"Spencer?"

He was obeying her edict to stop apologising but was unsure how to respond. Dory searched his eyes, usually so bright and expressive but clouded now with something she thought might be sadness. He bit his lower lip. She had to restrain herself from the urge to lean forward and kiss that lip and it occurred to her to share some of her own distressing past, hoping that might alleviate his obvious discomfort.

"Would it help to know that my experience isn't much more than yours?"

He remembered a conversation they'd had a few weeks ago. Her previous boyfriend. Her only previous boyfriend.

"David?"

"The one and only, Spencer. David was in the army. We'd been dating only about a month when he got his orders." Dory looked down for a moment, then raised her eyes to meet Spencer's again. "We were only, uh," she paused to find the word she wanted to use, "together the one time. Because the next day he was off to Afghanistan." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And a month later, he was killed in a roadside bombing."

He pulled her into his arms and she laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about that Dory," he said very quietly. They sat together quietly for a few moments, then she reached for their tea, handed Spencer his and raised her mug in the air. Spencer followed suit as Dory spoke,

"To Maeve. And to David." Spencer clinked his mug against Dory's and each took a sip of their tea. "There's an old Irish saying, Spencer, 'Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.'"

"That's nice, Dory. Very appropriate. And comforting as well."

"Part of you will always love Maeve, Spencer. It's natural, it's real for you and completely understandable." He nodded in agreement and understanding as she continued, "Just like a little corner of my heart will always beat for David. It's only right. But we choose to move on in life. Some choose not to spend it alone. And I'm very much enjoying spending it with you." She leaned into him and kissed along his jaw and he responded by dropping his empty tea mug onto the sofa beside them, and enveloping her into his arms, returning her kiss with a new confidence. Dory splayed a hand out across the front of Spencer's chest, slipping a couple of fingers in between two of the buttons on his shirt. She heard his sharp intake of breath as she connected with his bare skin.

"Okay?" she murmured.

"Mmh hmmm!" he affirmed, barely moving his lips from her neck, the sound of his voice muffled in her skin. She stifled a giggle and arched her neck to fully expose it to Spencer's gentle probing. At the same time she undid the top few buttons of his shirt, affording her fuller access to his chest, which now was starting to heave a little in response to her caresses. Several minutes passed, although in Dory's world time had stopped.

"Spence?"

"Hmm?" he replied, lifting his face from her neck to make eye contact.

"I just want you to know that when you're ready, I will be too. But please know there's no pressure. No timetable. I want this to be right for us, for you. And if that means next week, next month, next year, well that's fine."

He put a hand over the hand she had under his shirt. She'd stopped moving it when he'd lifted his head and now felt his hand close around hers. Searching his eyes, she wondered if she'd just made a mistake. Was he going to take her hand away?