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Unfortunately for Barnaby, Dani had no one else she could go to. She certainly couldn't sit around and let information like this stew in her own brain, because she was a little weirded out by it at best. Okay, so, she liked Jude and Grayson, right? She thought Grayson was fabulous, and had to give him points for wearing one big, stylish earring and not caring that anyone noticed. She also liked to think she was pretty open-minded in that she didn't care who was kissing who as long as she didn't have to see it.

She didn't even really like chick flicks. Being a witness to the live action version of a gay soap opera was a little much for her. In her place, would Barnaby have been able to keep it to himself?! She thought not.

So, until she found a way to both ease her mind on the subject and/or found someone else who was more suitable to meddle in their friends' lives, Barnaby was it.

She couldn't help but look absolutely horrified when Barnaby suggested they "hook up" and "get it on." She didn't even try to hide it.

"Barnaby! Ew." Dropping the sandwich half, she waved her arms a moment, trying to banish the mental image. Augh, she couldn't unsee it. "I'll be totally honest, I'm a little, um, iffy on the gay thing. I mean, to each their own, but. I'd rather not see it, you know? So. Um. Let's focus less on the details of that whole liaison and more on coming up with a plan to help Jude sort out his totally screwed up love life."

In Jude's shoes, Dani was sure she would appreciate her help. It seemed only natural to her that this would be true for everyone. They were friends, right? They only wanted what was best for him!

Grayson, she felt, was on his own, since he'd shocked the hell out of everyone.

Dani opened up her vegetables, digging until she got a good head of broccoli and chomping down on it to give herself time to think. She didn't think leaving Jude to his own devices was the best plan, all things considered -- because look where his own devices had gotten him, right? Split from his girlfriend, nearly dead, and then entering into the beginning stages of a murky relationship with another guy. On his own, Jude was all over the place. There was no structure at all, and he was just going to keep heading down a weird, twisty road until the entire world blew up in his face.

At least, that was how dire things looked to Dani.

She waved a hand, dismissing Barnaby as easily as if he'd tried to argue the sky was yellow. "That's not going to work. I love Jude, seriously, but look at where he's gotten himself all on his own. He needs a little subtle, friendly intervention."

It was the subtle part she was going to have to be careful with. She hoped Barnaby was better at subtlety than she was. "Because we care. Right?"

She looked at him as though disagreeing might be painful.

Dani raised an eyebrow. She gave Barnaby a long, considering look, shifted on the bench. Jude was his best friend, he said. That was good -- recruiting his help was definitely the right thing to do, because clearly his best friend would want what was best for him. Despite what he might think, if he was truly Jude's best friend, Dani was sure he held more sway over Jude than he thought. Just, hopefully not... you know, romantic sway. She could only take so much of guys pairing off all around her before she freaked out a little.

She nibbled on a carrot, thoughtful, and then pointed at Barnaby. She was not the most polite girl. "That totally can't be true. If you're his best friend, he'd listen to you above any of the rest of us. Give yourself some credit, geez."

Dani had no problems giving herself credit where it was due, where it wasn't due, and everywhere in between. It puzzled her sometimes to see people not owning up to their own accomplishments, or in this case, Barnaby not seeing that his status as best friend clearly elevated him above her and Grayson.

A status she would ruthlessly use to her advantage if she had to.

Going back to her lunch, she peeled the banana, taking a bite of it, then pointing the banana at him. "So, Barnaby, we're going to help your best friend out. I guess step one is still figuring out how to distract him from Hero, though I guess getting kissed by a guy would do that. But, he's going to need someone to like, be there for him."

She took another bite of her banana, thinking. Clearly, the best candidate was Barnaby, but if she left him to it, they'd play Super Mario Brothers and watch football and get absolutely nothing accomplished.

Ugh, boys.

It wasn't necessarily point fingers at Barnaby day, it was just that Dani was very excited to have both of her arms free to gesture, and she was taking advantage of it. Now that she knew about her increased healing abilities she was going to avoid the hospital at all costs. Hell if she was going through having a cast again when something like that would have healed in a week.

"Okay. As long as you realize you have the advantage here." When had this turned into a competition? "I'll keep trying, but I made him angry last time, so, I'll have to be careful."

Dani fell into a thoughtful silence, focused more now on finishing off her lunch (+ addition from Barnaby, thanks Barnaby!) than talking. After all, she'd recruited Barnaby, so now she just had to draft up a plan and figure out how she was going to help Jude. Also, she had to figure out what she was going to do with Grayson, but as long as they were mutually avoiding one another out of embarrassment, she figured she could postpone that a little.

Oh, and she needed to schedule some time with Parker again soon. She had a lot to tell him, minus important details, of course. Plus, she could totally describe Jude and his situation without naming any names or giving anything away, and try to get Parker's slant on it. As many trusted minds working on the case as possible would be best, right?

Right.