"An' my prodigal brother returns," Malcolm said from inside the studio, Angus closing the door behind him. He carried his guitar case with him, setting it down on the floor by Malcolm's. "Took ya' only seven or eight years, eh?"

"Still not as long as you," Angus said grabbing a Styrofoam cup by the coffee machine and turning it on. 

"You got sick?" Malcolm asked, Angus confirming it. "How'd that happen?"

"You tell me, one minute I'm fine the next I'm dyin'." He turned the machine off and took his cup with him to the small couch to the side of the equipment. Phil's drum set stood a few feet away, marked by two microphone stands without any microphones. Bon's motorcycle was parked out front, the man himself gone to get breakfast for everyone. Angus agreed, finally ready to try some real food after three days of soup and crackers. Another car pulled up next to Malcolm's, Cliff opening the door and stepping out. 

"I could have given you a ride, ya' know," Malcolm said taking his turn at the coffee machine. "Or Cliff, or Bon..." Angus wrinkled his nose at the thought of taking a motorcycle to work. He knew perfectly well how fast Bon liked to ride motorcycles down the road, even suburban neighborhoods. "You didn't have to go walkin' in the early morning."

"That's alright, Mal, I need the fresh air."

"I could have stayed a bit, an' seen Hannah," Malcolm continued. "I hardly see her anymore, you're keepin' her to yourself." Angus smiled into his cup, wagging his eyebrows. Malcolm checked the amp behind him before he leaned on it. "She doin' okay?"

"She's doin' great, ya' know, seems much better after leavin' Travis, an' America, ya' know. She eats more, an'...talks a lot more."

"She's not...affected? In any way?"

"She's had a couple moments. Bad dreams, ya' know." Malcolm stared at Angus, waiting for him to elaborate, and sighed when he didn't. 

"Where is she now?" Malcolm asked, bringing up the fact that she hadn't come to the studio as well. The doors opened and Cliff walked in. "Hey, Cliff."

"The store, we're almost completely out of food. An' she's goin' to the doctor later today too."

"The doctor?" Cliff set his bass beside the far wall, taking off his jacket and setting it over the back of the couch. Two beer bottles were in his other hand, one handed off to Malcolm. "Thanks. She get sick too? Or..."

"You know those burns she had? They're almost gone but she says they've been itchin' her for a   while, an' she's been scratchin' 'em, ya' know? So she's goin' to the doctor to get a lotion or somethin' so they'll get better." Cliff twisted the cap off his bottle and took a few drinks. 

"Hannah's not comin'?" he asked as Angus shook his head. "That's too bad, kinda miss the little kid."

Angus took the cup away from his lips and wiped his mouth. "Speakin' of kids, Hermione had some last night." Malcolm frowned, trying to put the pieces together. 

"She had kids?" Angus nodded. "She wasn't fixed or nothin'?" A shake of the head. "An' Roger Rabbit jus' came up an' introduced himself, what happened?"

"Took Hermione to some rabbit park an' we looked away for two point five seconds." Cliff couldn't help the laugh. Malcolm finished his coffee, getting started on the beer. 

"An' she jus' had them last night?" Cliff asked. 

"A few days ago, right before we got back an' Susan was there to see it." Angus stood from the couch with his cup to get more coffee. 

"How many did she have?"

"Three. Well, no, she had four but...I guess it died right after it was born an' the vet took care of it." The door opened again, with Bon carrying a large paper bag from McDonald's. "We'll have to think of what to do with 'em an' get Hermione fixed."

The bag was set on the table a little less gently than the men would have liked, Cliff peering inside the bag to make sure the food wasn't helter skelter. Taking a few samples for himself, he pushed the bag aside for everyone else to find theirs. "Hey, Bon, Angus jus' had grandchildren," he said to the man, who skipped the coffee machine and headed right for the mini fridge. 

"That's great," he muttered looking for something. Pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels half full from the last session, he closed the fridge and took a drink, pausing to ask, "Grandchildren?"

