After Murdock had eaten a few bites of his lunch and had called Face to talk him into coming in the V. A. for a visit, he had laid down on his bed to get some rest. He still felt really good having had the delicious breakfast, not to mention the quality of the company. Besides, he was glad he had been present to help the young woman when she had collapsed, so Murdock had told every detail of the morning he considered mentionable to his best friend.

The pilot knew very well that the con man would be displeased about the fact that a woman had preferred Murdock over Face once again – even if she hadn't met the con man yet. They had seen it before, and every time it had sent Face into a real huff and Murdock made laugh up his sleeve.

Besides, it had been a long time since the pilot had met such a nice and interesting young lady, and he just had to tell somebody. Although Belinda's muffins hadn't been as good as the apple pie Murdock's grandmother had used to bake they had tasted wonderful. Beating his grandmother's apple pie would be very hard anyway since H. Emma Murdock had been a real expert on homemade meals. Murdock often remembered her food fondly, especially on holidays like Thanksgiving or on his birthday when she always had prepared his favorite meals.

"And you're sure she's not a Decker bug?" Face wondered when Murdock had finished his tale.

"Sure as shootin'!" the pilot answered.

"Why?" The Lieutenant held on to his point.

"Because, Faceman!" the Captain explained. "She's way too gentle to work for such assholes!"

Face considered these words and was a bit surprised that he indeed couldn't say anything against them. Murdock was right – so far, every Military Police spy, no matter if man or woman, had turned out to be a cold-hearted bastard. Sometimes the con man assumed that this characteristic was needed in the first place to get the job. And the way Murdock described his new neighbor, the young lady really seemed to be as good-hearted as could be.

"Okay, Murdock," Face said finally. "Just to be social, I'll take your word." The pilot pulled a melodramatic face and rolled his eyes before he grinned and winked at his best friend. The two men gave each other a friendly hug before Face left again. Murdock took the chance to doze off for a couple of hours, sleeping amazingly carefree.

Friday came sooner than Belinda had expected. She had taken a few days off from her job as a secretarial assistant in the office of an adults' school to prepare herself carefully for her first date in months, and as always, the free time made her loose track a bit. She had thought long and hard about what to wear on the date. As she didn't want to disappointthe pilotshe had decided to repolish her finger nails and toe nails with a purple nail polish she had bought a few days ago. Even if it wasn't a too-fancy date, she had chosen a long blue dress with little white flowers to wear with a pair of black peep-toe sandals with wedged heels and her red jogging top. After all, she considered it to be a date, and a date required adequate clothes.

On Friday morning, Belinda took a bath with vanilla scented oil added to the water to relax and prepare mentally for the date. She felt as if she was out of practice concerning dates. So she hoped that the handsome Captain – as she was calling Murdock to herself by now – wouldn't be disappointed with her, unaware he hadn't been on a date for some time, either.

The tall pilot came to her door at six pm sharp to pick her up, just as he had promised. As his first date in months was a special occasion to him, too, he had borrowed a navy sports coat from Face to wear it with a black long-sleeved t-shirt imitating a tuxedo front, his black ball cap for special occasions, his khakis – neatly pressed by the laundry staff – and his tennis shoes. In the morning, he had asked one of the nurses who always treated him kind to get him some flowers. In addition, he had made an appointment at the V. A.'s hair dresser to get a hair cut.

Belinda took a deep breath when she heard a knocking on the door. The first thing she saw was a big flower arrangement in Murdock's hand. Realizing he had dressed up for the Movie Night, she felt slightly underdressed and thought of changing into another, more adequqate dress. But Murdock's beaming smile and his friendly voice made her stop in mid-movement.

"For a pretty young lady who didn't mind going out on a picture show date with a crazy guy," he said gently, bowing deeply and handing her the flowers. Obviously, he wasn't disappointed at all by her everyday dress. It seemed as if he had expected her to wear this. His brown eyes were shining from under his cap when he looked her over. He was a bit amazed how good she looked, almost as good as in the blue cotton dress.

"Please come in. Thank you for the flowers," Belinda said before hurrying into the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers.

"Did you just say crazy?" she wondered when she came back into the living-room where Murdock had waited, sitting on the couch and scratching Tabby's ears when the cat had come to greet him. He nodded to confirm her question, and suddenly, the young woman remembered what he had said when he had taken Tabby home and they had talked at her door.

