((Contains reference to adult situations. At the end. If you get that far!)) ________________________

The little house that held one very special little girl and her sometimes overworked mother was buzzing with excited tension tonight. Des had arranged a proper date with Piper, which meant that Lyneth was experiencing the joy of having a babysitter for one night only. And since Kaylee was in town, she was the default choice. "The phone numbers are in the book on the kitchen surface, and if you can't get hold of me, call Humphrey," Piper was saying as she squeezed the water from her hair with a towel, perched on the end of her bed while Lyneth rummaged through her jewellery box to find the appropriate sparklies to go with the dress the little girl had chosen for her mother earlier.

Kaylee was sitting on the floor with the little girl, grinning cheerfully at every coo and sound of excitement from the child. She nodded at Piper's obsessive going over the facts. "Seriously, I know what I'm doing," she assured the nervous woman. "Me and Lynnie'll have fun, and she'll be in bed at the right time and everything, I promise. Just you promise to have fun and not worry."

Piper dropped the towel into her lap, biting her lip as she looked down at Kaylee. "I haven't been on a proper date since that one dinner with Ollie over a year ago," she confessed quietly. "I don't think I know how to do it anymore."

As Kaylee smiled, Lyneth looked up from her contemplation of a string of pearls, turquoise eyes shining. "Why'd you have to go out at all?" the little girl asked curiously. "Why not thstay here?"

"Because, squirt," Kaylee answered for Piper, when it became clear that the mother was momentarily dumbstruck searching for an answer, "a guy and a girl need time on their own to get to know each other sometimes. And besides, if they weren't going out, you and me wouldn't be having awesome Kaylee time, would we?" She tickled the tiny girl sitting beside her, resulting in a shriek of laughter that rattled through the house.

It had taken at least four Grangers to make the date happen, not counting Desmond himself. Miranda, for all her poking and prodding, had been a godsend when it came to explaining Rhy'Din and making arrangements. She had arranged for transportation, somehow managing to talk Jonathan into allowing his half-brother the use of his precious Bentley, if only for one night. Humphrey had been key in convincing one nephew to trust the other, taking full responsibility for the precious automobile's safe return. To his credit, Jon had taken it upon himself to make reservations for the restaurant, choosing the very best Rhy'Din had to offer.

Money was no object, after all, and it was no secret how fond Jon was of Piper. It was, he insisted, the least he could do, no matter how he felt about his estranged sibling. According to Miranda, all Desmond had to do was show up, but he knew it wasn't as simple as all that. He had to make his own arrangements, letting people know that he'd be out of touch for the weekend without much explanation. He'd packed an overnight bag and arrived at Maple Grove a few hours before he was due at Piper's. Just long enough for Humphrey and Miranda to give him the lowdown and to freshen up before his big date.

"You'll be fine," Kaylee insisted as Lyneth calmed down, letting the little girl lean heavily on her to stand up and set out a necklace, bracelet, and earrings for her mother to wear on the vanity table. "Des sounds like a nice guy, and you're a nice girl. What could possibly go wrong?"

Piper raised a single brow at Kaylee, but forebore to comment, instead exclaiming happily over Lyneth's selection for her. "Oh, those are lovely, Lynnie," she assured her daughter, hugging the little girl close for a moment. "Thank you for helping me, I wouldn't know what to do without you."

The doorbell announced that Desmond had arrived, a little bit earlier than expected, but better early than late. He adjusted the blue tie at his throat a bit nervously while he waited, a bouquet of lavender roses clutched in one hand - the roses his idea, the color Miranda's, symbolic of enchantment. He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. It was just a simple date, but for some reason, he felt more nervous than he had during his very first day in court. Maybe it was the fact that there were so many Grangers involved in making it happen. No pressure there, he thought to himself, hoping that maybe next time, he'd be allowed to handle things himself. His third trip through the portal had gone a little better than his last, and he'd had a few hours to let the inevitable feeling of disorientation to fade.

"Oh god, he's here!" The moment of calm completely fell apart as Piper's panic returned full blast at the sound of the doorbell. "I'm not ready!"

Kaylee reached out to catch Lyneth as her mother shot up from her seat, darting into the bathroom to find her hair dryer, and shared a wry grin with the little girl. "You take your time, Piper," she called as the whirr of the blower made itself known. "We'll keep him busy. Won't we?" she added to Lynnie, who gave out a particularly evil little laugh and lurched from Kaylee's grasp, pattering out of the room and down the stairs toward the door, her babysitter close behind her.

"He'sth here!" the small child declared loudly when she reached the bottom of the stairs, startling Loki awake with a bark in the process. There was a heavy thump against the door as child and dog skidded over the floor and bounced off the wood, followed by Kaylee's merry laugh as she ushered them both out of the way to open the door. No sooner was the door open, however, than Lynnie was squeezing past to fling her arms around Des' knees with a happy little squeal. "You're here!"

Des was taken a little aback by the commotion he heard coming from inside the house, not to mention the little girl who had flung herself around his knees. He arched a brow down at her, thankfully not toppling over, chuckling a little once he was over the initial shock of her greeting. "I am! And so are you!" he exclaimed with a grin, scooping the little girl up into his arms and dropping a quick kiss against her cheek, completely charmed by her open and honest affection.

With his free hand, he reached around her to pluck a single lavender rose from the bunch and hand it to Lyneth. "For you, my lady. Be careful of the thorns." He had not yet considered what she might think of him bringing her mother flowers that had been cut from a living bush, but wasn't that what roses were for" His gaze shifted to Kaylee, who he only recognized from the Granger family photographs Caroline and Humphrey had shown him. "You must be Kaylee," he said, offering her a polite hand. "I'm Desmond."

As much as Lyneth disapproved of flowers being cut for no good reason, she was as susceptible as the next person to a little twinkly-eyed charm, and Des possessed quite a bit of that in his own way. Letting herself down from his hip, she cradled her own personal rose with a happy little sound, looking up to watch as Kaylee took and shook Des' hand. "That's me," the girl said cheerfully stepping back. "Why don't you bring the escapee back inside?"

Lynnie's hand insinuated itself into Des' palm as she moved to tug him into the house. "Mummy made herthself all wet for you and now thshe'sth making herself all dry thso thshe can wear a pretty dreth an' go out an' have fun with you," she imparted wisely, shooing Loki backwards and out of the way with an imperious wave of her rose.

Des let go of Kaylee's hand and reached for Lyneth's in anticipation of her taking his hand, wrapping his much larger hand around her tiny fingers and allowing her to tug him inside, chuckling a little at her description of Piper's preparations for their Big Date, as it seemed to have been dubbed by the rest of the Grangers who'd been part of the plotting. He cleared his throat to hide his laughter and darted a knowing glance at Kaylee at the little girl's choice of words. "You know I'll be back to see you tomorrow, right?" he asked, having a feeling Lyneth might be feeling a little left out.

Desmond's attention turned toward the stairs at the sound of that not-so-subtle cough from Kaylee, and slid Lyneth off his lap to move to his feet, his hand caught by Lyneth as she tugged him toward her mother. Caught off-guard and rendered momentarily speechless by the vision that emerged in the living room, his gaze softened as he turned to face Piper. He already knew she was beautiful. It was her beauty that had captured his attention in the first place, catching his eye from clear across the room at the Granger Christmas gathering, but that had been nothing compared to this. Her beauty tonight was such that she simply took his breath away and was teetering on the verge of stealing his heart. "Piper, you look....amazing," he managed to stammer as his eyes wandered over her. She was absolutely gorgeous. A vision of perfection, and he couldn't help staring.

The small hand in his tugged insistently to get his attention, and a little voice hissed, "Don't thsound thso thsurpristhed. My Mummy's beautiful."

