The smell of coffee hit him for moment he opened the door and ushered the man with the cart inside. He patiently waited for him to set their breakfast tray on the table and leave before he poured a steaming mug.

After a tentative sip, he brought the tray to the bed and set it on the floor before climbing back under the blankets.

He pulled the sleeping woman into his arms with the intention of waking her, but he stopped and let himself just enjoy holding her for a moment before he started to nuzzle her neck with his nose, breathing her in.

When she began to stir, he added his lips, tasting the column of her throat as she let out a long, low moan. He moved along her jawline, leaving behind a trail of kisses and swipes of his tongue in his wake. When he got to her ear, he pulled the lobe between his lips and sucked on it until she arched against him. Then he moved to her ear.

"Buenos dias, Hermosa," he whispered.

Her lips held a contented, satisfied smile and he couldn't help the swell in his chest at knowing that he was the reason for it.

"Good morning, yourself," she murmured into his kiss. "You taste like coffee."

Her eyes were the warmest pools of blue as she blinked up at him sleepily. He pulled her in closer and kissed her again. He could feel himself getting more pulled under by her every second. Every move she made tugged him further. He lost more footing with every laugh, every sigh, every touch.

He hadn't let himself think about what happened when all this was over and he had to let her go. All he knew was that he had her now.

He knew he couldn't keep her. Keeping her would mean taking the chance of breaking her. He wasn't what she needed. She needed light and sunshine. She needed someone that could love her with their entire soul.

He didn't have an entire soul to give her. Life had stripped away so many pieces. He wasn't sure how much of his was left, but he knew it was less than she deserved. Anything less than everything was less than she deserved.

Her hands slide across his shoulders effectively pulling him out of the darkness that always threatened to envelope him. The darkness rarely stood a chance when she was around. She shined like a beacon keeping it at bay.

He ran his hand up her side dragging her t-shirt up as he went. When her breast was finally exposed, he twirled his tongue over her stiff, pink nipple before he engulfed it between his lips.

She sighed and dug her fingers into his hair.

Before he moved to the other breast, he reluctantly pulled away from her and tried to sit up, but she held him to her. "Where are you going?"

"Breakfast is getting cold," he said while laying a kiss on her chest. He could easily spend all day wrapped up in her but they needed to eat and find out what was happening with the roads.

"So this was what? A tease?" she grumbled as she sat up with him.

He grabbed the tray and set it up between them. "No, it was a promise for later."

She rolled her eyes and tsked. "Bad with women, whatever." she muttered as she doctored her tea with honey.

He placed a quick, surprising kiss to her to the dimple in her cheek and smiled back at her. "I'm only this good with you, Chica. Only with you."

They watched the news as they ate. He lingered over a fluffy, perfectly cooked Denver omelet with a side of hashbrowns. She seemed to enjoy her giant fruit salad and blueberry yogurt.

She asked before helping herself to a bite of his hashbrowns, avoiding his long standing pet peeve of people eating off his plate. He didn't mind at all when she went back for a second and then a third. They were well into sharing territory before he really noticed.

He stirred the fire after setting the tray outside their door and called down to the desk on the antique landline on the table while Penelope went to shower and get dressed. He has hoping to hurry through so he could join her.

The lady that answered didn't sound like the one from the night before.

"Can you tell me if the road is clear enough to get back on the main highway?"

"Oh no, are you not enjoying your stay? Perhaps there's something I can help you with," she offered.

"No, we're with the F.B.I.. My partner and I got stuck here in the storm last night," he explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She told him. "But until the bridge is clear I'm afraid there is no way to get to the main highway."

Luke did his best to ignore the jolt that zapped in the chest at the news he had hoped to hear. "You're sure the bridge isn't passable?"

"Not in this weather I'm afraid." She told him somberly. "I wouldn't expect it to be passable until it stops snowing and warms up."

"It's still snowing?" he asked, stretching the cord to its limit as he went to the window to see for himself.

"They aren't expecting it to quit until late tonight. Then everything will need time to thaw."

"You're saying we are stuck here for the weekend," he commented resignedly while his insides zinged with anticipation for the next two days.

"At least," Her replied sent a wide smile to his lips. "I'm so sorry. I see here where you and your partner have signed up for some of activities this weekend. You have a massage scheduled for ten."

His eyes had been locked on the bathroom door, which was opened. He hadn't noticed until he turned to go back to the table. Now he was frozen, watching her until the woman on the other end of the phone cleared her throat.

