A/N: My version of what happened when Mike and Kate first met..

Don't own Anything

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He sat perfectly still, a dark silhouette against the brilliant light of the curtains whipping in the wind behind him. A white sheet lay crumpled across his lap, barely covering his body as a gust of wind sent shiver's down his spine. His shoulders were hunched as his elbow's rested heavily against his knees; the skin across his back tight with tension so that his muscles pulled at him roughly. His head, brown locks falling precariously a top it, was lying in the palms of his hands, face down and eyes firmly shut. His heavy breathing filled the quiet room, loud sighs that shook his whole body, giving the impression of a broken or frail man.

She noticed him through half closed eyes, blinking slowly in a tired state of consciousness as she rolled to face towards his shadowed form. She watched his actions and his movement; listened to the steady heaves as he inhaled followed by the slow rush or air as he exhaled, all the while keeping a steady eye on the rise and fall of his bare chest, half hidden behind the unruly strands of hair fallen beneath his gaze.

He looked as she felt; alone, nervous, fragile, overwhelmed. How many times she had opened her mouth to speak, only to close it in worry once more, struggling to find the words to express what was inside of her. Her heart beat a steady rhythm against her chest; a white sheet pulled tightly to her chin covering her entire body though no matter how hard she tugged at the rough fabric, she couldn't rid the feeling of exposure that engulfed her. She felt as if she might be exposed to the world for ever, or at least to the man seated before her.

She took the risk to open her eyes further, embracing the pillow beside her for warmth against the stale air surrounding the room. She sucked in a deep breath, filling her aching lungs as if she might never breathe again. He turned, just a fraction, but she saw him never the less; a silent acknowledgment of her presence near to his.

"I should go" he murmured finally, voice thick with emotion and thought; first words since last night echoing against the cream coloured walls surrounding them on all sides.

"Yes" she managed to choke out, mumbled against a mouthful of pillow pressed against her pale face. Her voice sounded different she realised suddenly, some how older, exposed to the world, less naive and more….guilty.

He did not move though; dark silhouette remaining perfectly frozen in time against the gales blowing against her window. How loud it was! She wrapped the thin sheet tightly across her face, smothering the howls and whistles echoing in her head while covering the image of him seated before her, his brooding figure a stark contrast to her pale room; a terrible reminder of what she had done.

She shut her eyes tightly, knowing he wasn't married but still feeling a desperate sense of betrayal, wondering if this is what it meant to be having an affair.

Destroying your career for a man you met day's earlier; giving up your youthful flare for a smudged feeling of exposure. Saying one thing while doing the other.

She shut her eyes tightly against the harsh sunlight judging her from the window across the room, white curtains still blowing carelessly against his bare hunched figure at the foot of her bed.

She willed herself towards a time before hand, namely a yesterday long since forgotten in the haze of her exposure to the world and smudging of guilt across her conscience.

Worse, she felt the lump in her throat at the thought of him, the tingling at the memory of his body lying against hers, the safety of his arms wrapped around her; safer than any experience she could name.

She realised with horror that she needed him.

She opened her eyes to the harsh sunlight now blaring down upon her body, tangled between the sheets. As the brightness adjusted she glanced down to where his figure sat, hunched over in fear at what had happened; dizzy with realisation of what he had let himself do. He rose gently, tugging on his jeans while draping his shirt across his bare chest before turning towards the door, not daring to look towards her or acknowledge her presence any longer.

He glanced side ways, catching her curled form out of the corner of his eyes before sighing loudly, stepping forward and leaving the silent room. She stared at the door intently, even as his heavy footsteps echoed through her apartment, and the door squeaked open and the lock caught as it swung closed with a thud.

She didn't tear her eyes away until she heard the swerve as his car turn the street corner, and only then she allowed herself to look away, drag the thick sheets down and sit up. A lone, hot tear trickled slowly down her cheek, plummeting towards her lap before another followed its path, dripping down her paled face until she was wet with tears.