"Hermione had some kids a few nights ago," Angus explained, Bon's confusion wearing down. 

"Ah, that makes a bit more sense," he said standing by the wall to lean on it. "So...you have fun on your honeymoon?" he asked cutting straight to the point.

Angus set the paper bag down after getting his food from it, Malcolm the next to take it. "We had a great time," he said. "Lots of snow, felt nice."

"Bet it did," Bon muttered under his breath with a grin. "Switzerland, right?"

"Yeah," Angus said. "I kinda like the snow they have up there, like home."

"And then you got sick when you came back," Malcolm reminded. Bon looked at them.

"You're not still sick, are ya'?"

"Nah," Angus said. He cleared his throat anyway, earning some suspicious looks. "I'm feelin' tip top today, no flu anymore."

"Until one of us gets sick," Cliff said his mouth full of French fries. "We'll never get this album done."

"Sure we will, how far are we?" Malcolm asked. He grabbed a couple of papers sitting under the bag of food while chewing thoughtfully. Thumbing through the papers he looked to Bon. "Bon! Have you written much since last week?" Bon took his drink with him to the couch and sat down next to Angus, Angus catching some air. 

"Not on paper," Bon said taking one of Cliff's fries.

"There's some right there!"

"I don't want to eat yet," Bon said.

"Well paws off mine, then." Cliff took another bite, keeping his food out of Bon's reach. 

"Do we need to start lockin' you in the kitchen again till you write some more?" Malcolm eyed Bon.

"Find a kitchen, mate, an' go ahead. I'll jus' break right out again."

"Maybe you can find your own food while you're in there," Cliff said. Malcolm set the papers down and sighed, standing up to take his guitar from his case. Tuning it up a bit, he looked at the doors then around the room. 

"We won't get this album done if Phil don't start showin' up, where is he?"

"Gettin' a haircut," Bon stated. 

"Haircut?"

"Yeah, met him on the way here. He'll be here in a while."

"Alright," Malcolm sighed. "Ang, get your guitar, an' Cliff, start swingin' bass. We'll play what we can for now, alright?"

Meanwhile, at the grocery store, Hannah hopped behind the cart she pushed, searching the shelves and trying to get a better look. Angus was never fond of her doing this, saying she might trip and get hurt. But she hadn't yet, and he never stopped her. And since he wasn't here...

Grabbing a box of noodles she turned the cart to look down the next aisle where the malted milk balls were. There were other kinds of candy too among the shelves, but malted milk balls were her favorite. Smarties were there too, and Hannah sneaked a few packages to take home as well. 

Grocery shopping was quite the event for Hannah. Travis always got the food, and hardly spent a dime he didn't have to. Most of it was for him anyway, despite all the money Hannah had earned. Her last payment had been made the month before, and she took every cent with her to the store to pay for food. Angus asked if she wanted to split some of his money as well, but Hannah always declined, abstaining unless they really needed the extra money. 

There was freedom too. Freedom to leave the house and explore the town. There was color to her skin again. 

More of that same skin however, had turned an ugly red color, due to her scratching at the scars. Hannah promised Angus she'd visit a doctor that day while she was gone to get something prescribed for it, and maybe alleviate the pain that came with it. 

Grabbing some loaves of bread and blocks of cheese, she found herself in the vegetable aisle. There were two others there with her, so she put her hopping to a stop, and pushed the cart normally. One shopper was a tall man, with slightly greying hair and birthmark on his arm showing from his tank top. The other, was a woman about his age, probably a girlfriend as neither had a wedding ring. They didn't look like siblings. She had short red hair, cut awfully short by someone rather unprofessional, leaving split ends here and there. Hannah paid them no mind, and attempted to block out their conversation while she grabbed some broccoli. 

"We can't afford five carrots, one costs a whole five dollars, are you crazy?" the man spoke, rather loudly for an empty grocery store at that. 

