There was no convincing Harry to let her go back to LA after the hell they'd gone through that morning. Amanda and Julie were on the band's plane with them. It was kind of surreal. Julie and Harry were sitting across from Niall and Amanda facing each other. Harry and Niall had both fallen asleep quickly.

Amanda looked at Julie. "JJ, are you ok? Really? Were you seriously on the ledge?"

"Yeah, I was, Panda. It was a way to think about something else. I'm petrified of heights, so the adrenaline gets my mind off....him....and the pain and the situation. I wasn't going to jump, if that's what you're asking."

"Well, no more ledges. Come to me. I will find a way to scare you. I can't lose you. You are my best friend and like my sister." Amanda said.

"I'm going to try, Panda. I am. For the first time in forever, I feel like I finally have people who truly care. It scares me, but in a completely different way. I love you, and I've grown rather fond of Niall. Zayn, Louis, and Liam are great. And Harry has just gone beyond expectations. I've never had people fight for me the way you have and the way they have. It's hard, but I'm going to try to change." Julie said to her.

"Not change. You're perfectly fine just as you are. Just try not to hide so much. I get why you go to that place in your head. But before you do, remember there will always be disagreements or fights, but that does not mean it's going to end or become violent. It won't be easy. I get that. But we can get through it together."

"I will try my best." She said. "But I can promise I will make more than one mistake."

"And that's fine. We aren't going anywhere, JJ. Especially me. You got me for life."

"I'm gonna need that, Panda. I know it already."

Amanda fell asleep next. Julie sat staring out the window. It was one of the most emotional times of her life. She was still confused and hurting, but she didn't want her friends to hurt and constantly watch her freak out. She had to get control of it enough to deal with it going forward, without pushing them away. It wasn't going to be easy. Everything that had happened in the past had been pushed aside for so long, because she didn't want to admit that she'd let it happen to her. No one could convince her it wasn't her fault for staying. Harry was completely different though. There was just a part of her that couldn't help but think that everything was too good. She was waiting for it to implode on her. Part of her couldn't accept that someone like him really wanted someone like her. She took a deep breath and looked at him. But she liked the feeling he gave her. She liked how he tried really hard to be with her, even though she pushed him away. God, she hoped she would be able to figure out a way past this to be with him. She couldn't stop the tears. She took his hand and held it. Even though he was asleep, she just wanted to touch him.

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He saw Julie holding his hand and looking out the window. He was relieved she seemed mostly back to her normal reactions to him. He'd never had to deal with such an emotional thing in a relationship, new or not. He kind of pulled on her hand. He smiled when she looked at him. "Hey, don't cry." He reached up with his other hand and wiped her tear.

She smiled at him. "Oh, it's just a lot. Not just the past, but now. You and everyone else. I'm just, it's just coming down from all this is difficult. I'm ok though. Really. I will make mistakes I'm sure, but I don't want to think about anyone else but you. I meant it Harry, as hard as it is for me to admit. I've never felt safer than I do with you. I know I don't say it, and I know it's hard for me to show, but I don't know what I would do without you in my life." She wiped her tears.

He sat up and put his arm around her. "I've never heard anything better. But I wish you would sleep. Seems like it's been days."

She laughed. "It has been, but I'm used to it. School and work have kept me up for days at a time. I'm sure some point I will crash. Go ahead and sleep, just let me keep your hand."

"I will do one better." He moved the divider between their seats and laid his head in her lap. "I will sleep better this way anyway."

"That's my Harry." She said as she played with his hair.

"You bet I am." He said closing his eyes. He'd been calling her his girlfriend in his head and to his friends. He needed to bring it up to her soon, before she left to go back home. But for now, he would take this. This morning had been hell on him, but now it was showing signs of improvement.

"Panda, let's go get our nails done. Oh, and a pedicure, maybe a haircut or color, a makeover. Something." Julie said as they all sat around Niall's hotel room later that day.

"Well that's a lot." Amanda said laughing.

"Wait, you aren't leaving without me." Niall said.

"Oh, Niall, do you want your nails done, too?" Julie teased him.

"Maybe I do; maybe you guys could just do it for me." He said.

"Dude, we are nurses, not beauty specialists." Julie said to him.

"Well ya got the beauty part down, and ya are special." Harry said.

"Special, huh? Should we be taking that as a compliment?" Amanda asked.

"Yes." Harry said laughing.

"No, I wanna go out. I wanna be pampered." Julie said.

