The next day when she woke up he wasn’t beside her on the couch anymore but she could hear him talking on the phone behind her closed bedroom door.

“So it was received well? What kind of comments are being posted on the media sites? And they didn’t post any other photos like we agreed? Great, fantastic……. I think she should stay home from work one more day. But if she needs to go out and do anything that should be safe? Great. I’ll let her know.” The door opened and he walked out with a smile on his face when he saw her awake on the couch.

“Morning babe”, he walked over to her and sat down. “The decision to reveal at least your last name went well. The fans are taking it well and you can finally head out to do laundry and shop if you need to. Obviously, it would be best of you kept close to home and covered your face just to be safe.”

“Really?” She was already thinking of what she needed to do today. “Thank god, I’ve been worried since everything happened how it would affect you and the guys. And,for myself, dating you has been one thing but the world finding out is something entirely different.” She leaned against the back of the couch and took his hand and brought it up to her eyes to examine it. “You have really nice hands.” She kissed his knuckles and let their hands drop back to the couch and linked their fingers. He sat and watched her with a bemused expression.

“You’re incredible. Worrying about us more than yourself. I was scared you would turn tail and run when everything came out. It’s a lot for someone in my world to handle but for you it’s like having every single shred of privacy torn away and to be left standing in a stadium full of people.” He brought their hands up to his lips and kissed her finger tips one by one. “I think I’ll be just fine in your small capable hands.” He pulled her close and could feel her smiling into his neck. They stayed that way for a while, enjoying each other’s closeness until he pulled away reluctantly and looked at her.

“You boyfriend has to go deal with the storm back at the office so I have to go now.” He smiled softly at her and leaned in to rub his nose against hers, ear