I'll Check in Tomorrow if I Don't Wake Up Dead

Lily's P.O.V

A warm beam of sunlight poured into the room from the small dusty window adjacent to their bed; and right into Lily's eyes, gently rousing her from sleeping. She opened her green eyes and yawned, blinking trying to clear the blurriness from her vision; the wooden walls and floor blurred together making anything unidentifiable for Lily. It was then Lily recalled falling asleep on the couch, realizing he must of brought her up. She sat still for a moment unsure of what to think of this Once she could see Lily made a move to stretch and sit up, but found her movements bound by a pair of arms around her waist; ones that could only belong to Gerard. While Lily's eyes had cleared of the sleep caused blurriness, her brain was still laden with sleep and the normal alarmed, jump away, reaction she'd of had, was watered down to weak protests and a feeble attempt to pull away but gave up after a few moments.

With nothing much to do Lily checked the cop and tried to discern how long until he woke up. However all Lily saw was that Gerard looked terrible and truly worn out; the kind of worn down one acquires from months of not being okay. His mouth was set into a firm little line, and there were still dark circles under his eyes. He must not of slept well the night before and she wondered if he had trouble falling asleep, and Lily nearly missed the tear that clung to his thick lashes. The woman couldn't help but wonder what dreams cursed his head; because to her they didn't look pleasant.

Not wanting to wake him in hopes that he'd get some decent rest, Lily decided to just stick where she was and wait for him to wake up. Slowly she stretched out her hand and fished a book from the nightstand next to her. It was something she'd read before but in her opinion a classic, Dracula. Reclining against the pillows once the woman got a few pages into the book she could almost forget that the cop's arms encircled her waist, or that every few minutes he'd whimper softly and shift the way he was lying down. Lily was uncomfortable seeing him like this, he always seemed like some impenetrable beacon of strength but right now he just seemed weak and vulnerable. She stayed like this for about twenty minutes, when Lily got antsy and gently tried to pry herself away from Gerard; to which he stirred but didn't wake up. With a soft sigh of relief Lily got up and stretched, rubbing her eyes as she made her way towards the door.

Pulling her hair up into a quick bun, Lily meandered down the stairs towards the kitchen with a growling stomach. Her brother was sprawled on the couch apparently taking a nap, though one of his leaf-green eyes cracked open and he mumbled a good morning. A bit of pity stirred in Lily's stomach as her tech-savvy brother was probably going through some sort of phone and computer withdrawal.

"Frank made breakfast, your's is in the fridge." Nodding to acknowledge he spoke, Lily lumbered towards the kitchen, trying to shake the clinging tendrils of sleep from her body. Kara and Frank were in there chattering over a cup of coffee and making a noise that could be a cross between a grunt and a sigh Lily greeted them good morning.

"Lily don't grunt, you sound like a neanderthal." Kara chided, which Lily wasn't in the mood for.

"Lemme alone." She drawled as she opened the fridge, finding not one, but two plates of food wrapped up in there. Lily assumed one was for Gerard and grabbed the nearest plate. "Thanks Frankie for the food." The little tattooed man nodded, looking rather cheerful.

"No problem, how late did you and Gee stay out? We kind of had an early night back here." Lily stuck her food into the microwave and let it heat up before answering.

"We didn't stay out too late, I think we got home around nine-thirty. Then we watched the Lost Boys, but I fell asleep." Frank made a face of mock horror.

"You managed to fall asleep during The Lost Boys? Lily are you even human?" Her mother chuckled at this though disguised it by taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yes! I was tired, I ran into someone who I really hoped to never see again." Lily fired back, pouting a little.

"Who?" Her mom demanded looking up; a flash of panic across her face. Lily nearly laughed at her reaction, but sobered up when she recalled who it was.

"Alex Milin." Her mom relaxed but frowned.

"He's a little prick. Was your father there? He doesn't normally go into Dublin."

"No, he wasn't; but I imagine that Alex will tell him."

"Better not, I still talk to his mother." Kara growled and took another sip while Frank watched on; confusion evident on his face.

"Yeah... I'm going out for drinks with him tonight at around seven." Lily sighed, her lack of enthusiasm evident in her weary voice.

"Oh Hon, I feel bad for you. Take Gerard with you; I don't think your fiancee will put up with Alex hitting on you all night." Lily smiled.

"One step ahead of you- already invited him."

"Good, don't be alone with Alex, I really don't like him. Not after what he did to you and even before then he was a little punk." Kara snarled in one of her rare protective manners. Her parenting style had always been to let the kids make mistakes and learn; but the mention of Alex could stir up her maternal instincts.

"I wont. Gerard will take good care of me." Lilly assured brightly. Part of her even believed it; but the other half was still hesitant to befriend the cop. She was taking her food out of the microwave and sitting it down on the table when Gerard's sleep filled voice cut through air.

"Of course I will- what are we referring to?" His sudden appearance made Lily jump and whirl around. He stood in his Captain America pajamas and his hair fell in a wild disarray. He walked into the room and greeted everyone in a quiet voice, Lily noted he really must be half asleep.

