<div align="center"><strong>~* Mae Little aka "MeiMei"- Desperate to forget, In her lovers bed, Vincent’s room …. Now her second home, The Gamble *~</strong></div><br/>Offering a weak but thankful smile, Mae bit her bottom lip as she tried very hard not to start crying again. Her reaction was a direct response from the warmth that flowed through her body as both Griff and Vincent expressed their concern and love for her in their own individual style.  She snuggled deeper into Vince’s arms, happy to feel the quivering slow to nothing more than a shiver as slowly the adrenaline left her body. A soft giggle bubbled from her tight throat, a sound that was almost strangled by the whimper that desperately clung there, a mere lingering emotion from her recent trauma.<strong>”But it looked so good on me”</strong>Mae replied softly.  Her playful banter might have assured the two men that she wasn’t as pathetic and damaged as she looked had it not been delivered with such a breathy, soft whisper, so unlike the normal brazen young pilot.<br/><br/>She was grateful however when neither Griff nor Vincent required more from her than she had already given concerning the events that led up to her curling into a protective ball reduced to a knot of shivers. Mae clung to Vincent, softly sniffling back the tears as they moved through the ship, taking comfort in his arms, his strength and his silence. The short trip gave her time to focus what was left of her brain, trying to make sense of what had happened. Still unsure of why she had been targeted by the monster that had invaded their ship without anyone noticing, it took a back seat to the bigger question that lingered; who the stranger that had acted the hero? Who was the angel of mercy that had risked her own skin to save Mae from the clutches of evil? Whoever she was, Mae owed her big time. It was a debt the spunky blonde had full intention of repaying, even if it took the rest of her life.<br/><br/>As Vincent brought her into the room she now saw as theirs, Mae smiled, or tried to, in order to comfort her worried boyfriend.  She closed her eyes as he ran his hand gently along her face. She could feel the throbbing from what Mae could only guess would be a pretty nasty bruise and hoped vainly that it wasn’t as bad as it felt.  His soft request had her eyes fluttering open, staring into his kind eyes. Silence hung in the air as the seconds turned into minutes. Reaching to cover his hand with her own, Mae managed a soft smile that surprisingly reached her green, weary eyes. His tenderness was rewarded instantly as those expressive eyes soon turned softer, brightening them with the love that she felt from the young man before her, a love that was reciprocated in equal measure.<strong>”Don’t leave me Vinnie… will you… will you hold me? Please? I … I need you close to me.”</strong><br/>