When she woke up Elliot was still asleep and it was just beginning to get light out. She looked at her phone, it was a couple of minutes before six, she knew Elliot set his alarm for six so she just waited, head on his shoulder, and watched him sleep. When his alarm went off, he woke slowly and she turned it off for him. He looked at her concerned and she smiled.

He smiled back, “you’re awake?”

“Yea I just woke up a couple minutes ago, and watched you sleep,” she said.

He blushed, and grinned, “you okay? You seem better.”

“I feel a lot better just like emotionally hungover,” she groaned. He put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. She kissed him for a while and then climbed on top of him asking, “do you have time?”

“Yea, you sure you’re up to it?” he asked.

“I’m not letting someone else keep me from what I want,” she said, “this makes me feel in charge of my life.”

“You are, don’t let anyone tell you you’re not, you’re stronger than you know,” he told her. She kissed him and they had sex quickly so he would have time to get to work.

He showered and got dressed, she stayed in bed until he started buttoning his shirt. She got up and walked over to him pouting.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Look what I did to your perfect face,” she said touching the scratch, it was smaller than she thought it would be now that it wasn’t bleeding.

“It’s fine, I didn’t even feel it,” he said.

“I feel awful that I did that,” she said.

“You didn’t do it on purpose, you weren’t even conscience,” he said and put his hand on her face, “don’t worry about it okay?”

She nodded reluctantly and kissed him goodbye, “I guess I’ll see you at Krista’s,” she said.

“Okay, umm… do you want me to have Leon come and go to Krista’s with you?” he asked.

“What? Why?” she asked.

“So you don’t have to be alone,” he said.

“Elliot, don’t do this, I can’t live my life scared, I have refused to do that for two years, so please don’t push me to that, it would be easier but I don’t want it,” she said sternly.

“I thought maybe just for today…” he started, then stopped, “I know you’re not, but I’m scared, I don’t like the idea of you being alone.”

“I’m fine, he’s all talk, I will be fine,” she said. He sighed and put his hoodie and backpack on and she giggled.

“What?” he asked.

“Big powerful CTO, with his backpack,” she laughed.

He rolled his eyes but seemed happy that she was laughing, “make fun of me all you want, I’m still the boss.”

“Of them, not me,” she teased.

He smiled and gave her and kiss and hugged her tight his voice cracked as he said, “be careful, I love you.”

“You too, I love you,” she said, and he left. She had to get ready for work, she heard Amber downstairs opening up and getting things ready for the day. She took a quick shower and it was only a little frightening. As weird as it was, she was tempted to take Elliot up on his offer to have Leon escort her everywhere. It would make her feel safer, but she couldn’t let herself submit to her fear like that.

Everyone at work was so nice to her all day so she asked Amber what they knew. Amber hadn’t told them what happened but just that she’d had a bad night. Darlene came in even though she was off and demanded she escort Raine to Krista’s and she swore Elliot didn’t put her up to it. Raine told her what happened last night on the way there.

“It’s a good thing Elliot was there then?” Darlene asked.

“Yea, and he handled it way better than I thought he would,” Raine said.

“Probably because you needed him to,” she said. Raine told her not to come back to escort her back to the shop but she insisted so Raine just dropped it and said fine. The Aldersons were going to be the death of her. She knocked on the door and Krista came to answer it.

“Hello, come on in,” Krista said.

They walked in and Elliot was sitting on the couch, so Raine said, “what are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to come early and make sure you got here okay,” he said standing to kiss her cheek.

“And did you have Darlene come and follow me here?” she asked.

“Darlene? No,” he said, his tone suggested he was telling the truth, so she sighed and turned to Krista.

“It’s been quite a week,” Raine said.

“Well let's go talk about it, I’ll be out to get you in a little bit Elliot,” Krista said, Elliot nodded and sat back down.

“So did Elliot tell you what happened last night?” Raine asked when they sat down in Krista’s office.

Krista nodded, “is that alright?”

“Saves me the time of doing it,” Raine shrugged, “was he, okay, he handled it well in front of me but you know.”

