During the drive to the diner, Leonard slipped his arm around her and rested his head to hers. He knew that doing normal things like this were going to be difficult for a while, so he just needed her to know that if she needed breathing room, she could take it. He hoped her parents would understand too.

At the diner, he reached under the table when Amanda talked to Katie about what she was ordering and took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. When Amanda looked his way, he gave her a slight nod to let her know just to let her order the bacon and pancake. It was better that she eat something and keep it down than order something her stomach wasn't ready to handle.

"I think I'm going to have some grits and scrambled eggs," he finally decided himself. It had been a long time since he'd had some good grits.

Once everyone had ordered, he continued to hold Katie's hand. "How are classes going this term, Pro--I mean, Amanda," he asked.