For disclaimers: see part one.

Thanks to Fiona for doing the necessary spelling and grammar check. It's apreciated..;-)

After knocking a third time Danni looked at her watch to check the time. "11.05", she read aloud. "I'm definitely not early." She glanced at the door again as if it would miraculously open this time, which of course it didn't. Sighing, the blonde took in her surroundings, Kyra's apartment was on the top floor of the building, sharing the hallway with one other tenant. The stairwell was to her right while the elevator was directly in front of her.

"Well, at least I know she'll have to come through here if she wants to reach her place. I'll just wait here, Kyra wouldn't have forgotten about our trip," she muttered to herself as she sat down with her back leaning against the door of 24B.

Tilting her head and closing her eyes she wryly thought to herself: ‘And how do you know she won't forget or just stand you up? You have known her now for what? One day?'

"One day and an evening," she corrected herself, grinning sheepishly when the other door suddenly opened and a young man stepped out. The guy had fiery red hair and a freckled face that held a startled expression upon seeing Danni on the floor.

"Don't worry, I'm not some crazy person talking to herself out here. I'm waiting for Kyra," the blonde quickly explained.

"Actually I was talking to myself, but the crazy part really isn't true," she amended cheerfully while getting up and offering her hand. "I'm Danni."

The guy showed a full set of brilliant white teeth as he took the offered hand and introduced himself. "I'm Tim, nice to meet you. Sorry if I seemed rather dense right now but it's not every day I walk out of my apartment to find a lovely lady sitting on the floor."

Danni inwardly rolled her eyes, thinking it was a good thing he didn't add a wink to the whole package cause she would have lost it. Containing her laughter she gave him a friendly smile and moved out of the way to give him room to reach the elevator.

Tim slowly walked by, turning around when he reached the doors and asked: "You sure you haven't been stood up? I have a little time before my class starts. Want to join me for a drink?"

"No thanks, Tim. I'm sure she'll be here any minute now," Danni responded, moving to take her spot on the ground again.

"Okay. Some other time then," came the confident reply before he entered the elevator. With a quick wave and a smile he was gone, leaving a chuckling blonde behind, thinking, ‘You might change your mind if you found out you wouldn't get what you probably want from me.'

Another glance at her watch showed it was nearing 11.15. ‘I'm gonna wait until half past, but then I'm out of here,' she decided, shifting a bit to try and get comfortable on the hard floor while she waited.

******

Kyra breathed a sigh of relief when the Asian man finally seemed to be making an end to the conversation. The teacher had told them they needed to hand a paper in and that they needed to work in pairs on it. He'd already made teams and that was how she'd ended up with Yangrae.

A nice enough guy but a bit slow when it came to making arrangements for their project. ‘Of course the fact that he's yet someone else who loves to chatter away doesn't make it go any quicker,' she sighed to herself, blowing her hair out of her eyes in a frustrated manner.

Her eye fell on the clock at the end of the room and she could have kicked herself when she realized the time. ‘Danni must be at my place by now,' Kyra groaned, immediately feeling guilty for not paying better attention to the time.

"Listen Yangrae…." She started to say.

"Please Kyra, call me Yang. All my friends do that and since we're going to be working close together…" he responded quickly, a broad smile on his face.

Not giving him a chance to finish another, very likely long, statement, Kyra cut in. "All right, Yang. I've got to be somewhere and I was supposed to be there 5 minutes ago so I have to run. I'll be seeing you on Wednesday, right? 2 o'clock in the library?"

Barely standing long enough to see him nod, Kyra turned around and rushed off, hollering a goodbye over her shoulder. Once outside she quickened her pace until she was going at a light jog, hoping her blonde friend would still be there when she arrived home. Kyra didn't want to admit it, but she had been looking forward to spending the afternoon with her.

Reaching her building she nearly bowled someone over as they exited. Muttering an apology she bypassed the elevator and took the stairs to her floor where she stopped, slightly out of breath, to stare at the woman sitting against

her door.

Danni had her head tilted back and her eyes closed so the winded woman took the opportunity to study the peaceful face. Full lips that curled up slightly, a testament to her happy nature, and the few freckles adorning the skin of her nose. Blonde lashes fluttered and green eyes turned her way, catching Kyra's stare and keeping it for a few silent seconds.

"Hi," the dark haired woman offered, a little off balance after having been caught staring.

"Hey there." Danni studied the other woman. Her hair looked like she'd been sticking her head out of a car window, a light sweat could be seen on her brow and her shirt was so wrinkled, she wondered if ironing would do much good.

