It's only natural... (Rooker and Abbie)

Rooker had decided that he was going to take Abbie out to somewhere a little bit dangerous, to give the evening some extra flavour. She wanted to go out to a club and he had agreed so long as he could pick the club they went to.

She had, no doubt, assumed it was so that he could pick a club without vampires.

But he had decided that they were going to go to one of the oldest clubs in town; The Show. It was the oldest and yet it was still massively popular due to it's rich and beautiful owners and frequenters.

They were just approaching in the taxi now. Stepping out, Rooker caught some looks from his tight black t-shirt and his dark grey jeans. Moving over to the other side of the cab, he slipped the driver a fifty and opened the door for Abbie to exit the taxi,

"Here we are Abbie... The Show." he told her with a small smirk, "It has both vampire and human patrons but don't worry... all the bouncers are a special kind of hunter. They are the ones who keep this all secret so they won't have any violence or feeding here."

He winked at her,

"Just good music, expensive drinks and a whole lot of dancing."

Abbie had been a little bit scared to go out to one of the clubs that Michael was choosing, what if it was somewhere really classy and she didn't have an outfit that do for such a fancy place. That had been one of her main worries, she had nothing in her wardrobe that cost more than £50 after all, and the type of clubs available to Michael well...they might have everything styled for them by Armani's personal shoppers!

However, she had been reassured that she wasn't going to be upstaged by anyone's dress, that it was a club that wasn't purely for the rich and famous. This had eased her a little bit into actually coming and not suggesting another place for their first 'date'.

The 'date' part of it had also been a big factor.

She was going on a date with Michael Rooker! She needed to make sure that she looked fabulous in order to make everyone else jealous, so, Abbie had worn her classic 'Man Eater' dress. It was tight, crushed velvet and dipped low so that it showed a lot of cleavage, while also being quite short, coming to just above her knee. Wearing it with fishnet tights and a pair of her lovely comfortable heeled boots, Abbie felt rather at home.

It was the make up she had been at a loss with but had managed to make herself look airbrushed to a tee, with some black eyeliner and purple lipstick.

"Oh uhm...well that was unexpected!" she laughed nervously when Michael told her that this club had vampires in it "I guess I should be glad that I have you as my date right?" she laughed, a little bit more at ease now the initial shock had worn off.

As they entered the club, Abbie hugged her clutch bag to her chest and hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't be branded a) a tramp or b) a slut by the people inside. Luckily, they all seemed to be wearing around the same type of thing she was. A weight off her shoulders she linked hands with Michael;

"It looks amazing in here, and, it's not too busy or too loud, I'd say you picked a good 'un." she joked with a wink.

Rooker had to admit that he wasn't the only one excited about this little date and that much was painfully obvious right from the start! After all, she seemed to be alternating between blushing madly and breathing really heavily when he had first asked her out on a date. He had seen the same thing happen to fans at comicon... of course they had proceeded to try and jump his bones but Abbie seemed to have a lot more control than that.

And for that he was very thankful.

She was a beautiful, sexy and sophisticated young woman and he wouldn't like any amount of fandom to push her into becoming like those mad fangirls. But besides all that... she looked amazing. She normally was incredibly beautiful but tonight she had pulled out the stops and done the make-up, the outfit and the confidence all right. He licked his lips a little bit,

"Yes well I thought you'd like the element of danger." he teased her with a wink before nodding in agreement, "Don't you worry, no one will get to you without coming through me first... and I've never met a vampire capable of doing that yet."

Seeing her relax a bit more when it became obvious that no one was going to be judging her harshly, he led her over to the bar and ordered them both a shot of "Fang'd Bite" (a shot of vodka and cheery schnapps) and a cola with whiskey. He touched his shot glass to hers and downed it with a happy little sigh,

"Thanks!" he thanked her over the sound of the, admittedly, rather subdued music. The club did cater to vampires with their sensitive hearing after all. He smirked a little bit before nodding over at the VIP section, "Guess who's here!"

