AN: This story as said in the description takes place in the time between when Mickie last encountered her abusive ex boyfriend, and when Brett proposed to her those six months later. So the story is going to have a happy ending, that is obvious, but here is the journey there. Let's see what happens, shall we?

Chapter One: A New Home

Well, this was new to Brett Morris, that was for damn sure. See, he was used to living with girls, because he was the only man in his house after his father died, and he had to deal with, well, "woman things" living with his mom and his two older sisters, but this was way different. This was something that was new for the soldier that was out of Iraq almost a year earlier, and that was something he considered easier than this. Now he was living with a woman once again, and he was really nervous about it because this woman was not a member of his family, in a certain sense anyway.

There was some good news and some bad news about this, though. The good news, the woman that he was now living with was one of his closest friends from high school Mickie James. She had just moved in a few weeks earlier after her abusive ex boyfriend Jason went to jail after he broke into his home, and tried to do god knows what to Mickie. Thank god Brett came back home when he did, otherwise something might have happened that he and Mickie both couldn't and wouldn't imagine.

The bad news was sort of good for the both of them, well, for her at least. Mickie and Brett were not the teenagers that they once were in high school. They were now adults, dealing with adult problems as they did a little while ago. Plus, it didn't help Brett that Mickie was a lot more, well, buxom than when she was in high school, and he had already seen her in her lace underwear, and that was an image that he could not, and would not get rid of anytime soon. Brett knew that this was going to be a really interesting time, that was for damn sure, and don't even get Brett thinking about the sexual tension that was going to be there in the forthcoming timeframe...

A little while later, Brett found himself wondering through his home, and he passed by Mickie's room, a room in which he converted into a bedroom just for her, an act of kindness that Mickie really did appreciate that he did. Anyway, he passed by her bedroom, and noticed that as she was sitting on her bed, watching tv, she still had boxes packed with her stuff in it. That kind of bothered him because she wanted to feel like she was at home, and she still had boxes in her room which made him think that she didn't intend to live here for very long, and that couldn't be farther for the truth. Brett wanted her to stay here for a long time, even permanently if it came to that.

Curious, Brett calmly opened the door, and stood at the doorway. Mickie looked up at Brett and smiled, but it wasn't until Brett stepped completely into the room that her attention was completely on her friend.

"Mickie, what is that?" Brett stated, pointed to the boxes in the corner.

"What do you mean?" Mickie asked curiously. "Those are my boxes filled with my stuff."

"I know that. What I meant is why you didn't finish unpacking those boxes yet." Brett stated, in a curious tone of voice.

"Okay, just what do you mean?" Mickie asked, not getting where he was going with this conversation. Brett took a deep breath before he continued to speak.

"Mickie, look. I know that you are still dealing with some things. So am I to a certain extent. But I can promise you that I won't force you out of here before you are ready to leave, and I don't intend on making you leave." Brett said, smiling at her.

"Really? Brett, are you sure that you mean that?" Mickie asked, as if she heard him in the wrong way.

"Really, really. I meant what I said, I want you to stay here with me as long as you want to, or until you get comfortable to move out on your own." Brett confirmed with a smile.

Mickie stood up from off of her bed, and crossed the room, giving her friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek, something that caught Brett completely off guard.

"Thanks, I really needed to hear that." Mickie said, breaking away, and walking into the other room. The only thing that the brown haired, muscular man could do was to stand there, and watch as she walked away from him.

"Okay, no problem." Brett said, standing there, blushing like mad and smiling the same way, too.

A few hours later, Brett was back in his room, going over some papers and reading as well. He looked out at the setting that was outside. The starry and clear sky proved that it was late at night, something that slipped up on to Brett once again.

"Damn. Nighttime slipped up on me once again." Brett said, rubbing his eyes and leaning back into the chair in which he was sitting in, interlocking his fingers behind his head. The digital clock on his computer table read that it was 8:01 PM. It was still kind of early, and it was too early for him to go to sleep. He just sat there in that position, pondering what he was going to do for the next few hours.

He was so deep in thought, he didn't notice that his door was open. He heard his shower shut off, and Mickie step out of it. After a few minutes more, Mickie emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, her wet hair sticking to her face. With a comfortable and exotic sigh of relief, Mickie strolled with such grace to her bedroom to change, not aware that Brett had just watched her.

"Well, that is something that I can get used to." Brett said with a grin as he went back to work.

AN: Well that was the first chapter, but what is going to happen in the next one? Well, with that said, ladies and gentlemen, stay tuned for more!