She Lays Down [h.s.]

Seventeen

Harry walks through the door of the shelter with a smile on his face. Mary told him that she and Ember were volunteering today and he figured that he'd stop by and say hello and bring Ember some ice cream like he usually does on Saturday's. The people at the front don't like his ice cream idea because of the animals, but once he says that it's for Ember they leave it alone because they love that sweet little girl too.

Mary's in the back giving the dogs some more food, but they don't really care who goes back because it's how people adopt animals, so Harry politely thanks the woman who told him where Mary is and heads into the back to meet her and the animals.

Ember sees him before Mary does because her curious eyes can't keep away from the door every time that it opens. She smiles like it's Christmas morning and she's opening presents and she yells his name and runs to him immediately.

Harry crouches down to catch her and he hugs her tightly, careful to keep the ice cream from getting in her hair or on her clothes. "Hi, sweetie!"

Ember hugs him back and buries her face in his shoulder for a moment. He always smells good and she likes the hugs that he gives because they feel like home and she doesn't remember the last time that her dad's hugs felt like that.

She pulls away and she's still smiling like him coming to see them is the best thing in the world. "Why are you here?"

Harry returns her smile and sticks his arm out to show her the ice cream that she's overlooked, "I came to see you and your mum, and I brought you your ice cream because it's Saturday."

She happily takes the ice cream cup from his hand, her eyes bright as she notices that he's snuck in a few gummy bears on the inside. Her mom tells him not to do that because she's already hyper, but he thinks that a few won't hurt because she's a kid and she's supposed to be hyper.

He knows why she's looking up at him with that hint of mischief behind her eyes and he winks before speaking softly, "Don't tell your mum that I put those in there, it'll be our little secret."

Ember nods as he hands her the plastic spoon and she digs in without another word. Harry playfully gives her a pat on the head before heading further back to find her mother. Mary must have gone back into one of the store rooms or something because he knows that she would have come out if she heard Ember call his name.

And, just like he suspected, she's leaving one of the storage rooms when he rounds the corner. A surprised and pleasant smile makes its way to her lips the moment that she sees him.

"Hey, Tarzan."

Harry grins as she walks past him and starts to open doors and pour some food into the animal's food bowls.

"Hello, Jane. What might you be doing on this fine day?"

Mary laughs and shakes her head as she opens another door and repeats her process, providing the puppy inside with a bit of affection just like she did with the last one. "Taking care of some lovely animals that need the love and the attention. I'm a little distracted though because my boyfriend just waltzed in with a lovely smile."

He smiles and opens the next cage door for her, "Boyfriend? I like the sound of that."

Mary tries not to smile as she scoops a cup full of food into the cat's bowl, "I like the sound of that too."

Harry steps in front of her to the next cage and he places his hands on her waist as she turns around. Her smile grows instantly and there's a light in her eyes that he's been waiting to see since she picked herself up and told Alec to get the hell out.

Before she can say anything else, he leans in and kisses her softly. Mary's a little surprised and she doesn't react right away, but after she gets over the initial shock she relaxes and closes her eyes as she kisses him back.