A New Program Stardate 2260.33

Kal had spent weeks developing this new Robinhood program and Nathan had helped him build it. Nathan was an excellent shot with a bow and the entire program was built around that. It took place in ancient Europe, in a place called Nottingham. Robinhood was one of his favorite novels and he had adapted it into this holodeck program. For this initial full test he asked Nathan to bring as many guests as he wanted and so Nathan did. He invited Diana, Elyse, McCoy, Scarlett and Spock. Nathan would play Robinhood, Daina would be The Maid Marion. Scarlett would be Marion’s Maid and Spock would be Little John. Leonard would be Alan a Dale and ELyse would play his bride, Colette. Ensign Carter, one of his officers, wanted to play Will Scarlet so he decided to let him come along.

They were all in full costume and the program involved fight scenes, romance, mystery, horseback riding, escapes, rescues, everything you could want in an adventure. They were in the 2nd Chapter, they had already completed the Prelude and Chapter 1. Robinhood already returned home to find it abandoned and his Father killed. He had already came face to face with the Sheriff of Nottingham and managed to escape before he and his men killed him. He had already met his band of merry men and had helped Alan A Dale get back his new, blushing bride Colette from the clutches of the Guy of Gisbourne.

Robin was dressed in brown leathers with an off white shirt and a green, hooded cloak. Little John and Will were in a similar garb but Alan was in a much finer attire like his wife, Colette. They were Nobles and after Robin had helped them they had decided to help him expose the evil Sheriff’s plot to take King Richard’s lands and divide them amongst himself and the nobles who were willing to go along with him. The stage was set for Robin and his band to go on a very important raid. A wagon containing tax money recently collected and bound for the Sheriff was going to pass by the edge of Sherwood Forest. This money was going to help the Sheriff bribe the nobles that were hold outs to his plan. The women ofcourse, could not join them and instead were tasked to take a wagon of food to a group of farmers that had been burned out of their homes.

Elyse had been excited about the new holodeck program. They all needed as much distraction as possible after what they had just been through. Thanks to advanced medicine, Elyse's shoulder was fully healed and she and Leonard had agreed to be apart of Nathan's group. Elyse had smiled when he had revealed that he would be playing Robin Hood and Diana would be playing Maid Marion. She knew that he and Diana had been getting closer and that he really liked Diana. She hoped that things would work out between them. She had never thought that Lucia was a good match for him, although she never would have said that to his face.

The game was also a good distraction from her worrying about her friend. Amara was recovering physically, but one could tell from the distant look in her eyes that she was not doing well mentally. In fact, she was struggling and she just wasn't in the mood to play games. Jim, of course, wasn't going to leave her, and so they spent their evenings alone together in their quarters. 

Diana was having a great time so far with the game. Her feelings for Nathan were deepening and she wondered if they might be taking their relationship to the next level soon. She was looking for something long term. She was not the kind of girl to just sleep around, as Silas had found out. She knew that Nathan was looking for the same things she was and so when he had asked her to play Maid Marion to his Robin Hood she had been extremely pleased. 

The women of the story were delivering a wagon of food to a group of farmers who had lost their homes. Scarlett was playing her Maid and Elyse was Collette, Alan a Dale's wife. Diana would never say so, but she was quite intimidated by Scarlett as a woman. Diana knew that she was pretty, but Scarlett looked like she had been sculpted by Italian Renaissance artists out of marble. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman on the ship and it was still a great mystery to a lot of people as to how Spock, of all people, had managed to win her. Scarlett, though, was extremely nice and highly intelligent and as Diana got to know her better, she found that she really liked her and hoped that they could be friends.

The women were all in dresses, Scarlett in blue, Elyse is violet and Diana in green. All the dresses were to the ankle and all had embroidery with tall hats with furled silk. The style of this age but Elyse did not much care for her dress, even though the looks she received. Lustful looks from McCoy that promised that later tonight would afford either of them little sleep. It was still damn uncomfortable and the corset was so tight she wondered how women breathed at all in these!. Carter drove their wagon and he, like Nathan was excellent with a bow. He had one beside him with a quiver that bristled with arrows. None of them had read the story but living it through the Prelude and the 1st chapter section had been a treat. He hummed a tune as he drove, the 2 pale bay horses trotted along the small, dirt road. It was a wonderful day, not to hot or cold, cloudy and slightly humid with the smell of a recent rain and the scents of flowers and trees in the air.

