"So," Daniel said as they walked through the streets of the city from the studio to the Inn, "I have a question for you."

"What's that?" she asked and gave his arm beneath her hand a gentle squeeze. "If it's about the film, I'm going to request that you wait until tomorrow to ask it. I do not want to think about that f*cking thing for at least 12 hours."

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "No, no. Nothing to do with it at all. Every time I come over, I see that cute little car in your driveway. Why do you not ever drive it?"

"Oh," she said and colored slightly. "I can't drive it. Well, that's not entirely true. I can't drive it well. It's a manual transmission and I never learned properly." They'd reached the porch steps and she glanced up at him. "Rhys was supposed to teach me. Ori was supposed to, as well." One corner of her mouth curled up in a smirk. "I ran them off too quickly for that, though."

He snickered softly at her confession. "Ah, I see. Well, I learned to drive on one. Perhaps you'd like some lessons from me." Then he smirked, too. "Unless you intend to run me off, as well."

"No yelling when I stall it out or grind the gears and you've got a deal," she said and hopped up the porch steps, dark, kohl-lined eyes falling on her second favorite man as he came out from the Inn's taproom. "Jonny!" she squealed happily and descended upon him, throwing her arms around his shoulders and planting a loud smacker against his cheek, as if it had been longer than a day since she'd last seen him.

Jonathan Granger smiled weakly at the greeting. "Hey."

Daniel recognized Jonathan from a movie he'd watched with Lelah, but stood back slightly, giving her time to greet her friend. No one could ignore her for long.

She frowned softly and reached up to cup Jon's cheek. "What's wrong, sweetness?" she asked him, her voice quiet and full of concern, her eyes searching his face for some clue as to the cause for his less-than-stellar smile.

"Nothing, Lee. Don't worry about it. Just family problems." It wasn't like she wouldn't find out sooner or later. Jon was hoping it would be later. The news of a Granger murder was bound to make the papers. He nodded a greeting to Daniel, assuming he was Lelah's current beau.

"You sure?" She was worried about him now, worried about his sprawling family, worried how whatever had happened would effect the film. She winced a bit at the selfishness of that thought and quickly followed it up with, "You need to talk, you've got my number, right?" She pulled away from him and held out her hand to Daniel. "Jonny, this is Daniel. Daniel, this is Jon Granger, the star of A Murder of Crowes...amongst other, less important films," she added with a grin.

Daniel smiled at Jonathan in return, then nodded when she introduced them, moving up and taking the offered hand. "Good to meet you, Jon," he said. "Lelah's spoken highly of you." He held out his free hand in case the man wanted to shake it.

"Pleased to meet you." Jon took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake, the small smile still in place. He was an actor, after all, and was now playing a part.

Daniel shook Jon's hand firmly, but with care not to squeeze too hard. Humans were so bloody fragile. Fortunately, he was quite practiced at applying just the right amount of pressure. He leaned lightly against Lelah and listened to the two of them talk. It was nice to see her around a friend.

She kissed Jon's cheek once more before wrapping her arm around Daniel's waist. "You heading home, Jonny?"

"I need to check on my sister," Jon replied. "I don't see her enough."

She nodded. "Be careful driving home. I'll see you at one o'clock, okay? Big scene tomorrow." She gave him a thumbs up and an encouraging smile.

There was more to it than that, but Jon wasn't going to explain. He needed to see for himself that Helena was okay and he needed to figure out how to keep her that way. There was that frown again. Perhaps he should tell Lelah. He might need a few days off and it could screw up her schedule. "Lee, there... there was a death in the family. I might need a few days off for..." He had no idea what Dom had planned. Would there be a funeral? He had no idea.

She gasped softly and reached for Jon's hand again, taking it between both of hers and holding it gently. "Oh, no. Who?"

"My cousin's wife. Gw-Gwen." There he'd said her name, stammered though it was.

