Monica Reyes drove carefully towards home as the wind blew outside and rain had started to fall. The radio played quietly in the background as she drove, memories of the awkward goodbye with her partner replaying in her head over and over, the ache in her heart that being apart from him caused strong.

As she drove she listened to the song playing in the SUV, one that she remembered hearing on the radio when they were on their most recent case. She remembered dancing to it in the lounge on one incredibly hot day, and remembered John standing there watching her though he didn't know she had seen him there. His face when he was watching was something she'd never forget, on it she saw pure need and want, his eyes sparkling blue as he saw her so happy. She had felt his eyes on her, watching every movement, and she had continued dancing for him liking the fact he found her so pleasing.

As the song ended and another came on she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, but once again as new words filled the car another image of her partner came into her head. When they were on that case they had spent the most time together that they ever had, had seen more of each other's characters than they had ever witnessed before and she had liked that. Something had changed, their relationship had changed and become more complicated and it couldn't be denied.

As she listened to the lyrics she remembered that same hot day after John had gone back outside to check on the grill. Shouts had been coming from the garden and when she had rushed into the doorway to see what was going on she had seen John and the kids having a huge water fight in the front yard. He was soaked, his white T-shirt clinging to his muscle bound body, the kids having sprayed him with water guns as he went after them with the hose pipe. She had never seen him laugh so hard as she had done as they all sprayed each other with water, John falling onto the ground as several of the younger children, both girls and boys piled on top of him tickling him. She could imagine him doing just this with his son Luke before he was cruelly taken away from John, something he had never gotten over in all the time that she had known him. He was a tough man, but when it came to kids there was a whole other side of him, a paternal side which appeared as his beloved son was born and had remained ever since. If he ever had any more kids he'd be a great father, there wasn't any doubt, especially watching him as she was now.

As more and more children piled on top of him Monica walked over to the group, smiling at seeing him so happy.

"What are you doing to my poor husband?" She asked standing over them, the children looking up at her with sweet innocent faces.

John looked at her shocked them remembered they were undercover as husband and wife. He smiled.

"We having a water fight." One of the blue eyed little girls replied.

"He started it." Another one joined in pointing at John who grinned.

"Did he now?" Monica replied crossing her arms in mock exasperation. "What do you guy's think I should do about it?" She asked them, the children giggling.

"Soak him." They all shouted in chorus.

Monica picked up a super soaker that was lying on the ground and pumped it up.

"You think I should?" She asked, smiling angelically at John who was grinning at her.

"Uh huh." The kids replied.

"I am totally innocent here." John told them all.

"Really Mr Doggett?" She replied walking up to him and looking down at him, her brown eyes sparkling.

"No he's not." One of the older kids shouted from the sidewalk.

"You hear that? I think you've been found guilty." She told him squirting him in the chest.

The children giggled.

"You shouldn't have done that Mon." he told her half laughing.

"And why not?" She asked him.

John reached for the hosepipe that lay abandoned at his side, the kids getting off him as he sat up. Then as Monica ran across the lawn he followed her spraying her with the hose as the kids cheered and followed, all picking up their water guns and joining in.

Monica screamed as the cold spray hit her, then spraying John until the water had all gone out of the gun. Then she put her hands up and surrendered, falling onto the soft grass laughing and laying on her back looking up at the blue sky. John tired out fell to the ground beside her, the fact that her clothes were sticking to the perfect curves of her body not lost on him.

"Looking a bit wet there." Monica commented looking at John bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Looking a bit wet yourself." He replied smiling then looking at the sky.

"It's a beautiful day huh." Monica commented looking at the sky, then at the children having their own water fight on the lawn, and then at him beside her.

"It really is." He commented looking at the kids and then at her knowing just what she meant.

Monica was shaken out of the memory by a rattling sound coming from somewhere at the front of her SUV. Pulling over she looked under the seats, the source of the sound somewhere in that area. As she felt around trying to find whatever it was, her hands fell upon a small object. Picking it up and holding it up to the light she realised it was a bottle of painkillers belonging to her partner. Reading the label she realised he was going to need them and so sighing put them into her purse and turned her SUV around to go back to his house. They'd already had an awkward goodbye and she didn't know if she could handle another one.

Just a few minutes later she once again found herself parked outside his house. He was still up, she could tell by the lights on in his living room and the sound of music drifting through an open window. She slowly opened the car door, the bottle of pills in her hand and for a moment just stood there as if willing herself to gain just the slightest bit of courage that would make this easier. They'd only been apart a few minutes and she had already missed him so much. Not having him at her side, smiling and laughing and generally making her so happy was hurting her a lot more that it did before. They had been close for years, but never in all that time had they spent every minute of every day for three weeks together, and not for one minute did either of them guess what effect it would have on them, or how easy they would find it being together that much. Now being apart was the hard part.