“He feels a little betrayed but he’s not shutting down or acting irrational, he has feelings of revenge, of wanting to protect you, but it’s not uncommon, so long as he isn’t acting on those feelings, he came to me so he wouldn’t act on them, so that’s a good sign,” Krista said.

“Yea that’s all I was worried about, of course, anyone would be mad, I’m mad, Darlene’s mad, even my employee Amber is mad… but as long as Elliot stays out of trouble…” she trailed off.

“Tell me about this phone call,” Krista said.

Raine told her everything from start to finish, including all the stuff the FBI was doing and how they had tapped the phone, she had a few breakdowns telling her but she made it through.

“I’m glad you took my advice, your PTSD seems quite severe, is there any way you could come in twice a week?” Krista asked, “just for now, while things are ramping up to his probable arrest?”

“I think it’s manageable,” Raine said, “is that all?”

“On a much lighter note, Elliot said you have kissed, would you like to talk about that?”

Raine smiled and felt herself light up, she sighed, relieved, “I would LOVE to talk about that.”

She told Krista about their romantic date, and the sunset and cotton candy, and the toy he won her. She left out all the vulgar details but told her that they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other all weekend.

“It’s like waiting to kiss was pulling back a slingshot, we went way in the other direction,” she laughed, “but it was good, he was so respectful and careful with me at first to make sure I was okay, I couldn’t have asked for a better first person to be with in that way,” Raine said.

“First person?” Krista asked.

“Well maybe not realistically but theoretically, since I’ve never felt like I truly slept with someone by choice, it just feels like Elliot is the only person I’ve ever been with because in a way he is, I’ve never felt so connected to anyone in my life, is that bad?”

“No,” Krista smiled, “as long as you retain a healthy independence individually, you are supposed to feel connected to your partner, it’s rare actually, what I see in you two.”

Raine smiled, “I know, he’s been so great about everything, he’s not perfect and I’m far from it too, but he’s so good deep down you know, everything he does comes from this pure place, I love that about him.”

“Well since his ears are probably burning should I go get him?” Krista asked.

Raine nodded and waited for them to come in, she stood and looked around at the books for a minute. Then they came in and Elliot came and asked what she was looking at.

“Just looking around,” she said.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said a little annoyed that he had asked her that every three seconds since last night.

He looked a little hurt at her tone and she sighed, “I’m just looking at books, stop worrying so much.” She went and sat back down on the couch and Elliot followed.

“Does Elliot’s concern bother you?” Krista asked.

“No, I mean, I understand it,” she turned to Elliot, “and babe you’re so sweet, and I love you but if I’m just looking around at books,” she shrugged, “I’m obviously okay.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be sorry for caring about me,” Raine said, “it’s just that I worry about you worrying and then you can tell I’m worried and it starts a vicious cycle.”

He looked like he wanted to say sorry again but didn’t, so he just looked sad and desperate for something to say so Raine turned to Krista, “this is okay, right? I mean it’s not like these are normal circumstances?”

“If it were normal circumstances I would say it it’s an issue but after what you told me about last night, I have a feeling this is temporary, and a natural reaction from both of you, Elliot you are concerned about how she is feeling, which is natural but you’re also treating her like she’s fragile which makes her defensive, which is also natural,” Krista said.

“What should I do?” Elliot asked her.

“Well you both just try to be understanding of how the other is feeling,” she said.

“We are usually really good at that, last night just… it’s been hard on us both,” Raine said taking his hand, “sorry I snapped at you.”

“It’s okay, you’re dealing with a lot right now,” he said.

“But so are you, if you were going through something like this, I would be a wreck, if you hurt, I hurt,” she said.

“Me too,” he said.

“Okay,” Krista said taking notes, Raine wondered what she was writing.

“There is also the issue of, well I think we’ve both said we were concerned that other people, might think we are ahead of where other couples would be in terms of how far our relationship has progressed,” Raine said.

“Does that bother you?” Krista asked.

“Oh no, not at all, we’re both fine with it, right?” Raine asked Elliot. He nodded.

