden for you that you don't need." She said, letting out a long breath. She smiled and nodded, "I'm sure that I've told you before, but I made my aunt watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks so many times that she refuses to watch it again to this day."

Danny stopped walking and turned towards her when he felt her hand on his arm, opening his mouth to say that he was only joking, even if he was mostly serious, because he knew that she meant well, and that she wasn't trying to imply that, but he immediately ended up snapping it shut when she started talking again, just deciding to listen to what she had to say first. He smiled a little, albeit sadly, and shoved his hands in his pockets as she continued to explain herself, and exhaled heavily through his nose, not quite a sigh but just as exhausted, and stared at his feet until she was done. And when she was, he looked up, just a little, just enough to make eye contact with her, and shook his head slowly. "There isn't a limit." He said, not knowing what else to say in response to everything she'd just bared to him -- and maybe it was partially due to the leftover speechlessness he had from when they were inside, but either way, he was clueless, so he just watched her eyes, her expression. He laughed a little. "Yeah, but that was something you wanted to watch. If one of my favorite movies was actually appropriate for Caroline, I'd probably watch it over and over and have no problem, too."

Anastasia bit her lip and was going to protest, but she just forced a smile up on her face, "You say that now." She tried to joke but it was more serious than even she realized it would be. She nodded, "Right. I forgot that I was the party guilty of forcing other's to watch in that scenario." She said, finally sliding into the car and pulling the seatbelt across her.

Danny smiled a little bit wider, lifting his head a little bit more. "I'll always say that." He replied, and then got into the car after her, laughing a little when she spoke again and starting up the car before buckling. "Can't forget that." He teased.

Anastasia blushed at his words, feeling her heart start to flutter. She pushed it away, though. It wasn't fair for her to take his everlasting kindness as anything more than that. She smirked at him and shrugged, "I mean. It's a pretty kickass movie, so I still don't see the problem."

Danny noticed the blush on hr cheeks, but ignored it, not wanting to make everything worse, and pulled out slowly, laughing as she spoke. "It is pretty kickass. If you have that movie, show it to Caroline sometime. Maybe she'll put that on repeat and i can enjoy watching a movie that long for once."

Anastasia smiled and nodded. "I do." She said and bit her lip, "I can watch her tomorrow, if you want? I don't have work, and if she's still sick she can't go to daycare. So, I can watch her, and we can watch that. I mean...If you still trust me with her."

Danny nodded, smiling back at her. "Good." He said, and then shrugged. "If you want. I mean, I'd love that, but only if you want. And ... Anastasia, just about an hour ago, you didn't feel safe enough to drive, so instead of risking both your life and my daughter's life, you pulled over and called me. That was smart. Why wouldn't I trust you?"

Anastasia nodded, "Yeah, of course I want to. I wouldn't have offered otherwise. Besides, like I said, I love her to death, I'd quite my job and become a full time nanny just for her if I hadn't just spent $120, 000 in school to become a teacher." She joked and then sighed, not knowing what to say. "I just...Didn't know."

Danny smiled wider. "Then of course I'd like that. And, don't mention that to her. Once she was older and a little bit more scheming, she'd probably try and find a way to convince you to do that." He laughed a little, and then shrugged. "Start knowing, then." He told her simply, trying for a smile.

Anastasia chuckled at his response and nodded, "That will just stay between us, then." She said, not able to contain her smile. She smiled wider at his next words, a blush rising to her cheeks again, "I can't even tell you what it means to me. That you trust me to take care of her. I know how precious she is, and how much you love her and..Like I said, I can't even tell you."

Danny "Good." He mumbled, reaching over to take her hand. He smiled when she blushed, chuckling to himself a little, and released her hand, then, placing it back on the steering wheel. "... I guess, it's not easy for me to trust people with her. But, even if I didn't trust you ... with myself, which I do ... I'd trust you with her. You've always been amazing with kids. And, it's a little impossible to not love her, if I do say so myself."

Anastasia she jumped at bit when she felt his hand but smiled and gave it a soft squeeze. She blushed again at his words and nodded, "Maybe that's karma, too." She said, although she really was joking this time. She didn't think it was karma that she was good with kids and couldn't have any. She liked to think of it as her having lots of kids, even if they weren't actually hers. "But still, it means a lot to me. And it's more than a little impossible. It's actually the least possible thing there is. There should be a new Mission Impossible movie about it, except that Tom Cruise would actually fail."

Danny shook his head. "No, I don't think it's karma." He said, even though he could tell she was joking, he didn't want her to think he agreed. "And either way, you know that even if you can't ... have kids, you can still have them. What does DNA matter when it comes to love?" He asked, shrugging a little, and then he laughed. "That would actually be a horrible story line, but also insanely realistic."

Anastasia smiled, "I know. But thank you." She said, and then frowned and nodded, "I know," she said softly, "But...The option was completely just taken away from me before I even had a chance to want it, you know? And..If I get married, it's like I'm doing the same thing to them." She said, trying to phrase it in a way that made sense. She just laughed at his next words and shook her head.

Danny nodded a little when she thanked him, not replying otherwise. He looked over at her. "Well, that's what talking before marriage is for." He told her, laughing a little. "If someone marries you, I'd hope that you'd have told them at that point. They'd know what they were getting into, and they'd be okay with it."

Anastasia took in a deep breath, "I know. But it's not that easy, Danny." She said, shaking her head, "I mean, that's not something you blurt out on the first date, and it's like...I mean, I haven't told anyone but you, but...I feel like if I were to tell someone, then I'd have to really care about them, and hopefully they'd care about me, too. So then they either have to feel like an asshole for leaving me for it, or stick around and feel stuck with me. Or they say, 'hey, that's fine.' Because they think it is and then three years later they realize that they actually do want kids and...It's just too much. I don't want to deal with it. I don't want to have to make someone make that choice. So, I just already made the choice that I'll be on my own. And I'm fine with it. I've come to terms with it, so."

Danny sighed. "You don't have to blurt it out on the first date. Get to know them. You're not going to get married after the first date. Or at least, I'd hope you wouldn't. And, it's okay if you have to really care about them first. That's rational, and if they're worth keeping then they'd understand. And they wouldn't feel 'stuck' with you. Look, if anyone truly stops having feelings for you because of something you can't control, then they're not worth it. And if they do want kids, they can adopt. Or get a surrogate, or a test tube baby with both of your DNA laced in it. Anastasia, there are a lot of things that could go wrong. I'm not going to sugar coat that. But there are so many things that can go right, too."

Anastasia nodded, not really knowing what to say she just sighed and then took a deep breath, "I know that there are a lot of options, I do. And I know that if they're worth it they won't leave and all of that but...it's the same as with you. I...Wanted to tell you but I just started panicking and I just...Even if they, or you don't or didn't feel stuck...I would feel guilty, like I made you stuck with me."

Danny frowned. "I can't really argue with that. The fear, I mean." He said, sighing. It had happened to him, so he couldn't necessarily tell her that she'd never hurt anyone, that she'd never do anything to keep them away, because he knew that she could, and that she might. "I guess you're just gonna have to trust them." He said, not knowing how else to respond.

