Chapter 10

Moving in was a lot harder than it looked, Anya noted. She, Ryan, Izzy, and the movers had spent about five hours just getting the things to her apartment. By the time all of her stuff was upstairs, everyone was far too tired to put things in their proper place, so they agreed to meet back at the apartment at 9:00am, while Izzy went to Horatio's and Anya stayed with Ryan.

Ryan had left Anya alone for a while, saying he was going to work on his bike. For a while, she had sat thinking of how she could repay him. Which is what found her in the kitchen an hour later making soup from scratch. She found vegetables in the freezer, bread in the pantry and an amazing wine collection.

She began cooking, mixing, wiping up spills, and making sure the stove didn't get too hot. She had never really cooked before because when she was younger, her mom or Lucille had always cooked for her and college was filled with Chinese take-outs and cafeteria food.

At last she pronounced the soup finished. She set aside several pieces of bread to be toasted and laid out as trenchers. She moved away from the stove towards Ryan's guest bedroom, so she could change into clean clothes. As she washed her face in the bathroom, she began to hum, thinking of the look on Ryan's face when he walked into the room to find a small feast.

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Smoke was the first thing Ryan smelled as he approached the apartment. He tossed the oily rag aside and ran the last few feet to the door.

"Anya!" he yelled, bounding into the kitchen where puffs of smoke were issuing from the stove. "Anya!"

He barreled into the narrow hallway and yanked open the bedroom door. Anya turned to him with a smile, a hairbrush in her hand.

"Hey, Ryan." she said, breezily.

He stopped frozen for a moment at the sight of her. She appeared to be wearing only yards of shiny ebony hair. She moved a little and Ryan caught a glimpse of lace, and he realized that she was, at least, wearing underwear and a bra. "Fire," he managed to blurt out.

She gasped. "In the house?! Oh, no! We have to call the fire department!"

She vaulted towards the door, but he caught her by the shoulders. "Wait," he commanded. "Stay where you are. Keep the door closed until you hear me call. If I tell you to get out of the apartment, use the fire escape, you understand?"

She nodded and he spun away, slamming the door on an image that, at any other time, would have made it impossible for him to do so. But the smell of smoke and heat in the small apartment reminded him of the danger and he sped back to the kitchen.

In the sink appeared to be every pot and pan he owned, along with dishes, bowls, spoons, forks and knives, along with, a hammer and tongs. On the stove itself, an old stainless steal pot glowed from the heat around it. The oven contained a cookie sheet covered in charcoal. The smell, he thought, was a disturbing blend of pork rinds, stale beer, and burnt toast. And maybe cheese. "What the-"

"Is the apartment on fire?" Anya's voice drifted from the hall. "Please, Ryan. Let me help! I've dealt with fires before!"

"I believe it," he muttered.

"What?"

"Yeah, come on out," he yelled. As he said it, he realized the she might be wearing the same thing as before. He felt a quick struggle in himself between panic and desire. Desire won the contest; TKO the first round.

He heard her footsteps behind him. "Oh no!" she wailed. She dropped to her knees in front of the stove and reached for the smoking cookie sheet.

"No!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Are you crazy?!" he demanded. "You almost set fire to the apartment with this stuff, you want to burn yourself too?"

She looked at him, and to his surprise, her usual cool and composed features faltered, and tears began to fill her eyes.

Without thinking, he pulled her to him. "No, don't," he murmured. "It's all right."

"It isn't." She shook her head against his chest. "I've been nothing but a burden to you since we met. It would have been better if I had left you alone."

He felt the little sob she tried to suppress and his heart contracted even as his mind told him to be wary. Anya, Horatio's niece, who had stared down ER nurses and commanded doctors to mind their manners, was shaking in his arms.

A wave of tenderness washed over him. After everything she had gone through now, of all things, cooking dinner had brought her low and into his arms. He smiled as he pulled her back to look into her eyes.

"How about we get some chowder?"

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The wind off the water was refreshing, Anya admitted.

They were standing at the end of a long pier that jutted out into the ocean. Anya spooned another bite of the thick, creamy stew from her paper cup, appreciating it's warmth and flavor as the breeze slapped her face and hands. She enjoyed the noise and bustle of the harbour, with all of the machines and seagulls.

She was trying to take in everything at once. She glanced at Ryan who looked away from her. She wondered if he was still mad at her. He didn't appear to be after what happened. And he had held her close.

She pushed that memory aside, hard. She couldn't afford to be lusting after Ryan, not now. It just wasn't the right time.

"Is your chowder okay?" Ryan's deep, soft voice jolted her back into reality.

She jumped, then gave him a smile and lifted her cup. "Delicious."

"Best there is." He moved, so he was facing her. "So how do you like Miami?"

"Do you really need to ask?" She threw out her arms, the breeze whipping at her hair and clothes. "It's the most astonishing place I've ever been!"

He put down his cup, grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. Twirling her around, he began to dance her down the pier. She laughed and screamed, scared that they were going to collide into the other people on the pier. He laughed with her, gazing down at her eyes with an expression of sheer delight.

He stopped and pulled her closer. She put her hand on his arm to get steady.

"Anya," he said softly.

"What?"

"Just this."

He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened before she gave into it. She raised her hand and slipped it up to the nape of his neck. With a sharp in take of breath, he pulled her even closer, deepening the kiss. And she'd thought her mom's room was paradise.

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A/N: I am SO sorry about the uber long update. I've been busy with driver's ed, but now that I'm done, I can try to update once a week. I promise the next chapter will be externally long.

JauntyChick's Note: WOW! Review!! Immediately!! As Anastasia's BETA, I have a definite right to demand reviews for her, LOL!!

PS: I found an AMAZING video on Youtube about Ryan Wolfe. youtube. com/ watch?vHtB1pyCajyQ