"Sir?"

Luke was standing by the mirror, adjusting his shirt collar.

"Yes?" He said absentmindedly as he smoothed out the ends of his shirt. He turned left, turned right, trying to decide how he felt about it. Luke always dressed carefully, purposefully and tonight he was particularly picky about it. He'd already changed his shirt twice.

"Ms. Echo is here." The man said, making Luke grin.

"Thank you, let her know I'll out shortly." Luke said, still staring at himself.

"Yes, sir."

Luke sighed, shaking his head and moving towards his closet.  He glanced at the clock on the wall, he still had time. As meticulous as Luke was about his clothes, he was also very strict about being punctual. Luke took his time hanging up the now rejected shirt and slowly began to skim the selection in front of him before picking one out.

"Seriously?"

Luke chuckled and turned, finding Echo standing behind him, arms crossed and tapping her foot furiously.  He raised his brow, taking in every last inch of her, completely bowled over by how amazing she looked. She was really getting very good at dressing up for him.

"You look good." He said, biting his lip and moving towards her but she shook her head.

"You don't look ready." She said, sounding annoyed.

"I'm almost ready." He replied, reaching out for her. Echo frowned.

"You told me to be here 15 minutes ago and you're not ready." Echo said, "I thought you were Mr. Punctuality."

"We have time, calm down." He said, rolling his eyes as she stepped away. "I told you to be here early because I know you, and you were likely to be late."

She watched him, slightly annoyed, as he moved to put on another shirt.  She walked over, taking a seat on the bench and crossing her legs.

"I was not going to be late." She muttered as she watched him adjusting the shirt.

"I don't like to take chances." He said with a shrug, doing up his last button and turning to her with a smile. "Now, baby- How about you stop fighting with me and greet me properly?"

Echo stared at him, irritated by his smugness. Just because he was so damn handsome didn't mean he should be so smug about it.

"Come on." She said, turning to walk out but Luke reached over, grabbing her arm and pulling her to him.  Echo gasped in surprise.

"Funny..." He whispered, placing a hand behind her neck and bringing her closer, making her immediately forget how annoying he could be.

---

"You know I just realized, you said you were going to introduce me to some people, told me this was an anniversary but I have no idea who or where..." Echo said as Luke turned the corner.

They hadn't been driving long but Echo hadn't missed how large and impressive the houses were in this neighborhood.  She turned back to him as he drove, his hand had not left her leg. Of course, she tried shaking it off a couple of times but he wouldn't budge and so she'd decided just to let him have his way.

"Well, it's just a small dinner, family, maybe a neighbor or two. My aunt and uncle's 25th." He said simply.

"Wait, your aunt and uncle?" She asked, eyes wide.

"Yes. She was my father's sister." He said, "they're really nice."

"Your aunt and uncle?" She replied.

"That's what I said." He nodded.

"You're taking me to meet your family?" She said.

"Is that a problem?" He asked.

"Yes." She said, making him frown.

"I'm thought girls are thrilled to meet their boyfriend's family." He replied.

"Okay, first of all, we've been through this, I'm not your girlfriend."  Echo said, "And also, aren't you supposed to warn me that that's what you're doing?"

"Okay, I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He said with a shrug, "but yes, that's where we're going. Don't stress. Like I said, they're nice. I actually really want you to meet my cousin."

"Your cousin?" She asked, feeling like she was going to throw up. "Oh god..."

"Hey... hey..." Luke said, pulling over to the curb as he saw her panicking.  "Echo, baby- look at me."

She turned to him, trying to control her breathing.

"Listen to me." He said, putting a hand on either cheek, "Hey, are you listening to me?"

Echo nodded but she was still having trouble catching her breath.

"Okay, calm down. Just tell me, what are you so anxious about?" He asked gently, his thumbs caressing her face. Echo shook her head, trying to think clearly, opening her mouth to speak but unable to say anything coherent. "Hey... Echo. Hey... we can take out time. We're not in a rush. Just... relax. Deep breath... why don't you..."

Luke began to look around, trying to think of something... anything.

"Hey, tell me what you see." He finally said.

"Whaaaaa..." She managed to say breathlessly.

"Look around and tell me what you see." he said firmly. Echo nodded... okay. Okay.

'Come on, Echo' she repeated to herself. 'You can do this.'

"House." She said, blurting the first thing that she spotted. Luke nodded.

"Tree." She continued.

"Really good, baby, What else?" He said, smiling faintly as she spoke. Echo looked around, feeling as slowly she began to ground herself.

"Steering wheel." She said, gazing back at him, her eyes locking with his.

"Anything else?" He said, looking relieved as she seemed to calm down.

"You." She said, a smile curling on her lips. Luke, she could see Luke.  He chuckled, nodding and pulling her against him gently. She felt his arms tighten around her, his fingers locking themselves in her hair as he gently massaged her scalp.

