I left the room to let him get dressed. When the door shut behind me I took a second to breathe.

Everything was happening so fast. My stomach was knotted up, half with guilt and half with fear.

Peter and the master had begun to feel like a dream more so than reality. They were a completely different life than the one I was living now, and I wasn't so sure how I felt about the two colliding.

I went downstairs and was greeted by a glaring Lorne.

"What?" I asked.

He put a finger to his lips and whispered, "Later."

I could already tell I was going to get a verbal beating.

I sat down on a bar stool and waited in silence until I could hear Peters footsteps come down the stairs.

He looked better, like there was more of a spring in his step.

"Where am I taking you, buddy?" Lorne asked. He hid his aggravation well, but probably only due to the fact that it was more aimed at me.

"Outside the coffee place works for me."

"Cool." He said, heading out to the garage without waiting for us to follow.

We all loaded into the car and drove in silence towards downtown. Sitting upfront with Lorne I could feel his obvious discomfort, but when I glanced in the rearview mirror all I saw was that smile I'd missed so much.

And with as much as I was aware of his ability to destroy my new life, all I could feel was relief. Like I'd had a tension headache for so long I'd forgotten it was even there until it was gone. Even though it's remedy brought a whole load of new problems with it.

Lorne parked on the side of the street and Peter climbed out. I got out too and ran around the hood of the car.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"I'm not exactly new to this." He rolled his eyes, "I have a system."

"You convinced someone else to tie you down every night?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Sort of."

I was tempted to ask but I could feel Lorne's eyes burning holes in my back.

"I'll see you tomorrow okay? I don't have a class until 11 so I'll have some time."

"Sounds good to me." He said it so simply, like we were just talking about going to the movies. But I knew his tricks by now.

I turned to get back in the car, throwing a, "Don't disappear again," over my shoulder.

We waved and disappeared into the darkness of the alleyway. I got back into the car and buckled my seatbelt, abiding eye contact with Lorne.

And, as if on cue, the second we pulled away from the curb he said, "You know I hate having to be the dad here."

"Yeah."

"You know I hate it, and yet you make me do it."

"I don't know if I'm making you do it."

"Well pardon me for stepping in when you seem intent on doing stupid things."

"It's not that bad."

"What are you doing?" He sighed, "What in the name of al that's good and holy do you think you're doing?"

"We're friends."

"First, you run off the stage and embarrass all of us, and we find you clinging to some homeless guy."

I got half way through saying sorry before he cut me off.

"Then I let the poor bastard take a shower at my house, and I find you guys in the middle of a Nicolas Sparks movie cover. What the hell is going on?"

"We weren't doing anything," I say, anger simmering in my veins, "I love Tony, you know that. He's just an ID friend from back home that I haven't seen in a very long time."

"Back home? I thought you grew up in the middle of nowhere Kentucky."

"Yeah."

"How did he get here?"

"I don't know."

He pulled up to a stoplight and turned to glare at me, "You can't tell me that someone who's just your friend traveled half way across the country, just to live in an alley way near you."

I just shrugged, partially because it was too much to try and explain to him, and also partly because I don't believe it myself.

He sighed, sounding defeated, "I hope you know what you're doing. I know you're a good person, but then again you've never had to prove it to me before."

"I'll try my best." Was all I said.

We drove in silence back to my dorm and didn't look each other in the eye again.