A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Two months had passed since the incident at Café Rose Tea. Legal proceedings still weren't over, but they'd be handled in time. Anita remained locked away; her parents refusing to pay bail for her after everything she did. From what (f/n) heard, they did visit her from time to time, but the interactions weren't pleasant. Even after a couple of months, Anita refused to see how her actions were horrible and stuck to her story of how she was the defender and not the attacker.

As for Kaleb and Tristan, (f/n) hadn't heard from either of them. Her parents did occasionally talk with their parents to discuss covering bills as both families had promised, but they told her not to worry about it and that they didn't want her having to engage with either man or their family unless she had to. (F/n) didn't mind, though; she wished that her parents hadn't accepted the help from them, but she also could understand why they made that decision. She hadn't seen the bills after insurance since her parents wouldn't allow her to, but it sounded like they were pretty expensive. And, her parents weren't exactly wealthy either, especially after they had been kind enough to help fund her prior dream.

This time, she wouldn't ask for a loan from them. She was staying with them and not having to pay rent, utilities or food costs, and she felt that was generous enough of them. Besides, she could've stayed with the business and found a new chef, but she had decided to close it. Her parents did offer to help her again, but she declined it. Given what happened, she knew that she could get a decent loan and buy a smaller place than Café Rose Tea. It did help that she had paid all of her bills on time in the past, so her credit history was solid; it was just her income that would lower the loan amount.

Presently, she hadn't taken out a loan and bought a place yet. She was looking, though, and she had an idea for the place. This time, she'd be the sole owner, but she already did have a staff member. Out of the four members from the café, Scarlett decided to stay with her. In fact, they worked on the idea together, and Scarlett, thankfully, was fine with not owning the place, but she would be the head chef.

As for the others, Hal remained in Duskriver so that he could continue to help out his brother with his nephew. She already had given him a recommendation to the owner of The Iron Clipper, and he transferred to there a week after the incident, working as a server and learning how to be a bartender as well. Apparently, Blaise was going to put in his resignation in mid-May anyway since he was heading off to graduate school for a PhD in education and was starting in the summer. He had been working as a server on his off-semester to earn a bit of extra money.

Cassidy looked a little irritated at the news, but she also understood where (f/n) was coming from and remarked, "Well, I guess it's good that I'm not working for some crazy chef anyway." Like with Hal, she gave Cassidy a recommendation to where she applied, and she landed a serving job at a fine dining restaurant in Duskriver.

At the memory of where they all went off to, she smiled in particular when she thought of The Iron Clipper again. Before she had returned to her hometown, Windroad, she had taken the staff to the bar, and they all had shared some drinks together. Scott even joined them for a bit, and she was able to say goodbye to him and thank him for everything again before she left.

Concerning Scarlett and her plans for the new business, they were going to open another café, but it'd be different from Café Rose Tea. Scarlett happened to love reptiles and wanted to continue to focus on cooking and baking for her career. So, they came up with an idea to open a reptile café. They had to work out which reptiles to get and how to place their habitats around the café while still creating a comfortable and pleasant eating environment. Which left them to finding a building that would complement their idea well.

Until they had everything set up, Scarlett worked as a baker at a local coffee shop. (F/n) focused on finding a place and setting up the design. For each aspect, she made sure to run it by Scarlett and get her approval as well. While she explored those options, she worked part-time as a reviewer for one of the main online stores.

(F/n) broke out of her thoughts, however, when her phone vibrated. It wasn't the one Tristan had got her. No, that one had been traded in, after she took the recording off of it, for a different phone with another number. (E/c) optics glanced down to it, and she unlocked the phone before she smiled and chuckled a little at the sent picture.

Scarlett must've just gotten off of work since she was in her work uniform of a light blue polo and black pants. Her magenta curls were pulled back into a ponytail, and her green eyes were shining happily as she pointed to a baby ball python which was staring at the camera. Underneath the image, there were a couple of questions. What do you think? Isn't he cute?

Seeing the price in the picture too, (f/n) did think that it was reasonable compared to other prices, and she gave Scatlett the go ahead to purchase the snake since Scarlett already had one habitat ready. (F/n) set her phone aside and went back to searching for available properties in the area. Currently, she was going through some that had been bookmarked for her.

Another smile touched her lips. While she slept, Lee often would scout the area for properties and various prices for reptiles, habitats and other items for the future café. Her parents were none the wiser to his movements, though; they did question her why she wanted to bring a mannequin with her, but she used the simple excuse that he had a certain charm about him despite all that had occurred in the old café. She knew that they still thought her action strange, but they didn't question her further.

Lee did ask her if she truly was fine with opening another café, but (f/n) reassured him that she'd be alright and that she'd the own the place entirely. Plus, it would look pretty different from Café Rose Tea, so there was that going for it. And, hopefully, Scarlett wouldn't turn out like Anita, but Scarlett hadn't forced her into any situations thus far. So, her new head chef was developing a good track record for the moment. But, she'd remain careful and keep Lee updated on what was going on. Not that she wanted him to harm Scarlett but to get a second opinion in case Scarlett began to act peculiar.

Sighing lightly, (f/n) hoped that everything would work out well once the business opened. Her optics glanced over to the clock on her laptop, and she grinned a little. It was time! For now, she'd allow herself to have a relaxing evening. Her parents were out for the evening, which meant that Lee and she had the place to themselves. Despite it being two months, it was the first time where they were on their own since one of her parents, if not both of them, would be at the house, and she had been instructed to wait an hour before heading out into the backyard. That hour had now passed.

