Season X: Ain't Too Proud to Beg

by NMI123

Laura and Steve hit a bump in the road in the bedroom. When a tornado puts all of their lives in danger, the couple and the rest of the family begin to work on their issues.

Carl, Harriette, Laura, Steve, Eddie, and 3J were gathered around the kitchen table at the Winslow house for one of the weekly Sunday night dinners the newlyweds had promised to attend.

"So, the apartment was looking pretty good when we left this afternoon," Carl said.

Laura nodded. "Mm-hm. We unpacked the last few boxes after you guys left. We are officially moved-in now." She turned and smiled brightly at Steve.

He put a hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed as he smiled back.

"You know, Steve, I started making you guys a little housewarming present."

"You did?" Laura asked, looking back at him. "Daddy, you don't need to make us anything. You and Mom already bought us those gorgeous champagne flutes and our china, which Steve has yet to break," she joked, smiling at him as he looked away shyly.

"Yeah, but that was a wedding present. This is your housewarming present," Carl explained. "But… Um… Anyway, I could use some help staining it some night this week if you're available."

"I'm free, Dad," Eddie said. "Ah!" he yelled as Harriette's foot slammed hard into his. "I mean… Um. I would've been free if I hadn't just made plans with Max," he covered unconvincingly.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Guys, we talked about this," she said seriously, setting her fork down. "I don't want you two trying to force Steve into spending time with you, Daddy. He's trying. You're trying. Let's not make things worse by putting each other in uncomfortable positions."

Steve stared down at his lap in embarrassment.

Carl swallowed hard. "Laura, I'm not trying to force him. Steve, you don't have to hang out with me, if you don't want to. I just thought that since I really do have a gift for you, and I really do need help staining it, that maybe you'd be willing to do it with me. You don't have to, but I'd like you to."

Steve looked back up at Carl. Sure, he'd like him to, but only because it would relieve his guilt. Steve was certain that the second he accepted his apology, if that ever happened, Carl would go back to treating him like an inconvenience. Steve glanced at Laura. Her eyes were filled with hope. "Of course, I can help you, Carl."

Laura smiled at him softly. "You don't have to," she reminded him firmly.

"I know, Pet, but I'm going to anyway," he confirmed.

Carl relaxed slightly. "Good," he said. "How about Tuesday night after work?"

Steve nodded. "That's fine," he agreed less than enthusiastically.

Carl went back to eating since his nerves had settled. He had agreed to come over. That was a start.

After dinner, Laura and Steve went back to the apartment. Steve unlocked the door and held it open for Laura. He took off her light jacket and set it on the coat hook, and then he did the same for his own. He turned back around and found that Laura was seated on the couch. Just as she reached for the remote, he sat beside her and took it from her hands. He set it back on the table and turned to her. He placed an arm around her shoulder and looked at her dreamily.

"What?" she asked with a knowing grin.

"You look so purdy tonight, my little gummy bear," he cooed.

She giggled. "Thank you, Steve."

He turned toward her more directly and placed his opposite hand on her thigh. He slowly slid it up higher, until his hand was undeniably between her legs, though he pretended it was an innocent motion. "I love your top."

Laura looked down at the plain pink tee she was wearing. "You do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

He smirked. "Because your bazooms look incredible when you lean forward in it."

Laura blushed. "Steve…" she scolded playfully. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"No," he declared, "I wanna stay in the gutter. Do you wanna join me, my little gutter ball?"

Laura opened her mouth to flirt back, but then she stopped herself. She took a deep breath and sighed. Finally, she grabbed Steve's hand, the one on her thigh, and took it in hers. "I'm not really in the mood tonight, Baby. Why don't we just watch a little TV and get to bed? We both have to get up early tomorrow."

Steve's brow furrowed deeply. "It's only 8:30, Laura."

"8:48," she corrected, staring ahead at the clock. She laced her fingers in his and kept her eyes focused on the clock to avoid the hurt radiating from his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, Steve," she promised sincerely.

"Then why don't you wanna make love?" he pressed.

Laura shifted uncomfortably in her seat and stared at her lap. "I'm just not feeling it tonight," she said.

Steve cocked his head at her in disbelief. This was not his Laura. His Laura was, unless something was truly wrong, a very affectionate person. She loved being touched, and she loved touching him. The honeymoon phase couldn't have ended already! "Laura, the only times you've shot me down have been when something was really wrong, and there was a clear explanation. You've never just not been into it before. Are you sick?" he asked.

"No," Laura replied. "I just don't want to right now," she said more forcefully, growing flustered.

"But why?" he asked.

"Because I don't," she snapped.

He reared back slightly and removed his arm from her shoulders. "Um. Ok. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pressure you."

Laura finally looked at him again. Her face relaxed into an apologetic expression. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. That wasn't fair."

Steve looked at her. He leaned his face close to hers and kissed her softly on the lips. "That's ok, my lovely," he smiled. "No harm done."

She nodded and kissed him back.

As he broke away, he moved down to her neck and began to kiss and nibble. "Mmm… Laura…" he purred.

Laura inhaled sharply as his lips began to tickle her skin in all the right ways. Then she remembered why they couldn't make love that night. She placed her hand on his forehead and firmly pushed him away. "Hey," she scolded gently, but resolutely, "what did I just say?"

"That you weren't in the mood," Steve acknowledged, "but I thought, I could maybe get you in the mood." He looked at her hopefully.

"Not tonight, Steve," she said firmly.

"But–"

"Not tonight," she repeated.

He took a deep breath to argue with her further, but he realized that wasn't the right thing to do. She had very clearly told him no, so the answer was no, no matter how badly he wanted to change her mind. "Ok," he said eventually. "Not tonight."

Hearing him finally give in instantly relaxed her. "Thank you," she breathed as she slid closer to him. She took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders again. She leaned into him as closely as she could. "What do you wanna watch?" she asked, grabbing the remote again.

Steve shrugged softly. "I don't really care," he said.

Laura's heart broke when she heard the disappointment in his voice. She had no idea how she was going to find the strength to turn him down tomorrow too. This was going to be a long week. She snuggled against him and turned on the television. They watched a dumb sitcom neither one of them cared about, both lost in thought.

Eventually, Laura turned off the TV and turned to him. "I'm gonna head to bed," she said.

Steve looked at her. She was going to head to bed? Alone? What was going on? Once he managed to find his voice again, he asked uncomfortably, "Can I come?"

Laura's eyes widened. "What? Of course, you can! I'm not mad at you, Baby! Not at all!"

He frowned at her. "Well, then… Why can't we…?" he trailed off, not wanting to pressure her.

She took a deep breath. She was ready to tell him. She was going to tell him. She knew she had no reason to be embarrassed. He was a scientist. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "I'm just not in the mood tonight, Baby," she said eventually. "Married people don't have sex every night. We're still in the honeymoon phase, but you've gotta give me a break every once in a while."

He sighed and stood. He took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom, turning off the lights along the way. Steve stripped down to his boxers and tossed his clothes in the hamper. He considered putting on pajamas, since they weren't going to be doing anything, apparently, but he decided against it. She hadn't said he had to wear pajamas. In fact, he saw no reason that he couldn't sleep completely nude like they had the night before and almost every night of their honeymoon. As Laura was in the other room, washing her face, he slipped off his boxers and tossed them into the hamper. He slipped under the covers and took off his glasses. He lay down and tried to ignore the aching feeling below his waist.

Laura finished her nightly routine and grabbed a tank top and a pair of cotton shorts from the dresser. She began to undress, facing away from Steve so as not to tempt him but not look like she was trying to hide from him.

Steve watched, through very blurry vision, as she removed her clothes and slipped on pajamas. He was tempted to put his glasses on, so he could really enjoy the miracle before him, but he decided not to torture himself with what he couldn't have.

When Laura was dressed, she walked back to her side of the bed and slipped under the covers. She moved as close as she could to Steve and embraced him tightly. She stroked a hand up and down his muscular chest, venturing all the way down to his abs. "Are you wearing boxers?" she asked softly against his chest.

"No," he replied nervously.

"Good," she smiled. She sat up and climbed on top of him. She leaned down and began to kiss him.

His eyes widened, and he had a million questions, but he didn't dare break the kiss. He moved his hands to her smooth legs and stroked up to her thighs. Then he dug his hands into the pliable flesh of her butt. He whimpered softly as she began to kiss down his body. "Ohh…"

She slipped under the covers and kissed his hip bones again and again. She gripped his member and smiled to herself as she heard him moan loudly.

"Mmmmmm…"

She stroked up and down his shaft slowly before leaning down to kiss his head. She licked it softly and heard him coo as he writhed beneath her.

"Laura Lee…"

She began to lick up and down his shaft.

He yelled immediately. "OH, GOD! YES!"

She continued to lick up and down. She paused to suck on his balls, playing with them gently with her soft tongue.

"Mmm… Yes, Kitten. Just like that," he purred.

She continued to suck for a minute, but then she licked back up his shaft. She paused at his head and circled it repeatedly with her agile tongue.

"Ohhhhh…"

She took it into her mouth and sucked hard before she began to bob her head up and down, drooling heavily as she tested the limits of her throat. "Mmmm…" she purred as she sucked on him.

"Oh, Lauraaaaaaa…"

She happily went down on him, savoring the sounds of his pleasure, until he began to near the edge. His breath grew heavy and uneven. He called her name again and again, but then she pulled away. Her lips popped off of him with a loud, wet noise. She smiled mischievously at him as she sat up, pulling the covers back with her.

He panted heavily. The question read clear on his face, but he wasn't thinking clearly enough to articulate it.

"Don't worry, Baby. I'm just giving you a minute to back away from the edge. You'll get to come. I promise."

He relaxed slightly and closed his eyes. He tried to focus on his breathing so that he would appear calm enough that she would continue.

She hopped off of the bed and went into the bathroom. She went into the drawer with all of her toiletries and pulled out the one she had bought just for them. She walked back into the bedroom and slipped off her tank top. She climbed back into bed with him and watched carefully to make sure he was relaxing. She squirted some lube onto her palm and began to rub it on her breasts. They were a little sore, but nothing she couldn't withstand so he could play with them. She lay back on her pillow and said softly, "Steve, Baby, I want you to come on my breasts."

His eyes popped open at that suggestion, and he leapt up to straddle her. He looked down at her breasts and noticed how moist they were. He began to grope her enthusiastically.

She reached out and pulled his member toward her, placing him between her breasts. She gripped her breasts, knocking his hands away, and pressed them together firmly for him. "C'mon, Baby," she whispered.

He began to slide his member in and out of her cleavage. He forced his eyes to remain open, watching his manhood be pleasured by her perfect chest.

She stared up at him intently, watching for his impending orgasm. She knew it wouldn't be long. "Baby, when you get close, you have to pull back so you come on my breasts, ok?"

He nodded, glancing back up at her face. He was already close, but he couldn't pull away from her magical flesh. He slid in and out faster and faster, looking her in the eye.

Suddenly, she saw his muscles tighten to the extreme. She slid up from under him ever so slightly and gripped his member in her hand. She stroked it up and down as fast as she could, pointing it at her breasts, until he began to spurt all over them, covering her in his cum. She looked back up to his face and made eye contact as he finished.

"LAAAAURAAAAA!" he called as he came on her breasts. He pulled away from her when he was completely empty and lay down beside her. He looked away from her face and back to her perfect breasts. "Oh, yes, my pet," he whispered as he stared at her covered in his cum. "You are so beautiful."

She smiled at him. She ran her finger over some of his cum and slipped it into her mouth. "Mmmm…" She loved how he tasted, but she was also enjoying the flavored lube she had coated herself in. She continued to scoop up his cum and swallow it all as he watched intently. When she was clean, though sticky, she smiled at him. She reached out and stroked his cheek. "Goodnight, Baby. I love you."

His eyes widened. "Goodnight? But we're not done. We haven't…" he trailed off again, suddenly realizing she hadn't changed her mind.

"I don't wanna make love tonight, Honey. I wanted you to get what you needed, but now I'm just ready to sleep. Ok?" she asked gently.

Steve looked around the room, searching for anything that could help, but he, of course, came up with nothing. "Ok," he said disappointedly. He took his glasses off again and lay down.

She turned away so he could spoon her, which he immediately did, holding her as close to him as he could. After a few quiet moments, he began to yank on her shorts. "Steve!" she scolded.

"No," he whispered. "No, I know we're not making love, but I want you to sleep naked. Please?"

"No, Baby," she said softly. "Those stay on."

"But–"

"Goodnight, Steve," she said pointedly. "I love you."

Finally accepting the disappointing results of the evening, he moved his hands up to her still bare breasts and held them gently. "I love you, too, Laura Lee," he said softly. "Goodnight."

In a last ditch effort to make him feel better, she turned around and kissed him passionately before settling into their spooning position again and closing her eyes.

Laura woke to sensations on her clit. She moaned softly as she felt the gentle touch. "Mmmmm…" Then she remembered the secret she still didn't have the guts to share with her husband, and her brain became immediately aware. Her eyes shot open, and she sat up. She saw Steve's hand on the outside of her shorts, stroking her firmly. "Steve, what are you doing?" she scolded, slapping his hand away.

He looked at her in fear. "Oh, Pet, I-I-I-I thought maybe you'd be feeling a little better this morning."

Laura relaxed slightly and shook her head. She wanted to be mad at him for trying something while she was asleep, but she had done the same to him several times, so she knew she had no real right. "I told you last night that I wasn't in the mood. For future reference, if I'm not in the mood before I fall asleep, I'm not going to be in the mood while I'm asleep."

"Oh, gosh, Laura, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable; I just thought that since you've woken me up that way before that–"

"I know, Steve. I'm not mad, and I wouldn't normally mind, but I'm still not in the mood."

"But, Laura–"

"I'm sorry, Steve, but we have to go to work, and I'm so stressed," she complained.

He moved his hand toward her womanhood again. "So let me make you feel better."

"No," she said firmly. She looked at his face and couldn't stand it anymore. "I have to take a shower," she announced as she stood to leave.

He plopped back down into bed, realizing they hadn't needed to wake up so early if he really had no chance of getting her to spend some intimate time with him.

Laura went into the bathroom and did what was necessary after sleeping for eight hours, including taking out her tampon. She took off her clothes and turned on the shower. She knew it was ridiculous that she hadn't just told him why she they couldn't have sex, but when she had started her period Sunday afternoon, she had realized that even after fifteen years of friendship, over a year of "more than that", and three weeks of marriage, she had literally never had a conversation with Steve about menstruation. Sure, it was always a little awkward talking to guys about that kind of stuff, but never? In fifteen years? After so long, she wasn't sure how to bring it up. Worse than that, she wasn't completely sure how he'd react. She could see it going either way. He, as a scientist, could see it as a natural process her body goes through because she's fertile. He could be understanding and loving. However, Steve was also a very traditional man in some respects. He would never, ever be cruel to her, but it was a real possibility that menstruation could make him very uncomfortable. He may not want her to talk about it with him. He may want to pretend she didn't even have a vagina for one week a month. It was a tossup. Laura slipped into the shower as the temperature was finally just right and began to wash herself as she contemplated her next move. She knew she couldn't keep turning him down without telling him why, but she didn't know how to begin that conversation. A part of her wished he would just do the math and figure it out on his own, but if he hadn't figured it out while tossing and turning in bed all last night, that didn't seem like a strong possibility anymore.

When Steve got to work that morning, he was feeling a little too tense. With Laura pushing him away, he was completely distracted. He tried to run the trials he had to run on his four-legged friends, but he was so focused on figuring out how much trouble he was in at home, that he spent much of the day just sitting in a room full of puppies. And he didn't even enjoy it!