"Tonight, drinks with Alex." His back stiffened and he nodded his head once in a jerking motion.

"Yeah; don't worry Kara, I'll make sure he behaves himself." She nodded and finished off her cup of coffee.

"Good, thanks Gerard." Even while she may not appreciate the fact that he was engaged to her only daughter, Kara was rather kind to him and Frank; something Lily appreciated.

"My pleasure." He answered simply before turning around, clearly looking for something.

"Looking for some food?" Lily asked in an innocent voice, and Gerard turned to gaze at her.

"That'd be nice, thanks Sugar." Still unsure if she liked the nickname Lily just ducked her head mutely and walked to the fridge pulling his plate out.

"Thank Frank, he made it." Gerard mustered up a grin that didn't look so forced before placing his food gingerly in the microwave and once it began to heat up took a seat next to Lily. Nudging his arm to get his attention the brunette woman waited until his beautiful hazel gaze fell upon her. "The movie- it was good. We should finish watching it at some point." Looking smug Gerard shrugged.

"Oh I don't know, I mean I finished it. You kind of fell asleep." Kara laughed while Lily rolled her eyes.

"I was tired! It was good from what I saw! Please?" At this Gerard held up his hands and relented, getting up from his seat as the microwave went off.

"I suppose I could watch it again." Smirking as she got her way, Lily didn't reply just took a large bite of the pancakes Frank had made. They were delicious, almost as good as Gerard's cooking in her opinion.

"Frank, these are great!" Lily complimented him to which he looked rather pleased with himself.

"Thanks, eat up I'm going to shower." With that the small man excused himself out of the room, playfully jabbing at Gerard before he left. Lily fell into silence as she ate her brunch. The only sound to be heard was the shower running upstairs and the scraping of silverware against plates. The silence however was not tense in fact it was somewhat comforting, it allowed her to wake up without trying to maintain a conversation while half-asleep. It also gave her time to think about how she'd handle tonight with Alex.

A long time ago Lily was attracted to him, his outlandish behavior and rude, snide manners. She'd craved to have his confidence and outlook on life; but after that Summer Lily came to hold nothing but resentment for him. She realized what she'd thought was confidence was him just making up for the self-consciousness that he possessed; the outlandish behavior was reflective of his bitter and cruel thoughts of everyone around him. Now she couldn't imagine sitting through at least an hour of drinks with him; though the fact that Gerard would be there quelled her nerves a bit.

While Alex would definitely make backhanded remarks to her all evening, Gerard would be there to try to minimize the effect Alex's harsh would would have on her. After all that was Alex's approach, make a girl feel vulnerable and not good enough, then take them to bed for an evening. It was repulsive and Lily was ashamed that it had worked on her. Frowning and resting her face against the opened palm of her hand Lily tried to jolt herself back to the present. She didn't need to be thinking this negatively, the only thing she needed was to focus on herself and try to get through the evening ahead.

Kara had muttered something about her crosswords and left, leaving Gerard and Lily as she scurried out of the kitchen. Lily was nearly done with her food anyway. Sitting quietly for a few more moments Lily decided that she should go and get ready for the day so standing up she scrapped the remains of a half-finished breakfast into the trash-bin. Bringing it to the sink Lily began to rinse it off, carefully putting it into the tiny dishwasher so someone else wouldn't have to clean up after her.

"Are you worried about tonight Sugar?" Gerard's considerably more alert voice held a whisper of concern, sewn into the seams which could be the result of Lily's imagination; she liked to think it wasn't though. She turned to find him there, black hair falling into his eyes obscuring the depth that the hazel orbs contained. His food hardly touched, was lying on the table still with his long-finished coffee cup. The cop's scent washed over her and Lily was aware that it was sort of sweet, yet musky. Something that wasn't overly masculine and a bit feminine but something she enjoyed nonetheless and fit him perfectly. Lily blushed and glanced away partially horrified at what she was thinking; this cop was only here because he was made to and Lily couldn't let herself forget that.

"No." Lily flat out lied, though after a moment's pause corrected herself. "Yes, very. I know we have a few hours to kill; but I'm still... mad I suppose. I don't understand how he could be so cruel to me the last time we'd been together than act as if nothing is wrong." The cop didn't say anything, but looked as if he were going to, with some pushing from her end perhaps so that's exactly what Lily did.

"What?" She prompted him, and self-doubt began to poison her thoughts as he stood there quietly for a few minutes. Maybe he wasn't concerned for her, and it was just that he just wasn't looking forward to going; hell Lily wasn't looking forward to going so she didn't blame him. "It's fine if you don't want to go. You don't have to." The words flew off of her tongue before the brunette could stop them and they were now suspended between the two; Gerard's option to escape the fiasco that was sure to be tonight's dinner.

"No, I want to. It's just I used to deal with assholes all the time growing up. I was bullied a lot when I was younger." The cop spoke in a rushed, hurried tone as if he didn't like talking about it. It struck Lily that he must of rarely had an easy time in life.