Unable to keep from overhearing Lyneth's censuring compliment, Piper's smile relaxed from its shy curve into a wide grin at the vaguely awestruck expression on Des' face. "Thank you, Des," she managed, elbowing Kaylee in the ribs before the merry little Granger could open her own mouth and join in. "You look ....very handsome. Very handsome indeed."

He smiled in return, his stomach fluttering with nervous excitement, a sensation he hadn't felt in a very long time, no matter the situation. He was accustomed to feeling under pressure, but this kind of nervousness was entirely new to the man who prided himself on having nerves of steel. He blinked out of his thoughts as if just remembering something, and swept up the bouquet of lavender roses, taking a step forward to offer them to her. "For you." Though the roses paled in beauty beside her, he hoped she liked them.

Lyneth hadn't been wrong when she'd noted that roses were among Piper's favorite flowers. The young woman's face lit up warmly as Des offered her the bouquet, enchanted as much by the romantic offering as by the hue of the petals themselves. "Oh, Des, these are beautiful," she breathed, lifting the bouquet to inhale the fragrance that rose from the flowers. "Where did you find such a gorgeous color?" She lowered to crouch demurely next to Lyneth, showing her daughter the lovely roses, and was presented with the single rose Des had given her daughter when he had come in.

"Look, he gave me one too," Lyneth declared happily, before throwing her arms around Piper's neck. "You look really pretty, Mummy."

Smiling, Piper kissed her daughter gently on the cheek. "Thank you, baby. Do you want to put these into water for me while I'm out?" As Lyneth took the bouquet into her arms, Piper rose to her feet once again, daring to offer Des a kiss of his own. Full lips brushed his cheek as she breathed in his scent with a thrill of excited anticipation.

Des quietly watched the interaction between mother and daughter, overcome with yearning that tugged unexpectedly at his heart at the thought that this lovely, gentle woman and her pixie of a daughter had opened their home and their hearts to him, that one day he could become part of this little family, part of something far more meaningful than any career. He watched entranced as Lyneth hugged her mother, and Piper kissed her daughter, and he felt a strange sense of loneliness and longing, the likes of which he hadn't felt since saying goodbye to his mother. If either of them were to look at him at that moment, they might see that longing on his face, in his eyes, however briefly, quickly replaced by a smile as Piper brushed a kiss of her own against his cheek. He felt that swell of longing fill his heart, along with a sense of pride that this lovely woman had deemed him worthy of her time and attention, both of which were precious to them both.

As Piper drew back, she smiled once more, her slender fingers curling gently about his as she murmured a soft greeting. "Hello."

Behind her, Kaylee was crouching down behind Lyneth, whispering into the little girl's ear, and quite suddenly, amid an explosion of giggles, the tiny child declared, "Kissth her prop'ly, Desth, I dare you!"

Whatever he might have done in that quiet moment of greeting was completely dispelled by the mischievous outburst of one little girl. He flashed a playful grin of his own toward the guilty parties and wagged a finger warningly at them. "That is not for little girls to see just yet!" he teased back, letting go of Piper and sweeping toward Lyneth to tickle her sides and sweep her up off the floor into his arms. "Just for that, I'm going to kiss you instead!" he declared, planting a noisy smooch on her cheek.

Piper laughed as Lyneth's squealing giggles filled the room, unconcerned by the flail of her daughter's limbs as Des swung her up and off her feet. One thing she had never had even a moment's concern over was how safe Lynnie was with Des. And, of course, Lyneth wasn't prepared to take all the punishment herself. "It wasthn't me!" she squealed through her giggles, making a gruesome face at the kiss planted on her round cheek. "I didn't thsay it, Kaylee did!"

At which point, Kaylee snickered and stood up. "Yes, but if he tries to kiss me, squirt, he'll go away with bruises on a part of himself your mom probably wants in full working order."

Behind Des, Piper gasped indignantly, bending to grab a cushion off the couch and throw it at the cheeky younger woman as Kaylee laughed. "You are so lucky I like you, Kaylee Granger!"

Desmond laughed at the three women, the youngest of whom he was holding in his arms, and swung Lyneth back toward her mother. "Say goodnight to your Mum before we're late for dinner," he told her, taking charge of the situation as best he could. They had reservations for eight, and if they didn't leave soon, they were going to be late.

Still giggling, Lyneth clung onto Des just long enough to kiss his cheek before she found herself handed over to Piper for her goodnight kiss and cuddle. "I hope you have a really good time, Mummy," she informed her mother as Piper crouched down with her, mother and daughter nose to nose for a moment as they shared almost identical smiles.

"I'm sure I will, baby," Piper assured her warmly. "And I hope you have a good time, too. But don't forget to do what Kaylee tells you, and I'll look in when I get home, okay?"

The little girl nodded, hugging her mother tightly about the neck for a moment. "'kay," she agreed, snuggling just a little longer before releasing Piper and moving to hug Kaylee's leg instead.

Desmond waited patiently until Piper was finished saying her goodbyes before offering her an arm, brows raised questioningly. "Ready?" he asked, as he waited for her to take his arm. He knew mother and daughter would miss each other, but he was only taking Piper away for a few hours at most. He smiled politely at Kaylee. "It was nice to meet you, Kaylee. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other." Especially since I'm one of the family, he thought to himself, before turning to wink at Lyneth, a warm smile for the little girl who had quickly stolen his heart, though he had yet to realize or admit it. "I promise I'll have her home by midnight, pumpkin."

As Piper's hand curled into the crook of Des' offered arm, she nodded to him, hoping it wasn't too blazingly obvious that she and Lyneth hadn't been apart in months. "Ready," she agreed, glancing back at Lyneth and Kaylee as Des addressed them.

Kaylee grinned, her fingers stroking against Lyneth's hair as the little girl hugged her leg. "Sounds like we will, Desiree," she nodded, ordaining him with his very own Kaylee nickname in that moment. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do ....which doesn't leave you much not to do, really."

Lyneth smiled trustingly up at Des, glad of his promise and trying not to miss her mother even before Piper had left the house. Like he said, it was only a few hours. "Buh-bye."

He frowned further, an unexpected ache wrenching his heart as she pulled her hand away, already missing her touch. He wasn't trying to let her down easy; just the opposite, in fact. He quieted for a moment, as if lost in his own thoughts, considering his words, needing her to understand. He wasn't sure why he had chosen this time to tell her all this, why he hadn't waited until they reached the restaurant, but somehow it seemed important to him that she understood exactly what he was thinking before she got too deep, before they both got too deep. "I think I'm falling for you, Piper," he said, his eyes still on the road in front of him, as if he was afraid to tell her this face to face, afraid of her reaction. "But I need time. I need to get through this case. And then....if you still feel the same..." He broke off again, the self-assured lawyer giving way to the not so self-assured man.

"We both need time." She said it very quietly, still gentle despite the way her heart had leapt at this unexpected confession of his feelings. As much as she had told herself not to fall, not to let things happen so quickly as they had in the past, her heart had other ideas. "I ....I'm falling, too," she gave him her own confession with her eyes closed, opening them to gaze straight ahead as he was doing. "I don't want to rush you into any decisions that will change things for you, but ....I do like you, Des. I more than like you, and I know Lyneth does, too. But we - I - can wait. You're worth waiting for, and if once the case is over, we're all still in the same place, then ....Well, that's when we can begin to make decisions. Together." But that didn't mean that she wanted him to take her home, or that she wasn't hoping for more than a chaste kiss goodnight at the end of the evening. She just didn't quite know how to say it.

The frown that had darkened his face faded, the furrowing of his eyebrows smoothing out, his expression relaxing at her agreement to his proposal. Not a proposal of marriage, not yet. He didn't want to rush her, knowing her heart was too recently broken and too precious a thing to risk wounding again. "You'd wait for me?" he asked, arching his brows in surprise as he momentarily met her gaze.