“Well there is no real timetable for couples, there is common and uncommon but not ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ when it comes to the timing of relationships,” Krista said.

“Awesome,” Raine said.

“So, this is uncommon?” Elliot asked.

“Well I would call it rare, just like I would call ‘true love’ rare,” she said smiling, implying she thought that’s what they had.

Elliot smiled and blushed a little.

“I hope it’s okay I brought that up?” Raine asked him.

“It’s fine, you keep the list, I wouldn’t have remembered it,” he said.

“What list?” Krista asked. Raine explained the list of topics she kept for things to discuss in therapy in case she forgot.

“Is that weird?” Raine asked her.

“No, I have actually recommended patients do that before, right Elliot?” she smiled.

“Yea I’m not that organized,” he shook his head at himself.

“Well now you have me for that,” Raine said, he smiled at her.

They all talked a little more, Elliot told Krista about the song Raine had recorded for him. Not for any therapy-related reasons, Raine thought he just liked to brag about her. It made her feel good, but it was a little embarrassing. He told Krista he’d play it when Raine was out of the room because she didn’t like to hear herself. They talked about how to handle Raine’s PTSD and Krista assured Raine it wasn’t abusive that she scratched Elliot in her sleep during her nightmare.

Finally, Krista said, “as far as your relationship I don’t see a reason to keep seeing me together, but I do think for now, because of Raine’s PTSD, you should continue this, just so I can help you, help her,” Krista said to Elliot. He nodded and walked Raine out to the living room.

“Are you leaving now or waiting until I’m done?” he asked.

“I’ll wait,” she said, which is what she knew he wanted, but was trying not to ask for.

He smiled, “good, I’ll see you in a little while baby.” He kissed her and went back into Krista’s office. She decided they needed a little fun, so she texted him, ‘every time you call me ‘baby’ it makes me want to jump on you’ and it was actually true. He didn’t respond so she figured he’d read it when he got out. A little bit later she got a text from him that said, ‘next time, do it’, she smiled. She heard music coming from the other room and figured that’s why he saw her text, he was getting his phone, shamelessly forcing people to listen to her song. She shook her head and laughed, he only thought she was so good cause he loved her, but he didn’t realize that. She looked around Krista’s living room, forcing herself not to snoop out of curiosity. She got on her phone and looked at her social media. Nothing going on there, so she logged into the shop’s website. Elliot had added pictures and some more stuff Raine had mentioned. It was looking great. She couldn’t wait to go to Papi’s this evening to look at more pictures with him. It would help her. She wondered what Elliot would think about her driving out of town alone, she couldn’t take Leon to Papi’s. Well, Papi would love Leon because Papi loved Seinfeld too, but it would still be weird. Darlene had met Papi a few times and they liked each other but she didn’t want to take Darlene out of her life. It would be okay to take Elliot, but she didn’t want to spring him on Papi, she knew Papi would want to prepare for their meeting. The nurse would also be there today because it was a weekday. It looked like Elliot would just have to let her go alone. But it really bothered her too, if she was being honest. She liked being alone normally, but she was still shaken up about everything. Elliot came out when he was done and Raine made an appointment for Friday. Krista told her it would probably be on Wednesdays and Fridays every week. Krista told her she had a lovely voice and she blushed. Then they said their goodbyes and left.

Darlene was waiting for her when she came out, how she knew what time to be there was beyond Raine. But Darlene looked different, sort of shaken up.

“What is it?” Raine asked.

“Luke was arrested,” Darlene said.

“Well that was fast,” Raine said.

“No, not because of you, Luke was arrested for murder,” Darlene said.

Raine felt her knees get weak and Elliot caught her and helped her set on Krista’s stairs. Raine put her head in her hands, “who was it?”

“A girl, Sarah, she was fifteen, he brought her to the hospital, she died of head injuries,” Darlene said.

Raine started to hyperventilate instantly, the girl she heard laughing on the phone. Elliot sat beside her and he was crying. Darlene fought tears too possibly because of Elliot crying.

“If I would’ve done something sooner,” Raine breathed.

