He nodded along as she told her story, and he couldn't help but feel terribly for her. She had deserved parents that one, were alive, two, were not murdering psychopaths, and three, did not imprison her so that they would always have her love. It was despicable. When she placed her hand on his shoulder he shot her a winning grin and nodded. "Well, I'm happy I found you then kid, or you found me that is."

Graves' smile made Shilo's heart feel as though it were skipping a beat. Of course, for a moment she was alarmed, but she knew why. She'd always had a little bit of a crush on the Graverobber, but the two of them led completely different lives. She wasn't even sure after she left that she'd ever see him again. "I'm glad too." She leaned in close to his side, and gave his cheek a gentle kiss. She then leaned back - a pink hue very clear on  her pale cheeks - and she cleared her throat. "Um..uh..Sorry.." 

Graves blinked at the kiss that she had placed to his cheek, and one hand went absently to rub at that cheek, a small smile on his face. "Nothing to be sorry about kid, trust me." He moved his hand back to his lap and gave her a soft smirk. He had to admit, he'd always found her rather lovely. At first he thought hat it was simply due to the fact that she was so rare, since she had never had any surgeries, but as he was able to think about it for the year that she was gone he realized that it was a mixture of things.

Shilo found herself chewing a little on her bottom lip. It was something she'd never done before, so she promptly stopped when she recognized that it was happening. He seemed to enjoy the kiss that she had placed on his cheek, and it made her want to be bolder and try to kiss him again..but she was still adjusting, and she was being a little shy about it. "Good to know.." She pulled her knees to her chest once more, and she rested her head against the back of the couch, closing her eyes. "I'll keep that in mind next time I thank you for something."

Graved ran a hand through his multicolored hair and chuckled softly. She was a strange one, but in a good way. "I think you should keep that in mind." He smirked lightly at her. "I know I will."

Shilo was finding it incredibly difficult to hide the smile that she had on her lips. She never thought she'd be able to smile like that again. Then again..she couldn't even remember the last time she had a real, true smile. It wasn't long before she fell asleep. She hadn't wanted to sleep..but she was so exhausted that it just happened. Sure enough..the nightmares started. It was worse because everything happened in flashes. 

A vision of blood here.. a vision of Nathan there.. 
But it wasn't Nathan. It was never Nathan while he had done horrible things to Shilo..and deep down, she knew that. She loved her father.. but there was something in him that was a monster.. it all made sense. 
Then there were screams.. so many screams.. so much blood..it was all too much. Shilo couldn't get away from it.. she was running as fast as she could, and suddenly she tripped! Fell straight in to a grave that was filled with organs. The louder she thought she had been screaming, the quieter she had really been. No one could have possibly found her.. she was going to be trapped there. She'd die there. But suddenly..there was a hand. 
She grabbed the hand, and he pulled her out.. There in front of her, was Graves. Sudddenly, she woke up. 

Shilo gasped for a breath, and she clutched the couch like a cat that had just been whipped around by it's tail. Her eyes darted all around until she realized that she was safe again. She moved herself, and her blanket, closer to  Graves, and she curled up against him with her head resting between his chest and his shoulder. "Nightmare.." she explained in a soft whisper. 

Graves had let her drift off to sleep, knowing that the poor kid must be exhausted. She had never said where she had been for a year, and had barely spoke of her father, and yet he could tell that everything from a year ago was weighing heavily on her shoulders. He could tell by the tenseness of her form, and by the final, actually real smile that she let out right before falling asleep.

He let her sleep, though he could tell from her facial expressions that her dreams weren't the best. He sighed, went and got himself a cup of coffee from the kitchen, and then settled back down on the sofa to wait out another long night. His eyes drifted over her sleeping form more than once, especially when she kicked out in her sleep, and Graves watched her carefully for any signs that she may need to be woken up to escape whatever hell her dreaming state had dropped her into. When she awoke he was getting ready to ask her if she needed anything, and then suddenly she moved, and had buried herself into his side. Graves wrapped an arm around her to attempt to comfort her and he sighed gently. "Want to talk about it?" He murmured back.

Consciously Shilo hadn't meant to practically pounce Graves, but deep down, she knew why she had done it. When she felt his arm around her, she curled in to him, closing her eyes and giving a small shake of her head. "No.." she whispered. "If I talk about it, it'll make it seem more real. I'd rather just try to forget it." The images she had seen in her nightmare were still plaguing her mind. Even as her eyes were closed she could still see the blood and gore..she could still hear the screams. 

"While I was gone, I wondered how my life would have gone if I'd had a normal childhood. If my father hadn't kept me sick. I would have likely grieved my mother's death every day... I might have even been addicted to Zydrate, and surgeries. Wouldn't it have been ironic if he would have had to pull his own daughter's organs out of her body?" She lifted her gaze, and looked in to Graves' eyes. "He wasn't really himself while he did all of those horrible things, you know.. there was a side of him that was dark. Different. He wasn't my father... he was a monster." She took a deep breath, and quietly sighed. "For a year.. what if's flooded my mind. I thought they'd stop when I came home." 

Graves let her nestle into his chest as he could tell that she needed it. When she said that she needed to forget he nodded. He had plenty of nightmares that he was still trying to forget, so he understood. He understood completely. "You can flood your mind with what ifs, but they do more damage than good." It was time to open up to her, just a little, she deserved that at least. "When I was seven a repoman came for my parents and he slaughtered them before my eyes. Had my mother not told me to hid in the closet he may have killed me as well. I understand needing to forget."

Shiloh was honestly surprised when Graves opened up and told her what happened when he was only a boy. She supposed it was how he ended up on the streets selling Z. "I'm sorry you had to go through that...you were so young..." It was hard to lose parents, Shiloh knew that. But to lose them at such a young age, and to watch it happen? That must have been scarring. "You're safe now." She gave him a small smile. "We both are." At least, she hoped. "The first time any sort of repo man, or woman steps foot in to this house, they'll regret it." She was her father's daughter deep down after all, wasn't she? She'd never do the things he had done..but she would certainly defend herself, and anything - or anyone she cared about. 

Graves chuckled softly and gave her a small nod. "It's ancient history now kid, what's done is done, and I'm better off for it. I was able to survive this long with only one surgery." He watched her carefully for a few moments, attempting to assess if she was actually alright or not, though he was soon laughing at her words. "Kid, you'd crumple like a sack of flour if you ever face a repoman that you weren't related to. If anyone tries to break in I will handle them."

He had a point. She would have crumpled at the feet of a repo man. She'd be too frightened to do anything, even though she was sure that she'd be able to. She was too messed up still from what had happened. She would have probably made some sort of attempt to fight for herself, but it likely wouldn't have gone well. "Yeah," She sighed and started to speak in a rather defeated tone. "You're probably right. Well.. I'd grab a baseball bat, just in case." She gave him a small, playful smile. 

She hadn't smiled this much in quite a long time. In fact.. she had honestly never smiled this much. It was something completely new to her. "I don't remember smiling," she admitted. "Never until my cheeks hurt like they do now. I don't mind it so much, though. I'd rather have my face hurt from laying than from crying."