The eyes that met his smiled without so much as twitching at her lips, casting an intimate air over the conversation as it flowed between them. "Yes," she told him simply. "All my life, I've been in a rush to fall in love, to have everything that my parents have, and all it earned me was bruises and scrapes all over my heart. You're different, Des. I ....Well, I feel the urgency there, but I know that taking our time won't do any harm. I couldn't say how I know, just that I do. Of course," she added with her cheeks flushing sweetly darker with each word, "I don't see the harm in indulging in a little of that urgency sooner rather than later. If you'd like to."

He seemed surprised yet again by her words, his expression changing as he seemed to take this in. In the short time she'd known him, she'd managed to gain his trust, and he had allowed her to see a part of him he kept hidden from everyone else - his vulnerability, his own fear of being hurt and of hurting, his desire to be a good man, a worthy man, a man she would be proud to share her life with and that of her daughter. He listened as she explained her own feelings, so different from his own and yet the same. He'd only been in love once, and it had been a childish sort of love.

A crush, nothing more. Real love had always eluded him, until now, and he found it both exciting and frightening at the same time. He smiled as her teasing lightened the mood. He remembered what Lyneth had told him earlier in the evening when she'd asked whether he'd be staying overnight or not, and he chuckled a little to himself. "Maybe we should see how dinner goes first," he told her with a smile as he finally pulled the car into the parking lot and up to the door, where a valet stood ready to park the car for them.

"Maybe," she conceded, her smile answering his with the soft potential to fulfill the contents of her tease if he were so inclined. This was new to her, too, despite her previous adventures of the heart, but the trust was there already. With the car drawn to a halt, she let her gaze linger on his face a moment longer before turning her attention to undoing her seat belt, straightening her back in preparation to slip from the seat and out onto the asphalt.

If they hadn't arrived when they had, he might have kissed her, but the valet was waiting and it was past time for their reservations. Instead, he only met her gaze for as long as hers lingered on his, almost wishing he could read her mind and her heart, but wasn't that why they were here in the first place" To get better acquainted without a small child - however adorable - to distract them. As it happened, the valet beat him to the opportunity to get her door, opening it for her so she could step out. Desmond quickly followed, coming around to hand the valet the keys, warning him more for his brother's sake than his own, "Not a scratch." That done, he offered Piper an arm to lead her quickly inside and out of the cold.

The warning handed down to the valet made Piper smile, knowing how precious Jon could get about his car. She wrapped her arm through Des' with more confidence this time, leaning close into his side as he led her out of the cold and into the warmer confines of the restaurant. One look told her that there was no way Des could have made the reservations for this place. The restaurant's exclusiveness made itself known in any number of subtle ways, clues that were visible only to those who had experienced such high-end luxury before. Hiding a soft smirk, she leaned close to murmur into her companion's ear. "We're going dutch, no arguments."

Duly impressed by his brother's tastes, since it had been him who'd made the reservations, Des seemed pleased as he surveyed their surroundings, a smile upon his lips as she leaned into him and murmured quietly in his ear. He leaned back and returned the favor. "My treat. I insist, or we will have our first argument." He turned a charming smile on the maitre'd who greeted them and led them to a quiet candlelit table, leaving them with menus for both wine and food. Des pulled out a chair and waited for Piper to sit before seating himself beside her.

She couldn't quite muster up the energy to waste with arguing with him on that point, especially since the gentle brush of his breath against her ear had brought another faint flush over her skin, distracting her from the point of the little exchange in the first place. As they were led through the restaurant, she made a mental note to ask Vicki how she'd ever gotten Jon to let her pay for anything, smiling once more when Des held out the chair for her. "Thank you," was her soft response to his gentlemanly manners, a delicate touch ghosting from her fingers over his before he stepped away to sit himself down. "Are you sure you won't let me pay for even a little bit?" she asked him sweetly as he settled comfortably.

"I'm sure," he replied as he settled himself in his chair and reached for the wine list. "I earn a good salary. I can afford it, trust me." Of course, rent was not cheap and he was still making payments on the Porsche, but he didn't appear to be hurting for money. He was a Granger, after all, though as yet, he hadn't really benefited much monetarily from that fact, except for the trust fund his mother had insisted his father set up in his name. "You don't ask a woman out on a date and then expect her to go dutch treat."

Piper felt a soft smirk settle on her lips as she watched him thoughtfully, feeling something playful wake up inside her that had been dormant for a long time. Her fingertips played gently over the back of his hand as he took the wine list. "And are you sure you don't want to argue with me?" she asked, just a hint of suggestive humor in her eyes as she smiled. "I hear making up can be all sorts of fun."

He titled a glance at her and lifted a brow, trying to hide the smirk that wanted to make itself known on his own lips. "I hear sleepovers are all the rage these days. At least, that's what Lyneth tells me." He bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smirking and slid his eyes back to the wine menu, curious how she'd react to that little tidbit.

Her reaction was sweetly genuine - blue eyes widening with just a touch of shock that her daughter had apparently been discussing a sleepover with Des, coupled with a warm laugh at his gentle tease. "I really couldn't say, Mr Granger," she teased back, relaxing further in his company as they seemed to stray away from the topics that had caused so much tension in the car. "Unfortunately, I haven't had much experience there. I don't own any pajamas that are suitable." She paused, adding under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear. "Well, none that are suitable for good clean fun, anyway."

"Then why do I feel like a faker?" he asked, setting the glass down on the table again, though his fingers never left the stem. "I'm not really a Granger, Piper. I wasn't raised to be a Granger. Everything I have, everything I am, I've worked hard for. I only came here because Miranda insisted on me meeting my family, but the thing is they aren't really my family. They don't know me. I don't know them. I might get to know them in time, but for now, I'm just the bastard son of David Granger. I'm a mistake."

"You're not a mistake." She was very firm on that point. "And I think you're putting a little too much emphasis on what?s past. Your father has no bearing on your life, Des. It is your choice whether or not you choose to make friends of the family who have opened their arms to you, but even they won't expect you to be instantly comfortable with them. Everything takes time, and effort. But for what it's worth ....I don't care whether you're a Granger or not. You're you, and you is a person anyone would be honored to call friend, or something more."

He averted his gaze to glance at the fingers he had wrapped around the glass, knowing he was being stupid. "Sorry," he said, looking back at her with an apologetic expression on his face. "We're supposed to be having fun and I'm being morose. Let's change the subject. Tell me something about yourself that I don't know. Anything. Favorite color. Embarrassing story. I know! If you could do anything you wanted for only a day, what would it be?" he asked, draining his glass and reaching for the bottle to refill them both.

She studied him for a long moment, understanding the need to talk and the need to change the subject, giving him the dignity of that switch of topic by choosing something deeply embarrassing from her background to share with him. "Something you don't know about me ..." she mused thoughtfully before offering up. "During my first year in university, I developed a reputation for streaking. Usually through important sports matches."

"No," he muttered, brows furrowed at her in disbelief. "You" You're kidding." He was slowly starting to see another side to her that he hadn't seen before. It surprised him a little, but pleasantly so. He'd thought her the shy, timid, quiet type, but his mother had always warned him to be careful of the quiet ones. "What kind of sports matches" Did you do it on a dare?" he continued, wanting more details, starting to relax again a little as the topic of discussion moved away from himself.

"Well, it was usually the rugby and the cricket," she admitted through a deep blush, her lips wide in a smile that proved she didn't mind sharing this with him. "Especially the cricket. My record was twice a day for all three days of the first match I interrupted. And I only did it on the dare once. The rest was entirely my own idea." She laughed softly, shaking her head a little. "And, of course, there was bombing into the river in front of Oxford's rowing boat during the annual race to make sure we'd win. I did that naked, too."

He leaned back in his chair, looking duly impressed. "And here I thought you were the quiet type," he remarked, with an amused smile. "Guess I was wrong." Though he sensed something had happened that had changed her along the way, and that something wasn't entirely about Lyneth. "Did you ever get caught?" he asked, prompting her further, just as the waiter returned with their first course and set each in front of them without so much as a word.