Anastasia looked down at her hands in her lap and sighed, "If it were a problem of not trusting, then I never would have done what I did. I trusted you completely. I trusted you, and I knew that you would be there for me, and I knew that you wouldn't leave me for it. That's why I did it."

Danny stayed silent for a moment and then nodded. "I just wish you wouldn't feel so guilty about that."

Anastasia bit her lip and shook her head, "I can't just not, though." She said, and then smiled softly, "You're helping though. I hope you know."

Danny frowned. "I know. But it's not something you can control." He did smile back at her, though, when she spoke again. "That's all I've ever wanted to do."

Anastasia looked down, smiling sadly at his words. She looked up and caught a glimpse of the clock on his dashboard. "Oh, wow." She said softly. "It's almost midnight. On New Years Eve. ...I never thought I'd be with you on New Years Eve again." She said lightly, smiling up at him.

Danny glanced over at the clock when she mentioned the time, and blinked. "Shit." Caroline would be in bed by now. Damn. But at least that meant he wasn't in any hurry. He laughed a little. "Me neither, I guess." He said, blushing a little as he thought back.

Anastasia bit her lip, "Sorry that you don't get to give Cara a midnight kiss." She said, thinking the same thing as him. "This is a slightly less traditional way to spend new years, but...We were never very traditional."

Danny turned the corner to the Estates, shrugging one shoulder. "That's alright. I'll give her two in the morning. Maybe ten." He said, smiling a little, and then raised an eyebrow at her. "And what's more traditional?"

Anastasia relaxed a bit more as she saw the estates coming up and chuckled at his response, "I'm sure that that's probably the same as every morning." She said and then laughed at his question. "Well, if you're young it means going to a parties or bars. Getting drunk. Counting down as the ball drop. A midnight kiss if you're lucky. If you're older, I'm pretty sure it means staying at home, eating chinese food and drinking wine." She said, shaking her head, "Definitely not hospital visits and professing your love to your ex boyfriend."

Danny laughed a little, nodding and pulling into her driveway. "Yeah, okay. You caught me. Still, though." He said, and then glanced over as she laughed, parking the car. "Ah, I see. The whole ... kiss at midnight thing." He said, and then laughed. "Chinese food and wine sound pretty damn good right now, though. We can still do that, hospital visit and -- love profession aside." He told her, trying for a smile.

Anastasia chuckled, "Can't say that I blame you." She said, and then nodded at his next words, she smiled and nodded again, "Yeah, absolutely. I mean...The chinese food sounds good. I probably shouldn't mix wine and pills, but you can have some wine and we can both have some food, if you want?" She said, trying to ignore the last part.

Danny hummed a little, and then smiled when she agreed. "Okay, great. Food's on me, we'll get delivery, or something." He said, unbuckling and pulling his keys out. "Damn, I forgot about the pills. I won't drink if you can't. We'll have grape juice, or something. White grape juice."

Anastasia glared at him and shook her head, "No way! After all that you've done for me tonight, the least I can do is buy you dinner. But delivery definitely sounds good." She said, and laughed as she unbuckled her own seatbelt. "Well, grape juice is totally an option, but you can have wine, I don't mind. I mean, these pills will probably make me high as kite, anyways."

Danny opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it, sighing. "Fine. After all the times I've tortured you by paying for dinner, I guess I could let you do this one." He said, rolling his eyes and getting out of the car, and then shaking his head. "I'm not drinking if you're not. And anyway, if you're gonna be that high, I gotta keep you in line."

Anastasia smiled widely as he agreed, "About damn time." She said, pulling herself out of the car and shutting the door behind her. "Oh, right...Heaven forbid I get out of control in my own home." She teased, walking towards her front door.

Danny laughed. "Hey, excuse me for trying to be a well-rounded gentleman." He joked, and then rolled his eyes. "Okay, point taken. But, I have work in the morning anyway, and Lord knows I can't stop when I start."

Anastasia just grinned in response to him as she pulled her key out to unlock the door. "Okay." She agreed, pushing the door open, Little Girl instantly running up to greet her. "No wine. Just grape juice and chinese food." She said, as she picked the dog up, and stepped out of the way so that Danny could get in.

Danny smiled as he followed her through the door, and laughed when Little Girl came running up. "Hey, cutie." He cooed softly, as Anastasia picked her up, and then side-stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. "Chinese food and grape juice sounds great to me."

Anastasia nodded, heading further into the house towards the kitchen. She dropped her purse down on the counter and then put Little Girl down on the floor. Shuffling through a drawer, she finally pulled out a menu and handed it to Danny. "Do you mind calling and ordering? I need to feed her." She said, pointing to the dog.

Danny nodded when she asked him to order, toeing off his shoes and following her into the kitchen, spotting the phone on the receiver. "What do you want?" He asked, as he took the menu from her.

Anastasia thought for a second as she took the bowls off of the counter and put one on the little mat that she'd put down. She took the other, that Phil had gotten her and filled it with water. "Steamed dumplings, pork lo mien, walnut shrimp and whatever you want." She said as the bowl filled with water. "Come on, Little Girl!" She called as she put the water down, kneeling down to pet her for a few seconds. "I'm so sorry you're getting dinner so late. I promise it will never happen again." She said guiltily before standing and walking to the cupboard to get her some food.

Danny watched fondly as she set up Little Girl's food bowls, and then nodded when he told her what she wanted, dialing the number and lifting the phone to his ear. He laughed. "Are you ever going to give her a different name?" He asked quickly, just before the Chinese place picked up, and he ordered the food, giving his name and an address, and then thanked the man on the other end of the line and hung up. Then, he carefully knelt down and pet the dog gently, laughing when she twisted into the touch.

Anastasia smirked at his question, but stayed silent until he got off the phone. She watched him pet the dog and then shrugged, "I don't think so. I like Little Girl. Besides, the only other thing that I could think of was Tiny and Peanut. And I call Cara Peanut, and I like Little Girl better than Tiny."

Danny hummed a little, and nodded. "Yeah, I get that. Little Girl is sort of cute. It's certainly better than any of the horrible stereotypical names or, God forbid, anything like Bruiser or Killer." He rolled his eyes, and laughed when she started licking at the palm of his hand. "Cutie." He said softly.

Anastasia laughed, "Well, I won't lie, Snowball crossed my mind for a second there, but luckily I remembered that I was a sane person, so." She said, smiling over at him as she filled the bowl with food and placed it down next to the water.

Danny snorted. "I think I might have hit you over the head if you named the poor thing Snowball." He joked, releasing the pup when Anastasia set the food down.

Anastasia shook her head, "Trust me. I would have hit myself over the head. Besides...I think Little Girl works because it's not a name, name, you know? And...I don't know her personality well enough to give her a name, name at this point. So she'll just be Little Girl."

Danny laughed, nodding. "Good, then I wouldn't have had to do it. And, you're right. Little Girl kinda fits her, and since it's not really a name ... it's super unique. It's cool."

Anastasia nodded at his words, "You want to go sit down in the living room?" She said, leaning back towards the door, "I'm starting to feel kind of light headed, so."

Danny smiled a little, raising himself up from the floor and nodding again. "Yeah, okay. Let's sit you down." He said, motioning for her to go first.

