Dylana wakes up confused. She looks around the room. "Where am I? Nick must have brought me in here." She goes to the kitchen and finds Nick eating a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning." he says.

"Good morning. I'm sorry about falling asleep. Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so peaceful and it was late, I didn't want you out there alone."

"That's sweet of you. I was supposed to call my friend, Tammy last night, she's probably worried sick. May I use your phone?"

"Sure."

Dylana dials Tammy's number. "Hello?" Tammy answers.

"Hey, it's Dylana."

"Girl where have you been. I tried to call you several times."

"I'm at Nick's."

"WHAT?!" Tammy yells in her ear. Nick hears and snickers. "You spent the night with him?!"

"I fell asleep while we were watching TV. I'll be there in a little bit. Okay?"

"Okay. I want to know what happened."

"Bye."

"Later."

"Which one doesn't she trust, you or me?" asks Nick.

Dylana laughs. "I don't know. She just worries about me. Not many guys pay attention to me, in a good way that is, on account of my face. When I told her about you she worried because we're from different worlds and you're still getting over Rachel. Which reminds me I'm really sorry about that kiss."

Nick walks over to her. "Don't be. You just surprised me."

"But you said you weren't ready for it."

"I will never get over Rachel entirely but..." He takes hold of her hands. "I can move on."

She smiles. "Since you cooked yesterday why don't I make us dinner later at my place?"

"Sounds good."

"I can make us some burgers and we can play my Play Station."

"You have a Play Station!"

"Yeah, and I bet I can beat you."

"We'll see about that. You want something to eat?"

"No thanks; I'll get something at Tammy's. I better be going now. Can you be at my place around four?"

"Yeah."

"See you then."

"Bye." They hug and kiss each other on the cheek.

"Hi." says Dylana opening the door to Nick.

"Hey." he says. He looks around. "Nice place."

"Thanks. I like it but it's not as nice as yours." Nick just smiles at her. "Well I better check on the burgers."

After they eat she hooks up her play station. They play three games and Dylana wins two. "Wow!" exclaims Nick. "You are good."

"I know." she says smiling slyly.

Nick rolls his eyes. "So Lani I can't believe I'm just know asking you this but what is it that you do for a living?"

"I can't believe before now. Well Tammy and I design clothes and we started a little boutique a couple months before my accident. It's called Tamlana, we put our names together." she says with a laugh. "Ever hear of it?"

"Yeah, I think Rae went there a few times."

"I don't go into the shop too much because...it's bothers some of the customers. So mainly I work here and Tammy comes by and picks up the finished products. She and some other salesgirls do the rest."

"So it's not just the to of you is it?"

"Oh no, we have them clothes made in a factory but I do most of the designs. I just love to draw."

"Me too. And where are your folks?"

"My parents live in Arizona. I'm an only child. How about your family?"

"I'm the oldest of five kids, I have a half-sister who's older than me. My parents and younger siblings live in in California. I'd like you to meet them sometime."

"That would be nice. My parents are just like Tammy they worried when I told them about you. They want to meet you, as does Tammy."

"That'd be fine. What did Tammy say to you about spending the night at my place?"

"She just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to take advantage of me. I told her that it was kinda the other way around because...you know. I wasn't thinking when I did it."

"Lani stop apologizing about that kiss." He looks deep into her eyes. "As a matter of fact I'd like to repeat it." He places his hand on the back of her head and pulls her toward him and places his lips on hers. She wraps her arms around his neck.

When they finally break free Dylana is breathless. "Wow."

"Yeah." says Nick trying to catch his own breath. "How about another?"

Dylana smiles and reclaims his lips with hers. After a moment Nick pulls away. "What's wrong?" Dylana asks.

"Nothing." answers Nick smiling. "I know I said we'd take things slow but my heart has other ideas. I never thought I'd feel this way again. Dylana Oliver I'm falling in love with you."

Tears come to her eyes. "That's good because I'm falling in love with you Nickolas Carter." They kiss again.

A few days later Nick takes Dylana to meet his family. "Nick I'm nervous."

"Don't be. My family is not hard to get along with as long as you follow their rule."

"RULES?!"

"Rule, one rule. Love and respect me and treat me right."

"I can do that."

"And I can do the same for you." He kisses her.

They head for the door. "Wait. What about my face?"

"They know."

"Okay."

Aaron has seen them through the window and opens the door before Nick
has the chance to ring the doorbell. "Hi. You must be Dylana. I'm Aaron."

"Oh my gosh. You're Nick with brown eyes."

"Twins eight years apart." says Aaron.

"And this is his actually twin Angel." announces Nick. "And my other sisters BJ and Leslie."

"Hi." they say.

"Hi." replies Dylana.

Bob and Jane enter the room. "And these are my parents."

"Hello." says Bob.

"Nick's told us a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you." say Jane.

"It's nice to meet all of you."

They have dinner and talk for a while. Aaron and Nick go outside to play basketball. "Dylana I have to tell you that after Nick lost Rachel I never thought I'd see him this happy again." confesses Jane.

"You're a terrific young woman." proclaims Bob. "I'm glad Nick has you."

"I'm glad I have him."

When Dylana and Nick are getting ready to leave Aaron pulls her aside and whispers, "Thank you for giving me my brother back."

"What do you mean?" she asks confused.

"Nick's not been the same since Rae died. He's Nick again now that he has you. Thank you for making him happy again."

"You're welcome. I love him, I'll take care of him don't worry."

"I'm not worried anymore."

Nick comes over. "Lani it's getting late."

"I'm coming." she says. "Bye Aaron."

"Bye Dylana. Bye Nick."

"Bye Little Bro."

On the way back to Dylana's she tells Nick, "Your family is great."

"I know. If I didn't have them I know I wouldn't have survived losing Rachel." He smiles at her. "And I wouldn't have found you." She smiles back.

When they pull into her driveway Nick's cell phone rings. "Hello? Hey what's up? WHAT?! Oh man. Yeah, okay, fine. Bye."

"What was that about?" asks Dylana.

"Let's go inside first."

Once inside she says, "Nick you're scaring me."

He hugs her. "Oh Baby there's no reason to be scared, I'm just annoyed."

"Why?"

"That was my manager. I have to leave for Florida in a couple of days to start rehearsing for a world tour that will start next week."

"How long does the tour last?"

"Two months."

"I don't want to go two months without seeing you."

"You don't have to, you can come with me."

She pulls away. "No I can't."

"Why not?"

"Nick look at me. I can see the tabloids now, 'Cutie and the Beast.' I can't deal with that."

"Maybe you wouldn't have to but I understand you not wanting to risk it. He sighs and says, "Well we'll just call and e-mail constantly."

She smiles. "Sounds like a plan. Why don't you stay here tonight? Then tomorrow I can go with you to your place and help you pack."

"That's a good idea."

She takes his hand and leads him to her bedroom. "Lani..."

"We'll just sleep, I'm not ready for that either." Nick smiles. She gets her nightshirt. "I'll be right back." she says heading for the bathroom. Nick strips down to his underwear and climbs in bed. Dylana comes back into the room and gets under the covers and smiles lovingly at him.

He smiles back. "Come here." he whispers reaching out for her. She snuggles up to him and puts her head on his chest After a moment he raises her head, looks into her eyes, then kisses her passinately. "I love you, Lani."

"I love you, Nick." They kiss again then she places her head back on his chest. He turns out the light and soon they fall asleep.