"Oh, every time - thank you," she interrupted herself with a smile to thank the waiter as he melted away from the table. One hand found her napkin, unfolding the thick cloth to lay it on her lap as she smirked across at Des. "I'm afraid you're dating someone with a criminal record. Does that shock you?"

He snorted at her question. "A criminal record for what? Lewd behavior" That's not so bad. I was arrested once for shoplifting." That might or might not have been his embarrassing story, but before he could explain further, he was shaking out his napkin and laying it across his lap. He skewered a bit of salad on his fork. "Besides, you're not from my Earth, so I'm not sure it even counts," he remarked with a smile just as the salad found its way to his mouth.

"Running around Cambridge stark naked is better than shoplifting?" Piper asked, not believing it for a moment as she sliced into her collection of Parma ham and melon. But he had her full attention once more, her eyes more often on him than on the food as she took small bites. "Dare I ask what it was you stole?"

"Were you really arrested?" he asked, avoiding her question for the moment. He'd get back to it eventually. "I mean, whatever made you want to do something like that' Weren't you afraid of being caught?" he asked as he stuck his fork into the salad, though his eyes were on her. Every time he thought he had he figured out, she surprised him with something new and unexpected.

"Well ....the first few times, the police just caught me, dressed me, and sent me home," she admitted reluctantly, one shoulder rising and falling in a low shrug as she ate. "But when I disrupted the boat race, not even being the Duke of Bath's daughter could save me from being cautioned and held in the cells overnight. My mother was mortified." She laughed, something wickedly playful in her still hanging on from those rather more carefree days at university. "I was a little wild, I suppose. I still can be, on occasion."

He looked her over as he contemplated a moment. He had no reason not to believe her, but it seemed so out of character for the shy, gentle, young woman he knew her to be. "I'm not sure I believe you. Maybe I should make you prove it," he remarked, as he made short work of his salad.

She laughed again at his challenge. "Oh, I'm sure you'll see a little of my wild side at some point over this weekend," she promised him. "Lynnie has plans for the park, after all." She set her cutlery down on the plate, most of the starter finished but not all. Though she didn't like waste, it was another little aristocratic habit to leave a little on your plate at a restaurant or banquet. "I had a lot to prove when I got to university. I think I rather fell into being difficult to get that done."

He had heard all kinds of stories from all kinds of people, guilty and innocent, and there were very few things that shocked him anymore. "You didn't do it because you wanted to rebel?" he asked, leaving fork and knife on his empty plate and setting it aside, so that he could fold his arms against the table and lean forward, all ears.

"Oh, I was rebelling all right," she assured him with a smile, setting her own plate to one side to lean in an echo of his. "I'd come straight from a convent school where I was always Harper's little sister, and my mother's daughter, and suddenly I was out in the world and I didn't have to be that anymore. It was only a year, but it definitely taught me a few things about myself. Like my natural tolerance for cold."

He watched the candlelight flicker and dance, lighting her features with its golden glow and he wondered for a moment what she would look, her body bathed in the light of candles or better yet, firelight. He blinked out of his thoughts and returned to the present. "Natural tolerance for cold?" he asked, curiously.

If she had known where his thoughts had wandered, Piper might well have blushed, always deeply flattered by any complimentary turn toward her, be it thoughts or words. As it was, she simply nodded to his curiosity, one hand rising to tuck her hair back behind her ear. "England doesn't exactly have the mildest of climates," she told him in a laughing voice. "I did seem to do most of my streaking during winter and early spring, too."

Desmond's gaze drifted briefly to the hair-tucking, so soft he longed to run his fingers through the silken ebony strands. Later, he told himself, dismissing it from his brain for now, only torturing himself with the the thought of it. "Why?" he asked, her point-blankly, fingers twitching from where they were curled beneath his arms as he leaned toward her, all ears - or mostly all ears anyway, when he wasn't distracted. He had a pretty good idea how she'd answer, but he wanted to hear it for himself, knowing though it may have started as teenage rebellion, there was more to it than that. "Why did you do it, I mean?"

Des smiled back, but the moment and opportunity had passed, at least for now. He picked up his fork and knife and cut into his veal, his mouth salivating in eager anticipation. "According to my brother, this place has the best Italian food in Rhy'Din." If his brother's word was to be trusted, though Desmond had no reason not to believe him. Piper had asked earlier about how things were going with Jon, but Desmond had expertly diverted her from the question, as he had several others. "Let's see if he's right."

In turn, Piper reached for the little basket of bread that was set to one side, breaking a piece free to dip and taste the creamed sauce slathered over her king prawns before she responded. She liked Jon, unsurprised to find that he'd had more of a hand in the date than simply the loan of his car, and wondered briefly if there was some conspiracy among the Grangers to prevent her from slipping away from them. "Mmm ..." She moaned softly in appreciation as the flavors mingled on her tongue, momentarily in lust with the chef. "Oh, I think he's right. This is divine."

It was no secret that she was well loved by the vast majority of the Granger clan, chief among them Humphrey. Though it was no conspiracy, things were working in their favor thus far to keep Piper part of the family, whether she was a blood relative or not. Jon was openly fond of Piper, but it was unlikely he was conspiring. Miranda was another matter. Desmond smiled at her reaction to her meal, pleased she was enjoying it, and making a mental note to thank his brother later. "If you think that's divine, you should try this little place I know back home sometime," he remarked without thinking, frowning a moment when he realized she wasn't from his Earth and might not be able to go there.

He didn't need to frown, though of course she didn't quite understand why the expression had appeared on his face in the first place. It had already been proved by the fact that the fairies had ambushed him that magic existed on the Earth Des came from, which meant that Lyneth would be able to thrive there, and Piper was fairly sure she herself would be able to cross the portal ways into a different world. "I'll hold you to that," she told him with a smile of her own, lifting her cutlery to begin eating in earnest. A moment later, she realised what was different, and laughed. "Of course ....no tiny portions on a side plate and no little voice insisting on making up life stories for everything on her plate before she eats it."

He blinked out of his thoughts, realizing, too, that if the faeries had followed him through the portal, it stood to reason she could, too, though he was still having a little trouble wrapping his head around it all. "I'm sorry?" he asked, having lost the thread of the conversation as he blinked back, only just realizing she was talking about Lyneth. "She makes up stories for her food?" he asked, the frown disappearing, his confusion forgotten, at least for the moment. "There are times when she seems older than her age, wiser....And then, then are times when she's just a little girl." He took a bite of his veal and finding it to his liking, took another.

"I'm sorry, I was trying to place what was so different about the meal," Piper apologised with a smile. "Different, but no less enjoyable for that." A flicker of her gaze to his promised him she was being entirely truthful, allaying any fear that she might be missing her daughter's presence too much to find his company enjoyable in itself. "Yes, she does," she added, in answer to his question. "We have the ongoing sagas of Honore the Onion, Chester the Carrot, and - for some reason - Queen Eliza the Chicken in our household. Everything gets a name and a little story before it goes into her mouth."

"I'll look forward to that then," he said with a smile, followed by another forkful of his dinner. "What's she say about me?" he asked, curious once again and full of questions, though this question had more to do with himself and how he appeared in Lyneth's eyes. "I'm not very good with kids," he continued, doubtfully, though anyone who'd seen him with Lyneth might think otherwise.

"I don't believe that," she refuted quickly, shaking her head. "You're very good with Lynnie, though I will admit she is a very special little girl. She likes you, and I'm certain of that, as she takes great pains to tell me so every day." She paused, chewing thoughtfully as she considered what more she could tell him. "You don't know each other well enough to be able to say more than that, I don't think, but Lyneth trusts her instincts a lot more openly than other children might. You have the Lynnie seal of approval."