Anastasia grinned at his words and turned heading towards the living room, Little Girl running full speed just to keep up with them. She sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her for Danny to sit down, before leaning down and scooping Little Girl up in her arms and leaning back against the couch. "How long did they say it would be before the food was here?" She questioned, looking at Danny.

Danny followed her into the living room, careful to avoid Little Girl as she bounded around him, and sat down where Anastasia beckoned him to, laughing when she asked when the food would get there. "I think he said twenty minutes, but don't hold me to that. I swear, those guys all get together in the morning and say, 'hey, let's fuck with the customers and put the guy who speaks English the worst on phone duty.'" He joked.

Anastasia smiled as he sat down. She looked at him with a straight face when he spoke and shook her head, "I'm deeply offended by that." She said, tsking him before giggling at herself. Even she knew that she wasn't funny, but she couldn't help but laugh, she'd just blame it on the pills.

Danny watched her as she replied, and couldn't help but laugh a little when she started laughing like crazy. "I don't mean it in an offensive way! I'm just horrible with accents, alright?" He defended, but his tone was shaking with his own laughter. "What's so funny, huh?"

Anastasia leaned against him, though she probably shouldn't have, she didn't think about it enough to stop herself and laughed at his answer, "Alright, alright. I'm going to say that it's fine before you decide to tickle me into submission." She said, and then sighed, "Which totally wouldn't be fair, because I don't think my stomach can handle it right now, so there." She said laughing again and then shrugging at his question, "Besides your face, you mean?" She teased.

Danny smiled in spite of himself when she leaned into him, and then rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going to tickle you. Although I might, now that you're laughing so damn hard, I don't want it to stop." He conceded. He really had always loved her laugh. "But okay, on behalf of your stomach, I won't tickle you. I'll control myself." He joked, and then rolled his eyes again. "Ha, ha. I think the pills are kicking in."

Anastasia "No, no! That's not fair play." She protested when he said he might tickle her and then relaxed when he agreed not to. "Always the gentleman. ...Always the knight in shining denim." She said, and then giggled again. She looked up at him with a gasp at his next words, her mouth hanging open in fake shock, "What ever tipped you off?" She asked in mock fascination when he said the pills were kicking in.

Danny laughed when she protested so adamantly, and held his hands up in surrender. "I give you my word, no tickling tonight." He promised, and then blushed high on his cheeks, reaching back to rub at the back of his neck. "That's all I've ever wanted to be, really." He said softly, and then looked over at her, laughing quietly. "I'm thinking now, that maybe I should pay for the Chinese after all. I don't want you freaking out the delivery guy."

Anastasia stopped laughing for a second and smiled up at him, "Thank you." She sighed when he said that it was all ever wanted to be and nodded, "You are, though. You don't have to want to, you just are." She said seriously, shrugging a shoulder, "You always have been." She whispered, and then laughed at his next words "How about I just give you the money and you use it to pay him? Because if you try to pay, I'm going to sit on you so that you can't get up."

Danny hummed when she thanked him, reaching an arm around her to rub her arm gently, just above her elbow. He looked up when she spoke again, and gave her a tiny, small smile. "I don't think that's true." He admitted, looking down at his lap. "But thank you." He said, sincerely, and then couldn't help but laugh when she did. "Fair enough." He answered, more seriously. "But only because you're so damn heavy for such a tiny person."

Anastasia "I do." She said simply. She turned to look at him when he called her heavy and gasped, "Oh really?" She said, pushing herself up before swinging a leg over and straddling him. She leaned her body against his and rested her head on his shoulder, "If I'm so freaking heavy, then I must just be crushing you right now."

Danny smiled bashfully at her, and then laughed when she gasped -- but drew in a sharp breath himself when she swung a leg over him, his hands falling behind him to grip the couch as her head rested on his shoulder. He swallowed, glancing down at her, and chuckled awkwardly, shifting a little to better position himself. "No." He said, without thinking, shaking his head slowly.

Anastasia sighed when he answered, "I didn't think so." She said, pushing away from him and smiling at him. She leaned back so she was still straddling him but was laying back on his legs, her head hanging over his knees and her arms over her head. She rested the back of her hands on the floor and sighed again, "Everything is upside down now."

Danny just stayed silent and watched her as she spoke, and then leaned back and drape herself over his legs and the edge of the couch, blinking a little. "Yeah. Well -- considering you current situation, I think that makes sense." He said, chuckling shyly.

Anastasia laughed, and then coughed because laughing like that felt weird. She pulled herself up and then off of him, sitting back down next to him. "I haven't been high in years." She said, laughing again, "Not since sophomore year of college. I almost miss it when I remember that it feels this good. But I'm sure I'll have a hangover tomorrow and remember why I stopped."

Danny shook his head, fondly smiling at her as she entertain herself, seeming completely enthralled with the world, and then laughed awkwardly. "I got high once. I'll never do it again. It felt so strange." He admitted, not even willing to think back to it. He had been completely out of his mind.

Anastasia raised an eyebrow at him, "You got high!?" She asked, a little bit too excitedly. "When? Who? Why? ...What?" She said, the questions flowing out of her mouth before she had time to get them to make sense.

Danny groaned, embarrassed, running a hand over his hair. "I know, I know." He mumbled, laughing. "It was my roommate, he dragged me to this party and basically everyone was doing it, and -- it wasn't peer pressure, or anything, but I just didn't see the harm in trying. And I was wrong. It was awful."

Anastasia smiled and giggled, "Well, it's probably for the best." She said, "Now you don't have to wonder, anymore." She said, laughing again and shaking he head, "Did you smoke?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danny hummed. "Definitely. I'll never do it again." He said, shaking his head. "Yeah, I smoked, and then someone held me down and squeezed lemon juice into my nose, and it was ... seriously fucked up." He laughed nervously, still a little ashamed, even if it was college and nearly everyone tried that type of thing at least once.

Anastasia gasped at his words, probably too dramatically, but she couldn't stop it. "Why would they squeeze lemon juice in your nose?" She asked, feeling slightly angry that someone would do that, because it sounded horrible and she kind of wanted to punch them.

Danny shrugged a little. "Makes you trip. Gave me a one-way ticket to Wonderland. Wasn't worth it, though." He told her, wincing a little at the memory.

Anastasia scrunched her nose up and shook her head, "I've never in my life heard of that before." she said, and then frowned, "Besides, Alice In Wonderland is about LSD, not lemon juice."

Danny shook his head. "Neither had I." He said, and then rolled his eyes. "It was a joke, Stasia. As if I don't know that." He said, leaning back and sighing.

Anastasia smiled, "Of course you knew that." She said, shaking her head. "Anyways, anyone that holds you down you down and does something like that to you isn't a friend. They might as well have slipped you a ruphie."

Danny couldn't help but smile himself, but rolled his eyes again anyway, and then laughed. "Well, it wasn't my friends that did it. They were all knocked out by then. Two of them had been roofied, actually." He said, wincing a little.

Anastasia raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head, "Okay, well you're never allowed to hang out with any of those people again." She said, and then jumped almost a mile off the couch when the doorbell rang, causing her to fall into another fit of giggles.