"Well we can do it for you then." Niall said.

"Seriously? You can't live without us for a few hours?" Julie asked.

"No. We are going to be separated for days, maybe weeks soon, so right now. No." Niall said.

"I agree." Harry said.

"JJ, I hate to....." Amanda said.

"Yeah. Yeah, you agree too." Julie shook her head. "Damn saps."

Harry smiled. He was glad she was back to being sassy. "I can paint your toe nails."

"Harry, dear, I know you are extremely talented in many aspects of life." Julie started. Then, she stopped and kinda looked at him. "Ok, you know what. Why not? We will make you a list of what we want, and you guys make it happen. But no cheating. You can ask for help, but only with supplies. You wanna do this? Then let's see what you got." Julie said looking at Niall and Harry.

"Oh crap." Niall said laughing. "What have we done?"

"Pressures on now." Julie said. She went and got a piece of paper and sat down with Amanda. "Ok, what do we want to do to make them suffer....er...I mean what do we want done?" She smiled sweetly and innocently.

"I've told you before, JJ, that innocent crap doesn't work on us. Evil brat." Niall said.

Julie shrugged. "I've been called much worse. I will take evil brat."

"Bring it." Harry said to her. "I'm not scared."

"Are you challenging us?" Amanda said.

"I think I just did." Harry said leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Oh honey, you may have made a big mistake." Julie said looking at him. Mischievous didn't even begin to describe the look in her eyes.

"Thanks Harry." Niall laughed. "As if we weren't in for it already."

Amanda took Julie's hand and went further away from them. "Let's discuss this in private." She was going to enjoy this.

Niall grabbed him and Harry something to drink. He handed it to Harry. "Dude, why are you smiling? You know they are over there plotting against us." He sat back down.

"Yeah, I know. But it's good to see her in the present and not the past. Even if she is going to cause me some hell." He said shaking his head.

"How are you doing by the way? After this morning, I've been wondering." Niall asked him.

"I'm still struggling some. It's easier when she's like this, but I also know that it's never truly gone from her head. It bothers me a lot when she's afraid of me, but I do understand some as to why. I have a feeling there will be more ups and downs through this." He said.

"And you're truly ok being with someone who can't fully commit herself to you?" Niall said. When Harry gave him quite the look, he continued. "I'm all for it Harry. I know she has gone through hell, and Amanda is her best friend. I will do what I can to help them both. But it's a lot more than most people could and would handle. I really am just concerned about you and her."

Harry nodded; he knew how good of a guy Niall was. "I won't lie. It's hard. But she deserves a real chance. She deserves kindness and patience and to know not everyone is like that bastard. I know not many people would deal with this, especially in a new relationship, but it would be horrible to walk away from a girl I truly care about because she has a complicated past. She was brought into my life maybe so I could make it better." He said.

"Wow, man. I think I wanna date you now." Niall said fluttering his eyelashes at him.

Harry laughed. "Sorry man, my card's full right now. Only room for one name. And it doesn't start with an N."

"Well shit, man, how disappointing." Niall laughed.

Amanda and Julie were finalizing their list, their real list. They already had a fake one they were going to give the guys as a joke. Julie rubbed her face.

"Hey, you ok?" Amanda asked her.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's been a tough one. And I'm tired. Don't tell Harry please, but I'm kind of afraid to sleep. I've been dreaming a lot about the past. It's scary at the moment." She looked at Amanda's face. "Hey, you asked me to be honest with you and come to you with issues instead of burying them. Make up your mind."

"No, I want you to, but don't hide it from Harry." Amanda said.

"He's dealt with enough for right now. Everyone has. I can keep it from you for now too." She said.

"No! Don't you dare!" Amanda said.

"Relax, Panda. I'm not breakable. I've managed to get this far." Julie said.

"JJ, I swear to you if you start to hide from me again, I will..." Amanda started.

Julie stood up. "You will what?" She went over to Amanda and started tickling her. "Huh? Spill it already." She said.

"Stop! Get off me, you brat!" Amanda said laughing and trying to get away. She fell off her chair and onto the floor.

Julie sat on top of her and tickled her some more. "Threaten me. You should know better than that." Julie laughed.

Harry and Niall looked over at the commotion. "Um, what the hell is going on over there?" Niall said to Harry.

Harry laughed. "I don't know, but I'm all for it if I hear laughter and fun." He got up. "Think I'd better go save your girlfriend though."

