She moved to shake his hand and as she go closer she could feel the heat radiating from him. She held out her hand waiting for him to reciprocate, as ...heir hands touched she felt a as though her legs had turned to jelly and she so desperately wanted him to lean down and kiss her. All too soon he withdrew his hand and exited her office. It took her a couple of minutes for her hear to stop racing and her breathing to return to normal. She felt stupid for reacting that way to a man she had never. It was a very ungodly sound but the flowers in the garden fluttered as if a quick breeze ruffled them. "I told you this isn't always successful and I wasn't talking about not getting experience. I've lost a couple of Protectors by sending them to live in other Protector's memories. Maybe there was a flaw in them or their character wasn't strong enough to withstand the changes while in another's body but I lost them just the same. That is why I was hesitant to provide experience by letting you. She let go of my hand and sat down on the merry-go-round. She looked at her shoes for a moment, as if trying to think of what to say. I just stood there, dumbly looking down at her, as if I was waiting for a verdict. The night air was warm, but there was a breeze. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing in slowly. I let out the breath I was holding and sat down beside Maranda. ‘Maranda,’ I began, not really sure what I was going to say.’ ‘I knew you were hiding something,’ she said. ‘I just. We just sat there for a few minutes as our parents were out of the house for date night. He played with my hair a bit and of course kept his other hand on my stomach. “Well we at least know the baby is healthy. And still a girl. That's some good news,” I said. “Well I like to think a guy getting his sister pregnant is good. I mean obviously they love each other, they weren't just in need of having sex. Maybe this will become a thing,” Steve replied. “I kind of doubt that, but who knows,” I.