"Was it bad?" She asked softly, stepping a bit closer to him. Concern seeped in a more gracious manner than usual through her emotions as Lily gazed at him with her dark green eyes. His face had slid down into a tight-lipped line and his shoulders seemed tense and his posture stiff. It was as if he were preparing for a fight as opposed to his more causal manner that she'd observed moments ago. The last time she'd asked about his past he'd snapped and told her it was none of her business, and Lily hoped she hadn't over stepped a line with him.

"I guess, I was always an outcast. I was much more into darker things than the other kids and I became the fat weird kid to them. I was pushed into lockers, got into a few fights here and there and of course I fit in nowhere in that school. I honestly hated it and I think that's what made me want to be a cop. To try to protect people as I felt failed; no one protected me. My mother tried but what could she really do? The school didn't do anything so; I wanted to make a difference to someone. I already knew I couldn't be a teacher because I refused to set foot into another high school ever again; but the thought of saving and protecting lives well... Maybe it was hubris but that was the most attractive option to me."

She gazed at him for a moment, and impulsively reached out to lay her hand on his shoulder; but withdrew when her action intoned warnings in her head. "I'm sorry to hear that." His lips stretched something that may grotesquely mirror a smile but it never reached his eyes; it seldom did was something else the scrawny woman had noticed.

"Don't worry about it, it's in the past. But tonight, Lily what's my job? Why am I here?" This time it was him that broke the space that had gathered and bunched between them. Gerard bent down so he was a little closer to her face, his hands braced against her shoulders. There was undeniable warmth that flowed to him, making Lily feel safe and her fears calmed considerably. His voice was serious and to a point tender and gentle. The strange feeling within stirred once more as a light blush broke her face into a shade of pink that was hardly visible.

"T-to protect me?" The woman stuttered and glanced down as she felt the hands remove themselves from their place on her shoulders.

"Exactly. do you trust me?" At this her head jerked up as if caught by surprise; which she kind of was. He'd given her no reason to not trust him but Lily by nature was an untrusting human being. She learned on from an early age nothing was guaranteed and that no one would stay. As soon as something better came their way; someone you thought could trust was gone like dust in the winds of a tornado. However he'd stayed, he had stayed with her and protected her so she supposed that in a very reluctant sense, she did trust him.

"Yes." There was a low sort of huskiness to her voice and Gerard's face lit up at this.

"Great, so trust me to take care of you tonight. If Alex starts getting rude and being a bully I'll take you straight home." Watching him with quiet suspicion Lily nodded and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"I'll hold you to that; finish your breakfast they say it's the most important part of the day." The defensive snide edge had crawled in from out of the blue; to the surface anyway. To Lily she knew what it was; as soon as she felt she could trust someone and rely on them the woman had a tendency to push and push until they left her alone. That's all she knew how to be really, she even kept in touch with her family as little as possible because the thought that she couldn't push them away made her uncomfortable.

Yes this probably all stemmed from a deep fear that she was never good enough to anyone; but this kind of thinking had a depressing effect and Lily needed all the positiveness she could get today. Rapidly her feet carried her out of the tiny, run-down kitchen to the hallway that led the creaky stairs. Passing the living room she noticed Stephen and Kara playing a card game, with Kara crowing victoriously at her son who was scowling and handing over money.

Pausing to watch them the woman smiled at their care-free and happy manners. She was glad that at least someone was enjoying themselves on this "vacation." With a near inaudible sigh Lily managed to continue to drag herself up the stairs and to the room that she and Gerard were sharing. The floorboards creaked and groaned with protest as her feet carelessly trod against the worn wood, and the pastel green wallpaper seemed to make the hallway that much more cramped and oppressive.

It was with relief that Lily came upon her door but to her alarm found the door- last closed by her was left partially open. Water could be heard running from inside the room and curiously Lily stepped into their room. Her eyes were instantly drawn toward their bathroom door; which was shut and with a sigh of relief Lily decided that it could be none other than Frank; which raised the rather intriguing question of why he was there. Making herself home on the large squeaky queen sized bed the woman waited for the other cop to get out; so she could question him. Her hands strayed over the raggedy quilted comforter that was spread on top which matched the rest of the run down feeling of the home.

As her hands fidgeted, Lily's mind wandered to place that she wasn't entirely ready to venture to. Over the past couple days she'd become rapidly more accepting and maybe, she ventured boldly, attached to Gerard. He'd become something like a beacon to her; something that was safe and could comfort her whenever darkness set upon her. Gerard had protected her even when Lily lashed out at him and for that she'd have to give the man some props.

A tingling set into the pit of her stomach as she thought of his change in attitude and quietly appreciated it. Even when she was difficult Gerard didn't cut her down with personal sores and scars like Connor tended to; which was something Lily had learned to deal with. After all she did it to him plenty when they fought, dragged out anything she could think of to hurt him, she was rarely ever as successful as he ever was and the two didn't fight often thankfully. Like her habit of smoking, Lily's brain instantly switched topics back to Connor, the man she'd tried so hard not to think about the past few days and had been doing well. The brilliant blues of Connor's eyes chased out Gerard's tortured hazel ones, and his smile replaced the cop's ever-present smug smirk. Now as Lily stared at the white, water stained ceiling she wondered what her flame was up to. Had he missed her, stopped by her place maybe? Probably not, since getting engaged it seemed that he spent less and less time with her.

