"….You know you're the most irritating man I've ever met?"

"Thank you"

"…..Which is probably…why I love you!"

"…..Jac why are you?"

"Shut up!"

"OK"

And then they were kissing...And nothing else mattered… The world retreated, fell away and suddenly there was just the two of them and this moment…..And they were both lost in it – the wonder of it. The strange contradiction of it – that it felt so much like always but also so very different. The words Jac had spoken giving a new intensity, adding a different, more meaningful, dimension to their always passionate embraces. And there were no conscious thoughts just the wonderful, familiar feeling that always seemed to accompany their kisses, which they'd both missed so much in the time Jac had been away.

And when seconds, minutes, hours later they finally broke apart, Jac opened her eyes and saw Jonny looking back at her, and he smiled, and she smiled back seeing herself reflected in his eyes and wondering at the transformation she saw there, realising that this was what happiness looked like. And Jonny began to say something, but Jac, who wanted to capture the moment for as long as possible, stopped him raising her fingers to his lips to shush him, afraid that words would break the spell. And as if to emphasise her point, after moving her finger away and gently stroking his face she leant in and began to kiss him again. And Jonny responded, pulling her closer cradling her head in his hands, whilst Jac moved her other hand from his shoulder, so that it too was holding his face. And the magic continued.

And this time when they finally parted it was Jac whose eyes were open first, so that when moments later Jonny opened his, he found himself looking straight into them. He gazed at them – her beautiful emerald eyes – for a few moments more, realising how much he had missed looking into them, missed seeing them watching him, assessing him, judging him even. Then Jac blinked and the brief loss of eye contact enabled him to pull his gaze back further, to drag his attention away from her eyes so that he could look at the rest of her face – her always beautiful face. He saw that her eyes were open again, watching him, watching her, and he wondered briefly what she was thinking, what she was feeling. And then she smiled, and he knew….

She smiled, and he smiled back unable to resist, and her smile became more dazzling and breaking the silence she said, a note of wonder in her voice. "Who'd have thought it? I love you!" And then she smiled again, shaking her head slightly before saying again. "I love you Jonathon Maconie." Continuing, the amazement still evident in her voice, "whatever is the world coming too?"

And Jonny replied, filled with the confidence her words had given him, saying, "Hey, what's not to love?"

"Don't…please!"

He was knocked off kilter by her response. "Don't what?" he asked anxiously.

"Make a joke of it" she answered simply.

And the realisation hit him again, as it had when she'd left him practically speechless after saying it that first time, how big this was. What a massive thing it was for her to have said that, to have admitted it - to herself as well as to him. And he wondered briefly how long she had known, whether it had been in Japan, or before, that she had discovered this simple, but oh so complicated, truth. He wanted to ask her but realised that now was not the time "I'm sorry, I didn't think" he replied truthfully.

"No matter," Jac replied, smiling softly over at him, before bending forward so their foreheads were touching.

"Although," Jonny said, raising his head after a few moments "it's not really a surprise." Before continuing, as he saw the puzzlement on her face "that I was having trouble putting my thoughts together is it. You try thinking straight when the woman of your dreams has just told you she loves you."

And Jac's smile grew as she considered his words 'woman of his dreams – that's got to be good,' she thought. But she said, "that's a great recovery, Maconie. World class – worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster even. You do realise you can only use it once though?" she continued, "because the fact that you did say it proves that you are thinking straight now."

"I'll have to think of some other lines to sweep you off your feet then, I suppose." Jonny replied, grinning at her.

"Mmmm, most definitely." Jac replies, returning his smile. "But you'll have to make sure they're not clichés," she continued, recalling their previous conversation, "because that would be just awful."

"Wouldn't it" Jonny agreed, leaning in and murmuring, "just dreadful," before he began to kiss her again. And then all thoughts, of everything, vanished from both their minds, and they were lost in the moment, again.

Slowly though, something penetrated their consciousness, sounds from the outside began to filter through. They drew apart, reluctantly, "Elliott's aneurysm," Jonny said suddenly, putting two and two together, "they must have just finished." And it became clear that that was the case, as they heard voices and the unmistakeable sound of a trolley being pushed down the corridor.

"I'd forgotten," Jac said.

"Hardly surprising, with everything that's been going on with you," Jonny replied, gently touching the area around the cut on her forehead. "Why would you remember Elliott's procedure?"

"I didn'.." Jac began, but then stopped, unwilling to finish the sentence; to let him know that that wasn't what she had meant, not entirely anyway. "Nothing" she concluded, with a small shake of her head, in answer to the questioning look on Jonny's face. Avoiding the question she knew he would ask in response with a short, sweet kiss before drawing back and smiling. "We probably should take that," she said, looking briefly towards the corridor, "as our cue to leave. After all, I've still got an idiotic young farmer to finish having a go at, and you're meant to be working. And I can't allow any slacking on my ward"

"Not even for this?" Jonny asked, leaning in towards her once again.

"Not even for this!" Jac repeated, drawing away from him and slowly standing up. "Come on," she said, "back to the real world," encouraging him to stand up with a gentle tug on his arm. "I think it's time."

Jonny sighed, but stood up anyway. "The real world it is then," he said, as they worked together towards the swing doors.

"Anyway," Jac said, giving him one of her 1000 watt beams, as they reached them, "there'll be plenty of time for this," brushing his lips oh so gently with her own, "later, won't there?."

And before Jonny had a chance to answer she had pushed the door and walked out of the theatre, looking back at him, still smiling, over her shoulder as she walked down the corridor,.

"Oh yes," Jonny said to himself, as he followed her, also smiling, "all the time in the world!"