"Y'know, after the war, I was officially declared insane. Post traumatic stress disorder, they called it," Murdock explained hesitatingly when Belinda sat down next to him, "I've seen a lot of horrible and ugly things in war, things that affected me and got deep under my skin, making me wish sometimes that I had died in battle with so many of my comrades. That's why I live at the hospital. And that's why I'm nicknamed Howlin' Mad." He gave her a half-grin before he added, "Remember what I said when you told me that you like me? When we talked on the day we met? So don't you say I didn't warn you." The half-grin changed into a broad tooth-ridden grin when he gently ran his index finger along her chin.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Belinda couldn't help smiling at the funny gesture.

"Good for you." Murdock winked at her. He was slightly stunned because he had just told half of his life to this young lady he barely knew – not to mention that he had touched her face without wondering if she might argue. And he was surprised that this gentle and pretty young woman obviously was willing to go out with him. The warm and friendly expression in her black-brown eyes had made him feel as if he could trust her lock, stock and barrel – a very unusual situation for Murdock. The pilot wasn't used to trust a person easily because of the ugly things he had been through in his life – during his time in war and even in the V. A. – but he felt good being around her. As a certified lunatic, he was used to strange things of the highest rank but this emotion was almost off the charts.

"Shall we go, Milady?" he asked, mimicking the affected speech pattern of a British manservant, getting up and offering her his arm. Getting up, too, she looped her arm through his and smiled at him before locking her door and letting him lead her.

When they entered the hospital's entrance hall, the young nurse sitting behind the desk stepped out into Murdock's path with her hands on her hips and asked him about Belinda. The pilot stopped short before running into the petite and stern-looking redhead and took a deep breathe before hesitatingly taking Belinda's hand into his, always expecting her to protest and withdraw and feeling relieved when she didn't.

"I invited this young lady to the Movie Night," the pilot answered the nurse's question and gave her a "No messin' with me now! I'm serious!"-stare, making her blush and sit down at her desk again.

"All right then, Captain Murdock. Have a nice evening," she called after him as the pilot lead Belinda towards the cafeteria that was used as a makeshift cinema tonight, moving through the other hospital inhabitants as if they weren't there at all. Murdock raised his hand to indicate that he had heard the nurse before he took Belinda to an unoccupied seat and went to get a bowl of hot-buttered popcorn.

"So, you're a Captain?" Belinda asked while eating a few crumbs of the popcorn.

"Hope you're not disappointed that I ain't a Major or something." Murdock looked at her from the corners of his eyes as she had sounded surprised and he couldn't tell why. He had rested his arm on the back of Belinda's chair so his fingers were resting close to her shoulder, hardly touching the fabric of her jogging top. With his other hand, he threw popcorn into his mouth with the speed of a machine gun. Belinda couldn't help laughing quietly when she noticed that. The pilot smiled back at her. He was very glad that the young woman had agreed to this date. He felt like pulling her really close and kissing her. But for now, he didn't dare to do more than touch her shoulder. Maybe later, if he could come up with the courage.

"No, not at all," the young woman said, looking him over once again and meeting his eyes for a very long moment before lowering her gaze, "I just never met such a young Captain. I suppose you must have been a pretty good pilot if you got the rank so soon." She struggled hard not to lean against him, but his scent – a combination of soap, shaving foam, aftershave lotion and a little bit of sweat – and his friendly and mellow voice were very pleasant, and after a few minutes she gave in and put her head on the padded shoulder of his jacket, causing Murdock to jump in surprise, to give her a warm and very relieved smile, to run his index finger along her chin again and to caress her cheek. The pilot enjoyed the thought that she really seemed to like him the way he was.

"Thanks. I really was quite good. The rank's not always a question of age, y'know. Truth be told I'm an ace pilot, the youngest pilot to join the Thunderbirds. One of the best chopper pilots in Vietnam, they called me. If it's got wings, I can fly it. But that damn war broke me so the government in its infinite wisdom certified me as insane and put me in here. Say, how many Captains did you meet so far?" he said, unable to hide a grin.