"We'd be able to if you hadn't spent so much on cigarettes and wine last week," the woman replied, as if this conversation was routine. "The guys weren't even over that long, and you bought all those chips just for a thirty minute game."

"We needed food for the party, Melissa," the man replied. "Why do we need truckloads of carrots?" Hannah's head faced the other way, unable to tell if the man said "truckloads" or something else. "Huh? Why do we need so many carrots?"

"Because they're good for you, you don't every buy anything good to eat," Melissa said, getting awfully annoyed at her companion. 

"You hardly get out of the house to shop at all, I'm the one who has to do it, so I buy what I like!"

"We can afford a few carrots, Jim, it's fine."

"Shut up," Jim mumbled. Melissa's tone wasn't friendly.

"What?"

"Nothin'," Jim said changing his mind. Hannah turned her head to get to a different side of the aisle, pushing her cart around the brussels sprouts. Did they need brussels sprouts? No, Angus would say no. 

"No, you said something, what did you say?"

"Nothin'! I didn't say nothin'!" Melissa rolled her eyes to the annoyance of Jim, who lightly pushed her. Melissa pushed him back, lighting into him. Hannah couldn't hear much what they said, their voices melding into one loud yell. Someone cried out, Hannah turning her head over to see Melissa holding her cheek, staring up at an exasperated Jim. Her heart almost stopped. Something told her to move, get away from the scene as quick as she could, but her feet wouldn't move. Her chest tightened. "What'd you expect, you're driving me up the wall!"

Melissa didn't answer, instead kept a hand to her surely stinging cheek. Jim surveyed the various foods, once in a while looking at his hurt companion. Neither one noticed Hannah standing there, the young woman finally snapping out of her trance and wheeling her cart to the next aisle. Holding her hand over her mouth, she inhaled sharply, attempting to get her breathing under control. 

They had enough vegetables anyway.

"Ang, the A's out, tune it!" Malcolm continued playing his guitar, strumming along with Phil's drumbeat while Angus plucked away, using one hand to tune the A string, yet hitting every fret all the same. His feet knocked the floor, one two, one two, his hair brushing past his shoulders and hitting his face, blinding him to every movement, yet he still knew. He just knew. Where to go, where to pluck. The guitar guided him throughout the studio, telling him every move in a sort of spiritual connection. "Good, keep it goin'," Malcolm encouraged.

Bon stood by the wall, listening to the tune the boys played, rummaging around his mind for the words to the song. Nodding his head, he paced the room, kicking his boot along the floor. Cliff stood one foot on the couch, keeping time with everyone else. Bringing the song to a close, Angus dropped to his knees, scraping them against the ground, strumming on his guitar the concluding chords. With one last jump, the song ended, every last one of them covered in sweat. Bon was too, though none of it was his. 

"Not bad," Bon said, taking a drink from his bottle. "What uh...what title ought it be given, hmm?"

"Don't know yet," Malcolm said grabbing his beer from the top of the fridge. "You got any ideas?"

"I need a bit of time, yeah? Time an' whiskey, ya' know. I'm goin' on a walk." 

"Bon, we've jus' started!" Malcolm said. 

"I've gotta sit on it a while, I'll come back with somethin' to knock the shit outta you like, yeah?" With a boyish grin and a dainty wave, Bon walked out the front doors taking his bottle with him. Malcolm watched the door swing shut and shook his head. 

"God knows where he's goin' or if he's comin' back. C'mon, Ang, strum the first couple bars again." Angus began again, just as energetic as the first time. Malcolm started in, glancing at Phil. "Phil, c'mon, Cliff, pick up." All four were playing at once, each perfectly in sync with each other. The whole studio seemed to come alive when the band entered, and part of its spirit left whenever the boys called it a day. Taking a drink of his beer, Malcolm quickly resumed playing the song, nodding his head. Angus was on the floor again, spinning on the floor as if his amplifier blew a fuse and electrocuted him. 

