A/N – Ok so I've been away for a while, well the writing part have still been enjoying reading some of the great stories on here. I promise that my other stories have not been abandoned they are on hold, my life is very hectic and have been pursuing writing my novel and also producing my own website. This piece was written for my website (check out my profile for a link) but when I finished it and re-read it I saw that for me anyway the two unnamed characters were obvious. Hope you enjoy, it is not long and please let me know what you think!

Etchings of my Past –

"Oh my god!"

He pushed himself up and rolled so that he was lying next to her, both of them breathing heavily as their naked forms sprawled out on the bed. Manoeuvring himself onto his side, he leant on his right elbow as his free fingers crept across and started to caress the raised mark that was just under 5cm long, a horizontal line on her left hip. His thumb stroked the bump softly, he moved his gaze slowly but purposefully up her body until he met her eyes but was disappointed to be greeted only be her tightly shut eyelids.

"So how did you get that one?"

His voice almost a whisper as he let his fingers rest atop of her soft skin, breathing deeply as he watched her eyes stay tight shut.

"Jumping down from the tree house in my grandfather's garden, I didn't allow for the springtime growth and snagged myself on a branch."

A smile crept across her lips as the memory played in front of her closed eyes but her lips pursed once again as she felt his fingers move once again.

"What about this one?"

His fingers had moved, snuck up and had found the haphazard 8cm scar on her stomach, his arm rested on her belly button as he gently lay his index finger on the scar. Her sigh was unfortunately audible and she immediately felt his touch withdraw from the sensitive area, instead he rested his warm fingers to the left of her stomach. Rolling her eyes behind the closed lids she tried to stop the tears from falling as the lump in her throat increased in size.

"Seven years ago, my boyfriend and I had an argument, well let's just say that there's a reason why I don't eat steak anymore."

A few tears escaped from the prison she had built around her eyes and she suddenly felt bare and vulnerable as the warmth of his body evaded her.

"I..."

"Shh, I'm still here."

His voice was a whisper as he rested his head close to hers, seeing her body shake with emotion he quickly moved both of his arms around her waist and held her tightly. She tried to turn away but the strength of his presence was undeniable, he was the one that had made her feel comfortable once again. He hadn't cared about the scars that adorned her body, hadn't mentioned them until now and she knew that to move on she needed to share with him the origins of these scars, how each one told its own story, some happy, some sad, some traumatic, but now...every single only of them was in the past. Her eyes still remained shut, allowing the moisture to drain away but subconsciously she turned her head towards him, shuddering as she felt his breath against her cheek.

"I love you."

"Thank you for letting me in, don't worry I'll always be here to catch you."

Fin.