"Since my father was a military man I ran across about 20 Captains, over the years, including you. Most of them were much older, 10 or even 15 years your senior," Belinda replied, making Murdock look at her in surprise until the movie started, a 1940's love story starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra neither Murdock nor Belinda had seen before. Belinda looked questioningly into Murdock's face, especially into his eyes. Hearing him mention the damage the war had given him had scared her a bit but she still felt like staying beside him forever and a day to enjoy his presence. Of course, she had heard people talking about Vietnam before – one of the wars she, herself, considered one of the nastiest wars in American history – but until tonight this had just been some kind of dreadful tales to her that had made her wonder about mankind's wretched and sad ability of mistreating other people and make up implausible excuses for their deeds. Now, she would be about to see with her own two eyes what war really could do to people. The pilot had been over there himself, he had seen the war in all of its horrible clarity, and despite of all the blood and slaying, he had made his way home, and obviously he had been able to remain more decent than most of the men she had met before. On one hand, hearing him talk about the war gave her the creeps; on the other hand, she supposed it was important for him that he could tell her about it; that she would listen, maybe even understand. Even if it would be a hard task. It saddened her when he mentioned something he called Electro Convulsive Therapy in the V. A. from time to time, and she wasn't entirely sure if she could really cope with hearing this stuff. But she would do her best because she respected that he had survived considering he had to have been rather young – maybe hardly old enough to shave – when he had been over there. But madman or not, the look in his big brown eyes was much warmer and brighter than the eyes of most men she had met before, and she felt good being around him. She sensed that he wasn't dangerous. And yet, she couldn't help wondering how much damage the war had really given him.

"Well then, how old do you think I am?" Murdock suddenly wondered. Belinda studied his face in the movie's flickering light.

"About twenty-four, twenty-five?" she supposed, giving him a shy smile that made the pilot blush slightly.

"Why, thanks," he chuckled, touched by the fact that he apparently looked so young to her, "In fact, my thirtieth birthday's sneakin' up on me real fast."

"Still, that makes you a quite young Captain," Belinda said, touching his hand accidentally as both reached into the popcorn bowl at the same time, lightly brushing each other's fingers. The sudden contact was electrifying and made Murdock almost drop the popcorn.

Thank God it's not a horror movie or I'd have jumped out of my skin, Belinda thought, her heart beating wildly. It took her a while to settle down again.

For some reason she assumed Murdock might have not invited her at all if it had been a horror movie. Besides, she supposed he might not have been able to take a sudden touch while watching a horror movie, either. She could see clearly he liked being here with her, and she could see he was rather excited, too.

"Thanks for the compliment," the pilot whispered, taking a deep breath and gathering as much of his courage as possible to take a piece of popcorn from the bowl before clearing his throat and tapping the piece softly against Belinda's lips as if to ask, "Anybody home?" He felt his heart turn a somersault when he saw the young woman smile and open her lips to let him push the bit of popcorn into her mouth. A slight tingle went along his arm when her lips closed again, slightly brushing the tip of his index finger.

Murdock couldn't concentrate on the movie any longer when his left hand seemed to come alive on its own in the dimmed light of the makeshift cinema, softly creeping over Belinda'sshoulder and along her arm. Feeling the gentle touch, Belinda held her breath for a moment. When his thumb touched the wrist, the pulse felt warm and pleasant in its fast yet steady pace. Slowly, his hand slid down to lift her hand. He looked at the nails glistening in the dim light and, following an inspiration, he softly kissed the back, just brushing the skin with his lips.

"I feel like going for a little walk," he said, kissed the back of her hand again and looked into her eyes as good as he could in the dim light. "Would ya like to join me?"

"With pleasure," the young woman said after a moment, looked up at him and smiled, causing Murdock to beam all over his face. The two left the makeshift cinema and headed for the park.

The night was warm and balmy. A crescent moon behind some shredded clouds and the stars were shining as bright as they could against the streetlights, giving the park a silverish glow. Murdock lead Belinda to a small picnic table with benches under an old oak tree in a corner of the hospital's park. It was one of Murdock's favorite places to sit and read a book on a sunny day, a hiding place not even Face knew about. From here, the hospital was almost out of sight so he could feel careless and free in those rare moments; he could forget that he was in a hospital park.

They sat down on the bench, and in the silence of the park, under the sky full of moon and stars, Murdock finally worked up all of his courage to put his hands on Belinda's shoulders from behind as if to give her a massage and pull her closer. His heart flip-flopped in his ribcage when she followed the soft pressure of his hands and leaned against him. Smiling, she took his left hand and caressed the back of his hand with her index finger. Murdock took a deep breath before he put both hands back on her shoulders and bent down to brush her temple with the softest of kisses. Then, he put his cheek against her temple, making Belinda smile.

