Daniel came down the stairs into the basement. The music from the unenclosed workout area could be heard from the stairs, and in the middle he stopped and listened as Sallys voice mixed in with the musicians.

Where have all good men gone?
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need.

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night
He's gotta be strong. And he's gotta be fast. And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero. I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light.
He's gotta be strong. And it's gotta be smooth. And he's gotta be larger than life.

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach,
There's someone reaching back for me.
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat.
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet.

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night.
He's gotta be strong. And he's gotta be fast. And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero.
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light.
He's gotta be strong.  And it's gotta be smooth. And he's gotta be larger than life.

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there's someone
Somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like a fire in my blood

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night.
He's gotta be strong. And he's gotta be fast. And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero.
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be strong.  And it's gotta be smooth. And he's gotta be larger than life.

"Hey Daniel," Tonya called as she set down the weights. She had seen his reflection behind them in the mirror.

"Working out, huh?" he smirked shyly as Sally approached him. Although she only did it when she was working out, she was wearing tight clothes, and they flattered her figure. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"How much weight can you lift?" Tonya asked him, curiously.

He shrugged, "I carry twenty-five pound fertilizer bags all summer long."

Tonya smirked, "Why don't you come over here and try these. We'll measure to see how much you can really lift."

Sally gave Tonya a stern look, which the braided girl ignored.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Zarbon came down the stairs as the three of them were still standing amongst the weights.

"Dinners 'bout ready," he said as he put an arm around Tonya and gave her a quick kiss. "You best go wash up."

The girls headed toward the stairs.

Daniel began to take the weights off the bar.

"Here," Zarbon interrupted him. "Let me take that." He lifted it one handed and placed it in its proper place.

Daniel knew his friend was strong, but tried to gape at the strength of the man. He himself had just turned red in the face just trying to lift it an inch, but this Aussie had moved it without thought. Daniel clicked off the radio.

"We're having spaghetti, are you staying?" Zarbon asked.

"Yeah, sure." The gardener smiled weekly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You were kind of quiet tonight at dinner," Sally commented as they walked through the garden in the twilight.

Daniel shrugged. "Didn't have much to say, I guess."

The blonde slipped a hand into her boyfriend's and intertwined their fingers.

Grey eyes fell upon the embrace.

"Remember the first time we met?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she whispered, trying to judge where the conversation was going.

"What was your first impression of me?" He looked into her eyes.

She shook her head slightly, "What do you mean?"

"What did you think of me, when you first laid eyes on me?"

"I remember thinking you were very cute. I even told Tonya, she can vouch for me on that one."

Daniel shook his head, disappointed.

"What?"

"Good night," he kissed her cheek lightly. "See you tomorrow."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"No," Zarbon called to Daniel. "You have to keep your back straighter."

Although the boy was a quick learner when it came to book work and knowledge, the self-defense lessons were slow.

Daniel sighed and tried the move again. He looked at his friend for approval but the man just shook his head.

"Watch me one more time." Zarbon moved his body in the correct choreographed way, very slowly so that the young man could see every muscle move. "The key is discipline. Feel every muscle move, and control them with precision. Slow down the action and do it again."

Daniel sighed. He had been trying to learn the move all week, and this afternoon it seemed he was regressing.

"Concentrate," Zarbon said.

However, at the slowness, Daniel lost his balance and toppled over. He punched the grass in frustration.

"That'll be the end of our lesson for today," Zarbon said. "We'll try again tomorrow."

"I'll never get it," the defeated man said quietly.

"Not with that attitude. Go home and take a warm bath. I'm sure you'll be sore in the morning."

Daniel nodded and reached for Zarbons offered hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Just as his first afternoon class was ending, Daniel began to pack his books away. Someone walking past his desk knocked his notebook onto the floor. Daniel looked up to see Jake Rivers back proceeding toward the door. It had been months since they had had a conflict. He returned the notes to his book bag and headed out the door.

Heading toward his next class he hurried his pace. Advanced Botanical Genetics was his favorite class and he wasnt going to let anything make him late.

"Hey, Lairdlot," he heard a voice call from behind him. "Wait up." He knew the voice and wasn't going to stop. But suddenly someone stepped out in front of him, and Daniel tripped.

The bald one who had tripped him chuckled. "I guess geeks aren't as nimble in real life as they appear on the softball diamond."

Daniel glared back.  "And I guess they don't hold druggies as long as they used to."

Jake caught up to them and smirked. "You really ought to watch where you're going, Lairdlot," he sneered. He looked down at the smaller man. "How long has it been since our last conversation?" he puzzled.

"Not long enough," Daniel retorted under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Aaron asked. "Was that lip you were giving us?"

"Guys, I have a class to get to. Please, I..." Daniel tried to talk his way out of this situation.

"Oh, don't worry. We know you don't really have to go to class, as smart as you are," Jake chided. "Now, let's see." He stroked his chin dramatically. "Have you got that Genetics paper done yet?"

Daniel became wide eyed. "I worked really hard on that paper...." he began to protest.

"Yeah," he smirked evilly, "I figured so. That's why I want it. Do you have it with you?"

Daniel shook his head quickly.

"Stynes, grab his bag."

Aaron reached down and Daniel turned to get up and run. However, the stronger boy was on top of him and wrestled the back pack off.

"You can't do this," Daniel protested. "The professor will know that you didn't write it."

"You're not as smart as I thought, Lairdlot. I'm not going to copy it; I'm going to rewrite it in my own words."

Daniel felt rage boil inside him, he jumped up and lunged at Rivers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Daniel? What happened?!"

Daniel opened his good eye to see his girlfriend kneeling in front of him. He had been sitting on a bench at the side of Brooks Hall, trying to regain the strength to walk home. But every passing moment his bruises just made him stiffer.

Sally brushed some of his hair from his face. Some locks were stiff with blood from a small cut on his forehead. He turned his gaze away from hers. She could tell instantly what had happened and knew he wouldn't want to talk about it.

"C'mon. I'll help you home." She pulled him up from the bench and saw the anguish he tried to hide as they walked toward his apartment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Daniel winced as Sally touched the alcohol to the scrape on his elbow.

"You don't have to stay, I can do this you know," he protested.

"Oh, shut up, you big baby," she scolded. "Let me help you for once."

"That's just it, you help me enough. Let me do things by myself."

She looked into his eyes, confused.

He leaned forward in the chair and ran his right hand over his forward then back through his hair. Sally recognized the action as the gesture he always performed when he didn't know how to say what he wanted to. He winced as his finger passed over the new wound.

"Daniel," Sally said slowly, hoping her words would tarnish any self-doubt he was having. "I do these things because I care about you. You're my best friend and the only man I've ever loved this deeply. "

"But why do I deserve it? Look at me. I can't hold my own in a fight, even after taking lessons for four months. I can't even clean as much weight as you. I'm shorter than all the men in your household, and scrawnier than them all, too. I want to be the man you deserve: someone who's strong and can save you; not you saving me all the time." He looked down at the tiled floor of the kitchen.

"Oh, honey," she sighed, "You have saved me. You were there when I needed you most. You held my hand through the toughest trial of my life. You were brave when I was scared: you are my foundation." She cupped his cheek gently with her hand. He turned his gaze back to her. "Daniel, you are the man that I've dreamed of and more. Don't use other people to judge yourself. You are my hero."