Jonathan Randall had to smile as he reached over to pick up the black lace panties draped 'just so' on the bedpost. For a moment he allowed his mind to wonder… 'If these were here, then what was she wearing when she left?'

He shook his head, running his face over his now-flushed face. Grabbing a towel from the back of the chair, he breathed deeply. "Cold shower," he muttered.

Dinah Marler leaned against the cool brick of the building enjoying the feel of the crisp, autumn air on her face. She smiled as she imagined Jonathan finding the souvenir she'd left him on the bedpost and wondered how long it would take him to start pondering the possibilities. A giggle escaped her lips as she glanced around to make sure no one noticed.

'Any respectable girl always carries a spare pair of panties in her purse, don't they?' Well, maybe not. Maybe just those prone to mid-day trysts with trouble—and if Jonathan Randall was anything, he was trouble.

"Come on, D...Pick up the phone." The familiar voicemail greeting sounded, dashing his hopes.

He sighed, shoving the phone back into his pocket. It had been nearly two weeks since he'd seen her. Sure, they weren't a couple, he had no hold on her just as she had no hold on him, but somehow he'd come to enjoy their time together.

Jonathan leaned back in the chair, running his hands through his dark hair. His mind raced through every moment of the last time he'd spent with her. Had he done something? Said something? Dinah wasn't the type to hold her tongue. If he'd pissed her off, he would have known it. Wouldn't he?

Dinah sat on the edge of the bed. How was it possible to feel so many different emotions simultaneously? She watched as the screen on her phone faded to black. He wouldn't stop calling and she knew it. Sooner or later she'd have to face him. Sooner or later he'd have to know.

The knock on the door startled her as she slowly stood to her feet.

"D, you in there?" He pounded on the door, all the frustration from the last two weeks evident in his assault on the dark wood.

Dinah breath caught in her throat as she stood there. Jonathan had been the one thing in her life that wasn't complicated...the one thing with no strings attached-until now.

"D...Come on answer the door! What's the matter with you?"

"Alright already," she hissed as she made her way to the door, ever aware of the potential scene in progress outside her door. Grabbing the door handle, she inhaled deeply and forced a smile.

"Could you keep it down? I can live without the dirty looks from the neighbors."

One look at her brought a sly smile to his face. "Like you care what they think," he sneered, pushing past her into the room. "So you want to tell me why you've been avoiding me lately?"

"Avoiding you?" Her voice shook a little as she tried mightily to feign innocence. She had hoped he wouldn't sense her distance, but even she knew that was naive.

"You don't call, you don't write," he whined coyly. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were tired of me." He flopped onto the bed, turning onto his side to face her. His eye caught on a box in the wastebasket as he reached over to grab it.

Dinah followed his gaze, rushing over towards the bed. "Wait...don't." She lunged towards the box, trying to knock it from his hands.

"Uh..Uh..Uh," he teased, bringing the box towards his chest. "Looks like you've got some secrets," he grinned. Turning the box over in his hands, he glanced down to read the cover.

"Jonathan," she breathed, feeling her heart beat faster.

His eyes widened as he saw the words and he pushed himself up on the bed.

She watched him as the realization hit, as the truth she'd been dreading to tell him became obvious without any spoken words.

Looking up, his eyes met hers as she slowly made her way towards the bed. She sat on the edge, her back to him. They had shared laughs, some drink, their pain, but tonight, it was clear they shared much more.

He swallowed hard, trying to push the anger, hurt, and fear deeper into his core. For a moment, he'd considered the fact that she had planned this-that perhaps all the times they'd spent together had been a part of her master plan. He was suspicious by nature, no one had ever given him a reason not to be.

As he looked at her now, those thoughts vanished. She sat there, avoiding his gaze, her hands trembling slightly as she brought them to her face. He thought he saw a tear escape her eye.

This was not the look of a master manipulator.

Minutes passed-he didn't know how many, but the silence was making him crazy. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up beside her.

"Why didn't you..." The words left him as she looked up at him.

"I didn't know for sure until today," she whispered, she looked away again as she felt his eyes weighing heavily on her. She hated feeling like this, especially with him. He was the one person she didn't have to pretend with-the one person she could be herself around without the fear of judgement.

This baby could change everything. She longed for a child, but a baby was definitely not in Jonathan's plans. Looking at him now, she wasn't sure if he was angry or hurt or a combination of the two. Jonathan could be volatile, that was something that had first drawn her to him, but it wasn't on her short list of the qualifications for a good father.

Jonathan turned quickly, raising his hand to his hair.

The quick motion startled her and she flinched, retreating slightly as she looked back at him.

This side of her-the timid, fearful Dinah, wasn't a side he was accustomed to. He didn't like seeing her like this and he certainly didn't like being the person that mad her feel this way.

"Hey," he said softly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "I'm not mad at you...if that's what you're worried about, you can stop."

She nodded warily, her gaze still not meeting his for long.

He sighed. "And I'm here," he said quietly, taking her hand in his. "For what it's worth, I'm here."

It was strange being with her like this-in this place, in this position. They never talked much, at least not about anything heavy. As he'd told her more than once, 'They weren't that kind of friends', but this, this silence, this awkward cloud that had settled over them-this wasn't something he was used to.

Dinah was free, simple, fun, uncomplicated. This was...anything but.

He turned towards her, forcing his mouth to open. What he planned to say, he didn't know, but he had to say something.

She lay beside him, her legs curled up just slightly, her eyes closed. He sat still for a moment watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

Shaking his head, he stood up. At least one of them could get some sleep tonight he thought, turning to leave. Jonathan stopped as he reached the door, his eyes falling on the folded blanket resting on the bench seat. Carefully he draped it over her, aware even as he did it of how foreign the gesture was to him.

He had done a horrible job of taking care of himself. How the hell was he supposed to take care of someone else?

She lay perfectly still, waiting until she was certain the door had completely closed behind him, before opening her eyes.

Sitting up slightly, she folded the blanket down. Such a small gesture from him, and yet one that had taken her completely off guard. Jonathan had reacted pretty much the way she'd expected. He'd been shocked, probably to the point of running off for good, but it was the little things like this. The gentle gestures, the moments when he touched her in a way that her feel safe, those moments, rare as they were, made her question everything she thought she knew about Jonathan Randall.

"Don't you worry," she whispered, running her hand across her flat stomach. "No matter what, we'll be fine."