Though he'd literally just met Jon, Daniel couldn't help but feel for the pain he could hear in the man's voice, the grief he could smell rolling off of him. He was no stranger to people dying around him; he knew what it felt like to lose someone. And for it to be family... His grey eyes reflected sadness for Jonathan's loss. He would offer his condolences, but felt it more appropriate that Lelah talk to him first.

She nodded, torn between her shooting schedule and Jon's obvious grief. Trying desperately to remember the schedule for the next two weeks, she frowned softly. "I can give you some time if you need it. No more than two weeks, though, Jonny. I'm sorry. It's going to be really hard to rearrange everything. But if you need it, it's yours."

Jon shook his head at her more than generous offer. "I don't need two weeks. A few days. I can't... I need to work, Lelah."

"Okay," she said, flush with relief. "Think you'll be ready to come back Wednesday then?" Rearranging four days shouldn't be difficult; it would mean calling up some extras and some of the more minor cast early, but she could have Scott take care of that tomorrow morning.

Jon needed to keep busy. A few weeks and he'd go stark-raving mad. An idle mind and all that. He'd rather throw himself into his work. It kept his mind off things. He nodded. He really had no idea what arrangements the family was going to make, but he'd somehow work around it. "Wednesday should be fine."

She nodded and gave Jon a soft smile. "Okay. If you need anything else, please let me know, okay? Do you know anything about services? Can I send some flowers to someone from the studios?" Daniel's hand pressed softly into her back, the touch somehow conveying his approval of her offer.

"I really don't know anything yet." Though an actor, Jon couldn't hide from her what he was feeling. Confusion, shock, grief. He glanced to Daniel. This wasn't the time to lay it on her. "I'll let you know. It was nice to meet you, Daniel." He tried to smile and failed.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek once more, giving him a quick, tight hug before releasing him and stepping back to Daniel's side. "Take care of yourself, Jonny. Be careful driving home tonight."

Jon returned the hug somewhat awkwardly, which was not like him at all. "I'll talk to you in a few days." He stepped past the pair, allowing them to continue inside, and headed toward the Bentley.

"And you, Jonathan." Daniel paused a second, then added, "I'm truly sorry for your loss." Then pain coming off of the other man was almost tangible; he had to take shallow breaths to handle it.

Jon nodded a wordless thanks to Daniel before he headed off. Once there, he unlocked the door, climbed in, and drove off in the direction of Maple Grove.

((Many thanks to Jonathon Granger and Daniel Tej's players for this scene.))

They tore through the streets at breakneck speed, weaving around people, animals, and the occasional vehicle.? Only Daniel's incredible reflexes, a gift from Leopard, kept them from plowing through some of those obstacles at better than sixty miles per hour.? At that speed, it took them mere minutes to reach the end of Lelah's driveway.? He slowed quickly, dropping to a merely human-speed run, then a jog, and finally a walk.? His breathing was deep, but steady; not winded, just nicely pumping, chest expanding and contracting like a blacksmith's bellows.? It always felt good to run like that.

For her part, Lelah had clung to Daniel's back like a barnacle that had picked a super-sonic whale to ride around the seven seas.? When they arrived at the loft -- much sooner than she'd ever thought possible -- she slid from his back and nearly stumbled to her knees.? She was breathless, exhilarated, and more than a little shaky from the adrenaline coursing through her blood.? "Holy f*cking hell," she whispered, pressing one hand against her hammering heart.? "That was f*cking amazing."

He put a steadying hand on her arm as she stumbled, supporting her weight if she needed it.? He could smell the sheer exhilaration coming from her, the bright metallic scent of an adrenaline rush filling his nostrils.? It was more than a little exciting for him, too.? He grinned broadly at her as she recovered.? "I love to run," he said softly.? "I'm glad you enjoyed it, too."

"Screw my car.? I'm hiring you as my driver," she said with a grin as she recovered.? "That was truly the most amazing thing I've done in a very long time."