Their coffee runs had turned into Lily sitting alone in their spot and reading, the weekends normally spent shopping or seeing movies was slowly but noticeably filled with half-assed excuses and rain checks. Their movie nights were spent with Lily waiting up, her nights dwindling into dawns before she gave up. It had been frustrating but Lily decided that less Connor was better than no Connor, which was surely coming down the road. As she waited for Frank to evacuate the bathroom Lily wondered what she'd ever seen in Connor, why was she attracted to him?

She could remember him rushing to her house whenever she needed him, and he'd even talk shit about his girlfriends with her. "She's really a bitch. I just don't know how I'd break up with her." Recently it'd gone from that to "I really fucked up didn't I Lil? I think that it was supposed to be you and I." He'd stare at her with those soul-heavy blue eyes and with a gentle caress he'd smiled remorsefully. "I should get back before she notices. Take care of yourself babe." It was those mixed signals that kept her hanging on to some forsaken hope. If she was a smarter woman Lily would understand that he was just using her, as a "just in case."

Connor would rush to her side in her time of need and leave her high and dry when Lily counted on him. He'd hold her hair back and take care of her when she was sick; yet in front of his girlfriends Lily had always been non-existent. She'd been the girl next door that never really had a chance and as she laid there on that bed; she began to see it. It hurt like hell to think about, brought a rush of tears to her eyes as Lily bravely tried to stifle them back. The worst part of it, she thought, was that she'd fallen for him hook line and sinker.

Yes he'd been her friend throughout her whole life, had protected and helped her whenever she needed it; but he'd never really shown any romantic interest in her save for when he was drunk, high or a combination of both. At first Lily thought it was because she was heavy set, and he'd always gone for the cheerleaders. Back in high school Lily hadn't even been cool enough to be in band. The only saving grace that prevented her from getting straight out bullied like Gerard was the fact that Connor had viewed her as a little sister; so people left her alone not wanting to anger the easy going jock.

Curling up on her side the brunette wished there was some way she could contact him, because for every day she hadn't thought of him the homesickness rushed back twice as strong. She just wanted to hear his voice, assure her that everything was alright like he had done so many times before. Even if none of it was real, his feelings for her were just to feel as if he had a back up; it was familiar and comforting. Bad for her like smoking, but something her brain screamed she needed. Lily felt worse than when she'd come in here, confused about Gerard which she decided to store into her "Deal with later" compartment of her brain.

The door swung open and revealed a shirtless frank, clad only in a towel wrapped low on his hips and Lily couldn't help but ogle him briefly. A red flame licked her cheeks as her eyes traveled up to his eyes; only to find him watching her with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. Steam wafted out in thick billows behind him, his hair fell in front of his eyes, and rivulets of water fell down his muscular body. He wasn't built quite like Gerard, who was muscular, it was more wiry and lean but subtly muscled. Frank cleared his throat and had the decency to at least try to act embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, my shower wasn't working! I hate cold showers, and figured that this wasn't occupied." She nodded once and she heard cloth rustle. Horrified and instinctively Lily's eyes darted over expecting to find the towel had fallen; she was relived to find he'd hiked further up his hips. Colorful tattoos decorated his skin in sporadic places.

"Yeah, I didn't realize you hadn't... I was wondering why you were in here." She answered without looking at him and Frank giggled, that surprisingly girlish giggle, something that some may find aggravating but Lily found it rather endearing.

"You're so red! I'm, god this is embarrassing." He paused for a second and this mocking edge entered his voice, and Lily knew he was trying to make things less awkward- but really failed. "Are you really a virgin?" The teasing in his tone had Lily feeling a bit put out, and as if to prove him wrong she turned her head and let her gaze wander over his tattoos openly before looking back at him.

"No I'm not!" Lily chided, in a sharp voice but quickly amended it to sound softer. "I'm surprised that's all and I was trying to be a bit respectful of you. It's not often that I come to my room and find half-naked men; except on my twenty-first birthday. But honestly I can't remember much of that night." He raised an eyebrow and giggled again, his hand resting on the hem of the towel for what Lily assumed was to keep it from falling and revealing himself fully to her.

"I'd love to say I'm surprised, but we've already established that you're a trouble maker." A devilish gleam of delight entered his entrancing green eyes and the woman pouted at this.

"I'm not! I was completely supervised! Nothing was going to happen." Frank held up one hand, not wanting to risk the security he had over the fluffy white towel.

"Hey, I'm not judging. I've done worse." It seemed he and Gerard shared that in common then.

"You know what, I'm not even going to ask." Lily shot back playfully.

