She Lays Down [h.s.]

Fifteen

It's been a week since the divorce was finalized and Mary's still feeling hurt and alone because of how much time and love that she gave Alec. Ember's at her parent's house for the weekend so Mary's all alone in her house and the rain isn't helping her mood at all. She's been toying with the idea of talking to Harry for a while, but she prefers talking to him in person and she really doesn't want to bother him with her problems because she already does that a lot and she feels bad about it.

But sitting alone really isn't helping her at all and her mind is driving her crazy. She tries to turn on some music and read one of the books that she's been putting off for a while, but it doesn't really help at all. Before she's really thinking of what she's doing, she's standing on Harry's doorstep in the rain and waiting for him to answer the door.

He answers after about a minute with slightly wide eyes and a soft smile playing at his lips. "Hi."

The corner of Mary's lips lift up in a slight smile, "Hi. Can I come in?"

Harry steps aside and gently shuts the door behind her. Mary's clothes are soaked with water and she's shivering as they stand by the door and look at one another. He knows that she's there for a reason, but he doesn't want to press her to say anything unless she wants to.

Mary tugs on the sleeves of her sweater and drops eye contact to stare at her hands, "I'm sorry for bothering you again, I'm just really lonely and I wanted to see you."

Harry smiles because she's always apologizing when she really doesn't need to. "You don't bother me, Mary. I like being around you and I like that you wanted to see me. Do you want to change into some dry clothes? It's kind of cold in here."

She looks up at him with a soft smile, "If you wouldn't mind."

He leads her upstairs and gives her one of his sweaters and the pair of sweatpants that she let him wear the last time that he stayed over. Mary doesn't really feel like wearing the sweatpants though and she ends up leaving them on the bathroom counter.

Harry's a little surprised when she steps out in just his sweater and her underwear. It's incredibly attractive and it takes a lot of his effort to keep his eyes on her face and not her legs. Mary notices, but she doesn't mind at all because she's comfortable with him and he's supposed to look at her like that. The last time that Alec looked at her like that was the night that Ember came into existence.

She sits on the bed and crosses her legs under her and Harry does the same.

"He tried to take Ember from me, you know. The stupid bastard actually tried to take my child away when he couldn't even stand to see her for more than five minutes on her birthday. I think the worst thing about it was that he knew that she's the only thing I wanted out of the divorce. I don't care about the house or the money, but I love my daughter more than he ever has and that's what really pisses me off. What drives someone to do that? To try to take everything away from someone that they've already taken so much from?"

Harry takes her hands in his and gently runs his thumb over her knuckles, "At least your lawyer and the judge knew what was right, that's what really matters. I don't know what would drive him to do that, maybe jealousy or maybe greed, but that's really low of him to even try to do. Especially because I was there when you told him that he could have anything but your daughter. I'm sorry that he's done so much to you, Mary. But, he can't hurt you anymore and you can finally take some time for yourself and do the things that make you happy."

Mary smiles at him and gives his hands a light squeeze, "You make me happy. It's a little scary because I've only ever been with one man, but I really like you and so does my little girl. Thank you so much for waiting for me, it means so much to know that you care about me enough to take what I want into consideration instead of just going for it like I know that you want to."