DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dark Shadows

A/N: Hey! (Keep in mind this is an oldie of mine, so I apologize if it sucks lol -.-') I always thought that Rachel and Tim should've been together since they would've been a really cute couple, but alas, Rachel was murdered before anything could happen! -( Besides, they always have her character with Barnabas...oh, well. Hope you enjoy! -)

Rachel Drummond was exhausted beyond all knowing. As usual, she had spent her entire day teaching the children in the damned schoolhouse that Reverend Trask had forced her to board in. It felt like a prison, only it was ten times more excruciating to endure. There was, however, one source of solace to her ever-pained heart: her best friend, Tim Shaw.

Ever since they were children they had been terribly close, yet Rachel had always felt something deep within her soul for the young man that had bordered along the thin line between love and desperation. He was perfect in her eyes, so it took absolutely everything in her being to keep herself from professing her love to him every time they were alone.

So now, as she and Tim continued to grade papers in the primary classroom, Rachel found herself every once and a while stealing clandestine glances at her friend, carefully studying his blonde hair and strong features as she continued to daydream and blush like a ridiculous schoolgirl.

"Something interesting on my face?" Tim's deep baritone suddenly rumbled, thus causing the surprised young woman to snap out of her fantasy and look him square in the eye.

"W-what?"

He smiled. "You've been staring at me for the past five minutes...it's kind of unnerving."

"Oh! So I have" Rachel agreed, the natural rosy hues within her cheeks only deepening as she suddenly pretended to be terribly interested in the desktop. "I...I'm sorry..."

Tim immediately shook his head. "Forget about it...not a big deal."

Once he realized that Rachel had returned her wandering eyes back to her papers, however, he then allowed himself to think about how beautiful and amazing she was. Ever since their childhood he had reserved a special place for her within his heart, yet he was far beyond positive that she would never accept him for who he was.

One could even say that Rachel's horrors with Reverend Trask were a dream come true to Tim since that meant that they were forced to work side-by-side, their bodies sometimes so temptingly close that it was

ridiculous.

Didn't she realize how greatly she affected him? Couldn't she see that he truly cared about her? By God, as far as he was concerned, she was the very blood in his veins.

Rachel suddenly became deathly aware of all of the attention that she was receiving from being bathed within her friend's ever-adoring gaze and frowned. "Tim...why are you staring at me like that?"

He didn't answer her question, his dark eyes seeming to burn into her own doe brown orbs as he gingerly took her chin in his hand and tilted her head back, his lips immediately seeking her own in a desirous kiss that enveloped them both within a velvety aura of intense lust and passion.

A low moan full of gratitude escaped the back of Rachel's throat as he pulled her firmly against his well-carved torso, his warm, satin lips burning a trail down from her mouth to the fluttering pulse upon her silken neck, his hands immediately cupping her modest breasts and giving them a gentle squeeze that caused her to let out a small whimper and bury her face within the crook of his neck as if she were

in hiding.

"I love you" she breathed, placing an affectionate kiss upon his cheek as she tangled her fingers within his messy blonde hair and released a fervid sigh full of completion.

Smiling into the crook of her neck, Tim returned veraciously, "I love you, too."

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Oh, how she loved his hands.

They were perfect in each and every way, always knowing exactly how and where to touch her to the point that she would lose all control and sense of reason.

She found it to be simply incredible that these were the hands of a simple schoolteacher; all soft, gentle, and caring with every single graceful flourish that they burned along her pale, silken flesh.

So, standing there completely naked within the moonlight of her quarters, Rachel felt no real true surprise that Tim was there before her, his one hand gently cradling her hip while the other caressed the softness of her cheek, his warm, dark eyes both haunting and alluring as he pulled her in for their first true, heartfelt kiss.

It was unlike anything that Rachel had ever experienced. All of their former kisses had been savage and brutal with a lustful carnality, but this one was much different. It was soft and gentle, yet extremely passionate, the love that they both now clearly felt reflecting off of each tender touch and embrace that they so passionately shared.

Nuzzling the nape of her neck, Tim gently suckled upon Rachel's fluttering pulse and rolled his thumbs over her tingling nipples, her breath immediately hitching in her throat as he lifted her up within his warm embrace and carried her over toward her bed, which he placed her down upon with such care that it was as if he feared that she might break.

"You're so beautiful" Tim breathed, gradually lowering himself atop his lover and situating himself in-between her legs with a look in his eyes that could have very easily melted her heart. "Forgive me for never having the courage to say what I truly felt."

"Tim" Rachel gasped in return, clutching him to her bosom as he lightly nipped at her flesh with his teeth and soothed the slightly aggravated spots with his tongue, her soft moans only further encouraging him as he was suddenly overcome by the overwhelming desire to hold her.

Lightly caressing her between the legs, Tim couldn't help but moan, himself, as he felt her undeniable want for him, her deep brown eyes pleading with him to the point of sheer insanity as she reached up and lightly touched his face.

"I love you" she breathed, causing him to suck in his breath. "I love you so incredibly much."

Tim wordlessly answered her by devouring her mouth with his own, their tongues dancing to the rhythm of their inner fervor as their arms tangled about one another with a desperation that aroused them both just as equally.

Letting out a deep and throaty moan, Tim stiffened as Rachel gave him a long, firm stroke, his member throbbing within her taught grasp like steel as he grunted and felt his desire to take her to new heights rapidly escalating with each and every rise and fall of their sweat-slicked bodies.

Gently flipping him over so that he was now beneath her awaiting body, Rachel carefully positioned herself over his iron-hard arousal in an agonizingly slow manner, their eyes locking with a burning passion as she rigorously impaled herself upon him and felt as if something warm and incredibly wondrous was budding deep within her very heart and soul.

Throwing his head back in utter ecstasy, Tim seized Rachel by the hips and began to instinctively pump deeper within her, both moaning due to the incredible sensation that was radiating between them like a sudden burst of untamed heat, their soft gasps only further enhancing the passion that was rapidly combusting within them and adding fire to their already fully-ignited love.

"Tim" Rachel gasped, her trembling fingers eagerly running along the smooth expanse of his well-toned torso, his flesh quivering amidst her touch as she slowly leaned forward and placed a desirous kiss upon his warm, thin lips, his fingers now tangling their way within her hair as he tried his damndest to get closer.

God, he needed her. She was his water and his fire. His other lovers, he realized, had never accomplished that. They had always been either one or the other.

Tightening his grip upon Rachel's hips like an iron vice, Tim choked on a moan as he felt his seed explode deep within her, his muscled chest thrusting outward in utter delectation as he gasped and hauled her back down so that their lips could meet once more in a kiss filled with a deep and passionate desperation. His body seemed to hover in a love-induced bliss as he brought her down along with him, her name becoming a mantra upon his lips as he praised her via verbal means and sweet kisses.

Snuggling against Tim in utter adoration, Rachel breathed a hushed "I love you" into his ear and fearfully awaited the outcome, wondering if he had been faking his devotion to her all along. After all, she was a woman who was terribly afraid of rejection.

Smiling, Tim breathed as smoothly as if he had been saying it all his life, "I love you, too, Rachel, and I always will."

Then, she smiled, too, her heart now a-flutter and dancing deep within her bosom with a happiness unlike any that she had ever experienced, fore she finally, at long last, found that she could truly believe.

A/N: Yeeeaah, it sucked, but w/e...I felt like sharing it since it recently came to my attention that some of my friends like Tim/Rachel, too. :-)