“Don’t talk like that, no one would have known,” Darlene said.

“I knew! I knew he was dangerous; I knew he was with a little girl…” she started.

“SO DID THE FBI!” Darlene yelled, not out of anger at Raine but at the world, at Luke.

“This is not your fault, baby please don’t even start to think that,” Elliot said.

Raine put her head in her hands and screamed as loud as she could. A moment later Krista came running outside asking what happened. Darlene and Elliot explained it to her and Raine just fell over crying into Elliot’s lap as he stroked her hair.

“One good thing is that that asshole is in jail, and he’s not getting out this time cause of some douchebag buddy, Dom, and her boss are making sure of that,” Darlene said, “he’s not dealing with some redneck minimum wage cops, he’s got the FB- fucking- I after him, and I’ll make sure Leon’s connections in prison beat the shit out of him daily.”

Raine finally stopped crying and said, “Elliot you have to go to work.”

“I have to call in, I’m not leaving you like this,” he said.

“Elliot he’s in jail, this didn’t happen to me, it happened to her… and her family,” she said, starting to cry again.

“I think Elliot’s right, you shouldn’t be alone like this,” Krista said.

“I need to go to Papi’s later,” Raine said.

“Alone? Driving for thirty minutes?” Elliot asked frantically.

Raine looked at Krista for help, but instead, Krista said, “look I know you want to act as nothing happened, and no one is saying you’re weak, but this is a lot to handle for anyone, you don’t have to be strong all the time, sometimes it’s healthy to let the people who love you help you carry some of the load, be glad you have people willing to do that.”

“But I promised Papi, I’d come, and I really want to see him,” she sobbed.

“Darlene or I would be happy to drive you there and be with you, but are you going to tell him all this? Do you think he can handle it?” Elliot asked.

“Papi can handle anything, but I’m not telling him Luke has been bothering me, just that he’s in jail, he’ll be happy about that at least,” she said, “I just hate to have your first meeting tainted by all this.”

“I’ll go if you want me to,” Darlene said, “whatever you need.”

Raine looked at Krista, “is it wrong that part of me is relieved, that I feel safer, I feel guilty that she had to die for me to feel safe.”

“No it’s not wrong, everything you’re feeling is expected but you don’t need to feel guilty, all of his actions are his own, you tried to stop him a long time ago, you tried hard, if anyone should feel guilty besides Luke it’s the police department you went to,” Krista said, more personal opinion than professional.

“I went to more than one,” Raine sighed.

“They rarely take domestic violence as seriously as they should,” Krista said sounding irritated.

They all sat and stood there for a minute processing and then Raine said, “Elliot you can go to work if you want, and Darlene and I will go to Papi’s,” she looked at Darlene, “if you don’t want to stay you can take my car and go wherever you want, and come back and get me, it’s up to you.”

“I like Papi’s house, it’s cool, if you want time alone, I can just watch tv in the living room,” she said.

“No, he’ll be really happy to see you,” Raine said getting up.

Krista hugged Raine goodbye, “you have my number, if you need anything, at any hour, call me.”

“Thank you so much,” Raine said.

Krista went in and the three of them started walking to the corner to hail a cab, Raine took Elliot’s hand, “you can come too if you want.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I mean, I had the perfect day planned but that would probably get messed up too, so why not? I mean if you want to go back to work, I’ll be fine, but I’d like to have you there too,” she said, “I just feel like I want all my people right now.”

Darlene put her arm around her, and Elliot called into work telling them he had a family emergency.

When they got to the shop, Raine went in to make sure everything was covered and get her car keys. She met Elliot and Darlene at the car and Elliot was standing by the driver’s side door.

“I’m driving,” he said.

“No, I’m driving,” Raine said, “you don’t even know where it is.”

“You need rest,” Elliot said.

“Driving relaxes me,” she said.

“Excuse me, I know where it is and I feel fine,” Darlene said grabbing the keys out of Raine’s hand. So, they let Darlene drive, and Raine rode in the passenger seat because she pouted at Elliot and said she wanted to control the radio. They drove out of the city and Darlene turned the radio up loud as she and Raine sang along to every song on the radio. It was therapeutic and made Raine feel almost normal. She looked back at Elliot and he was looking out the window like he was deep in thought. She turned down the radio and said, “you okay babe?”

