Grace lay in bed trying to sleep after Darius left, but sleep wouldn't come. Again she turned around only to find thoughts of Darius. How he had held her to his chest. How safe she felt in his arms. How she wanted more than anything to be in his arms again.

"то, что происходит в Москве, остается в Москове," he said and she laughed before he added, "But only if you want it to."

Did she want to? She felt content and happy talking to him in Russia. And every other time they had talked. But was she ready to start something with him?

"Tell me when to stop, Grace," Darius whispered as his lips hovered only a few inches from hers.

"And if I don't want to?" she asked looking down at his lips.

Darius smiled at her and kissed her softly before deepening it as their passions grew higher. They kissed and soon moved to the couch for more stability."

Grace," Darius moaned into her mouth, "I'm not making love to you." Grace abruptly pulled away from him, but he pulled her back, closer to his chest, whispering, "I want to, Grace. I ache for you, but I'm not having our first time being in a blood coated room as wanted fugitives in Russia."

"I need you, Darius," Grace said straddling him.

"Believe me, I need you too," Darius said pushing his hips up so she could feel his arousal. "But I've told you: Not here. I want our first time making love to be special."

"Dammit!" Grace yelled as she climed out of bed and got dressed.

What if he is sleeping?

No, he said it himself that he doesn't sleep.

Maybe that's just something he said? Like everything else?

No. She couldn't think like that. Not now that she was already walking to the elevator.

Grace waited impatiently as the elevator made it's way to the tree house. The doors opened and Grace stepped out of the elevator to a scene she wasn't expecting. Music was playing softly, the same song they had danced their first dance the. The same song the had their first kiss on. There was a fire on the screen of on of the computers and Darius was sitting by one of the many giant windows with a still closed bottle of whiskey and a glass.

She stood there admiring him for a minute before she asked, "What happens if I don't want it to stay in Moscow?"

Darius turned around, clearly surprised, and smiled when he saw her walking over to him. He stood up and put the bottle and glass down on the nearest table before taking her into his arms.

Darius kissed her and whispered against her lips, "Let's find out."

SALVATION

Darius woke up to Grace kissing up and down his chest giving him love bites where she'd missed the night before.

"Grace," he said in a warning tone. "Grace... Love... Would you stop that? Just for a minute?"

Grace stopped reluctantly and sat in his lap as he sat up.

"Believe me, Love," he said kissing her lips softly, "I want you very, very much, but we might need to talk before we say things in our... throws of passions... again that is."

"Do you regret it," Grace asked worrying her bottom lip not missing how Darius' eyes flickered down to look at it.

"Making love to you?" he asked looking back into her eyes. "Most definitely not. Telling you I love you? Grace," Darius whispered softly pulling her closer, "I love you. Since the moment I saw you."

Grace smiled and kissed him, whispering into his mouth, "I love you too, Darius Tanz."

"Grace," Darius said pulling away again, "as much as I want you... we need to talk."

"Fine," she said and climbed out of bed. After putting on Darius' shirt from the previous night she made her way to the kitchen.

Warm arms wrapped around her waist as she was making breakfast. "I love you, Grace, but there are so many things going on..."

"I get it, Darius. Harris. The government. The Russians. Atlas. Katia. The asteroid. The fact that I might just get fired. Zoe. O god... I had just told Zoe about me and Harris... She going to think I'm a whore!"

"She won't," Darius assured her as he kissed her neck. "Harris knows he doesn't stand a chance anymore. The government can't stop you from having a personal life, no matter who it is with. The Russians? Really, Grace? They trust us. Atlas is over. Katia's funeral should be soon, we can attend if you want. We'll stip the asteroid. And if you get fired, well... We'll figure something out if that day comes."

"I got summoned to the office," Grace said as she put pancakes in two plates.

"What? When?"

"Earlier this morning," she said handing him a cup of coffee. Claire called and asked I come to see her in three hours. I couldn't sleep so I made pancake batter, readied the coffee and then I wanted to leave it ready for you but when I went into the room... You just looked so peaceful and I couldn't leave you..."

"So you woke me up instead?"

"I was wake you up or leave you," Grace laughed.

"I'd rather wake up than not see you," Darius said leaning over the counter to kiss her.