Moments like these were the ones the boys lived for.

"Just put it on twice a day, once in the morning, and again at night," the doctor said scribbling something on a clipboard. Hannah tried to see what he was writing so quickly, but the doctor turned his back for confidentiality. The bottle wasn't big, just enough for the couple of months the doctor had prescribed it. Truth be told he'd never seen a case like hers, and it made them both nervous. Insisting it was just a skin irritation from the cigar, a story Hannah dreaded to recount, he gave her the common lotion to help soothe any itching and to take the redness away. Glad to try something and not be sent away, Hannah thanked him and left. "And I'm real sorry that happened to you," he added last minute. Hannah half smiled. 

She was too.

The walk home wasn't unpleasant. The weather was fair, albeit a little warm and the groceries had been taken home and stored before she went out again so there was nothing heavy to carry. Though her mind kept reverting back to the scene at the store, playing it over and over again.

Angus would never hurt her like that. With the numerous promises he made her over the months, he never raised a hand against her. Hardly ever raised his voice unless a record was on maximum volume. Perhaps as the years went by things would change, and not for the better. 

Turning the key Angus gave her a whole year ago, she opened the door and closed it again, almost slamming it in her hurry. She hadn't realized she was in such a rush. Hermione looked up to see what the noise was, quickly tending to her now much furry children. One had wandered away from the group, looking through the bars, wrinkling his nose. Hannah hadn't named them, but perhaps even if she did Angus might not remember them. He had only just figured out "Hermione". 

Naming them might not be the best choice. Once you name something, you get attached to it, and soon enough they'd have to let the little children go. After they received proper care, of course. Taking the new loaf of wheat bread she bought from the fridge, she began to make herself a peanut butter sandwich to get her mind off things. 

No, Angus would never hit you. 

Angus loves you.

But even good people get upset, and he has plenty to be upset about. 

No, he'd never hit you.

Never.

Maybe.

No. 

Never...

"How many of those have you had?"

Malcolm's eyes darted to the left of him, taking one last drink and setting the bottle down. "Do you think I've been fuckin' countin'?"

"No," Angus shot back. "but it shouldn't be hard to tell between one or four." Malcolm took another quick drink and took his guitar off from around him. Angus watched him, his guitar now back in its case on the opposite end of the room, a third cup of coffee in his hands. 

"I'm handlin' it like I said I would, I haven't had more than I can take. Get after Bon or someone, drinkin' a whole bottle by himself."

"Bon's not here," Angus said, sitting on the couch next to him. "Bon's not my brother, Bon didn't come to my house drunk off his arse unable to stand." Malcolm stood up, taking his guitar back to its case and closing it. 

"That was a year ago, an' one of these days Bon's gonna come knockin' at your door too, drunk off his arse. An' needin' a place to sleep. God, maybe Cliff'll do it, or Phil. Or maybe you'll have a bit too much one day." Malcolm stared down at his brother, that one inch difference now suddenly rather intimidating. Angus glared right back, unwilling to step down. Cliff looked up at the silent match between the Youngs, tossing his bass over his shoulder and holding the door open for Phil who carried a broken bass drum outside. After a minute of nothing more than silent threats, Malcolm's eyes softened at his younger brother's. "Don't worry so much about me, I'm doin' fine. It's yourself you gotta look out for, ya' know? I saw you fallin' behind on the third song, gettin' a bit distracted, are we?"

Angus threw his cup away and picked up his instrument. "Not really," he dismissed. "Hannah's goin' to the doctor today for her arms ya' know, an' despite all that she's not been gettin' a lot of sleep, ya' know."

Malcolm followed after Cliff, holding the door open for Angus, who shut off the lights before they left. "What, the bad dreams?"

"Yeah, they're gettin' worse."

