A/N: This is a random fic... Or rather I should say: this is one version of a random fic. There is potentially another, longer, messy-angsty-plotty-suspense version that I'm half-toying with writing, which would diverge from this version after the end of chapter one... If you're interested in seeing that inevitable mess at all, do let me know ;) And in the meantime, I hope that this one is okay. Later chapters will be rated M. Please let me know what you think x

Plenty of Spice

Chapter One

He could hear Jose and the others laughing loudly behind him as he stood at the bar nursing the last of his bottle of beer.

Henry supposed it was probably antisocial of him, coming out for drinks with his co-workers and then failing to go back to join them at their table after acquiring himself another drink (was it his fourth bottle or his fifth now?), but truth be told the noise and the late hour was getting to him and he was planning on making his escape as soon as the last of his beer was gone.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Elizabeth to let her know to expect him: Leaving soon, can't wait to crawl into bed with you. He was just putting the phone back in his pocket when he heard a voice to his right.

"Drinking alone on a weeknight?"

Henry looked around to see a woman standing there, holding her purse in one hand and an empty cocktail glass in another. He smiled tightly, not looking to get into a conversation when he was planning to leave so soon. "Yes," he answered, nodding to emphasise the point and then taking a long pull of his beer, the bottle almost empty now.

"Well, we can't have that." The woman hopped up onto a barstool next to him like she was planning to stay a while, her body turned towards his, her expression open and inviting. "I'm Melissa."

He swallowed the last of his beer. "Henry," he said, to be polite.

"What are you drinking, Henry?" The short brunette was holding out one hand to flag down the bartender, gesturing at her empty glass and the bottle that Henry had just abandoned without even waiting for his response.

That was forward.

Wait. What was happening? A thought nagged at him. Was she… was she hitting on him? He took a moment to assess the situation. Melissa was turned towards him on the barstool, sliding the stem of her empty glass between her fingers, looking up at him through her eyelashes that were long and thick with mascara. She smiled seductively. Her perfume was sweet and heavy and no doubt meant to entice.

Okay, yeah, she was definitely hitting on him. Crap. "I'm not drinking anymore, thank you." He needed to extricate himself from the situation and get his ass out of the door, pronto, or at least go back to sit with Jose and the others and hide in the crowd for a while until this little problem went away.

Melissa touched his left wrist, her thumb against his pulse point. "Go on, one more won't hurt." She smiled a little wider. "Tell me about yourself."

He pulled his arm back from her and made sure she had a good view of his hand and the thick wedding band he proudly wore on his third finger. "Well, I'm married," he said, pointedly. That ought to do it.

She quirked an eyebrow and tilted towards him. "So?"

Oh God. "Happily married." He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and knew it would be Elizabeth responding to his text. He felt an urge to see her.

She frowned like it was an unfamiliar concept. "Oh."

"Yes."

Fresh drinks appeared on the bar in front of them and Melissa reached over to pick up her cocktail, taking a sip and looking thoughtful. Henry thought she looked to be in her early forties, although it was hard to tell in the dim light of the DC bar. Her smile lost some of its flirtatious edge and her tone sounded genuine when she said, "That must be nice. For how long?"

Henry breathed a sigh of relief, glad she'd dropped the flirty aggression. "Going on twenty-five years now."

"Wow, that's a long time."

He smiled as he thought of his marriage. "Yeah. But also it goes by in a flash, you know? Feels like forever and five minutes all at once."

"Sounds nice."

"It is." Henry pulled out his wallet and fished out a twenty dollar bill, dropping it onto the bar to cover Melissa's cocktail and the beer he wasn't going to drink. He figured it didn't hurt to be the nice guy to help the woman save face. "Have a good evening."

She snagged his arm before he could step back. "You, uh, you and wife wouldn't want to spice things up by any chance, would you?"

He couldn't stop the widening of his eyes or the splutter that left his mouth. Was she suggesting..? Yeah, he thought she was. The naughty glint was back in her eye and her tone was suggestive enough that he couldn't miss the insinuation. He felt indignation bubble inside him. The nerve of the woman to keep going once she knew he was happily married and unavailable. His tone this time was firmer. "We're good, thank you."

"You sure? I'd have thought you must be in need of a little spice after quarter of a century with the same person."

Henry plucked her hand from his arm and picked up his jacket from where he'd dumped it on his own barstool. He left no room for her to make a comeback from his parting shot. "My marriage still has plenty of spice, thank you. Enjoy your evening."

He walked away before Melissa could say anything else, moving quickly to the exit and then outside into the cold night air, walking briskly and making a couple of random turns to make sure she wasn't attempting to follow him before he flagged down a cab and climbed inside with a sigh of relief. He gave the driver his address and let his head fall back against the seat.

Well, that had been weird, and not something that had happened to him in a very long time. He had to confess he was out of practice. He couldn't wait to get home.

He remembered then that his phone had gone off while he had been trying to extricate himself from Melissa and he pulled it out of his pocket to look. It was a message from Elizabeth as he had expected. Hurry home, the bed's cold without you x

As if his wonderful relationship with his wife was something he'd even consider risking because of the attentions of some random woman in a bar. He smiled at what Elizabeth had written and typed back a reply as the taxi sped through the streets towards home. Hold tight, babe. I'll warm you up when I get back. Love you x

The house was quiet when he stepped inside, but there was still a lamp glowing softly in the hallway – no doubt left on for him by Elizabeth so he didn't arrive home in the dark.

Henry completed the task of locking up the house for the night and made his way upstairs, pulling off his tie and starting to unbutton his shirt as he went. There was a light on in the bedroom and he hoped that it meant Elizabeth would still be awake despite it being past midnight, but when he walked inside the room he found her fast asleep. Surrounded by papers, she had obviously fallen asleep while working, still propped up against the pillows with her glasses slightly wonky on her face.

He smiled at the sight of her, feeling a rush of tenderness flood through him as he watched her shift slightly in the bed at the sound of him entering. Henry crossed the floor as quietly as he could to reach her side of the bed and then carefully collected up the papers that had been strewn over the mattress, stacking them in a neat pile on Elizabeth's nightstand. Then he sat down on the bed next to her hip, reaching over to gently remove her glasses from her face.

"Babe, you should lie down," he whispered, slipping one hand beneath her shoulder to try to encourage her to slide down properly onto the mattress.

She stirred, blinking drowsily, her eyes opening for a moment to see him sat beside her before they slid closed again, obviously not wanting to properly wake. "Hey," she mumbled, one hand fumbling to wrap around his wrist.

Her touch felt familiar and much better than Melissa's had in the bar, and Henry lifted his free hand to stroke Elizabeth's hair back from her face before once more encouraging her to lie down properly, pleased when she complied. "Remind me to tell you a funny story in the morning," he said, leaning down to drop a kiss to her forehead before standing up so he could finish getting ready for bed.

Three minutes later he was climbing into his side of the bed and reaching over Elizabeth to turn out her bedside light and then staying close to her so he could wrap his arm around her and pull her body back against his. She came easily, snuggling against him and even in sleep letting out a sigh of contentment as she laid her arm over his to keep him in place.

As Henry drifted into sleep, he thought again about what he had told Melissa in the bar: twenty-five years of marriage? It really was nice.

TBC