"Maybe I've been too needy," he suggested to the Pug puppy sitting next to him. "Laura's always been a very independent woman, and now that we live together and sleep together, she doesn't get much time alone." He turned to the Labrador on his other side. "Of course, it's not like that's all my fault," he added. "She's been all over me! If she needed space, why did she spend all day with me Sunday? We could have unpacked separate boxes in separate rooms. Heck, I offered to unpack the rest of the boxes myself! She could have sat in a different room and read, or she could have gone out." He looked back at the Pug, "But she didn't!" Steve shook his head. "Maybe I did something to make her mad. I guess I could have been nicer to Carl, but I wasn't mean. Plus, she's been so understanding about all that. She stood up for me at dinner, and then I agreed to spend time with him anyway. Then when we got home, we still snuggled. When we went to bed, she still… took care of me. Why would she do any of that if she were mad? It can't be that." Steve sighed and rested his head in his hands. "Maybe she's just not attracted to me anymore," he said quietly, holding back his tears. "God knows there's no logical reason she should be. Her body is a work of art, and I'm just… I'm just me." The Pug walked closer to him and jumped into his lap to lick his face. Steve smiled and petted his new friend. "Thanks, Pal, but it's not your kisses I'm after."

Laura left work nearly an hour late that day, so she expected Steve to be waiting for her anxiously by the time she got back to the apartment. She still didn't know what she was going to say to him, but she knew she would have to say something, because he was likely to jump her the moment she walked in. She put her key in the door and turned the lock. She slipped inside and was surprised to not see him. "Steve?" she called as she placed her keys on the hook. "Steve, Honey?" she called again. She walked back to the bedroom and peeked in. He wasn't in there, nor was he in the bathroom. She checked the office just to be sure and concluded he wasn't home yet. She walked back into the living room and saw the light on the answering machine blinking. She walked over to it and pressed the button.

"Hi, Sweetums, I guess you're running a little late tonight, too. I have to stop and pick something up on my way home, so I'll be an itty-bit late, but I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you. See you soon."

Pick something up? What did he have to pick up? They had done all of their shopping on Sunday. Just as she started to question it, there was a knock at the door. She smiled and shook her head. She walked to the door and opened it. "You're late, and you forgot your key?" she teased, thinking it was Steve. When she saw who it really was, her eyes widened, and her hands immediately went to check her hair and fix her dress. "Oh, hi… Um. Hi, Eric. I'm sorry. I thought you were Steve."

Eric had a few snarky remarks he could think of for that but decided against them. "Hey there, Neighbor," he grinned flirtatiously. "Can I borrow a cup of sugar?" he asked, holding up an empty measuring cup.

Laura laughed. "Cute," she replied with a playful eye roll.

"No, I'm serious. I'm making lemonade, and I completely forgot to buy sugar."

"Oh," she said. "Then sure." She opened the door wider and let him in, closing it behind him. She walked over to the kitchen and pulled the sugar out of the cabinet. She took his measuring cup and dipped it into the bag. She pulled out a cup of sugar and held it out to him. "Is that gonna be enough? How much are you making?"

He shrugged, "A pitcher. My mom's coming over tonight, and I want her to feel welcome."

"Ohhh," Laura cooed, "that's sweet."

He smiled. "I'm a pretty sweet guy."

Laura blushed and looked away. "Um. Well, you'll probably need a little more then. Why don't you just take the whole bag? You can bring it back when you're done."

He nodded and took the bag from her arms. "Ok, yeah. That's a good idea. One thing though."

"What's that?"

"Do you have any lemons? And maybe a nice looking pitcher?"

"So you have what at your apartment?" Laura asked, raising an accusatory eyebrow. "Water?"

"Pretty much," he nodded.

Laura laughed and shook her head. She pulled a pitcher out of her cabinet and began to make his lemonade.

"Thank you, Laura," he said. "I don't see my mom that often, and I really don't want her to be too worried about me."

"What does she have to worry about?" she asked.

"Well, she doesn't like that I'm living in the city. My family's from the south, so I grew up way out in the country."

Laura turned back and looked him up and down. "Really? You don't look like a farm boy."

"Alabama. Born and raised. Where did you grow up?"

"Right here in Chicago," she smiled, beginning to juice the lemons.

"Really? You don't strike me as a girl from downtown."

Laura shrugged. "I grew up in one of the nicer parts of the city. Not a rich part, by any means, but we were comfortable."

"And your parents still live in the city?"

"Yes. They've lived in the same house my whole life."

"That's nice. I didn't think you city folk were so sentimental."

Laura laughed. "Well, we are!"

Laura finished his lemonade, and they sat down on the couch, each with a glass in hand to try it. Before Laura knew it, she had been chatting with the cute boy across the hall for over an hour. Of course, she didn't realize that until Steve walked in.

"Honey!" he called as he opened the door, his arms full. "I'm home." He kicked the door shut with his foot and looked ahead at the couch. He nearly dropped everything when he saw her sitting comfortably with the alpha male from 9H, playfully swatting his arm as she cracked up at something he had said. Steve set his bags on the counter as calmly as he could and took a bouquet of roses off of the pile. He tucked it behind his back and walked over to her as she finally noticed him.

"Hey, Baby," she smiled, standing to greet him. She kissed Steve's cheek softly and sat back down next to him.

Steve tried to control his jealousy, but it flared as she gave him such a gentle kiss. He wasn't gonna stand for that. As she sat back down on the couch, he leaned over her. He quickly placed his hand on the back of her head and leaned down to her lips. He kissed her passionately, holding her face firmly to his, as his tongue explored every corner of her mouth. He kissed her until she moaned softly.

"Mmmm…"

Feeling as if he had accomplished something after hearing that little moan, he released her lips and stood back up. "Eric," he nodded as politely as he could.

"Hey, Steve," Eric said. He offered him his hand and shook firmly. "How you doin', Man?"

"Good. You?"

Eric smiled at Laura. "I'm great." He looked back at Steve. He pointed at his lips. "Uh, you got a little something…"

Laura blushed as she saw her lip-gloss smeared on Steve's lips.

Steve shrugged and wiped it off. "That happens from time to time when you get to spend so much time lip wrestling a beautiful woman."

Eric nodded. "I suppose it does."

Steve looked back at Laura. He cleared his throat. "Laura Lee?" he cooed.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at him nervously.

"I love you," he said, pulling the bouquet out from behind his back and handing it to her.

Laura's stomach fluttered. "Oh, Steve, they're beautiful!" she smiled brightly. She graciously took them from his hands and stood. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against his body. "Thank you so much, Honey," she purred. She leaned in and kissed him passionately, almost apologizing for greeting him so calmly before. He shouldn't have had to buy her flowers to make her want to ravage him the second he walked in the door. If only she could have… She pulled away from him, remembering why they couldn't get too hot and heavy. "I'm gonna go put them in some water," she said as she began to walk back toward the kitchen.

Steve nodded and sat down on the couch next to Eric. "Laura, my pet?" he called.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I'm going to make you Japanese food tonight," he said confidently.

Laura pouted. "Oh, no, Baby. You don't have to do that. We can make something simple," she said as she filled a vase. "You worked all day, too."

"I already bought everything I need on the way home," he said. "I'm making you the Tsunami Supreme."

Her face flushed, and she looked at the flowers she was arranging. How was she going to get out of that? "Well, all right," she replied eventually. She brought the vase over to the kitchen table, where she had an idea. "Hey, um… Eric, do you and your mom want to join us?"

Steve's head whipped over to her in surprise. "E'cu'e me?" he mumbled.

Laura heard his objection, but ignored it. She couldn't sit through a romantic dinner with him and not jump his bones at the end of it. He was the sexiest sushi chef she'd ever seen, and she knew she wasn't that strong of a woman.

"Oh, that's sweet, Laura, but I'd hate to put you out," Eric answered.

Steve exhaled in relief.

"I insist!" Laura said quickly. "Steve used to work at a sushi restaurant. It wouldn't be any trouble for him to whip up a couple extra plates."

Steve stood and walked over to her. "Laura," he announced loudly, "I only bought enough for the two of us."

Laura glanced at the many, many bags sitting on the counter. He always over bought. "I think we'll manage," she said dryly.

Steve frowned at her and looked at her sincerely. "Laura," he whispered, "I would really rather it just be the two of us tonight."

Laura looked away in shame. Of course, he would. She would, too, but she just couldn't tonight. "His mom's only gonna be in town a couple days, Steve. I want her to feel welcome."

"Laura," Steve said softly, though his voice was growing more intense, "we don't even know this guy. Why do you care if his mom feels welcome?"

"Steve, he's our neighbor, and he's a really nice guy. Just give him a chance," she suggested.

"I gave him a chance, and he used it to hit on my wife."

"He didn't know I was married!"

"Maybe not at first," Steve whispered harshly, "because he's too dumb to glance down at your ring finger, and you were too flustered by his handsomeness to bother to mention me, but he certainly knew when I was standing right there, and he still hit on you!"

Laura took a deep breath and sighed. "Steve, please, just give him another chance. He's been very good tonight, and–"

Steve scoffed. "Tonight? You mean while you were all alone in our apartment with some guy I know you're attracted to?"

Laura tried to remain composed. "Steve Urkel, you better think very carefully before responding to this question: Are you accusing me of something?" she asked, glaring at him intensely.

Steve's face filled with shame. "Of course not, my little, faithful ferret. I know nothing happened."

Laura relaxed. "Good answer, because it didn't," she confirmed.

"Sweetums, I'll give him a chance, but I just don't want to tonight. Can't we do it another night? I want to be alone with you," he whispered, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her against him.

Laura placed her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. "We can be alone any night. His mom's only in town tonight, and he can't cook. He was going to order pizza." Laura smiled to herself as she realized exactly how she could convince Steve to let her invite her buffers to dinner. "Why don't you show him how a real man treats the women in his life?" she purred.

Steve felt a shiver run up his spine. "I'd prefer to show you how a real man treats a woman," he growled back.

Laura swallowed hard and pulled out of his arms. "You'll be able to," she promised with an awkward forced smile, "soon. Really soon."

"Tonight?" he asked desperately.

Laura looked away from his puppy dog eyes. "Maybe," she lied, looking at her shoes.

Steve deflated slightly and sighed. "I'll start dinner," he said. He turned back to Eric. "I hope you and your mother like squid!" he called confidently as he walked by him to head back to the kitchen.

Laura smiled at him and walked back over to the couch. She sat down and tried to chat with their guest again, but Eric was quickly distracted as Steve began to cook. Steve tossed a knife high in the air, catching it mid-fall after several graceful rotations. Eric stood in shock. "Whoa. How'd you do that?"

Steve smirked. Pretty boy can't do everything, eh? "A couple of weeks of training," he shrugged nonchalantly. Steve picked up another knife and began to juggle them.

Eric walked over to him and sat at the island as Steve worked on the other side.

Laura had hoped she wouldn't have to watch him cook, since that was such a turn-on for her, but she seemed to be running out of luck. She stood and joined both men in the kitchen, sitting on the stool beside Eric.

"Aren't you worried you're gonna kill someone?" Eric asked.

Steve shrugged, catching both knives and continuing to chop. "Oh, no. I just cut myself when I make mistakes. You should see the scar I have on my big toe!"

Eric laughed. "Wow, Man, that's actually really impressive."

Steve glared at him. He didn't have to sound so surprised. "Thanks," Steve said flatly. He looked at Laura whose eyes had locked onto his hands. She looked like he had her hypnotized. If only that were the case! He looked confidently back at his rival. "The ladies certainly agree," he said, nodding toward his wife.

Eric glanced at her and noticed the entranced look on her face. He stared at her.

Eventually, feeling them both looking at her, she snapped out of it. "I'm sorry, what? I wasn't listening."

Steve laughed and snorted, mostly to himself, and Eric raised an eyebrow at Laura. He got distracted when he heard his name from the hall.

"Eric?" a woman's voice called.

"Oh, that's Mama," he grinned. He hopped off of the stool and rushed to the door. He opened it wide and called, "Mama!"

A heavy, middle-aged woman rushed into Steve and Laura's apartment and into his arms. "Eric! Baby!" He hugged her tightly, and she kissed his cheek as she pulled away. "Did I get the number wrong or did you move across the hall?" she asked.

Eric laughed. "Neither," he answered as Laura walked up behind him. "Mama," he said, gesturing to Laura, "this is my new neighbor, Laura."

Laura extended her hand and shook with Eric's mother. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Gorgeous!" his mother replied.

Laura's eyes widened.

"My name's Cheryl, but if things go how I'd like them to, you'll be callin' me Mama in a couple of years."

Laura's mouth opened in shock. "Oh… Um. No, it's not… We're not… I'M MARRIED," she explained eventually.

Cheryl's face dropped. "Oh, well, that's too bad."

Laura shrugged uncomfortably. "Um. I'm pretty happy with it."

Cheryl smiled. "Oh, of course you are, Sweetheart," she said, tapping Laura's shoulder. "I just meant that's too bad for my son. The women he dates are never quite as put together as you."

Laura grinned. "Oh, really?" she teased, turning to Eric as he closed the door. "What kind of women are you bringing home to your mother?"

"Tramps," Cheryl said flatly.

Laura laughed.

"Mama," Eric said as he took her jacket. "Look. I would love to bring a woman like Laura home to you, but as you can see, the good ones are already taken." He smiled flirtatiously at Laura.

Laura glanced away from him.

"That's 'cause you wasted all your time with those hussies in college before you dropped out," she said flatly. "Now, I am thrilled to meet this lovely lady, but if she's not your girlfriend, why are we bothering her?"

"Laura and her husband were kind enough to invite us over for dinner."

"Oh, isn't that sweet?" Cheryl cooed, turning back to Laura. She glanced at Eric sideways and elbowed him in the stomach. "You see? She's sweet, too."

Laura blushed uncomfortably. "Cheryl, why don't you come on in and sit down? We were just watching my husband start the sushi." Laura waved her over toward the kitchen.

"Oh, sushi! You city folk and your big city food. I'll try it, I suppose," Cheryl said.

"Mama!" Eric scolded.

As they approached Steve, he set down his knives.

"Cheryl," Laura said, "this is my husband, Steve."

"Nice to meet you, Cheryl," Steve said, extending his hand.

Cheryl jumped at the sound of his high-pitched voice, but took his hand hesitantly. She shook his hand and looked between Laura and Steve several times. "This is your husband?" she asked.

"Yes," Laura answered, glancing nervously at Steve. She feared this dinner that she had insisted on might not have been worth it after all.

"Ok…," Cheryl said slowly, taking her hand back. She sat down at the island, between Laura and Eric, and watched Steve hesitantly as he resumed his cooking. "So, Laura, how did you and Steve meet?" she asked.

Laura smiled at Steve. "We met in kindergarten, actually. He was my next-door neighbor all my life, and he chased after me for years before I finally agreed to date him."

"Years is an understatement!" he interrupted. "It was over a decade, Woman!"

"Fine," Laura confirmed, "he chased me for 15 years before we finally went on a real date."

"Wow!" Cheryl said. "Well, now, you see? That's your problem, Eric. You're not persistent enough."

"Nobody's as persistent as Steve," Laura laughed.

"Or as pathetic," Eric mumbled.

Steve glanced up and glared at him but immediately returned to his work. That is, until Laura stepped in.

"Excuse me?" she scolded pointedly, leaning forward to see past Cheryl. "You did not just insult my husband while he's making your dinner because you don't even know how to cook for your own mother."

Steve stared at her in shock. She was really going to stand up for him? She had been so hot and cold the past few days, he just didn't know what to expect anymore.

"Laura's right, young man," Cheryl scolded. "You owe Steve an apology."

Eric blushed. "I'm sorry, Steve," he said. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just… Why would you chase a girl for fifteen years while she rejects you again and again?"

Steve carefully set down his knife and looked at Eric challengingly. "Well, have you looked at the woman?" he cried, gesturing wildly to Laura. "Or listened to her? Or smelled her? You better not have tasted her or touched her," he said threateningly as he rounded out all five senses, "but if you had, you'd know for sure that she's the perfect woman!"

Laura smiled giddily as her heart pattered in his chest. He had been saying things like that about her for years, but somehow, it all just sounded so different now that she loved him in return.

"Hm. I get it," Cheryl said.

"See?" Steve said, picking up his knife again. "Even your mother gets it."

"No, I don't get that," she said. "Don't get me wrong. Laura's a beautiful woman, and I'm sure she's a wonderful person, but fifteen years is a long, long time. What I meant is I get why she married you."

Eric looked at his mother. "You do? Could you explain it to me then because–"

"Oh, hush," Cheryl said, smacking his leg. "Laura, you are very lucky to have a man who speaks so highly of you."