"You know, you're really one of a kind!" she said. She hadn't met a guy like him before, nice, handsome and clearly interested in her but obviously far from pushing her into doing something she'd refuse.

"And you're the nicest gal I met in a donkey's lifetime – um, in a long time, I mean. I'm really glad we met, Bessie," the pilot replied in a low voice. He shifted into a better position and bent forward again to cup her face gently with both hands and to look enquiringly into her sparkling eyes – searching for a hint of doubt or fear, anything that should give him a reason to stop – before kissing tenderly her forehead, the tip of her nose and her cheeks. Finally, after another questioning look into her starlit eyes, he worked up the rest of his courage, kissed her cheeks again and put his lips onto hers, tasting her soft mouth and her sweet lip balm. The kiss was amazingly gentle, although firm, and certainly had a certain touch that defined it from the majority of kisses Belinda had participated in before. She held onto the pilot's shoulders so he could put his nose against her shoulder and inhale the scent of her skin.

"You smell as wonderful as the flowers I gave you," he whispered and was cheerful when his words made Belinda smile and pull him close to kiss his cheek.

"And I never knew that a man could be so gentle," she returned the compliment and couldn't help giggling when she felt him pulling her close to hug her, his long fingers gliding over her back, his thumbs accidentally poking her armpits and hitting a very sensitive spot on her. Belinda laughed quietly when she felt the touch. Frowning, Murdock pulled back from her to look into her face.

"What is it, Bessie, sweet darlin'?" he wondered, "Did I do somethin' wrong? Y'alright?"

"Yes, I am, and no, you didn't, H. M., handsome Captain. Everything's okay," Belinda answered and rested her head on his shoulder again. She didn't like the thought of not telling him the truth, but she didn't want to tell him that she was ticklish, either. If he found out himself, it was a different story. But she had made the mistake of mentioning her sensitivity to a man too often in the past, giving him the chance to use it against her. So, she decided to hold her tongue this time.

About half an hour later, they heard the other V. A.'s inhabitants leaving the makeshift cinema, indicating that the Movie Night had come to an end, and Murdock walked Belinda home. By now, he dared holding her hand without worrying it might be improper to do so. The dark eyes of the young woman were twinkling in the moonlight when they embraced each other in front of her door and she looked up to smile at him and thank him for the very nice evening.

"Pleasure's all mine," Murdock answered and blinked in amazement when she hugged him tightly and rested her cheek against the cool leather of his jacket. The embrace sent a shiver down Murdock's spine and a light blush up his face. But despite the tenderness they had shared already, he didn't dare to mention how much he enjoyed her presence because he wasn't entirely sure if Belinda would feel the same about him. Now, being convinced she seemed to, he felt relieved. Although he had decided that tonight wouldn't be the last time they would meet he definitely thought it to be unsuitable to come in with her at such a late hour, nice evening or no nice evening. So, he just returned the hug, kissed her cheek, and set off for the V. A. When he reached the entrance, he turned around and waved his hand at her.

Belinda looked over at his shape standing in the V. A.'s door and returned the gesture before she entered her house to sit down on the couch and think the evening over again until Tabby came strolled along, asking for some attention as she had been on her own all evening. The cat made herself comfortable next to her mistress on the couch and purred when Belinda took her on her lap and started striking the velvety fur. Finally, the cat squirmed to free herself from her mistress' arms and went towards the living room's door. She called a goodbye before leaving the house. It was about twelve midnight when Belinda got ready to go to sleep. She took a quick shower and changed her clothes into a two-piece bright red pajama with little white spots. It had a top with spaghetti straps and a low-cut neck and a short pantie. Suddenly, she heard noise from downstairs as if someone was trying to enter the house through one of the windows. It was answered by the angry barking of a dog. The sound made her think it was a big one. She slipped on a black cotton beach dress with embroided flowers on the front she used to wear as a housecoat, crept downstairs again to check, and noticed a dark shadow in front of the biggest living room window. A taller, familiar-looking shadow stood next to the first shadow and seemed to hold the other one's neck in a firm grip. Belinda reached out for the telephone to call the police and sighed in relief when she heard a recognizable voice shout, "Now get the hell outta here, Muchacho!" She couldn't hear an answer when Murdock added in a low and threatening speech pattern, "There's a bus leavin' in 5 minutes, and ya better be under it before I'll get really mad!" A low murmur answered to that before the other shadow crept away. Then, Belinda heard a quiet rapping on the window frame.

