You fitfully start awake; a brief moment of panic blinds you, since you don't know where you are. Then your pillow rises and falls of its own accordance and you are afforded another moment of panic. You flash back to a time when it was commonplace - waking up confused, in strange rooms with strange people, your only connection with them was the habit. But that was then, you sternly remind yourself. That was before certain people came into your life and you got it back on track.

Your pillow rose and fell once more, and you kept your eyes shut, receiving a stunning bout of clarity of where and who you're with. This only happens a few times a year, but every time it does, it's explosive in appearance. Somehow, someway, the both of you simply reach the end of your patience with everything, and something sparks the two of you off. You both make your excuses and leave, get into the car that's closest and drive in complete silence to either your house or his townhouse. There is no need to talk about what will come, because by that time, it's inevitable.

You remember the first time this happened - the hard, hot kisses, the desperation for you to touch him, and in turn, be touched yourself. You remember that mad scramble for a car, the need to have him inside you burning hotter than any brush fire. You both behaved on the trip through the streets of Las Vegas, but as soon as you hit his front door, all bets were off. Clothes were torn from overheated flesh, buttons flying everywhere. Mouths were fused together, tongues venturing into the other's mouth, driving the desire. You remember thinking that if you'd had this kind of passion before your now ex-husband, there would have been no way you would have married him. But then you wouldn't have your daughter - the child that the man lying beside you now loves to spoil. You briefly froze, trying to remember where your daughter was, but relaxed just as quickly when you remember that she was with her father for that week. That thought, along with anything else, flew out of your mind as soon as he attached his mouth to your breast. He kissed, he teased, and he tormented you with his mouth on your breasts. Your head fell back and his name dropped from your lips on a moan. Your back had arched, and you could feel his arousal through your thin pants. You both certainly weren't teenagers, but you were certainly acting like it.

So you return to the present with your pillow moving up and down, naked, in his bed, pleasantly satisfied. You know that you should probably dress and leave, but something is holding you back. So you stay where you are, half-amused, half-terrified at the mental thought of his reaction to waking and finding you still there. You wonder if it will start off a fresh round of lovemaking, or if he'll characteristically retreat behind his mind. You can only hope that it's the former. You're being greedy - you want more.

You try and remember what got the two of you going this time. Ecklie was probably the final straw in a week full of overtime, and missed days off for everyone, not just you two. But Ecklie had barged into the office and in his usual manner, managed to stick his foot in his mouth several times, almost making light of the night shift's contribution. You could see his blue eyes begin to heat with anger, and you told Ecklie in very few words to get out. He finally did, leaving a ticking time bomb behind. You both looked at each other, and the bomb detonated. There would be no way to remember the trip out of the lab, past your coworkers, and to his townhouse. But everything else was crystal in clarity. Clothes were once again torn, mouths fusing together, and hands were caressing bare skin.

You feel him shift, and his breathing changes. He knows you're still there. You snuggle your head deeper onto his chest.

"Cath?"

"Hmm?" you answered sleepily.

"I swear that if you're not gone by the time I open my eyes, you're never leaving this bed."

You smile, but ache to see his beautiful blue eyes. "Never, hmm?"

You can feel his breath speed up and feel the effects your naked body is doing to him. Your hands move gently over his eyes, a silent demand to open them.

"I can live with that," you mutter. And with that, you're both soaring again. This path was fraught with many pitfalls, but you were confident that you and Gil would be doing this for many days and weeks to come.

-fini.