The Enterprise detected two ships on an intercept course. Kirk had Uhura try to contact them. Spock had scanned them and they asked if they had any telepaths aboard. When Kirk asked who they were they told them they were from the Arikaan Consortium and that they were in Arikaan space. They asked to be allowed to board and do a search. When Kirk told them that they were on a peaceful exploration mission the Arikaan’s demands became stronger and more vehement. Kirk told them they did not have Telepaths but the Arikaan’s demanded to search for them. Kirk told them he would not mind meeting them but would not allow a visit without an escort. The Captain of the battleship had a chip on his shoulder and he fired on the Enterprise though his commander in the Destroyer told him to stand down. The Enterprise was hit with some kind of Torpedo and in a fairly delicate Engineering area. Conduits overloaded, including the one that powered the Holodeck. The backup controls kicked in but the computer system suffered a corruption and the doors to the holodeck suddenly closed and locked. The women and Carter saw the sky flicker but it only lasted a few moments.

The men who were on horses to meet the tax coach had also seen it but continued on. “I think my breasts are being squashed! Diana said though hers weren’t even as large as Scarlett’s. Scarlett never complained about the dresses they wore and indeed she seemed to like them. That and the way her breasts were puffed up and pressed together made her cleavage nearly pop out. She was very fetching in these clothes. Elyse on the other hand continued to fuss with hers. Her breasts were smaller but even so seeing her own cleavage made her frown. It was indecent. And Scarlett’s situation was way beyond that In her opinion! The men didn’t think so though! “I bet men designed these clothes! She grumbled. “And this cart...each bump makes my backside ache!” She complained.

Having danced for most of her life, Diana had more of a dancer's body, lithe with long legs and smaller breasts. Scarlett had an extremely enviable body and cinched up as she was she looked even more incredible. And she always looked elegant and regal with the way she carried herself. Diana had begun to try and mimic her just for that reason. They all saw the brief flicker in the sky, but it only lasted a few seconds and then everything returned to normal. Scarlett thought that perhaps there was a temporary glitch and didn't think anything more of it.

Diana smiled and laughed and shook her head at Elyse. She then leaned forward to talk to Carter.

"So, can you really use that bow?"

Carter smiled, he wasn’t used to women talking to him and though the three behind him were all taken, it was still nice and it made him feel warm inside. Talking to them wasn’t like talking to his mother or his sister Joanne. “Well, I’m not as good as Na...uh, Robin, but I’m pretty decent,” He said with a grin. The first few farmers were in pretty bad shape but the offered coins had definitely brightened their spirits. Carter had given a young girl his cloak. She had none and was shivering in the brisk morning air.

Just then a group of men on dark horses appeared on the road ahead of them. Carter grinned as he slowed the wagon and shifted to take up his bow. ‘Finally, some excitement! And a chance to show off a bit! He thought as he knocked an arrow. The cart was still moving but slowed even more as he drew fletching to ear then loosed. It was obvious who the men were, soldiers. From their livery, The Guy of Gisborne’s men. They all wore leather jerkins with short sleeved shirts of chainmail and open-faced steel helmets. They all had bows and sword and shields on their horses. He short the first in the chest and the man fell over backward off his saddle. Carter snatched another arrow from his quiver but before he could fire again, he was hit by an arrow in the shoulder. The impact flung him off of the driver’s seat. The shot, his reaction and his falling looked very real and authentic.

The girls all got out of the cart to help distribute the food to the villagers. Even though it was just a simulation, it felt nice to help them and see the look of relief on their faces. They then got back into the cart to continue on their way. Just then, a group of men on dark horses appeared on the road in front of them. Carter picked up his bow and the girls watched as he drew an arrow, aimed, and then fired at one of the men. They were clearly some kind of soldier. The man he hit fell over backward off of his saddle. Diana watched as Carter then snatched another arrow from his quiver, but before he could fire it he was hit in the shoulder by an arrow shot by one of the soldiers. He was flung off of the cart seat and Diana's eyes widened when she saw him. It looked far too real for her liking. 

She immediately jumped down from the cart to look at Carter. "Are you alright?" she asked with worry evident in her voice.

