The conclusion of Silver Feather. I hope you're enjoying the fluffiness... A little angst to go with it in this last chapter.

Let me know how you liked it!


The low rumbling of his voice sends thrills down her spine. Her laughs abating, she catches her breath. She's totally relaxed now. The laughter has ripped apart the last remnants of tension in her chest. It's like there is light inside her. She sighs, content. One thing intrigues her, though. "Why the closing the eyes, Eric? I want to see you. I want us to make love."

"Patience… As nice as that sounds, you're gonna have to wait a little." He reminds her quietly. "But after we're done here, I'll be happy to follow up on your request, agent Bristow." He goes back up her body for a few seconds. "I promise you'll have my undivided attention." He whispers against her lips, dropping a soft kiss there before heading back to her belly button. He can still feel her getting antsy and wiggly... Better get on with it. "So you want to know why, huh? Alright, I'll help you guess. What do you feel right now?"

Sydney's brow furrows a bit, wondering where Eric is going with this. But she's promised to play along, so she does. "I feel your hands against my hips. Your mouth on my skin…"

"Nononono, wrong *feel.* What do you feel inside?"

"Oh, that… Well, I'm excited, I guess…" She says as if nothing much was happening.

"You guess?" With that, he traces a bee line with the feather, heading straight for the little nub of flesh he can see pointing out from between her nether lips. Relentless, he teases it until she lets out her first cry of rapture.

The surge of light inside her came out of nowhere. She's panting, drowning, then back to the surface. She hangs on to his name like it's a life-jacket. "Oh God, Eric... Eric… I don't think I can take more of this. Please… Let me open my eyes."

He chuckles gently. "Not yet, grasshopper. First, you've got to answer my question right."

"I already did!" She protests feebly, a smile stealing over her parted lips.

"Two wrong answers so far. One more chance…"

At a loss, Sydney's foggy mind can hardly focus. She has to, though, or he'll stop. And she can't have him stop. This is too good. What does he want to hear? Frustration gains her. "What do I feel? Like I'm going down a slide and I never want it to end… Is that better?"

He grins at the slight worry he spots in her voice. "It'll buy you an extra guess…"

Arrrgh, he's driving her crazy… Wait, maybe that's it. "I feel… loved, teased, worshiped … I feel like I'll go mad if I can't open my eyes and kiss you right now… ahhhh…" She reaches her peak again as his tongue's tip flickers the hard bundle of nerves so close to her center. "Ahhhh… Eric… Eric…" She begs as he shows her no mercy and continues to excite her until she's covered in a fine veil of sweat. She arches her back hard, her whole body wracked by spasms of pleasure that sate her senses, but not the hunger she feels inside.

While she quiets down, Eric continues his exploration along her inner thighs, at the hollow behind her knees. All the way to her feet and toes. Then suddenly, he leaves her to move about the room. "No!" She cries out, her eyes ready to open and search for him. He can't leave her, not now. She's so far gone she's liquid. Not a bone in her body could support her. "I swear to God, Eric" she warns, still panting, "I'll never forgive you if you leave me like that…"

"Like what?" He whispers against her left ear.

She jumps a little at the sensation of his breath on her neck. "Like I don't deserve anymore of your attention for now. I do. God, I do. I need you inside me. I want you to make love to me. Wait, no…"

She suddenly realizes what he's wanted to hear her say. Because she never has, has she? She never completely dispersed his worries about her not being attached to Vaughn any longer. She's never absolutely said *it*. A bout of sadness seizes her. How long has he had doubts? As long as you've been together, a little voice inside her answers. God, how could she not realize this? Her heart aches at her carelessness. "No. That's not what I want… What I want is to make love to you. I want to show you what you mean to me." A couple of stray tears roll down towards her ears. "Eric, can I open my eyes now? I need to look at you when I say this."

" 'kay." He agrees as he kisses away the salty paths her tears have left. This is it. The worried look that passed like a shadow over her face a second ago tells him he's about to find out where he stands with her. For two months, he's done his best to ignore the fears gnawing at him. But now, he's getting in too deep. He needs to know for sure. He pulls back a little, his face stilled against the turmoil of his emotions. Time to face the music. His eyes lock with hers.

Her eyelids weighed down by longing, Sydney gazes up at him. Her expression is soft, open. Her right hand comes up to caress his left cheek with tenderness. "I feel it, Eric. I belong here with you. I don't doubt myself anymore. You have to believe that." She whispers, rising from her cozy spot on the bed and closing in on him. "Remember when you asked if everything was over with Michael... I could only say a partial "yes"?" He nods, silent, unable to breathe. "Ask me now." She prompts, her lips almost touching his.