Yet, Kyra was still the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen and when a tentative smile started to appear on the tall woman's face Danni stood up, mirroring the smile as she stepped closer.

"Sorry about keeping you waiting. There was this thing with teams and my partner is a big talker and I lost track of time and…" Kyra started rambling, shutting up in surprise when she heard herself.

‘What the?…since when do I babble? Get a grip girl!' she chastised herself, moving past Danni to open her apartment door.

"It's okay Kyra. I had decided to give you half an hour and then I was gonna leave. I knew something had to have come up since you wouldn't just leave me waiting without a reason."

A surprised Kyra stopped her actions and glanced over her shoulder curiously. "How?"

"How what?" was the blonde's confused response.

"How did you know I wouldn't just stand you up?"

Danni shrugged. "I don't know, I knew, that's all. Call it instinct."

Kyra looked at her a few moments longer before continuing to open the door. Waving the interested woman inside she said, "Come on in. The fridge is on your left, help yourself. I'm going to take a quick shower to get rid of the sweat from my run and then we'll go. Is that okay with you?"

"You ran over here because I was waiting?" Danni asked, a smile lighting up her face at the thought of Kyra running to meet her.

A sheepish nod was her only answer and her smile broadened when Kyra hurriedly entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Green eyes roamed around the room, taking in the spartan living arrangements. A black leather couch was at one wall, facing a tv, with a sound system off to the side. A big bookcase lined the wall at Danni's right and she could see it was liberally filled. At first glance she saw a wide variety of subjects and authors and

judging by the appearance of most books it was clear Kyra was an avid reader.

Drawn to the boxing ball, Danni stared in amazement at the work out equipment stalled in the corner. Her new friend sure seemed to be keeping in shape, using a range of material that wasn't cheap to come by and all looking brand new.

‘I wonder how she can afford a place on her own, not to mention the stuff I'm seeing here,' the small woman mused, quickly forgetting the thought when further inspection of the room showed no personal items to be found anywhere.

Her eye caught on a photo frame that was placed on the counter seperating the living room from a small kitchen. Shaking her head Danni chuckled, "Doesn't look like it's been used even once, not a very homey person I guess."

Hesitantly she reached out to pick up the photo, almost letting out a scream when a soft voice spoke up behind her, "Go on, take a look if you want to."

Whirling around Danni clutched the frame against her chest to face Kyra who was busily drying her hair. "Sorry I scared you," the tall woman smiled, nodding when she read the question in Danni's eyes. "It's really okay. Those are my parents and brother, Aiden."

The smaller woman returned her attention to the photo. It showed a tall broad-shouldered man with dark hair and brown eyes, his arm around a petite woman. Kyra's mom's hair was of a lighter color and the blue eyes came from her, although they lacked the certain something that made Kyra's eyes

so special. In front of their parents were a young girl with long black hair, tied back in a pony tail and a boy in his teens, standing proudly with his hand protectively on his sister's shoulder. Both kids were smiling brightly into the camera, eyes sparkling with mischief. The bond between the 4 people was obvious.

"Beautiful photo. You can see the love you all share. Where do they live?" Danni asked, putting the frame back on the counter.

Kyra was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, we did love each other a lot," she softly mumbled. Shaking her head she responded,"As far as I know they still live upstate. Haven't talked to them in quite some time now, so they might have moved since then."

The blonde woman stepped closer and put her hand on Kyra's arm. "I'm sorry to hear that. I won't go asking about it now, but please know you can always talk to me if you need it. I'll be there for you anytime."

Kyra looked into sincere green eyes and nodded in acknowledgement. "Thanks Danni. I might take you up on that offer in the future, but give me some time."

The young woman smiled and gave the toned arm a squeeze. "Hey, I met Tim by the way. Odd guy, but he seems nice."

Getting nothing but a confused look she continued, "Tim, your neighbour. About this high and with really, really red hair. Hard to miss."

Kyra sat down to put on her shoes while saying, "Ah, haven't met him yet. Can't say I'm much of a socializer. And I've only been here a few weeks."

Danni looked at her disbelievingly. "But he's your neighbour, you must have run into him at some point."

"Nope. All right, I'm ready to go," the darkhaired woman stated. "Where are we going by the way?" she added.

"Well," Danni ticked off on her fingers. "We're going downtown where I'll show you the park and some other places where you can run if you get bored with the stadium. Then I was planning on showing some other sights, but I'm willing to bet your fridge is totally empty." She said with a pointed stare in Kyra's direction who nodded reluctantly.