Elyse and Scarlett were also shocked by what had happened. "I thought there were supposed to be safeties," Elyse commented. "I thought so too," Scarlett replied.

Carter was surprised by the hit and even more so by the pain of it. ‘Wasn’t this just supposed to be a simulation?’ He wondered. He felt the beginnings of the shock right away. He knew what going into shock felt like, he had been injured before. The arrow was a broadpoint, not easy to pull out. The soldiers began to get off their horses but they all knocked more arrows onto their bows. All but one who came forward and drew out his sword.

“Well, well, well, what have we here? Killin a man o tha watch, is a hangin offense!” The man said in a burly voice. He looked burly too. He was large and looked as if he hadn’t shaved for days. “The Sheriff’s been lookin fer you...Maid Marion. But he ain’t said nuthin bout you two,” He said as a dark, delighted grin came over his face. He held the sword idly but they all knew he was no slouch with it. They had also seen the Guy of Gisborne before and he wasn’t there at the moment. He was a tall, dark and handsome man with a well kept beard and incredible eyes. The women didn’t see his horse just clear the trees from down the road. He knew what good shots these bandits were with their bows. As his horse walked toward them at a distance though the other men dismounted. One gave Elyse a lustful look. “I likes red hair,” he said in a chuckle.

Diana was now becoming extremely worried. However, she feared pulling out her communicator to call for help when these men were near them with swords. She was definitely no longer having fun. She could only hope they wouldn’t do anything to them and that the boys would find them soon.

They didn’t have any weapons and so Elyse felt rather helpless...especially when one of the men began eyeing her. Scarlett looked at him and her gaze narrowed. “Leave her alone,” she said.

As quick as a lance the man backhanded Scarlett though she saw it coming. She had some martial training, all of starfleet did and she was in excellent shape. She was able to shift back far enough that his slap only grazed her. Even so she felt it and had fallen to the ground as her quick dodge unbalanced her. Before Elyse could straighten several soldiers were there and they hauled her up away from Carter by her arms. The dress made it extremely difficult to kick anyone and they managed to grab her legs fairly easily.

The burly man came up to Carter as he lay bleeding with a dark, fletched arrow sticking out of his shoulder. “Keep fighting wench and you’ll watch me skin em!” He said as he balanced the tip of his blade on Carter's chest as he stood on his left hand. Carter groaned as the large man ground his boot over his hand. There were 5 soldiers in all, one was dead from Carter’s arrow.

One soldier pulled Diana back by her hat and hair and it was all she could do to keep hold of her hair lest his strong grip pulled it out of her scalp. She screamed as the remaining guard moved toward Scarlett.

In the background, on the other side of the wagon, The Guy of Gisborne dismounted casually. He saw what was going on and did not appear to be in any rush to stop it, until he saw Scarlett’s porcelain-like face. These men were poised to rape these women, that much was certain.

Scarlett saw the slap coming and she leaned back, but she wasn't able to miss it entirely. It grazed her face and unbalanced her enough for her to fall to the ground. Her eyes widened when she saw him place the tip of his blade on Carter's chest. Elyse was pulled back by two soldiers and she struggled to get away from their grip. It was nearly impossible to move in these dresses, which hindered any attack she might give them.

"Let go of me!"

 Diana was still trying to treat Carter's wound as best she could when one of the men pulled her back by her hat and hair. His grip hurt and she felt as if he might pull out chunks of her hair. She then saw the other guard move towards Scarlett. She began to truly fear that they were going to be raped. It was a simulation...but it felt real and she still didn't want it to happen. She tried to get to her communicator, but she couldn't.

Scarlett looked over at Guy of Gisborne was he approached. "Are you truly going to let these men handle us this way?" She hoped he would put a stop to it.

Guy had never seen a face so fair as Scarlett's. Her bright blue eyes, her flaxen hair and her ruby red lips captivated him. He raised a hand to the men and they stopped their manhandling and they let go of the women. He shifted forward and extended a hand down to Scarlett. "My apologies for my men...they are ham-fisted brutes if they are not leashed properly," he said in an English accent.

"Guy...this one killed Brandt," The big burly man said as he gestured to Carter. He shifted back when Diane rushed back to him. "Well that's unfortunate," Guy said as he let Scarlett go and took a step back. "From what I saw, he fired first?" Guy asked them and they nodded as he looked back toward Scarlett. "A pity," He said as if he was indeed disappointed that things had played out as they had.