He continued working at his dinner while she expounded on what her daughter thought of him, chuckling a little when she was through. "That's a relief, though I suspect if she didn't like me, I'd know by now." If Lyneth herself didn't make her feelings known loud and clear, Desmond was pretty sure the faeries would. "I haven't gotten punched in the nose by any little people lately, so I guess I'm doing okay." He looked amused, though it wasn't so long ago that he was anything but amused by their hijinks.

She smiled with him, though her expression was touched with wry apology in the same moment. "I am so sorry about that," she apologised once again for his rude awakening into the weird and wonderful world of fae and fairies. "I only recently found out that Lyneth asked some of them to keep an eye on you - to keep you safe, she said. I caught her scolding them for hurting you, so you can be fairly sure she didn't sanction bodily harm, at least."

He lowered his fork, a brow arching in surprise at her statement. "She asked them to keep an eye on me?" he repeated, obviously surprised, having thought the little people had taken it upon themselves to keep tabs on him. At least, that was how it had seemed at the time. "They weren't very friendly, at least, not at first. They said they didn't like Oathbreakers." She'd heard all this before, but he hadn't realized it was Lyneth to asked them to watch out for him, rather than them watching out for Lyneth. Or maybe it was a little of both. "They didn't hurt me. Not really," he pointed out, looking back at his dinner. "I just assumed it was Lyneth they were looking out for."

Piper nodded gently. "They're very fond of her," she explained as she ate, wondering if even she understood her strange daughter's relationship with the fairy folk who inhabited their home. "I don't know how, but she knows their individual languages. She knows how to look after their plants, or what to leave out for them in payment for the little things they do around the house and garden, all without needing to be told or taught. They call her their fairy-child."

"She's special," he said, once again without thought. It was a simple fact that he didn't need to consider. It wasn't that Piper wasn't special, but Piper was human, like Desmond, and Lyneth was obviously not. He couldn't help but admit to himself that he was falling in love with both of them, but for some reason, he found that thought unsettling. He quieted again, more questions prickling at his thoughts, but he thought it wasn't a good time to ask them. He'd probably already asked one too many, and he found himself at a strange loss for words, like a schoolboy on his first date. Talk hadn't always been his strong suit when it came to women. He'd always done his best talking in bed, so to speak.

"She is," Piper agreed softly, her gaze lowering to her plate once more. It was ridiculous, she knew, to have this lingering sense of envy when it came to Lyneth. But it had taken so long to develop her maternal instincts after the birth, and then to watch as Ollie had become Lyneth's favorite and she his had been hard enough without the addition of the Fae creature's interference in their lives. She felt like a fool for even entertaining the idea, but Piper had a feeling she was always going to be less important, less everything than her little girl. Most of the time, she didn't mind it, but sometimes it cut deeply. She found herself staring at her unfinished food, playing her fork through the sauce as she struggled to find something to say, eventually just coming up with, "I haven't dated for years, I ....I'm really not very good at making conversation. I suppose I'm out of practise."

It didn't occur to him that his remark about Lyneth might be construed to mean that he thought Lyneth was more special than Piper. It was quite the contrary. He thought them both special in their own way, but unaware of Piper's envy toward her daughter, he made no mention of it, nor did he try to set the record straight. He smiled a little at the admission of awkwardness from her, feeling a little of the same himself. "To be honest, I'm not very good at it myself. Most of the women I've dated in the past aren't very interested in conversation."

Something in his expression gave way, as if now that he'd started the story, he needed to finish it. He seemed to consider her words, not missing the endearment that slipped from her lips, but unsure if it had been accidental or deliberate. "I've never told anyone," he admitted, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Not even Miranda." Whatever his family knew of him or his life, they had learned on their own, not from him.

Ignoring the fuss of the waiter who came to collect their plates, Piper rose suddenly from her seat, taking up her chair and setting it close beside Des', sitting herself down next to him, shoulder to shoulder, her hands folding around his in gentle, tactile support. "I'm listening," she promised him her undivided attention, as he had given his own to her the night they had met, her head bent close to his.

Desmond quieted a moment as her hands folded around his and he reflected on his past and more importantly, how much he wanted to share of it. His mother's death was still too recent not to cause him pain, but maybe there was healing in the telling, in sharing the burden that laid heavily upon his heart and mind. He glanced to their clasped hands, his thumb idly stroking the back of her hand. "She wanted to be an actress, before she had me anyway. She was off Broadway when she met my....my father." The word rolled awkwardly off his tongue, as it always had, no malice in his voice, only heartache. "She used to tell people she was an actress, but she really wasn't. Not in a long time anyway. I tried to get her to go back, but it was too late. She was past her prime, and then she got sick." He shrugged his shoulders, as if that small gesture explained it all. It had been too late for Amelia, but with any luck, it wasn't too late for him.

Piper smiled gently, letting him tell his story in his own way, holding herself close but not so close as to smother him. Words like these were private, not really fodder for a public restaurant, but equally not suitable to be spoken anywhere Lyneth might hear. So she stayed close, her head bent toward his, giving him the privacy he needed to speak softly and open his heart just a little more to her.

He went on to tell her how his mother had worked hard to raise him on her own, sacrificing her own aspirations to take care of her son. How she could have easily gotten rid of him any number of ways, but hadn't. It had just been the two of them. It's us against the world, she used to say. Even as a Granger, it hadn't been an easy life. She had, at least, had the foresight to insist on giving her son his father's name, knowing it might serve him well one day, and had insisted on a trust fund that would one day help put her son through school.

Desmond had only met his father once, and it had been so long ago, it was little more than a vague memory. He'd often asked about the man, but upon meeting him, had found him cold and aloof, wondering what his mother had ever seen in him, except perhaps for the good looks and money. Fortunately for him he hadn't witnessed the argument that had taken place, and his mother had blamed the black eye on an accident, but Desmond knew better. After that, he'd never asked to see his father again. He'd never even mentioned his name, erasing him from his life as easily as if he'd never existed.

Piper listened, gently open to whatever he wanted to tell her. He had done as much for her the first night they had met, but it wasn't merely tit for tat or returning the favor. She listened because she wanted to know him, she wanted him to know he could talk to her about anything. She wanted him to be comfortable with her; not to worry that a change in mood or topic would have catastrophic effects on their burgeoning relationship. His impression of David did not surprise her, knowing a little of Jon and Lena's recollections of their father, and able to equate that with her own experience of Junior the one and only time she had met the man. "She sounds like a wonderful woman," she said softly, complimenting the mother who had raised him with a gentle smile. "You miss her very much, don't you?"

"I'd by lying if I said I didn't," he admitted, his expression betraying the depth of that loss. She hadn't just been his mother - she'd meant everything to him. She'd been the one person he'd trusted more than anyone else all his life, and the one person he'd have done anything for, but in the end, cancer had ravaged her body and taken her away from him, and there was nothing he could do but bury her in the cold, dark ground. "I'm glad they never married," Desmond continued, having no regrets about that part of the story. "She was better off without him, money or no. I didn't find out until later that she'd insisted on a trust fund to help put me through school. She never touched a penny of that money all the while I was growing up. He used to help in the beginning, I guess, but after a while, that money dried up. He disappeared....to Rhy'Din, I guess. I don't think she knew about that."

And if the Grangers had known about him, they had kept quiet about it most of his life. He'd always thought it was because they were ashamed of him, ashamed of David's little indiscretion, but he now understood it had been a lot more complicated than that, that they'd been watching from a distance. It had become clear they'd had a secret benefactor when his mother's medical bills started piling up and an unknown source was covertly paying them off. Miranda had eventually come forward to explain all that - that the Grangers took care of each other, whether they were illegitimate or not.

"She might have known," Piper said quietly. "But Rhy'Din is such a faraway concept to anyone who hasn't been here ....as you can attest. Perhaps it was easier for her to believe he was just gone, rather than face the possibility of his returning." One hand unfolded from his to trace the line of his temple and jaw with delicate fingertips. "David is long gone, Des. No one here begrudges you the fact that you are a Granger. That place will always be open to you, no matter what you choose to do with it."