Danny laughed a little, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I haven't spoken to any of them in a while." He said, and looked up when the doorbell rang, as Stasia flew off of his lap. Laughing, he pushed himself up from the couch. "You're crazy."

Anastasia stood up and lunged for her purse when he pushed himself up from the couch. "Wait!" She yelled to him and dug out her wallet. She pulled out three twenties and handed them to him. "That's enough, right?"

Danny waited when she shouted after him, turning to look at her, and laughed when she handed him the money. "Damn, and here I thought I was gonna get away with it." He teased, taking it from her and then rolling his eyes fondly, handing her a twenty back. "Uh-huh." He mumbled, poking her side gently and heading to the door, paying the man once he opened the door and taking the food, as well as the change.

Anastasia shook her head, "I'm whacked out on pills, not stupid." She said with a laugh as he poked her, then shoved the twenty back into her wallet. She headed to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of grape juice and two wine glasses and headed back to the living room. She sat down on the floor in front of the table as he came back into the room then filled the two glasses with juice.

Danny rolled his eyes fondly, and nodded. "Touche." He said, moving past her into the living room as she went to the kitchen, and setting everything out, smiling when she came back and filled the two glasses.

Anastasia watched as he set all of the food out and smiled, "I can't wait to eat the fuck out of this food." She said, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on so that they could watch the ball drop as they ate.

Danny raised an eyebrow at her as she spoke, laughing as she flicked on the TV. "You always were enthusiastic about food. But that's okay, so am I." He teased, picking up his shrimp lo mein.

Anastasia laughed in return and shrugged, "Well, why not? I mean, food is delicious. And you need it to survive, so you might as well enjoy it, you know?" She said, turning to look back at him once she found the right channel, "Besides, it's nice to have a yummy meal that I didn't have to cook."

Danny smiled up at her. "Okay, fair point. Do you cook every night?" He asked, briefly moving his eyes from her to the TV screen, as the brightly lit ball lit the room up.

Anastasia nodded, "Mostly. Unless I have left overs from the night before." She said shrugging again, "I mean, mostly I like to cook, and especially with Phil here. I worry that if I don't cook, he'll just eat junk food, or whatever is easy. ...I know that he can take care of himself, but my mom has really always taken care of him, and...I just worry. Plus, my mom would probably have my head if I didn't." She said.

Danny hummed in thought, his brow frowned. "Well, I guess it's nice that you cook. I mean, it's definitely nice, and Phil must love that. I just feel like that's such a hassle to do every night." He said. "Lord knows I can't do it. And the scary thing is, I'll have to soon." He mumbled, staring off to the side a little, and then laughing. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Our mothers would be attached at the hip if they ever met. My mom is already sending me old family recipes for me to cook once Cara's older."

Anastasia nodded, "I don't know that he really cares all that much. It is a pain, though, but I don't really mind." She giggled a bit at his next words, "I'm not going to say a word, because I don't want to get in another argument again." She said, waving her hand then laughing more when he continued, "My mother would probably try to arrange a marriage once she met your mom."

Danny shrugged. "He should. It's nice that you cook for the two of you every night. He should be grateful for that." He said, lifting his glass of grape juice, and then laughing a little before moving to their next conversation. "Oh, God. Mine too. They'd probably knock us both out and marry us while we're unconscious, just to make it quicker."

Anastasia smiled, "I don't mean that he's not grateful, I just don't think he would care if I cooked or not, you know? He would be fine with eating mac and cheese every night, I would just feel bad if that's all he ate." she said with a shrug. "I wouldn't it put it past them." She said with a smirk, shaking her head just thinking about it. "Hopefully my dad would talk some sense into her, but who knows."

Danny looked down at his glass. "Well, either way, grateful or not, he's lucky to have you." He told her, and then laughed. "Yeah, my dad wouldn't be too happy with them just marrying me off. My dad is very ... picky about the girls I even show a speck of interest in, he has to fully approve of them for him to even tolerate them. I think his head would explode if I just got randomly married without his consent."

Anastasia smiled, "Well, I'd like to think that he feels the same." She said and then frowned at his next words, "Well, it's probably good that he never met me, then. I'm sure he wouldn't be too thrilled about me. I'm hardly a picky father's dream." She said, a laugh forcing it's way out, but it sounded heavy and emotionless.

Danny hummed. "I'm sure he does." He told her, and then frowned when she did. "Hey, don't say that. Don't start with that. It's New Years', let's talk about good things. And anyway, you're wonderful. He would have -- I mean, tolerated you, at least, like I said, but my dad's not exactly the most loving guy in the world, anyway." He said, shrugging.

Anastasia smiled and nodded, "Okay, happy things. That sounds good. ...Any resolutions?" She asked, before taking a giant bite from a dumpling. "You know, ones that may actually last longer than two weeks like mine usually do?" She said, after she'd swallowed her food.

Danny smiled back at her when she agreed, and then set his glass down, humming again, in thought this time, and then laughed. "What resolutions can be made that only last a couple of weeks?" He asked, and then shook his head. "I don't know. Be a better father, I guess. I mean, not to say I'm a bad one, I'm not saying that, but ... I can always improve, y'know? Maybe ..." He cut himself off, abruptly, hoping she wouldn't notice, and then looked at her. "What about you?"

Anastasia laughed in return and shrugged, "You know. Working out more, eating better, things like that. Things that I always promise myself that I'll do and then give up on." She said, and then listened as he spoke. She raised an eyebrow when he started but relaxed as he explained. Anastasia bit her lip when he suddenly stopped and shook her head, "Maybe what?" She asked softly, and then shrugged again, "Working out more and eating better." She said with a laugh.

Danny raised his head in a short nod. "Ah, got it. I thought you meant ones that'd be finished. But that makes sense. Working out and eating well are pretty crappy things, so." He was grateful for a minute, as she stayed silent, but then inwardly cursed himself when she spoke again, his hopes that she hadn't heard him promptly stomped on. "Nothing, it was stupid." He dismissed, shaking his head, and then laughed. "Nice. I'll drink to that." He said, lifting his grape juice again.

Anastasia shook her head, "No, no. That wouldn't be much of a resolution, anyways." She said, smiling. She frowned when he said it was nothing and sighed, "I really don't want to push, but now I'm curious, so I'm torn." She said, and then grinned as he raised his glass, raising her own in return and taking a sip. "I'll pretty much drink to anything. Even if it's only juice."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, exactly. S'why I was so confused." He said, smiling right back at her, but it faded when hers did, and even more when she spoke, and he sighed a little, shrugging. "I was just gonna say ... I mean, your brother -- he's kinda funny. He was going on about, how I should just find a girl, to be Caroline's mom, y'know? And I told him, y'know, that it wasn't that easy ... I couldn't just find someone. So I guess ... a good resolution would be ... to find someone. But I wasn't really gonna just ... say that, to you, because ..." He trailed off, figuring the rest was obvious.

Anastasia looked down at her lap as he spoke and nodded, "Right. Because it wouldn't be me, so..." She trailed off, and then cleared her throat, looking back up at him. "It's fine. And you should. I mean...You should be happy." She said with a shrug, "That's all I've ever wanted for you, and...I mean, it would kind of suck if I did all of that and you ended up not being happy." She said, forcing a smile. "And we're friends. You should be able to say things like that to me. No matter how I feel about you."

