Sensitivity warning: details in Author's note.

Things between them were less surreal to Anise, after the treehouse. Vance toyed but didn't push, and while he held his own fears, it resonated with hers. That and getting every little detail off her chest had been a relief. It helped her solidify how she felt about the whole situation. Here she was, the type of girl who would beat the ever-living crap out of a guy for touching her the wrong way, within a heartbeat. Take away physicality and add the obligations of some sort of relationship, and she was at a loss to know what to do with herself. Until now, that is--being with a guy who suited her made everything that went wrong stand out so starkly.

At least her first proposal hadn't been from Bill "Cotton" Mather, of all people. Vance's ever-chronic teasing ensured that the one sour note in her life was well drowned. It was much better to have her food proposed to.

She was looking forward to spending all afternoon with this big goofball of a center, finding weird ways to get him to propose. She wanted anything but going home--not even to her room. Sitting in childish hopes and dreams while fighting for independence killed her.

Things hadn't been normal there, as each adult wanted to talk to her about what had changed between her and Bill. She didn't want to explain how she let those twilight mornings fester, although nothing happened. It seemed like adult life consisted of a series of panics over what-ifs long after they were through. She was grateful that Bill wasn't the type to force a situation. Such things could damage a person.

Besides, these almost moments came before she even understood what desire was. No way she'd ever be innocent enough again, not when she had a guy she wanted. A lot of little light bulb moments followed in the wake of Vance because bright and experienced are two separate realms. Having someone she wanted to do things with shifted Bill's attention from unsettling to outright creepy. What was he thinking while drunkenly staring at her? Hell, was it any cleaner while sober?

Vance waited outside her last class--scattering students and teachers alike. She didn't throw herself in his arms every day. This was the second time she buried herself against him at school. "What's wrong this time?"

"It's who's right, and where I won't be."

"Oh." He kissed her forehead and grinned. "I was thinking about taking you to an actual restaurant..."

"Vance!" A low and familiar voice called out.

The Center looked over her shoulder. His arms loosened and he murmured to his girl. "Turn around."

Anise glanced back, then stared in momentary shock as she faced them. Aaron was carrying Kaylee. A big mark across her face, something dark staining Aaron's clothes underneath her. "What's wrong, Kit?"

She shook her head, half crying, "No hospital, Aaron!"

Anise would roll her eyes, except it was probably serious enough to not want a crowd. Throwing a fit at stupid would get far more notice than they already had. She hated all the eyes without being one bit useful. The ever-present reason to hate people started sounding in her head, almost causing her to snap and make more of a scene herself. Her mother taught her much better than that. It was part of what got her into problems.

The tough little thing set aside her feelings and showed whose daughter she was. She walked out of Vance's grip and marched in front of them, no doubdoubtut them trailing after her as she talked. "Alright, Aaron, let's get her into Rustbucket--I've got horse blankets in the back. Vance, go ahead of me to my mother's. I'm going to try to call her on speaker, but she's not exactly a phone worshipper. If I get through, I'll have her call in cousin Clara. We were already having her over for a round of inoculations in the steers...but if I don't you will make it there before me."

Just a touch of nattering on, to keep the odd couple calm while walking to her truck--the same way she talked to cows.

Anise unlocked the doors but hopped the wheel up the side of the truck instead of going around back--difficult, but she'd done it when little. Vance hadn't taken off, quite yet, looking to help her...

As usual.

One day she was going to get him to understand that the help she needed was the help she asked for, but today wasn't that day. Fighting for what was right would keep them all standing around, and would also be wrong. "I need you at my house. I got this."

"I'll be there."

And he was gone. No time to miss him, jumping down and getting one old blanket on the seat as Aaron placed Kaylee in and got in behind her. She brought the second one around as she got in the driver's side--giving them time to buckle. "Do you want it folded up against you or do you want to be covered?"

"Folded."

The way Kaylee held herself coupled with wanting mild pressure at least relieved Anise that this wasn't some stab wound. The amount of blood screamed only a handful of scenarios.

She buckled up and started the truck. "Are you sure you don't want the hospital, Kit?"

"No. Not yet."

"Alright."

The drive home was punctuated with occasional jabs at her phone until Aaron demanded it. He took over the dialing while clinging to Kaylee.

This older truck didn't have the oompf of the newer. Anise found the slower acceleration was driving her insane. She needed a distraction, without pulling her eyes off the road, so no radio.

"Kit, what can you tell me?"

"I don't want to talk about it, not until I know..." She stopped to sob against her fist, fighting for control. She wasn't good at it.

Aaron mumbled something against the crown of her head as he kept dialing, trying to soothe her.

Anise didn't have much to go on, with that. Instead, she started humming hymns quietly, as she feared that talk soothing them was done.

Cursing didn't start until she almost went down the gravel road out of habit. Rustbucket had retired its second set of shocks and that would hurt. The fish-tailing didn't help, either.

"What the hell?" Kaylee bit out. Aaron was still poking the buttons on the phone.

"Fuck! Habit. That's the back road to the farm but it has holes that can swallow a tire if you don't know what you're doing. Aaron, you can stop. He's there, by now."

Minutes more of the road dragged on. They pulled in and passed every building that blocked the farmhouse. The closer she got, the longer the damned drive seemed to take.

The three people she most wanted to see were waiting for them at the foot of the steps, so she threw the old truck in park. Anise was finally free to let her hands shake as Ma and Claire took over bossing people around.

Ma's parting shot as they took her friend to Gran's old suite was, "Top timer is Lasagna, the bottom is potatoes. Figure it out."

So much for sitting and waiting on the news, but Ma didn't call her a Little Martha for nothing.

