Getting ready

[Mia Andreson]

Mia stood in front of the bathroom mirror putting last minute touch ups to her hair. She was going as a medival princess. With Nadines help she had gotten a full ball gown. It was dark dark red trimmed with black lace. She had been finally released from the hospital four days prior and had been staying in the spare room at Josh's house. It took much convincing to get him agree to let her go tonight. Ever since they had gotten home, he barely let her out of his sight. Even when he went to work, he continually caller her to check in. Apart from that, though, things between them had been purely friendly. Even though he slept in the same bed as she did, physical contact was at a bare minimum. Once she thought she felt him kiss her forehead after he thought she had fallen asleep, but it could have just been her dreaming. While Mia treasured his friendship, she was beginning to doubt if he wanted more.

Mia slowly eased her arm out of the sling it was in. She was supposed to keep it there for another 4 weeks, but what harm would one night of it out do for her. Besides, it TOTALLY ruined the look. She could not wait to go out tonight. This was her first time leaving the house since she was released. Both McKenzie and Nadine had visited her, but she needed a change of scenary. Just sitting at home, even with Josh, made it too easy to replay the attack over and over in her head. She had nightmares every night still, but after the first few nights in the hospital and waking up screaming and upsetting Josh, she found how to stay silent. Somethings were better for him not to know. Its wasn't like he could invade her dreams and make them all better. He had said the first night was the hardest. Mia disagreed. Each night the dreams were more clear, more vivid, as the repressed memories slowly resurfaced.

She slowly made a slow circle with her shoulder, wincing at the tightness and the pain. SHe did one last turn in front of the mirror and decided she was ready. Her hair was curled in its natural loose ringlets and poured down to the middle of her back. She stared at herself a few moments, searching her face for any traces of the bruises that still remained. Thank goodness for makeup

[Josh Patton]

Josh was dressed and laying across Mia's bed. He had decided to go as a pirate. In the days since Mia had come home he'd been with her except when he went to work. He was trying to come up with a way to tell her he was still interested. Of course he worried about hurting her.
When she came out of the bathroom he sat up on the side of the bed. He got up and came over to her. He stopped a little ways from her.
"Baby you are so beautiful." He wanted to touch her but didn't want to spook her.

[Mia Andreson]

Baby? Well that was nice to hear! She did a little twirl and the dress fanned out. She giggled as she curtsied for him. Since the attack she tried to act and behave as normal as possible. She tried her hardest to be cheerful and not let him know how haunted she was by it.

"Why thank you, cap'n! I shall be your Elizabeth Swan for the evening. Well, atleast when you aren't busy pouring everyone else drinks."

She sat on the bed and tried to put on her ballet flats with one arm. With this long of a dress, might as well have comfy shoes. Even though her other arm was out of the sling, she was trying not to use it as much as possible. She manuevered each shoe on with one hand. She stood back up. "Ok, Im all ready now!" She grinned at him. Deep down, she was partly terrified for tonight. She had not stepped foot into the club since 2 weeks prior. The thought of all those people, all that loud music...but she wanted to prove to herself that she was strong enough for this, strong enough to conquer what had happened

[Josh Patton]

Josh smiled at her. She was beautiful.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" He didn't want her to go if she wasn't ready. He would understand if she wasn't. In fact it bothered him that she seemed so happy and okay. He'd seen Nadine once since her attack and she wasn't okay. She was very much in pain, mentally. He was sure Mia was hiding her nightmares from him in hopes of not worrying him. That bothered him more.

[Mia Andreson]

Mia crossed her arms over her chest but kept the smile on her face. "Of course I am sure. Besides this sore shoulder, I'm perfectly fine. You can't keep me locked up in here forever you know. Actually... I was thinking about talking to McKenzie about going back to work again. And maybe even back to the apartment."

Mia grabbed her purse and sifted though it, making sure she had everything she needed. She didn't especially want to move back to the apartment but she felt like she was holding Josh back if she stayed here. Mia hated feeling like a burden. Plus, laying next to him night after night was hard, too hard. Not because she was afraid. No, because she wanted to hold him and be held back but didn't want to push the boundaries. Every night, especially after a nightmare, all she wanted to be wrapped up in his strong arms, to feel that safety she felt when he grabbed her away from Aaron. But Josh had kept his distance and Mia wanted to respect that.

[Josh Patton]

Josh wondered if what he was thinking was showing on his face right now. He took a step closer to her which put him close enough to touch her. He looked down at her and let his feeling show in his eyes. He wanted to tell her he was still interested and now if he'd didn't she would leave him.
"Mia, I don't know how to say this except to just say it." He sat down and motioned her to sit by him. "I want you. If I didn't want you I wouldn't have brought you here." He looked down then back up at her. "I love waking up next to you. The only reason I haven't tried to move our relationship forward is because I didn't want you to feel crowded."
He reached out to touch a strand of her hair. "I don't want you to feel like I'm pushing you. I want to hold you at night. I want to wake up with my arms around you and know you want that too." He waited for her reaction.

[Mia Andreson]

Mia frowned a bit. "I-I thought you just felt obligated." She pressed her cheek against his hand, enjoying the feeling of his skin against hers. It was what she had wanted for so long. "All these mornings I have woken up and you were right there asleep, its been so hard to not just curl up against you. I didn't think you wanted me like that though. Not anymore. I would like there to be an 'us' ". She took a deep breath. "But, I still think I should move out. I need to prove to myself that I am strong enough to survive on my own. I still want to spend many many nights here with you, but I dont want to have to depend on you. I know I have only been out of the hospital a few days, but Im afraid that if I stay here that I will become dependant on you. I dont want to be a drain on you." She leaned over a bit and pressed her lips against his in a swift, chaste kiss. "But now isn't the time to make these decisions. We have a party to get to." And just like that her sad eyes and worry drawn face morphed into the smiling, cheerful girl that had been there just a few minutes earlier. She bounced off the bed and headed to the car.