Danny opened his mouth, shut it, and then repeated the action a couple of times. "I really don't know how to respond to that." He answered, as honestly as he could, and then looked up at her when she started speaking again. "I know, and that ... I appreciate all of that. I really do, and I don't want to hurt you, and ... honestly, I'm not even sure if I'm ready for another relationship. I've only been in three of them in my entire fucking life, anyway. I'm obviously shit at them, so." He said, somewhat monotonously, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Anastasia shook her head, "I wasn't saying it for you to respond to it. I was just...Stating it." She said, a sad look on her face. "I...I know that me telling you not to worry doesn't really do much, but...Don't worry about hurting me, okay? I'm a big girl, and I can handle it. ...I've handled quite a bit of pain, I can deal with it. You're not. ...You were an amazing boyfriend to me. ...I can't speak to your other two relationships, but you were an amazing boyfriend to me."

Danny nodded a little. "You still deserve a response, though." He told her, quietly. He stared at her when she started speaking again, wanting to tell her that she was right, it didn't do much, but ... he was tired of worrying. And he wanted them to be okay. And maybe, just the way to do that was to rip the band-aid off. So, he just nodded, and then he softly snorted. "Yeah, well ... thank you. I tried to be. I wanted so badly to be." He whispered.

Anastasia bit her lip and thought for a second before nodding, "If you say so." She said softly. She frowned, closing her eyes at his next words, not allowing anymore tears to come out of her, not tonight. "You were," She said, her voice cracking in the way that it always did right before tears came. "I promise, you really were. ...The best one that I've ever had. You had this way off making me...." She said, her voice trailing off. She took another sip of her juice to calm herself down.

Danny smiled. "I do." He answered, as he almost always did to that, and then watched her as he waited for her to speak,something cold wrapping tightly around his heart when her face stared to twist into something that he wasn't familiar with at all -- but he knew exactly what that meant. He frowned deeply as her voice cracked, and reached over to take her hand again, trying to coax her into continuing, and to calm her down at the same time. "Of making you, what?"

Anastasia looked up as he grabbed her hand and took a deep breath, letting herself relax. The pain in her stomach had stopped, thanks to the pills but she didn't think that getting upset was the best idea. She sighed and bit her lip, "Feel safe." She said, not knowing if she was making sense. "Not that I felt..Unsafe before, you know?" She said, with another sigh, "I just felt...Like I was okay. Like things could be..Okay. When I was with you."

Danny felt himself relax when she appeared to, and the cold grip around his heart melted immediately into warmth when she spoke. He moved a little bit closer to her, running his thumb over the palm of her hand, and waited for her to finish before speaking. "... And, I'm not saying that you're not safe without me," he started, "but you are safe with me. As long as I'm here, even as a friend, you're always going to be safe."

Anastasia smiled weakly as his thumb stroked her hand and nodded when he spoke. "I..I know. And that's sweet but..." She trailed off, not sure of what to say. "That's not what I meant." She finally said. "I guess I meant that...I was safe because...I could have told you anything..Or everything. And that you still would have wanted me." She said, shaking her head, "Like I knew you would have accepted me, and still loved me, and still wanted me. I was safe." She said with a frown.

Danny laughed a little, shaking his head. "No, I know, I ... I didn't mean, physically safe. Although, you are safe in that way, too. But I meant ... in every way. Physically, emotionally ... and, like that. However you can describe that." He said, chuckling softly, although it sounded a little too serious. "You can always tell me anything, and I'll never stop being here for you. I mean ... you, doing things, is, a little different ..." He trailed off, figuring she'd get the hint about what he was talking about. "But, talking. Nothing about you, or what you're about would ever make me leave."

Anastasia cleared her throat and shook her head, "I don't want to talk about this, anymore." She said, looking back up at him and pulling her hand away gently. "We're supposed to talk about happy things, remember?" She said with a smile, looking back over at the TV "Besides, we only have a few minutes until midnight."

Danny nodded a little, and then blinked. "Yeah. How did we even get to that, anyway?" He asked, only half-rhetorically, and then glanced at the screen, realizing she was right. "Yeah." He said, and then frowned. "M'sorry, about everything that happened. I shouldn't have asked you to take Caroline home. You should be out having fun."

Anastasia just shrugged at his question, not really sure how to answer, or if she even should. She looked back over as he apologized with wide eyes, "First of all, you didn't ask me to, I volunteered. And..Honestly Danny, after everything that I've said tonight, do you really think that there's anywhere that I'd rather be than here with you? I'm the one that should be sorry. You left your party, you left Caroline, and now you're here taking care of me. I am...Sorry, I mean."

Danny frowned when she only shrugged, but then nodded. It was probably best that they didn't continue to talk about it, anyway. He looked up when she started speaking again, and sighed, reaching back to rub at the back of his neck. "Actually, I figured that after all of it, you'd rather be anywhere but with me. And look, you know me, I've never been much of a party person. I don't mind them, I have a good time, but ... this," he glanced at the TV, the food, and then back at her. "I'd much rather do this. Loud music, crowds, drunk people, half-naked girls attempting to do pyramids ... not my style. And Caroline was asleep, anyway. It's not like I'm missing anything. And I don't mind taking care of you at all. So don't, don't apologize. Besides, I could have just told you that it was fine, and that you didn't have to drive Caroline home in the first place, none of this would have happened, and you even be tempted to blame yourself at all."

Anastasia smiled when he spoke, and then blushed when he said he'd rather be there. She laughed as he talked about the party, shaking her head. Another sigh escaped her when he tried to take the blame again and she shook her head, "Stop it, Danny." She said with a laugh, "Think about it, if I hadn't been driving Caroline home...I would have kept driving, instead. I only pulled over because I had Caroline, and I didn't want her getting hurt. Does that seem like it would have worked out better to you? Because it doesn't seem like it to me." She smiled again, "I'm glad that you're okay with being here, though. And that you don't feel like you're missing out from leaving your party early. ...I feel bad about missing PJ's party but...I really don't think it would have been a good idea for me to go, so."

Danny smiled when she blushed, but decided to spare her a comment. He frowned at her, and exhaled slowly, shrugging. "I know. But ... I don't know. I just feel like you should be out having fun, you know? Whether it is or isn't my fault, I'm just sorry you're stuck here with me." He said, mostly joking and smiling hopefully up at her, hoping to get a smile in return. "And shit, I forgot about PJ's party. ... But I don't think he'll be too disappointed about me. We've barely talked, so." He shrugged. "Why wouldn't it have been a good idea?"

Anastasia grinned and shook her head, "I am having fun. And I'm not stuck here with you. I love spending time with you, you should know that by now." She said, pushing lightly on his arm. "I wouldn't be surprised, I'd be disappointed if I threw a party and you didn't come," She joked and then looked at him seriously for a second, "Gee, I don't know, maybe because I was in the middle of a panic attack on icy roads when I'm not even a good driver to start with?" She said incredulously with small chuckle.

