Rosemonde's blood pressure was quite low 80/50, and she felt extremely tired. She struggled to keep awake but they wouldn't let her sleep, as she was concussed and was having difficulty walking. Luckily, she only needed a few stitches to the head - the result of hitting the edge of a marble lamp table as she fell. Drew remained with her throughout.

"I'm sorry, this can't be fun for you. Thank you for being here with me. I'm so sorry about Myrddin. I've never seen him like that. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Nah, I ducked. How did you two get together anyhow?" And why, when you could do so much better?

Rosemonde told him about New Year's Eve and the spiked drink. They talked about the shopping trip.

"Is he gay?" Drew asked.

"NO! And that's such a stereotype!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm not politically correct, but it's um...unusual."

Rosemonde tried to illustrate Myrddin's soft side. She told Drew about the art show, about the drama with Gwendolyn. She told him about their father, how he threw his daughter's clothes out onto the street when she still tried to go home that night. She explained that Gwendolyn was now living with Myrddin until she and Raluca found a place of their own.

"He's a good guy, truly. He's really helped me out of my shell."

"You just needed someone to appreciate how special you are. Mum is quite reclusive for obvious reasons, but that means that your job doesn't involve much socialising. Now if you were MY personal assistant, you'd be going to all sorts of parties, and people other than myself and mum would see that you're the full package - gorgeous, intelligent and caring. You're incredible Rosemonde. You just need to believe it."

"That's...thank you, what a beautiful thing to say." Rosemonde realised that she was blushing.

This was compounded when a female doctor picked up her chart then looked back at her and said, "You finally have some colour back. This gentleman is doing you good." She then looked at Drew properly for the first time. "Oh, my God. You're Drew Wilson!" she squealed.

"No, he just looks like me. "I'm younger and much better looking."

"I'm-I'm so s-s-sorry. I was fangirling-rather-unprofessional," she mumbled.

"Hey, it's fine, but I'd keep it down. You probably don't want the press or lots of um...excitable fans, in an emergency ward."

"I'll try and find Rosemonde a private room. Until then, keep the curtain closed."

She left hurriedly; her face as red as a tomato. Once she was gone, Rosemonde burst out laughing.

"Poor thing. I can't blame her. I nearly had a heart attack when I realised that you were Ms Wilson's son. Sign Ahead is my favourite band, and well...I was totally in love with you when I was in high school!"

"High school! Geez, I'm not that much older than you, am I?"

"Nine years, three months and two days," she replied without having to think about it. Belatedly, she realised how obsessive she sounded, and she said as much. She was still blushing furiously and attempted to cover her face, but Drew wouldn't let her and took her hands in his.

"Oh, stop it. I think it's sweet. Although," he paused teasing, "I don't understand how you're not the president of my fan club."

"Oh, but I often help him out," she said innocently.

Drew snorted. She was something else. Wow! She is funny, beautiful, yet totally incognizant of her own sexiness. This is getting dangerous.

Rosemonde couldn't believe how normal Drew was for a rock star. She wasn't shy with him at all. She found herself being very bold, asking questions of him that she couldn't imagine asking someone like Myrddin. Some were questions she was sure he'd been asked thousands of times, stereotypical, but she didn't feel awkward or embarrassed. The conversation flowed easily between them.

"Oh, come on now, you were seen coming out of her room - naked!" Rosemonde laughed, recalling one of the band's many scandals.

"Totally set up! Charlie was in on it. One night it was me, and the next it was our keyboard player and so on."

"But why would she do that? Her reputation- "

"Because it's rock and roll! She's meant to be badass. The truth, that she is married to her high school sweetheart and was pregnant with his baby wasn't. Our then promoters wanted to really push the fact that we had a female drummer in an otherwise male band. They wanted to make it seem as though any of us could be the father. They also considered it better for the band's image that our lead singer was single, not married with a bub on the way."

"Poor Charlie. That's rather horrible."

"It's the nature of the business. It's all about image, but most of it is an illusion. I hate that part of it. I just want to make music," Drew said vehemently.