Scarlett wasn't entirely sure they could trust Guy, but at this point they had no other choice. He did stop the men from hurting them at least. She allowed Guy to help her up and looked over to make sure that Elyse and Diana were both ok. They seemed physically alright, but were both clearly upset about what was going on, particularly when they seemed to turn their attention to Carter.

"No, please don't hurt him," Scarlett pleaded with Guy. "He was only trying to protect us."

"Milady, attacking a soldier of Nottingham is a crime punishable by death. Killing one is a painful death. I will make it quick, I assure you," He said as he looked at Maid Marion. "Maid Marion, The Sheriff will want to speak to you," he said. Carter looked at Diane. "What's happening? Diane!?" He asked alarmed that he was going to be killed? He looked both confused and in terror at Diane. "Computer end program!" Carter yelled. Nothing happened. "Computer exit...computer, end program!" He repeated but nothing happened as two men drew their swords and moved toward Diane and Carter.

Elyse's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her head. What the hell was happening?! Why wasn't the program ending? Spock would be able to feel Scarlett's genuine terror through their bond and would know what something was horribly wrong. Scarlett immediately moved to stand in front of Diana and Carter. One of the other men grabbed Elyse and began fondling her. 

Scarlett looked at Guy and his men. "I will not allow you to harm either of them!"

Guy's eyes raised up in his head. He had never met a woman so stubborn. "Oh? Now I've tried to be civil but it now appears that you've got quite the mouth on you," he said as his men shifted to the sides. He came up toward her and stopped. "I would be willing to 'make a trade," he said but even as he did he punched her in the stomach, hard. The punch drove the air out of her lungs but she couldn't even double over as he grabbed hold of her hair and pulled her along with him. Her hands went to support herself so her hair wasn't ripped from her head and he tossed her face down in the grass.

The men pushed Diane aside and The large, burly man pushed the tip of his sword into Carter's throat. Blood gurgled up from his mouth as he struggled to breath. Elyse was pulled down into the grass by the two that held her. The large burly man came over and began to undo his pants as they held her down. Scarlett tasted grass as she was turned over onto her back. Guy ripped the front of her dress downward so hard her breasts came free. Her legs were spread as he began to pull away all that was under her dress.

"What, not so talkative now? Well, we'll see when I put my cock in you," He said crudely.

The moment Spock felt Scarlett's alarm he had stopped what they were doing and turned back. This was a holodeck program, and if she was feeling that, something wasn't right. He called for the computer to end the program and for the exit but nothing happened. He pulled out his communicator and called the bridge.

"Captain, is there a problem with the holodeck? We seem to be stuck inside? Perhaps we should alert Sofia and Kal?" He said. "Sofia, see whats wrong with the holodeck...you go too Kal," he said on the intercom. Meanwhile Nathan, Spock and McCoy headed back to where Spock thought the women were.

Elyse screamed as she was pulled down into the grass by the two men. She struggled and kicked, but the men were strong and their grip's were like a vice. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She felt utterly helpless and she knew that the same thing was happening to Scarlett.

Scarlett made no sound. She wouldn't give Guy the pleasure. She could sense that Spock was getting closer, but she didn't know if he was going to make it in time. She just stared up at the sky. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. 

Sofia and Scotty had been sharing quite the intimate evening together back in his quarters. Things had started to take a more passionate turn when she heard Captain Kirk's voice over the intercom alerting her that something was wrong with the holodeck. She immediately got up and Scotty went with her. Kal met them outside of the holodeck and Sofia was alarmed to find that it wouldn't shut off.

"That energy surge from earlier must have caused a malfunction or corruption of the system," she said as she then scrambled to try and fix it.

Diana had been shoved down to the ground, but the men weren't focusing on her. She knew she needed to do something. She saw Carter's bow and though she didn't know how to fire an arrow, she did know how to swing it. She struck the burly guy who was attacking Elyse across the back of the head...hard.

The burly man fell forward onto Elyse. He smelled like stale ale, old sweat and meat. He was unconscious from the blow and his weight atop her made it difficult for her to breath. Scarlett felt his hands on her flesh. He had torn away enough clothing so that he could enter her however he stopped and looked uncertain. She felt his body in between her legs and the way he held her legs he could rape her easily but he didn't. "I'm...uncertain of what I'm supposed to do here," Guy said confused.

The two guards grabbed Diane from behind and hauled her back and they also began to rip at her clothes. Carter covered his throat but was struggling to breath. Diane was so close to him but these soldiers stopped her from helping him. And they were in the process of raping her.

The large man was pulled off of Elyse and replaced by another soldier who looked eager to have at her. She felt him ripping at her underclothes...it wouldn't be long now...

She felt his hands on her bared legs and then she saw the fletching of an arrow sticking out of his forehead. He felt back and arrows began to come in from the trees. Soldiers tried to either stand up or run. Guy shifted back on his haunches then began to run toward his horse. Spock shot his horse with an Arrow and it reared up just as he approached it. The men near Diane both tried to run but were shot in the back. McCoy ran up and dropped to his knees next to Carter.

Scarlett was just waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen. She just wanted it to be over. However, Guy didn't do anything and what he said confused Scarlett. However, before she could try and figure out what was going on, she suddenly felt Spock very close. Chaos ensued and Guy jumped up and tried to run towards his horse. Scarlett looked up and saw Spock shoot his horse. The other men jumped up to try and run away, but were shot by Spock and Nathan. 

When Spock came down to check on her, he would find that she was trembling like a leaf. She was almost completely exposed and she tried to cover herself up. She didn't realize that the tears she had tried to hold back before were now streaming down her cheeks. She looked over and she saw Diana crying while Nathan tried to comfort her. Elyse just sat there in shock, not moving or saying anything.

Without medical equipment there was little McCoy could do. Carter breathed a few more gurgles and then he didn't breath. McCoy's hands were covered in blood and he wiped them off on Carter's cloak. He turned away from him and moved over to Elyse. Spock picked Scarlett up and caught a glimpse of Guy running into the trees. He moved up to his horse and with her cradled in his arms, got into the saddle.

"Elyse, are you alright? Are you hurt?" McCoy asked. Nathan pulled Diane onto his lap and held her close to him.

Spock had given Scarlett his cloak to cover herself up with. She didn't fight him when he picked her up. She just let him and leaned her head against his chest as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. 

Elyse looked at Leonard as he stood up from Carter's side and walked away. She knew then that he was dead. Not pretend dead...but really dead. She looked over at her husband and shook her head. "No...I'm not alright. These simulations aren't supposed to do things like this and now Carter is dead and we were attacked."

Diana just buried her head against Nathan's chest and cried as he held her.

Outside the holodeck, Sofia was working with Kal and Scotty to unlock the room and shut down the program. "I don't understand what's happening," Sofia said as her fingers flew over the keys.

"The holodeck seems to be fused Captain, we're unable to turn it off at this time. We're working on it. And, consequently, Kal said if they complete the program, it will just end," Sofia said. "That's not good enough Sofia," Kirk said then cancelled communications. Kal looked at Sofia.

"Well how was I supposed to know this would happen?" Kal said defensively. "The characters are designed to defend themselves but they aren't as good as the characters. And they are designed to be cruel but they can't actually...do anything," he reminded her. "I made certain of that," he said. He would not program rape into them. Only what led up to it to give the players a sense of danger right before they're saved.

Back at the hideout in the forest, the men tried to comfort the women. They had all been undressed, cleaned up and redressed in simpler clothes. Spock's communication with the Engineering team working to shut this program down had not been...forthcoming. He returned to Scarlett, wrapped in a blanket with a hot mug of tea in her hands.

"They can't shut down the program right now, Scarlett...I'm sorry," Spock said. McCoy handed Elyse a mug of hot tea. She had yet to take her bath, allowing the other two to do so first. He just sat there next to her. Spock and Scarlett were in the next room.

Nathan sluiced warm water over Diane's shoulders and back she had her knees drawn up to her chest and her hair was wet from being washed. Nathan was on his knees next to the tub, washing her. She held a hot mug of tea in her hands. "I'm...sorry we didn't get there sooner Diane...I'm sorry for bringing you here," Nathan said, only just managing to not allow his voice to crack. He felt responsible for everything that had happened. And it was tearing him apart to know what had happened was because he asked everyone to come and enjoy the program with him.

