She couldn't stay the night. Luka was asleep, and no matter how badly she wanted to just lay in bed beside him for the remainder of the twilight hours, she had to drag herself out of that apartment and get home. John got off work in a little over an hour according to the alarm clock on the nightstand, and she had to be home when he arrived. Trying not to awaken her sleeping lover, she slowly slid out of bed and walked into the living room, collecting the articles of clothing that had been strewn about the area. The whole time she was dressing, she was trying to figure out what would happen. There were so many things to consider. After this night, would Luka expect more of a relationship from her? Would he ask her to leave John? And if he did.. would she comply? It scared her when she couldn't answer that question.
After dressing, she tiptoed back toward the bedroom and stood into the doorway, peering through the thick darkness to gaze at Luka. He looked so peaceful laying there. She wondered if he was dreaming. She didn't want to just leave, but she wasn't sure what else to do. She could leave a note, but that seemed all to impersonal. And if she did leave a note, what on earth would she say? No, that wouldn't work. And she couldn't bring herself to walk out. So, she took a deep breath and once again made her way over to the bed, sitting down upon it. Her slender digits ran through his dark hair and she leaned over, pressing a kiss to his temple. His eyes slowly opened and he looked up at her. They exchanged stares, as they had countless times before, but this one was very different. He seemed to stare directly into her soul, and the way he looked at her almost made her feel a bit uneasy, as if he could read all of her thoughts and feelings.
Finally, she broke the silence with a soft sentence. "I have to leave. I.. just wanted to tell you."
His eyes showed disappointment, but he didn't argue. Instead, he just nodded his head, and built up the courage to push himself into a sitting position and deliver a sweet kiss to her lips. She returned it, but didn't allow herself to enjoy it too much. After all, they didn't need another distraction. She had to get home.
* * *
Carter was in the lounge, getting ready to head home after a long night's work. It had been a good night though, nothing too drastic had happened. Not that he knew about, anyway. However, the night shifts he had been working lately had been taking a lot out of him, and he just wanted to get home and curl up with the woman he loved. He buttoned up his coat and gave a slight wave of good-bye to the rest of the staff on his way out the door.
He heaved a sigh of relief as he finally walked through the apartment door. He sat his keys down and slowly slid off his coat and scarf, hanging them near the door. He moved slowly into the bedroom and sat down on the bed beside his sleeping girlfriend. Well, she appeared to be sleeping. Of course, she hadn't gotten one moment of rest since she got home. She had already taken a shower, dried her hair, and tried to make the bathroom look like she hadn't set foot in it as of late. He pulled his shoes from his feet and kicked them under the bed, then stripped down to his boxers, letting his clothes fall carelessly to the floor. He was too tired to do anything about them now, he would take care of it in the morning.. or, afternoon, whenever he woke up. He crawled beneath the thick blankets, Leigh's back facing him. He slowly
slid an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek tenderly. Her eyes fluttered open and she faked a sleepy voice the best she could.
"Hi. Welcome home."
"Mmm.. thank you," he whispered in a slightly raspy voice. She gained her self control and confidence as she turned towards him. Trying her best to look as if she had just now woken up, she forced a very faint smile to her face.
"How was work?"
"Work's work," he answered simply, resting his head on her scantily clad chest. This was fine with her. She wasn't going to try and persuade him to talk if he wasn't in the mood. Right now, the less conversation, the better. She didn't want to talk until she figured out what she was going to do. She had to talk to Luka. She would have to check the schedule when she went in to work in the morning to find out the next time they had a shift together. But for now, John was her main concern right now. She cradled him lovingly, sliding fingers through his hair, hoping it wouldn't take long for him to fall asleep. John mumbled some before he spoke again.
"What'd you do tonight?"
The dreaded question! Her mind raced. What could she tell him?
"Oh.. umm.. nothing much.."
"Did you take Luka his 'homework'?"
He knew! But how much did he know? Certainly he couldn't have known what had happened, there was no way he could. Was there? She knew she would have to be very careful what she said.
"Yes."
Hmm. Well, that was a simple answer. No explanation, no elaboration. That was the way to answer, right? Her heart was pounding with her nervousness, and with his head resting on her chest, she knew he could tell. She wished with all her might that he wouldn't say anything about it.