He looked over at her and nodded but he looked nervous, this was the only equivalent she had of Elliot meeting her dad, so it was understandable.

“I called before we left, so Papi is prepared for company, don’t be nervous,” she said.

“I can’t help it,” he said.

“I know, but it will be okay, Papi talks a lot and you can just smile and nod, and look who he has to compare you with, you’re miles ahead already,” she said.

Elliot tried to smile and put on a brave face but she could see he was still nervous. She turned around and sighed, then turned the radio back up. When they pulled in, after Darlene went to the wrong house twice, Raine turned to check on Elliot. He looked terrified so she said, “Hey, it’s okay, I’ll be right beside you.”

He took a deep breath and opened his door, Raine and Darlene got out and they followed Raine up the sidewalk. Elliot had his hands in his hoodie pocket, and he was watching the ground, making him look like a little kid almost. Raine knocked because the nurse, Bethany, was here, and hopefully, she had gotten Papi ready for company.

Bethany answered the door and said ‘hello’ to Raine, then Raine introduced her to Darlene and Elliot. Darlene was on her best behavior because she respected Papi, and Elliot was polite. Bethany had been working for Papi for five years, she was older and had three teenagers in school. Raine liked her, and trusted her, which was very important. They walked into the living room and Papi sat in his favorite chair, smoking a cigar, he was dressed up a little in a button-down shirt and tie and dress pants. Raine and Bethany helped him stand up and Raine hugged him around the neck. She fought back tears because if he were younger she’d tell him all about her day and Luke and unload on him, she couldn’t do that now. Darlene gave Papi a hug and he said, “well look at you, have you been staying out of trouble?”

“Not if I can help it,” she said.

“That’s my girl,” Papi teased and they all laughed.

Elliot stepped up and stuck out his hand, “Hello Sir, I’m Elliot Alderson, it’s nice to meet you.”

Raine could tell he had practiced exactly what to say and in what order on the way here, but it came out natural enough.

“Nice to meet you, young man, my name is Carmine Bianchi, but everyone calls me Papi,” Papi said.

Elliot nodded and stepped back, while Papi motioned for Bethany to help him into the kitchen. Raine and Bethany helped him to the table and Darlene and Elliot waited for Raine to motion for them to come in. Elliot sat on one side of Papi and Darlene sat across from him. Papi looked Elliot up and down, Elliot stared at his hands.

“So you’re the fella that has my Raindrop all giddy?” Papi asked him.

“Papi!” Raine scolded but they ignored her.

“Well I hope so,” Elliot laughed.

Papi chuckled, “I haven’t seen her this happy in years, that last one was a piece of shit.”

Raine took the opportunity, “Oh, Papi, speaking of Luke, he’s going to prison probably.”

“That’s good, really good, who’s life did he ruin this time?” Papi asked.

“Some girl, she was fifteen,” Raine said holding back tears.

“Was?” Papi asked knowingly.

Raine sat down and nodded, Papi let out a deep breath, “poor child, I thank God every day that you didn’t end up like that.”

Raine felt tears forming in her eyes, and she managed to say, “I know Papi, I do too.”

Elliot cleared his throat, trying to keep it together, he said, “Sir, do you like the website?”

Papi laughed, “son you don’t have to call me ‘sir’ I appreciate the respect, but I’m just a poor old man, you can call me Papi.”

“Okay,” Elliot said, unsure if he’d just been scolded or not.

Raine smiled at him to let him know it was alright and he relaxed. Then Papi started telling Elliot how much he liked the site and asked him questions and started telling him all the old stories. Darlene joined in asking Papi questions about the old days and Raine smiled. She decided to make homemade lasagna as they talked. Normally it wouldn’t take very long, but she started from scratch. She made homemade Italian dressing first to set in the fridge so it would be cold by dinner. She felt Elliot watching her and winked at him. He was doing great and she was so happy to have these three with her on such a hard day. Bethany asked if she could run some errands since Papi wasn’t alone, but Raine thought she might want to give them time alone.