"It's alright Sweetheart, I wouldn't of told you anyway." With a wink he left the room, the smell of Gerard's cologne and steam that clung to whatever it could find the only thing that proved that he'd just been here. Shaking her head at his playful manner and jubilant attitude Lily gathered her clothes and thoughts slowly before making her way into the bathroom. She took her leisure time undressing and stepping into the shower, which she didn't have to wait to warm up as Frank had been there only minutes before.

The water rolled down her back and wet her hair, and released some of the tension and confusion that had sat heavy on her chest. Showers really did wonders for the body Lily decided as she scrubbed her hair with the shampoo that Gerard had bought. Whatever he'd gotten had worked and she'd have to remember the name of it for when she got home. The white tiles of the bathroom glistened with steam when she stepped out and onto the shaggy yellow rug, the only splash of color in the room. It seemed to sterile and if she'd been staying here, Lily would of loved to repaint it.

Instead she wrapped her body in the towel and sat in the warm room awhile longer, singing softly under her breath. Once she felt dry enough to dress Lily slid into a black dress that had a sort of white cross design on it and cut to be a high-low. It'd be sufficient for tonight and would get the point across, in her opinion, that she'd changed and wasn't the same girl that could be so easily manipulated and cut down. She'd do her make up and hair later, so drying the thick brown mess with a towel and dragging a brush through it a few times Lily felt that she was done and opened the door, stepping towards her suitcase where Gerard had left her hair things, makeup and perfume.

"About before, I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I really didn't know you'd be in the room when I got out." Jumping back a few feet and assuming what may be a defensive pose though looked more like a zombie type pose, Lily's eyes fell onto Frank who was now spread out on her bed with his hair dry and thankfully dressed.

"No don't worry about it; I'm not all that torn up. Like stated before, I've had worse happen." She waved it off, and paused when Frank's eyes cruised over her body, and he looked, almost appreciative. "What?" Lily asked irritably, unsure of what he was up to. It felt like he resembled the Cheshire cat with that grin; something Lily wasn't too comfortable with.

"You look really great, I'm being serious. That asshole is going to be knocked over when he sees you." Frank promised in his happy-go-lucky voice and his facial and body expressions had shifted back to a much more normal easy-going manner.

"Oh, really?" Lily asked slowly the shadow of a grin beginning to form on her lips and Frank nodded slowly.

"I promise." Lily couldn't help but let her mind wander towards Gerard and let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, cause I'm holding you to that!"

"I hope so." Frank murmured, something almost unplaceable to Lily tinged his voice. Shrugging it off she went to sit on the bed beside the man; who seemed rather surprised.

"What was Gerard like? How long have you known him?" This time a warmth that reached Lily crept into his eyes, making him look somber and happy all at once.

"I've known him since we were kids. We trained together to be cops, it was his idea. I just scrapped by school; I'd rather get shitfaced and smoke but he seemed so excited I decided why not, it's not like I had any other plans. Gerard was always creative, strong and brave. He always tried to be happy for us, but he really suffered from depression. It hit hard in high school and he began to retract further and further into himself but eventually he got some help and seemed to get better. Though I always noticed there was an anger just hidden beneath his actions that hadn't been there before; I mean he'd been such a sweet kid! He wouldn't fight when the other kids would try he'd just endure it. Well he began fighting back, talking out and putting up with less shit. Which was good for him, and that continued to about junior year when things finally settled down for him." Frank paused and drew in a long breath so he could continue.

"He was always our leader of sorts; always idea of what to do how to make life better and I always believed him. Glad I did to because if I hadn't I'd probably be some junkie shooting up now." There was a bit of regret in his voice, but I didn't get the vibe that it was because he hadn't chosen the road of junkie. "Our friend Burt from high school chose that path unfortunately. I'd had to do drug busts on his house a couple times." Frank sighed and rubbed his temples. "Put him away for a couple months, he'll be out soon enough and I'm assuming I don't have much to look forward to when he does."

"When he met Karen he changed, it was like he saw how beautiful this world was again; she could open that door in his mind. The negativity stopped and he was so much happier. They'd do anything for each other and I truly believed that they would grow old and have the nuclear family and life would be grand and shit. When she died, a big part of Gerard died. The part that saw good and wanted to protect and save people; there was a time where he was suicidal- and I swear if you tell him I told you any of this I will deny it. Vehemently." Frank warned before continuing on with answering her question.

"I saw how a piece of him was broken, no that's not the word to describe it. A part of him was broken, shattered and stepped on. Ripped out of him and he was left to bleed and it was the kind of thing that was meant to permanently break a man. That day and even now he hasn't regained it. Granted he hides his pain and revolt with himself under a layer of sarcasm and indifference. He believes that if he stays indifferent than nothing can ever hurt him like that again; he won't let anyone close. It's sad because he really is an amazing person, and I wish he'd let other people see that. You know I worry about him at night? I worry that he's going to grow up sad and bitter and alone and it scares the hell out of me because he fucking deserves more. Life fucked him over and hasn't made up for it- which I believe tends to happen. Somethings shitty happens? Something great is bound to happen but not with him."

