"Yes, ma'am," Len said as Emma layed down, "And don't worrry, I won't bite. Unless you want me to."<br/><br/>He shifted, noticing she'd settled down close to him but not touching him. It annoyed him slightly but he understood why. He bought his hand up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. A faint but unsure smile touched his face as he gazed at her. The feeling that a difficult road lay ahead on them ate at him.<br/><br/>'We aren't a couple, are we?' He wondered as he realized he'd thought of Emma and him as a "Them", not as a "him and her", 'Whatever. we need each other, thats all that matters to me'<br/><br/>He shifted again, spooning himself around her as he kissed the base of her neck. It was strange how radically their interaction dynamic had changed. He wasn't sure of his feelings for her but he knew he wouldn't let her go, no matter how tough things got. She deserved to be loved by someone. He felt he would be that someone.<br/><br/>He'd fallen asleep rather quickly after he embraced her from behind. He'd always been a light sleeper though, due to his adoptive father. It had been something drilled into him as a survival mechanism. Any noices that registered as threating or unknown triggered his fight instinct. In this case, almost six hours after he fell asleep, he bolted upright, turning instinctively to shield Emma from possible harm as someone came in the room.<br/><br/>He let out a vividly colorful string of quiet cursing as he recognized his adopted mother.