"JJ, get off of me!" Amanda said breaking her hands free and tickling Julie on the sides. They were both laughing uncontrollably.

Harry came over and grabbed Julie around the waist and picked her up off Amanda. "Hey, don't torture your friend. What she ever do to you?."

"Hey, not fair! Put me down!" Julie laughed and tried to break free.

"Hold her Harry!" Amanda said getting up off the floor; she ran over and tickled Julie while Harry was holding her.

"Seriously, not fair!" Julie said squirming. "Don't you drop me."

Niall was laughing at the scene; but figured since Harry saved Amanda, he should save JJ. He grabbed Amanda around the waist and picked her up. "What has gotten into the two of you?" Niall asked laughing still.

"I'm so tired of being an adult!" Julie said pushing away from Harry and grabbing a pillow. She took it over and hit Amanda with it.

"What the hell, JJ." Amanda pulled away from Niall and grabbed a pillow also and a full out pillow fight erupted.

"What the hell is going on?" Niall asked laughing as he and Harry watched Julie and Amanda jump over the bed and around chairs and tables.

"I have no idea; but again if I'm hearing laughs and happiness, I'm all for whatever it is." Harry looked at Niall and laughed. It got too quiet. They started to turn around, and when they did, they were smacked with the pillows by the girls. "What the fuck!" Harry exclaimed.

"Wait! What was that?" Niall asked.

They both tried to grab the girls, but Julie and Amanda ran. Amanda on the other side of the couch opposite Niall, and Julie the other side of the bed opposite Harry. Niall jumped onto the couch and went towards Amanda, but she slipped around out of his grasp and ended at the opposite end of him again. Harry went around the bed, but Julie jumped on it and off the other side. This went on for a good 10 minutes; but the girls were laughing so hard that eventually they were caught and tackled onto the bed. Niall actually caught Julie and Harry caught Amanda. One on each side. The girls were out of breath and super tired.

"Ok, Harry don't let go." Niall laughed.

"Um, if I don't let go, how are we going to trade?" Harry laughed.

"I don't know, but they are sneaky." He said.

"Just keep us like this, then." Amanda said.

"Yeah, why not?" Julie asked fluttering her eyelashes at Niall.

Niall just shook his head. "You two are too much sometimes."

Amanda looked at Julie and Julie nodded in response. Sometimes it was scary how they communicated silently. At the same time, they both sat up; Amanda kissed Harry quickly on the lips, and Julie kissed Niall. They both lay back laughing at the looks on their faces. It was hilarious. They had gotten out of the holds though. They moved up towards the head of the bed, and Julie laid her head on Amanda's shoulder holding each other's arm.

"You two are quite scary sometimes." Niall finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"I should be mad right now." Harry said.

"Are you?" Julie asked.

He just laughed. "No, for some strange reason I'm not. Getting kissed by a beautiful woman seems to be ok with me. But Niall's right. You two are scary."

Julie yawned and closed her eyes. "No.....just ....." she couldn't even finish, she was so exhausted from not sleeping and from all the emotional ups and downs. She couldn't fight it any longer; she was asleep.

Amanda smiled and kissed Julie's head and then leaned her head on it. "Guess she finally wore herself out enough."

"Well isn't it nice you two are cuddling, but I'm a bit jealous here." Niall said.

"Yeah, what he said. Can I have her?" Harry agreed.

"No. Put on a movie and let her sleep." Amanda said.

Niall laughed. "When did you become so bossy?"

"When my friend decided she actually needed me." She said. And she meant it. JJ had always been the mothering type. Always protecting her and always there when she needed her. She had comforted her many times through many different things. She had never noticed before that she hadn't really had to return the favor. Yes, she was always there whenever JJ needed her, but it was always for school or work. She had never noticed it was never for anything beyond that until now. JJ needed her now more than ever, and she was going to be there for her no matter what.

"Not fair." Harry said. "You get her when you go back home."

"Sorry Harry, but I'm not waking her up. She can lay here as long as she sleeps or wants." Amanda said to him.

"Don't mess with the Mama Bear, Harry, when she's protecting her cub." Niall said. He laughed when Amanda glared at him. "What? It's true."

"Maybe, because you're right, right now. Doesn't matter who; no one gets to mess with her. I never knew she needed protecting. She always protected me. Always seemed so sure, but now that I know she needs protecting more than anyone, I'm up for it." Amanda said.

"You don't have to protect her from me." Harry said. "I wouldn't hurt her."