"Ah, yeah, massage at ten." He answered before hanging up on her. He crossed the room to retrieve his cellphone from the table on his side of the bed. The move lead him feet away from the warm, steamy bathroom and the blonde in the shower. He almost didn't finish his mission.

He snatched up his phone to get Prentiss number so he could call her from the landline. She was pissed but understanding. Something in her tone said she didn't mind as much as she put on. She left off with a promise not to leave them stranded in Nebraska. After all, they weren't making much progress because of the blizzard either. People rarely killed each other during extreme weather. Or if they did, it was out of stupidity, not malicious intent.

He dropped the receiver into the cradled and padded across the room like a cat on the prowl.

He had just stepped into the room when then water went off. He felt his face physically fall in disappointment.

"Did you talk to Emily?" she asked as she grabbed a towel. Then she stopped and looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't get here in time. I was trying but Emily wouldn't stop talking," he pouted.

She dropped the towel and stepped back into the shower. "I'm not sure that I got all the conditioner out of my hair. Wanna help me with it?"

He was beside her before she finished the question.

It was easily the most relaxed Luke had ever been. He hadn't been all that keen at first when the stranger put her hands on his back, but soon enough the incense that filled the room, the warmth of the oil on his skin and the soft sound of ocean waves breaking on the shore coming from a speaker, lulled him.

His head was turned towards Penelope who was stretched out on the table beside him. Her eyes were closed and a look of complete bliss covered her face. It wasn't her first massage. It was, however, his, well, except for ones he'd gotten in physical therapy when he'd been shot that one time.

This was completely different, so much more intimate and invasive. He'd never been a fan of intimate or invasive. He much preferred distant and guarded. This was far out of his comfort zone. But here he was, unable to deny the feeling of weightlessness in his shoulders. It was foreign and new for him, but not at all unwelcome.

He winced as the technician hit a particular tight spot under his shoulder blade but the pain soon dissipated under her skillful ministrations.

They spent the remainder of the morning indulging in the blissful peace that came with a herbal wrap, where they laid on a table wrapped in aromatic cloths, a mud bath, where they literally soaked in a thick, bath of mud that smelled like rotten eggs, but somehow managed to feel wonderful and a steam in a sauna.

After a mouth-watering lunch, which they shared with the other couples in the dining room, they were whisked off to a workshop. Most of the couples had already met during the meet and greet they'd missed the night before.

Everyone piled into a cozy, rustic room with a large fireplace flanked by bay windows on each side. Exposed rafters, patchwork quilts on the walls and a large wooden mantle overflowing with country charm completed the look.

The snow was still falling, though slower now. Still the windows were half-covered in the white powder. The space was littered with love seats, over-sized loungers and even a few high backed chairs haphazardly placed throughout, each overflowing with pillows, quilts and throws. Penelope and Luke took a gray leather chair and a half and draped themselves with a fuzzy, blue chenille throw. They watched as the other couples filed in and began to make themselves comfortable in their own private seats.

They were nestled in between an older couple in their fifties with the beginnings of silver in their temples and body language that said they were definitely working through some things and a younger couple whose straight backs and stony expressions said they might be beyond fixing.

Penny leaned against Luke. They hadn't been close enough to really touch all morning and he was ready to sink back into her warmth. He pulled her closer and inhaled the smell of her hair deeply as an older man came to the center of the room.

"Welcome everyone. I hope you all slept well last night. Again, I apologize for the chill. Our heaters are working overtime to keep up with the blizzard. I fear that are barely keeping pace." He told them with the confidence of someone at home with addressing a crowd. "I also want to give a warm welcome to Penelope and Luke, who found themselves lost in the storm. My name is Devon and I'm the councilor here at the Truly, Madly, Deeply Spa." The group all turned towards them with smiles and hellos. Penny sunk even further against him at the attention and he responded by wrapping his arms even tighter around her.

He leaned into her ear and whispered quiet enough for only her to hear. "I've got you."

"We hope you find something here that will help you enjoy your journey together." Devon continued. "That's what we're all here for. We all want to learn to enjoy our journey through life together. Normally I would ask what brought you here this weekend, but we know it was the snow. Maybe you could tell us a little about yourselves as a couple?"

Penelope tensed as all eyes stayed on them. "We work together," she offered lamely.

Devon smiled. "It would seem so," he indicated the way they were wrapped up together on the seat. "but tell us how you met, how long you've been together and where you're at now in your relationship."

