Todd stirs, letting go of the pillow. It falls on the floor as he reaches up to rub his face. He pulls his hands away after a moment, opening his eyes. His brow creases, feeling that stuff that glues your eyes shut when you sleep...an odd thing for him. He sits up, rubbing his eyes to clear it out. Sighing, he looks around, hearing the rain. He sits there for a minute, just listening to it, and trying to get his bearings. He's still not used to sleeping so well...it feels weird, like he's lost time...but at the same time, he feels better than he has in months...maybe years.

He looks over at Tea, curled up and snoozing. Her hands are under her face, holding on to the edge of the pillow. Todd lies back down and rolls over onto his side to face her. A few times in the past couple of weeks he's been able to do this...just lie next to her and watch her. He's managed to come up with a routine now, of studying her, starting with the top of her head and moving down. He checks out her mussed up hair, the big eyelids that cover her huge eyes...he smiles at how much bigger her eyes are than anything else on her face. Moving down, he sees mostly the beautiful color of her skin, her neck and arms. His eyes roam farther down, to where her waist curves down and back up into her hips...and stops.

His heart skips at least one beat at what he sees. During the tossing and turning of sleeping, her shirt has rolled up a little, revealing part of her bare waist. The cutoffs she's wearing sit low on her hips, so he can see a good bit. He bites his lip, trying not to concentrate on it...but...he can't stop his eyes from going there. He takes a deep breath, fighting the impulses that are coming on strong now. He realizes he's been resisting these same urges for at least a week. When she first got there, he was so overwhelmed by everything, that it didn't occur to him that he would start to really want her. But it's VERY clear to him now, as he stares at her exposed skin practically salivating.

Of course, mixed in with the physical longing is a deep-seated fear...of ANY kind of intimacy...and of hurting her. He knows she is the only woman he's ever felt so much for, and so deeply...he never had this kind of connection with anyone, not even the mother of his kid. Inside, he knows Tea wants him as much as he wants her. But she's been extremely patient and understanding...since she's been there, she hasn't brought it up once, knowing what a touchy and upsetting subject it is for them. Touchy, upsetting... but unavoidable...as it brings itself to the forefront again now. He rolls over on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He sighs heavily and closes his eyes, listening to the voices inside... but...

.they are silent. He listens harder, more closely...but he doesn't hear anything from anyone...not even from Rod, the one who couldn't think of anything BUT making love to Tea twenty-four hours a day. No one is piping up. He opens his eyes, realizing he's on his own. He looks back over at her, twitching a little as his eyes go directly to the same spot. He slides himself off the bed, getting up and pacing, trying to walk it off. He starts wandering around the room, and his eyes fall on Tea's purse, sitting on the couch. He walks over and sits down, opening it up and looking inside...ANYTHING to distract him. Of course, it doesn't take long to look through a purse...especially when there's not much in it...a wallet, keys, a cell phone, lipstick, a compact and some tissues. He stops when he gets to the tissues, feeling something bumpy wrapped up in them. He takes them out, opens them up and finds...her wedding ring, sitting safely inside. He holds it up, examining it, remembering having sent it back to her. He rubs it in his hand as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

Todd spends a few minutes like that, just staring at the ring and listening to the rain outside. He holds the ring up against his left hand, seeing how much smaller it is than his ring. He smiles...then looks around him, suddenly realizing something strange...he's perfectly calm now. He turns inward and waits for the anxiety to bubble up again...but it doesn't...there's only a strong, peaceful stillness. He closes the ring in his hand, turning around to look at Tea, dozing away. They're as alone as they're ever going to get, out here in the middle of nowhere...this, combined with the rain and the dreariness of the morning, has set the perfect stage for them. And for the first time, the sense of calm inside him has won over all that fear...leaving just the plain, old, perfectly normal desire to make love to his wife. He looks back at Tea again...and decides to go for it before he loses the nerve.

He walks back over to the bed, sitting on the edge. He takes the ring and slips it onto the little finger of his left hand. Then he pulls himself up onto the bed and slides as close to her as he can get. He feels her warmth, her breath on him...and that's the last push he needs to wake her up. Before he even knows what he's doing, he reaches for that bare spot, and slides his hand over it. He trembles a little at the incredible rush that shoots up his arm to his brain, at feeling the smooth softness of her skin.

Tea starts to move around, eyes still closed. Her hand moves to find the thing on her waist...she opens her eyes when she feels a hand. She looks up and sees him, lying inches from her face, his hair hanging down in his face a little. She blinks in surprise, still not quite believing it's his hand on her stomach. He smiles at her, unusually mellow and...seductive. She smiles back, her brow crinkling...she looks down at his hand, then back up at him. She opens her mouth to say something...