"I know," he replied, lifting his gaze to her when she touched his face. "Humphrey's made that pretty clear. He and Caroline have even dropped a few hints about having an attorney in the family, but I'm not sure what they have in mind. I'm a prosecutor, not a corporate lawyer, and until this case is wrapped, I can't really consider any other offers. The thing is..." There was that frown again. He wasn't sure how Piper was going to react to what he had to tell her, and if they were going to be together, he wasn't quite sure yet how he was going to work it all out. "This case could take months, even years."

Piper surprised herself with her answer. They'd only known one another a few weeks, but for her, at least, it was enough to know one thing quite definitely. "However long it takes," she promised him, touching her lips to his temple in a gentle benediction of a kiss, "it will be worth the waiting."

The kiss did little to comfort him, but only made him wish even more than ever that things could be different, but he couldn't give up the case now. He'd worked too long and too hard to give it up now. It was too important. He'd publicly pledged to clean up the city, and one way or another, that was precisely what he intended to do. Now that he'd met them, Piper and Lyneth were his only regrets. "Think we can make it work?" he asked, his thumb rubbing against the back of her hand once more as his blue eyes regarded hers.

Blue eyes held blue, hers darker to his lighter, warm and confident as her full lips curved in another of those soft smiles that seemed to come so easily to her face when she was relaxed. For a moment, there was no sadness about her as she contemplated a future with him, a future that might be hard work but would hold a true family - Des, Lyneth, and her. "Yes, I do," she told him in her light voice. "I won't deny it may be tough along the way, but nothing worth it comes easily. The course of true love, and all that."

"No, I suppose not," he admitted, thinking back on both of their previous relationships, none of which had worked out. It wouldn't be easy, that much was certain, but maybe that was a good thing. He'd learned the hard way that nothing worth anything comes easy. He'd worked hard for and was proud of his achievements and accomplishments, but lately, his mind was changing and his eyes were opening to things he'd never before thought possible. His life had once centered on his mother, but she was gone now, and though he'd never thought anyone could take her place in his heart, this gentle woman and her daughter were quickly filling the empty hole in his heart. "I want to try, Piper," he told her, meeting her gaze, sincerity and honesty in his blue-gray eyes. "You and Lyneth are important to me." He made no comment regarding true love. He'd never really believed in such things before, but he was starting to think maybe he'd been wrong.

Her knuckles tenderly trailed down his cheek as he spoke, her expression absolutely focused, her attention absorbed on him and everything he had to say and to show her. A moment later, the pad of her thumb swept his lips as she leaned close, resting her forehead to his. "You're important to us, too," she told him very quietly, her own sincerity shining through each syllable. "You're very important to me, Des."

"I don't think you did." Without knowing his mother, there was no way she could be certain, but Piper was sure that any woman who was strong enough to raise a man so determined and vulnerable must have been proud of him, no matter what he did. "Have I cast a spell on you, Des, or was it Lyneth you were referring to?"

He smiled again at her question, drawing him away from thoughts of his mother and any possibility of disappointment. So far, at least, he didn't seem to be disappointing Piper, and that had to count for something. "I told you before..." he answered softly. "I'm fond of Lyneth, but it's you I'm interested in getting to know better." And as if on cue or to prove his point, he turned her to face him, his fingers lifting her chin toward him as he leaned into her lips, the breeze catching them both, stirring her hair before his fingers found her cheek and smoothed the wayward ebony locks.

A little reassurance never hurt. And in this case, that little reassurance earned Des a kiss that was close to unforgettable. It started soft, a gentle touch of lips that reverberated down to Piper's toes, sending a sweet shiver down her spine. As she breathed him in, her eyes falling close to savor the closeness as he caressed her cheek and hair, she deepened that kiss ....still slow, still gentle, but burning with undeniable heat as her hands smoothed up over his chest, one arm looping about his neck as the other trailed her fingers against his jaw. Even when she broke away, she didn't go far, pressed close in the moonlight in breathless wonder.

It was as if Desmond was enchanted. As if the evening wasn't magical enough, her kiss lit a fire deep in his soul, leaving him breathless and wanting more. His eyes drifted closed as he savored her kiss, filled with a pleasant warmth that spread throughout his body and made his heart ache with longing, not only physical desire, but that of a deep and overwhelming need for connection, understanding, and even love. "Piper..." He whispered her name, feeling the same undeniable desire that she did, both of the body and the heart. She was so close he could feel her heart beat, taste her breath, breathe her in, filling his senses with her warmth and her presence. Even as close as she was, she wasn't close enough, and despite his worries, he longed to claim her for his own, once and for all.

Very slowly, her eyes tore themselves open to look at him, the sound of her name on his lips in that tone enough to send another shiver rippling down her spine to earth itself in liquid electricity deep inside with an enticing crackle. The tip of her nose stroked against the curve of his for a moment, her lips teasing his with a kiss that never quite made contact as her palm curled to his cheek, caressing his skin with a deep longing for the familiarity of intimacy. As much as he wanted to claim her, she wanted to claim him and be claimed in return, that yearning for something steadfast, some love that was truer, more faithful than the loves in her past urging her on to whisper tenderly to him. "Come home with me, Des."

He heard such tender yearning in her voice, only echoed by his own, how could he possibly deny her request' He touched his nose to hers, a fire burning deep inside his soul, mellow for now, but he knew it wouldn't take much from her for it to roar to life. "What about Lyneth?" he asked, more concerned what effect his staying over would have on her Piper's young daughter than on Piper, despite Lyneth's teasing remarks earlier. Fae or not, she was still a child, and the last thing he wanted to do was take a chance hurting either or them. He rested his forehead against hers, his voice not much more than a whisper, afraid if he spoke any louder, he might shatter whatever spell had been cast between them.

His gentle query about her daughter made Piper's smile soften, touched by the way he cared for both of them. She knew Kaylee would have spent a while discussing things she shouldn't with Lyneth, but more than that, Piper knew her daughter well enough to offer Des the first night in their home. "She'll be asleep," she assured him, her voice just as soft as his, unable to keep her fingers from caressing up and down the angular line of his jaw. "And she'll be delighted to see you in the morning. She trusts you, love. We both do."

There was that hint of uncertainty in his eyes again, or or fear. It was hard to tell which. He didn't want to disappoint her, but more importantly, he didn't want to hurt her either. "I don't want to break that trust, Piper. You and Lyneth are too important to me," he told her, her caress stirring something deep inside him, more than longing, but not quite love. Not yet. But if they kept going the way they were going, he was sure what they were both feeling would grow into love before long. The doubt passed as another thought came to mind and he smiled, a hint of teasing in his eyes. "What about coffee and dessert' Or am I the dessert now?"

She laughed softly at his teasing, pressing another kiss to his lips just to keep those banked fires burning before leaning back to look up at him with twinkling eyes. "Well, I do have whipped cream at home," she teased him right back. "Or, if you're lactose intolerant, I'm sure I could find some chocolate syrup." She blew him a kiss, rubbing her hands down over his arms, finally aware of the chill in the air that he had insisted on protecting her from with his jacket.

"Lactose intolerance." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "How romantic." His smiled softened as she rubbed her hands against his arms in an attempt to keep him warm. "Pip, I'm from New York. I'm used to the cold." Even so, winter was winter, and the wind off the harbor held a chilly bite that they were not adequately dressed for. "I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee, if you want to head back." At least, for starters. Then they'd see where the rest of the evening led them.

"I made no mention of the symptoms," she chuckled, brushing the tip of her nose to his in a sweet little Eskimo kiss. "I'll make a fresh pot of coffee. I might even have have the means for cappuccino at home, you never know."

"Coffee's fine. I'm a simple man with simple needs." This said by a guy who wore Armani suits and drove a Porsche. He brushed a kiss against her nose and turned to offer her an arm. "Shall we, Miss Davidson' I wouldn't want you to freeze to death on our first date." His blue eyes glittered brightly in the silver light of the twin moons.

