Kristina had fallen asleep on the drive to Cocoa Beach, Howie holding her hand, his thumb rubbing her tender flesh absentmindedly. It had been a long night and she was mentally worn out.

The fact that he had been at the club was more than enough to throw her off balance and he knew she needed the nap. There had been an unmistakable fear in her eyes and he knew that it would take some time to have her relax around him once again.

Howie had called ahead and asked John to hold the door for him so he could carry Kristina into the house without waking her. John graciously met him at the door and smiled at the way his brother held her. He followed as Howie placed her on his oversized bed and covered her lovingly with his favorite chenille throw. She seemed fragile and he was afraid she would get cold, so he waited as she settled in underneath it. She mumbled his name as he pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face. He had always loved the peaceful look on her face as she slept and it hurt to see that look had been replaced by something different. Something he didn’t like.

Shutting the bedroom door behind him, he walked over and sank into the couch. John had started a fire in the fireplace and he suddenly felt the exhaustion creeping in. John, however, was putting his shoes on, to go and stay at their mother’s house.

"John, please don’t tell Mami or anyone else about this. Okay? She’ll only worry and I can’t deal with that right now."

"I’ll just tell her that you got into town tonight and I thought I would give you a few days to relax by yourself."

"Thanks, John. You are a good brother."

"Not a problem, ‘D’. Good luck with Kris. You’ll be in my thoughts."

After he left, Howie started into the bedroom to change his clothes but was shocked to find Kristina awake and sitting up in the bed

"Hey sweetness" he said. "Are you okay?"

"I just…umm…you weren’t…and I umm…" she said as she looked around and sighed at her inability to explain. "Can you just stay with me?" she finally said exasperated. She needed to have him with her, his arms holding her tightly, loving her completely. She desperately needed to feel safe again.

He smiled. "There’s no place I would rather be."

Instinctively she went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His embrace was powerful and she melted into his arms, comfortably. With her head buried in his neck, she inhaled his scent, remembering how intoxicating he was when they made love. He knew that she needed him as much as he needed her and it felt damn good to both of them. Without thinking about how he might react to her touch, she trailed his neck with light kisses, stopping to nuzzle his skin gently.

"Oh God, baby!" he whispered. "Please don’t stop. I’ve missed you so much."

However, she did stop. She paused to look into his rich brown eyes, wanting to explain everything but too scared and worn out to begin. He picked up on this, knowing the time wasn’t right and stopped her before she could go any further.

Cradling her face in his long slim fingers he said, "It’s okay. We have all the time in the world to work through this. If you aren’t ready, I can wait."

"It’s not that, ‘D’. I just feel as if I need to explain everything tonight to make you understand, and yet, all I want is for you to hold me and make love to me."

He kissed her forehead tenderly and smiled. "Are you tired?"

"Yeah, but I’m more restless than anything."

"How about a nice hot bath and a glass of wine to help you sleep?"

It was her turn to smile. "You remembered."

"I remember a lot of things," he said brushing the hair from her shoulder, exposing the delicate flesh of her neck. He found himself drawn to the necklace that he had bought for her; fingering it as if it were the first time he had ever seen it. "I remember how much I loved seeing you wear this and the way your face lit up when I bought it for you."

He turned her around slowly and unhooked the clasp, holding the choker as if it were a delicate piece of china. He could see the faint trace of the scar Fiona had described and it broke his heart to see for the first time, the tangible evidence of what she had gone through. He felt the need to trace it with his fingers, as if by touching it he could make it disappear.

Taking the choker from him, Kristina said, "It’s the only thing I have left of my past - our past."

Fearing the emotions building within him, he suggested that she draw the bath water while he went to retrieve the wine.

Doing as she was told, Kristina made her way to the bathroom and began running the water for her bath. She found a box of matches on the vanity and proceeded to light the many candles surrounding the bathtub, remembering how he loved to be surrounded by candlelight and music when he soaked in the bath water. When he returned he carried two glasses of wine and sat them on the marbled edge of the garden tub.

His eyes met hers wearily as he asked, "Would you mind if I joined you?"

"I hoped that you would want to" she said blushing.

"Do you want me to step out of the room while you undress?" he asked.

She hesitated, and then said, "No. If we are going to try and make this work, then you have to make the decision of whether or not you can live with my scars. We might as well find out the answer to that question now, before we go any further."

"The scars don’t matter baby. You are beautiful to me no matter what" he said as he unzipped her dress and pushed it to the floor. He undressed her slowly, taking in every beautiful inch of her body. He honestly didn’t care about the scars, he was just thankful to have her back in his life and wanted to show her how sincere he was. He carefully slipped the straps of the black lace bra from her delicate shoulders and trailed kisses down her flat stomach while removing her thong. He could feel her trembling under his touch and it was all he could do to resist taking her at that moment. Howie desperately wanted her to relax in his arms under the hot water as they bonded once more. He knew that the candles and the wine would help the process along and then he would carry her to his bed and make love to her tenderly, kissing each wound until she could stand no more.