"Sooo, shopping is in order. Therefore I figure the mall would be a good place to go as well, and while we're there we can pick out some things for your walls. Cause, excuse me for telling you this, they really need something to cheer this place up."

Danni pondered a bit before stating, "That should do it for now. We have training this afternoon as well."

"What a lovely way to spend my afternoon: shopping." Kyra groaned in exaggaration before plaintively asking, "And what's wrong with my walls?"

The little blonde took one look at the bare walls covered in white paint, snorted and grabbed her friend's hand on her way out of the door.

******

Danni felt a little guilty when she looked at her tall companion. Kyra was juggling an impressive number of packages while hanging on to an assortment of bags and to say she looked miserable would be an understatement.

Her guilt grew when she caught the blue eyes and noticed the brave smile Kyra tried to bestow on her. It didn't quite work. Shifting the few bags in her own hands she ambled closer. "What do you say to bringing this stuff home before going on to our next mission of filling your fridge?"

Kyra sighed in relief, raised her eyebrow and replied, "To whose home do you want to bring it? Mine or the place where it has to go in the end: yours?"

Danni blushed slightly at being caught. "Okay, okay. I'm a shop-aholic, what do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. How about: I am going to show you the mall, but only so that I have a mule to carry around my packages while I race from one store to another indulging my desire to shop?" came the sarcastic response.

Watching her shuffling feet the smaller woman apologised and peeked up at her friend, batting her eyelashes when she pleaded, "You can forgive me, can't you?"

Having a hard time resisting the green eyes and strangely endeared by the childlike expression on Danni's face, Kyra sighed resignedly and quirked a smile.

"Alright, but only if we can put this stuff at my place for now, it's closer by and we don't have time to walk to your house, go grocery shopping and make it to training in time."

"Fine by me," the blonde cheerfully replied, already on her way to the exit. Suddenly she stopped and exclaimed, "Kyra, look at this. It would be perfect!"

The darkhaired woman groaned. "For you or for me?" Coming alongside of her excited companion she tilted her head first left, then right. After a few seconds of

contemplation she shrugged and said, "I give. What is it and what should anyone do with it?"

The question earned her a swat at the arm which unbalanced the packages she held. Hearing the muttered curses and sensing the movement besides her, Danni turned just in time to catch a few of the packages while Kyra landed on her butt in front of the display window.

Looking up at her accusingly she grumbled,"Yeah, you would go for the packages first. Never mind me." Getting to her feet she shot a glare at the blonde who was doubled over in laughter, not in the least bit impressed by the murderous intent that showed in the blue eyes.

When a shadow came upon her Danni acknowledged her surroundings and saw a tall, menacing form stalking towards her. Raising her hands she took a few steps backwards to get away from the still grumbling Kyra who kept advancing on her.

"Now, Kyra. Relax, it was an accident. I didn't mean to laugh at you, it was just so

funny," she started giggling again, unable to stifle it as she envisioned the whole thing happening again.

"Uhuh. Was it as funny as this?" Kyra asked sweetly, lunging in the backtracking woman's direction causing Danni to make a large jump backwards. Her calf bumped into an unexpected obstacle and she started to lose her balance. Last thing Danni saw before glancing over her shoulder and seeing the water rapidly approaching was the broad, satisfied smile on her tall friend's face and the little wave she gave with her right hand.

After finally getting out of the fountain filled with water and fish, helped the by other people in the mall who had watched the scene play out in amusement, Danni rushed by a seated Kyra, wringing out her wet hair and grabbing a few bags on her way past.

The tall woman stood, picked up her fallen packages and bags, and followed the still fuming blonde outside, chuckling to herself as she went.

Speeding up until she was walking alongside her silent friend she bumped her shoulder. "Ah, come on Danni. You can't be mad over this. Be a sport, it was fun."

Danni continued to walk on in silence. After several more attempts at starting up a conversation, and when there was no response to Kyra's third round of apologies, the tall woman fell silent as well.

‘Maybe you went too far, it's not like you're children anymore. And it can be quite humiliating to fall in a fountain before the eyes of the shopping public,' Kyra acknowledged.

The brooding woman didn't notice the covert glances thrown at her. ‘I wonder what she's thinking about. She looks so sad all of a sudden,' Danni pondered the question for a little while longer, noticing that her friend didn't want to look at her.