Laura smiled at Steve. "I definitely am."

Steve turned back to the stove and finally began to cook. Though they didn't have the best view as his back was to them, both women watched intently as seafood was flipped everywhere and spatulas flew through the air. When he had slid the meals onto all four plates, he picked them up and carried them to the table. Laura and Cheryl followed him with their eyes. After the meals were on the table, he turned back to them. "Laura, Sweetheart," he said, approaching her blank stare, "dinner is served."

Laura hopped off of her stool and cleared her throat. "Oh, um. Sorry, Steve. Got a little lost there for a moment. I'll set the table."

"I'll help," Cheryl said, following Laura back to the kitchen as the men sat down. "There is nothing sexier than a man who can cook," Cheryl whispered.

"Mm. I know," Laura said, as she began to gather silverware.

"Why on Earth did you invite us to dinner when you could've had him all to yourself?"

Laura smiled uncomfortably and forced a chuckle as she walked back to the table. She set the silverware down and grabbed the vase of roses. She placed them on the counter.

"Steve, did you buy those roses for Laura?" Cheryl asked knowingly.

Steve sat up straighter and smiled proudly as Laura sat beside him. He grabbed her bare knee under the table. "I did," he answered.

"Lucky, lucky girl," Cheryl said under her breath.

Laura looked down at her plate, preparing to take her first bite. So far, this wasn't going as she had planned. Having Cheryl and Eric there wasn't as much of an anti-aphrodisiac as she thought it would be since Cheryl could not stop talking Steve up and Eric could not stop looking like an arrogant fool in comparison. After talking to him for as long as she had before Steve had arrived, she had realized that Eric was a nice enough guy and exactly her type. She could see why Steve was so worried. If they were all a few years younger, Laura would have been chaining Steve up to keep him away from her long enough to go out with Eric, but now… She still found him attractive, but she could no longer understand how she used to date shallow, airheaded guys like that. This realization only made her want to jump Steve's bones even more, however, so she tried to focus on anything else as she took her first bite. "Mmmm…" she moaned instinctually.

Steve glanced at her and smiled mischievously. That's right, Kitten, he thought. Purr for Daddy.

"Oh, Steve, this is amazing," Cheryl said. "Now, I've never been a big fan of these funny, foreign foods y'all have all over the city, but this is goooood."

"Thank you, Cheryl," Steve said, made uncomfortable by her politically incorrect remark.

Cheryl, Steve, and Eric chatted all through dinner, but Laura stayed silent. She was afraid to open her mouth and hear how many different ways she could beg Steve to put her up on the table and take her, so she kept her mouth shut, except for when she was filling it with food. When people asked her direct questions, she answered them as quickly as possible and went back to biting her tongue so she wouldn't stick it down Steve's throat.

After they had cleaned up the dinner mess, Cheryl announced that she was exhausted and that it was time they head across the hall. "It has been lovely meeting you two," Cheryl said, grabbing Laura's hands. "I'm glad to know that my son's got some wonderful neighbors, even if they are city folk."

Laura smiled and squeezed her hands back. "You guys really, really don't have to go," Laura said intensely.

"I know, Baby," Cheryl said. "You keep saying that, but I'm tired. Let an old woman sleep!"

Laura blushed and nodded. "Yeah, ok. Well, it was nice meeting you, too. Let us know the next time you're in town."

Steve shook Eric's hand.

"Thanks again for dinner, Steve," Eric said.

"You're welcome, Bud," Steve said. Their new neighbor really wasn't all that bad. He was just a little dumb and a little flirty. Unfortunately, that was Laura's type.

Cheryl kissed Steve's cheek and headed across the hall.

Eric hugged Laura, holding on for a few seconds too long, and walked out of the door.

Laura shut it behind them and locked it. By the time she turned back around, Steve's shirt was on the ground, and he was unbuckling his pants. Laura gawked at him. "What on Earth are you doing?" she snapped.

He grinned at her. "Trying to make it easier for you to ravage me," he answered.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Put your shirt back on," she ordered.

Steve's smile faded into a slight scowl. "Really?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "Really."

"Laura, my pet, how could you not want to make love after everything I did for you tonight?" he asked sadly.

She sighed and looked away from him. "Steve, sit down," she said eventually, walking over to the couch. She sat and grabbed his hand as he sat beside her. "First of all, I want to be very clear that if I'm not in the mood, I'm not in the mood. I don't owe you sex just because you do something nice."

"Laura, I know that," he insisted, shocked by the implication. "That's not at all what I meant."

"I know," she acknowledged. "I just wanted to be clear about that because the truth is, I do want to have sex, Steve, and I wanted to yesterday, too, but we can't."

"Why not?" he asked, becoming even more puzzled.

"I started my period yesterday. We have at least a few more nights to get through without being able to make love," she said, matter-of-factly.

Steve's brow furrowed. "Well, Sweetums, are you feeling ok? Do you have any cramps or bloating or anything?"

Laura shrugged. "Not really. I feel fine. It just stinks that I can't be with you the way I want to." She looked deeply into his eyes. "You were so sweet today. You couldn't bear the thought of going another night without making love so you rushed right out and planned a romantic evening for us? You're unbelievable, Steve. I wish I could show you just how grateful I am."

"You can," he said firmly.

"And I will in a couple of days," she agreed.

"No, Sweetums, we can make love tonight, if you're really feeling ok."

"Ew," she said flatly.

"Oh, c'mon, Pet. I know you know that people can still do that when Aunt Flo's in town," he pressed.

Laura gawked at him. "Well, yeah, I know you can, but why would anyone want to?" she asked.

Steve laughed and snorted. "Now who's the naïve one?" he asked. "Babycakes, you can't think a little blood would stop a man from wanting to do what men want to do." He looked her up and down and met her eyes again. "You can't possibly think that something like this would stop me from wanting to express my love for you," he whispered.

"It's not just a little blood, Steve," Laura argued. "It's a lot of blood. You've just never seen it."

"Oh, pish posh, Pumpkin Butt! It's a very natural process that your body goes through every month to remind us both that it's remodeling our baby's first nursery. It's beautiful," he smiled.

Laura stared at him. "Ew," she said again.

He snickered and moved closer to her on the couch. He wrapped an arm around her and stroked the soft skin on her arm. "Honestly, my little, squeamish squid, it kind of turns me on," he whispered. He leaned into her neck and began to kiss and nibble.

Laura grimaced. "Well, not me."

He pulled back to look at her. "I can get you turned on again, Sweetums," he insisted. "I know where all your buttons are now."

"No thanks," she said, as she stood and pulled away from him.

He looked up at her in frustration. "Laura, c'mon!"

Laura folded her arms across her chest. "I said no, Steve."

Steve stared up at her determined face in silence.

"I'm exhausted, so I'm going to head to bed," she announced as she walked toward the bedroom. "If you come in right now, I'll give you another blowjob," she offered casually, looking straight ahead.

Steve wanted much more than that from her, but he wasn't an idiot. He wasn't willing to turn down what little affection he was likely to receive. He hopped up immediately and followed in after her.

When Steve woke up the next morning, he immediately reached for his wife. She looked so sexy. He had convinced her to sleep topless again the night before, but he was driven crazy by her insistence on wearing shorts. He spooned her close and began to massage her breasts. They had a little time this morning. Maybe he could convince her to give into temptation. She began to stir and turned toward him, still somewhat asleep. He kissed her lips and then kissed down to her breasts. He began to suck on one nipple and trailed one hand down to her shorts. He slipped his hand in the back and grabbed her butt. She wasn't wearing a thong for once, he realized. He slipped his hand inside her bikini briefs and rubbed the smooth skin on her backside as he sucked on her nipple.

Soon, he heard her purr, "Mmmm… Morning, Steve."

He sucked hard on her breast as he released it. "Good morning, my little ray of sunshine. How are you today?"

She stroked the back of his head. "Horny," she answered honestly.

He rolled his tongue at her. "Is that so, my cute, little rhinoceros? Then let Daddy make it all better," he purred, climbing on top of her.

"No," she said firmly, pushing against his bare chest. She pushed him off of her and sat up. "It's only a few more days, Steve. We'll live," she said as she climbed out of bed. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Steve watched her walk into the bathroom and flopped down onto the bed, face-first, the moment she shut the door. He screamed in frustration, but his pillow masked the sound. It was going to be a long, long week.

By Tuesday evening, Steve was actually glad to have a distraction. He wasn't looking forward to spending the evening with Carl, but he was glad he didn't have to spend the whole night getting shot down by Laura. Sure, he could just stop hitting on her, but he hated the idea of giving up a week of lovemaking every month until she got pregnant and again until she started menopause. He wanted her whenever he wanted her, which was all the time. Her period was nothing to be ashamed of, and he had every intention of convincing her of that. Still, he was glad to have a few hours off from his uphill battle.

He parked in the driveway and ran through the thunderstorm immediately into the Winslows' garage. "Hidy-ho, Carl," he said as he slipped inside.

Carl lifted his protective goggles and turned to Steve with too bright a smile on his face. "Hey, Steve!" he chirped. "How was work?"

"Awful," he said, unwilling to elaborate.

"Oh," Carl frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," Steve answered.

Carl nodded. "Ok, well… How's Laura?"

Maybe this wasn't a better option for Steve after all. Steve began to consider this as Carl's questions began to make him angrier and angrier. "She's great. Happily married," Steve snapped.

Carl cocked his head at him. "I know that, Steve. I'm just trying to make small talk."

"Well, don't!" Steve barked as he shook his umbrella aggressively.

Carl took a deep breath and sighed. "Ok, maybe we should just get to work."

"Maybe we should," Steve agreed.

Carl looked him up and down. He was sporting what appeared to be a new suit. Everything even fit decently and matched. It was certainly Laura's doing. "Did you bring something to change into? We're staining."

Steve gasped. "Dagnabbit! I forgot!"

Carl shrugged. "If you can brave the rain, you can borrow a tee-shirt from me. Obviously, we don't wear the same pants size, but maybe we can find you some sweats with a good drawstring."

Steve nodded and followed Carl out the door.

When Laura heard a knock at the door, she got up to open it. "Hey, Max!" she smiled as she let her best friend inside the apartment. She cringed when she saw she was soaking wet. "Yikes. It's really getting bad out there, huh?"

Max shook her umbrella and set it by the door. Then she slipped off her raincoat and hung it up. "Yeah," she said as she messed with her ruined hair. So much for flat ironing it. "Can I borrow some clothes?" she asked. "And like, a towel?" she laughed.

"Yeah, of course," Laura laughed, leading her back to the bedroom. Laura pulled out a pair of sweats and a tee-shirt and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she called as she headed back into the bathroom.

As Steve came out of the bedroom and walked back downstairs with Carl, he noticed how empty the house was. "Where is everybody?" he asked.

"Harriette and Rachel took the boys to the movies," Carl explained.

"Really? Why?" Steve asked, glaring at Carl suspiciously. Who goes to the movies on a Tuesday?

"To give us time to talk, Steve," Carl answered honestly.

Steve looked away. "I thought you weren't going to push this too hard."

"I'm not," Carl replied. "I just… I wanna fix this, Steve. I can barely ask you a simple question without you snapping at me."

"Well, can you blame me?" Steve asked in exasperation.

"No, Steve! I can't! And I don't. I blame me. I know this is all my fault, but I don't know what I can do other than apologize."

"I need time, Carl! I told you that!"

"Well, it's been a week since I apologized! How much time to you need?" he cried in exasperation.

"You undid fifteen years of respect and admiration. It'll take more than week for that to grow back!" Steve barked.

Suddenly, a rock flew through the window and shattered it. It flew across the room, barely missing Carl's head. "What the hell was that?" Carl asked, rushing to the door. He opened it wide, looking for teenage vandals, but instead found only a powerful wind.

"Carl, close the door," Steve said urgently.

Carl peeked his head out. "I'm trying to figure out who threw that rock, Steve."

"Nobody did, Carl. Close the door!" he ordered as he rushed over and did it for him, struggling against the wind. "We need to get to the basement."

"Steve, I'm a cop. It was probably just some teenagers. We don't need to hide."

"Carl! It was not teenagers. It was the wind. The pressure in this storm is all wrong. A tornado is headed this way!"

Carl's eyes widened, and he ran to the windows. He began to open them.

"What are you doing, Man? Trying to send your kitchen through a carwash? Close the windows!"

"You're supposed to open them to relieve the pressure," Carl replied, opening another and being soaked by the rain.

"That's an old wives' tale!" Steve countered. "Now, c'mon! We've gotta get to the basement." Carl closed the windows he had just opened and followed as Steve began to rush to the basement. A second rock shattered the window where Carl had just been standing. When they reached the basement, Carl ran to the radio and turned it on.

"A tornado has been sighted on the North side of Chicago. All residents are advised to find shelter," the report began.

Carl turned it down as Steve's suspicions were confirmed. "Well, I guess we're trapped here for a while, huh?" Carl said, sitting down on an old crate.

Steve looked around. Suddenly, he made a decision. "I need to go home," he announced.

"No!" Carl said, standing and grabbing Steve's arm. "You're not going anywhere."

"I need to make sure Laura's ok," he replied.

"And I need to make sure you're ok because if you go out into this storm and get yourself killed, who do you think Laura's gonna blame?" Carl barked. "Now, sit!"

"I need to at least call her," he said, attempting to pull away again.

"Where's your cellphone?"

"In my suit jacket on your bed!" he cried, edging toward the stairs.

Carl grabbed his arm to stop him. "Use mine," he said, handing it to him.

Thank goodness Big Guy was a cop! He was always prepared. Steve gladly grabbed the cellphone and dialed their new home number.

.

.

.

Laura, seated on the couch, turned away from Max to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Oh, Laura Lee," Steve breathed. "Thank God you're ok."

"Hi, Baby," Laura smiled. She paused. "Wait, why wouldn't I be ok?"

"There's a tornado warning, Pet. Haven't you seen the news?"

Laura's eyes widened, and she glanced at Max. "No, Max just got here. We've just been talking," she explained. She reached for the remote and turned on the TV. Immediately, the emergency warning began to blare. She turned it back off as Max sat forward and looked at her.

"Laura, what was that? What's going on?" she asked.

Laura held up a finger to her. "Steve, you need to get into the basement right now!" she ordered.

"I am in the basement, Sweetums. Where are you?"

"On the couch. Oh, my God, Steve, where do we even go in an apartment building?" Laura asked.

"Get away from the windows and the exterior walls," he answered.

Laura nodded. Taking the cordless phone with her, she waved Max toward the bedroom.

"Get into the office or the bathroom," he said firmly.

"Ok," she answered nervously, leading Max into the office. She closed the door behind them. "But, Steve, we're on the ninth floor. Shouldn't we try to get closer to the ground?"

"No!" Steve shouted. "No, Pet. Don't go anywhere near the elevator. You can take the stairs if you want to, but then you'll be in the lobby, and there are way too many windows there. Skyscrapers stay standing during even the worst tornados. We just may lose a couple of exterior walls," he explained.

"WE'RE GOING TO LOSE WALLS?" she yelled.

"Maybe," he admitted. "Just stay in the office, and you'll be fine," he promised. "Sweetheart, do you want me to come home?" he offered bravely.

"No, you idiot!" she screamed. "Stay in that basement, and don't do anything stupid."

Steve smiled. "Ok, Pet."

"Promise me," she ordered.

"I promise, my sweet," he agreed. He glanced at Carl. "Sweetums, I think your dad's gonna wanna call your mom in a second here, and I borrowed his cellphone 'cause I left mine upstairs, so I have to hang up on you."

"Ok," Laura answered, though she was dreading it. "Call me every half-hour," she insisted.

"Ok," he agreed. "I love you with all my heart, Laura Lee."

"I love you, too, Steve," she said softly.

"With all your heart?" he prompted.

"Yes, Baby. With all my heart."

"Then I'll see you in a little while," he answered.

"Ok. See you soon," she said. "Bye, Honey."

"Goodbye, my little resident of Oz," he said, slowly hanging up the phone. He handed it back to Carl.

As Laura heard the dial tone, she set the phone down on the desk. She sat next to Max on the futon. She placed her palm to her forehead. "There's a tornado."