"Christ, Ang, why didn't you tell me?" Angus shrugged, following Malcolm to his car. Malcolm opened the trunk and stuck his guitar inside, closing it, then leaning against it crossing his arms. "Here, I can give ya' a ride, we'll go see her together."

"Nah, it's alright. We got Christmas comin' up, ya' know. We goin' to see Mum an' Dad?"

"Yeah, in two days." Malcolm stared at his brother who nodded. "Ang come on, I'll take ya' home. I want to see her." Angus glanced at the bottle in Malcolm's hand. Malcolm look at it and set it on the trunk. "You've drivin' with me before when I've had way more, ya' know."

"It ain't that." Angus adjusted the case in his hand. "Ya' know, I think she'd like that. The three of us again."

Malcolm smiled and turned around, opening up the trunk again. Angus set his instrument beside Malcolm's, and Malcolm closed the door, setting the bottle back down again. "Hey, uh, how's the married life?" Angus shrugged.

"Good, fine. I like it fine," he answered. Malcolm grinned at him, happy the day finally came when his eight year old plans were made worth it. "Hannah's real nice, if I had to pick, I'd pick her."

"Have you two, uh...sealed the deal yet? So to speak?" Angus put his hands in his pockets. 

"One step at a time, Mal. Ya' know, I don't think she's quite ready for that step jus' yet."

"You're gonna wait then?" Angus nodded while Malcolm shrugged. "Alright then, I tell ya' have more willpower than I."

"Hell, you couldn't make it to the hotel quick enough," Angus agreed wrinkling his nose, but smiling all the same. "You bringin' Linda for Christmas?"

"No shit, Ang," Malcolm said. "An' Stevie won't be there, jus' lettin' ya' know." Angus frowned. "Still in rehab as it were, ya' know." The confusion Angus displayed quickly vanished as he realized Malcolm wasn't talking about their nephew. "George an' Harry though, they want to see Mum again, an' eat her food."

"Where's Harry's mum?"

"Not as close as ours," Malcolm said. "Alright, get your arse in the car an' let's get goin'." Angus took to the passenger seat while Malcolm sat behind the wheel, turning it on. After both men rolled down their windows to let in some fresh Aussie air, Malcolm stepped on the gas. With a quick lurch backward, something crashed on the ground behind them, shattering into a million pieces. "Shit," Malcolm muttered, switching gears and driving off, Angus laughing in his seat. Leaving the broken beer bottle and Bon's motorcycle behind them. 

"You're gettin' strong, darlin', puttin' Ang in his place?" Malcolm asked, nearly choking from the bear hug. Angus rolled his eyes as he stirred the tomato sauce, the planned upon amount now doubled as Malcolm decided to stay for dinner while Linda visited her mother out of town for Christmas. Hannah didn't answer right away, as she was much too interested in seeing the closest man she had to a brother again since her wedding. Malcolm hugged her back, picking her up a little. "Good to see ya' again, how've ya' been?"

"I've been better," she admitted, still refusing to let go. "But I could be a lot worse too."

"I guess I could say the same," Malcolm said, easing his way out of her grip. "Ah ah, there we go." He narrowed his eyes. "Have you gotten taller?"

"No," Hannah said looking down at her socked feet. "I don't think so."

"Huh. Maybe I'm seein' things." He grinned at her ruffling her hair. "It's good to see ya', I missed ya'." 

"I missed you too," Hannah said going in for a second hug, and surely not the last before he left that evening.

"The whole band missed ya', you should have come in today."

"I don't want to get in your way or anything, and I had to go shopping and go to the doctor and all that." Malcolm let her go, looking down at her arms. Her sweater sleeves were long, but rolled up. 

"How'd that go?"

"He gave me a lotion for burns," she explained pointing to a bottle on the counter. "It's supposed to help the healing process and stop the itching." Angus saw the bottle from his spot by the stove. There wasn't much, and it didn't look too special. But if the professional said it would help, he was fine with it. He turned the stove off and set the pot on a different burner. Another pot adjacent to it still had on its lid, kept hot for dinner. 