‘Or dare look at me,' she suddenly realized with clarity. ‘I've been acting like a jerk and she must think she has really pissed me off. Get your act together Danni girl, you had this coming. Don't play if you can't take it. Isn't that what you always told us, Dad?'

Slowing down until she was standing still Danni waited for Kyra to catch her eye. Finally a hesitant look was thrown in her direction and she smiled, glad to see the guarded expression slowly leave the blue orbs.

"You do know you'll have to watch your back from now on, right? Paybacks are a bitch after all," she stated with conviction. Kyra felt the relief stream through her body when she saw the twinkling green staring back at her and she couldn't keep the answering smile from her face.

"I'm counting on it, Shortster." came the confident reply, ignoring the dangerous narrowing of Danni's eyes at the mention of being short.

"Glad you're not mad at me and didn't decide you don't want to see me ever again," followed in soft voice. This immediately took away the breath Danni had accumulated to give her a hard time about the ‘Shortster'.

Green eyes softened. This was a side she hadn't seen before. Kyra suddenly looked so vulnerable Danni had to restrain herself from hugging her on the spot. Judging from the earlier reaction on her doorstep that would not be received too well, so all she did was grasp her arm and give it a squeeze. "Not on your life. I like you too much already," she whispered in response.

Not waiting for a reaction she started moving again and after a few steps Kyra came out of her stupor and returned to her side. Glancing sideways she saw the smile on the tall woman's lips and all of a sudden Danni felt giddy. She knew she was moving onto dangerous ground here, her feelings for her friend quickly surpassing the bounds of friendship, but she wasn't sure that she could stop it. Or that she wanted to.

******

Chad's diner was filled by the Friday night crowd, a large part being formed by a loud group in the far left corner of the establishment. The soccer team was a lively bunch and it showed. Howls of laughter could be heard every other minute, usually brought on by a teasing remark or the recounting of a memorable

event.

Kyra was leaning back in the booth, arms crossed and legs stretched out under the table. She'd eaten the famous chilli burgers and was trying to decide when she could leave without seeming rude.

Training had been good. The coach had come up to her afterwards asking if she felt ready to play the match on Saturday since Tora hadn't been able to keep up for a whole practice session. The tall woman had assured Josh she was ready and he proceeded to inform the team of his decision.

That hadn't caused as much trouble as she had feared; they all knew the rule. ‘Be able to train fully the day before a match, otherwise you're deemed not fit and not able to play.' Some doubtful looks had been thrown her way, but Kyra had shrugged those off and instantly forgotten about them as soon as she had caught sparkling green eyes that were looking at her, utterly convinced that she would do fine.

A small smile fleeted over her face at the thought. Then a sudden push at the shoulder called her back to the here and now. Resisting the urge to lash out at the girl who was now waving her hand in front of her face, she maintained her relaxed position and merely turned an inquisitive look in the brunette's direction. ‘Wendy, I think she's called,' Kyra thought, still not having learned all the names.

"Hey, Kyra! Where did you just go with your thoughts?" Receiving nothing more than a blank stare, Wendy quickly continued, "I was just thinking, we're here to get to know you but you're not talking at all, girl."

Smiling invitingly she waited for the new player to start telling. Kyra glanced around the table and saw only interested faces staring back at her as other conversations fell silent. A certain blonde was looking particularly interested.

‘Well, doesn't look like I can get out of this one,' the resigned woman thought to herself. "Alright, what is it you want to know?"

Kyra almost blew out of her seat when the force of the questions hit her.

"Where are you from?"

"Family? Living here?"

"How did you end up here?"

"Boyfriend?" "Or girlfriend?" someone piped up, causing a few chuckles around the table.

"Where did you learn how to play soccer like that?"

"And how come you haven't played for so long?"

Grinning a bit, Kyra formed her answers. "A little town upstate. Parents and one older brother, probably still living there. Had a rough time, needed a change of pace and a new place to start. Someone told me about this college once."

Taking a breath she quickly continued, not allowing anyone to cut in. "No way. And also no. Grew up with the neighborhood kids, mostly boys and got infected by the soccer bug at a young age. Turned out I had talent so my parents and brother encouraged me to keep playing."

Danni could see her friend tensing up as she made her last statement in a clipped tone of voice, indicating the subject of why she hadn't played in such a long time wasn't up for discussion. "Like I said, had a rough time and no opportunity to play soccer."