"We met while working together. We've worked together for three years now and we've only been together a very short time." Luke offered up.

The older woman beside them beamed, "Ah, new love. I love new love. It's so fresh and exciting."

The younger woman on their other side huffed. "It doesn't last."

"Now, now," Devon chided her, gently "We talked about negativity last night. We are leaving it at the door, remember?"

"Right," she nodded with a forced smile.

"We are so proud to be part of your story, Luke and Penelope." He went back to addressing the crowd in general and Luke was grateful when everyone's attention turned back to Devon. He didn't like being singled out any more than Penelope did.

Devon went on to direct them to go around the room and talk about the obstacles they thought were standing in the way of their happiness. The younger couple were dealing with some pretty serious infidelity involving the woman's sister and the man's best friend. The older couple on their other side were having trouble with an empty nest and their impending retirement and how it affected their relationship.

When it came their turn, Luke was just about to tell them they had nothing to contribute really when Penelope piped up out of nowhere with, "We work together and neither of us is big on talking about our feelings. We've both had trouble with relationships before. We barely know each other on a personal level. He's got commitment issues and I have abandonment issues. We both work too much."

Now it was his turn to tense.

"Okay," Devon said, taking a step closer to them, "Those are all valid roadblocks in your journey towards happiness. How do you think you can overcome those things? Luke, do you have any suggestions? Do you think those issues will get in your way?"

He sat up a little straighter and felt his cheeks warm. He'd been in group therapy before. He hadn't liked it but he'd found it a useful tool in dealing with the realities of the world after the horror of the war. But those had been his brothers in arms, soldiers who had been through the same things he had. This was different somehow and it certainly hadn't been part of his weekend plans. Now he felt like he was dangling off the edge of a cliff.

"I think all those things are issues we can overcome if we really want to," he answered at last.

"If you really want to? Are you not sure that's what you want?" Devon asked.

"You're right he definitely has commitment issues," the younger woman muttered.

Luke squirmed as he noticed Penny was avoiding looking at him. "Like I said earlier this whole thing is very new."

"You've known each other three years, doesn't sound that new to me." The young man commented.

"Knowing each other and being together are two very different things." Luke defended himself.

"What about working together? Do you feel as if you will still be able to do that after this new step in your relationship?" Devon asked.

"Well, we have rules that we aren't exactly following here," Penny admitted. "We work as part of a team and it's a good team. We've been through a lot and we've finally found a dynamic that works for all of us."

"So you're afraid that this new dynamic will impact that balance?" Devon continued.

Penny began to pull away from where she was resting against Luke's chest but his hands around her waist refused to let her get very far. Was she doing this to try to sabotage this thing before it began? He wasn't about to let her talk herself out of this now if he could help it. "I would like to believe that we are both adult enough to keep our work life and our personal life separate." He told the room in general.

"Do either of you hold a position of power over the other?" Devon asked.

They both shook their heads. "We've pretty much equals." Technically, Luke could outrank her, but that had never come up and neither of them could see a situation where it ever would.

"Other than it being against office rules, is there any way your relationship might effect the working of your team?" Devon prodded.

Luke shrugged. "I don't see how."

Penny turned in his arms and eyed him intently. "There are a lot of ways it can effect us."

He gave her a look that said he didn't want to discuss this here and she seemed to understand because she resumed her position against his chest. "All I'm saying is we work in a high stress, high risk job. Things are bound to come up."

Luke hadn't really wanted to disclose their jobs to the room at large. He always found people treated him differently when they knew he was on the job.

"Alright," Devon seemed to get the hint as well. "How about not talking about your feelings? Is that something you feel like you might be able to work through?"

"I feel like we've already started to work on that." Luke answered, doing his best to keep the touch of sarcasm out of his voice. He still didn't understand what she was trying to prove by sharing their story with this group of strangers. But as soon as he got her alone, he intended to find out.

"You've raised a lot of concerns about this relationship, Penny. Luke seems less confused. Are you sure both of you are on the same page as far as where you are at with your feelings? Perhaps that's something you can discuss while we go our separate ways until after dinner." Devon said.

The group began to break up as couples drifted away towards their next activities. Luke followed Penny as she started up the stairs to their room. He felt blind-sided by her need to share. He felt unaware that she saw so many problems between them, but mostly he felt like all the progress he'd made with her the day before was gone, leaving them right back where they started.