"Yeah, I got that much," Max said. "Is Steve ok?"

"Yes," she said. "He and my dad are in the basement."

"Together?" Max cringed.

"Yeah," Laura grimaced, removing her hand from her face.

"Oh, boy," Max sighed. She turned to Laura suddenly. "What did you say about losing walls?" Max asked nervously.

Laura shook her head. "Steve says we're safe here. I'm sure he's right."

Max pursed her lips, "If Dr. Nerd says so…"

Laura gently smacked her arm.

"Hey, can I use your phone?" Max asked.

"Yeah. Are you gonna call your parents?" Laura asked, handing it to her.

"Pshh… No," Max scoffed. "I'm gonna call Eddie," she announced as she began to dial.

Laura watched as Max punched in the numbers to her brother's cellphone without even thinking. She suddenly realized she and Max hadn't really been alone together since the wedding. They had a lot to discuss.

After Carl finished with Harriette, who was safe and sound at the movie theater, he hung up his cellphone and set it down beside him. He glanced at Steve who was seated beside him. His face was resting in his hands. "You ok, Son?" he asked.

Steve removed his hands from his deeply furrowed brow and sat up straight. He took a deep breath and sighed. "No," he answered. "I'm terrified."

Carl patted his back. "Oh, come on. We're safe down here. This isn't the first tornado Chicago's seen, and it won't be the last."

"I'm not worried about us, Carl. I'm worried about Laura," Steve corrected bruskly.

Carl nodded. "Yeah, I should've guessed. Look, Steve, you and Laura have been in dangerous situations before. This can't be the first time you've been worried about her. Aren't you used to it by now?"

"I'm always with her when she's in danger, Carl. I'm always there to protect her and now I can't be. If this were five years ago, I'd hop in the Isetta right now and rush to her side, but I can't do that kind of stuff now. She made me promise to stay here, and I know why. She's worried about me, just like I'm worried about her. I can't be as reckless as I used to be."

"Well, no, Steve," Carl said. "You can't. You're married now. You have a little family and responsibilities. Plus, the Isetta needs to be under a paperweight to withstand the wind on a normal day."

"I hate just waiting around like this," he sighed in frustration. He stood and began to pace.

"Hey, why don't we do something productive?" Carl suggested. "Something that will make Laura really happy when you get home?"

Steve paused. "What's that?"

"We could talk through all of our problems so that you finally forgive me."

Steve widened his eyes at him. "What? That's not gonna–"

"Sit down, Steve," Carl said firmly. "We're trapped. We're at least gonna try."

Steve rolled his eyes and sat beside Carl. He looked at him expectantly.

"Let's start at the beginning," Carl said. "You and I first met when I set you up with Laura for that dance."

Max hung up the phone and handed it back to Laura. Laura took it from her and looked at her, slightly uncomfortably. "How is he?" she asked.

"He's fine. He and his partner are trying to keep everyone calm at the mall, so he really couldn't talk, but he's safe for now," she explained.

Laura nodded. Suddenly, she giggled and covered her face. "God, that's still so weird."

"What is?" Max laughed.

"You and him. Together."

"Says the woman who married Steve Urkel," Max reminded her.

"Good point," Laura acknowledged, raising her hands in surrender. She grabbed a pillow from behind her and placed it on her lap. She hugged it comfortingly. "Are you guys still doing ok?" Laura asked.

Max couldn't withhold her smile. "We're great, Laura. He's great." She bit her lip and stared ahead dreamily. "I haven't felt this way since Waldo," she admitted.

Laura raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? You got it that bad?"

"Yeah," Max said with a firm nod. "I'm not in love with him yet or anything, but I just haven't clicked this well with a guy in so long, and no man's ever treated me like this except for Waldo."

Laura smiled. "I'm glad, Max."

"Really?" Max probed.

"Yes," Laura answered, grabbing her hand and squeezing it sincerely. "I'm still not comfortable with all of this, but we're in it this far. You have to know I'm rooting for you now."

"Thank you, Laura," Max said, squeezing her hand back.

Laura looked away. "It would be kinda cool, you know, if you guys really made it work. We would have so much fun double dating."

"Girl, I told you, I'm not double dating with you and Steve," Max corrected.

Laura pulled her hand away and smacked her arm again. "I'm serious," she laughed. "We wouldn't have to worry about you dating a guy that I didn't like. We wouldn't have to worry about your boyfriend not being able to stand Steve. We wouldn't have to worry about him hitting on me… or Steve imagining he's hitting on me."

Max laughed. "Well, I'm glad you're finding so many positives in it, but I'm not dating Eddie just so we can double."

Laura smiled. "I know, but it could be fun. Plus, we can see each other on holidays, and I'll never have to worry about Eddie bringing home some girl I don't like."

"Ooo," Max breathed, "and he has brought home some doozies."

Laura scoffed. "Some floozies is more like it," she said, with a playful wave of her wrist.

"And that brings us through the first long, long year," Carl said, with a deep sigh.

Steve glared at him. "For God's sake, Man! How is you listing everything I've ever done that annoyed you going to help us get past any of this?"

"I'm just trying to be thorough," Carl explained.

"Well, if you're this thorough, we'll get through five tornado seasons before we get to the present day!"

"Fine," Carl said. "What do you think we should be talking about?"

"Anything but this!" Steve cried, standing and beginning to pace again.

"Steve, we need to talk about this!"

"Carl, there's nothing you could say that could fix this!" Steve argued.

"So what are you saying? That it doesn't matter what I say or what I do or how much time I give you? You're just never going to forgive me?" Carl asked.

"Yes!" Steve yelled finally. He had never said it aloud before. He hadn't even realized it before, but as those words tumbled out of his mouth, he realized how true they were. "That's exactly what I'm saying Carl. I can't forgive you for this," he said softly.

Carl looked at him, concern and guilt radiating out of his every pore. "You don't mean that, Steve," Carl said.

"I do," Steve said as he sat beside him again. "You said my marriage wasn't gonna last. Marrying Laura is the only thing I've ever wanted in life. It's been the only goal I've been working toward since the day I met her. She is the only thing that makes my life worth living," Steve said. "She is my heart and my soul." Steve looked at Carl seriously. "Carl, I used to think you were my best friend, other than Laura. I looked up to you. I came to you for advice. I loved you. You are the closest thing that I've ever had to a dad." He glanced away again. "But if you, for a second, even if it was only one second, even if you didn't mean it… If you, for a second, were rooting against my marriage, you can't be my friend."

"Steve," Carl argued, "there are lots of people who think your marriage won't work!"

"I know there are, Carl! There's a difference between the people who don't think it will work and the people who don't want it to work, but I know there are, Carl, which is why it's so important to me that the people I'm closest to support us."

"I do support you, Steve!"

Steve shook his head. "No, Carl. You don't. You never have."

"It was a bad couple of weeks," he said. "I acknowledge that, and I apologize. I had a fatherly freak out. You'll understand when you have a little girl of your own."

"It wasn't just those couple of weeks, Carl! You have never believed I was good enough for her! Since the moment you laid eyes on me the night of that dance, you wrote me off. You thought she could never fall for me."

"Steve, everyone thought that! She thought that!"

"I know! But you didn't want her to fall for me!" he argued. "That's the difference, Carl. Everyone else may have been saying to themselves, 'Fat chance, Nerd Boy!', but when she started to come around, so did they! They weren't necessarily enthusiastic, but they at least had the courtesy not to laugh in my face."

"Steve, I didn't laugh in your face," Carl defended.

"Oh, yes, you did!"

"When?"

"When I told you about our first, real date! You laughed and thought you'd misheard me."

Carl cringed. He had done that, hadn't he? "Well…" he mumbled. "It was surprising! I really did think I'd misheard you."

"And when I asked for your blessing before I proposed? You laughed at me again! Well, first, you nearly had a panic attack because you thought she'd already said yes, but then when I told you I hadn't asked her yet, what did you do?"

"I laughed," Carl admitted, "and I said, 'Go ahead and ask.'"

"Because you thought she'd say no."

"Everyone did," Carl whined again.

"And what about when we told you we were getting married?" he asked.

Carl looked at his feet. Did they have to talk about that?

"What did you do then, Carl?"

Last July

Carl walked into his front door to one heck of a surprise. There was his little girl, the light of his life, seated on the couch. That alone would have been no big deal, but unfortunately, Steve Urkel's lips were glued to hers. That was the first time he'd seen them kiss, and it nearly stopped his heart. Sure, he had walked in on Laura kissing boys before, and that always made that vein in his forehead throb, but seeing her make out with Steve Urkel was like seeing her lick a wall socket. He slammed the door behind him to get their attention.

Steve jumped and pulled away from his fiancée – his fiancée! – as quickly as possible. He rolled off of the couch to put some distance between them, landing hard on the floor. He quickly wiped his lips, hoping to erase all traces of his best pal's little girl's sweet, sweet lip gloss. He looked up at Carl nervously.

Laura observed all of Steve's over-the-top reaction and then looked up at her father casually, blushing slightly. "Hi, Daddy," she said with a nervous smile. Laura stood gracefully and clasped her hands together, covering the ring on her left hand.

Carl approached her slowly, nervous energy causing his body to tremble. "Laura, Sweetheart, are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, looking at him suspiciously. She cocked her head at him. "Are you?"

"Laura," he said, gripping her shoulders firmly, "you were just… Just… Well, do you know what you were just doing?"

Laura sighed. "Yes, Daddy. I was kissing."

"Oh, no. No. No. No. No. No. No," he said. "You weren't just kissing. You were kissing Steve Urkel."

"I know," Laura said with an annoyed shrug.

"No, see. You can't possibly know, because if you knew, you would be vomiting," Carl said, articulating as clearly as possible.

"Daddy, that's enough," she snapped. She glanced down at Steve. She held out a hand to him, and he took it and stood. She moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her in return. "There's something you should know," she said to Carl, looking up at Steve.

Carl moved his eyes back and forth between the two. What nightmarish hell was this?

"Tell him, Steve," she said, smiling up at him.

Steve turned his head to Carl. He glanced back at Laura who nodded her confirmation again. "Carl Winslow, your daughter and I are getting married," Steve announced, smiling wildly. He looked back at Laura again. Nothing had changed. They were really getting married.

Laura smiled brightly as Steve was finally able to announce their engagement for the first time. She wanted to memorize the look on his face when he shared the happy news. Then she glanced slowly and nervously at her father. He stared at them, dumbfounded and silent. She waited for him to say something, but he didn't. "Daddy?" she asked.

Carl nodded, still shaking, and walked out of the room.

Present Day

"I didn't say anything," Carl admitted. "I just walked away." He looked up at Steve. "But I apologized about that that same night! I think I did a pretty good about-face right after that. Plus, Steve, I helped pay for the wedding!"

Steve nodded. "I know you did, but that's not the incident I was referring to," he said.

Carl's brow furrowed. What else had he done?

"So," Max said, "I think we're all caught up on my life. How is married life treating you, Mrs. Urkel?"

Laura waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, all we ever talk about is my marriage."

"That's because your marriage is always interesting. C'mon. What's new?" she prodded.

Laura looked at her sideways. "Nothing," she answered just a little too late.

"Liar!" Max laughed. "What's going on?"

Laura took a shallow breath and turned to face Max more directly. She was actually glad to have someone else to talk about this with. "Ok. I started my period Sunday."

"And Steve freaked out?" Max offered.

"No, I did," Laura answered.

Max raised an eyebrow at her. "Um. You've had them before. Shouldn't you be used to them by now?"

Laura laughed. "I am used to them, but I'm not used to… having sex."

"Did you put a towel or something down? Because those sheets are brand new," Max reminded her.

"We didn't do it, Max!" Laura corrected urgently.

"Because Steve thought it was gross?"

"No," Laura answered. "He actually said it turned him on!"

"Eww," Max whined.

"I know," Laura said.

"But wait," Max paused. "Why didn't you do it?"

"Because it is gross," Laura answered.

"He was willing, but you were grossed out by it?"

"Yes," Laura answered.

Max laughed at her. "Why?"

"You said, 'Eww,' too!" Laura reminded her.

"Yeah, because it's gross that Steve is like… into that. I do not need to know what does or does not turn Steve Urkel on. I would much rather not know!" she said firmly. "And period sex isn't my favorite kind of sex, but it's better than not having sex at all," she shrugged.

Laura stared at her. She leaned a little closer to whisper to her, as if there were anyone else in the apartment from whom they needed to hide their shame. "You've done it?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, of course. I did it yesterday."

Laura reared back. "Ew!" she yelled.

Max rolled her eyes. "It's not that big of a deal, Laura."

"Yes, it is! That's my brother. I didn't need to know that!" she whined.

"Then don't ask questions!" Max laughed.

Laura looked at her hesitantly. "It isn't… messy?" she asked.

"Oh, no. It's pretty disgusting," Max admitted, "but I get so horny when I first start my period…"

"Me, too," Laura whined. "It never really used to bother me, but now that I know what it's like to have that as an option… God, I haven't slept in days."

"Laura, if Steve's willing to do it, just do it!"

"No, Max, I don't want him to see me like that. I want him to think I'm sexy."

"He's Steve Urkel. He could walk in on you plucking a hair off your nipple and still think you're the sexiest thing to walk on the face of the Earth."

"Girl!" Laura yelled, hitting Max with a pillow. She set the pillow back down and folded her arms across her chest protectively. She was suddenly very concerned by the possibility of having fur on her boobs.

"Am I wrong? Honestly, you don't get to complain. The rest of us have to work hard to keep our men interested. You just have to exist."

Laura rolled her eyes. "Steve's not as easy as you think he is. He talks a big game, but he has his shallow moments, too. He likes the way I look, Max. I don't want that to change."

"It won't, Laura. It's really not that big of a deal. 99% of men would rather have sex with a bloated, bloody woman than not have sex at all. It's gonna be much harder on your marriage if you make him abstain for a week every month!"

"I don't make him abstain. I've been taking care of his… needs. I just haven't let him take care of mine," Laura explained.

"But that's crazy! Think about it. One week a month. That's a quarter of your lives. Do you really wanna waste that?" Max asked.

No, Laura really didn't want to waste that. She took a deep breath and sighed. "So what do I need to know?" she asked eventually.

Last July

As Carl stormed out of the room, Laura turned to Steve. She observed his expression. It wasn't exactly the dreamy over-the-moon look he had previously worn. Laura reached out and grabbed his shirt. She tugged him toward her, turning him to face her. "Well," she smiled, "our secret's officially out."

Steve looked down at her. He wanted to be happy about that. He wanted to feel like he had only moments ago, but he didn't. "He didn't seem too thrilled to hear the news."

"He's just surprised," Laura explained. "Just give him a minute."

Steve nodded and smiled softly. "I can't blame him," he said, placing his hands on Laura's hips and pulling her closer to his body. "I'm pretty surprised myself."

Laura slipped her arms around his neck. "Hey, me too," she replied.

He laughed and snorted before leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips.

She smiled up at him as he pulled away, but then she squirmed suddenly out of his arms. "Um. Steve?"

"Yes, my pet?" he asked in concern. "What's the matter?"

"Well, now that the dust is clearing, and your tongue is no longer down my throat, I just remembered. There's someone else I need to tell before we can just go around announcing this," she said uncomfortably.

"Who's that?" he asked.

Laura looked away from him. "I have to go see Stefan, Steve," she said.

Steve's heart started to pound. This was when it was all going to fall apart. He could feel it. She was going to go over to Stefan's apartment. She was going to look into his eyes. She was going to hear all his charming lines, and she was going to melt for him just like she always did. "Can't you just call him?" he asked nervously.

Laura looked back at Steve. She understood why he was worried, but she couldn't do that to Stefan. "He deserves better than that, Steve," she answered firmly.

"Can I come with you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," she said. "I need to do this right. After everything I've put him through over the last few months, I owe him that much."

Steve swallowed hard. "What about what you've put me through?" he asked softly.

Laura looked away again and nodded. "I know. I know this has been tough on you, too, but…" She looked back at him. "I chose you, Steve. As soon as I get back, I will be all yours for the rest of our lives, but right now, I need to pay a little respect to the longest lasting romantic relationship I've ever had."