“Sure, take your time, but you can have dinner with us if you want, if not I’ll save you some back,” Raine told her.

“You don’t need to do that,” Bethany said.

“I make a lot, I’ll send some home with you too, trust me we won’t finish it.”

“What are you making?” Papi asked her.

“Lasagna, the homemade kind, homemade garlic bread and I made Italian dressing because I’m making a kale salad with feta cheese, you do have feta right?”

“I always have feta,” Papi said, almost offended, then he turned to Elliot, “if you aren’t in love with my Raindrop yet, you will be when you taste her cooking.”

Raine turned and smiled at them, “Papi, stop you’re going to give him high expectations that I can’t meet.”

“He should have high expectations, you’re the best cook I’ve seen since your father,” Papi said.

She shook her head at him and laughed, “I think dad was a little better than I am.”

“So humble, you should take pride in your work, always,” Papi patted her hand that she had placed on her shoulder.

“She’s like that with her singing too,” Elliot said.

“Oh, teaming up on me?” Raine winked at him.

“She sings like a nightingale,” Papi agreed, ignoring Raine.

“Darlene please give them a reality check, be on my side,” Raine teased.

“Don’t look at me, I think you’re awesome, not as awesome as me, but close,” Darlene said.

“That girl is thinking right,” Papi said, then pointed at Darlene, “you should always feel awesome it’s good for the spirit.”

Raine laughed at Papi for saying ‘awesome’ and then he lectured her on the true meaning of the word, and she let him talk as she returned to cooking. Elliot offered to help her but she made him sit down. They looked at pictures and picked out some for the website, Darlene and Elliot were enthralled by Papi’s stories. Raine put dinner in the oven and joined them, sitting across from Elliot. She watched him listen to Papi, taking in every word. Like he was writing it all down somewhere inside his head. She knew he would have a bunch more to put on the site. When dinner was ready, Raine and Elliot moved the pictures and Darlene set the table. Raine served the food with red wine, and they all ate and drank and she forgot almost all about Luke and Sarah for a while. Elliot went at his food like Raine had never seen before, she smiled. After they ate Papi wanted to smoke a cigar in the living room and talk to Elliot alone. Elliot and Raine helped him to his chair and she lit him a cigar and handed it to him. He offered one to Elliot, but he said no and smoked a cigarette instead.

“After a meal like that, you have to smoke something,” Papi said.

Elliot relaxed on the couch and Raine went over and kissed him, he looked apprehensively at Papi who hadn’t even noticed. Then Raine went and got Darlene and told her they needed to smoke a joint outside. After they smoked Raine went in and Elliot looked okay so she figured their private conversation had gone well. Darlene asked Papi for a cigar and they smoked together as Raine told Elliot she wanted him to see her old bedroom.

“Is that okay?” he asked Papi.

Papi chuckled, “yes that’s fine, just keep it in your pants.”

Elliot looked frightened but Raine laughed, “he’s kidding.”

“Ahh she wouldn’t listen to me if I was serious,” Papi waved a hand at them.

Raine took Elliot by the hand and led him to her room, “this is it,” she said.

He looked around at her old posters and then at her bed, “it’s cute.”

She sat down on the bed and he sat beside her, “we can’t do anything in here.”

“I know, I just wanted a minute alone, to check-in,” she said.

“I love you,” Elliot said kissing her.

She giggled, “is that the official update?”

“I like Papi, you cook… amazing, everything I find out about you makes me love you more,” he said pushing hair away from her face.

“My life is a mess, I’m a mess,” she said shaking her head.

“No, you’re a strong,” he kissed her quickly, “smart,” another kiss, “sexy woman, and I love you. I’m so proud of you for all that you are.”

She sighed and felt her lip quiver, she put her hands on the side of his face and kissed him deeply and started to pull him on her as she leaned back onto her old bed.

“Baby, we can’t,” he whispered.

