A/N: Okay, so I recently did a poll to decide what fic I posted next. It had three options and ten votes. 2 for Jaitlyn, 4 for Natella, and 4 for Smitchie. So I'm posting both the Smitchie story and Natella story. Also, there's a new poll on my profile for the next fic I post. Go vote!

Happy reading!

angellwings

Come Back to Bed

By angellwings

"So tell me what I did.

I can't find where the moment went wrong at all.

You can be mad in the morning.

I'll take back what I said.

Just don't leave me alone here.

Its cold, baby.

Come back to bed."

-John Mayer, "Come Back to Bed"

Shane couldn't believe he was even here to begin with. He didn't understand why Mitchie still had this apartment. She rarely stayed here. Turned out it was a good thing she kept it, though. His house had been suddenly struck with termites and he and Mitchie were staying at her apartment for a few days. But this apartment had brought up questions, and those questions led to an argument.

An argument Shane didn't quite know how to solve.

He felt like a monster. Mitchie had rolled away from him and retreated to her side of the bed, and he thought he could hear her crying. Mitchie rarely cried, and when she did she always seemed to have a valid reason.

The more he thought about their argument the more he realized she did have a valid reason. He was an idiot. The mattress shifted and creaked. And he listened as Mitchie's footsteps walked around the bed. Her shadowy silhouette left the room, and Shane rolled over to check her side of the bed. Her pillows were gone, but she'd left her raggedy old stuffed bear behind. Did she plan on sleeping on her couch?

He reached an arm out to run a hand over the sheets on her side of the bed. There was residual heat on the bed and yet everything felt colder. He picked up her bear and then glanced around the room. Reminders of Mitchie and their fight were everywhere. He sighed and glanced toward the open bedroom door. He was not going to be able to sleep without Mitchie in bed with him.

He got out of bed and took the bear with him as he left the room. He slowly walked into the living room to find Mitchie curled up in a quilt staring at a picture of them on her coffee table. It was a very recent picture from Jason and Caitlyn's wedding. He cleared his throat and she tensed. He watched as she tried to discretely wipe her wet cheeks. He sat down next to her and handed her the bear.

"You forgot Fitz," Shane told her softly.

She sniffled and took the bear from him. "Thanks."

A thick awkward silence formed between them. He hated that he hadn't been able to answer her question earlier. He didn't know when they were going to get married so how could he answer her? He wasn't even sure he truly wanted to get married at all. What was the difference between living together and being married anyway? He didn't really see why it was such a big deal.

Shane hated this entire situation. He hated this apartment, he hated his brothers for getting married and reminding Mitchie that they weren't, he hated their parents for putting the pressure on to get married, and most of all he hated that he was afraid of that sort of commitment.

Mitchie deserved that from him. She'd put up with a lot over the years. But he didn't want to marry her because he felt he owed it to her. That wouldn't work out well for anyone. He wanted to feel like he could handle a marriage. He wanted to know that he was mature enough for that, and he wasn't sure he was yet.

"Mitchie, if this apartment is really that important to you then…"

She rolled her eyes at him. "It's not about the apartment, Shane."

He went silent again. He didn't know what to say or how to say it.

"I just want to know that I'm not wasting my time here," Mitchie said quietly. "I want a marriage and kids and…a future. And if that future isn't what you want then I need to know so I can find someone who does want that."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. That sounded like she was talking about a break up. "You—you can't. I don't want to lose you."

Mitchie bit her bottom lip and sniffled again. "I don't want to lose you either, Shane. But…I can't stay if we're not on the same page or even headed in the same direction. I want my future to be with you, but it's not going to work out if you don't want that too."

"Just come back to bed, Mitchie," he begged as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I'll take back everything just…come back to bed."

"This isn't going to go away," Mitchie warned him. He could hear her tears coming again, and to be honest he was about to get emotional himself. "Yes, I could go back to bed, and we could pretend everything's okay but it won't really go away. You have to know that. Shane, just…tell me how you feel. Be honest. Please?"

She caught his gaze and he almost immediately deflated. She was right. She deserved his honesty. He took a deep breath before he spoke, "I want to be able to promise you that future, Mitch. I do. But there's just so much that I don't understand or that I don't think I'm ready for. I don't want to get married because someone gave me an ultimatum or because I feel like I owe it to you. I want to understand what marriage is and know that I'm mature enough for a marriage. Does that even make sense? If we're going to get married I want us to be able to make it work. I don't want us to end up adding to the divorce rate."

After his last sentence he felt Mitchie relax in his arms, and she snaked her arms around his torso. He looked down to see her smiling softly at him. "Now that I understand."

"You do?" Shane asked.

"We've never even talked about getting married before, Shane. I was afraid you were just absolutely against it or something. That you didn't want anything to with it. But if what you want is to make sure we have a marriage that lasts…then I can definitely be patient enough for that. I just need to know that you want it, and that I'm not waiting around for something that will never happen."

"I want to understand it before I do it, and I want to make you happy. Just give me a little more time, Mitchie," Shane said as he kissed her forehead.

She nodded into his chest. "I can do that. Just…promise me you'll let me know when you're ready?"

He chuckled. "Of course, Mitch. You'll be the first to know."

"I better be," Mitchie said with a light sigh.

"Come back to bed?" Shane asked as he tightened his arms around her. "I can't sleep without you. The bed's too cold."

She chuckled and nodded. She stood from the couch and took Shane's hand in hers as she led him back down the hall toward her bedroom. She paused in the doorway, and hugged Shane tightly.

"If you want me to give this place up and truly move in with you, Shane," Mitchie told him with a smile. "I will. Just say the word."

He kissed her forehead and then shook his head. "Mitchie, I want you to decide when you're ready to do that. Take all the time you need. You can move in whenever you feel comfortable."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before she leaned up on her toes and kissed his lips. "I'm comfortable now."

He smiled softly at her. "Really?"

"As soon as your place is termite free we can move the rest of my stuff in and I can start looking for someone to sublet to," Mitchie said before she paused. "If that's alright with you, that is."

He smiled brightly before he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. He pulled away after several moments and rested his forehead against hers. "It's more than alright, Mitch. It's perfect."