Jason Isaacs sat in one of the VIP booths, drinking some shots mixed with blood. Rooker kissed Abbie gently on the cheek to speak close to her ear,

"Want to find a booth and then get some dancing in?"

Abbie blushed softly when she saw Michael licking his lips while he looked at her, that meant that he was liking what he saw. Thank god! It made all those hours slaving away in front of a mirror worth the while as long as he liked the way that she looked and she felt confident to stand up against any other of the glamour girls who would seek to take his attention!

A little look of horror appeared on her face as he ordered the drinks, turning away Abbie realised...

WHAT IF THERE WAS A SEXY VAMPIRE WOMAN HERE?! What vampire could resist trying to tame a hunter?! What if Michael went along with it!? No no she could not let that happen and would have several aces up her sleeves to counter and vampire ladies who might try and take Michael away from her tonight.

"Thank you very much." she grinned, clinking her shot glass with his and downing it "That was very nice!" Abbie stated, looking at the glass, after the small post-drink shiver had gone through her body.

When he told her someone they knew was here she looked around and blinked, oh for God's sake. Sighing softly, she pinched the bridge of her nose; "I hope you didn't know he was going to be here." she teased, with a little devious look in her eyes "I hope that you weren't planning on making him jealous by doing things to wind him up."

Returning the kiss to Michael's cheek, Abbie nodded her head;

"Yes please! Maybe one not too near our co-worker." she suggested, still feeling rather, out of sorts about talking with Jason after he had fed on her like that.

Rooker could see that she had every ounce of his attention and she was also aware of it! And she seemed to enjoy knowing it too. Smirking a little bit, he licked his lips slightly as he thought about what he was going to do with Abbie during the night. Dancing was a very intimate thing in a club after all. Smirking a little bit, he purred gently into her ear as he held her closer to him to let their bodies lightly press against each other.

When she looked a bit panicked he thought he knew the reason and handed her a small torch discretely and spoke quietly enough so only she could hear him,

"UV torch." he whispered to her, kissing along her jawline to 'disguise what he was doing'. Of course that was what he was doing. Smirking a little bit, he licked his lips, "So now no vampire will be touching you my dear..."

Jason glared at him across the club, almost as if he had heard what had been said, which was impossible since the distance and background noise was too great even for a vampire. Seemed he was just getting jealous of Rooker being with Abbie already. He smirked a little bit and looped an arm around Abbie's waist, noting how Jason's glass shattered in his hand at seeing this,

"Oh no I didn't know he'd be here." he admitted honestly before smirking, "But now that he is here I have no problems with teasing him... do you?"

Nodding at the suggestion, Rooker got them a booth close to the VIP booth. As they walked to it, Rooker couldn't help but mention to Abbie in a whisper,

"He's following you with his eyes..." he teased her gently, "But he's glaring at me... because I'm the one with my arm around you..."

Abbie blushed a little bit when she felt Michael kissing along her jawline and she thought that he was doing it just for the sake of it as he passed her the little mini torch which she slipped swiftly into her clutch purse in case she needed it later. Maybe she could use it like mace to keep any vampire ladies away from her man? That would be a good use for it.

"Uh thanks." she stated shyly "I guess it was like you were reading my mind a little bit there...it must be one of your impressive hunter talents." Abbie joked with a bright smile on her lips.

Cradling her glass of coke and vodka to her, as they moved through the club, Abbie found comfort from Michael's warm arm around her waist, it felt good to know that he was there to help her in case Jason decided that he was going to try something.

"I don't want to make him angry. We have to work with each other and we need to be professional." she stated reasonably, placing her finger in the air as she made her point, before bending it a little and tilting her head to one side "But I don't see the bad side in winding him up being a bi-product in what we want to do with each other."

A blush burst up on her cheeks when Michael said that he was following her, looking at her, it made her feel a little creeped out if she was honest.