"Bessie?" Murdock asked. "Y'alright?"

"Yep," she answered, adjusted her dress and opened the window.

"I saw the guy sneakin' around your house, so I thought I'd better come over to make sure everything's okay," he explained, looking at her questioningly.

"You did a good job scaring him off," Belinda smiled.

"Did he steal something?" The pilot cranked his neck to look inside the living room.

"No, he didn't get the chance. Besides, I don't have much to steal." The young woman smiled thankfully at the tall pilot.

"He didn't hurt you, either, did he?" Murdock asked.

"No, he didn't. I don't think he noticed that I was in, and I don't think he'll come back again, either. You made an impressive watch dog."

"Thanks. But I feel bad leaving you alone. The brainless moron really might come back and try it again. Who knows what he'll do when he finds you all by yourself," Murdock objected when suddenly Tabby jumped onto the window-sill, looking at her mistress and the pilot. She meowed and purred to make them caress her coat. After a few minutes, Murdock's left hand stayed on top of Belinda's right hand, and he caressed it gently with his thumb. He looked into her eyes, and his worried expression made Belinda realize that it indeed seemed to be important to the lanky pilot to know her safe. She decided it was okay to let him sleep on her sofa bed. So he could be on guard and would be able to interfere if something might happen. She said, "And I feel bad letting you stand out there all night. I can offer you my sofa bed in the living room to sleep on if you like."

"I do like!" A grin spread on the pilot's face as he hurried to the front door and knocked.

Belinda hurried to open the door before preparing the sofa bed for her unexpected guest. The pilot followed her into the living room and sat down on the couch as soon as it was prepared. After a moment's hesitation, Belinda sat down next to him.

"Thanks for coming back, H. M.," she said and smiled at him.

"My pleasure, Bessie. Couldn't let this guy hurt ya, could I?" he whispered, took off his jacket and tossed it aside. At once, Tabby went to investigate it and made herself comfortable in one of the sleeves.

"Sweet dreams, handsome Captain," Belinda whispered back, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"There are many guys who would go and try to take advantage of the situation now," she said, tenderly looking into his eyes, making her feel like diving into a lake of liquid chocolate.

"But you don't," she added. Murdock smiled proudly when he noticed that she wasn't asking but stating.

"No, sweet darlin'," he answered, holding her gaze, "I'd never do that. It's against the rules to treat a woman that way."

"What rules, handsome Captain?" Belinda wondered. Murdock gave her a small gentle grin.

"The rules of decency, of course," he said and put his hands on Belinda's shoulders, caressing her neck with his thumb. "Not to mention my own, sweet darlin'."

The touch and his words soothed her a bit, but they also sent a shiver along her spine.

"Thank you, handsome Captain," she said. Murdock smiled when he heard her answer to the nickname he had given her before he pulled her close, putting an arm protectively around her shoulder and patting her back. Belinda shivered again when she felt the reassuring touch of his long, slim fingers. She felt like pinching herself to make sure that this wasn't a dream; that this gentle and handsome man was actually sitting next to her on the sofa bed and holding her soothingly in his arms now, having protected her and her small amount of possessions just a few minutes ago after they had spent a nice evening together. And she liked the fact that he had treated her decent.

"Safe and sweet dreams to you, sweet darlin'," Murdock answered in a low voice. His soft lips were just brushing her cheek while he ran his fingers through her soft locks, gently tucking a few strands of hair behind her left ear. After a few minutes of hesitation, she leaned closer against him, the way she had done in the park, putting her head on his shoulder again and her hand on his chest and closing her eyes for a moment when she felt his steady heart beat. She hadn't felt this good and safe in a long time.

"Safe and sweet dreams to you, too, handsome Captain," she answered in an equally hush voice, making him smile against her temple.