"The food is done, you can get some now," Angus said moving aside for the other two. Malcolm let Hannah go first, insisting "Ladies first", to which he offered the same line to his brother. "Up yours, Mal."

"Alright, I'll go. He took a plate after Hannah and waited for her to get all her food. When he saw how much she had taken, he looked surprised. "I'm not rushin' you, am I?"

"No, of course not," she replied setting her plate on the table. Malcolm grabbed the tongs and put a good amount of food on his plate. 

"You want more than that? I can wait a minute longer." Hannah's eyes turned downwards in a sort of frown.

"It's fine, Mal, I really shouldn't eat any more than this," she said, her voice more stern than she probably meant. "I'm fine."

"But you haven't-"

"Mal..." Angus tapped him and shook his head, motioning him to continue getting his food. With another look at Hannah's awfully small plate and awfully small self, he grabbed the ladle for the sauce and poured it on. He and Angus shared a glance, both keeping awfully quiet. When all three were seated, it was a few minutes before someone spoke again. "Love," Angus said getting Hannah's attention. "We're goin' to our mum's place for Christmas in a couple days..." Hannah didn't answer. "Mal's goin', George an' Stevie, you met Stevie, right?"

"Your nephew?" Both men nodded. "At the wedding for a bit."

"An' Linda's comin' over too, and so will Margaret," Malcolm added. "An' Harry. A big Christmas party for all of us, we'll spend one night, an' then come back here, an' then the band's goin' to Queensland to celebrate again. That sound fun?" Hannah chewed her spaghetti thoughtfully. 

"Will we all fit in that house?" she asked.

"Sure," Malcolm said, eager to talk to her again without upsetting her. "You remember it, all those rooms upstairs?" He licked his fork and took another bite. "We'll fit. An' you an' Ang will share, an' Linda an' I...Margaret..."

"Eh...everyone else can fight over the basement," Angus said with a grin, taking a bite. "I heard from Dad they did it up a little bit so it looks more like a room...you could fit a few people down there. We'll have a lot of fun."

"And...we're going to Queensland too?"

"Yeah, jus' the band an' you, an' Linda an' Cliff was sayin' he was bringin' Georgeanne, ya' know," Malcolm said. "His girlfriend," he added. 

"Sounds like fun. You all taking some time off work?"

"There lies the issue," Malcolm said. "Yes, to answer your question we won't be goin' to work for a couple more days, puttin' off the new album, which is music to Bon's ears as he still has yet to write the words for the four music pieces we have." Angus stood up from the table, grabbing three glasses from the cabinet and filling them in the sink. "Oh, thanks, Ang. I mean, the album probably wouldn't be out till next year anyway, but it'd be nice if we could be halfway done by that time, ya' know?"

"Still not sure what to call it," Angus said. "None of the songs have titles yet anyway so we can't use any of those."

"You feel up to comin'?" Malcolm asked fixing his attention to Hannah. She took a few sips of water then answered.

"Yeah, sounds like fun." She smiled, eating the last bit of food on her plate. Malcolm looked down at it, wondering if she were to get up and get more. When she didn't, he dropped the notion and smiled back at her. "If Angus feels like going, that is."

"Don't worry about me, I'm healthy as a horse now. I jus' hope you don't get sick."

"I'll be okay, if I haven't gotten sick by now, I'm probably fine."

"You had a flu bug, Angus? How'd you say that happened again?"

"I don't know, probably from Swiss snow," he said shivering. "It was really cold there, haven't felt that since our European tours. Especially Copenhagen."

"Eat some more, then you'll stay warmer," Malcolm said. He glanced at Hannah, who to his relief didn't seem to think anything of his comment. He picked up his glass and plate and brought them to the sink, Hannah following suit. "Well I'd better be off, then, it was good to see you guys."