"Laura," Steve asked, trembling slightly, "what if you change your mind?"

"I won't," she promised, pulling him quickly back into her arms. She hugged him tightly and waited for his shaking arms to hug her back. When he eventually did, she felt like she was in a vice. "I promise I won't. I want to be your wife, Steve. As soon as I said it, I knew it was the right decision. Nothing's gonna change my mind," she whispered in his ear.

"I love you so much, Laura," he whispered back. "I need you."

"You have me," she promised. She leaned away from him slightly so she could look into his eyes. "We're getting married," she smiled.

He smiled back.

She kissed him passionately, hoping to convince him that she meant every word. When she finally pulled away, she struggled to escape from his arms. She grabbed her bag and headed toward the door. "I'll be home as soon as I can," she said firmly. "I love you," she called as she slipped out.

Before Steve knew it, she was gone. He didn't even have time to respond. He walked to the front door and opened it. He watched her car pulling out of the driveway and heading down the street. These were going to be the longest moments of his life. When she was completely out of view, he sat back on the couch. He waited there for hours in stoic silence.

"Hey, Steve," Harriette said as she walked in after working a couple hours of overtime. She paused when he didn't respond. "Hey, Steve," she repeated. He still didn't respond, so she walked over to him and waved a hand in front of his face. "Yoo-hoo, Steve?" She looked at him in concern and walked into the kitchen where she found Carl. "What's wrong with Steve?" she asked, kissing him on the cheek.

"I've been asking myself the same question since I met him," Carl grumbled.

"You ok, Honey?" she asked.

"NO," he barked.

Harriette raised her eyebrows at him. "I guess not," she said. "What happened?"

"Our daughter has lost her damn mind!" he said.

Harriette glared at him. "What?"

"She made a decision, Harriette," he explained. "She's engaged."

Harriette's eyes widened, and she placed a hand over her heart. "Oh, no. She chose Stefan, didn't she? No wonder that boy's catatonic!"

"Nope!" Carl growled. "She chose Steve! Our beautiful, brilliant, charismatic, perfect, little girl has decided to become an… Urkel!" he said with disdain.

Harriette cocked her head. "Then what's wrong with Steve?"

"Oh, nothing," he said with a wave of his hand. "Laura went to Stefan's apartment to dump a rich, handsome, charming model, and Steve's worried she's gonna change her mind." Suddenly, it all clicked for Carl. "Hey!" he said excitedly. "Maybe she will change her mind!"

"Carl!" Harriette scolded, slapping his arm hard. "How can you talk like that? Do you want poor Steve to have to go through that?"

"No," Carl answered quickly. "I don't, but I want Laura to do what's best for her, not what's best for Steve. This is her life, Harriette, not a charity!"

Harriette shook her head. "She is doing what's best for her. She made a choice. That's what she needed to do. I'm sorry you don't like the outcome, but it wasn't your decision to make," she reminded him, walking into the other room to wait nervously with Steve.

Present Day

Laura glanced at the clock and back at the phone. It had been 34 minutes since she'd last talked to Steve. Had she not been clear? He was meant to call her every half-hour.

Max watched her glancing between the two again and again, so she paused her story about a rude, old woman at her drycleaners. "Oh, just call him," Max instructed.

"Thank you," Laura answered, beginning to dial her father's cellphone. It went straight to voicemail. "Oh, no," she breathed nervously. She hung up and dialed again, not willing to believe it. "Oh, no!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's going straight to voicemail."

"I'm sure the battery's just dead," Max said.

Laura set the phone down beside her. "Yeah, I guess," she said, beginning to bite her nails.

Max slapped her hand away from her mouth. "Girl, don't worry. You'll ruin your manicure."

Laura crossed her arms over her chest, tucking her hands into her armpits. "Ok, fine. Distract me."

"Ok, so are you gonna have sex with Steve tonight?"

Laura shrugged. "I don't know, Max. I guess I feel a little better about it now that we've talked, but it still seems… weird."

Max shook her head at her. "You are impossible. How is it that there is something that you're too prudish to do, but Steve isn't?"

Laura chuckled. "Oh, God, I don't even know."

Steve looked at Carl. "Laura spent three hours at Stefan's. I was over the moon when she finally came home."

Last July

When Laura finally walked in the door, Steve leapt from the couch, startling Harriette who had settled in beside him, reading a magazine, to keep him company. He ran to her, but stopped in his tracks a foot away from her. He looked at her nervously.

She cocked her head at him when she saw the look in his eye. "Hey, Steve," she smiled softly.

He ducked his head and looked at his shoes. "Hello, my love."

She took a step forward, closing the door behind her, and slowly embraced him. He hugged her back so tightly she could barely breathe. She stroked the back of his neck. Just as she went to whisper something loving and calming in his ear, the door opened again. They pulled apart and turned to look as Stefan walked in. Damn it, she thought.

Steve's heart stopped. He clutched his chest and staggered backward. It was really happening. She was really going to give his ring back. She had really changed her mind. This was the end. This was the end for Steven Quincy Urkel. He was dizzy. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't hear over his pounding heart.

Laura rolled her eyes, but tried to suppress her frustration. "Stefan," she said as calmly as she could, "I asked you to wait outside until I had a chance to talk to him."

Stefan scoffed. "Yeah, well, I'm really not feeling too sympathetic toward the guy who stole you from me," he snapped. "Can we just go to your room?"

"Oh, God," Steve moaned loudly, and his knees gave out, causing him to fall back onto the arm of the couch. To her room? Her bedroom? How could God be so cruel to him?

Laura glanced back at Steve in horror. He was falling apart. She needed to explain what was happening. "Yes," she said. "Just head on up. I'll meet you there in a minute."

"Fine," Stefan said curtly.

As soon as he was out of sight, Laura rushed to Steve and wrapped her arms around his neck again. She pulled his head into her chest and began to stroke his back. "Shhh… Shhhh… It's ok, Steve. I'm not going anywhere. We're still engaged. Relax, Steve. Shhhhh… I love you," she whispered.

When Steve's brain began to catch up with her words, he lifted his head and looked up at her bashfully. "What?"

Laura placed her hands on his face and stroked his cheeks. "I didn't change my mind. Stefan's just here to pick up some of his things, so we can all get a fresh start," Laura explained.

Steve's heart began to slow. "Oh," he breathed in relief. "Oh, thank God!"

Laura smiled softly at him, her lips tightly closed. "I'm so sorry, Steve. I asked him to wait outside for a second so I could explain that to you and you wouldn't… die of a heart attack when you saw him, but he's mad at me, and he hates you, so he just kinda ignored me."

Steve nodded and stood. He placed his hands hesitantly on her hips. "That's all right. I understand. I may have done the same in his shoes."

Laura nodded. She stepped closer to Steve, pressing her body to his. "Ok, so give me one quick kiss. Then I have to go help him find everything."

"You're going up there with him?" Steve asked, squeezing her hips tighter.

"Well, yeah, Steve, I have to."

"No, you don't," he said, shaking his head.

"Yes, I do," Laura said firmly. "I don't want him to forget anything. After this, I don't wanna see him again for a long, long time."

Steve hoped they'd never have to see him again. "Well, can I at least come with you?"

"No, Steve," she said firmly. "That's not fair to him. I don't want him to have to think about… us."

Steve looked away. "So what then? You're asking me to sit down here while you're upstairs in your bedroom all alone with your ex-boyfriend?" he asked.

When he said it like that, she didn't sound so great. "Yeah, I guess," she admitted.

"Laura…" he whined. "Please, don't ask me to do that."

Laura took a deep breath and sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Steve, but it has to be this way. I promise we'll keep the door open. If you want, you can do a quick walk-by once or twice, but I need to be alone with him. If the situation were reversed, Steve, I would make him do the same for you."

"What if the situation were reversed another way?" he asked. "What if I were going to be alone with Myra in my bedroom?"

Laura exhaled heavily. That would never be allowed to happen. "Steve, I need to do this," she insisted, ignoring his hypothetical. "Please?"

He looked into her deep, brown eyes. Ultimately, he knew it was her decision, and she was only trying to make him feel better by asking at all. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll wait," he agreed, "but hurry." He plopped down on the couch next to Harriette again. Laura leaned down and kissed him softly before running up the stairs. Harriette placed a hand on his knee for support, and he readily grabbed it.

Almost an hour later, Steve heard footsteps coming down the stairs in the kitchen. Assuming it was Laura, he got up and walked toward the door. He paused when he heard men's voices on the other side of it.

"Hey, Stefan," Carl's muffled voice said. Steve noticed he sounded glad to see him. "How are you?"

"I've been better, Carl," Stefan admitted. In that moment, Steve heard the pain in his voice for the first time. In their earlier interaction, jealousy had made Stefan sound simply bitter. Now, it was evident that he was distraught. Steve frowned as he continued to listen, pressing his ear up to the door to hear better. He had never wanted to hurt Stefan. He had only wanted Laura… at any cost. Stefan took a deep breath and sighed, "It's been a pleasure knowing you, Carl."

"You don't have to go, Stefan. This'll all blow over soon."

"Hm," Stefan said, "I think this has been a long time coming." He opened the door.

"Wait!" Carl stopped him. "What if she changes her mind? What can I tell her? Should she call you?"

There was a long pause. "Yeah," he answered eventually. "If that ever happens, she should call me." Then Steve heard the door shut.

Present Day

As he finished retelling his tale, he sat back down on a crate beside Carl. "You set up a back-up plan, Carl."

"I didn't know you were listening," he replied.

"And that makes it ok?" Steve asked.

"No, it doesn't. It definitely doesn't, but that was a long time ago, Steve."

"And that makes it ok?" Steve asked again.

"No, no. Nothing's gonna make that ok. I'm sorry, Steve. That was wrong of me. There's no excuse, but what I mean is… That was a long time ago. Why haven't you been mad at me since then? Why didn't you ever confront me?"

Steve nodded. That was a fair question. "I think… I think I have been mad at you that long. I just refused to deal with it. Carl, I consider myself a pretty well put-together person, but let's face it, Man. There's something wrong with me."

Carl hesitated to say anything. That statement sounded like a trap.

"My own parents never really… loved me, and they made that perfectly clear to anyone who would listen," he admitted.

Carl looked at him seriously. He had never, ever heard Steve speak so frankly about his parents, even though they had all seen the same signs.

"They fed me, they clothed me, they let me live in their home, and they never hit me, but they didn't love me, Carl. At least, not the way they were supposed to. Not the way you love your kids." Steve swallowed hard and rubbed his hands over his face, slipping them under his glasses to rub his eyes. He exhaled and folded his hands in his lap. "Your mother was probably the first person in the world to ever really love me."

Carl raised an eyebrow, but as he thought about it, he realized it may have been true. "She does love you very much," he nodded.

"And I have always been grateful for that. The neglected, little boy that I was needed to feel a little bit of love."

"But, Steve, she's not the only Winslow who loves you now. Laura loves you, obviously, very, very much."

Steve looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"And I… Well, I… And I l-l-l-l-love you, too." He took a deep breath and exhaled, "We all love you."

"You know, Carl, I believe that. I truly do, but it's too late," he exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I'm too far gone! I'm broken!" Steve cried, standing again.

"No, you're not, Steve!"

"Oh, I am, Big Guy. I'm damaged goods, and you know how I know?"

"How?" he asked.

"Because the person I love most in this world, after Laura, did this horrible thing to me, and I went ahead and pretended it didn't bother me for almost a year rather than just dealing with it! I am so desperate for your love and affection that I can't even have an honest relationship with you because I'm terrified of damaging it. If you and I can't have an honest relationship, Carl, what's the point of having one at all?"

"Steve," Carl said, standing to join him, "I do want an honest relationship with you."

"Well, we can't have one!"

"Why not?"

"Because you wanted Laura to choose Stefan, and if we have an honest relationship, you're going to have to tell me that, and that'll kill me, Carl. I can't bear to hear that."

Carl sat down again in frustration. "Steve, that's not it. I didn't want Laura to choose Stefan."

"I didn't wanna talk about this, Carl, and I certainly don't want to stand here and be lied to about it," Steve said firmly.

"I'm not lying, Steve. I never wanted her to choose Stefan. I just… I wanted her to choose the person who would make her the happiest, and I thought that was Stefan."

"Stop, Carl! Please! I can't listen to this," Steve said, holding back tears.

"It's not the same thing, Steve!"

"How?"

"Because all I want is for her to be happy! That's why I keep changing my mind! It's not that I want Stefan. It's not that I'd rather spend Thanksgiving with Stefan. It's that I thought he would be best for her. I thought she needed to be with someone like that, with someone who could spoil her, but I was wrong, Steve. I underestimated her."

Steve's jaw dropped. "You gotta be kidding me, Carl! You didn't think I'd spoil her? Good Lord, Man! She's the only woman I've ever loved. I would cut off my arm and give it to her if that's what would make her happy."

"No, Steve, I know you would spoil her if you could, but when you proposed, you were a jobless undergrad living in my attic. Stefan was a world-famous model. That night, I thought that's what she needed to be happy, but I was wrong," Carl explained.

Steve shook his head. "Way to make me feel better about all this, Big Guy!" he said sarcastically with a dramatic point.

Carl took a deep breath and sighed. "Look, this conversation isn't going how I'd planned."

"Well, welcome to the club!"

"Steve," Carl said, looking at him sincerely, "sit down."

"No."

"Steve, please?"

Steve looked back at him and eventually decided to sit. Carl had done a lot for him. He could at least hear him out… or pretend to.

"Steve, the fact of the matter is, given the choice between you and Stefan, I would rather spend time with you."

Steve looked up at him. He stared for a moment and then rolled his eyes. He waved a hand at him dismissively.

"It's true, Steve. You… You are one of the most important people in the world to me, and I do think of you as my son." He paused there for dramatic effect. He stared at Steve as Steve looked intensely at his shoe laces. "I've watched you grow from an annoying, awkward, little boy into an annoying, awkward, wonderful man. I'd like to think I played a part in that. I know I don't always treat you like I do Laura and Eddie, b–"

Steve scoffed.

"Ok," Carl acknowledged, "I never treat you as well as I treat Laura and Eddie, but that's because they really are my kids. I have to prioritize them, Steve. I am always, always going to pick them over you."

Steve continued to look at his feet. That made sense. He couldn't be mad about it, but it still hurt to hear. He had never had that kind of parental devotion, and he couldn't help but ache for it.

"But you're next, Steve."

Steve met his eyes.

"You are incredibly important to me, Steve. I would never, ever put Stefan before you. I want you to be happy, Steve. I want you to have everything you've ever wanted in life, as long as it doesn't conflict with my first two priorities. Everything that's happened between us has sprung from concern for Laura. It wasn't about you. I know that it should have been. I know that I should have been able to acknowledge how much you love her. I know that not acknowledging that is like completely missing three-quarters of who you are as a person…"

He sure had that right. Steve nodded firmly.

"But I messed up, and I missed it. There's nothing more I can say about that. I messed up, and I'm sorry, but, Steve, if you've been stewing for months, thinking that I like Stefan more than you, then you've just been wasting your time."

"Carl," Steve began.

"No, I mean it," he interrupted. "I like Stefan. He is a fun, charming guy. Since you fixed him, he's even a great person, but I would push him off a bridge if I had to for you."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Oh, no, you wouldn't."

"Oh, yes, I would!" he said firmly. "Steve, I would do almost anything for you if you needed me to. I can't ever love you the way I love Laura, and someday, when you have kids, you'll understand that, but I love you," he said, pausing as it finally popped out without any stammering or hesitation. Just to be clear, he repeated it, "But I love you. You drive me nuts. There are days that just make me want to strangle you with a pair of your old suspenders, but I love you."

Steve breathed in and sighed. "I love you, too, Carl, and I appreciate hearing that from you. As mad as I am, I really do appreciate that, but that doesn't change the fact that you don't think I'm good enough for Laura. I mean, 'good enough' isn't the right word. I don't think I'm good enough, but…" Steve looked away for a moment in thought and then turned back to him suddenly. "But damn it, isn't someone supposed to? God, Carl, I'm going to take such good care of her," Steve said, his eyes filling with tears. "I love her so much, and I love her more and more every day. I would do anything for her. I was willing to give her up to Stefan after I proposed. I was willing to give her up to Harvard after you threw a fit. I would do anything for her," Steve said, tears flowing freely now. "You keep saying that all you want is for her to be happy, but that's all I want, too, Carl. That's all I've ever wanted. Whether I believe it or not, she seems to think I'm gonna make her happy. Why can't you think that, too?"