She was glad that the lanky pilot was obviously different from the other men she had met before. Whenever she looked into the infinity of his chocolate-brown, warm, and intelligent eyes, she could see he had deep feelings for her. Yet he didn't force her into letting him do more than kissing her forehead or her cheeks, tapping the tip of her nose, holding her hand, or putting his arm around her shoulders to give her a short hug and offering her a shoulder to lean on while they were sitting on the couch. As if there was some invisible frontier he didn't dare to cross yet because he'd get zapped as if touching an electrified fence if he tried. She didn't know why she was so surprised about his gentlemanly acting. Every touch, every word and every ever so little kiss was as gentle as one could wish for. As if he'd really never hurt her on purpose. Maybe it surprised her because she wasn't used to a man treating her this way.

"By the way, I wondered about the meaning of your initial. What does J. stand for?" the pilot suddenly asked before the young lady prepared to go to sleep.

"It stands for Janet," Belinda explained.

"Belinda Janet," Murdock repeated, rolling the words around his mouth like candy. "Whatta nice name it is."

"Wish I could say the same," Belinda answered. Murdock just gave her a hug and smile before she left for her bedroom.

The sun was up already when the pilot slowly awoke and noticed Tabby sitting on top of his blanket. The cat meowed softly and tapped the tip of his nose with her paw to greet him.

"Hey! Go find your own nose!" the pilot gently argued, waved the paw away and reached out to tap Tabby's head with his index finger. Tabby tapped his nose again as if to say, "Gotcha!"

"Okay, okay, you made yourself clear, Miss Tabby – you don't want me to sleep on," the pilot said and sat up, unable to hide a grin. "Well, I am up now, see?" He could hear some soft jazz music playing in the kitchen and supposed Belinda was up already, too. He checked his watch and was surprised to see that he had slept almost two hours longer than usual. He smiled when Tabby crept on his lap, laid down and closed her eyes to enjoy the caressing. But all the lanky pilot really could think of was pulling Belinda into his arms for a good and long old-fashioned kiss, like the one they had shared in the park, hopefully leading to more than just staying at her place. This wish somewhat surprised him. He had know this woman for just a couple of days now, and he wasn't used to do things to a woman to make her touch or kiss him, but Murdock enjoyed Belinda's presence, and he already yearned to feel, touch and taste every inch of her light brown skin, to become one with her. Despite of the short time they had met ago, it just felt right to him. When he looked at her dainty fingers for too long, he caught himself thinking about taking her hand and tasting her fingers or pulling her close and kissing her again. This emotion was kind of confusing – although it was wonderful to feel those butterflies inside his stomach, it definitely had to be against the rules to have such feelings so soon. It just had to be!

For the first time in years, the thought about getting married had crossed the pilot's mind once again, even if that would mean a line of questions he wasn't sure how to answer, either from Belinda's parents or the young lady herself.

Murdock watched Belinda enter the room, holding a cup of coffee in each hand. She handed him one of the cups, warned him not to burn his fingers, and sat down on the edge of the bed to drink from the other cup. The pilot took a sip of the coffee, too, smiled at the young woman and said, "Good mornin', Bessie. I hope you slept well. Thanks for the coffee and for the warnin'. Um, may I…?" When she smiled back at him and nodded, he put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek, shivering slightly when he felt her fingers touch his shoulder, strike his neck and take a sudden and soft grip at his hair.

"Thanks for protecting me," she whispered, feeling love and desire stimulated inside her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and melted into his sweet kisses and the touch of his long fingers.

"You're very welcome, sweet darlin'," Murdock replied, looking deep into her black-brown eyes and noticing her emotions stirring up in the same way his were.

"Have I told you yet that you're lookin' wonderful in this dress, sweet darlin'?" the pilot asked, looking her over.

"Not yet, handsome Captain," Belinda replied, smiling and caressing his cheek. Murdock gave her the brightest grin he could muster up at this early hour. He liked the nickname, and he felt as if he'd never get tired of hearing her call him handsome. It made him feel as if it just had to be this way. A woman always seemed to have a tender nickname for a man she was fond of.

"Still – I'm sorry that I almost forgot to mention it," the pilot insisted, hanging his head a bit, as if in shame. Belinda cupped his chin to make him look up at her again and pecked him on the cheek when she noticed the gleam in his eyes indicating that he was just joking.