"Well then I guess we had better ignore him." Abbie stated with a small pout "I don't want this night to be ruined, who knows if its going to happen again."

Rooker smirked a little bit at the blush that was clearly visible to him but might have been covered by the make-up had he stood any further away from her. Smirking a little bit, he licked his lips after finishing the trail of kisses, maintaining eye contact as he did so before smirking and licking his lips once again. When she joked about him reading her mind he smirked and decided to attempt something he thought she might be worried about. It was a gamble but if it worked then that'd be very good to him,

"Not mind reading, just guessing what was on your mind." he paused for dramatic effect before grinning, "And right now I'm thinking you compared the torch to mace. Mace for vampires!"

He smirked a little bit when she said that she wanted to tease him a little bit but not to make him angry. Well he could definitely get behind that kind of suggestion, no question about that in the slightest. Smirking, he nodded his head in agreement,

"Yes let's not make him too angry... jealous is a much better state of mind I find." he joked a little bit, "And if he looks like he's going to cause a scene I'll just pull out a solar grenade and explain the basic principle."

Kissing her blushing cheeks, he smirked a little bit,

"Oh I'm sure I can make you forget about him!" he teased her, spanking her ass with a wink as he smirked widely, "It'll happen again darling, I ain't leaving you hanging after all!"

Abbie nodded her head with a bright smile on her lips and she wanted to be able to see more example of Michael guessing what was on her mind, but, as soon as she wanted to hear an example...she was astounded to see that he had already provided her with one! That he knew that she had been comparing the torch to mace for vampires!

Blinking at Michael Abbie had to pause for a minute just to regain some composure;

"Wow that's amazing Michael, that was exactly what I was thinking!" she gasped "I'm a little freaked out that I'm that easy to read, but I'm going to put it down to your mad skills and hope that I'm not that transparent." Abbie grinned, poking her tongue out a little bit.

Before she got chance to slip into the booth, Michael spanked her ass and winked at her! Blushing brightly Abbie placed a hand to her burning cheeks and slipped into the booth so he wouldn't have a chance to do that again. At least, not without permission that was. Such an act left her heart racing a little bit.

"Hey, maybe I'll leave you hanging if you keep slapping me about like that." Abbie teased as she sucked some of her coke up the straw, lapping up the little bead that fell down the outside of the plastic "So uhm, how have you been? I haven't been on set with you for a while now but, I've heard all your scenes are gold."

Rooker smirked a little bit as he basked in her praise about how well he was able to read her to let him know, generally, what she was thinking about. It wasn't anything about how she acted either... it was all just from a perception that he had had since he was a child. Back then he'd been able to tell a lie instantly after hearing it and able to 'read' a mind at over two hundred paces. Smirking a little bit, he chuckled a little bit,

"I'd now make a comment about you thinking how I did that but to be honest that's a bit of a given isn't it?" he joked a little bit before grinning a little bit, "Don't worry, it's just part of my special skills that make me even better than any other fully trained vampire hunter."

He winked at her,

"Guess I'm just uniquely awesome right?"

Now that was an ass to squeeze and spank! Of course she disapproved of the very idea of him spanking her ass, he was sure. Of course. Naturally! Except now she seemed to want a little bit more of it secretly. When she teased him he pouted a little bit,

"Now that's just mean." he joked back before his eyes widened and he licked his lips in anticipation when she licked off a drop of liquid from the straw before briefly taking the tip of it back into her mouth. Swallowing thickly, he chuckled a little nervously, "You really are a bit of a tease aren't you Abbie?"

Abbie rolled her eyes a little bit when Rooker said that he was just uniquely awesome, maybe he was uniquely awesome but it was just so American to go around and state it to the world. She much preferred the understated British version of things when it came to herself, however, the confidence suited Michael she had to admit.

"I guess you must be uniquely awesome, but, don't let it go to your head, it must just be the luck of the dice with your dna." she teased poking her tongue out at him.

