Packing away the photographs that hung on the wall in the lounge, Izzy laughed to herself at the sound of Amber cursing under her breath whilst hunting for Advil in one of the kitchen cabinets. They had intended to make sure the room was clear the previous evening. However, that plan had been thwarted by Grace arriving on the doorstep armed with copious amounts of wine and tales of her latest escapades. Amber had never been able to resist the lure of Grace's stories, and all thoughts of ensuring they were ready for today went out the window.

Izzy, in spite of the trepidation she felt towards having to meet with her father the following week, had managed to stay sober. Amber it would seem was suffering the effects of Grace's ability to ensure that your glass was always full. Izzy had risen early and was virtually all done as Amber wandered into the lounge armed with water and the pills she obviously required to help with the headache Izzy suspected she was nursing.

"Why am I completely incapable of saying no to your mother?" Amber asked quietly as she seated herself carefully on one of the armchairs that Izzy had yet to move.

"She has a nasty habit of having that affect on people," Izzy replied with a grin. "Is it really that bad?" she enquired.

"It currently feels as though I have an army marching through my head," Amber mumbled as she sipped her water. She glanced around the room.

"And now I feel worse because I've left you to do all of this. I'm sorry Iz, I don't know why I let Grace convince me that the wine actually needed to be finished."

"It's not a problem Ambs, besides, Brian will be here any minute, he can always help me finish up if you don't feel up to it."

Amber managed a smile.

"No no, I'll be fine. Have you thought any more about what your mom said last night with regard to Brian...about all the being honest stuff?" she asked.

"I have," Izzy began as she walked the box through to the dining room ,"and I've decided that...." the doorbell interupted her mid sentence.

"Guess we'll talk about that later huh?" Amber added as Izzy disappeared to answer the door.

Amber sat back in the chair and closed her eyes, wishing she hadn't been so caught up in listening to Grace last night. That way she might have been more aware of just how much she was drinking.

"Oh fucking great!"

Amber opened an eye, seeing the one person she would have wanted to avoid at any cost today.

"Oh joy! Tweedle Dee brought Tweedle Dum," she stated glumly.

"I thought you said she wasn't going to be here," Matt hissed at Brian.

"Ooops?" Brian answered with a shrug, following Izzy out into the kitchen.

Amber sighed and rubbed her temples.

"What's up with you this morning anyway, you look like death," Matt pointed out.

"Why thank you Matthew, I'll take that as a compliment coming from the idiot who insists on wearing his aviators indoors," Amber answered, trying not to laugh as he stood there and removed them.

Amber studied him for a brief moment, trying not to let her eyes linger on the tattooed biceps that rippled out from the sleeveless top he wore.

"Maybe you want to consider putting them back on, bloodshot is not a good eye color," she pointed out with a smirk.

"It was a heavy night. Are they really that bad?" he asked, actually sounding as though Amber's opinion mattered to him.

Amber held his gaze, a warm smile creeping onto her face as she took in the beauty and warmth of his hazel eyes.

"No, they look pretty good from here," she answered softly.

Matt tried to hide the smile that crossed his lips at Amber's words, quickly turning it into a frown.

"Are you gonna move your hungover ass out of that chair so I can move it?" he grumbled.

"Gladly. I'd stay put, but we all know how clumsy you are Sanders, I wouldn't want to be dropped again," Amber retorted, standing up and flouncing out of the room.

Matt grinned to himself. She was feisty, and boy did he like it.

*************

"Will you quit going over every bit of wall I paint?"

"But you missed a spot!"

Izzy placed the knife she was using to make the sandwiches for lunch down on the counter top with a heavy sigh. All morning Amber and Matt had done nothing but trade insults with each other, in between the sly glances of appreciation they kept sneaking at one another. At first, Izzy and Brian had found it amusing. Now it was starting to grate on Izzy's nerves.

She understood that Matt was wary of getting involved with someone. After hearing from Brian what had happened from Val, she didn't blame him. But it was obvious to the world and his wife that he and Amber liked one another, so why it was getting so difficult for them to admit that to themselves was beyond Izzy. Brian rested his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm beginning to fail to see why I thought this would be a good idea," he admitted quietly.

