Talon woke up the next morning mostly refreshed. Once he got his mother down for bed last night, he'd decide to go to sleep himself, feeling the exhaustion from his emotions in full swing. He fell asleep quickly, dreaming of nothing other than cotton candy clouds.

He was up before his alarm clock, getting his clothes for the day, and preparing to jump in the shower by the time his phone started with its annoying squawk. He'd have fifteen minutes to shower and get ready before he'd need to start on breakfast for his mother. Mindy, the day nurse, would be here in about forty-five minutes and then Talon would be off to work..

Talon stretched his arms out in front of him, holding the move for a few moments, before repeating with his arms above his head. He did this while he waited for the water to warm up, loosening his muscles from his mostly wonderful night of sleep.

He couldn't get over the look in his mother's eyes when she didn't recognize who he was. He also didn't know how to react when the words came out of her mouth. This was only the third time it had happened, but three was enough that it was soon to become a regular thing.

An ache filled Talon's chest, knowing he was losing his mother even further to this disease.

The warm water washed over Talon's body, doing its best to help him feel better. But it wasn't enough.

Once Talon was done with his shower, he dressed and rushed downstairs to get started on some scrambled eggs. He liked to have everything done when his mother woke up, just so the transition between Talon and Mindy could go as smoothly as possible.

He whisked the eggs, dropped them in the pan, and seasoned them with some pepper. Adding in a splash of milk as well. His mother was up and sitting in her seat a little over five minutes later.

"Good morning momma," Talon muttered, watching her carefully to see how she would react.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she smiled and pulled her sweater tighter around her body. "It's chilly this morning, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's kind of chilly. I'm not sure what this weird cold-front we've got coming in is, though." Talon dumped the eggs onto a plate, and slid it across the table to her. After he grabbed her a fork, there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Mindy." He smiled, leaving his mother to eat her breakfast. Opening the door, the beautiful blonde greeted him.

"Morning Talon," Mindy smiled, showing all of her teeth. She wore her typical scrubs and comfortable shoes with her blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. "How's Sherry doing this morning?" she asked.

"So far so good. She's eating breakfast, and she still needs to take her meds. She lost her memory last night at the hospital , but she worked through it well. This morning she seems to have it back. Just a heads up though, the creature she was chasing yesterday was you," Talon teased. Mindy entered the home and placed her bag in its usual spot.

"What! That's insane. Why would anyone think I'm a critter?" A slight southern accent kissed her words, growing even more apparent as she got flustered.

"Beats me." Talon shrugged, but internally he knew exactly why. She was short, cute, and had a sing-song voice that could get shrill pretty quickly if she wasn't careful. Any sick person could have convinced themselves she was a mouse or something similar.

"If you've got things covered here and no questions, I'm going to head into work." Talon grabbed his shoes, shrugging the grubby converse on his feet.

"No special changes from the doctors yesterday?" Mindy turned to look at him, working her way down the hallway to meet up with Sherry.

"Nope, all should be good. I'm leaving the car today. Feel free to take it if you have any emergencies." Talon pointed to the keys hanging on the hook, grabbing his jacket hanging next to them and quickly throwing it on before heading to work.

"There he is!" Marcus shouted, excited to see Talon in for another day at the 'office', when he came through the back door. He hung his jacket up, grabbed his apron, and went to work on getting the pre-mixed drinks made for the morning rush.

"Yeah, another day living the dream," Talon smiled. He did genuinely enjoy his job as a barista and once he got used to the early mornings, it wasn't so bad.

"How did your mother's appointment go yesterday? Sorry if we kept you too late.. I had another college kid fucking quit, leaving the shops short staffed in the afternoons." Marcus shook his head. "I swear I'm gonna stop hiring them little bastards one day." His heavy Brooklyn accent filled the back of the coffee shop, leaving Talon laughing at his words.

"Yeah, we've heard that one before." Talon shot back while wiping down the counters and getting all the tables set for the day.

He looked at the clock, only twenty minutes until they opened, which usually meant only thirty minutes until Vanessa would be sitting in her usual seat. A small flicker of excitement shot through Talon's body.

"I'm serious man, I can't keep doing this hiring process. I just wish I had ten more of you to go around and cover all the shifts." Marcus shook his head, heading into his office to get some of his managerial tasks done.