When she was successful in her teasing, Abbie grinned and she was glad that she was able to give as good as she was given, maybe he would think twice about grabbing her ass next time because she would grab his in a heartbeat in return!

Giggling softly when she heard him saying that she was a bit of a tease, Abbie finished drinking for the moment and opened her mouth in mock shock;

"I have no idea what you are talking about Michael!" she gasped "I am merely drinking my alcoholic beverage with the straw you so nicely provided, I don't know what your mind was jumping to there." Abbie stated with a sly wink.

As the song shifted to a rather slow, melodic beat Abbie bit her lip, she would quite like to dance to this song, but was too shy to ask.

Rooker smirked a little bit when she warned him about getting big headed. Hey it was better to let out the hot air with some harmless boasting than it was to keep it all bottled up until you got so full of hot air you became like Jason right? Besides, he always was a bit of a loud person. Smirking, he shook his head slightly,

"Don't go saying it like that! Makes it sound like you don't believe in my super unique awesomeness!" he teased her before shaking his head slightly, "If I bottled it all up inside I'd probably end up turning into Jason or another stuffy vampire... and I like to be me! To be vibrant and annoying at times!"

So she thought she was so good at teasing that she had gotten the drop of him so that he was unable to respond to her? Well that certainly made it a lot easier for him to surprise her with extra teasings in the future.

Finishing his whiskey and cola in only one or two more mouthfuls, he set the glass down carefully on the table,

"Uhuh... and the fact that you had to go and fetch that straw yourself don't change the 'facts' right?" he teased her a little bit before humming and standing back up. Holding out a hand for her to come out with him, he grinned widely,

"Come on then Abbie! Let's dance!"

Over in the VIP section, Jason once again looked at them and growled in despair and anger at another many holding Abbie.

Abbie smiled lightly and she hoped that she was going to have a good time dancing with Michael in the club, she hadn't done any real dirty dancing in a while and she had the thought that would be the kind of dancing that he would like to do. Biting her lip a little bit, she wondered if the dance floor was going to get busier or if they were going to be a highlight on there cutting up the floor as they were.

"Alright then, I'd love to." she replied with a soft blush on her cheeks "Just take it easy on me, I haven't danced with a guy in a long time."

Getting into position, her hand wrapped around his neck, while another hand rested on his strong forearm, Abbie decided that she would just let her body move with the beat, letting her hips swish and flick with the subtle changes in the low bass coming from the speakers.

It was a sort of...hypnotising sound. It was easy to get into a groove and continue with those movements.

"I hope that I'm not disappointing in my dancing." she whispered with a faint blush, locking eyes with Rooker as she continued to move her body with his to the beat.

Rooker was very much entranced with the idea of dancing with Abbie. He had always been fond of the idea and it had definitely been the purpose of taking her to any club, let alone this one. He smirked a little bit and nodded his head when she asked him to take it easy on her. Hell, it wasn't like he had had all the experience in the world on this subject either to be fair. Dancing with girls had never been something he'd call a forte,

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy." he informed her before smirking a little bit, "After all, I want to make sure that you love it enough to be coming back for more!"

Holding their bodies close together, Rooker danced up against Abbie as she did the same to him. Needlessly to say, her dancing was a lot better and was giving him such arousal thoughts that he could barely contain himself and his excitement over her tight little ass rubbing against his crotch. Purring a little bit, he couldn't help but let out a husky chuckle,

"Oh no... definitely not disappointing!" he told her with a lick of his lips, "This is amazing is what it is..."

Okay.

This had gone on long enough.

He had sat there, trying to remain dignified in front of the other vampires in the VIP section, and watched as Rooker taunted him with his eyes and his actions. The way he pawed possessively over Abbie disgusted him so much that all he could feel was bile at what had happened. But the worst part was when Abbie began helping Rooker however she could.

The betrayal was palpable.

