Another 2:30am moment. Neela wondered why 2:30am was her witching hour. Then she heard it. Amidst the rain still pounding the windows she heard the lyrical sounds of someone strumming a guitar. Quietly. It didn't sound like a song, more like chords aimlessly being strummed just to create harmony.

And suddenly she decided this was it. No more waiting, no more games.

Abby would have said that it took her long enough. And geez, could she have waited more towards the last minute? But you go girl!

Neela quietly got out of bed and headed for the door, only to pause as she realized the last thing she wanted to have was morning breath. She dug a mint out of her bag, hoping that she wasn't making too much noise, and praying that he wasn't going to bed anytime soon.

But the rain and the strumming continued.

She unbuttoned her pajama top, letting the plackets rest on her breasts, still covering her but leaving a line of skin exposed down her chest. Her fingers brushed against a very visible scar that appeared part of the way down, reminding her of all that she could have lost.

She opened the door and sent up a silent thank you that it hadn't creaked or whined. As she padded forward she took as much of a deep breath as possible without making too much noise, steeling herself for what she was about to do. No turning back now Rasgotra.

Ray was standing facing the sliding door, holding his guitar, looking out into the rain and night, somewhat lit by the moon that was shining through the partially open curtain. He was wearing only long black shorts that stopped just above the knee, exposing the prosthetics he was standing on. They glinted in the moonlight and she realized it was the first time she had seen them with his legs bare. When he had visited in Chicago he was so covered by winter work out clothes it was almost like he had been wearing pants.

She marveled at his strength, she marveled at his courage, and she was glad he still hadn't noticed her slowly walking up to him.

She saw when he finally caught her reflection in the glass, when she was almost upon him. His height advantage had blocked a good chunk of the view. His whole body tensed up and his gaze immediately fell to his legs.

So that's when she surprised him.

Walking up she pressed herself against the length of his back, letting him feel the warm skin of her chest against his cold one. She wondered why he wasn't shivering. Her arms came up and wrapped around him, cradling his waist and interfering with the pretty strumming that had reverberated around the room.

He had to have known this would wake her up.

She leaned her face against his upper arm, letting him see her reflection in the glass.

After a moment she drifted her hands upwards, tracing his chest firmly with her fingers and palms and hugging him even more to her. As her hands crossed over his nipples his gaze locked with hers in their reflection.

She lowered her hands back down to a more comfortable position, waiting. The guitar was impeding progress, and he had a death grip on the neck of it.

So she took the plunge.

"Ray. I need you." Her voice emerged strong. Emphatic. She was proud. She had half expected to stutter.

"Just tonight?" His voice was hoarse, tense.

"No."

He didn't look satisfied, and he still hadn't let go of the guitar, so she continued. "I want lots of nights, continual nights, more than one night. And now that I think about it, days too."

If he didn't say something soon the temptation to babble was going to take over. She held still, counting 1…2…3…

And before she got to four, he stepped away from her and she lost his expression in the glass. For a moment her heart stopped. Negative thoughts piled up in her brain like traffic on a highway, each fighting to be heard over the other.

Amid the mental chaos she saw Ray lean over to place the guitar back on the stand, and then turn around to face her.

"God fucking dammit. Took you fucking long enough." His angry eyes drifted down to catch her open pajama top. His gaze flickered away as his hands nervously clenched, then released.

Somewhere an Abby angel earned her wings.

Neela sucked in a loud breath. Her words emerged quickly, trying to eliminate the mental stampede.

"What matters is that I said it. And before 10:59 tomorrow."

"Neela. Are you serious? Because if you're not serious we're not going to come back from this."

She felt like the two feet of space between them was an acre.

"In the words of a certain Dr. Barnett, I'm downright fucking serious. I've missed you, I've thought about you, just being here makes me feel so damn happy I feel like I glow. And I want to kiss you so bad right now it's painful. Look at me. I'm British, we're a reserved people. I'm standing in your living room in unbuttoned pajamas Ray."

"I'm appreciating the view." He finally crossed the two feet between them and reached out to cradle her face with a large hand. She wanted to close her eyes and feel his warmth, but she felt his words bubbling to the surface and didn't want to miss any of them in a rush of hormones.

"So you and me. You want to make it work."

"Yes. Yes. A hundred times over yes." A brilliant idea suddenly surfaced for Neela. "I'm so serious I'm willing to tell Morris. And you know what that means."

"One hour until the entire hospital knows. And an eternity of 'I told you so's.' He'll also find some way to take credit." Ray stepped even closer, so close that their bodies almost touched.

Neela added, "In his mind he probably was the one that hired you and brought you to Chicago to meet me."