"I'm sure you know how to keep me warm," she murmured invitingly, not truly aware of the temptation she was offering but at the same time hoping for it with as much boldness as she dared. Her hands slid back down over his chest, one insinuating itself into his palm as she reluctantly stepped back. "I'm all yours, Mr Granger. Let's go home."

The drive back to her house was mostly uneventful, quiet lulls interspersed with small talk to cover the nervous tension they were both feeling in anticipation of what might or might not happen in the hours to come. Would they or wouldn't they' Desmond had not yet decided. Piper had made it clear that she wanted him to stay the night, and Lyneth was looking forward to seeing him in the morning, but whether he'd spend the night in Piper's bed remained to be seen. He wasn't used to being kept waiting, but Piper was well worth waiting for. Still, his fingers were itching to peel her out of that dress. Coffee, he tried to tell himself. Coffee first, then we'll see how things go from there.

Piper welcomed him into the house in soft tones, greeted by Kaylee who had obviously decided to stay up and see how sexually frustrated the couple was before they noticed her lying on the couch. It took a few minutes to get rid of the youngest Granger in the house, but once Kaylee's little Lovebug had trundled off down the street, Piper turned to Des with a smile, her blue eyes sparkling once more in the dim light cast by the fire. She slipped his jacket from her shoulders, stepping out of her shoes, and laid the suit piece over the back of the couch.

A moment later, she had pressed herself close once again, stealing another kiss from his lips with an impatient moan stifled too late. Breaking free, she bit her lip, her expression almost akin to that of a playfully naughty teenager caught kissing for the first time. "I should check on Lynnie," she whispered, reluctant to move away but needing to see her daughter asleep, too.

That earned Piper's laugh, the full, rich sound that bubbled from her lips so rarely as to be precious to those who could make it come at whim. She lowered his hand, clasping it to herself as she shook her head, amused by Kaylee's dreadfully blunt matchmaking. But she understood why he had passed on this little tidbit of opinion, too. "I don't think there's any way for you to do this wrong," she told him through her warm smile, sliding a little closer along the counter-top. "I'd like you to stay ....but I won't force you."

"Kaylee expects me to stay. Lyneth expects me to stay. If I stay, it won't be on the couch," he warned, closing his fingers around hers, but for the moment, maintaining the small distance between them, which was hardly any distance at all. One step toward her was all it would take to sweep her into his embrace and capture those soft lips of hers again, and then he'd have a very hard time taking his leave. "There are a lot of ways I could do this wrong, Piper," he countered. "I don't want to disappoint you, but I don't want to hurt you either." Then simply don't, he thought to himself, but it wasn't that easy. "I don't want to be like the other men in your life. I don't want to screw it up. This is too important to screw up."

"Staying doesn't mean this has to move any faster," Piper heard herself say, aching for him to take that step, to take the offer she was making, to have the courage she didn't. One hand released his to touch over his heart, creeping up to just barely ghost her fingertips against his cheek, wishing that it was not so necessary to have such a conversation at such a time. "I ....I want you to stay."

He nearly caught his breath as she moved closer, heart hammering in his chest. He thought it must be beating hard and fast enough for her to hear it or at least sense it beneath her fingertips. She was so close, too close. It would be so easy to kiss her again, to lose himself to those kisses. And then, what? "Piper...." he whispered her name, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, acutely aware of the thrumming of his pulse, the ache of desire that was almost impossible to ignore. He reached for her hand, drawing her closer, his lips hovering so close to hers, breathlessly hesitating.

Yet that hesitation was enough. She wanted him - oh, how she wanted him to stay - but she wouldn't push him beyond what he was comfortable to do, what he truly wanted. She didn't want him to regret a single moment of their time together. Pushing the disappointment away, she managed a smile for him once again, and gently touched her fingers to his lips, preventing the kiss that would have fallen without that hesitation. "It's okay," she whispered gently, refusing to allow herself to sigh or show the flicker of sadness that came with the very gentle rejection of that hesitation. "There's always tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," he echoed, sensing her own rejection of the kiss that had nearly been offered, more for his sake than for hers, the disappointment she must be feeling in him, but it was better this way, wasn't it' At least, that's what he was trying to tell himself, even as his body betrayed him. His heart was already lost; it was only a matter of time. "I should go," he heard himself saying, unable to contain or disguise his own disappointment, his own regret. He knew he'd kick himself later when he was tossing and turning in a bed that wasn't his own back at Maple Grove, unable to sleep, unable to get her out of his mind.

As his disappointment showed through, she let her own shine forth, not wanting him to think she had changed her mind at all. Rising onto her toes, she brushed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Should I walk you to the door like a gentleman?" It was a delicate tease, a soft way of telling him that she didn't mind too much. As she had said, there was always tomorrow, and she felt sure they had many tomorrows to look forward to.

"Are you the gentleman or am I?" he teased back, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, though it was strained with disappointment and uncertainty. What the hell was the matter with him' Desmond Granger turning down an offer to spend the night with the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. He hesitated again, even so chaste a kiss having an effect on his libido. "I'll call you tomorrow," he promised as he forced himself to break away from her touch, knowing at least Lyneth was expecting him and not wanting to disappoint her either.

Despite the disappointment, the burning that she knew would not go away even with his absence, Piper nodded, letting him retreat from her with a soft little sigh. "Or you could come for breakfast and spend the whole day with us," she offered softly, pushing from the counter to walk close beside him as they moved from the kitchen to the flickering firelight of the living room.

His eyes caught the firelight a moment and he hesitated, gaze drawn to the warm glow, the memory of moonlight shining in her eyes, wanting so badly to make her his once and for all - not just for one night but forever. He pulled his gaze away from the firelight and drew his jacket from the back of the couch to fold it over one arm, one hand reaching into his pants pocket for the keys to the Bentley. He was about to answer her question when he realized the pocket was empty, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face. He checked the other pocket, but there was nothing there either.

"Have you seen my keys?" he asked, worriedly.

Lost in quietly regretful thoughts of what might have been, Piper didn't respond for a moment, her eyes reflecting the crackling light of the fire. Realising he'd spoken to her, she blinked herself out of a mild daydream involving hands and lips and smiles in the darkness, looking up at Des in faint confusion. "You had them when you came in, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he muttered, searching his pockets again, pulling them inside out, but there was nothing there. No wallet, no car keys, no cell phone. It was as if he'd been pickpocketed by a master thief. He searched the pockets of his jacket, but once again came up empty. "I just had them!" he exclaimed, starting to panic. The keys and the car that went with them had been entrusted to him, but didn't belong to him. His logical side knew it wasn't a tragedy. Keys could be replaced, but his wallet and cell phone were another matter. "I can't find my wallet or my phone. Have you seen them?" he asked, tossing a panicked glance around the room. He'd just had them, he thought. Maybe he'd left them in the car"

"Well ....no, you put everything back in your pocket when we left the restaurant, and no one came near us." Piper frowned, concerned for the panic of loss in his face as he looked around a little wildly. The keys, she knew, weren't such a loss - Jon no doubt had dozens of spare sets just in case, and besides, Des had had them when he'd walked in through the door. Kaylee wouldn't have lifted his belongings from him, and she, Piper, was the only other person here ....

"Wait a moment." She turned and leveled a suspicious look directly at the planters that lived in Lyneth's corner of the living room. "What did you do?" she accused the unseen watchers, more than prepared to believe that her daughter's cheeky little friends were being mischievous again.

Desmond's panicked glance followed Piper's to the corner of the living room he always made it a point to avoid. It wasn't fear so much as it was a certain careful wariness that made him keep his distance. He'd had enough experience with the little creatures back home to know they were moody and unpredictable and if they decided they didn't like him, they could make his life a living hell. "You think it was them?" he asked, giving up his search for now, the jacket still held in one hand. "My whole life is in that wallet, Piper," he said. It was no exaggeration. Driver's license, credit cards, cash, just to mention a few of the items that would be difficult if not impossible to replace.