Danny laughed softly, sheepishly, and nodded. "Okay. Well, I'll take note of that next time." He said, moving his hand to her knee and squeezing softly before removing it, and then took another sip of grape juice, shifting further back into the couch. He laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll be just heartbroken." He joked right back, shaking his head, and then winced. "Oh, right. That. That's a good reason."

Anastasia grinned, "Good. You should." She said, biting her lip as he squeezed her knee. She laughed and nodded, "You're joking, but you may just be right." She teased and then smiled when he spoke again, "Yeah, so...Thanks for rescuing me and all of that." She said, and turned back to the TV. "Just about time for the countdown." She said absently, taking another sip of her drink before putting it down and leaning back against the couch.

Danny smiled a little, still nodding, and then laughed when she told him that he might just be right. "Whatever you say, babe." He said, the nickname slipping before he could stop it, and he quickly shoved some shrimp lo mein in his mouth before he could say anything else that might be stupid, and twisted himself around, leaning back against the arm rest. "Hey, you gotta call me your knight in shining denim for a reason, yeah? Anytime. Seriously." He mumbled, nodding to solidify his words. He looked up when she pointed out the countdown, and stared at the crowds beneath the shining decorations, filled with couples clutching each other, and he blushed a little, nodding in acknowledgement.

Anastasia blushed at the nickname and she looked away again, clearing her throat, because she knew he didn't mean anything by it. She smiled when he spoke again, though her eyes were still fixed on her lap, "I've got plenty of reasons for that already. But thank you." She said softly. "New Years Eve has been kind of bittersweet the past few years, you know?" She said, finally looking back over at him and clearing her throat again.

Danny resisted the urge to clear his own throat when she cleared hers, trying desperately to clear the awkwardness in the air, but it melted away when she spoke again, and he smiled, unable to help himself. "Well, thanks. I'm no Prince Charming, but I try." He told her, and then got quiet for a few seconds, but nodded. "Yeah. I know what you mean." He said, looking down at his glass. There were girls that had kissed him over the last two years, but no one that made it feel as right as Anastasia had.

Anastasia smiled and nodded, "Well, you can't be Prince Charming, you're already Simba, remember? You're mixing up your Disney." She teased, her smile dropping when he said he knew what she meant. She stayed silent, not knowing what there was to say and just leaned against him. "This one is more sweet than bitter, though." She admitted, resting a hand on his chest, her eyes fixed on the TV.

Danny laughed. "Yes, right. Except, he was a Prince. And charming. He just wasn't the Prince Charming." He joked back, and then stared at her, almost blankly, as she leaned against him. When she spoke, he smiled again, albeit sadly, and glanced down at her hand on his chest, swallowing and reaching up to take it. "Yeah. I guess it is." He agreed.

Anastasia shrugged, "He was a prince for five minutes. Then Mufasa died and he was king. So...You're King Charming, if anything." She said, elbowing him softly. She looked up when he took her hand and smiled, "Except for, you know, the hospital part. That was kind of bitter." She joked.

Danny hummed a little. "So, a King Charming knight in shining denim. Sounds about right." He teased, nudging her leg with his foot again, when she elbowed him. He laughed, a little hollowly, and nodded a little. "Yeah, that part was pretty bitter. But you're okay, at least. That's what really matters to me."

Anastasia laughed and nodded, "Explains you pretty perfectly." She said, and then nodded at his words, "Thank you, for bringing me. ...I can't remember if I thanked you, or not. But thank you." She said, and then looked back to the TV just as the countdown started from 10.

Danny looked up at her, into her eyes, for maybe the first time that night since they were in the emergency room, and tried to look away when she did, but found that he couldn't. "You're welcome." He replied, quietly, finally dropping his eyes from hers, and trying hard to keep them down.

Anastasia felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart sinking all at once when Danny looked into her eyes. She looked back up at him when he spoke and let out a shaky breath when she saw that he wasn't looking anymore, not really sure of what she should say, or do. So she just stared at him, too afraid to even move and risk messing things up.

Danny whispered, without thinking, "But," and glanced up despite his better judgement, searching her face as the counter turned to eight. "I'd cheat death for you, Anastasia. Just to make sure you were okay." Six. But he wasn't looking. "You really, really don't need to thank me." This time, he was so quiet, he wasn't even sure if she could hear him.

Anastasia could feel her face reddening when he looked back up at her. A look of confusion sweeping across her face as he began to speak, and she could feel her breath getting shallow at his words. She wanted to say something, but she was speechless. She just sat there, staring at him with wide eyes, frozen.

Danny watched her carefully, and swallowed nervously when she just stared back, her eyes confused and wide. He laughed once, harshly and hollowly, but he wasn't smiling. "Say something." He told her, worried all over again. Three seconds.

Anastasia blinked when he told her to say something, her mouth forming the words before she even had time to process them, before she even knew what she was saying. If she'd taken just a single second, she probably would have stopped herself, but by the time she'd realized the words, "I love you," came spilling out of her mouth.

Danny barely registered what she'd said as the counter reached zero, and the blaring sound of the crowd cheering filled the room. And again, without thinking, he pushed himself up. "Yeah," he croaked. "I know." He said, and kissed her, without hesitating another second.

Anastasia waited for what felt like years for him to say something, or to get up and leave, or to do something after she'd spoken, and when he pushed himself up she thought her worst fear was happening, that he was leaving. She opened her mouth to speak when he said he knew but then his lips were on hers. Her hands ran up to his shoulders and she kissed him back with everything she had.

Danny immediately reached for her waist, dragging her further into him, onto him, wanting to cry and laugh and faint, all at once, when she kissed him back. It all felt wrong -- like this was a boundary that shouldn't be crossed, a rule that should never be broken, but Danny couldn't take following the rules anymore. It felt right to be doing the wrong thing, for once in his life, and it was a high he'd never felt before.

Anastasia gasped into the kiss when he pulled her to him, but she willingly obliged. Her whole body was shaking against his and she was forcing herself not to think. To just kiss him. Because if she thought about it she'd panic, she'd pull away and be upset and ask him why he was kissing her. Why he was kissing her when he knew how she felt and he couldn't possibly feel the same way. But she didn't want to think about it, she just wanted to kiss him. She'd be damned if she'd let her brain stop it from happening.

Danny let himself kiss, for just a minute or two, before he pulled back and swallowed, trying to gain some kind of sense about what was happening, what he should do, what his next move was, or, fuck, if there was any move to make at all. But instead of saying anything sensible, he heard himself curse. "I love you, too." And Christ, he thought. He really, really did.

Anastasia stared at him as he pulled away, hovering over him awkwardly her eyes searching his for something, but coming up empty. When he spoke she sucked in a sharp breath, her hands still resting on his shoulders but she sat back down on the couch slowly. "You..." She started, and bit her lip, looking up at him, "Please, don't just say that. Not if you don't mean it." She whispered, tearing her eyes away from and hanging her head.