“Yet you call me that, knowing what it does to me,” she teased.

“Come on,” he said standing and taking her hands. She reluctantly got up and put her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

“I’m trying to make a good impression,” he said pushing her away gently.

She sighed, “okay, I’ll be good.”

He grinned and gave her a nod and they walked back into the living room and sat on the couch with Darlene.

“That didn’t take long,” Darlene said, and Elliot looked mortified.

Papi let out a hearty laugh, “I like this one, she’s feisty, don’t worry boy no one’s waiting with a shotgun here, I always have let my girl make her own choices… no matter how much I disagreed with them, this time I just happen to agree with them, you’re a fine young man.”

“Thank you, Sir, umm Papi,” Elliot said.

“Papi is a feminist,” Raine said.

“Call it what you want, I just believe men and women are equal in the eyes of God, and there’s no reason to treat a young lady any different than a young man, I’ve seen men become the best chefs in the world and women that could fight two men at once, that’s the truth, and this one,” Papi pointed at Raine, “she’s the strongest minded little girl I’ve ever met, gets if from both her parents.”

Raine got up and kissed his forehead, “thank you, Papi, I needed that today.”

“I know you, I know you got a lot weighing on you about that old jackass, I can see it in your eyes, I want you to know you are welcome here anytime if you need me.”

She sat back down as she started tearing up, “thank you.” It was a lot for him to say something so emotional, so she knew he saw how bad it was for her, which she didn’t like because she didn’t want him to worry, “I’m okay though, I’ll be okay.”

He eyed her suspiciously, and Elliot said, “Darlene and I are watching out for you too,” he put his arm around her, then said to Papi, “I don’t know if you know me well enough to believe me when I say this, but I would die to keep her happy.”

Raine watched Papi’s reaction, no one else would see it but she knew Papi believed Elliot, she could see it in his eyes, and he looked pleased and a little relieved. They talked a little more until Bethany got back and then they had to leave because it was getting late. Darlene hugged Papi and Elliot shook his hand, Papi pulled him in to slap him on the back, Elliot let him but looked a little uncomfortable but smiled at him. Then Raine hugged him tight, “I love you Papi,” she said.

“I love you Raindrop, you let yourself be weak now, don’t try and hold it in,” he said.

She let out a laugh, “I could say the same to you.”

“I’m old and set in my ways,” he teased. She helped Bethany set him back down and paid her a little extra for today because she knew they had left a little mess, “I’m sorry I just didn’t get time to clean, we got to talking.”

“Don’t worry about it, I can’t take this,” Bethany shoved the money at her.

“Take it, for me, it will make me feel better,” Raine said and she finally relented.

They got out to the car and Elliot drove this time because Darlene was high and a little drunk, she had drunk, a lot more wine than anyone else at dinner.

“You’re not crying like you usually do when you leave?” Elliot asked.

“No, I feel better than usual, maybe because Bethany is there and I’m not leaving him alone,” she said as Elliot pulled out and she directed him how to get back to the highway.

“I love your grandpa,” Darlene mumbled as she laid all the way down in the back seat, Raine laughed and didn’t correct her, Darlene knew Papi wasn’t her real grandpa, she was just drunk on wine.

“She should stay at my place, so you don’t have to worry about walking her from the shop to your place, or I could drop you guys off in the car,” Raine said.

“You’re staying home alone?” he asked.

“Elliot I’m probably safer now than I have been in several years,” she said.

“I meant emotionally, you might not want to be alone tonight,” he said.

“Honestly, I just really want to have sex,” she said.

This made Elliot swerve a little and Darlene yelled “whoo hoo!” from the back seat, either from what Raine said or from the swerve, it was hard to tell.

“Right now?” Elliot asked.

“No, not right now, geez Elliot, you’re driving,” she laughed. He shrugged a little and she laughed, “plus Darlene is here… physically anyway.”

“Oh yea, never mind,” he said.

“Driving isn’t a deal-breaker on its own?” Raine asked.

He shook his head and grinned, “We can take Darlene to my place and I’ll drive you home and we’ll go from there.”