Izzy gave a weak smile, picking up the knife once more and attacking the sandwiches with it.

"How difficult can it be just to admit that you like someone?" she mumbled.

Brian took the knife from Izzy's hand and turned her round to face him.

"It's not always that easy," he murmured.

"I know, but at least you didn't behave like those fools in there," she sighed.

Brian chuckled as he kissed her lightly.

"Believe me Izzy, I've had my moments. If I'd behaved towards you the way I had been over the last few months, we wouldn't be here right now," he added.

Izzy eyed him briefly, finding herself wondering just what this other Brian was like. Could he have really been that bad? Would he have even been someone she woud have wanted to have known? Izzy hoped that it was a side to him she would never have to witness.

"Arrrgggh! Now look what you've done!"

Brian quirked an eyebrow at the sound of Amber's yells from the other room. He and Izzy almost sprinted to find out what the problem was, trying not laugh at the sight that met them.

"Ambs, you do realise the paint tray is not the place to be putting your ass don't you?" Brian asked.

Amber scowled at him.

"If it hadn't been for the gorilla you insisted on bringing along getting in my way, my ass would be a paint free zone right now," she hissed, turning her glare back to Matt, who held his sides as he chuckled. He reached out a hand to help her up.

"Just stay away from me," Amber grumbled, feeling two arms under hers, Brian pulling her up out of the paint.

She flashed him a weak smile of thanks, turning to head out of the room.

"Red suits you...owwww!" Matt rubbed his head where Brian's palm had made contact with it. "What the fuck was that for?"

"I brought you here today hoping that you and Amber would get past this shit and actually get along. But instead all that's happened is you acting like some fucking seven year old with a schoolyard crush. I'm surprised you haven't run after her and pulled on her fucking pigtails!" Brian yelled.

Matt hung his head a little, rubbing the back of his neck.

"C'mon dude, I thought you really liked her, what's up with this shit?" Brian asked, his tone softening.

"It's just....." Matt glanced over at Izzy, who sensed his unease.

"I'll go check on Amber," she stated gently, leaving them alone. Matt looked back at Brian.

"I've only ever been with Val, and I just feel like I'm out of my fucking depth here Gates. I really do like her....I just don't know how to act," he admitted. "I look at you and how easy it is for you to just get anyone you want, and yet, I have no idea how you do it."

"Two things...1)..less of the Gates right now...and 2) what you saw in the past is no meter to go by Matt. That wasn't getting someone I wanted, that was the need for a quick lay to forget Michelle. Asking Izzy on a date was no walk in the park. Although I didn't behave like the complete clueless fuckwit you are right now."

"Help me?" Matt asked, not caring how pathetic he may have sounded at that moment.

Brian shook his head as he laughed.

"Sure, I'll help....but you've got to help yourself too. Listen, I think the best thing is to get you out of here and out of Amber's way for now." He threw Matt the keys to his car. "You go wait outside whilst I let Izzy know what's going on."

Matt nodded and headed out the front door whilst Brian sprinted up the stairs. Not sure which room Izzy would be in, he stood in the hallway and called her. She grinned as she poked her head from out of a door, pulling it to as she joined him. Brian led her away from the room so he couldn't be heard.

"I'm gonna take Matt home, but I wondered if you were up for making tonight a double date kind of thing," he suggested.

"I'm starting to think you're getting some perverse kind of pleasure from all of this," Izzy sighed.

Brian grinned, resting his hands on her hips.

"Trust me, if tonight doesn't work, then I'm leaving well alone. I'll call you a bit later, let you know where and when ok?"

Brian bowed his head, kissing Izzy softly. He pulled away a little and looked down at her. Something was starting to stir within him whenever he was with her, and it was a feeling Brian had only ever experienced once before. Brian knew this was turning into something more than a casual few dates, and he found himself wanting Izzy to be a bigger part of his life. There was just one small stumbling block he needed to conquer first, and once that was in the open, he knew there was nothing stopping them.

"You ok?" Izzy murmured.

Brian smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, couldn't be better," he answered, leaning in for one more kiss.