His voice was heavy and a rare dejected look entered Frankie's eyes. The two sat there looking at each other for a moment before Lily realized that her eyes were watering, when described like this the secretly empathetic woman couldn't help but feel her heart go out to him. But maybe... Maybe sympathy wasn't what he needed; Gerard may just need to be taught how to live his life again and Lily wasn't sure she could help him. Living his life would require letting people in which she was known to rarely do.

A flash of movement broke her out of her thoughts as Frank's hand brushed the silver necklace around her neck. "Did he give you these?" Lily felt as if she'd been caught doing something she hadn't a near accusatory tone had entered Frank's voice.

"Yes he did, he said he was surprised my mom hadn't asked to see my ring and he told me to wear it. Just don't lose it." Frank nodded, and a small smile raced across his features, flaring up before dimming and writhing away.

"That's really special Lily, I'm surprised. He let everything else go into storage but he insisted on keeping the rings. Don't lose it." With that he stood and almost hesitantly ruffled the woman's hair and he spoke once more, in what she took as a soothing tone; as if she were a child who was about to receive a shot.

"Don't worry too much about him; he'll take care of himself and besides it's his job to worry about you, you don't have to worry about him." She smiled but it didn't feel real as Frank walked away closing the door gently behind him leaving Lily to her thoughts. Maybe this vacation wouldn't be all about Lily, maybe she could help find a way to restore Gerard to the man he'd been before he'd met Karen. She decided it was the least she could do and she'd feel as if she didn't owe him anything after this was over. A determination to try to help Gerard try to find some peace of mind struck a chord within the woman's chest as she grabbed her copy of Dracula, opening to the page she left off on.

Lily managed to focus on the book for a couple of hours, and finish it. She really was a quick reader and had read Stoker's book quite a few times prior to today. Closing the book softly and laying it back on the nightstand Lily wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. The challenge of trying to help Gerard lay in front of her, an obstacle course untouched, overwhelming and if Lily let it, it would become consuming.

Normally she'd check her Facebook and Tumblr when quiet times presented themselves however, Gerard had pretty much told her that there would be no Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or any social media she normally used. Now as Lily laid there she began to feel cut off from everyone else; and was struck out of her internal whining when the soft chords of a guitar floated towards her, and sitting up intrigued the woman quietly swung herself out of bed and crept out into the hallway. The door directly across from her's was the source and knowing that no one in her family played it narrowed it down to one of the cops.

"If I faced my fears, would the skies be ever clear? Probably not. Then again, I've always held my doubts close to my heart and these frames trap all my better days. Yeah they stay, frozen...-" Lily paused outside the shut door, trying to pin who it was. The voice wasn't quite masculine, nor feminine. It was light, and seemed to croon the words with a vulnerability that could only be real. Would it be rude to intrude on whichever it was, she didn't want to trespass on something personal.

Instead she leaned against the door, listening to the longing in the singer's voice. The song sounded like it was winding down when a hand brushed against her shoulder, and turning her head the woman saw that Gerard had come up in the darkened hallway. His hazel eyes looked confused at what she was doing and Lily just held up a finger to her lips so they could finish listening to, as she deduced, Frank. She hadn't ever really thought he'd be able to sing well. Or even play guitar well for that matter.

"-Traveled all these miles just to get back home." The song concluded with a final strike of chords and without warning Gerard leaned around her and opened the door nudging the girl and himself inside. Frank's head jerked up briefly, and his lips flickered into the warm smile of greeting he wore. Feeling out of place in the homely little room Lily frowned and wondered how he'd gotten stuck here.

"Hey you lovebirds." He teased and Gerard stiffened next to her, a look of panic rolling over his figure. It wasn't a big deal to Lily because even within the short time she'd known the two- the woman was used to his teasing. Brushing past it the woman gestured towards his guitar.

"Frank you're awesome! Why are you a cop again?" He chuckled at her enthusiasm, and shrugged.

"I think we can blame that fucker over there. I told him we could totally be a band; but he was dead-set on being a cop."

"A travesty, you could be the lead singer, I'd buy your albums." A little blush spread across Frank's face, and it was clear he was very pleased.

"Well I don't know, Gerard got Peter Pan in the school play. I gotta admit the man's got some talent." At this Gerard grumbled how much he disagreed with this but Frank laughed. "Take a compliment Gee." This went unacknowledged by the hazel eyed man, but he also stopped complaining.

"Did you write that yourself?" It wasn't a piece Lily had ever heard before.

"Yup! Original piece." The pride was unignorable as well as the gleam of excitement that was smoldering in his eyes. Running a hand through her tangled mess of hair the petite woman glanced at Gerard, wondering what he sounded like when he sung. If she thought that Frankie was good, Gerard had to really good; after all he was Peter Pan. That was noted smugly and Lily thought she may have some material to tease him with. Before Frank and Lily could talk further Gerard cleared his throat.

"Frank, I have to go check in with Lyle." He nodded with an easy going shrug as if it didn't matter to him; Lily was wondering who Lyle was though. Not wanting to sound nosy the woman kept her mouth shut as Gerard left Frankie's room.

"Who's Lyle?" She asked, standing in the middle of the room, a few minutes after Gerard had left.