"Don't blame yourself, handsome Captain," she said. "You just woke up, and you just had your first sip of coffee." When Murdock gave her another broad grin, the young woman snuggled close against him and felt his fingers caressing her head and neck before he put his forehead against hers and whispered, "May I take you upstairs?" When she nodded, he smiled happily, got up and picked her up on both arms. Smiling, Belinda held on to his shoulders and let him carry her up the stairs. She was a bit impressed that he could really lift her up as he wasn't looking very strong.

When he put her down on top of the bed and sat down next to her, Belinda couldn't hold back any longer herself. She softly took his hand and pulled him close to kiss his lips and unbutton his shirt before pulling it slowly over his shoulders, opening the sleeve buttons, sliding the shirt down his arms and running her hands down from his neck to his chest. Murdock knelt down on the bed and took off his t-shirt before his fingers searched for the hem of her dress to take it off. It took some time until Murdock dared to push up the pajama top and take off her pajama bottoms, too.

"You're so pretty, sweet darlin'," he said, looking at the young woman in the black bikini underwear she had worn underneath her pajama. She smiled when he slowly bent down to caress the soft curve of her belly and touch it with his lips before he shed the lingerie top to investigate the soft skin of her bosom with the tips of his fingers and to place little kisses all over her face and along her throat and the collar bone to the shoulder, making her shiver in delight every time his soft lips touched her skin. They looked into each other's eyes and felt that they were doing the right thing. The hell with the short time they had met just ago! Belinda hugged Murdock as close as possible and shifted to open her legs wider. The pilot moved to kneel down next to her legs. He kissed and caressed her belly again and looked into her eyes once more before he slowly slipped down her underpants as he had seen the look of unyielding love in her black-brown eyes – that and nothing more, neither hesitation nor fear whatsoever. He smelled the moisture from between her legs mixed with her perfume and the scent of her skin, making his body react in a way it hadn't reacted in a long time.

Slowly and carefully, they undressed one another, sharing lots of tender kisses, sensuously touching each other, before Murdock held on to her shoulders and moved into the right position to enter her holiest of holiest. Belinda held her breath for a moment when she felt his tip touch her moist entrance. Then she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him as close as possible. He kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth, and, following the pressure of her legs, he gently began to push himself into her warm and moist entrance. Slowly moving inside her, he let his lips wander down her neck to her bosom, kissing the soft flesh, grazing it lightly with his front teeth and playfully teasing the nipple with the tip of his tongue, then tracing small kisses all over her bosom and along her breastbone, her throat and her jaw to meet her lips again, stopping for a moment to nibble softly at a pulse point – making Belinda groan quietly in ecstasy. After the orgasm he slipped out of her again and lied down next to her, snuggling close to her, wrapping his long arms around her waist and kissing her, happy and satisfied. Belinda put her arms around his shoulders and smiled when their lips parted. It had been a while since she had been in bed with such a gentle and passionate man, and she had enjoyed every second with him. In fact, feeling safe in his arms that held her close against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder and smelling his pleasurable scent, she caught herself wishing to make love with him over and over again… until the end of her life if it were up to her.

Where, oh where have you been all my life, my handsome Captain, she thought, feeling her blood rush through every part of her body. She opened her eyes, and ran her hand through the hair on his chest below his Adam's apple. A happy smile spread on Murdock's face when he felt the touch. He had enjoyed making love to her a lot, too.

Bit by bit, the pilot and the young woman drifted off to sleep, their naked bodies entwined. They held each other close until noontime when Tabby came into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed to demand lunch on top of her kitty lungs.

"I'm gonna take care of it, sweet darlin', and you…" the pilot muttered, stabbing Belinda's breastbone lightly with a finger to make his point, "You're gonna stay put." He kissed her again, and left the bed to put on his underpants, his t-shirt, his socks and his sneakers and go feed the cat. Then, he bent down again to kiss Belinda's lips. The young woman, still feeling rather drowsy from the suddenly interrupted nap, gave him a thankful smile when their lips parted.

"There's an open can of cat food in the fridge door and a metal bowl on the cupboard. Let the food stand on the table for a few minutes, or it'll be too cold for Tabby. And don't let her talk you into opening a fresh can for her before the old can isn't finished," she advised him before pulling him close once more and kissing him back. Murdock looked at her again before he went into the kitchen. Tabby followed at his heels and watched him filling the metal bowl. She meowed sweetly and rubbed against his leg when he placed the bowl on the table. She jumped on a chair and sniffed the food a few times before she obviously considered it eatable.