Getting up from her bed, she stretched her arms before she smoothed out her dress. It was the one Lee liked and had asked for her approval on. The skirt of the fit-and-flare fell above her knees, and the bow was tied at the base of the v-neckline. Its mint green color with small white polka dots complemented the flowy quality of the dress in regards to both the body of it and the bishop-styled sleeves. Her (h/l) (h/c) locks were loose, and she wore no shoes since she'd be on the soft grass outside.

Heading for the backdoor, she continued to smile to herself. Over the past two months, Lee and she had been able to stay in one's company for longer periods of time than they had been able to back in Duskriver. Even when in the evening, he'd make her a snack when he could, and he'd watch a movie or show with her. At other times, he's give her dance lessons, and she slowly was getting the hang of parts of the Balboa. During the day, he would help her out with her reviews and sometimes do research if her parents were working and had earphones in or if they were napping.

One time, however, they did look into Lee's father's business. There was no mention of his father or him in the articles they found. The first one only detailed how his grandparents had passed in the seventies and gave the business to a friend of theirs in their will. As for the other articles, they all detailed the closing of the business in the nineties due to the business not keeping up with the fashion trends at the time. That night, they had watched a lot of sitcoms.

After a few days of some more sitcom episodes and replying to his notes expressing his frustration, he began to lessen how much he talked about it each day and reassured her that he'd be fine and had no intention of going after anybody. His focus was staying with her. She appreciated that, but she also conveyed to him that she'd be there for him whenever he needed to talk.

Glad that he seemed to be doing better, though, she concentrated on the present again. Soon enough, she reached the backdoor and peeked outside. The brick patio led out to the grass, which was throughout the rest of the yard. A wooden fence and cypress trees blocked the view of the backyard from neighbors, and it helped that it was the middle of the night too.

Spread out on the grass was a dark blue gingham blanket. There were multiple containers of food, and she looked forward to seeing what he had made. Additionally, there was a bottle of white wine sitting in an ice bucket. Most importantly, though, she saw Lee sitting on the blanket. He glanced over her way and signaled her over. Not wasting any time, she went over towards him, and he stood up in the process. When she reached him, he took both of her hands and leaned down to kiss her. (F/n) returned the kiss and chuckled gently after it before she smiled up to him. "The new outfit looks great on you." They both knew about her parents plan to head out for a night in advance, so Lee had asked to purchase a new outfit for the evening, and she had agreed, especially after everything he had done for her. It was turquoise, and he had a light pink button-up and dark blue tie on with it. Along with the clothes, he had on black dress shoes.

Still holding onto her hands, he sat down with her and wrote back to her. Thank you. I thought that I might try another bold color. A light bit of heat touched her cheeks at what she read next. But, it pales in comparison to how that dress looks on you. It complements you stunningly.

As she finished reading, she paused when she felt him brush back loose strands of her hair before she leaned into his touch. Her optics did catch sight of the small cracks in his left arm, though, from the incident with Anita. A slight frown touched her lips, but she was happy that they hadn't gotten any bigger. But, she broke out of her thoughts when another note was passed to her. I'm fine, (f/n). You took more damage than I did, and I'm thankful your recovery is going well.

Gently, his hand touched her left shoulder. It was no longer sore, and she hadn't had any issues with the stent so far, which was a major relief, but she did have follow-up appointments every now and then. Luckily, nothing serious had arisen during those. She rested her fingers over his. "I know that you didn't take much damage, but I don't like seeing you take any either."

I know, but I don't feel physical pain. You do. And, you getting hurt can have much more serious consequences. She sighed a little after reading the note and nodded in understanding, but she didn't want to test out what his limits were either. Neither of them knew what would happen if his body was damaged too much, and she didn't want to find out. Her eyes, though, glanced to another note. But, let's focus on the evening, on the picnic we're finally sharing. Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine. Slowly, she nodded and smiled a little to him. And, he inwardly sighed in relief. He didn't want her to have troubling thoughts; he wished for her to have a pleasant night and take it easy. She deserved that, especially after everything she went through. When she lay back on the blanket, he smiled, glad that she was taking his advice.

Moving closer to her, he lied down too. They had the whole evening, and the food would last for a good while since the containers were insulated. It was a clear night, and they had a view of a good portion of the stars since there weren't too many bright lights in the area where they lived. "I haven't done this in a long time. Looking up at the stars on the grass out here." She smiled and situated herself closer to him so that she was lying on his chest partially. His right arm wrapped around her waist and held her there gently. "I'm glad that I am again and that this time I have you with me."

From her lips parted a gentle sigh, and Lee reached over with his left hand and held her right. He gave it a gentle squeeze to indicate that he was happy being with her too. And, he always would be. Even though he had to be quiet at times and simply watch her go about her daily activities, he didn't mind because that made the moments like the present all the more precious. Despite her not being able to hear him, he couldn't help but say, "I love you," to her. The stars were bright, but she was more brilliant.

(F/n) cuddled more against him. She didn't hear him, yet she also said the phrase, "I love you," with no hesitation. A smile was on her lips, and there was one on his too. The night was one of peace, and there would be many more to come for them; he was sure of it. Lee turned his head and pressed his lips to hers again, and she held his hand in the process before she placed both of their hands over where his heart would be. Like so many times before, his heart would've skipped a beat if he had one, and he was so incredibly grateful that he had found (f/n) despite being placed long ago in a fatal entrapment.