A/N: I don't own any canon characters from Push, or the world they live in, only my take on what their lives might be like given a few years from the movie's end.

Thanks again for the continued views and thanks for being patient for this chapter, the new book is coming along well, I have just about 40k words done, so about halfway there.

"I saw you, Nick. You clearly want to be with her again," she pushed against his shoulder, but he didn't let go.

"You also sometimes get things wrong," he reminded her gently, brushing away the trail of tears with his thumb. "It's true we do need to see her again for part of my plan, but I don't want Kira, not anymore."

"You don't?" she breathed, her eyes searching his face. "What do you want?"

Nick knew he had to let her go. It was the right thing to do; the smart thing. Instead he leaned down to brush his lips against hers, once… twice. Fully expecting her to either pull away in surprise, or respond with a child's chaste kiss, he was completely unprepared for the yielding softness of her mouth and the sweep of her tongue against his bottom lip, begging entrance. Nick's lips parted to taste her, the way he'd been wanting to for days, his hands sinking into her wealth of blonde hair as he bound her to him. On and on the kiss went, mouths seeking, breath mingling, as he lost himself in her uninhibited response.

Until he felt her fingers slip under his t-shirt to hook into his jeans, pulling him closer and he broke the kiss. What was he doing? "I'm sorry," he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I'm not," Cassie reached up to stroke his cheek, and he caught her hand, his eyes pressing shut as he tried to get a hold of himself.

"This isn't right; I'm too old for you. You're not even eighteen for chrissakes."

"God you are such an idiot. Look at me," she pulled back, refusing to release him.

"I've been looking, that's the problem," he muttered in self loathing.

"No, don't look at my legs or my ass or my boobs. Look at me," she insisted, and Nick opened his eyes. "You know me, Nick. You more than anyone else in this world knows who I am and what I've been through. What we've been through together. Look at me and tell me I'm too young for you."

Nick looked up at her, his heart in his eyes as the words brought him physical pain to say, "I can't…"

~Cassie~

I'll never forget that first real kiss from Nick. Going from one extreme of emotion to the next - I'd been about to hit him over my vision of him and Kira and then… it was like everything fell into slow motion as he leaned in to kiss me. My heart beat so fast I thought it might explode and I'd die before I got to kiss him back, but then we sank into the kiss and it was… perfection.

In the back of my mind I knew it couldn't last, so I did what I could to show him without words how much he meant to me. Even knowing it would end too soon, his apology for giving me what I wanted so badly cut me to the quick. One second I'd been flying, weightless and free, and the next… I felt his rejection like a slap in the face.

God the tortured look on his face. "You can't…" I repeated, at a loss for words in the face of his rebuff, and then it hit me… What had he said before about not being able to do it with Jackie back in Texas either? Did he mean…? Was Nick impotent? Christ, no wonder he got nervous when I reached for bare skin. And now he didn't know how to tell me… "Oh hey… Nick, it's okay. We can take things slow, right?"

"Take things slow?" he blinked, as if the thought never once occurred to him. