"Should." Leo responded. "I put those together with the stand in mind, anyway." he said further. "Only thing I can say is to try it, and if it doesn't work, I'll need to modify the stand." he continued. "The headphones are essentially the same, as I know you're familiar with them, and admittedly, there's not a lot I can think of to drastically change with them." he then admitted. "Not to brag, but they're some of my finest work." he added at the end with a sheepish chuckle, as he scratched the back of his head.

"And the phone?" Jaden asked.

"Oh! Right." Leo said, snapping his fingers. "Yeah, that's just a straight-up new phone that I modded a bit." he told the, digging into his bag again. He then pulled out a charging cord, a wall adaptor, and a wireless charging pad for said phone. He set them on the table that was in the middle of the room, and gently nudged them over towards Desiree. "You'll need these." he laughed.

"Is she allowed to pay you back for the phone, at least?" Jaden inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"..." Leo was then silent after looking to respond immediately, and then sighed heavily. "All right, all right." he relented. "Desiree, if you feel you MUST pay me back, then I won't refuse being paid back for the phone and modifications I did to it, as well as the charging pad." he told her.

"And how much would that be?" Jaden asked him.

Leo was silent for a moment, before thinking about it, doing the math somewhat, and converting between the currency he was used to, and that used here. "Phone's worth about 600 dollars..." he then mumbled, having managed to do the conversion. "Well, older by one iteration now, so knock it down to 550..." he corrected himself. "Modifications total about 75... charging pad costs 50 bucks..." he went on, nodding slightly. "So the total is about $675." he concluded.

Leo looked ready to argue with Desiree on her 'full grand' conclusion, but she just continued to speak, and by the time she allowed him to get a word in, the conversation had already moved onto something else completely, and he knew it would be awkward to try and backpedal to what she said she was paying back. So he just sighed, groaned, shook his head, and let out a heavy breath.

"Firstly, a dinner date sounds like a wonderful idea." he told her with a smile.

"Secondly, just... let me know if you have any issues of problems or troubles or whatever." he said.

"I just stopped by to drop these off, and to see you again." he told her. "You're looking well, and I hope things get moving back to their usual soon." he told her further.

"We can only try." Jaden responded.

"Indeed." Leo agreed. He then stepped closer, and he and Desiree hugged each other once more, before he took a few steps back and disappeared from where he was, leaving Jaden and Desiree alone once more.

"Well, you're back to normal, tech-wise, at least." Jaden commented.

Jaden was silent for a moment, before reaching forward and placing a hand atop one of hers.

"Desiree." he said. "Whatever that means... whatever he has planned... you don't have to deal with it alone." he told her. "When I fell in love with you... when I said I would spend the rest of my life with you... I knew what that meant. I knew that your family was the way it was. And I still hold true to those words." he said further. "I don't know what he could have planned, and to worry about it would be a recipe to go insane... but just know that I don't care about what he has planned, as far as my own safety goes." he went on.

"So please don't think you need to stay away, or strike out on your own, or distance yourself from me." he implored. "For all we know, that is part of his plan." he told her. "Or maybe he said that JUST to make you worry about something that won't even be coming." he then said further. "We don't know, and there's no real way we CAN know." he stated.

"But... don't feel you need to shoulder this alone." he restated.

"I'm here for you. So is Leo. So is Mom. Your dad is as well. Vincent, and everyone." he smiled softly.

Jaden sighed deeply again.

"Yeah." he said. "Admittedly, I don't know him nearly as well as you do... or did... or whatever... but I DO know he wasn't stupid." he continued. "He was sly, he was sneaky, and that was scary stuff. He knew what to say as well to get to people. I guess it's why this threat can't just be dismissed, or 100% taken seriously as fact." he went on. "...which makes it worse." he muttered.

"I'll tell my Mom this." he then told her. "With luck, she'll have some ears to the ground and such, and maybe we'll pick up on any possible schemes that may be coming to fruition." he reasoned.

"It just sucks." he then said. "One would have hoped that, after your brother had been removed from the picture, things could finally calm down for you. But no. He HAD to say pretty much the ONE thing that prevents that." he lamented.

"Sadly, there's no way to find out, either. Souls have secrets as well, we can't force it out of him through the afterlife. Only one that COULD do that is Liz, and... pretty sure she gives zero fucks about what WE worry about and such..." he mumbled further.

"So looks like we're stuck weathering this out together." he finished with a light chuckle.

Jaden was a bit stunned at her response. To him, it seemed only natural that he would care as he did, and he was about to say it... before he realised and remembered that Desiree had spent a lot of her life with that being rare for her. At the very least, her early life was spent with that being a rarity, so it meant she appreciated it FAR more as an adult, now what she had it.

So he just smiled in response.

"You're welcome." he said. "I know you feel the same way about me." he went on. "And how I feel isn't going to be changing for a long... LONG time." he promised her.

"I love you, and I just want what's best for you. Or at least, I want to do the very best I can to make things all right in your world." he told her. "Failing that, I'll always try my damndest to get as close as I can." he added sincerely.

"For now... you're safe here. In this apartment. With me. Right now." he then said.

"So just concentrate on that. We'll take it one day at a time."

Jaden silently sighed, before getting closer and wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. When he did, he smiled a little and gently kissed her on the cheek, before thinking about it.

"Tell you what." he said. "For tonight, let's just relax." he suggested. "After all, this will be your first night home in a week or so." he said further. "So let's just chill, maybe watch a movie or something." he suggested.

"And we'll order in." he told her further.

"Whatever you want, from wherever you want." he offered. "Seriously. You name it." he went on. "Sky's the limit, whatever you want that you think might help you feel better." he continued.

"Feel like having anything in particular?" he asked her.

Jaden thought about it, trying to recall.

"Hmmm." he mumbled. "We've got A-positive, A-negative, B-positive, O-positive, and some AB-positive." he think. "Not sure on the O, though." he then admitted to her. "And as for actual food, I'll just go with a classic standby and get pizza." he told her. "One for you, one for me, and a side of those breadsticks I know you like." he chuckled.

"And then we'll channel surf until we find something to waste time on!" he declared.

For the next while, time seemed to move slowly for Desiree. She was a little on the paranoid side, always looking over her shoulder when she went out, and nobody was finding ANYTHING in terms of a plot that Deryck had in motion. Nothing. But nobody had any idea as to how long-term Deryck would be planning, which didn't allow Desiree to relax at all while she went on. At times, Jaden was scared she would become a recluse, but the thought of perhaps that was Deryck's plan of revenge for her caused her to not be like that. Barely.

7 months had passed with her like this, and at the moment, Jaden was out getting some things for them. Specifically, he was getting some liquid sustenance for them, as they were getting pretty low. However, he would also be gone for a night or two, as he needed to help his mother out with something for the Triad. It was rare, but not unheard of... and it meant she was home alone for the next couple of days.

She was pacing a little, wondering what to do with herself, when the comm by the door buzzed, causing her to jump slightly. Someone was at the entrance to the building, and wished to contact her. She cleared her throat, forced herself to calm down slightly, and made her way to the speaker, pushing the button to allow communication.

"Yes?" she asked, almost hesitantly.

"Am I speaking to Desiree McCormick?" a male voice responded.

"Yes..." Desiree responded nervously.

"My name is Tobias Conroy, of the Conroy-Knox law firm." the man introduced himself. Desiree knew that name, but only because her friend Kalin was a lawyer. And she knew that the name of the person and firm checked out. They were a VERY reputable firm, and Kalin had nothing but positive things to say about them. In the 100+ years they operated, from one generation passing it down to the next, they were a firm that anyone could and would trust.

"I have some documents for you, Miss McCormick." he added.

The man looked to be as professional as one would expect. He was a Caucasian man, standing at about 5'9'', wearing a dark blue business suit with a white dress shirt underneath, and black dress shoes as well. The only thing that really stood out about him was the fact that his black hair had blonde-frosted tips. He looked at her with his light green eyes, before nodding and stepping inside, allowing her to close the door.

"Before we start." Tobias said. "I will require proof that you are who you say you are.' he told her. "If you would be so kind as to present some form of official government I.D, please?" he asked.

Desiree nodded and fetched her health card, birth certificate, and her provincial I.D, handing all three over to the man. He looked them over, seemingly scrutinising every last corner of them, before nodding.

"Very good." he said, handing them back. "Please, let us sit." he told her. She nodded again, and the two made their way to the living room, sitting across from each other, a table in the middle. Once they did so, he set his leather briefcase onto the table, used a special tiny key to unlock both locks on it, and opened it up with a snap. He then produced a piece of paper from within.

"I am here on behalf of Mister Deryck Niell " he informed her, Niell being her and Deryck's mother's maiden name, before she got involved with their father... and after they had split. "This is a rare instance, but upon his insistence, and in accordance with his final wishes, I am here to perform a reading of his last will and testament." he finished.

"If you are offering, I will not be so rude as to refuse." Tobias responded. "Just some water please, though." he then said. Desiree nodded and went to the kitchen, getting him a glass of water with ice in it, and bringing it back to him, bringing her own drink as well.

"Thank you." he said to her, taking a small drink, and then setting the glass down, making sure to use a coaster. "And I assure you, Miss McCormick, I am exactly where I am supposed to be." he then assured her, before clearing his throat and looking at the piece of paper. With that, he began to speak.

He quoted the will verbatim, citing everything that needed to be cited, being clear with his enunciation, and although Desiree was no lawyer, herself, she was getting the gist of it. Or, at least... she thought she was. She couldn't have been. Because if what she was understanding was correct, then her brother had left her as the sole inheritor of ALL of his assets, liquid and otherwise. EVERYTHING. No matter how she tried to wrap her mind around it, that is what Tobias was saying... that is what her brother's last will and testament were saying.

Tobias then reached the end of the legal document, cleared his throat once more, and took another drink of water, before looking over towards the woman.

"I realise that this is highly unorthodox, as will readings are extremely rare in this day and age, and normally you would have been called ahead for this, and everything would have been prepared in advance for this, with you meeting myself at our office." he told her. "However, as Mr. Niell's executor of his will, I acted in accordance with his last wishes. And he specifically demanded that there be a will reading, it be done at your domicile, and you were to have no ahead warning of it." he explained. "Eccentric, maybe. But our firm has had stranger requests, I admit." he then added.

"I'm sure you have questions, though." he went on. "Feel free to air them now, as I'm sure this is a little overwhelming." he reasoned.

Tobias shook his head.

"Mr. Niell's rationalisations, motives, and reasons are unknown to even us." he lamented. "Whatever his reasons were for this, it seems he took them to the grave..." he went on, before pausing.

"Though THIS may offer some answers." he told her, taking a sealed envelope out of the briefcase, and handing it to her. On it, Desiree saw her name, and writing stating that it was to be opened by her at the time of the reading of his will.

And ONLY her.

"We have scanned it for any sort of tricks or traps or anything." Tobias assured her. "It's been shaken, scanned, tested, the works. All that seems to be in there is a slip of paper, and smaller thicker piece of paper." he finished.