"I do think that, Steve. I haven't always thought that. I've been wishy-washy, but I'm looking you in the eye right now and telling you now that I believe you will make my daughter happy. I believe that she's going to find so much more fulfillment in life with you than she ever could have with anyone else in the world. What Stefan was offering her, what he was offering us, was shallow. What you give her is so much bigger. It's unconditional love and support. It's a sense of purpose. It's a vision of herself that's more amazing than even I see when I look at her. Steve, no one in this world is good enough for my daughter. Absolutely no one, but you come pretty damn close, and I mean that to be the best compliment I could ever give you. If you need me to give you more than that, then maybe you're right. Maybe we can't have a relationship anymore because I can't give you more than that, Steve."

Steve sat in silence for a moment. "Am I the closest match?" Steve asked.

Carl took a deep, pensive breath because he wanted to be sure he was being truthful. "Yes, Steve, I think you are."

"Would you be willing to take a polygraph test?" Steve asked.

Carl chuckled, "If you'd like me to."

"An electrified one?" Steve pushed.

Carl's heart skipped a beat. He did not want to do that again! "If you insist," Carl agreed through clenched teeth.

Steve looked at him seriously. "Do you believe in soul mates?"

Carl shrugged. "Not really."

Steve nodded and looked away. Then he looked back at him quickly. "But if you did," he interjected, "would you think Laura and I are soul mates?"

"Steve, I don't believe in soul mates."

"But if you did?!"

Carl took a deep breath. "I don't know," he sighed, "but I do think that you and Laura are together for a reason. I think you two need each other in a way that she's never needed anyone else."

Steve nodded. "I do need her, Carl."

"I know, Steve," Carl nodded.

Steve looked up at Carl for a moment, his face growing deeply serious. "Can I tell you something, Big Guy?"

"Of course, Steve."

"I thought about it once."

"Thought about what?" Carl probed, leaning in closer as he read the gravity in his face.

"Hurting myself," he whispered.

"Hurting yourself?" Carl repeated. "You mean…"

"Suicide," he said.

Carl's eyes closed, and he gasped. "Oh, God, Steve, no…"

Steve stared at the floor in embarrassment.

"Because of Laura?" Carl asked in shock.

"No," Steve answered. "Well, I mean, yeah. She was numero uno on a long list of reasons, but it was a long list."

"When?" Carl asked in disbelief. "You never seemed…"

"No, I know. It was at the end," he explained. "After I proposed, I thought I was gonna lose her, and I knew that losing her meant… losing all of you because I couldn't watch her be with him. I just couldn't do that to myself. So, I thought about it. I wrote a note. I put it in my suitcase, and I told her I was going to Russia. I was really gonna go, because I hadn't really decided if I was gonna do… it or not, but I was considering it."

"Steve, how could you have done that to Laura? That would have destroyed her."

"I know," he replied immediately. "That's why I'm telling you this. I did decide not to do it, that I could never do it, before she accepted my proposal. When I told her I was leaving, she started to cry, and she questioned whether or not I really loved her. I knew in that moment that if I ever hurt myself, it would mean hurting her more, and I couldn't do it. I still had every intention of leaving, but I decided I could never do what I had considered. I decided that I would live a long, long miserable life if it meant that she could feel less pain. I need her Carl. She is my soul mate, but I would rather be in constant, agonizing pain than her be unhappy. The only thing I need more than her is for her to be happy."

"Steve," Carl said again in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Steve said. "Maybe that was a little too honest."

"No, I… I'm glad you told me."

"Carl, I've never told anyone that. You can't tell anyone else. You can't tell Laura, please!" Steve pressed urgently.

"I won't," he agreed, "but I think you should tell her at some point."

Steve nodded and looked back at the ground. "At some point, I guess."

Carl swallowed hard. "Steve, if you ever feel that way again, even for just a second, you need to come talk to me," he ordered.

"It won't happen again, Carl."

"No, I mean it. Life's gonna throw a lot at you, Steve, and if it's anything like the last 21 years, it's gonna throw more at you than at most. Talk to Laura first, if you'd prefer, but you don't think about this again without telling me. You don't write a note like that again without talking to me," he barked.

Steve nodded. "Ok. I won't."

"And if you ever need to talk about anything… Anything at all… Even if it's not serious, you can talk to me, Steve," Carl said seriously.

"Carl, we're still not in a good place. I'm not gonna talk to you about stuff when I don't feel that you want what's best for me."

"I do want what's best for you, Steve, and I would take a lie detector test, electrified if it has to be, to prove it to you. You can talk to me about anything, Steve. I want to be a father figure for you again."

Steve took a deep breath. "Fine," he sighed. "You wanna prove it to me?"

"Yes."

"Then let's test this theory. I can talk to you about anything, right? Big or little."

"Right," Carl confirmed.

"Then brace yourself, Big Guy, because you're not gonna like this."

Carl furrowed his brow at him.

Steve looked down at his shoes. "Laura's on her period, and she won't make love to me because she thinks it's gross, but I think it's a natural, normal, beautiful process, and I don't want her to feel so ashamed. How can I convince her to let me make love to her and show her how beautiful she is?" Steve slowly looked back up at a shocked Carl. Steve saw that vein in his forehead nearly explode. "You see?" Steve asked. "We can't have the relationship we used to now that Laura and I have the relationship we do."

"No," Carl said firmly. "We can. I'm just… processing. Laura and I never talked much about her… time of the month, and we've certainly never talked much about… the rest of that, so I need a minute to… process."

"For the record, Carl, I don't like to talk about such… intimate things either, but I tried talking to Laura already, and she won't budge."

Carl nodded, with his mouth still agape. He knew how stubborn Laura was. If she had made a decision on this… issue, it was going to be tough to change her mind. "Have you tried… Um… Have you tried planning a romantic evening?"

"Yes," Steve confirmed. "She invited that meathead across the hall and his mother to join us."

Carl raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Now, that's quite a buffer."

"I know," Steve agreed with a nod.

Carl closed his eyes and tried to imagine they were talking about any other woman in the world. "Well, ultimately, it's her decision. If she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to, but it sounds like the reason she doesn't want to is that she's embarrassed. She's probably afraid that you'll get turned-off by it, so I guess what you need to do is find a way to make her feel desirable."

"How do I do that?" Steve asked.

"Well, for normal people, I'd say buy some lingerie, maybe some perfume, but with you, Steve, you should just talk to her."

"I tried talking to her, Carl, and she–"

"No, I know," he interrupted. "You just have to keep talking. Although you have a talent for putting your foot in your mouth, when it comes to Laura, you're a wordsmith. I don't know what you'll have to say, but you'll eventually stumble into it if you just never shut up. Just don't make it about trying to get her to… Ahem. Just try to make her feel beautiful and eventually, I think she'll really start to feel that way."

"Hm. That is surprisingly good advice, Big Guy."

"Hey, I know my way around the ladies," he retorted confidently, fixing the collar on his shirt.

Steve laughed and snorted. "Of course, you do. I just mean I'm surprised you and I were able to have a conversation about… what we were just having a conversation about."

Carl nodded. "Me too, to tell you the truth."

Steve paused for a moment. "So you're really glad that Laura married me?" he asked softly.

"Yes, Steve," Carl answered sincerely. "I wish she was still my little girl and didn't even like boys yet, but if she has to be a grown-up, I'm glad she has you as her partner in life."

Steve smiled softly. "And you wouldn't rather spend holidays with Stefan?"

"No," Carl answered. "You're family, Steve. It's not a holiday if you're not there."

"I'm family?" Steve asked hesitantly.

Carl stood and turned the radio back up. The tornado warning was over. "C'mon upstairs. I have to show you something."

Steve stood and followed him up the stairs and out to the garage. The rain had stopped. Carl walked over to a large object covered by a tarp. He removed the tarp and revealed a beautiful, handmade chest.

Steve gasped. "Oh, wow, Big Guy. You made this yourself?"

"Mm-hm."

"But you're not handy!" Steve said in awe as he knelt beside the chest and ran his hand over the smooth wood and beautiful craftsmanship. Leaves were carved into the wood.

"Well, it was originally going to be a wedding present, but it took me four tries. I started it about a week after you announced your engagement."

Steve went to open it. He slowly undid the latch.

"I should warn you, Fletcher did the carvings outside and in. I just built the box and told him what I wanted carved."

Steve nodded and lifted the lid. The bottom of the lid, which stood on its own once it was opened, had a large, detailed tree carved into it. Steve bent toward it and looked closer. "The Winslow-Urkel Family Tree?" he read.

"Yes," Carl smiled.

Steve leaned in and looked at each branch and leaf spreading away from Samuel and Estelle Winslow's names. In the same trunk, Grandma Baker, Harriette's mother, was included, ensuring that Rachel and Richie also had a place on the Winslow family tree. Steve looked at the branch labeled Carl and Harriette. Then he followed it up to find Laura's name. Next to her name was his, but his wasn't just next to Laura's, the way Harriette's was next to Carl's. He had an individual branch that was a part of a small, weak neighboring tree that had his parents' names as well. His thin, tiny branch looped into the mighty Winslow oak, knotting around Laura's branch in the shape of a heart. After the knot, their branches twisted around each other, growing outward together and forming a stronger, singular branch. A second larger heart was formed by both branches together about halfway through. At the end of their joined branches were five large leaves.

"You can't have more than five kids, or we'll be in trouble," Carl explained, pointing at the leaves.

Steve didn't say a word. Slowly, he reached out and touched each leaf. He traced his own branch from the weak Urkel tree to where it connected with Laura's branch. He traced the length of their unified branch and touched each leaf again. He pulled his hand back to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Oh, Carl," he whispered in disbelief.

"Did you see what's written on the bottom?"

Steve leaned into the chest to get a good look at the bottom. "'It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.' – Johann Schiller," he read, tears coming to his eyes again. He looked back at Carl. "And you did all this before we were fighting? This isn't an apology? This is really a gift?"

Carl offered him a hand to help him stand. "Yes, Steve. You can verify it with Fletcher if you'd like. I gave him instructions just after you got engaged."

Steve held tightly to his hand, refusing to let go. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he threw his arms around Carl and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Carl," he whispered.

"You're welcome, Son," Carl said, hugging him back and fighting back his own tears. He patted him on the back again and again.

When Steve eventually pulled away, both men tugged at their pants and puffed out their chests. Steve looked at Carl. "I forgive you," he said firmly.

Carl looked back at him. "Really? For everything?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes," Steve said. He smiled at him for what seemed like the first time in weeks. "But you're on thin ice, Bub!" he warned.

"I can live with that," Carl chuckled.

They looked at each other for a long moment, but then they both began to feel nervous. "So," Steve said eventually, "we've got some staining to do, huh… Dad?"

"We sure do, Son," he smiled.

As soon as Steve had stopped responding, Laura had turned on the radio in the office to get updates on the storm. It wasn't long after that that the warning ended and the tornado had disappeared. Laura immediately called the house phone, hoping they would hear it ring and come out of the basement. Unfortunately, there was no answer. Laura immediately turned to Max. "I'm sorry, Max, but I have to cut girls' night short," Laura said apologetically.

"No, you don't. I'll just come with you," Max said.

Laura looked at her incredulously. "You wanna go to my parents' house?"

"And see you kill Steve when it turns out he just forgot to call you? Yeah, that could be fun!" Max joked.

"All right," Laura chuckled nervously as they rushed out the door.

Steve had just forgotten to call her. He had been so distracted by working things out with Carl that he hadn't even realized a half-hour had passed. In fact, an hour and a half had passed. When Harriette rushed into the garage and hugged Carl, it surprised Steve.

"You guys are home already?! The storm just ended."

Harriette released Carl and turned to Steve. "Just ended? It's been almost an hour."

"Oh, boy," Steve cringed. He set down the brush he was using and began to walk quickly toward the door. "I gotta call Laura." As he was rushing out of the garage, he carefully avoided Carl who was still holding a can of wood stain. In avoiding him, he managed to run face first into Rachel as she was walking into the garage. "Oopsie!"

Rachel stared at Steve in annoyance, her dress now dripping with slushies. "Well," she said, "I was going to offer you two a slushy. The theater gave them to us free since everybody missed the ends of their movies, but I guess I should have been more careful." She glared at Steve.

"It couldn't hurt," Steve agreed as he rushed out of the garage. He ran immediately to the phone in the kitchen and dialed their home phone. It rang several times as he waited nervously, knowing he was going to be in big trouble. Then it went to the answering machine. He hung up and said, "Huh." He redialed the number and waited through several more rings, now nervous for a different reason.

"Hi," Steve's voice began on the answering machine, "you've reached Steve and Laura Urkel! We, a happily married couple, are happy to hear from you and look forward to returning your call. Please, leave your name and number after the beep."

He smiled to himself as he remembered Laura's reaction to his message. She didn't see the point in including their marital status in the message, but he couldn't help but brag about it. She made him redo it several times, but he continued to include it in different ways. Eventually, she gave up. Her beautiful laugh could be heard in the background of the outgoing message they stuck with.

Beep.

"Hey, Sweetums. Looks like I'm a little late calling you. I'm so sorry if I made you worry, but now you're not answering, so at least, we're even. I have a really good excuse. I promise. I'm fine. Your parents are fine. The house is even fine, just a few broken windows. Don't worry, Pet. Everything's good on my end. Call me back as soon as you can," he urged. "I love you, Laura Lee. I'll talk to you soon." With that, he hung up the phone and took a deep breath. She was probably just in the bathroom, he told himself as he took a seat at the kitchen table to wait for her call.

Several minutes later, Harriette and Rachel came back in. Rachel went immediately toward the stairs so she could change her clothes. Harriette smiled at Steve. "Steve!" she chirped. "Is it true? Carl said that you two made up!"

Steve looked at her. "Uh, yeah, it's true," he answered flatly.

Harriette stared at him. "What's wrong? What did he do now?" she accused.

Steve heard the change in her tone and realized he was getting Carl in trouble. "Oh, no, Harriette. We really did make up. Carl and I are fine. He's on probation, but we're good."

"Then what's wrong?"

Steve took a deep breath and wiggled uncomfortably in his seat. "Laura didn't answer."

"Oh, well," Harriette said, sitting beside him, "I'm sure she's just in the bathroom."

"It's been nine minutes since I left a message," he said.

"Well, she may not have seen the message."

"You're right," he nodded and stood. "I'll call her again." He went to the phone and dialed the number. He waited impatiently until he heard his voice again. He hung up and turned back to Harriette.

"She and Max probably went out," Harriette suggested as Steve sat behind her again.

"Yeah, probably. I'll try her cell," Steve mumbled unconvincingly as he rested his head in his hands.

Only a couple of minutes later, the backdoor flew open. Steve's head shot up, and his eyes met Laura's. He stood immediately and opened his arms as she ran into them. He held her tightly and smelled the top of her head, breathing deeply to remind himself that she was still there, that she was safe.

Laura held on tightly to him and listened to his pounding heart. She felt a few tears escape her eyes as her own heart began to slow and her twisting stomach began to soothe. "Oh, thank God, you're ok!" she said softly.

He smiled when he heard her voice. "I was so worried about you, Pet."

She pulled away from him and slapped his shoulder. "Then why didn't you call me, you idiot?!" she shouted.

He looked down at her apologetically. "I did, Sweetums. I was just very, very late, and you had already left."

"Why were you late, Steve?" she whined. "I was terrified that something might've happened to you."

"I'm so, so sorry, my little, worried willow," he said softly, "but I was talking to your dad, and I got kind of distracted."

Laura sighed. "What did he do now?"

Steve smiled softly at her. "He convinced me to forgive him."

Laura's eyes widened. "What? How?"

"Well, we were trapped in the basement, and he forced me to talk to him. We talked about everything, and I don't know, it just kind of worked out. Then he showed me the beautiful housewarming gift he made for us, and it was just impossible to be mad at him after that."