Danny swallowed again, and looked up at her with wide eyes. "No, I'm not -- I'm not just saying that, I ..." He trailed off, frowned. "At least I think I'm not, but I don't --" He pinched his bottom lip between his teeth and then sighed, running both hands over his hair. "Anastasia, I have no idea how I feel, but I know that -- whatever it is, it's so much stronger than where I thought I was, and as far as I knew I still wasn't completely over you, and I-- I've never been good at this ..." he pushed his hands together, interlocking his fingers as means of a representation, "grey, thing. I've always been black or white, you know that. And when I went from loving you, from being so fucking in love, to just -- having nothing to do with you, it was so solid ... and now this, it's -- it's all grey, and I don't know what to do with myself anymore, because I'm stuck in between what I'm used to knowing now and what I used to know years ago. I don't know how to tell what I feel anymore." He rambled, and then took a few deep breaths, not frantically, but slowly. Too slowly. "But nothing feels wrong when I think about loving you. Or, when I think that I still might. That ... maybe I never even stopped." He said, his eyes fixated completely on the carpet.

Anastasia sat still as he talked, her own eyes fixed on her hands again. She closed them after a few seconds, feeling guilty over the confusion in his voice. She knew that she couldn't be upset, he had every right to be confused, and hell...She couldn't possibly expect anything more from him. She could feel her heart beating faster as he talked though, and wanted so badly to just be happy about what he was saying, rather than guilty. Anastasia sighed when he finally stopped and nodded, though she knew he couldn't see it. She looked up at him, and placed a hand on his cheek, trying to coax him to look up at her, "Okay." She finally whispered. She ducked her head down so she could make contact with him, "Then we'll figure it out." She said, "If you want that, I mean. If you want to make it black or white, then we'll figure it out."

Danny glanced around the room, at anything for her, while he waited in the silence for her to respond, and almost jumped when he felt her hand on his cheek. He hesitated in looking at her, but picked up the courage and turned towards her again, his heart shattering when he saw the hurt in her eyes. He was so tired of causing her to be so hurt. He nodded a little, when she ducked her head and spoke, feeling like an overactive child being calmed down by a teacher. "Yeah?" He asked, his voice lower, and, thankfully, a lot more calm than he felt, but both disbelieving and hopeful, nonetheless. "How'll we do that?"

Anastasia shrugged when he spoke. "I don't know." She whispered honestly, "But we will." Stasia bit her lip and leaned back against the couch. "I mean, figuring out if...If you still love me. There's a lot that goes into that. You obviously still care about me, and you've forgiven me. But do you...Trust me? I broke your trust before, and even though you forgave me, that doesn't mean that it makes it all better." She said with a sigh. "And...I mean, even if you do love me...There's so many other things and..." She trailed off and shook her head, "I'm not helping, I know." She said, "I don't know. Maybe we just need to...Explore. For a while. See where things go?" She offered.

Danny looked up. "We shouldn't be us. Again." He said. "Not like that, anyway. I know that's not what you're saying -- I just ... wanted to clarify that that wasn't what I was saying, either. You know?" He added, looking more guilty. "Because, you're right. Even ... if ... I do still love you, there are things, like trust. And it's not just you. I have trouble trusting anyone." He admitted, looking down. "But ... exploring. I think that that's ... a good idea. It's grey, but it'd be ... better than this, I think." He agreed, nodding a little.

Anastasia felt her heart sinking, because even though she knew that they couldn't be what they used to be, hearing it hurt, but it was true. She had done what she'd done for a reason, and she couldn't just expect everything to be fine and to go back to before. And even if things were fine, it wouldn't be fair for things to go back to how they were before. Not to Danny. "I know." She whispered, looking down at the floor. She nodded as he spoke again, feeling guiltier still, because she knew that he probably had trouble trusting anyone because of her. She looked up when he spoke again. "Or," She started, and took a deep breath, pushing herself to finish. "Or we don't. If you want black and white then we can just...End this. Stop whatever it is that's going on and force ourselves to get over to each other. Just friends, and nothing more than that. Or...No friendship at all, if that's easier. Obviously Caroline could still come to the daycare, and I could still pick her up and drop her off if you needed me to, but...That would be it." She said, half hoping he would agree, and half dreading it. Because if they weren't anything, maybe he could move on, and find someone else to love. "Whatever you think would be easier for you."

Danny nodded when she said she knew. He could hear how hurt she was in her voice, but he couldn't bear to look up or say something about it. He knew he was being harsh, and unfair, especially after what he'd said, but he couldn't help it, and he didn't want to give her the wrong impression, or be tempted himself to jump into something so quickly. He could barely handle a regular relationship -- trying to make one work with Anastasia would just be asking for both of their hearts to be broken. When she spoke again, he stiffened, his eyes going wide and slowly tilting up to look at her as she spoke. He wanted to say no, so badly, to laugh at her or take her by her shoulders and shake the crazy out of he, but before he could stop himself, he started to think. He didn't want their friendship to stop. But on the other hand, she was right. It would make everything so much easier for him, and probably for her, too. Tucking his bottom lip between his teeth all over again, he kept his eyes down. "Is that what you want?"

Anastasia took a shaky breath at his question and shrugged, "I want you in my life, Danny. But I want you to be happy more than anything, so if that's what you need, then that's what I want." She said. She didn't want to be cut off from him but she didn't have the right to put herself before him. "It...wouldn't be easy, or probably all that pleasant, but I'll handle it." She said, not letting herself cry again. "I just want you happy. You and Caroline."

Danny sighed, shaking his head. "I don't want you out of my life. After we broke up, all the way through having Caroline ... it was easy to not have you in my life, because -- if I'm being honest, I didn't want you in it. But now I do, because now it's different. I don't know how to be happy, that's the thing. I mean -- I am happy." He clarified. "I love my life, I wouldn't trade anything I have for the world. But when it comes to me, I really just don't know what I want."

Anastasia nodded at his words, "I want to be with you again, I already said that at the hospital, I'm not going to take it back now. But...I don't want you to be with me. I want you to have someone better. Someone that you know you love and...Someone who makes you realize what you do want. And...I'm not that person." She said, shrugging, "I don't want to bring you down again. And I don't think I could handle hurting you again. And...I'd always be afraid that I would be hurting you."

Danny stared up at her with frowning, sad eyes, and pushed himself further up into a sitting position, sighing a little. "How about this." He started, in a low voice, almost like she was a bird that'd fly off at any minute if he made the wrong move, made the wrong noise, or, in this case -- said the wrong thing. "... Look, I've been trying to find someone else ever since Caroline was born. Obviously, that never worked out." He laughed a little, softly. "Why don't we just ... try this?" He offered, carefully.

Anastasia stared at him when he started to speak but she looked down when he continued. She wanted so badly to look up at him but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted to be with him so badly, but it terrified her. "I want to, I do." She whispered, finally forcing herself to look up, "If we do...We have to go slow. Really slow. Not that I think you would rush things but...We have to take things slow because you need to be able to trust me, and you need to be sure that being with me is really something that you want. And...I can't handle hurting you again. And more than that..I mean, hurting you would be bad enough, but...I can't hurt Caroline. I can't."

Danny laughed again, dryly, and shook his head. "No, trust me ... the slower, the better. I don't even think ..." He paused, thinking, and then swallowed. "What if we just ... treat it like an alpha test? We'll be ... together. Non-exclusively, non-publicly together. That way, if it doesn't work out, we mutually end it and no one gets hurt. But if we both agree that we're ready for something more serious, then ... we make it that way."

