They walked into Rob's office, having quickly passed through the foyer and salon bar to find Kurt fussing over Dorothea. He had taken the news of her condition worse than anyone had expected and when he had tried to insist that she have the surgery and possibly prolong her life he had met with disapproval from everyone else who defended her right to choose her fate.
"Bella has begged my collar, and I have taken her as my own," Stephen said without preamble, neither asking their permission nor inviting any argument.
"Well it's about fucking time," Rob said leaning back in his chair. "You'll understand that we need to hear it from her, though, formality and all being her guardians." He chuckled. "Kurt stop fussing like an old man and get over here," he grumbled.
"Seriously," Kurt said in a dry voice, "Fussing like an old man? You couldn't have come up with a better insult that that?"
"Well I could, but I didn't want to offend Dorothea," Rob smirked sheepishly.
"Alright let's hear it, little one," Kurt looked at her expectantly. "Why did you finally beg the big oaf's collar?
Bella burst into a fit giggles, taken aback by the jocular mood after worrying about the event so much all afternoon. She contemplated what she wanted to say as she had that morning and now faced with a more informal discussion rather than having to re-enact the begging process she couldn't find the words.
"I loved Mel," she began, "but I think I was more in love with who he was and this new world that he wanted to share with me. We had such a short time together as a couple that we never got to explore those other things that deepening feelings beyond that initial attraction. I think coming up to the memorial that I realised that the love I felt for Mel though very real was based on the adrenaline I felt when I was with him. It was such a fast-paced thing fuelled by excitement and fear." She paused and swallowed being as honest with them as she was with Stephen when they lay in bed talking in the dark of the early morning.
"I am not sure I understood then what real love was then. Love shouldn't make you feel scared or forced to perform. I have never once considered running away from Stephen as I did so often back then." She blushed deeply but carried on regardless