"Not everyone can be such a kiss ass." Talon muttered to himself, wiping down the rest of the tables. Once Talon was done with his opening tasks, he stepped outside to have a quick cigarette. Fiddling the white stick between his fingers as the familiar buzz seeped into his veins, soothing the anxiety away with each puff. He hated it. A filthy habit he wished he had never picked up, and he really was going to quit-next week. Every time he touched one of those cancer sticks, he couldn't help but think about the high school party where he had his first one.

'Come on, don't be such a loser.' The 'popular' kids had chanted in front of him, holding the cigarette out in his direction. Talon turned his nose to smell, trying to hold his ground, but once again, he went back to his kiss ass traits. Now- a full-grown adult- the habit became a social thing. Mostly parties or hanging out with friends, and then it became a quick one on the drive home. When his mother got sick, he needed to quit. So here he was, almost a year out, and the pack in his pocket had lasted him weeks.

Talon flicked out the bud, tossing the discarded end on the ground before stomping it. Heading inside, he washed his hands and watched the clock tick away the seconds before he would have to unlock the front doors. One of the newer employees had just shown up, ready to start their second week at work. Talon chuckled to himself as Marcus put on the perfect smile and started talking to the employee about what he would be doing today.

Talon felt prepared for the day, and for the first time in a while a thread of confidence settled in his spine. He stood straighter, ready to take on the day..

When the clock finally struck the hour, Talon was quick on his toes to open the shop. He was excited to see Vanessa again. Her face had stuck with him last night, and he dreamed of spending more time with her. Today was going to be the day he tried to make that a reality.

Talon took a deep breath as he rushed back to the register, waiting for the people to fill the room. Slowly, chatter clouded the small space, as those who were waiting outside were now rushing in.

Talon took order after order, sending coffee demands to the newer employee behind him. He could see the frantic look on his co-workers face, trying to remember everything he'd been learning over the last two weeks.

Soon Talon was jumping back with the co-worker, helping him catch up on any backlog he would have.

"A tip for you would be to have five or so black coffees ready before the rush fully starts. That way, those that are in here for a simple drip coffee can get pushed out quicker and we can spend more energy on those that have particular tastes. If you leave the cups over here, they stay warm for a while." Talon showed the blonde-haired boy how he normally did things, and once he felt he was caught up, he turned back to the cash register.

There she was.

The girl with the dark hair that had run away from him yesterday. She was standing in front of the counter waiting to order and looking at him with those big beautiful brown eyes.

"Good morning Vanessa." Talon greeted loudly, sounding extra cheerful-too cheerful? "Would you like the usual today?"

Vanessa stared at him, her brows furrowed on her pretty face. Maybe she was trying to remember how he knew her name, or maybe she was searching him for his name tag. Shit! Talon forgot to put his name tag on today.

"Yes please, the usual." Vanessa seemed more quiet than normal. Usually she was bold in her coffee order, but today seemed like she was drifting away to somewhere else. Talon was curious about where.

"Coming right up, I'll bring it to your table. Don't worry about paying today, it's on the house." Talon smiled, making a note on the coffee charge sheet. Vanessa gave him a weak smile, nodded her head, and went to her usual spot at the loners' table.

Talon rushed to get her coffee made, and get the orders done for the rest of the patrons in line. He wanted to be able to sit for a moment with Vanessa without leaving anyone else hanging. Once the orders were all taken care of and he felt the new guy could handle the rest, he grabbed Vanessa's coffee and met her at the table.

Talon grabbed a chair from the table next to him and squeezed it in. He took a seat now, facing Vanessa.

"Can I help you?" She questioned, looking around the room, startled by his sudden closeness.

"I'm Talon, it's very nice to meet you Vanessa. Yesterday we didn't quite get off on the right foot, but I'd like to make that up to you." Talon gave her a hopeful smile that almost reached to his cheeks..

"How would you like to do that?" Vanessa seemed somewhat interested in what he had to say, but her eyes still bounced around the room, looking at everything but him. Why didn't she want to make eye contact with him?

"By taking you out on a date. If you'd allow me, I'd love to take you to dinner sometime." Talon felt nervous once the words were out of his mouth. He fidgeted in the seat, but noticed she was even more on edge.

"Umm, I'm not really sure what to say to that." Vanessa still couldn't look at him, and something deep inside Talon felt like it was falling off a cliff. She was going to say no and he could just feel it.

"You can pick where we eat. We can get whatever you want off the menu. I want to make it as comfortable for you as I can. I just think you are really beautiful and I would like to get to know you." Talon panicked.

A shallow blush forms on Vanessa's face. Finally, she looked at him, and he was able to see her soft brown eyes matching his.

"Sure, I guess I could fit in a date. What day would you like to go?"