Anastasia furrowed her brow and bit her lip, "So...You want to be friends with benefits? Secretly?" She asked, "If so, I..That's fine. I just...Want to be clear on what you're thinking. Or...You want to be dating, but not officially together?" She asked, shaking her head. "And when you say non-publicly..Does that mean that I can't tell anyone? Because I'm pretty sure that after everything. Especially tonight, with how upset Phil got, and all of the secrets that I've already kept from him...I think he'd be really upset if I didn't tell him." She sighed and pinched the top of her nose. "I really am okay with whatever you want, Danny. And honestly, a ...Test, it sounds good, I just want to be clear."

Danny actually gave a genuine laugh this time, his hand reaching for hers again. "No, that's not what I mean. Not friends with benefits. I mean, I want to be with you, but we just ... keep it on the down low, and take it easy, to avoid any outside pressures. So, it's ... more like the second one?" He shrugged. "And no, you can tell Phil. You can tell anyone you want, really, I didn't mean that we had to sneak around. Lord knows I'll be spilling my guts to Lindsay from now on. I just meant ... let's not be official, or announce anything. Just to keep things more private." He said, frowning as she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Look, if this is too stressful for you, then we can just forget it." He told her.

Anastasia smiled when she heard him laugh. She nodded as he spoke letting the information sink and then nodding. "Okay." She whispered, and looked up when he said they could forget it. She squeezed his hand and shook her head, "No." She said, quickly, "I don't want to forget it. But I'm scared." She said with a shrug. "I really don't want to hurt you again."

Danny smiled back, encouragingly, when she agreed, and nodded when she said she didn't want to forget it, his eyes sad all over again. "You don't have to be scared with me." He told her. "And don't worry about me. That's what we're testing this for." He said, squeezing her hand.

Anastasia half-smiled and nodded, "Okay." She said, looking back up at him and smiling widely, "Then we're trying this?" She questioned, biting her lip.

Danny nodded, his smile growing wider as he did. "Yeah. Yes. So long as you're comfortable ... we're trying this."

Anastasia smiled, leaning forward to give him another kiss, "Happy New Year."

Danny kissed her back, and then chuckled when they parted. "Happy New Year, sweetheart."

Anastasia grinned, "Sounds nice. You calling me sweetheart." She said, smiling up at him, and then sighed, "You should probably get home, though. Relieve Lindsay from duty."

Danny leaned his forehead against hers, his smile still in place. "I'll call you that more often, if you want." He said, and then wrinkled his nose, but nodded. "Probably." He said, and then glanced in the direction of the stairs. "Too bad your brother's around." He joked, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Anastasia nodded, "I would like that." She said. She smirked at his suggestion, and then pushed him back against the couch, moving to straddle him again. She pressed her lips into his and ground her hips down on him, "Don't tease me," She said, when she pulled away, "You won't like it when I get revenge." She teased with a smirk.

Danny grunted a little when she pushed him down against the couch, and opened his mouth to question her, but then her lips were on his, and her hips were trapping his between them, grinding down on him. He made a choked noise in the back of his throat, his hands moving to her hips to keep her in place, a few good inches away from his own, because whether he wanted to bring her closer or push her away, he had no idea. "That's just cruel."

Anastasia smiled as he spoke and nodded, "I know. Sorry." She whispered, but the smile on her face showed that she wasn't all that sorry. "I would say that you could spend the night, but that would mean leaving Caroline with Lindsay." She said with a frown.

Danny rolled his eyes fondly when she apologized, and sighed, sliding his hands up along her back. "Yeah. If I let Lindsay wake up without me there, she'd figure out where I was and I'd never hear the end of it." He said, even though he wished he could stay, too.

Anastasia nodded, moving her hands up to rest on the back of his neck and leaning her forehead against his, "It's probably for the best," She said, placing a kiss on the top his nose, "A sleepover on the first night doesn't exactly scream 'slow'" She said, giving him a soft kiss before standing up and grabbing his hands to pull him up, too. "Besides, I think after your little argument, Phil may actually murder you if he found you in my bed."

Danny laughed softly. "Yeah, you're right about that." He said, as she helped pull him up, and he ran a hand over his hair. "The slow thing. And, you're probably right about Phil, too." He said, shrugging. "Although, in all fairness, mostly because I'd probably be asleep an he'd have the advantage of my altered consciousness." He joked, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "He's tougher than he comes across, though."

Anastasia smiled at his words, and leaned her forehead against his chest when kissed her head, "Yeah." She said in a whisper, "He's got that protective big brother thing going for him." She said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in close to her.

Danny nodded, smiling a little when she pulled him closer, and wrapped his arms back around her, resting his chin on top of her head and taking a deep breath. "We're gonna make this work." He whispered.

Anastasia smiled widely, and nodded, "I know. I'll talk to Phil, and he'll calm down. He was just worried." She said biting her lip, "And I'm sure that we can both withstand a little teasing from Lindsay."

Danny rubbed her back and smiled wider, pushing her hair back. "I was kind of a dick to him, so I get if he's pissed at me. I probably would've reacted the same way if I were in his shoes, y'know?" He said, and then laughed. "Yeah, we can. But it doesn't make it enjoyable." He joked, pulling away.

Anastasia shrugged, "You were both just stressed out. It will be fine, honestly. Plus...He does like you. Aside from the fact that you cry and have lost a few man points. But he'll get over that." She said with a smirk and then smiled again as he pulled away, "No, but it's worth it." She said hopefully.

Danny laughed. "Hey, I only cried twice, and the first time was barely crying. Only made my eyes water, honest." He mumbled, his brow furrowed in mock offense. "But, having a kid has definitely softened me up." He admitted, shrugging a should, and then smiled. "Yeah. It is." He agreed without hesitance, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Anastasia laughed and nodded, "Hey, I didn't say it, just letting you know." She said, and smiled wider as he mentioned having a kid, "I can see how that would happen." She smiled again when he spoke and nodded, "Come on, I'll walk you out." She said, heading towards the door.

Danny hummed a little. "I'll just take him on a field trip to work." He winked, and then smiled fondly, almost shyly, and shrugged. "She gets to me." He conceded, and then nodded, following her towards the door.

Anastasia laughed, "Honestly, he'd actually probably really like that. My mom kept him very...Sheltered, he'd probably love the excitement." She said, and then raised an eyebrow, "Well, I'd fucking hope so." She said with a laugh. She sighed when she reached the door, turning around to face him as she opened it. "So, if you just want to call me in the morning, so we can get my car...That would be great." She said, biting her lip.

Danny smiled. "I might actually offer it to him, then. I could use some company. Patrolling gets boring as hell sometimes." He admitted, and then laughed, but didn't respond, just following her out to the door, and walked out when she opened it, standing at the threshold and nodding. "Okay. Just call whenever." He said, looking down at his feet, and then leaning forward and kissing her quickly on the cheek, blushing a bright shade of red. "Goodnight."

Anastasia grinned, "Just take care of him if you do." She said. Stasia nodded when he told her to call whenever and then blushed herself when he kissed her cheek. She grabbed him lightly by the shirt, pulling him closer and pressing her lips into his again, "Goodnight." She whispered back.

#danielclarington #aynil #para

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