"Good, that was good." He finally whispered, kissing her forehead gently. She nodded, offering another weak smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I can't imagine how annoying this must be for you." She said, turning a little red.

"Hey, look at me..." He said, meeting her eyes, "You... are so annoying."

"What?" She asked in confusion as he let out a sigh, followed by a chuckle.

"Yes, extremely. Wow." He said, turning back to the steering wheel and starting up the car. "I've never had to deal with a girl this... problematic."

"You don't have too- you're the one that..." She began to say indignantly.

"No, no. Stop, just stop right there." He said, pulling the car back out into the street, "You're so annoying and it has been a challenge... but..."

Echo stared at him completely dumbfounded. She hadn't expected him to just admit that she was annoying.

"But?" She asked as he pulled the car back over, this time, pointing towards the house in front of them.

"We're here." He said, taking off his seat belt. She watched as he stepped out of the car, leaving her sitting in confusion.

"Come on." He said, holding her door open. She stared at him, her brows wrinkled together.

"I'm sorry... didn't you just call me annoying? Too much trouble? Too challenging?" She said and he sighed.

"I didn't said you were too challenging, I said you were a challenge." He said, closing the car door behind her and taking her hand as he pulled her along the driveway. "But..."

"But?" She asked again as they stood now by the door.

"But, It's worth it." He said, leaning in and placing a light peck on her lips.

"It's worth it? That's it?" She asked as he rang the door bell.

"Shh, they're coming." He said, "Relax. They'll love you."

---

Grace could have screamed. In fact, she was squeezing so hard around her wine glass that she was surprised it hadn't snapped int two.  Still, she smiled, smiled so damn brightly that she was sure she lit up the entire block.

She expected Luke to be displeased when he saw her and she expected for him to fully ignore her for the first hour or so until he found himself forced to interact with her. After all, there was a a neighbor couple, another cousin, Nadia and her brother, his aunt and uncle... enough people so that he would at least have to be civil.

She just hadn't expected that he would bring a date. Luke never brought a date, he never brought anyone, except maybe Marco.  But here he was, looking surprisingly dashing, scar and all, overpowering the room with his presence and on the arm of another woman.

That was the other thing- not only had he brought a date to meet his family, and it was her. It had taken a few minutes for her to realize it but it was definitely the girl from the bar.

"Luke!" Nadia said with a big smile as she reached out to hug him.  Echo watched silently, unsure what to do or say. She'd never met a boyfriend's family before.

She'd never had a boyfriend... actually.

"Nadia, this is Echo Reid." Luke said, giving Echo a pat on the back to push her forward. Echo stumbled, taking a deep breath as she looked up. Wow, she was tall. Almost as tall as her brother, almost as tall as Luke.

"I'm his favorite cousin." Nadia said with a smile.

"You have a high opinion of yourself." Luke said with a laugh.

"I can't help it if I'm right, I usually am." Nadia replied with a grin.

"It's really nice to meet  you." Echo said, extending her hand nervously. Nadia nodded, offering what looked like a sympathetic smile. It was almost as if she could read Echo's mind.

"Likewise." Nadia said, turning to her parents. "These are my parents, Tony and Daniela."

"It's so good to meet you." Echo was surprised as the woman reached out and hugged her tightly. "You know, Luke's never brought me a nice girl to meet before."

Echo gave a nervous laugh.

"It's a pleasure. Congratulations." Echo said, smiling warmly at both of them, feeling like her legs were going to collapse beneath her.  She was absolutely sure she'd crumple into a heap on the floor but then she felt Luke's firm grip on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze before bring his hand down to hers.  It was strange, usually, she felt way too nervous when he touched her but at this very moment, it was her greatest comfort.

It was almost like he knew it too because he didn't let her hand go at all as he continued to introduce her around the room. She'd almost forgotten she'd been nervous... that was until she caught sight of the beautiful blonde glaring at her.

While it may have taken Grace several minutes to recognize Echo,  Echo recognized her immediately. How could she forget a woman this beautiful? If Echo wasn't Echo and hadn't grown up with Romy as a big sister, she might be so impressed that she'd unable to talk. Instead, she stuck out her hand and managed to pull it together after some shock.

"Echo." She said her own name, waiting for the blonde to respond. Grace looked at her extended hand but she did not take it, offering a fake smile instead.

"Grace." She returned simply.

"I wasn't aware you'd be here." Luke said stiffly.

"Really?" Grace said with a smile, "You know Nadia and I are inseparable."

"Hey, Echo... come here, dear." Daniela called from across the room.

"Coming..." Echo said, turning and walking away.

"Echo." Grace said softly, her eyes now directly on Luke. "She's nice."

But Luke didn't respond, instead her turned on his heel, leaving Grace to stand and stare alone as Echo was welcomed by his family.