Taking a deep breath she walked up the path towards his door. Softly she knocked on it. After a few minutes and no one coming she turned around to leave however just as she was about to walk away she heard a bang followed by soft cursing. Puzzled she turned back around to see John's door open and him cradling his bad arm.

"I'd never have expected to hear you cursing when I'm on your doorstep." She joked, the rain falling around her and drops lighting up like crystals under the glare of the street lamps.

"I hit my goddamn arm." He told her rubbing it. "What you doin back here?" He then asked curiously looking up at the cloudy sky and feeling the rain fall.

Monica held up the bottle of painkillers.

"I found these under your seat in the SUV. You musta dropped them, and seeing as how you're banging your arm up all over again I think it's a good thing I brought them."

"I'm okay." He told her.

Monica touched his arm softly and he winced.

"John...?"

"Really Mon, you got no need to worry bout me." He told her the both of them then going silent.

"So..." she started trying to break the silence.

"So..." Doggett replied. "You gonna give those pills to me?" He then asked smiling. "I mean that was why you came back right?" He questioned quietly.

She nodded then handed them over to him, his hand closing over her own for a brief second before he pulled it away scared of the implications.

Monica shivered as the rain soaked her through to the skin.

"So, you enjoyed a few minutes of precious peace and quiet?" Monica asked him, brushing rain drops out of her eyes and wondering what she had done for him to pull his hand away so quickly.

"It's been...I gotta be honest I've kinda been lost. You?" He asked cocking his head to one side curiously as she thought about how to answer.

"Same." Monica admitted. "You kinda get used to being together after all that time. Being alone after that's kinda hard. I mean I know we spend a lot of time together anyway but that case..."

"Yeah I know. It's real hard and I think we both know the reason why, but we're partners and we can't let complications get in the way of that no matter how hard that it to deal with. We gotta try distance ourselves from it for a while and I think maybe from each other." He told her honestly.

"Well I should probably get some sleep and I don't think I'm the only one who's tired. Mon you look dead on your feet...no offence." He added trying to break the mood.

Monica's heart fell. Earlier on he had asked her in and now he was taking it back. He'd just admitted he'd been lost not having her there and she felt it too. He had no idea how lost she felt without him. All she wanted was to be held, to have him close, she'd realised that in the SUV, and now, after deciding earlier on it would be best for them to be apart she had never regretted it so much now that he wanted it too.

Not wanting him to know her hurt she smiled.

"No offence taken." She replied yawning. "I feel it."

John studied her for a moment. Having known her for ten years he knew her expressions and he could tell she was trying to hide her emotions.

"Mon... What you said earlier, I think you were right. I miss you, I gotta admit it, but being apart ain't gonna be any easier if..."

She smiled, the fact that he had admitted he missed her consoling her slightly.

"I know." She replied the rain now coming down in torrents. "Sleep tight okay." She told him softly.

Shivering she gave a little wave and walked back to her SUV. John stood in the doorway watching her tiredly open the car door and climb in, rubbing her eyes and shivering with cold. Surprising even himself in light of what he had just said about it being best for them to be apart for a while he walked over to the SUV and tapped on the window.

She looked up at him with her chocolate brown eyes, smiling a little and wound down the window.

"John? You okay?" She asked worriedly.

"I was thinkin..." he started looking at the ground.

"That's gotta be a first." She started.

She looked at his face, which portrayed shock.

"I was joking. It was a joke." She told him starting to giggle which made him smile.

"Anyway..." he carried on still trying to stifle a laugh. "You're tired, you're completely soaked and you look freezing...I know what I just said but I don't wanna be responsible for you catching pneumonia or crashing your SUV cos you're so damn cold and tired. Why don't you stay here tonight, you can have a shower and warm up, you can have the bed and I'll have the couch. We can start the whole getting back to normal thing tomorrow." He told her.

"You think this is a good idea?" She asked him not wanting him to be doing anything he didn't want to.

"I think you driving really tired and wet is a bad one so yeah I kinda do. What do ya say?" He asked her looking shyly down at the ground again.

She played with her hair, and John could see her mind working. She smiled.

"I say you got yourself some company. If you're sure?" She then asked. "Cos if you wanna change your mind about me coming inside again you should really do it now before I keel over on you."

He reached out his hand to her and took it in his own.

"Come on before you freeze to death." He told her softly. "Besides I kinda owe you after bringing me my painkillers. I've only been home a little while and I've already hit my arm around five times."

She giggled and tiredly buried her head in his chest.

Locking her SUV for her he then led her inside.

"And Mon...Please don't judge me when you see the mess the place is in okay?" He asked her smiling softly as they entered the house.