"Well, I'm glad the truth came out in the end," Rosemonde said quietly. "But I don't know why they thought thirty-something was the magic age for the band to begin to come clean about their real relationships. The guys in Sign Ahead were, are still a hot commodity. I'm sure they will be pursued by rabid groupies well into their twilight years. Look at the Strolling Bones!"

Drew chuckled. "Yeah, well..." He sighed. "This is probably going to sound exceptionally big-headed, but I don't like women who throw themselves at men just because they're famous. I don't want meaningless sex with a groupie, but I don't want to stop making music... A wife deserves a husband to be there. Kids need a dad who's around. I understand that, and I don't see how I can have both a family and a career right now."

"Of course, you can! There's a woman out there willing to support your career and who will be secure enough in her love for you to trust you while you're away on tour. Or, depending on her job situation, she could even go with you. I know that touring isn't truly glamorous, but when you love someone, you support them, no matter what."

"You make it sound so simple."

"Well, I totally believe in the KISS principle," Rosemonde said seriously.

"The what?"

" K.I.S.S. It stands for 'keep it simple stupid.' With the right person, nothing should be too complicated."

Where have you been all my life? "So um, do you have an older sister? If so, when can I meet her?" The mood had been jovial and Drew was laughing but stopped abruptly as Rosemonde's eyes filled with tears. "What happened are you in pain? Shall I get the doctor? What's wrong?"

"I have no family left. It's just me, and now-now, Summer is gone as well." She told him her story.

"I'm-so-sorry Rosemonde. I didn't realise. Mum never said... Mind you, I haven't been home and-"

"It's not your fault. Why would you know? Why would you ask?"

Because I want to know everything about you... No Andrew. You must STOP this. She has a boyfriend! "I know it's not the same, but I want you to know, mum adores you. She thinks of you as a daughter. She really does, but she feels that she must maintain a professional distance because you're an employee. You should have seen her when you fainted before you came around. She loves you Rosemonde, and I love that you look after my mum so well. You are so much more than her assistant."

"Thank you for saying that."

"It's the truth. My being an only child was not my parent's choice. I know that she's told you about her miscarriages, but did you know I had a little sister? She'd be about your age actually."

"Oh, my goodness! She's never mentioned that. What happened?"

"It's difficult for her to talk about. The baby lived for around forty minutes. A perfect little girl with lots of dark hair. There didn't appear to be anything wrong. She just stopped breathing. The doctors tried and failed to resuscitate her."

"Drew that's so sad. I'm so sorry."

Drew stood up from where he had been sitting and sat beside her, on the bed. "Life isn't fair, but every so often we meet an angel who makes it better, or at least bearable. You're mum's earth angel Rosemonde Durand. I need you to be strong for her, and I promise you, she will be strong for you. She didn't laugh for a long time after dad passed, but I've heard the way you two are together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Rosemonde."

Before he could think about what he was doing, he took her in his arms. She felt so small and vulnerable. She didn't pull away from his embrace not even when he kissed her ever so lightly on the lips. It was like an electric shock went through her, beginning at her toes and ending with her hair standing on its end.

What just happened? I have a boyfriend. Why did I let him do that, and why did I feel that way? Why doesn't Myrddin make me feel like that? Rosemonde wondered.

As chaste as the kiss was, something had happened between them. Drew knew that he should probably apologise for kissing her but he couldn't because he wasn't sorry.

Okay, I shouldn't have done that, but she didn't stop me! Oh, God help me, I'm falling in love with her! What am I going to do?

As if in answer to his unspoken question, Rosemonde began to snore softly.

"No. No, Rosemonde wake up! You need to stay awake for another few hours yet." He made her look at him. Rosemonde yawned but she woke easily. Thank God.

"I think I was dreaming."

She thinks she dreamt the kiss. "You only drifted off for a few seconds. Was it a nice dream?"

"I-I think it was, yes," she smiled and yawned again.

"Well, dreams can come true," Drew said.