Once they had made it to her room, Ellie used what little energy she had left and fell onto the bed, the white, comfy sheets welcoming to her exhausted body. 

Gerard made sure the door was firmly locked, just to be safe, then came back and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Let me know if you need anything," he said quietly while rubbing her legs. "I'll be in the living room."

But as he walked away, she propped herself on her elbow and asked, "Can you stay with me tonight?"

Gerard turned and looked at Ellie, confused. 

"I am, darling." 

Then, the realization hit his face quickly. 

"Do you want me to sleep with you?" he asked, his deep voice quivering a bit.

She shyly nodded and was quick to add, "If you're comfortable with it. It's okay if you're not."

He smiled softly. 

"It's more you that I'm worried about."

Ellie furrowed her brows. 

"Because of my shyness?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Sort of," Gerard shrugged and looked guilty. "But you've also had a long night, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any sort of way."

She smiled and said, "I appreciate your concerns, Gerard, but I want to have you in contact if I need you during the night. And if you don't want to, I understand completely."

She barely got the last word out before he unbuttoned his blue-gray shirt and showed his incredible body to her for the first time.

Gerard had abs, but he wasn't bulging out with muscle, making him the perfect combination of strong and comfortable. 

Ellie's heart was pounding, but not as hard as it would've been if she wasn't so tired, although she thought it was a good thing.

She didn't need her blood pressure to be through the roof again, but for totally different reasons. 

Gerard slowly climbed in next to Ellie, brushing his black hair out of his face. 

The heat of his body was captivating, and she wanted to move closer to him, but she didn't want to push any boundaries that he wasn't ready for.

He seemed to read her mind, however, because he opened his arms up and said, "Come here, darling."

She smiled and readily accepted his offer, snuggling into his bare chest. 

His arms came around her waist, and he pulled her even closer, pressing a kiss to Ellie's head. 

"Sleep well, my Angel" he whispered, moving his lips to hers for a short but sweet kiss.

"You too," she said, drifting off in the safety of his arms.

The night went by peacefully, without a dream or a nightmare disturbing Ellie's slumber. 

The morning came pretty quickly, but she was nervous to wake up. 

What if Gerard was gone, and all of last night's events were just a fantasy that her needy mind had made up for a cruel joke?

In her usual way, Ellie's brain began to race uncontrollably, and she felt her breathing become shallow. 

She was about to lose it for the third time in the same week, but then, she felt something shift behind her, and she glanced down to find a pair of arms around her waist.

Thank the Lord, Ellie breathed in relief. It wasn't a dream.

Gerard's breath was steadily flowing against her back, and she calmed herself down by copying his breathing like the night before. 

But she got energized again when his soft lips found her spine, and he kissed all the way up to her shoulder blade, making her breath hitch in her throat.

"Good morning, love," he murmured sleepily.

"Hi," she said back, stroking his arms with her hand. 

He hummed in response, kissing Ellie's shoulder again and giving her goosebumps. 

His hands carefully turned her to face him, and she was met with the most beautiful man in the world. 

The first thing she could say was, "You're here."

Gerard smiled lopsidedly, obviously confused. 

"Of course I am," he said, rubbing his hands down her back. "Where else would I be?"

Ellie got a bit nervous and began drawing circles on his chest. 

Would he be offended at what she had thought about him?

He noticed her locking back up and kissed her forehead encouragingly. 

"You can tell me."

She looked away from him as she said, "I thought that it might've been all a dream, and that you weren't actually here with me. That scared me quite a bit." 

Gerard noticed that Ellie's hands were trembling, and he propped himself over her. 

"I'm not going anywhere, darling," he reassured while kissing her deeply. "You're stuck with me from now on."

He nuzzled his nose in her cheek and made her giggle.

After a moment, she sighed and said, "Do we have to go back? I don't want to face Charlotte again." 

Just saying her name made Ellie shudder.

Gerard kissed her again. 

"We're not going back for right now. I'm going to call Joel later and let him know about her. Until she's gone, we're staying here, away from her."

She breathed, feeling more relaxed than she had been in days. 

"You're so sweet."

"It's a gift," he whispered, laying next to her and pulling her back into his chest. 

There was a beat, then Ellie asked shyly, "Can you sing to me?"

Gerard smiled. 

"I would love to. Any requests?"

"Is 'Music of the Night' okay?"

"Of course," he replied softly

She snuggled closer to him, and he rubbed his fingertips along her skin while he began to sing.