"The captain." Frank chuckled, striking a few random chords on his guitar. That made more sense because if Gerard got to call people, than Lily would want to. Kara hadn't had time enough to go hound after the cops for a phone and Stephen seemed to be going through withdrawal symptoms away from his beloved phone and laptop.

"Ohhh, that makes a lot more sense." Lily piped and was about to turn away when Frank patted his bed.

"Come sit, I'll play you a song." A wry grin lit up Lily's face, and she did as he ask, perching on the edge putting a bit of space between them.

"What do you know?"

"What do you want to hear?" He countered, and she tried to think of the most obscure composition she could think of.

"Into the Ocean." Her brain finally settled on and he looked surprised.

"By Blue October? That's a great song; sit tight." His fingers deftly and competently plucked the chords, opening the song up. He was very, very good and Lily was really enjoying herself. His unique voice sounded quite good with the lyrics and the same vulnerability that she heard before had crept back into Frank's voice- making the lyrics that much more sellable.

Lily was shocked that he knew the song, but it was a pleasant shock. At the end he just began screwing around with the chords and laughed at her pout.

"It was great!" She assured, as if he needed it, once Frank finished.

"I know." He purred, seemingly very content and proud of himself. The smugness that normally shrouded Gerard, seemed to have transferred to him and Lily giggled with disbelief.

"Well, I suppose you don't need my opinion."

"Nah, I like your opinion." He assured in a cheerful voice as he put the guitar down next to the bed. "God I'm tired." He whined after a moment and Lily would agree with that statement. His eyes looked a bit sunken and deep, dark bags discolored the skin underneath those honey green eyes that glittered against the pale skin they were set in.

"You should take a nap then." The suggestion was spoken with an air of logical obviousness.

"Mmm.." He murmured and flopped back on the twin sized bed, which nearly pushed Lily off the edge. Assuming he was going to take her advice the petite woman stood up and stretched, trying to push the weariness out of her blood stream.

"Sleep is contagious! I'm leaving." He nodded, and a soft sigh left his lips which may of been a "See you later." But it was so soft and obscured by the breath that rushed to leave his lips, Lily couldn't be sure. Stepping outside the door she closed it gently and made her way towards the stairs. The door to Lily and Gerard's room was open and she could see him sprawled out with a cell phone pushed to his ear.

"Yes things haven't gone according to plan, but I don't understand what the big deal i- No I'm not doubting your judgement!" Anger and agitation colored his words and moving a bit closer, she noticed that his hands were tangled and gripped the blankets tightly as if trying to force his temper under control. There was silence for a minute before Gerard spoke up, talking in a soft though harsh voice. "I understand the situation I've gotten into and if I get caught then it could jeopardize my job to protect them. However you're not listening when I say that we won't get caught. Frank's not going to blow the whistle and after a small rough patch her mother likes me and her brother doesn't want anything to do with me from my impression. Before I left you told me to protect her however I deem necessary- I deem this necessary to this family. Maybe not in the way that they won't be as physically safe, but their mental and emotional safety is just as important."

By the time he'd finished his speech, Gerard had risen from the bed with his back facing Lily one of his pale hands barely visible under the mass of raven black hair, while the other held the phone to his ear. Even from here Lily could see how tense Gerard was, and she was frightened that someone would hear him she stepped into their room and closed the door. The sound of wood brushing against wood and the click of the door had Gerard whirling on his feet, though very slightly relaxed when he saw it was just Lily; as if he hand't intended to relax at all which worried her.

"Yes Sir. I understand." His voice and face were stone cold, but his eyes reflected another story entirely. They were smoldering with hardly contained rage, and his hand trembled as it was lowered from clutching his hair to his side. "I'll call you in a week unless something changes." He hung up abruptly and his gaze swept over Lily; jaw clenching and clenching rapidly. Without even thinking of it Lily stepped closer, her own green eyes were wide and her heart beat elevated.

"What just happened?" She demanded in a quiet and almost reluctant manner to which Gerard seemed to gaze over her head as he answered. Staring at something, or someone who wasn't there.

"Nothing." That was obviously a lie and Lily frowned.

"Don't lie to me." He scoffed at this and his dark gaze flicked back to her; but it brought no relief. Instead it only brought a sense of unease and to an extent fright. The last time he'd looked at her like that was when he'd been known to her only as a stranger about to kill her.

"It's none of your fucking business." Flinching at his words as though he'd physically sliced her Gerard breezed past her without so much a backwards glance, and flinching in disgust as his body brushed against hers. As he left Gerard slammed the door leaving Lily alone and she was shocked to find herself trembling. Tears had built up in her glassy eyes but the stubborn woman refused to let them fall. There was no way she'd let him tear her down like that; whatever happened he had no right to speak to her like that.

No matter how confused or shocked she was, Lily couldn't bring herself to be angry. After all the petite brunette had the sinking suspicious this was about the fact they'd lied and said that they were engaged thus why they were abroad and hiding. Lips trembling she pushed them into a small, thin line as her vision clouded up. Rubbing at her watering orbs furiously Lily decided that she didn't care, and should probably go and do her makeup. After all, it'd take a bit to drive and Lily wanted to be a little early to her dinner with Alex.