"I know you wouldn't ever hurt her physically, Harry, or anyway on purpose. But there are very few people I believe she's let in enough to be able to hurt her. And you've become number one on that list very quickly." She looked at his face. "Yes, Harry, I truly believe it. She ran to you, not from you, on that roof. That means a hell of a lot."

He hadn't thought about it that way. Leave it to Amanda to bring it up. It was a heavy, deep thought. It seemed like a lot of responsibility. Was he up for that challenge? He looked over Amanda and at Julie. Yeah, he was. "Well Mama Bear, do I at least have permission to lay on the other side of her if you won't let me take her?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" She laughed.

"Guess I have to move then." Niall said. He got up, turned on a movie, and turned the lights out. "Guess this turned into a chill kinda night. Least the pressures off." He said as he climbed onto the bed next to Amanda. "There's a lot more people in my bed than I anticipated though." He laughed.

"Are you ok with this?" Amanda asked.

"Oh yeah." He said. "As long as it makes you happy, I'm ok with it."

They were about halfway through the second movie when Amanda looked at Harry. "Ok, you win. I have to pee so you can take her now. I can't believe she hasn't woken up yet."

Harry laughed. "About damn time. I was getting impatient." He gently helped Amanda untangle her arm and rolled Julie over onto his chest. When she instinctively cuddled closer to him, he smiled. It was a great feeling.

Later on that night, everyone was asleep. All of a sudden Julie sat straight up in bed and looked around. It startled everyone. They all woke up. When she looked and saw Amanda, Niall, and Harry all in bed with her, she relaxed laughed and laid back down. "Crap, I thought I was being attacked by giant pillows." She said.

They all knew she was lying; but since she immediately relaxed, they let it go. No need to ask either as they all knew what really happened. "Well, at least you didn't grab one and start hitting us." Niall said. "Got my heart racing though."

"Sorry." She laughed. She looked at the clock. "Holy cow. I've slept like 8 hours already. You should have woken me up."

"No way; you were finally sleeping. No one was going to wake you." Amanda said.

"Well I've invaded your bed and privacy enough." She kissed Amanda's cheek. "Thanks."

"Hey, what about me?" Niall pouted.

"What about you?" Julie asked. She smiled, but then leaned over Amanda. "Thanks, Niall." She kissed him on the cheek.

"You're welcome; now get out." Niall said.

"I have a few choice words for you, Niall. But since I'm a good girl, I will just say. I hate you." She got off the bed and took Harry's outreached hand.

"A good girl? Who you trying to fool? Hate you too, JJ." He said as he wrapped Amanda in his arms.

"Ugh, you could at least wait til we leave." Julie said covering her eyes.

"Shut up, JJ." Amanda laughed. "Love you though."

"Love you too, Panda." She walked out with Harry.

"Can I say it now? Alone at last?" Niall said.

"Yeah, I guess." Amanda laughed. "But it was nice to feel needed."

"Well, I need you." Niall said.

"Oh shut up, you brat." Amanda said laughing and lay on his chest.

"Well, it's true." He said kissing her head and holding her close. "Now be quiet and go to sleep."

"I'm only letting you get away with that because I'm super tired." She pinched him playfully and closed her eyes.

He laughed. "Yeah, well, good thing. Good night, Princess."

Julie came out of the bathroom after washing up and found Harry asleep sitting up on the couch. She carefully climbed on his lap and cuddled up to him her head under his chin.

He smiled when he felt her climb on his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, baby."

"Sorry to wake you, but I kinda need your arms around me." She said.

"Anytime I can, they will be. I know you've already slept like a whole night. Do you wanna do something?" He asked.

"Yes. You." She laughed when she felt his arms tighten. He didn't expect her to say that. She kissed below his ear. "Honestly, I just want to sleep in your arms. I feel like I could sleep for days; and since I only get your arms for tonight and tomorrow night, I want to be in them as much as possible."

"You tease." He laughed but picked her up and stood up. He carried her to the bed.

"We can. I didn't mean to tease you." She said.

"No baby. I'm perfectly fine holding you while we sleep." He laid her down and kissed her. He pulled her to him and held her close. He felt her body completely relax. He was pretty sure it's the first time he'd ever felt her that relaxed. "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight, my Harry." She fell asleep quickly and comfortably.

*if you are enjoying the story please vote/comment/share. I would love to be able to respond.

*the story is complete fan fiction