Sofia muttered a few curse words in Spanish after hearing what Kirk had said. She was quite upset now. She had spent long hours after each shift working on the holodeck. She had put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it for the crew and almost never got to use it herself. She had not designed the programs and yet she was the one who was being held responsible for what was going on. 

"Well even if they don't actually rape someone, everything leading up to that moment would still be terrifying and tramutizing!" Sofia snapped. "I would know...." she added, but didn't say anything more, even though Scotty and Kal were both looking at her. She had never told Scotty this, but she had almost been raped once while on Earth at the Academy. His roommate had come in and had stopped him just in time and the boy had been expelled from the program, but it had still traumatized her. She didn't like to talk about it, which was why even Scotty didn't know.

Scarlett had finally stopped trembling. She held the mug of hot tea in her hands but she had not yet really drunk any yet. She sighed when Spock walked in and informed her that the program couldn't be shut down right now. She knew that they were working on it as quickly as they could, but she didn't want to be here anymore. She wasn't certain if she would ever want to use the holodeck again after this. She just nodded a little and then put the mug of tea down. She moved closer to Spock and felt him put his arms around her. 

"I've never felt so helpless as I did today."

Elyse was extremely upset over what had happened. She felt new tears come to her eyes. "I couldn't protect any of them...and Carter is dead. I feel like I failed them all." She knew that this wasn't a mission, but Elyse had a built in need to protect everyone around her.

Diana and Nathan and yet to sleep together. They had made out quite a few times and once they had gotten close to having sex until she had gotten an emergency call to come to Sickbay. However, she hadn't fought against Nathan when he had helped her out of her clothes and into the bathtub. The truth was, was that she didn't want to be alone right then. She needed his presence and his comfort. She had her knees drawn up to her chest and she just allowed Nathan to wash her. When she heard what he said, tears came to her eyes and she looked over at him.

"This isn't your fault Nathan. None of what's happened was intentional, but clearly something very wrong has happened with the holodeck. I...I'm just glad you're here."

Spock brushed her hair and suffered in silence. He could do nothing to change what happened and he felt anger toward Kal though it was displaced. The man just built a program in order to make it more real. Too real however. And Spock would discuss this with him. Long, gentle strokes with the old fashioned brush.

“A natural feeling, in the present circumstances,” he said calmly.

“Having empathy is the sign of a good leader. I deal with that every day that I tend a patient that I can do little to help,” he said and frowned. He took Carter’s death badly and part of him did blame Elyse. The women acted helpless and he didn’t understand that. He didn’t know how much the dress hindered Elyse. He hadn’t seen or known any of that only that the women seemed to have done nothing. And he didn’t like that at all. He was about to tell her so but decided to just hold his tongue. For a while, anyway.

“Here, next to you is the only place I want to be...though I had wished this hadn’t happened. But we can’t take any of it back, we can only push forward,” Nathan said as he rubbed the soapy cloth down her back. Seeing her naked, even though the circumstances, was bitter sweet. He had not realized how great she looked. She was in excellent shape. He sighed. “I wanted...so much to happen...I wanted our first time to...you know, be special,” he said.

Elyse listened to Leonard. She had known the man long enough to know when he was holding something back that was on his mind and she knew that he was doing that right now. She began to have a feeling she wasn't going to like whatever it was that he was going to say. 

"You're not saying something...what is it?"

Scarlett finally took a sip of her tea. She wished she was drinking it back in their quarters, but it was still soothing...especially with Spock bushing her hair.

"So, what do we do now? Just wait here?"

Diana looked over at Nathan and she knew when their eyes met that she was in love with him. Nathan was caring and gentle and he had never once tried to push her past what she was comfortable with. She had rushed into relationships in the past before, but with Nathan things had progressed naturally and she was so happy around him.

"I love you Nathan."

“There was three of you...Those ruffians....” he began but the hard, warning look she gave him made him either abandon his next words or double down on them. He decided to double doen stubbornly.

“Well you’re all trained in hand to hand. I guess I don’t understand why they over powered you,” he said quickly. There it was out!

They suggest we try and finish the program. That will involve us going after the Sheriff himself,” Spock said. “He’s got a lot of men,” he said.

“Well I love you too, Diane. He said then he leaned down and kissed her softly.