A/n - This chapter is for wjobsessed, who I felt bad about cheating of a kiss. This chapter could probably easily be rated M. So don't let the kids read it. Thanks to every one who has reviewed, this will be the last installment of 'Shiver'.

Shiver

-

"If I never saw you again,
could I keep all this inside?"

- Maximo Park, Shiver

-

It was late and while he knew that he shouldn't be here, he couldn't quite bring himself to leave. He also couldn't pluck up the courage to actually knock on her door so, between the indecision, that left with him standing dumbly on her front porch holding a bottle of tequila and staggering slightly. He took another deep breath and considered turning back around and going back to the hotel. He unscrewed the cap on the bottle of amber liquid he held and took a lengthy sip just as the door swung open, revealing a very annoyed looking Olivia Dunham.

The past three weeks had been kind to her. The garish bruise that had marred her otherwise perfect skin had almost completely disappeared; her stitches that had held together a sizable cut on her forehead had been removed two days ago in order to avoid serious scarring; her ribs had nearly healed entirely and the physical therapy she had been undergoing for her leg after being shot was coming along nicely. She was almost wholly her once more. Only she wasn't and Peter hated that he knew the difference. Privately, though he would never say so, he hated that she knew the difference too. She was looking at him now in that wonderfully infuriated way that she used to when he said something snappish to Walter or called her 'sweetheart' and it warmed his insides from his shoulders to his toes, though for the life of him he didn't know why.

"Look, as much as I just love having drunk guys showing up at my door at…" she checked her watch, "11:37 at night, I really doubt my neighbors do. So, are you in," she opened the door a little more, "Or are you out?" Peter considered his options and replied by stepping through her door boldly. He heard her exhale softly, perhaps in relief or, and this seemed more likely, further annoyance as she probably expected him to apologize for bothering her and then leave. As he stepped into the main living room, the first things that greeted him were the various manila files and blue pens scattered around the floor. An empty scotch bottle lay toppled on one side on the coffee table, a glass tumbler next to it. Her glasses were perched in the couch armchair before she retrieved them and slipped them into a velvet glasses case.

"What do you want, Peter?" She sounded tired as she spoke and he instantly felt guilty, despite knowing now that she was doing anything but sleep. It was then he noticed that nearly all the lights in the house were on. It was odd to say the least especially when he thought back to the twenty minute long speech she had once given him over the importance of climate change. A speech that had made him chuckle due to who happened to be giving it.

"What, do you suddenly hate the ice caps or something?" He asked sarcastically, forcing a smile onto his face that they both knew was faked. His attempt to break the ice fell flat but she smirked at him nonetheless.

"I'd ask if you want a drink but I see you went all BYOB on me," her joke went over a little better than his, causing him to smile for the first time in weeks. He plopped himself down on the couch unceremoniously and shut the case files within his reach, pushing them away afterward. He slapped a hand on the cushion next to him and, after looking skeptical, Olivia followed his example. She leaned over, ignoring the feeling of his shirt against her skin, and grabbed the bottle in his hand. Taking a swig of it straight, her eyes met his and they began a silent staring contest. She knew what he was doing of course. He was testing her, seeing if she was still firing on all cylinders, checking to see if she was ready to come back to work in two days time. She said nothing and he said nothing and they both just sat in silence, alternating the bottle between the two until there was nothing left to drown their stillness in.

-

Neither of them spoke. Neither of them really moved at all. All either of them knew was that she was suddenly in his lap and his hands were inching up her tank top. They had barely touched, the slightest of grazes of the hands, before he had simply silently pulled her to him. They hadn't kissed, they weren't shaking and they weren't sweating. Neither completely understood what they were doing. They had drunk too much, the tequila and a couple glasses of wine dulling their senses, but to them nothing had ever been clearer. They both had known exactly the right moves, the right way to touch, the right rhythm to breathe. Her arms wound around his shoulders, her hands stopping at the nape of his neck, while he removed her shirt. Still neither of them said anything.

His checkered shirt soon followed hers but somehow it seemed infinitely slow. It wasn't rushed but it wasn't sweet either. It wasn't the beginning of something intense and fiery, just like both of them had imagined it being, it was more like an affirmation of their friendship. Like they were further solidifying their unwavering support for each other. He was mainly in it because he needed to feel her. Truly feel her and know that she was there and alive and not going anywhere. She just wanted to feel something. Being numb was a slippery slope to go down. They kissed then, slow and full of meaning, with both of them trying desperately to put across the need they had for the other into that one kiss. They both knew it would be the only one of the night. An unspoken rule that was cemented with the separation of lips.

His belt hit the floor with a resonating thud. Still silent, but both breathing heavily, his hands inched the flimsy skirt up her thighs as she unbuttoned his corduroys. She smiled at him, despite the seriousness of the situation, and he smiled back; the matching grins were empty and failed to reach either sets of eyes, but it seemed to relax the tension. He lifted slightly, his pants slipping further down his legs until they were off entirely. Their eyes never left each other as he decided that the couch was not the place he wanted this to happen. And so, both almost totally naked with the exception of their underwear, he carried her in the direction of her bedroom, her legs still firmly wrapped around his waist.

-

The clock blinked 03:12 in bright devil red digits. It was the only source of light in the room if one didn't count the moonlight that streamed in through the windows. It filtered in through the half open blinds, casting an eerie glow over her face and bared shoulder. She was propped up on one elbow, her head resting lightly against the exposed palm of her closed fist. He lay on his back, his right hand resting on his stomach just above where the delicate Egyptian cotton sheets stopped and is left hand tracing lazy patterns on her exposed hip where the sheets had slipped. He wasn't looking at her but she absorbed and committed to memory every detail of him and every movement he made. She broke the seemingly never-ending silence they had encased themselves in for the better part of four hours with a question.

"Before, at the warehouse, you gave the Speaker a helluva lot of money. How did you get it so fast?" This is the first time either of them has mentioned the incident at the warehouse or how he had acquired that much money in such a short amount of time. He doesn't say anything; instead he stops his ministrations and goes still.

"Let's just say Nina owes me," his tone tells her to drop it and he speaks with such finality that she feels compelled to leave it alone. Her instincts as an FBI agent are screaming at her to push him into telling her what he means, but tonight Agent Dunham has no leeway and no influence. Tonight, she is only Liv and Liv had no room for interrogations. She chooses, instead of pushing the matter, to place chaste kiss on his shoulder, her eyes never leaving his still features, moving slowly down his torso.

Because tonight, they aren't Mr. Bishop and Agent Dunham. They are Liv and Pete and they need something more than corpses and justice to get them through till morning. Tonight they are together and that is all they need.

That is all they want.