"There's no one else it could have been, and fairies are known to have sticky fingers," she told him softly, advancing on the green corner with narrowed eyes. "I know you're in there," she informed the hiding wee folk, crouching down to peer directly into the fronds of a much-loved fern. "Give Des his belongings back. Now."

There was a rustle from the fern, and a beautiful face peeked out, as green as the plant from which it came. "Wasn't me," the owner of that face said sulkily. "He's stayin' anyway, what?s the fuss?"

Another voice from the other side of the room - a voice that sounded an awful lot like the brownie Des had a little more than a passing acquaintance with - piped up in response from behind Lyneth's money jar. "He'll get 'em back in the mornin', beauty."

It had been a long time since she'd been intimate with anyone at her own willing choice, caught up in the strange newness of desire and affection with a man she had wanted almost from the moment they'd met. A man who had listened to her life and not been frightened off, who knew about the odd specialness of her daughter and her daughter's friends, who understood her fear and didn't use it against her. She swarmed as close to him as she could, teasing kisses of all kinds from his lips, breathless in her enjoyment of just this closeness, this sense of something wild and free and theirs. But she could feel something between them, still, something keeping him from responding as his instinct demanded. "Don't hold back," she breathed between kisses. "Please, Des ....Please."

Once he crossed the threshold - once they crossed that threshold, the point of no return - there would be no turning back. Close to the turning point, they both knew it, were acutely aware of it. His pulse thrummed in his veins, pounding in his ears. If he let go now and lost control, there would be no turning back, only moving forward, one step at a time. "Piper," he whispered between breathless kisses, pushing the dark cascade of hair back from her face, cupping her cheeks as his mouth found hers again, nudging her ever closer to the bed, until there was no escape for either of them, teetering on the precipice.

As his hands found her face, his kisses stealing her breath over and over until she could feel the edge of the bed against her legs, she let her own hands wander, unafraid of passing the point of no return for the first time. With Terry, it had been inexperience; with Ollie, she had been certain he didn't want her. With Des, she was sure, and oh, how that showed. Her fingers found the tie at his neck, deftly undoing the knot to leave it hanging open as her touch trailed down, gently unbuttoning his shirt to bare his skin to her questing hands.

All that stood between them was a few layers of clothing that she was slowly peeling away. He wanted to do the same, his fingers itching once again to slide the zipper down over her curves, to unpeel her from the dress that was like a second skin. He'd been with so many women before, but never like this, never had his heart beat so wildly, never had his blood burned so hotly, never had he trembled at anyone's touch the way he did hers. He wanted to know what secrets lay beneath that dress, ready to bare his soul to her, his heart, his body, no secrets between them. Nothing but open hearts and a lover's embrace. He left the shirt hanging loose around him, as his lips found her cheek, then her neck, the soft place just beneath her ear, feeling her pulse racing in her veins to match his.

Just his closeness was intoxicating, hazing her senses until all she could think, or feel, or breathe was him. As his lips trailed from her own, Piper shivered with sweet anticipation, the moan torn from her lips at the brush of his mouth over the beat of her pulse giving away just one of the secrets he would learn over the night to come. Her fingers clenched in the shirt on his back as she gasped and moaned, her back arching to press closer as her head fell back, willing and eager to take and be taken, whichever came first.

His lips trailed further, catching her lips against as his fingers at last found the zipper that held her hid her from his sight and his touch. Distracted as her lips were, his fingers tugged the zipper down, slowly releasing her from the confines of the dress. He deepened the kiss, as much to distract her as himself, as he carefully peeled the fabric away, breaking momentarily from her kiss to admire the beauty that was his to behold. For his eyes only, from this moment forward, if he had anything to say about it.

The first tug of the zipper as it began that long journey downward brought a frisson of wild, heated tension to the young woman in his arms, teasing a new moan from her throat as his lips took hers and made them entirely his own. She couldn't imagine ever being kissed by another man, not now Des had found his stride, not now he had begun to claim her so entirely. The zipper dragged downward slow and steady, revealing the luminescence of her pale skin encased in mint green satin and lace. The dress, so snug a fit to begin with, peeled back from that opening zipper easily, hanging off her shoulders the moment it came free. And beneath his gaze, even in the moonlight, the soft flush of rose that colored that soft, tingling skin was plain to behold, a sweet mix of shyness and delight as the thick fabric fell to the floor.

"She walks in beauty like the night..." he whispered again, as her dress slipped away and he guided her back onto the bed, shrugging the shirt from his own shoulders and tossing it aside, along with his tie. His eyes never left hers, even as they longed to wander, to devour her, memorize her so that he'd never forget her. He wasn't sure if it was fae magic and at that moment, he didn't care, but she was more beautiful than he ever imagined, beautiful enough to take his breath away. He couldn't help but wonder at the miracle that had brought her into his life. Maybe there really was such a thing as true love, after all.

Her smile in the moonlight was mystery and myth, promise and perfect potential all in one. As he laid her back, she stretched out for him, her sable hair a dark halo spread across the light linens beneath her as she reached for him, already missing the warmth of his body against hers though the distance was so little. Drawing him down to her, she rose up, touching her lips to his with a gently staggered breath, so close to saying words that it was too soon to say. "You're better than any dream, love," she promised him warmly with that single breath, fingertips smoothing down over his back as she laid herself down once more.

Thankfully, she was no virgin, though she was possessed of a tender heart, one he knew had been broken once too often. Her soft curves seemed to perfectly fit his solid angles. Lost in her spell, his blue eyes met hers, lips smothering her words with fervid kisses as his hands slid around to her back to divest her of yet another article of clothing that separated them. He understood now why she had referenced the color green, but he was too lost in her eyes and her kiss to mention it.

She shivered again as the satin slipped from her skin, spilling warm curves free of constraint for their mutual enjoyment as the ghost of a moan tenderly painted his lips. As if in response, her fingers slipped downward, unbuckling, unbuttoning, unzipping, peeling expensive pants from his hips as she arched to him once again. Green or blue or porcelain pale, everything was black and white in her eyes when compared with him.

Now that they had passed the point of no return, he willing let her undress him, even as he finished undressing her, both of them discovering the other for the very first time, unencumbered by clothing or restraint. Together, they searched and explored and memorized the other, discovering what made the other writhe and moan and sigh with agonized pleasure. He made her sigh again and again as he tasted and tested and tempted her with his mouth and lips and tongue, fingers caressing and exploring every soft curve, searching for secrets that were only his to discover.

There were secrets there that only he could discover, certain places that earned an extra response from her, certain sounds that urged her onward, just how to touch and taste and tempt to coax from his sable-haired lover every last drop of pleasure. And she, in turn, wrapped her attention about him, following each teasing caress of his with her own, free with the trailing exploration of hands and lips and teeth, half-wrestling for control, half-surrendered to his every whim. Yet even in the throes of passion, she was a quiet lover, barely raising her voice above that husky, delighted moan that vibrated through them both as she crested at his fingertips, longing to bring him with her into shared abandon.

He knew enough about women to know what was likely to garner the desired response, though every woman was different, unique and unlike any other. Piper was no different, and though he did not lack for experience, he took his time discovering and learning her, knowing each encounter would teach him something new, some facet of her that had gone unexplored. When he finally took her, when he was finally ready, it was with the tenderness of a new lover, but the surety that came with experience. He took her slowly at first, like a maestro conducting a concerto to its eventual crescendo. One could almost hear angels singing in that moment of coital bliss, and he felt himself soaring higher as though he himself an angel, soaring on angelic wings. He, too, was a quiet lover, his lips too busy covering her with kisses to waste his breath on hollow, meaningless words that were better expressed through his actions and his embrace.