"Okay, anyone want another drink?" Logan, one of the very few males at the table called out. Danni shot her childhood friend a grateful look for taking the attention away from an obviously uncomfortable Kyra.

Orders flew over the table and conversations started up again while he made his way over to the counter. Tora stopped near the dark haired woman, pulling along a handsome blonde man. "Kyra? I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Lars."

Straightening up, Kyra held out her hand. Smiling at the large guy she leaned in and stage-whispered in his ear, "I'm sure you're happy she's feeling better again. Quite a mood she gets in, isn't it?"

Lars chuckled, "You don't have to tell me!" Which earned him a slap on the butt from a frowning Tora. "Watch it, buddy. I don't thinks she's gonna give you what I do, so you'd better not be siding with her," she threatened her boyfriend.

"Kyra, I'm going home now. Still not feeling all that well. I know Danni has to go by your place to pick up the things she bought, take care of her alright?"

Blue eyes looked at her in confusion, causing Tora to sigh exasperatedly. "I'll spell it out for you then. I've seen the way you are around each other..Hell, I even think I got burnt by some flying sparks."

She smiled at the light blush that graced high cheekbones. "Sooo, I have a strong feeling something is going on between you two and Dan is my best friend. You could be a friend as well, but I don't know you yet and you seem to be having some issues."

Tora held up her hands when she saw Kyra was about to speak, "And I don't care about those, but I do know it's been a long time since I saw Danni interested in anyone. Hurt her and you get me on your tail."

Kyra nodded at the protective friend. Grasping Tora's hand she gave it a squeeze and said, "I can't promise to never hurt her, Tora. All I can do is promise I'll always do what is best for her. And yes, I do like her. A lot. But I'm not sure I'm going to move on that thought. I'm happy knowing she has you to watch out for her and if we can become friends, I'd like that."

"Alright, but I reserve the sole judgement of when I should be on your tail," Tora winked at the dark haired woman just as the topic of their conversation walked over.

Giving her friend a hug and waving at her teammates still seated at the table, Tora grabbed Lars' hand and left for home. Danni glanced at the seating Kyra curiously, "How come I have a feeling I interrupted something?"

The dark haired woman shrugged a bit, "I don't know why you have that feeling. They're your friends after all." She answered dryly, ducking a blow aimed for her shoulder.

"She just came over to introduce me to her boyfriend," Kyra chuckled when the little blonde stood waiting for a further explanation. "And she asked me to take care of you."

The last statement, spoken in a softer voice, caught Danni off guard. Thoughts were tumbling through her head. ‘Take care of me? Why is she asking her that? I'm not that obvious in liking her, am I? And even if I was, what makes Tora think she can interfere and embarrass Kyra by assuming she likes me to.'

The smaller woman grew a bit angry with her friend, afraid she'd misread Kyra's signals and things were going to be awkward from now on. ‘Or she scared her off and things are gonna be awkward.'

While Danni was busy questioning herself and the way Kyra felt, getting nervous and worked up, the tall woman rose from her seat and leaned in to whisper, "Don't worry, I said I would. But I'd like you to take care of me now and get me out of here. I've had it, to be completely honest with you."

She winked at the staring blonde, giving her a little push when no reaction was forthcoming. "Come on, Danni. We need to get your packages and I want a good night's sleep to be prepared for the match tomorrow."

Danni shook her head a little to clear it and turned to her team. "Girls, we're leaving now and I suggest you do the same. You all know the game tomorrow is gonna be tough and I need all of you ready to win," she ended in a loud voice, beaming a grin at the table.

"Yes m'am!" The women shouted, mock-saluting their captain as was their habit.

Still grinning, Danni turned around to catch the highly raised eyebrow of their new team member. "Yes, I expect you to get the hang of it pretty soon. After all, I am your leader," she stated smugly, gliding past her tall companion who followed, grumbling something about weird habits, short leaders and her urge to play again.

"Sooo, what do y'all think?" Wendy turned to the remaining women after the exit of their captain with Kyra.

"Mmm, I don't know," Sue mumbled. "She seems good enough on the field, she can hold her own and I think she can be a valuable player, but there's something there. I don't believe she's telling us everything."

Mari nodded in agreement. "Yes, she's not too keen on talking about herself and I wonder what made her stop playing for so long. Yet, she could just be a bit shy and maybe she'll loosen up after a while. Actually, Kyra seems nice. I like her so far."

The girl seated next to her gave her a jab in the side. "Ha, I think her very good looks have something to do with that as well. I've seen the way you look at her, Mari."