But right now he was going to end it. Right now he was going to put a stop to the possessiveness of Michael Rooker! Flitting across the club, he arrived right next to an annoyed Rooker and a surprised Abbie too. Standing to his full height, he offered Abbie his hand,

"Come Abbie..." he urged her as he shot Rooker a dirty look, "It is time to be away from the filth that he had always tried digging it's claws into you..."

Abbie squeaked as soon as she felt Michael beginning to rub himself against her like that, it made her blush bright red, how could they be doing something like this in a club so refined with not even a lot of people on the dance floor? If it had been busy then she would have had no problem, and even now she was still having a lot of fun with what they were doing.

Michael was great and he made her feel like she wasn't too out of her league...

However that was completely different to the way that Jason made her feel, like she was constantly having to match up to him. To his intellect, to his beauty, to his way of looking at things, to his sex appeal...everything! Biting her lip softly when he looked at her like that, Abbie felt like she was in the Headmaster's office and she had been caught kissing behind the bleachers in gym class.

Whatever can she do to stop him looking at her like that?

"B-but Jason...me and Michael are here on a date...I w-was having fun!" she protested weakly, rubbing her hand against her arm, looking to the floor so that she could avoid having to look ashamed that she had found that enjoyable, she wanted to impress both guys but she couldn't be both refined beyond measures and herself.

Rooker had been enjoying the dancing the two of them were doing immensely... and then Jason had shown up.

Of course he did.

OF COURSE!

Fucking vampires couldn't leave anything well enough alone now could they? No no! They just had to do whatever the hell they wanted and damn whatever anyone else said, felt or wanted. Only vampires mattered to vampires. The self-important little pricks were forever pushing people down and belittling them and their desires in the pursuit of whatever happened to take their fancy for the next month or so.

Gritting his teeth at the way Jason spoke to Abbie, he reached into his pocket and held the solar grenade within view of the vampire,

"Let the girl go Jason... this ain't the 9th century anymore Isaacs!" he growled at the far old man, "Forcing a woman to do what you want actually have consequences now... and here's mine for you."

He pulled the pin on the grenade but kept his hand around it to keep it from going off just yet,

"Back off of her or you're going to be going straight to hell right here!"

Jason's lip curled up at the way that Rooker had been dancing up against Abbie... it was unsightly and he would not have someone of such low birth doing such a thing to his Abbie! He growled softly at the much younger man and pulled Abbie closer to himself... right up until he saw the solar grenade held tightly in Rooker's hand.

Was the man insane?!

Actually, he probably was but still! He growled in anger,

"You fool, you use that and every remaining vampire and the bouncers will be out to kill you." he hissed at him before pulling Abbie almost protectively close to him, "She doesn't need you and your violent brand of nonsensical meandering Rooker!"

He stroked Abbie's cheek gently with his fingers,

"Such beauty should be preserved forever... not degraded by your desires!"

Abbie squeaked a little bit when she was pulled to Michael's side and she gasped when she saw what he was planning to do, all because Jason had decided to come over he was going to kill him and all of the vampires in this room! He was going to get into so much trouble for that and so was she most likely, there was no way that she could let this continue to this level.

Someone was going to end up getting hurt!

"Michael please!" she protested, placing her hand on his chest "There's no need for that you're going to get yourself in more trouble than you can handle, please...just don't do that." Abbie whispered softly, shaking her head as she looked down from his eyes, to his tshirt.

However, as soon as she was tugged over to Jason Abbie felt herself blushing again but for entirely different reasons. He spoke so intellectually, and he was interested in her! Someone so...wonderful was interested in her, it baffled her mind so frequently that she had stopped thinking on it to be honest.

As Jason stroked her cheek, Abbie bit her lip, unsure of what to do.

"J-Jason I think it was r-rude the way that you came over to me and Michael I...I think that's what he's angry about b-but everyone just needs to calm down!" she squeaked.