Laura smiled brightly. "Really? You're not just saying that so I won't be so mad at you?"

Steve smiled. "No, I mean it, my sweet. He and I are ok. We're not at 100% yet, but we're gettin' there."

Laura threw her arms around his neck again. She kissed his cheek again and again. "Thank you, Baby," she whispered in his ear.

He held her tightly and lifted her into the air. He swung her gently back and forth as she showered him in kisses. "You are more than welcome, Angel Lips," he whispered back. As he set her down, he leaned down to her face and kissed her lips passionately. He had been pretty scared himself for a moment.

As he pulled away, Laura looked back at Max and her mom who was still sitting in the kitchen. "They made up!" she smiled brightly.

"Hallelujah!" Harriette said happily, standing to hug her daughter and reassure her anxious motherly instincts. Steve wasn't the only one who had been worried.

Steve walked over to Max and hugged her quickly, before she could object. "I'm glad you're safe," he said.

"I'm glad you're safe too, Urkel," she replied as she wiggled out of his hug.

Laura smiled at Steve. "So, can I see this incredible present?" Laura asked.

"I don't see why not," Steve said. "The stain should be about done at this point. Now, it just needs to sit." He opened the door for the ladies and pointed them out to the garage.

Carl looked up as they entered. "Laura! Sweetheart!" he cheered as he took off his gloves. He ran over to her and hugged her tightly. He loudly kissed her cheek. "Mwah! What on Earth are you doing here?" he asked as he released her.

"Steve didn't call me like he was supposed to," she said, glaring at him, "so as soon as the storm ended, I had to make sure he was ok."

Carl nodded and took a moment to make sure Max was ok and gave her a hug. "Well, I'm glad you're both safe." He paused for a moment and looked at Laura. He repressed a smile. "Did Steve tell you that we talked?"

Laura smiled bigger. "He did, and he didn't tell me what you said, but apparently, it worked." She put an arm around Steve's waist, and he did the same to her.

Carl nodded. "We covered a lot of ground this afternoon," Carl explained, sharing a meaningful look with Steve.

"Plus, I heard you bribed him," Laura joked.

Carl smiled. "Oh! Yeah, you've gotta check this out. Now, you can't touch it, but you can look." He waved them over to the open chest, now stained a deep cherry color.

It took Laura's breath away. "Oh, wow," she whispered. She let go of Steve and moved closer to it. "Oh, Daddy, it's beautiful." She paused for a moment and then turned to look at him. "Who built it?" she asked challengingly.

"I did!" Carl said defensively.

Laura and Max laughed. Harriette would have laughed too if she hadn't seen him do it with her own eyes. "You did not, Daddy," Laura laughed. "You're not handy."

"I built it!" Carl insisted. "Fletcher did the carvings, but I built it!"

Carvings? Laura got on her knees in front of it and looked at the beautifully detailed leaves on the outside of the chest. Then her eyes were drawn to the tree carving on the bottom of the lid.

Steve knelt beside her and guided her through it. "You see, it starts with your grandparents, and then it goes up through your family." He reached forward and pointed. "And you see this tiny tree? That's the Urkel tree." He looked at her seriously. "It's not as strong as the Winslow tree, but this little branch," he said, pointing at his own branch, "found a way to become a part of that tree, by tying itself to this stronger, sexy, little branch."

Laura chuckled at him. "Did you just call a branch 'sexy'?"

He smiled at her. "You bet I did, my tempting twig," he cooed. He pointed at the place where their branches met and his knotted around hers with a heart. Next to the heart was the year they met, 1981. "There's the year we met, and then after that, our branches twist and grow together. There's our wedding date," he said, pointing at where they worked together to form a larger heart. "Then we have five little leaves, where we can put the names of five beautiful babies," he said.

"FIVE?" Laura asked.

"You don't have to fill them all, Sweetheart," Carl explained over their shoulder.

"But we can!" Steve pressed, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"No, thank you," Laura said firmly.

Steve nodded. "Then look at what's written on the bottom of the chest."

Laura leaned forward and peeked inside, trying to avoid brushing against the wet stain. "'It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons,'" she read. "Wow," she said, "that is one heck of a bribe."

Steve smiled at her and nodded. It really was. He stood and offered her a hand to help her up.

She took it and stood. She turned to look at her father. "That's amazing, Daddy. Thank you so much," she said, stepping into his arms and hugging him tightly.

"You're welcome, Sweetheart," he said, hugging her back. He kissed the top of her head and smiled at her as she pulled away. "I figured that for now, it would look good just about anywhere in the apartment, and someday, it will look beautiful in a nursery."

Laura blushed, "Oh, c'mon, Daddy. You aren't looking forward to that. A bunch of little Urkels running around?" Laura put her arm around Steve again as she teased him.

"Yes, I am," he said. "You two are going to have some very weird kids," he said firmly, "but you're going to be wonderful parents."

Laura and Steve both blushed deeply that time. "Someday," Laura said.

They stayed and talked for a little while, and then they drove Max back to the apartment. They had left the chest in the garage to dry and planned to pick it up that weekend. They said goodnight to Max, and Laura and Steve went alone to the elevator. They rode in silence, Steve's arms wrapped tightly around her. He walked her to the apartment door and opened it for her. She stepped in and set down her purse. He followed closely behind her and shut the door. They stared at each other silently for a long moment. Then Steve stepped closer to her. "Laura Lee?" he whispered.

"Yes, Steve?"

"I'm not going to pressure you. If you want to wait until you're done with your time of the month to make love again, I'm willing to do that, but I want you to know that you are the most beautiful woman in the world. There is nothing that could make me find you any less sexy. I love the thought of your body going through this natural process because I can't wait until it stops for a little while. I can't wait until I finally get the chance to make a baby with you. This little reminder that your body is just as excited as I am is such a turn-on for me. Even though that big brain of yours has other ideas, your body and I are on the very same page. That makes me so hot," he explained. "Plus, your body always turns me on. It's been torture looking at you these past couple days and not being able to show you how you make me feel. I hope, someday, you'll let me show you that I think everything you do is sexy," he finished.

Laura took a deep breath. "Why don't you go run a bath for us?" she asked.

Steve's eyes widened. "That worked?!"

"No," Laura said flatly, "what worked is that I was worried about you all day and afraid that I was going to lose you after blowing you off for a couple days for no good reason, and I couldn't handle it. So, go draw a bath for us, put in a little bubble bath, and I'll meet you in there in a minute, because we don't know what could happen tomorrow, and I don't want to waste any more of my time with you."

Steve smiled brightly. "I have never been so glad to almost die," he announced. He leaned down to kiss her as she giggled, and he walked back to the bedroom.

Laura turned to the kitchen and walked to the fridge. She pulled out the bottle of champagne Max had given her as a housewarming gift. She pulled two glasses out of the cupboard and grabbed them by their stems. With the champagne in hand, she walked back to the bedroom. She set the bottle and glasses down and went to the dresser. She opened the top drawer, where she kept her panties and bras and Steve kept his boxers. She looked at all of her panties. She had several pairs of granny panties that she saved for weeks just like this, just in case, but she didn't want to wear one of those in front of Steve. She wanted to put on a sexy, lacy thong, but she didn't want to ruin one. Of course, she'd only be wearing it for a minute, but was it worth the risk? She opened her bottom drawer, where she kept the rest of her lingerie, but she was afraid to take the risk with those too. Eventually, she had an idea, grabbed what she needed, and slipped into the walk-in to change.

Steve filled the bath and put in a little bubble bath, but when he ducked his head out, he couldn't find Laura. He realized she was changing and took advantage of the found time. He ran out the bedroom and took a few candles they had on the dresser and nightstands. He placed them strategically around the bathroom and lit them. This allowed him to turn off the lights. Sure, he wanted to see every inch of her, but more than that, he wanted her to feel comfortable, so he made the sacrifice and let the candles be the only light in the room. He ran to the roses he had bought for her the night before and stole a few. He ran back to the bathroom and began to pull off the petals. He sprinkled them in a path from the door to the tub and tossed a few in the water for good measure. He went into the bedroom and turned on the stereo. He put on a soft, romantic CD and returned to the bathroom. With nothing left to do, he began to strip. He tossed his clothes in the hamper in the bedroom and walked back to the tub. He tested the water with his big toe, and finding it to his liking, he lowered himself into the water.

Laura walked in a few minutes later in a long, black, silk robe. Red roses were embroidered along the edges and along the belt. "Hey, you," she purred from the door.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Hello, Darling," he smiled. "You look ravishing," he purred, wiggling his eyebrows as he looked her up and down.

"Thank you, Steve," she said softly. She took a step inside, knowing what she had to do before she could join him in that tub. "Could you close your eyes for a minute?" she asked nervously.

"What?" he asked. "No way, Kitten. I wanna see that bodacious bod before you get to cover up with all these bubbles," he insisted. He took a hunk of bubbles in his hand and blew them at her.

"No, you'll get to," she said. "It's not that… It's just…" Laura looked away from him. "I have to take out my tampon, Steve," she explained.

"Oh," he said. "Oh, of course, my pet. Don't worry. I can close my eyes if it'll make you feel more comfortable."

"Yes," she nodded. "Please."

"Ok, Sweetums," he said, closing his eyes tightly for dramatic effect. "You just tell me when I can open 'em."

"Thank you," she said softly. She walked over to the toilet and lifted her robe. She sat down and pulled out her tampon. She didn't want him to hear the sound of it landing in the toilet, nor the flush, so she wrapped it in toilet paper and tossed it in the trash. She stood and let robe fall back into place. She walked to the sink and turned on the water. "Ok, Honey." she said as she began to wash her hands. She dried them on a hand towel and turned back to Steve. She forced a smile. "Ready?" she asked.

"You betcha, Baby!" he grinned. "Come sit on Daddy's lap," he purred, wiggling his eyebrows at her again.

She smiled sincerely at his goofy expression. She walked up to the edge of the tub and untied her robe. In one swift motion, she let it fall to the floor, exposing her completely nude body. She smiled confidently as she watched Steve's eyes nearly pop out of his head. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Whoa, Mama!" he yelled.

Laura stepped into the tub, being careful not to step on Steve, and lowered herself onto his lap, facing away from him. She felt his rock-hard member beneath her, and she wiggled against it gently. "Mmm…" she moaned. His arms came up and wrapped around her. She relaxed against him, leaning her head back on his chest. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he replied as his hands came up to her breasts and began to massage her. He had planned to spend time just talking to her in the tub before they got too deep into foreplay, but he just had no self-control when it came to Laura. He squeezed and rubbed her full breasts as he began to kiss her neck. "I missed touching you so much," he said.

"Mmmmm… I missed being touched," she purred, raising a soapy hand up to the side of his face and stroking his cheek.

"I missed your little moans," he whispered as he kissed her.

"Mmmmm…" she moaned.

"I missed the way you say my name," he added.

"Steve…" she cooed obligingly.

"I missed the way you wiggle," he whispered as he pinched her nipples.

"Oh!" she cried out, wiggling back and trembling against him. "Oh, yes…"

He continued to suck and nibble on her neck. "I want you so bad," he growled.

"Ooohhhh, Steve, Baby, I want you, too."

"Let's just go to bed, Sweetheart. I can't stand it anymore," he begged.

"Oh, I'm not ready yet, Steve. I need a little more attention," she purred, grabbing his right hand and moving it down to her womanhood. Taking the hint, he immediately began to rub her clit. "Ohhhhhhhh…" she moaned loudly.

"Turn around," he ordered, removing his hands from her.

Suddenly losing his delicious touch, she was quick to follow directions. She turned around and sat in his lap again. She wrapped her legs around him. One of his hands moved down to firmly grab her butt. The other returned to her clit and began to rub her again. His lips leaned forward and captured her right nipple in his mouth. She thrust her chest out to him. "Oh, Baby! OH, STEVE!" She began to grind into his lap, trying to get even more stimulation. "Oh, God, that feels so good!" she whined.

Her eyes were tightly closed, but he stared intently at her face. She looked so beautiful when she was nearing ecstasy, and even better when she was in it. He knew, too, that he was the only man to ever see that expression on her face, and he couldn't believe how lucky he was. If he weren't such a jealous man, he would show everyone how incredible she looked in bed, just to rub it in their faces. However, he was indeed a very jealous man, so this view was only for him.

"Oh, Steve, Baby, I've been so horny," she whined. "My period makes me so horny. I need you to make me come! Please, Steve, make me come!" she begged.

He released her breast and instructed her, "Kiss me."

She opened her eyes and looked down at him, still grinding aggressively. She put her hands on his face and held it tightly as she closed her eyes and leaned down to his lips. She kissed him passionately and possessively as he continued to rub her button, and she humped him in return. She kissed him until she couldn't kiss him anymore, until her mouth opened and froze in a facial expression of deep pleasure as she began to shake and moan in his lap. "Oh, STEEEEEEVE!" she cried out as she came. All of the nerves and the tension that had been eating her alive since Sunday afternoon dissipated. As she came down from Cloud Nine, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Did you finish?" he asked softly, smiling up at her.

She nodded, still breathing heavily. She took several moments to just breathe deeply in his lap as he began to suck on her nipples again, both hands massaging her big butt. Soon, she leaned back and unplugged the drain. Water and bubbles began to slide out of the tub.

He released her breast and looked up at her. "Are you ready for bed, Pet?" he asked hopefully.

"No, Baby," she whispered as she leaned back and plugged the drain again, the water level much lower now. She turned on the water to freshen up the temperature, but she made sure to keep the water low. "We don't need to go to bed to make love," she explained, with a flirty smile.

Steve bit his lip and grinned. "Oh," he said softly.

Laura reached for a bottle she had bought for their tub, in case they ever needed it. She squirted a dollop of lubricant into her hand and climbed off of his lap. "Get on your knees for a second, Steve," she instructed.

Steve knelt, lifting his groin completely out of the water, and Laura wrapped her hand around his member.

"Ooooo," he whimpered.

She slowly stroked up and down, generously applying lube to every inch of him. When he was ready, she pushed on his chest so he sat back down. She climbed into his lap and lowered herself onto his member, only part of which remained submerged.

"Oh, Laura…" he growled.

She moved up and down slowly, making sure her body was ready to take his full length before she sat comfortably in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Mmmmm…" she purred as she lifted herself again and again.

"Mmmm…" he moaned back. When she broke the kiss, he looked at her and watched her bounce up and down on his member. "Oh, Laura," he called. "Laura. Laura. Laura. Laura."

She stared deeply into his eyes. "Steve," she replied. "Steve. Steve. Steve. Steve." Laura leaned forward and kissed him again. She pulled away and stopped bouncing. "Steve?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, my pet?" he replied. "What's wrong?" he demanded as she stopped her delicious movements.

"Can I go a little slower?" she asked.

He furrowed his brow. "Of course, you can, my bouncing bunny rabbit!" he cried. He squeezed her butt affectionately. "You can do whatever you want to me," he promised.

She leaned forward, applying a tip she had learned from Max, and began to grind her clit against his body, slowly and firmly. Sure, she had grinded against him like this before, just out of instinct, but she had never considered she could get herself off that way until Max had suggested it. She looked deeply into his eyes. "I wanna come on you," she whispered.

"Oh, GOD," he groaned. "Yes, please!"

She continued to grind against him as forcefully as she could. "Steeeeeve…" she moaned.

Steve wiggled beneath her, trying his hardest not to start bucking like a wild bronco. She felt amazing grinding on him with his member inside her like that, but it wasn't enough stimulation to get him off. He needed to be ramming in and out of her again and again, but he tried not to. He wanted her to come on him as badly as she wanted to come again. "Lauraaaaa…" he moaned, kneading her butt. "Laura Lee…"

She began to move faster as she grew more aroused. He felt so good, and he was trembling just right. Plus, he was so big it was nearly impossible for him to miss her G-spot. "Oh, Steve…" she whispered as the pleasure stole her breath. "Oh, Steve, I'm gonna come," she warned him after several minutes had passed.

He nodded enthusiastically. "Please, Laura. Please!" he begged.

She looked deep into his eyes. "I'm gonna come all over you," she repeated.