"Can we stop talking about Archie? Cause I'm losing my high. Oh, and British people are reserved, huh?" His eyes glittered in the moonlight, looking rather green, and she thought there wasn't a time when he looked more inscrutable. "Or is it just you?"

"Do you really care?"

"No."

Neela stood up on her tiptoes and finally closed the remaining space between them, rubbing her chest thoroughly against his on the way to wrapping her arms behind his head.

His hands tentatively came to grasp her waist, but she could tell he was still holding back. He was tense and seemed nervous, belaying the lightness of his earlier words.

Continuing to turn over a new leaf she just quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

He looked down and away. She had to listen extra hard to hear what Ray said next.

"I just didn't imagine it this way. My legs…" He trailed off and she suddenly realized that she could feel the barest hint of trembling in his body.

"Oh, Ray…" She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his jawline. She pulled his head forward and whispered in his ear, "I want you. Legs and all."

Leaning back Neela saw him still waiting. And she knew that this was an indication of where they had been. This time around she needed to make the move.

She leaned forward again and started placing light kisses along his jawline, distinctly avoiding his lips. She wanted to go slow, enjoying every minute and convincing him that this wasn't a Slam Bam Thank You Ma'am moment.

She supposed that that was what had been the problem with both Gates and Brenner and how they started off. And indicator of sorts…

Neela finally hovered directly over Ray's lips, noticing his eyes had closed sometime during the kissing process. But his hands remained firmly encircling her waist.

So she kissed him. And with the rain and damp air providing a backdrop, their kiss was pure fire. Warmth, sliding, caressing, not hurried.

That is until Ray finally decided to participate. Neela literally felt his walls go down – their kiss turned more urgent, his hands came up to cradle her back and her head and she was suddenly pressed more firmly against him.

She broke free. "You believe me." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. Shut up."

Ray's hands roughly shoved her pajama plackets open, then went around under them and onto her bare back. He pulled her to him again, pressing their bare chests together, and suddenly his hands were everywhere – in her hair, on her back, on her ass. Hers weren't any better, but the damn height difference meant she needed them on his shoulders more often than not solely to balance them out and keep them together.

She wasn't exactly endowed, but her chest felt so heavy and she wanted him so badly to –

It was like Ray read her mind as he pulled her head back and angled her slightly away from his torso. He slowly slid his hand up her bare skin and stopped right under one of her breasts.

Her breathing became harsher and she clutched at his upper arm in preparation for what was to come.

But the bastard lifted his hand off her body instead to shove her pajama top off her shoulders.

She took the hint and shrugged it off. Ray then grabbed her pajama bottoms and pulled her forward again back into his arms.

More kissing –

More heat –

But still no direct touching.

Her hips started to rock into his, eliciting a grunt from him. She forced them apart and finally (oh for the love of god finally) brushed her hand down the front of his boxers.

He ground out "Neela." Her name emerged sounding husky and oh so gravelly.

She couldn't know how she looked. Partially damaged from the long scar that ran along her ribcage, but still oh so beautiful. Chest heaving, hair a halo around her head. Petite, but with a presence that filled the entire room.

Ray took her hand, intending to head towards the bedroom, but at his tugs she didn't budge. He looked inquisitively at her – he didn't think she had suddenly turned shy.

"The couch." Neela licked her lips.

The couch signified so much for them – when she had moved in it was the bachelor pad eyesore that she had rolled her eyes over, mumbling "it figures." He had retorted with asking her where her damn couch was. He didn't think her ass would mind.

A month later she had spilled curry on it and he had practically given himself a hernia in the effort to get it off before it eroded the leather.

His conquests had paraded through on it, which had led to askance looks on her part in the morning, and smirks on his.

It had encouraged the shift in their relationship from just roommates to just friends to what the hell are we? She remembered that the distance between them on the couch had faded as they had passed along the aforementioned spectrum.

She recalled one morning when she passed by and realized she could no longer smell it's unique smell – she had gotten that used to it.

And so now she wanted to brand "property of Neela Rasgotra" all over it.

Ray looked like he didn't care where the hell they were as long as he got to keep touching her. It was gratifying.

"Hold on." Ray left her to quickly go into his bedroom. Her brain put two and two together. Ray emerged with a comforter and a small foil packet.

As they sat on the couch he carefully removed his prosthetics as she carefully draped the blanket over them, lending him some privacy.

And they started all over again.

She decided his hands were just the right size for – everything.

She decided she loved the feel of his goatee.

When he finally roughly touched her breasts she embarrassed herself by nearly clocking him in the head.

He returned the favor by nearly suffocating her when she touched him fully the first time.

It was awkward at times, it was wonderful, it was electric. And when they finally came together they could both say it was amazing and an indication that together they were far better than apart.

And at some point during their love-making – she honestly couldn't remember when – when he said "I need you too," she decided that was close enough for now.