He laughed, stroking her back, fingers toying with her hair gently.? "You'll get no complaints from me.? Running like that is always a thrill, and with your body pressed against mine while I did it...," he shook his head.? "That was almost as good as sex."

"Mmm," she said softly and leaned into him, pressing her bodily tightly against his.? "I think sex still trumps it, as exciting as it was."

His fingers dug lightly into the muscles of her back as he held her and nodded.? "No argument there.? Hence the almost."

"Are all Lycanthropes as athletic as you are?? Should I be thinking of a remake of the Bionic Woman with Riley doing all my stunts?"

He grinned at the thought, and nodded.? "All Lycans are stronger and faster than humans," he explained, "though how much depends on their place in the hierarchy, and their level of fitness.? Riley isn't as physically strong as I am, for example, but she's actually a faster runner."

"How strong are you?" she asked, running her hand down his arm from shoulder to wrist.? He was certainly well-muscled; his body was rather like Bruce Lee's, all whip-cord thin and hard as a rock.

He purred softly as her hand moved over his arm, leaving a tingling trail of excitement in its wake.? He was about to tell her how much he could lift, then his eyes fell upon her cute little Alfa sports car, and he grinned.? Showing her would be ever so much better than just telling.? "Watch," he said softly, moving away from her.?

He went to front end of the car and reached down, sliding both hands under the bumper.? With a smooth pull, he lifted the front end of the car until it was almost standing on its rear bumper, then stepped in closer and gripped it on the middle of both edges.? With a soft grunt, he hefted the entire car into the air over his head, extending both arms straight above him.? He turned, walking several steps back towards her before stopping a prudent distance away, car held over his head like a bizarre pennant.

Her eyes grew wide and she felt like she had become a cartoon character - bulgy eyes popping out of her head, jaw dropping to the ground. Somewhere in the background noises of the city, surely someone had just sounded an old-fashioned car horn - 'Arooo-gah!' "OhmygawdDanielwhattheheallareyougdoing?!?" she shrieked.

"Showing you how strong I am," he answered, voice perfectly level and reasonable, as though he wasn't holding slightly more than a ton of car over his head.?

"Put it down!? You're going to hurt yourself...or my car."

"I'm perfectly fine," he said, but gently lowered the front end of the car to the ground, setting it on the driveway carefully enough that the springs hardly moved.? Then he stepped back and set the rear end down just as neatly.? "That's actually not the heaviest thing I can lift," he explained.? "I would guess your car weighs a bit over a thousand kilos.? I can handle at least fifteen hundred."

"Give that to me American," she asked, noting that he was not even winded.

"Your car is probably around twenty-two hundred pounds.? I can lift a bit over three thousand."? He stepped away from the car, moving up close to her again.? "I'm sorry if I scared you.? I thought seeing it would have more impact than just hearing it."

"Well," she said, exhaling sharply.? "It certainly was a rather graphic demonstration, wasn't it?"? She reached for his hand, taking it between hers and looking at it with a new appreciation.? "How hard is it for you to control your strength?"

He let her examine his hand, the slender, blunt-tipped fingers hard with callous, tendons moving easily beneath the skin.? "It's generally quite easy, as I've been doing it my entire life.? Only in times of extreme stress do I have any difficulties."? He hoped she wasn't worried that he was going to inadvertently hurt her.? He'd been touching her often enough since they met with no incidents, after all.

"How easy would it be for you to hurt someone if you lost control?? Could you, I don't know, crush someone's skull?? Punch through their sternum?"? She'd deliberately picked the two strongest bones in the human body to gauge his strength against.

He inhaled softly, carefully tasting the scents coming from her.? Strong curiosity and interest, with a little fear.? He hesitated, torn between being honest with her, and the fear that she might be afraid to let him touch her anymore if she knew what his hands could do.?

She looked up at him, eyes curious.? "What is it?" she asked when his hesitation became obvious.

"If I tell you what I can do," he said softly, "I'm afraid you will not let me touch you anymore."