Smiling sheepishly Mari acknowledged, "I can't deny I've noticed that. But you all know I have a very wonderful person waiting for me at home. Speaking of her, I'd better get a move on."

The sound of whips being cracked accompanied the redhead outside, leaving only a few members behind. A tall girl with blond hair ended the discussion, "Well, Danni really likes her and if she likes her, she must be worth it."

Mutters of agreement rose around the table, everyone knowing what a good judge of character their captain was. With the situation of the new player settled, they all grabbed their stuff and made their way home, already starting to focus on the coming match.

******

"Wow, I'm tired," Danni yawned unashamedly, mouth so far open Kyra could see her tonsils.

The tall woman had to admit to being tired herself, first shopping, then training and dinner with the team had worn her out. ‘Guess you're not used to it anymore, are you?' she asked herself, not wanting to think about what had tired her the most.

Kyra couldn't help it though, she knew that being in the company of so many people at once had rattled her nerves. Used to keeping her guard up, that was exactly what she had done in the diner. Trying to keep track of everything and everyone, always prepared for……Something.

"I think I hid it pretty well though. Or at least I didn't attack anyone who came into my space suddenly. Like that Wendy,' she thought wryly.

Glancing over at her now silent companion she admitted to herself that Danni had noticed her tension. Kyra had caught the look of gratitude towards Logan when he'd jumped in during the questioning.

At first she had felt a stab of jealousy but then she had noticed green eyes looking at her with concern showing and a feeling of relief had coursed through her body. That, and the warning from Tora, had made her believe there might be a chance for her with Danni.

‘Yeah, once you sort yourself out and decide whether or not you want to break the girl's heart. You know that's gonna happen if you let it go too far. At some point you'll have to tell her, won't you?' Shaking the grim thoughts from her mind, Kyra put her hand on the blonde's shoulder when she noticed Danni was about to walk by her apartment building.

"Here we are Danni, come on up."

A sleepy gaze turned her way and Danni smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that. When I'm really tired my surroundings tend to fade out."

Getting upstairs and waving Danni in, Kyra stood watching her friend for a few minutes. The blonde was standing in the middle of the room, looking around like she didn't know what to do next. Finally she noticed her bags and she stumbled over, almost falling over when she picked them up.

"Okay, I'm set. I'll see you at the field tomorrow, right?" The blonde said in farewell as she made her way to the door.

Hesitating only a few moments, Kyra put herself between the door and Danni. "Look, before you say anything, hear me out. All right?"

Waiting to get confirmation she continued, "You're almost falling asleep on your feet and I'd feel much better if you spent the night here."

Kyra held up a hand when she saw Danni was about to open her mouth. "It would be smarter anyway. You can go to sleep immediately and get the most rest possible. I have a bed you can borrow while I camp on the couch. And, most importantly, you can show me how to use my kitchen to make breakfast tomorrow, otherwise all the shopping will go to waste." Kyra ended with a winning

smile.

The blonde yawned, nodded and put down her bags. Walking past the tall woman she mumbled, "I'm taking the couch though."

Not giving Kyra the chance to react she walked over and fell down on it, asleep immediately, while the dark haired woman looked on in mild surprise. Shaking her head she walked to her bedroom to get some blankets to cover the sleeping Danni.

Crouching down she took off the blonde's shoes and after silent contemplation she also removed her sweater and jeans, leaving Danni to sleep comfortably in a t-shirt and panties.

Kyra sat staring at the peaceful face of her new friend and tried to imagine how it would be if she could just forget all about the past and try to make something with this talkative, compassionate blonde woman who had quickly become important to her.

Sighing, she brushed an errant lock off of Danni's face, watching the twitches that followed her touch and gasping softly when the sleeping woman pushed her cheek against her palm, a smile gracing the full lips.

Not able to contain her own answering smile she sat there for a few more seconds, enjoying the close contact and letting it warm her from the inside out.

Kyra couldn't remember feeling this good in a very long time. Leaning in, she planted a soft kiss on Danni's forehead and whispered, "Thanks."

Undressing on her way to bed she came to a decision; she would try as hard as she could to be happy once again and Kyra felt that the blonde sleeping on her couch was an integral part in achieving just that. ‘And maybe, just maybe Danni won't need to know what happened. No, forget that Kiriakis, you know she has to be told cause she'll find out sooner or later. Yet, she might be able to get past it and still love you.'

And with that thought Kyra turned off the lights, also going to sleep with a smile on her face.

******

part 3