Roman woke up to an empty bed. He could hear Spring's voice coming from somewhere in the house. He walked out and found her on the couch in the living room, clearly talking to Lacey on the phone. She sounded happy.

"Alright, I'll see you then," she said. "I love you too, Lacey. Bye."

She hung up and smiled at Roman. He sat down next to her. She handed his phone back to him. He needed to get her a phone of her own.

"Everything good here?" He asked.
"Yes, we were just planning when we can meet up again. During the Summer holiday, they're gonna come here for a short vacation," she said.
"Are they gonna stay in my house?" He asked.
"You ain't got room for three more people," she laughed. "She's gonna book a hotel. We're not gonna hang out all the time. It's their vacation. They'll have other things to do as well but we'll catch up."

He leaned in and kissed her shoulder.

"You seem happy," he said.
"Right now I am happy," she said.
"Let's keep it that way," he said.

He kissed her and hummed happily at the feeling of her lips against his.

"This feels good," he said. "It's my day off today. Should we go to the thrift store or something? Make a little field day out of it maybe."
"I'd love that," she said.
"Great," he said. "Breakfast and shower, and then we'll head out."
"I also made another plan," she said.
"With who?" He asked.
"No, in general," she said.

She gave him a smile and pecked his lips.

"You're so good to me. You're giving me space and time while constantly being here. I know you need to know everything that happened to me," she said.
"I can wait," he said.
"But I can't," she said. "I know Kurt is waiting for me to come and give a full statement of what I experienced in there. I would like for you to be in the room with me. On my side of the table."
"I can arrange that," he said.
"Any day next week. As quickly as possible. I want this done so you know what you're in for," she said.
"I'll set it up for Monday," he said.

She smiled again. This smile was a bit more sad but he could see it meant the world to her that he was meeting her on her terms. It was important to him too. He needed to know what she had gone through before they could start a serious relationship. There would without a doubt be days where she would break down for no reason, and he needed to know how to handle it the best way possible.

"I need therapy too," she said.
"We'll start making calls until you find someone you feel you can trust enough to talk to," he said.
"And I need a job. Either something I can do from home or somewhere without too many people," he said.
"How about somewhere safe?" He asked. "Our assistant is leaving in a couple of months. We call her our coffee chatter since she mostly makes coffee and chats with us. It's easy work. Make some coffee, file something, answer the phone if no one else is around, run small errands. But I can't think of a more safe place for you to work than inside a police station. And you got a couple of months to get started on therapy first so you'll feel better once you start working."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms. So fragile yet so strong. She broke the hug and looked down.

"And then there's us," she said.

He tipped her head back up to make her look at him again.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," she said.
"What you did last night," she said.
"I'll do it again anytime you want," he smirked.
"I wanna give you something back eventually. I just don't feel like I'm ready for sex yet. I don't wanna freak out and somehow see you as one of them," she said.
"I can wait," he said.
"Are you sure?" She asked.

He pulled her up to sit on his lap and kept his arms around her midsection.

"I thought I proved that last night," he said. "I can wait for as long as it takes. I'm not delusional. I know this will take time, and that in many aspects it'll be two steps forward and one step back, but that's okay. As long as you tell me what's on your mind so I can understand what you're going through. We're gonna take it at your pace. And if you say stop, I'll stop. No matter what it is."
"You're amazing," she said.
"I try," he grinned. "Now kiss me, little bear."

She kissed him until he stood up and placed her down on the floor.

"Do you wanna shower first, or should I?" He asked.
"You're making breakfast," she said.
"Oh, am I now?" He asked.
"I want chocolate pancakes," she grinned. "With vanilla if you got any vanilla extract lying around."
"You're pushing it," he chuckled. "If I beat you to the shower, you're cooking pancakes."

She took off running before he got a chance to stop her. He heard her laugh as she reached the bathroom. He walked out there and saw her standing in the open door.

"I win," she said.

He leaned down and kissed her.

"Then I better make breakfast," he said. "Chocolate/vanilla pancakes. That's not healthy, you know."
"It's your day off," she reminded him.
"And it's gonna be the best day off in ages," he said.