Rooker gritted his teeth as he glared at the vampire and spotted several of his clan moving to back him up. Oh so that was it huh? He couldn't defend himself but he was allowed to be ganged up on by several vampires and that was A-Okay was it? Damn NightBitches were just playing the system more and more it seemed.

And perhaps the worst part?

The solar grenade wasn't even real!

It was just a bluff to scare off any vampires and to make sure that he and Abbie could have their date in peace. But here was one pale faced bastard who seemed determined to ruin what had quickly become one of Rooker's best nights,

"The threat of violence is the only thing creatures like him understand Abbie." he told her with narrowed eyes, "Oh he may act the part of the charming British lord... but all he wants to do is selfishly prolong his own life by sucking others dry! All he cares about is himself! He's been caring about himself and only himself for over a thousand years and it's never going to change."

He growled a little bit at the man,

"Why don't you speak plainly to her Isaacs? Why don't you tell her the true meaning behind the compliment? The same one I've heard you throw out so casually to so many others..." he turned to Abbie with a frown, "He means he wants to kill you... to drain you dry so that 'your beauty never withers' or some such rot. Because he can't make other vampires... can you Jason?"

Jason could see the members of his clan coming from the VIP section to back him up and surround Rooker. He would not be humiliated by this low-born human! He would not have his woman stolen from him by some upstart with a few vampire killing recipes under his belt,

"That is so very rich coming from you, human!" he scoffed, his lip curling up and his nose upturned, "You who kill all you touch... have you ever thought to 'cure' vampirism? Of course not... all you want to do is kill us for being different. Don't you see Abbie? He isn't worth your time. A man who has devoted himself to pain... cannot give someone the same happiness that someone who has dedicated themselves to peace can."

Damn that human!

Jason scowled at Rooker. So he had found out that he liked to use that line on his prey had he? Well that was very annoying because it meant he couldn't very effectively lie about it either. He merely swallowed a little bit,

"No I cannot make other vampires... you took that from me Rooker." he glared at the man before turning back to Abbie, "Come with me Abbie... leave this buffoon and we shall find a vampire able to turn you. And together... we shall live forever, outlasting this pitiful excuse for a human being to be free from him!"

Abbie just didn't know what was going on any more, she wanted to have a nice date in peace but all that seemed to be happening was her night was being bombarded by these two guys fighting over her. Honestly it might just be easier for her to take a break, go home after filming to get her head straight and decide what she was going to do about this.

Because right now, she couldn't handle this shit!

"But Michael you don't know that!" Abbie protested, trying to stick up for both guys in this equation, saying that all Jason cared about was himself was just wrong, she was sure that wasn't the case and she would see evidence of that later on she was sure "That can't be true."

The fight was getting a little bit intense now that the other vampires were coming over and Abbie gasped softly, her hand going to her clutch bag. Jason she was just okay with being around now, but the rest of these vampires? She didn't know or trust, so, the mace was being reached for right now.

As soon as she heard that he wanted to kill her, to make her into a vampire like...right this second, Abbie's expression turned fearful and she took a few steps back towards Michael.

"Jason I..." she stuttered "I'm sorry but I don't want to..." Abbie admitted truthfully.

Placing her hand in Michael's Abbie looked up at him with large eyes; "Please can we just go?" she asked, her voice shaken.

Jason was getting more and more annoyed right now. This upstart... this stupid little human! He was ruining everything he had planned for Abbie. But he would not be denied so easily! Not about this... not about Abbie! On anything else he might have let Rooker have his little victory but not about Abbie. Abbie belonged to him, he could sense it, and he knew that if he could just turn her into a vampire she too would feel the connection,

"Do not listen to him Abbie... his words are harsh and bitter and you know that!" he urged her despite the truth being told, "He is just trying to use you to hurt me, to hurt our relationship, because he is bitter over how he lost his parents to vampires... this is all just some petty vendetta to him you see!"