They parked in front of Elliot’s apartment and helped Darlene into Elliot’s bed. Raine undressed her, which made Darlene giggle, as Elliot got work clothes to change into in the morning.

“So, you’re staying over?” Raine asked.

“I texted Dom, she’s gonna come and stay with Darlene,” he said.

“You don’t have to worry about me, he’s in jail,” Raine said.

“Well this is just easier for everyone, you’re closer to uptown anyway,” he said.

“By fifteen minutes,” she said.

“That’s a lot early in the morning, and can’t I want to be with you without it being about concern?” he asked.

She tilted her head and smiled, “I’m sorry, yes you can sleep over, you can braid my hair.”

He blushed, “I actually know how to do that, Darlene and Angela taught me when we were kids.”

“Good, I might need your help someday,” she giggled, “I’m driving to my place that alley is a bitch to get into.”

He handed her the keys and they went to the shop, “I have to talk to my crew really quick,” she said as they went in the back door. She went into the kitchen and told everyone to gather around, Elliot stood behind her.

“Okay, first of all, no one is in trouble and you’re all doing a great job, you’ve all been super helpful, second, I want to have a small meeting tomorrow between first and second shift because I’ve had some personal things come up and I’ll be needing a few days off a week, and maybe more,” she said. Everyone nodded and looked relieved that no one was in trouble.

She continued turning to motion toward Elliot, “this, as most of you know is my boyfriend, Elliot Alderson, he’s made us a website for the shop, it won’t add to your duties at all but if you want to look at it and read about the history of where you work, I encourage that, I also encourage you to leave a nice review if you want, if you want to leave a bad review you can do that also but know that it will hurt my feelings,” she said to scattered laughter.

“Anything you want to add?” she asked Elliot. He shook his head and she said, “okay that’s all I wanted, spread the word about the site and meeting tomorrow, thank you.”

They all dispersed but Amber stopped her on her way up the stairs, “you alright?”

“Yea I just need a couple of days a week for therapy and Luke got arrested and I’ll probably have to testify,” she said.

“Well that’s good, right? That he’s in jail?” Amber said.

“It’s good in that he’s in jail but he didn’t get arrested because of me…” she paused and took a breath, Elliot touched her back for support, she continued, “Luke murdered someone, a teenager.”

Amber gasped, “oh no, oh that’s awful, I’m sorry to hear that.” She hugged Raine and told her to get some rest, “we all love you and I think you should tell the rest of the crew what’s going on.”

“I might, thank you, Amber,” she said.

“Is Elliot staying tonight?” Amber asked. Elliot nodded and Amber said, “good, make sure she doesn’t push herself.”

“I will,” he said, they said goodnight and went upstairs.

Raine collapsed onto her mattress and groaned, “what a day.”

“Do you need anything?” Elliot asked, taking off his hoodie and hanging it on the doorknob.

She got up and walked over to him and started unbuttoning his shirt. He grinned but said, “you sure this is what you want tonight?”

“I just want to forget everything but you for a while,” she whispered, kissing him softly as he pulled his shirt off and started pushing her toward the bed. He kissed her hard and she lowered herself slowly and pulled him down with her. They made love and Elliot was more gentle than usual. When they were done Elliot started to roll off her but she held him and touched his face, “stay here for while.”

He took her hand off his face and kissed her fingers and settled back down on top of her, “I love you baby.”

“I love you, I’m so sorry I kept things from you,” she said.

“I forgive you, I understand why you did it, and I know how much you hated it, Krista and I talked about it, it’s in the past,” he said, then she saw something dark pass through his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I still haven’t told you everything,” he said.

“That’s okay, whenever you’re ready,” she pulled his head down and kissed his forehead and he closed his eyes and she kissed his eyelids softly. He let out a deep shaky breath like he was trying not to cry.

“You alright,” she asked. He kept his eyes closed but nodded, then laid his head on her chest and let her run her fingers through his hair. She was extra gentle with the shorter hair on the side of his head by his ear and he mumbled, “that feels good.”

She didn’t respond but kept doing it until they both fell asleep.