After a celebratory dinner with Denise's and Luca's families, the graduates and their men headed to a popular Los Angeles nightclub downtown to celebrate the way they knew how; with dancing and a lot of cocktails, though Chris avoided the latter as he'd assigned himself as the designated driver. Both men had informed their ladies they'd buy them all the drinks they wanted as it was their night. Sebastian's wallet was safe as Luca wasn't a big drinker, but Denise- on the other hand- took Chris' offer very seriously. All the times she had to turn down drinks because she had class, or work the next day- well, she made up for it tonight. Denise was fortunate because she had a loving fiancé, his best friend, and hers to look out for her while she got absolutely hammered. They couldn't complain because she was a happy, chatty drunk unlike others they'd been around. But still, at 2:57AM- Chris cut Denise off and called it a night, dropping Sebastian and Luca off at their apartment before driving themselves back to his house. But not without going upstairs to grab a few things first, the notebook Denise gave him earlier that day included.

"And we're home," Chris turned to Denise as his car pulled to a stop. He chuckled when she gave him a toothy grin; her glazed eyes told him exactly just how drunk she was. "Okay, darling. How about we get you an Advil and put you to bed before you pass out?" He suggested. "Don't touch anything," he instructed when he saw her reach for the door handle. She pressed her lips together and quickly withdrew her hand in a childlike manner. "Just-" he chuckled softly, "let me take care of your drunk ass, please."

He got out of the car as she huffed, "I'm not drunk," crossing her arms over her chest. She watched as he walked around the front of the car to her side, opening the door for her. She looked up at him and tilted her head in confusion when she saw him holding out his set of house keys for her.

"You hold them, Denise," he spoke slowly, trying not to smile as he patronized her. "You use keys to-" She cut him off, snatching the keys only to drop them on the floor of the car. Chris laughed and Denise pouted, realizing she was disproving her earlier statement. "Here," he swept them up off the carpet and pushed it back into her hand. "You hold on tight," he told her as he tucked one arm under her legs and wrapped the other around her back, "to me and the keys. Okay, my love?"

"Wheeee," Denise giggled when Chris scooped her into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he laughed as he closed the car door with his foot, walking them to his front door. "I'm glad you're here, Cap," Denise slurred her words. "'Cause I don't think Chris would be able to carry me, he's not as strong as you are."

"I don't know if I should be flattered or offended," Chris joked, earning another toothy grin from his girl. "I knew I should have given you a limit instead of setting you loose. I should've listened to your mom and kept you away from the Long Island Iced Tea, or should I say teas?" Denise nodded then laughed, though she understood about twenty percent of what he was talking to her about. "How many did you have again?"

"Mm..." She hummed as she pondered, counting the fingers on her hands. "I think two plus three minus two. So..." She stared at her hand, earning another rumble from Chris' throat. "Three? I had three iced teas and they were very delicious," she hiccuped then giggled. "About as delicious as you, Cap." She booped his nose, drawing a chuckle which turned into a shoulder shaking laugh when she said, "but don't tell my fiancé I said that."

"You got it, doll," he smiled. "We'll keep that one between you and me, out of respect to your fiancé's ego. Just out of curiosity, who would you rather marry? Me, or Chris Evans?" He asked her. "Okay, think you can manage to unlock the door?" He beckoned his head at the keys in her hand and she leaned forward to fumble with the lock. "I can put you down and do it if you want."

"I'd marry Chris Evans in a heartbeat," Denise answered his first question as she successfully unlocked the door. Chris seemed slightly taken aback by her quick answer, and before he could ask for a reason- she explained her decision, "he's perfect. I know he's not an Avenger, and he doesn't spend his time saving lives around the globe and protecting earth from aliens and super villains. But," she emphasized, then paused and smiled as she continued. "It doesn't matter because he saved this life," she pointed to herself, poking herself in the nose. "He saved me. From myself, from loneliness, from..." she sighed with a smile. "Just- he saved me from all the bad in the world. So yeah, I'd marry Chris Evans in a heartbeat."

Chris smiled at the honesty and sincerity of Denise's answer, an answer he loved because she'd said all that while she was drunk off her face. Like she'd told him numerous times before, and wrote in her mini series: "drunk minds always speak for a sober heart." Of course he knew she loved him, but it was always nice to know how much. "He'd marry you in a heartbeat too," he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Who?" Denise quizzed as Chris walked them inside, kicking the door shut with his foot. The noise woke Dodger, drawing him out of the living room and into the hallway. "Dodger!" Denise squirmed and Chris lowered her onto her feet, grasping her arm and stabilizing her when she stumbled in her heels. "Hi buddy," she sat on the floor, hugging the pup.

"Keep her preoccupied, bud," Chris told Dodger, his hand on the front door handle. "I'm just going to grab our things, okay? Please don't be like the you in the story and break things," he smiled when he heard Denise giggle. "I'll be right back. Watch her like a hawk, Dodge." With that, he walked back out to his car to grab her overnight bag and the notebook.

Oh, that notebook. Chris was excited to read it. As tired as he was, he was going to read it all before he went to sleep. The entire night, the possibilities of the content had been playing in his mind. He remembered Denise telling him that she started working on it long before he even knew she existed, so it was going to be interesting to see the difference in her writing as her relationship with him progressed. That, and he just loved reading anything and everything she wrote. She had a way with words that spoke directly to his mind, his heart, and his soul. She was a drug he'd fallen victim to, except she was the good kind that did him no harm.

"Babe?" Chris called when he came back into the house to find Denise and Dodger no longer where he'd left them. "Please don't be in the kitchen picking up a broken glass." He mumbled as he headed into the kitchen, letting a sigh of relief escape his lungs when he didn't see them there. "Dodger?" He called with hope he'd bark, but it was to no avail. He made his way upstairs and after looking in his study and the guest room, he found Denise in his bedroom. She was fast asleep with Dodger under her arm and his head on her stomach. "I knew I could count on you, pal."

Chris walked over and gently lifted Denise's arm, beckoning Dodger off the bed so he could lift her and tuck her under the covers. Once he did that, he took her glasses from her face and set them down on the bedside table. He kissed her forehead then turned off the lights, sliding her heels under his bed so she wouldn't trip over them when she woke up. "It's okay, you can get back up." He told Dodger, who quickly rejoined Denise on the bed. "Look after my girl for me," he instructed his best friend then exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Chris had a shower in the main bathroom, rather than his ensuite as he didn't want to disturb Denise's much needed sleep. She was going to wake with a terrible hangover in a few hours, he didn't want to speed up a process that would only torture her. He slipped on his bathrobe then settled on his couch with the notebook in his hand. He was both excited and nervous. There could only be good things about him, right? Surely Denise wouldn't give it to him if what was inside was something terrible. He shook his head with a smile when he realized he was a lot like her when it came to overthinking, perhaps that was why they worked.

Carefully, Chris flipped open the front cover of the notebook. On the first page where a little detail box asked who the book belonged to, Denise wrote in blue with her perfect handwriting: "Chris Evans: actor, director, and an inspiration." Under that, scribbled in a red and dated the day after she spent the night with him for the first time: "also, the greatest love I will have in this lifetime and any lifetime after." Chris' smile reached his eyes as he ran his finger over her words, silently agreeing with her. It was too early in the notebook to start crying, but his vision was starting to get a little blurry already. He wiped his right eye with his finger, remembering what she told him about tears and their meaning depending on which eye it came out of first; the right eye was happy, and the left eye sad. He turned the page and came to one titled 'Introduction', his hand smoothed over her penmanship and he smiled. He took a deep breath then started to read.