"You really can make a girl feel like the one."

"But, Grace... to me you are."

SALVATION

"Grace, where were you?" Harris asked as she walked into his office.

"Home," Grace said looking him dead in the eye even though she knew it was a lie. Though it had felt like home in Darius' arms. "I thought I had the day off to... recuperate?"

"You did," Claire said. "But we needed to talk to you about Darius. His uncle wants to vote him out of his business." Claire glanced at Harris then said in a worried tone, "Nicholas Tanz is once destroyed a government project and can very much destroy project Samson."

"Then why don't you talk to Darius?" Grace asked irritated. The government really did like to have others do their work while they just sat back.

"Because we need to know what goes on inside Tanz no matter what," Harris explained. "We want to sign a contract with Tanz Industries to have a permanent liason. You."

"Okay," Grace said. She could spend time with Darius and could get paid to do it. What if it was just a one night stand? No, he had told her he loved her, over and over.

"Grace," Harris said pulling her out of her thoughts and Grace noticed that Claire had left the office.

"Sorry, yeah?" Grace asked trying to give attention to Harris.

Harris stepped closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders asking, "What's wrong? Is it Darius?"

"In a way," Grace said pulling away from Harris.

Harris looked her up and down for any signs of injuries and was over thrown with anger when his eyes landed on the marking on her neck. The clear hickey she had tried to hide with a turtle neck shirt, but he noticed it and knew who had put it her. It wasn't him so the only other person could have been Darius.

"Harris... I..."

"You're sleeping with Darius!?" he yelled at her. Grace just nodded and Harris yelled, "How the hell could you do that, Grace!? We are dating! When!?"

"Dating?" Grace asked as the sarcasm dripped from her voice. "We're barely lovers, Harris! I've known Darius merely a few weeks and I have fallen so head over heels in love with him that I would rather die with him than live with you. I felt something for him from the beginning and then in Moscow we... were talking, then we started dancing and... we kissed."

"You kissed now you love him? How cliche..."

Grace stood up straighter and walked to the office door before turning back and saying, "I loved him long before that and I only loved him more when he told me last night. And I loved him more this morning when he told me again before I left his arms," Grace said and walked out of the Pentagon without looking back.

Grace drove back to her house and sighed in defeat when she saw Zoë's car in the drive way along with another car.

"Zoë," Grace called as she entered the house.

"Hey, Mom," Zoë yelled back as she stepped out the kitchen with someone on her heels.

"Dylan?" Grace asked surprised.

"I know your angry, Mom," Zoë quickly said, "but we've become very good friends and promise that we haven't taken it any further than that."

"Okay," Grace said confused. "Even if you did do anything it wouldn't matter because Harris and I just broke up."

"What?" Dylan asked as Zoë asked, "Why?"

"My eyes were opened to see so much more," Grace said and left the house.

"Mom," Zoë said rushing after her mother, "you just got here. You can't leave without explaining anything. It was Darius Tanz wasn't it?"

"I see if I can make it back tonight, otherwise there's some food in the freezer," Grace said and drove off.

SALVATION

Darius sat looking at the completed EM drive. He had done it. He, Darius Tanz, had bested Newton's law of gravity. Darius' mind started to drift to Grace. His lovely, fiery, red headed, blue eyed love. Who loved him back. Never in a million years had Darius thought it possible for him to find love after Tess, yet here was Grace. And all it took was the world about to end for him to meet her.

"It's quite amazing," a voice said from behind Darius and he turned to find Grace standing in the glass doorway looking at the EM drive in amazement.

"It is isn't it," Darius said looking back to it.

"Though I wouldn't say it was more amazing than the man that brought it to life," she said standing behind his chair as she started to kiss her neck.

" I didn't do it alone. Why were you called in?" he asked turning around to face her.

"They want me to be a permanent liason at Tanz. Then Harris saw one of the lovely hickey's you left me last night and we broke up so I'm not quite sure if I still have a job. I didn't stay to find out," Grace said straddling Darius' lap.

"Well, you are always welcome here, Grace," Darius said kissing her as his hand went to her hips.

"That's why I love you," Grace said turning around to sit on his lap with her back to his solid chest.

Darius kissed her neck while putting his arms around her. "And I love you too, Grace."