<em>Knowing he could never stay mad at the girl, Ethan graciously accepted her apology with a casual wave off.</em><br/><br/>"Don't lose any sleep over it...I know you've been through Hell.  You should also know I can never stay angry with you either."<em>He might as well admit it, it wasn't a secret.<br/><br/>He found the bag she referred to and also found her keys just by digging around.</em>"You don't know but going into a woman's bag is scarier to me than it would ever be to live in the same house with you."<em>He teased.  It was easier to tease.  He could say things he really meant, but no one would ever suspect it was the truth.<br/><br/>He gave James a look and a smile but shook his head.</em><br/><br/>"I'll go ahead and bring my stuff over too, but I won't be taking up that much space."<em>A couple changes of clothing, stuff for the bathroom, and he lived close enough that if he needed anything else he could just run home and pick it up.  He really wanted to be as unobtrusive under Anna's roof as he could be.  He wanted to be there to help, not aggravate her further.<br/><br/>Still feeling like he was interrupting something, Ethan showed he had the keys, and started for the door.</em><br/><br/>"We'll pull straws tomorrow. I'll be there around seven, so don't wander in around noon."<br/><br/><em>He didn't expect his friend to get there quite as early as he was going to, but he also didn't want him to skate on his share of the cleaning either.  But Ethan was smiling, so James would know whatever time he arrived would be fine, as long as he showed up at all.<br/><br/>Snapping his fingers he looked over at Anna, and crossed the small distance between them in seconds, bending down to kiss her on the cheek.  There...back to 'good, old, friendly Ethan.'</em><br/><br/>"Please don't let this guy keep you up all night...you need sleep.  And if you think of anything we can do while we're at your place, just call us...you have my cell."<br/><br/><em>He looked at her tenderly then, and almost fell into her beautiful eyes.  As much as he wanted to help her, he knew he was facing several days of pain.  But for Anna, it was worth it.</em>