Patrick Turner woke up to a weight pressing down on his chest, making it difficult to breathe deeply. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see nothing but a sea of golden hair, shining in the early morning sunlight.

Shelagh, his wife of less than twenty-four hours, lay sprawled across his chest, fast asleep.

Taking great care not to wake her, Patrick cautiously lifted his left arm from his side to brush the hair from where it had fallen in her face.

Images of the previous night came back to him then. Her shy smile as she entered the bedroom in her bridal nightgown, their first private kiss as husband and wife, their gentle and shy discovery of one another, the look on her face at its conclusion.

He tried to steer his thoughts away from their current course, becoming distinctly aware of his body's reaction to them and not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife.

He lay as still as possible, soaking in her beauty as she slept, her soft exhales of breath tickling his bare chest. He was unable to stifle a groan as Shelagh nuzzled her cheek into his chest, slowly waking.

She pressed against him lightly as his right arm held her close around the waist. Inhaling deeply, he watched her eyes open and start to focus on her surroundings, a look of confusion forming before trailing her eyes up his chest to meet his.

"Good morning, wife."

"Good morning."came her whispered reply.

Patrick didn't think he'd ever tire of making her blush. He bent his head and placed a kiss on her forehead as she tilted her chin to meet his lips.

"Will it be like this every morning? You watching me sleep?"

He chuckled, kissing her again, this time on her smiling lips.

"If I have anything to say about it, yes. Yes it will."

"Good." She smiled, burrowing into his chest once more. "I like waking up like this, Patrick. You're quite a comfortable pillow, dearest." She giggled as he tightened his hold on her, finding the spot just below her ribs that had delighted him in the discovery of how ticklish she was there.

"Did you sleep well?"

"You know something? I don't know...I don't recall getting much sleep."

And there, in the smirk that graced her face, was the woman he'd fall in love with time and again. No longer the quiet, shy woman in a habit, but the brave and beautiful temptress she'd hidden beneath. Her expression changed and he caught it immediately.

"What is it, Shelagh? What's wrong?"

"Patrick? I never told you...that day, on the road...when I was walking in the mist, before you came? I was so afraid."

He stroked her arm, willing her to continue and wanting to take away any fear or sadness she would ever have from this moment on.

"Of what, my love?"

"That I would be lost forever. That I would disappear out there on that road to nowhere. Without ever telling you-" she met his gaze then, her voice becoming almost wistful. "Without ever telling you that I love you."

Before she'd even finished the sentence, his lips were on hers, pouring his love for her through his actions, willing her to understand. As they pulled apart, she placed her left hand on his cheek, stroking his stubble with her thumb.

"You saw me when I was invisible. You came for me."

He turned his face into her palm, kissing the barely visible scar and mirrored her actions with his own hand upon her cheek.

"Oh, Shelagh. I would never let you be lost, my love. Never."

The air changed then, they both felt it. Attuned to one another's thoughts, they moved together almost instantly. Patrick rolling Shelagh onto her back, kissing her deeply and passionately. She yielded to him instantly, just as she had the night before, but this time was different. Instead of the fierce, overwhelming actions of their lovemaking last night, this was tender and slow. Almost like a promise of the future that lay before them.

Her hands buried themselves into his hair as he trailed kisses across her face, down her jawline to the base of her throat.

"I love you." He breathed.

"I love you too, Patrick."

Leaning their foreheads together before he continued, he waited for her eyes to open and meet his.

"My love?"

She couldn't speak as she watched his expression, his eyes liquid with love and longing.

"If you disappeared...I'd find you." He whispered before capturing her lips once more in a tender kiss and showering her with all the love he had.