.and doesn't get a chance to, as Todd moves in quick, covering her lips with his. She opens her eyes wide. He slides his hand around and up her shirt, starting to move up her back. She makes a surprised "mmm!" sound...and completely shocked, she breaks away and pulls back from him. Unable to fight her first instinct, she giggles.

"Whoa...hold on," she says, examining his face more closely. She pauses, and her voice lowers.

"Is that...you, Todd?"

He raises an eyebrow, lifting his chin defiantly. Tea's face deflates, and she sighs heavily, thinking he's switched.

Todd's brow creases. "What?"

She does a take, confused. "Wait...it IS you, isn't it?"

"Who'd you THINK it was?"

She gives him an "puhleeze" look. "You were looking awfully ROD there for a second."

"Yeah, well...he had his chance."

His hand presses against her naked back, pulling her in closer. She gasps...but doesn't get a chance to do much else as he starts kissing her again. Caught completely off-guard by all this, she starts laughing. She pulls away again, but only an inch or so. Her brow is completely furrowed in, giggling nervously.

"Not to destroy the mood here, but...what brought THIS on?"

Her nervous laughter dies down, and her face softens as she looks at him. He's completely focused on her. There's a sense of real, pure desire there, that she hasn't seen in a long time...and even when she saw it then, somehow it wasn't as certain. She smiles, then reaches up and moves some of the hair out of his face.

"Wow...you really ARE ready now, aren't you?" she whispers.

He touches his head to hers, caressing her back. Then suddenly remembering, he pulls his hand back out and takes the ring off his pinkie. She looks at it, then at him, gaping in shock, watching as he reaches for her hand and slides the ring back onto her finger. Then he kisses her hand softly and whispers to her.

"I want you so bad, Delgado...and if I don't do this now, I'll lose the nerve, I know it, so...stop interrupting me."

She smiles big and wide, melting...feeling her eyes misting up and her cheeks getting really hot...and she barely manages a whisper, she's that breathless.

"Oh, sorry...carry on."

She closes her eyes, feeling him kissing her forehead, her nose...then full on the lips. She sinks into the kiss, opening her mouth to him, and reaches her hand around into his hair. His hand moves back up her shirt, all the way up to the back of her neck, pulling the shirt up with it. She swings her outside leg over his, pulling him right up against her. A low moan escapes his mouth as they continue kissing deeply. She moves her hand down from his hair, over his shoulder and arm, down to the waist. She slides her hand under his shirt and starts to pull it up.

He breaks away from her lips for a second, feeling the electricity of her touching his skin. They look at each other, eyes big and wide, not quite believing they're doing what they're doing. She sees the desire in his eyes starting to make him nervous. She knows what a big step he's taking here, and smiles at him gently...then moves in to kiss him lightly, trying to soothe him. She takes her hand back out, and places it on his arm. She guides his hand down her back and around to her waist...then she places her hand on top of his and slides it slowly over her stomach...then up and over her breast, resting it there. She looks at him, her eyes still sleepy, but passionate, watching for his reaction.

He bites his lip, looking at her, then down to where she's placed his hand. He starts to move his hand around delicately, feeling the soft curves. She bites her own lip, then starts kissing him, putting her hand back up into his hair and grabbing on to it. He sucks on her lower lip while moving his fingers around, feeling her nipple getting harder. She moans softly, and starts to wriggle out of her shirt. He feels her moving around and grabs onto her shirt, pulling it up. She pulls her arm through the sleeve, then grabs it, pulling it off and tossing it aside. Completely unselfconscious now, she grabs him by the back of the neck and pulls him down on top of her as she rolls over onto her back. He rolls with her, nestling himself between her legs. Turned on by her forwardness, he starts kissing her hard and deep, his hands roaming all over her naked chest.

She breaks off from the kiss, tipping her head back. His lips move over her chin, sliding down, down, down, over her neck and chest. She reaches for his shirt and starts to pull it up...he looks up at her, seeing her beautiful face completely flushed, her lips swollen from hard kissing. He squirms around so she can pull the shirt off. She pulls it up over his head and tosses it in the pile with hers. He rubs his face against her stomach, absorbing her warmth...then starts kissing it, letting his tongue flick against it, tasting the salt of her skin as he moves back up to her breasts. She closes her eyes and tips her head back as far as it'll go, overwhelmed by the rush she's getting. She feels his mouth on her breast, and holds her breath.