"Please!"

"I love you," she said, closing her eyes again.

"I love you, too, Baby," he whimpered, staring at her face as it twisted in pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could and held her as close as possible. "My beautiful, little minx," he moaned. "Come on Daddy's lap," he instructed.

Hearing him tell her to come sent her immediately over the edge. "Oh, STEEEEEVE… Oh, Steve, I'm comingggggg…" she whined as she began to shake and tremble for him, her womanhood squeezing him again and again.

"Oh, YES! That's it, Pet!" he yelled as he felt her begin to orgasm. "Squeeze me, Laura Lee! Squeeze me as hard as you can!"

"SteveSteveSteveSteeeeeeeve…" she whined as she grinded against him as quickly as she could before resting her forehead against his and panting heavily, finally opening her eyes to look at him again. As soon as she came back to her senses, she attacked his lips, kissing him hard. "Mmmmmmmm…" she moaned loudly.

Steve officially couldn't take it anymore. As her tongue licked every millimeter of his mouth, he began to buck his hips up, making them both bounce.

"Oh!" she cried, breaking the kiss as he began to bounce her. She giggled and smiled brightly at him. "Ok, Baby, relax," she instructed as he thrust up into her again and again. "Slow down," she ordered firmly.

He frowned deeply and rested again. He pouted at her until she sat completely back on his lap, squeezing his full-length.

She smiled at him. "You were so patient for me," she whispered. "Let me take care of you," she said as she began to bounce on him as quickly as she could. "OoooOoooOoooOoooOooo…" she whined as his member hit the back of her womanhood again and again.

"YESSSSS..." he growled. "Bounce on Daddy's lap, Laura Lee," he ordered. "Bounce on my… Oh, God. Bounce on it, Pet."

"Steve. Steve. Steve," she called as she bounced

He stared at her breasts as she rode him, her butt splashing into the water again and again. It landed in his lap with a loud smack every time. She looked and sounded as incredible as ever. "Laura. Laura. Laura. Laura. Laura," he called in time with her bounces. "Oh, Laura, harder, Baby. Faster!" he instructed.

Laura moved her hands to the sides of the tub to help her keep her balance as she followed his instructions, bouncing faster and higher so she landed harder each time. She continued to call his name. "SteveSteveSteveSteveSteve!" she cried with each hop. She loved the way he felt inside her. Sure, at this point, she typically needed a little more clit stimulation to get off, but he still felt amazing when she rode him. She leaned back and rested her hands on his thighs to support her weight. "Oh, GOD!" she cried as she realized that position hit her G-spot perfectly.

Steve felt her womanhood hug him tighter. He wasn't sure what was happening, but something had changed. He realized she was getting close again. "Laura, Baby, are you gonna come again?" he asked.

Laura was panting heavily, barely aware enough to answer him. "You feel so good," she whined. "God, Steve, you feel so good."

He grinned wildly as he let her use for him for her pleasure. He stared intently at her face. As sexy as her breasts looked when they jiggled like that, he couldn't think of anything sexier than the look on her face when she came. He gripped her hips and began to help her move up and down as he noticed she was beginning to slow. "LauraLauraLauraLauraLauraLaura…" he groaned.

"Oh, yes, Steve! Don't stop! Right there! Don't stop! Don't stop!" she cried as he began to help her ride him. "Make me come," she begged. "Please, don't stop!"

"LauraLauraLauraLaura!" he yelled.

"I'm gonna come! I'm gonna come again! Oh, God, I'm gonnaaaAH…!" she shouted as she began to shake and shiver again.

As she squeezed him tightly and rhythmically, he began to come, too. He gripped her hips tightly and held her in place as he shot every last drop of his cum deep in her womanhood. "Laaaaauraaaaaa…" he groaned as he looked at her face. When he was completely empty, he pulled her forward again so that her breasts were in his face. He buried his face between them and held her close as she finished for several more wonderful seconds.

"Ohhhh, Steve…" she breathed as she relaxed. "Oh, Baby, that was amazing," she whispered.

He looked up to her eyes as she said that. "Did you really… finish?" he asked nervously, only ever able to say the word "come" when they were in the heat of the moment.

She smiled down at him and nodded. "I did."

"How? I wasn't even touching your special button," he said.

"I think it was my G-spot," she whispered.

"I love making you orgasm," he whispered back.

"Mmmm… I love coming for you, Baby, and I love when you fill me up with your cum," she purred.

He glanced down to where they were joined. He couldn't see much in the dim candlelight, as much as he had wanted to see her dripping with his cum.

She followed his eyes to where he was looking. She was grateful that the lights were off, because she was sure he was covered in blood. "Let's rinse off," she suggested. "It's getting late." She tried to climb off of his lap, but he grabbed her and held her tightly.

"No," he whined. "I'm not done."

"We both have to work tomorrow, Steve."

"I don't care," he insisted. "I wanna make love again. Just give me a minute to get hard again."

She looked down at him sympathetically. "We have to get some sleep," she said firmly, "but I promise you, we can wake up early tomorrow and shower together, ok?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "You're really that tired?" he asked.

"I'm exhausted," she admitted.

"Ok," he nodded, finally letting go of her.

She pulled his member out of her and stood.

Steve's eyes widened as he saw the carnage left on his lap. "Oh, my God," he said without thinking as he could see, even in the dark, how much blood covered him.

Laura looked away in horror. She placed her hands immediately over her face. She stepped out of the tub and ran for her robe.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked as he watched her put on her robe.

"Why don't we rinse off separately?" she suggested, looking everywhere but his face.

"No," he said, standing. "Laura, Sweetheart, get back in here." He paused for a moment. "You're gonna drip blood on the tile," he threw in just as it popped into his head.

"Oh, God!" Laura whined as he mortified her.

He climbed out of the tub and rushed over to her. He started to pull at her robe. "Relax, Laura Lee," he whispered.

"No, Steve," she said firmly. "No, stop." She pulled away from him and walked to the other side of the room. "Just leave me alone."

He looked at her, hurt radiating from his eyes. He walked to the tub and pulled the drain. He turned on the water and shifted it to the showerhead. He watched as the blood in the tub began to drain away and water from the shower rinsed away the rest. He glanced back at Laura, who was still curled into herself on the other side of the bathroom.

"Laura Lee Urkel," he said eventually, "how can you run away from me like that?"

She glanced up at him guiltily.

"Do you honestly think, even after I just watched you orgasm for me three beautiful times, that you are not the sexiest thing in the world to me?"

Laura looked away again.

"I'll admit that it was a little more blood than I thought it'd be, but that's why you wanted to do it in the tub, right? Look at the shower, Pet. It's all gone, and after you and I wash each other from head to toe, it'll all be all gone. I'm sorry that I embarrassed you, but you have to know that I still want you as badly as I did a moment ago. Gosh, Baby, what do I have to do to…" He stopped as he had an idea. He took off his glasses and set them on the counter. He walked up to her and grabbed her hand. He led her forcefully over to the shower and yanked off her robe. He lifted her over the lip of the tub and kissed her. "Mmmmm…"

When he set her down and released her lips, she tried to pull away. "Steve, stop."

He got on his knees in front of her.

She looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He placed his hands on her butt and pulled her closer to his face. He began to kiss her mound. "Showing you that no matter what, you're always my delicious, little Danish," he explained as he showered her in kisses.

She widened her eyes as he moved lower and lower on her womanhood. "No, Steve," she said as she slipped her hands between his lips and her most private area. "You are not going down on me!"

"Well, why in Sam Hill not?" he asked.

"Because that's disgusting!" she cried.

He stood and took her into his arms. "No, it's not, my love. Let me have my way with you," he begged. "Please, Babycakes."

"No," she said softly.

He let go of her and looked down at her with a deep sadness in his eyes. "Ok," he replied, swallowing hard. "Ok, I'm sorry. I'll let you shower, and then I'll rinse off and join you back in bed. I'm so sorry, Beautiful," he said, stroking her cheek. "I didn't mean to pressure you. I just wanted you to know how you make me feel."

Laura stared at him as he moved the shower curtain and began to climb out of the tub. "Steve, wait," she said.

He paused and climbed back in. He turned to face her.

Laura looked him up and down and couldn't believe her eyes. "Are you hard again?" she asked in disbelief.

He looked down at his member and blushed. "Well, yeah, my pet, but don't worry about me. I was in love with you all through puberty. I've gone to bed much more restless. I had a wonderful time with you tonight. Let's just get some sleep."

"No," she said, "I just mean… You can really look at all this blood and still find me sexy?"

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at her. "Well, now, you're just insulting me, Pet. YES!" he cried. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I think you are the sexiest woman in the world. A little blood isn't enough to scare me off. Laura, you know why there was so much blood?" he asked. "When you orgasm, some of it gets pushed out more forcefully because your uterus contracts," he explained. "All that blood just means I made you happy, and that just gets me more excited."

She stared at him in awe. He really wasn't like any other guy. "How do you know that?" she asked.

"I did some research at work today," he admitted, twiddling his thumbs in embarrassment.

"Please, eat me, Steve," she whispered

His eyes widened, and he went immediately to his knees. He patted his shoulder. "Put your leg on my shoulder, my queen," he instructed.

Nervously, she did what he said. She rested one hand on his head and the other on his free shoulder for support. Only a moment later, she felt his tongue flicking against her clit. "Oh, GOD…" she moaned, her knees giving out for a moment.

Steve held on tight to her butt, holding her up as she grew weak in his arms. He pushed her back a few steps so she could use the shower wall for additional support. He began to suck on her clit and moaned loudly into her womanhood. "Mmmmmm…" he closed his eyes and enjoyed her flavors. He could taste a little blood, and he could certainly smell it, but mostly, she smelled like Laura.

"Ohhhhh, Steeeeeve…" she purred, staring down at him, watching him devour her hungrily. She gasped loudly as he slipped two fingers inside of her. "OH!"

He ate her as aggressively as he could, wanting to get her over that edge and plunge himself deep inside her before she had the chance to change her mind. "Mmmmm…" he moaned loudly, staring up at her. It wasn't long before he felt another rush of her cum and blood trickle down his fingers.

"OHHHH!" she cried out as she came.

Steve held on tight to keep her on her feet as she rested all of her weight on him in ecstasy. As soon as she had finished, he stood and grabbed her leg. He placed it around his hip and guided himself inside of her.

Laura gasped as she was surprised by his member. "Oh, GOD!" she yelled.

He began to thrust in and out of her, finding no need to take things slowly as she was so wet and open. He began to move faster, pushing himself toward an orgasm. "Oh, Laura," he purred, burying his face in her neck. "Laura, Baby… Laura, Baby… Laura, Baby…"

"Oh, Steve…" she purred.

He lifted his face to look at her, realizing suddenly that he had never really asked for permission to take things further. He pressed his forehead to hers. "Is this ok, Pet?" he asked as he continued to thrust. "Do you want this?"

She nodded adamantly, with her eyes tightly shut. "Don't stop," she encouraged. "Don't stop."

He lifted her other leg and took her into his arms. He moved her up and down his member as he walked her back into the stream of hot water that they had more or less been ignoring. "Baby, I'm not gonna last long this time," he warned. "I'm so tired."

She moaned, "Oh, come in me, Steve. Come inside me."

He grinned brightly and stared at her as began to lift her up and down even faster. "Yes, Ma'am!" he agreed. He moved faster and faster until he was at the edge a few minutes later, bouncing her up and down wildly. "Oh, Laura LEE!" he yelled as he began to come inside of her. He pressed her back up against the wall and rested his weight against her so they wouldn't collapse. "OH, LAURA," he groaned, thrusting again and again as he emptied his balls. "Oh, I love you," he whispered, looking at her face, though her eyes were tightly closed. As soon as he was done, she opened her eyes and smiled at him softly. He leaned forward to kiss her, but her hand came up immediately to block his lips. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She cringed, "You have so much blood on your chin."

He laughed and snorted as he set her down. "Oh," he laughed. "Well, I'll just wash up before I try to kiss you then, huh?" he said as he pulled away from her. He walked into the stream of water and scrubbed his face. Then he turned back to her and pulled her close, kissing her deeply. "I love you," he said as he pulled away.

"I love you, too," she said.

He grabbed her body wash and poured some into his hands. He began to rub it onto her breasts. He handed her the bottle, and she began to rub the vanilla scent into his chest as well. She moved quickly to scrubbing his groin, wanting desperately to erase all traces of her blood. She allowed him to scrub every inch of her, as nervous as it made her, but eventually, they were both squeaky clean. It was clear that Steve wanted to spend a little more time on her, but she knew that she had to get out and put a tampon in before she began to drip down her thighs again. She hopped suddenly out of the shower, leaving him abruptly. He peeked his head out and watched her grab a tampon from the drawer. She sat on the toilet and glanced up at him. She wanted to ask him to stick his head back behind the curtain, but she knew that was silly. After everything they'd just done, there weren't many mysteries left for them in this area. Plus, he couldn't see more than three inches in front of him without his glasses anyway. She quickly slid in the tampon and grabbed a towel from the rack. He slipped his head back inside, and she heard the shower turn off. As he stepped out, she handed him a towel. He took it upon himself to dab her clean, so she did the same for him before wrapping her towel around her body.

He wrapped his towel around his waist and looked at her in the candlelight. She was practically glowing. "You look amazing, Angel," he whispered, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

She looked down at her feet and blushed. "Thank you, Steve," she said.

He kissed her forehead and walked to the light switch. He turned on the lights in the bathroom and blew out the candles. Laura walked back into the bedroom. Steve made sure everything was clean, rinsing a few walls and wiping up a few spots, and then he hung his towel on the rack and walked back into the bedroom. Laura was sitting on the edge of the bed, in one of his shirts and a pair of booty shorts. Her towel was beside her, and she was running a wide-tooth comb through her hair. She smiled at him as he grabbed her towel and set it back on the rack in the bathroom to dry. He put his glasses back on and turned off the bathroom light. He followed the lamplight back to the bed and sat on his side. When Laura was done with her hair, she turned, climbing under the covers, to sit up beside him. Steve opened his arms for her as she cuddled against him as closely as possible, handing him a glass of champagne. He took a sip and began to stroke her wet hair. He allowed his eyes to close, thinking they were done talking for the night, but then she spoke.

"Thank you so much, Steve," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he answered on instinct. "For what?" he asked when he realized he didn't know.

"For making me feel sexy," she answered.

He smiled. "You feel sexy?"

"Yes," she said. "Thank you."

"That's wonderful, Laura, but you don't need to thank me," he said.

"Sure, I do," she said. "You were amazing tonight."

"I'm really glad I could help, my pet, but you really don't have to thank me. I was just returning the favor," he explained.

She lifted her head to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I never feel sexy except when you look at me," he said.

"Really?"

"Really," he confirmed. "When we were engaged, I honestly thought that you had no interest in me sexually. I knew you loved me, but I couldn't fathom the idea of you lusting after me in anyway."

"What? Steve, that's crazy," she said. "You and I spent hours and hours just making out."

"Not really," he said.

"Of course, we did."

"Not the way you used to spend hours making out with Stefan or any other guy."

"Steve, I used to kiss you all the time," she argued.

"You did," he agreed, "but then we'd always start talking again."

Laura smiled softly. "Well, you know why, don't you?"

"No," he admitted.

"Because you and I had an emotional connection stronger than anyone I'd ever been with. There was always something to say," she explained.

He nodded. "You're probably right, but at the time, I kind of thought that you were attracted to me in a way that was a little less… intense. Then when we got married, I was so nervous about our wedding night. I was afraid that if I didn't do a decent job, you'd never let me do it again, but when we talked and we were alone, it suddenly became clear to me that you really did want me."

"Of course, I did," she confirmed.

"You wanted me bad," he chuckled.

She giggled, "I did. I was so scared that you weren't going to be able to make love to me that night because you were so nervous."

"But I did, and you saw me, and you felt me, and you still wanted me. You are the only person in the world who has the power to make me feel sexy, Laura."

"You are sexy," she said sincerely.

"Thank you for making me feel that way," he said, "even if the feeling doesn't always last."

"You're so welcome," she whispered, kissing him gently. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Laura Lee."