"Saw you at work, Mal," Angus said thinking he was being funny.

"I meant at the same time," Malcolm retorted. "We'll be seein' a lot of each other soon, won't we?"

He stumbled back a step as Hannah attacked him with another hug, seeming to have completely forgotten their dispute before dinner. Surprised but not displeased, he hugged her back resting his chin on her head. Malcolm was right. It was good to have the three of them, just the three of them together again. Even if only for an hour or two. Angus set to doing the dishes, not wanting to disturb the two friends. 

Hannah finally pulled away first, smiling at him. "It's good to see you," she said. Malcolm ruffled her hair again, turning to give Angus a hug. 

"Hey, don't get soap on my shirt," he said backing up.

'An' don't get any hair in my sink," Angus replied. Clicking his tongue and patting Hannah on the shoulder he made his way to the front door, stopping when he realized he forgot something. 

"Oh, where's your rabbit?" Angus motioned his head toward the hutch, while Hannah took his hand and showed him Hermione. Her three children had taken to wandering outside the blanket and exploring the rest of their space, while Hermione herself was busy keeping them clean. "That's sweet," Malcolm said, then returned to his quest for the front door. "See ya' tomorrow then?"

"See ya', Mal," Angus said over his shoulder. 

"You'll be at the studio tomorrow, Hannah, won't ya'?" he asked hopefully. He grinned when she nodded her head and left with one last goodbye. It was quiet after he was gone, except for the running tap water. Watching Hermione bathe her children and deciding to let them rest for the night, she placed the towel over the top of the hutch again. Angus started scrubbing the last plate when a pair of arms embraced him and a head rested on his shoulder. 

"You alright, love?" he asked. She didn't answer, much preferring to bask in the warmth of his closeness and the sweater he'd worn all day. "A few more minutes, sweetheart, I'm almost done." She stayed quiet. "Your day go okay?" Still nothing. "You get enough to eat?"

"..."

He set the last plate on the towel and turned the sink off. As soon as his hands were dried he took a look at her. "What is it? Somethin' botherin' you?"

In her tired state the couple at the grocery store haunted her memory. Her arms ached and itched, a sudden fear of the man she was with bore down upon her. She took a sudden step back, holding her hands to her chest, avoiding those eyes. 

"Hey, what's wrong? Somethin' happened, didn't it?" She turned her eyes away from him, unable to speak again. Angus frowned, lowering his head to look at her face. His lips were inches from her cheek, speaking softly in her ear. "What is it?"

He waited with baited breath as she sighed, finally glancing into his eyes. Wordlessly she stepped into his arms again, Angus wrapping them around her. Her nose pressed against his neck, her breath hitting his skin in small intervals. Her hands gripped the front of his sweater, almost afraid he'd vanish if she let go. He gently rocked her a little bit, embracing her in a little home inside a home that she hand chosen. His left hand supported her back while his right ran through her hair, smoothing out the mess Malcolm left. Her silence unnerved him, but having her return to him after whatever phantom scared her, he couldn't penetrate the calmness with words. Some water had lingered on his left hand, soon standing out against the dry, and he reached for the counter to grab the rag towel.

One second of separation startled the young woman, and with a gasp she clung to him tighter, holding him in place. "Alright, alright, I'm right here, alright? I ain't goin' anywhere, calm down," he soothed, returning his hand to its spot, letting the water dry on its own. "I'm right here."

She didn't ever answer him, hardly opening her mouth at all except for her moment of fright. Leaning closer not only rang his promise true, but allowed him to whisper instead of talk. Forgetting about her appointment, forgetting about her light dinner, and taking her silent fears to heart, he stood there with her, minute by minute until she calmed down, marked by the grip on his shirt lessening. Lips gracing her cheek once or twice, he hummed a bit, knowing she preferred sound of his voice over any song.

Angus won't hurt you.

"You doin' alright, sweetheart?"

Angus loves you.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, I'm right here."

Never...