She reaches for his face, her hand gently lifting his face to look at her. She licks her lips and pulls him up over her. They both close their eyes when their bellies make contact, at the electricity generated by that skin-on-skin sensation. She opens her eyes, locking with his, his hair tickling her as it falls like a curtain around her face. They look into each other for a moment, preparing themselves. He rests on his elbows, his arms cradling her head. She smiles at him as her hands move down, gliding over his back to the top of his pants. Her hands move from the outside to the inside, searching for that string. She looks back up at him and smiles seductively, feeling that hardness against her tummy. She finds the drawstring and pulls the knot free, loosening the pants and sliding her hands under them, massaging his butt and thighs.

He takes a quick breath in and holds it as she inches the pants down with her legs and kicks them away. Desperate to get inside her, he starts moving against her belly, feeling the friction against the only remaining obstacle. She lets out a low moan, propping herself up on her elbows. Their heads touch as she gropes around for the string on her pants. Foreheads touching, they look up at each other, breathing fast and heavy now. She undoes the tie on her pants and starts to wiggle out of them, pushing her hips up to get them clear of her butt. He starts kissing her cheek as she looks down. Stretching the pants out as far as she can, she manages to pull one leg up and out. She turns her head to the other side and thrashes her other leg around until the sweats fly off. Then she turns her head back, locking eyes with her husband yet again. She swallows, tossing her head. Eyes never leaving his, she brings her legs up and drops her knees out to the side, spreading herself open underneath him.

They lie there tangled up like that for a moment, eyes locked...letting themselves calm down a bit before they go for it. She smiles at him again, reaching up and running a hand through his hair.

"I love you," she whispers softly.

He closes his eyes, hearing those sweet words and feeling the wet heat of her under him, driving him nuts. He starts to move up, pushing her down onto her back. Hovering above her, he takes in the incredible sight of her for a moment. Then he lowers himself down on top of her, caressing her face. He feels her positioning herself under him...he takes a deep breath in...and checks her eyes again. She says nothing...but her eyes are locked with his, ready when he is. He exhales, and in one swift move, he hooks an arm under her, pressing against her back, pulling her into him and thrusting, penetrating her finally.

Her eyes snap shut and her head tilts back, a throaty moan escaping from her lips. She slides down and pushes her hips up against him, bringing her legs up, locking them together around his waist. Her hands reach for his face, pushing his hair out of the way. They lock eyes again, in shock...and in complete bliss. They smile at each other as they each start pushing against the other, falling into a steady beat. She cranes her neck up and kisses him...he responds, his free hand reaching up into her short hair and grabbing on. They kiss hard and deep, trying to match the intensity of their rhythm. She reaches around and holds onto his shoulders as they start to grind harder. Todd pushes her back down, mouths still attached. They rock steadily for a while, never coming up for air until Tea feels him stiffening up. She tilts her head back, breaking away from his lips...she takes a breath in through the mouth, her head pushing against the pillow. She looks back at him. He pushes into her as hard as he can, making her bite her lip and moan softly. He goes for her mouth again hungrily, breathing hard and fast. She pulls him as close as possible, like she's trying to fuse herself to him, arms and legs wrapped around him.

Todd feels the wave taking him over...he pulls away from her lips and starts kissing her cheek as she turns her head to the side, eyes closed. He pushes his face into her, lips right up against her ear. He can only manage one word to whisper to her...

"Tea..."

It spills out of his mouth and hot into her ear. She opens her eyes, turns her head back to face him. She smiles, locking eyes with him, breathing hard...and he smiles back, just as he releases into her. His head tilts up and his whole body goes stiff, trembling for a moment, a deep moan coming up from the gut and escaping. She shudders along with him, feeling the force of him.

They stare at each other a moment, eyes locked, as their breathing slows gradually. Unable to stop herself, Tea smiles...bigger...and bigger. Todd smiles back at her, in total understanding. For some strange reason, they just want to laugh...but feel that maybe it's not right to. Never one to conform, Todd pushes up on his hands, looking at her intently for a moment, his hair swinging back and forth over her face. She tries to stifle the giggle that wants to come out.

He lets out a deep, exaggerated breath, crosses his eyes and collapses on top of her with a thud. That's all she needs...her giggle busts out into a full on, loud, obnoxious laugh.

"Oh God...I finally made love to my husband...and now he's DEAD," she says with mock sorrow.

She starts wailing in a phony, goofy-sounding way. Todd's body starts to shake with laughter. He pushes himself up on his elbows, laughing at her. They stare into each other deeply, smiling. Finally, Tea reaches her arms around him and hugs him. He grabs onto her and rolls them over onto their sides. She reaches down for the blankets and pulls them up over them as she snuggles up against him, still giggling a little. Todd hugs her tightly, her head tucked under his chin, stroking her neck and back. Quieting down now, they listen to the steady sounds of the rain outside, and after a few minutes, it lulls them both into a deep, dreamless sleep.