Lasagna out in five, parchment layer off, toppings on, another 20 to melt the tops, then potatoes out, scooped, refilled with a cheese and herbs mix to make twice baked. Hands busy, trying to not notice the silence, throat too tight to sing. A surreal moment when she would rather be a kid and cry but was too old for that...

Some sort of side of greens? Anise dug through the fridge, trying to see what the hell was worth doing. Salad prepped pretty easily, so she grabbed the ingredients to chop it up.

Turning around, she let out a startled squeak while clutching everything to prevent dropping it. "Bill!"

Cotton Mather had the grace to look sheepish at least, as he stepped back. "Your Pa sent me in to see what's up?"

"My friend had some sort of accident at school and refused a doctor, so Ma and Claire are in with her. Nobody there was any use." Anise moved to where she intended to chop, and grabbed a big knife and board. She thought about as little as she could get away with to keep her hands steady, not even having the mind to tell Bill off. "Got two guys here to help so, I'm not needed on that end and won't know much about it until someone comes to me."

"You've never mentioned your friends--just brought them home out of nowhere." He looked at her face, like was trying to read her thoughts.

That was part of why she focused on the veggies in front of her, instead of him. It isn't the right time. "Well, that should tell you how important you are to my life. Ma knew about Kaylee since Christmas last year. I helped you out in a pinch, that's it."

"Wait...Kaylee...Kit McKinny?" Bill's forehead wrinkled as he thought it out. "What are you doing with a girlfriend my age?"

"Kit's in high school, a good half a year younger than me." Anise clenched her teeth. There had to be more Kaylees in this world, but the Kit McKinny killed that hope, right there. Just what in the hell is this connection?! "She's been 17 about 4 months now?"

Bill stepped back from being closer than she wanted to sit down at a barstool, pale, starting to sweat, looking like he was going to be sick. "I need to talk to Old Thomas. Could you call him? He picks up for the family. I don't want this going through official channels, not with everything you have brewing here."

Anise dropped everything to pull the phone out of her back pocket. She had managed to snag that off Aaron before they were all split up. Sure enough, her Uncle answered within seconds.

"What you've got, Sweetness?"

"Claire's in with a friend of mine because she refused a hospital, at my house? Mentioned it to Bill and he wants to report something off the books, for now."

"Give him the phone, girl, and tell him to step into that laundry room. The connection is good, but you can't be heard in there."

"Alright." She handed the phone to this almost-kin, "he said the laundry room is secure, so go."

Bill nodded and scooted off. Anise sighed and went to wash her hands. She was touching too many things for her own sense of cleanliness.

Anise turned around to damn near jump out of her skin again. Vance, it's only Vance. She almost placed her hand against his chest to push for more space. Anne pulled it back, remembering that she'd have to wash them all over again. "Why is everyone getting in my personal space today?!"

"You usually like it."

"I know, just back up a bit. I'm not in my right mind right now."

Surreal how Vance chose the same seat as Bill. It was far enough away that she felt like she could breathe again.

"So, why did you hand your phone to Cotton?" Vance came in a lot sooner than she had expected, and saw too much and too little at the same time. He looked like he was trying to relax with the way he was stretching tense spots where he sat. His face was too guarded to read. That part hurt.

"Seems he knows something about Kaylee and needs to talk to my uncle privately." Anise cursed herself for not remaining aware of what was around her, but the world kept shrinking. It became the tiny space of back to the chopping board, tossing the onions and bell pepper strips into one bowl, which left chunking the romaine. She did that a tad aggressively---always a dumb thing to do with knives.

"You know what's going on with her?"

Anise put the knife down--wanted to slam it--then put her hands on the counter to lean towards him. "No. I know nothing. I can guess quite a few things between the bits and pieces everyone's giving me--including her, over more than a year. I want to hear her tell me, not live off crumbs and rumors! So, I don't even want to think about it, but it's all I've got!"

Vance wasn't dumb by any stretch of the imagination, could see how close his girl was to losing it. "Come here."

"Just let me finish all this, and I'll go sit with you. I don't want to have to keep washing my hands..." Back to the knife and Romaine--gently, for the sake of fingers. Little square bits of salad across the six heads, then two of the iceberg which is a little tougher to cut. "I hate this."

"I wish I could take you out like I planned, get away from it all."

That got a weak smile out of the tough girl who felt anything but strong. I want to run away, too.

Half an hour later, everything was on warming or put back in the fridge, and the two of them waited on her phone. Vance still sat on the island stool with Anise standing between his knees, leaning back against him as he rubbed her shoulders and arms. "Where's Aaron?"

"Tossed him in the shower and got some of your dad's sweats, then left to come find you. He's probably in the den, waiting."

"Any idea what he's thinking?"

"No. He went quiet about whatever's going on since Saturday. Figured if he was going to help her and arguments weren't going to stop him, that talking to me wasn't worth his time."

"I'm sorry about that." Anise had pointed that out, but talking? Guys did too little expressing themselves. Perhaps her speech had caused Aaron to bottle it all up.

"Don't be--it would have ended the same way, except we would have fought about it." His sigh ruffled the crown of her head, and she could smell the mint on his breath, which made her smile a little. "He's never been like this."

"Hrm..."

Minutes later, Anise regained her phone. Not even 5 more and Maliq was there, asking questions of them, then pulling Bill off to the side. Next he dragged Aaron out of his isolation to speak to him before barging in on the women. Maliq was like an adopted brother to Clara, and the best one for Uncle Thomas to send into the situation. She had run off cops quite a few times when they interrupted her. Floof could withstand it and reach a copromise, if needed.

And they watched it all, Anise leaning against Vance, humming random mindless tunes, trying to keep her mind drama free, and him not knowing who needed him more: the girl who wanted him here or the boy who was still shutting him out.