She had decided to treat this as professional and tell the man that she'd never want to hear from him again; but realized that Gerard may not go. Or if he did go, he may cause more problems than not. Trying not to think about it she went into the bathroom and stood in front of the small, oval mirror examining her features. Lily's eyes were round and large on her face, and seemed to stand out more than anything else. Her nose while very straight, wasn't too large and her skin looked paler than she last remembered, but then again that could be the dark circles under her eyes that made her think that.

Her long brown hair fell loose around her, lacking any sort of curl or wave. Lily always had pin-straight thick hair that was impossible to do anything with. Feeling dissatisfied with the woman who stared back Lily quickly began to pull out her makeup bag from behind the small mirror and began to tend to her face. While she didn't want to look as if she'd dressed up for Alex, Lily also wasn't going to go out looking like a bum. After all Kara was sure to critique Lily and direct her on how to dress.

She'd been halfway done with her makeup when a quiet knock sounded on the door. Expecting it to be Gerard Lily put up a scowl and capping the eyeliner threw the door open, only to come face to face with Stephen. Quickly making her face seem more friendly Lily smiled and raised an eyebrow. "What's up Steph?" He looked agitated at the nickname but didn't say anything about it.

"What the fuck happened?" Tilting her head Lily feigned innocence for the only thing her mind would drag up was the earlier incident with Gerard.

"Gerard. He just stormed out of the house and hasn't come back. We heard him shouting up here but couldn't really hear what he was saying. Plus you look upset- did that fucker do something to you?" Stephen's tone was dark, black with rage and it was clear he didn't trust Gerard.

"Uh, he didn't really do something to me. He got into a fight with his boss- I think about the vacation so he isn't really happy." It wasn't exactly a lie so Lily felt a little less bad about it. Stephen's features hardened and his nose flared, something he always did when he was angry.

"He had no right to take it out on you. You're missing work too, hell we all are." Stretching up on her toes Lily wrapped her younger brother in a hug and he hugged her back. Whether for comfort or for strength Lily didn't really know.

"Thanks Stephen." Lily sighed and pulled away trying to blink back a few tears. Stephen noticed this and his face stiffened and he reached out laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll break his kneecaps Lily. I really will, I've seen it in all the mob movies." Involuntarily the petite woman flinched and shook her head- feeling nauseous.

"Let's not." She forced a little smile to her lips and Stephen, miraculously began to laugh.

"Yeah, Mom still loves him. She kept whining about him at first, but now she likes him. Even stopped asking me to demand where the ring was." Stephen was saying all the wrong things and Lily just forced a little laugh.

"Well unfortunately he knows how terrible I am at keeping track of small objects- so it's on a ring. Traditional? No. Practical, yes." The two siblings smiled at each other, and for a brief moment seemed to actually be getting along. Glancing at the time Lily winced and turned back to her brother with apologetic eyes.

"I have to keep getting ready, thanks for checking on me Steph." No sour look crossed his face and a little smile graced his features as he shrugged.

"Don't mention it. Mom was too scared to come herself." Lily laughed and shook her head.

"Always sending people to do her dirty work. Sent Gerard after me earlier." He nodded and turning back towards the door.

"Well, if Alex gives you trouble I'll go talk to his mum. She loves me." Lily nodded, feeling surprisingly touched at his offer.

"I'm sure he will, but don't worry about it." She called after him before turning back to the sink to finish getting ready. Once finished with her face, Lily just decided to straighten her hair so it looked a little better than the frizzy mess it was now. About thirty minutes and four burns later Lily was ready to go and slipping into her flats silently headed down the stairs. Her mother and brother were watching something, and waved as she passed.

"Has Gerard come back?" Even Lily could hear the pathetic note of pleading in her voice and Kara sighed shaking his head.

"No I'm sorry Baby Girl." It had always been her mother's nickname, something she used whenever she wanted to break something gently to her.

"Oh. Alright, well I'm heading out now." The disappointment was evident in Lily's voice. Flashing a sympathetic smile Kara paused the TV.

"Don't spend too long out OK? He's not worth your time, especially not your beauty." That was probably one of the sweetest thing her unintentionally abrasive, filter lacking mother had ever said.

"Wow, alright then." Giving a bit of nervous laughter Lily moved towards the door and Lily paused as Kara called after her.

"Either of them. OK? You're too good to be bossed around by him, so I suggest when he comes back you tell him what's what." This warmed Lily and gave her enough strength and courage to head out to what she knew would a night straight from a horror book. Nodding and not trusting herself to speak Lily headed out of the door, softly closing it behind her.

Snowflakes fell from quickly darkening skies dusting her shoulders and head, bringing a bright pink to her cheeks as well. The car was a short walk and sliding in Lily couldn't help but stall for a couple minutes and despite her dim hope that Gerard would come, she saw no one and turned the ignition carefully pulling out into the snowy evening.