In order to do that, he realizes he's got to find his voice again. Some brain activity would help as well. He manages to make both function briefly, just long enough to let the words out. "Is everything over with him?"

"Yes." She punctuates her answer with a light kiss, then pulls back a little to gauge his reaction. The shuddering breath Eric takes in tells her how much this means to him. She hates herself for thoughtlessly fueling his doubts for so long. She gets closer again, intent on making him forget he ever had them. "It's over... And I choose to be with you, only with you…" Without hesitation, she bridges the distance between them for good.

Their lips meet gently. The kiss is tentative and novel as if it were a new lovers kiss.

Eric is on cloud nine. He was so worried Syd might not be ready. This must be one of the dreams where he fantasized about her ending up with him rather than... Ok, no more of that. Her choice is made. Make that: he finally believes she made her choice. He sighs and whispers near her lips, his voice hoarse from so much more than just yearning "…'love you, Syd… God, how I love you…" His long-denied desire takes over. Soon, he covers her body with his and surges inside her. Their breaths catch at the incredible feeling of unity… No more barriers, no more uncertainties between them… So truly close for the first time...

Lost in the instant, Eric starts moving in long sensual strokes. Nothing can be heard, but the sighs and moans of their lovemaking. As their passion peaks, time suspends. They collapse against each other, spent.

Minutes later, her mind still floating, Sydney buries her nose in Eric's neck, lightly kissing her way to his earlobe. "I love you…" She repeats every time her lips touch his skin. No more second guessing. She wants to make sure Eric knows their relationship isn't just a replacement for what she lost.

He chuckles softly, touched that she's trying so hard to squander his fears away. "That's a great coincidence 'cause I've got this little thing to give you… Don't think you'd appreciate it much if you hated my guts…"

She looks up, thrilled and grinning at him. "A gift? What is it? Where? How?"

"Woahwoahwoah… hold it." He calms her, trying to stem the flow of her excitement. He reaches out to grab something on the nightstand. His palm open, he presents her with a tiny silver ring engraved with wavy patterns and dots.

Surprised, Sydney takes the ring between her right index and thumb. It almost disappears under her fingertips. "Eric, it's lovely, thank you; it's so…" she continues, trying to spare his feelings, "… tiny. I know you think I'm skinny, but I don't know if I can…"

She stops as Eric laughs his heart out. When his hilarity subsides, he takes the ring again. "My niece-Sarah's her name-she's the one who showed me this. It's a commitment toe ring. She explained that you wear it after you promise to go exclusive with your date." He takes on a serious look, imitating Valley talk. "She's twelve. She's got this punk boyfriend who's like fifteen and. so. cool. They're really tight." Sydney laughs at his impersonation even as fresh tears of gratitude and love are pooling in her eyes.

Back to his normal voice, he forges on. "I wanted to give you something that would only have meaning for *us*." He looks down at the tiny silver band, suddenly feeling a little intimidated. "I didn't think you'd like parading around the Ops Center with a big rock hanging off one of your hands. But I figured you wouldn't mind being toe-committed…"

He doesn't have time to finish that Sydney is hugging him tight, as a sound between a laugh and a cry escapes her. Crazy, sweet, adorable Eric… Her heart aches with happiness, and she wonders what she's done to deserve such a wonderful man. She pulls back to look at him, her cheeks blushing with delight. "I accept." She tells him, her smile radiating like the sun in the summer. She takes the small ring and places it on her second right toe. She glances up, grinning. "Thank you. I love it. This is the sweetest… God, you're so good to me. How can I ever…" A wrinkle appears between her eyebrows. "What about you? Am I the only one to be toe-committed?"

He brings up his right foot where a glint of silver shines on his second toe as well. "… Been wearing mine since a little after we got together. Some spy you are that you never noticed it…" he mocks her gently.

"Actually, I saw it. But I thought maybe it was something from your past that you didn't want to talk about, so I never asked. I won't make that mistake again." She smiles at him and closes the distance between them. Her kiss is charged with all the love and tenderness she feels at that very moment. Without even registering it, he kisses her back in kind.

After they part, Eric pulls her up with him towards the top of the bed and covers their bodies with the light sheet. They snuggle together, ready for some rest after the exertion of the morning. Before they fall asleep, Sydney hears Eric murmur to her. "Next gift… I'm thinking nose piercing. What do you say?"

"Only if we never go back to work and always stay home."

Eric smiles groggily, lost in the feel of Sydney's form tightly flushed against him. He tightens his hold around her shoulders and presses her into his chest. His head comes down a little and he kisses her hair lightly. "...'will hand my resignation in on Monday…" He whispers just before sleep claims them both.

In her dream, Sydney smiles.

Fin


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SWeissy love to all...