His clan wasn't acting under his orders but... but at the same time he was more than willing to let them beat Rooker to death as he and Abbie went to find someone to convert her to vampirism. But... but she didn't want to? His heart broke a little bit,

"But... but Abbie..." he began before becoming more articulate, "But you were made for me! Over a thousand years apart and yet you are my perfect woman! The second half to my half a soul and half a heart..."

He shook his head,

"You can't go with him Abbie... deep down you know you belong in my world."

Rooker stood calmly before Jason and, for the first time, he was the one who spoke calmly and with measure sentences which were made for maximum effect. He shook his head a little bit, even though he couldn't deny his hatred of vampires stemmed from them killing his parents in their desire to feed themselves,

"My hatred of your kind has nothing to do with this right now Jason." he told the older man with narrowed eyes, "All I'm doing is looking out for Abbie and her interests... the same cannot be said about you."

He ignored both Jason and the circling vampires for a second and just looked deep into Abbie's eyes and smiled softly,

"Yeah... lets grab some Chinese and some wallmart booze and go home." he agreed with a small smile, "I'll get you out of here don't worry."

He wrapped an arm around Abbie and began to lead her out until he heard Jason's parting shot about her knowing she belonged in the shadows with Jason. As they exited the building he spoke up quietly as he hailed them a cab,

"You know... sometimes I feel terrible about having shown you this world." he admitted before smiling faintly at her, "But it was only by showing you this world that I could be with you like this... I'm sorry for being selfish but even when we first met I knew I wanted you in my life everyday."

Abbie bit her lip softly, she would have felt horrible leaving Jason like that but the fact that he didn't deny what Michael had said about using the same lines on different women, meant that she was really less inclined to believe what he was saying to her. She didn't want to become just some quick happy meal for him!

No.
She wanted to live and love someone for as long as she could, not to die in order to be with someone who might not even want her back after everything they said, after every false promise they made.

That was why she let Michael lead her out of the club, with him she felt so safe and secure, she knew that nothing would hurt her if he was near. She didn't need to fear death, nor was it a compulsory measure to being in a relationship with him. Holding herself close to Michael, Abbie lay her head on his arm and tried to stop herself tremoring with shock.

"Thanks Michael." she whispered as they hailed a cab and got inside.

Shaking her head a little bit she sat on Michael's lap instead of her own seat and held her body close to his for comfort;

"All I seem to have done to you is rely on you for comfort when something happens with Jason...I mean, I wanted this night to be perfect I made myself look all pretty and everything." Abbie sniffled softly "And now it's all ruined."

Rubbing at her eyes to remove the tears that had gathered there, Abbie hugged her arms around Michael's neck; "I'm so sorry Michael."

Rooker could tell that Abbie was feeling very vulnerable and she was going to need some time to feel better about this whole episode. But until she did he was going to try and help her feel better about it in his own way. Smiling softly, he kissed her gently on the cheek as she sat down on his lap as soon as the door to the taxi was shut and they were both inside,

"Don't worry about it." he told her, resting his forehead gently against hers, "Anything for you my dear, anything."

As she settled down on his lap he smiled sadly and ran his fingers through her hair, gently playing with it as he listened to her problems. He smiled sadly at her but cupped her cheek with one of his hands, rubbing her skin gently with a thumb,

"You look beautiful Abbie and you do it even without all these dresses and make-up on. So trust me when I say you looked staggeringly beautiful tonight... and you still do." he assured her as their faces grew closer and closer, "You made this night perfect for me simply by agreeing to go with me and that's the truth."

He leant in closer to her and gently, ever so gently, he kissed her on the lips, his lips pressing againsts hers to be part of the wonderful kiss. As they broke the kiss he smiled widely at her and rubbed her cheek still with his thumb,

"You never have to apologise to me Abbie about that." he assured her before blushing slightly, "A ur... movie... once told me that... "Love means never having to say you're sorry"... so... you never have to apologise."