Joan watched as Jace spoke, his elbows on his knees, head hung low between his arms. His words were painfully honest and kind, and she could tell her son meant something to him. Whether or not he meant something to Angel she already knew, after all, she had seen the smile on his face that he only smiled at the boy sitting next to him.

"I'm gonna go to see when we'll be allowed in Aishah's room if you go on a walk try not to get lost," Joan said softly, accentuating her accent slightly.

Jace and Angel nodded, not saying anything until after she left the room. Then Angel spoke, "So, how 'bout that walk?"

Jace laughed lightly, "Why do you want to go on a walk so late at night?"

"It's usually nice outside at night during this time of year, but what time is it?" Angel said, standing up.

"It's about 1:30 in the morning, don't quote me on that though," Jace said, also standing up. "And how do you know that it's nice out during this time of year?"

Angel sighed, whispering to himself "Well, here goes nothing."

Before speaking at a normal volume again, "I've had to sleep outside on more than one occasion, I learned when the best times of year are to sleep outside so that I wouldn't accidentally freeze to death while I was asleep. And please don't ask about why I was on the streets, it's less than a wonderful story."

Jace was surprised at this, to say the least, but the look in Angel's eyes said that it would be a very bad idea to push him on the subject, so he dropped it. "Okay, well...I hope you'll be able to tell me one day, but in the meantime, let's just go on that walk. Yeah?"

Angel sighed in relief and agreed. "Yeah, I think there's an exit just down the hall."

Word Count: 322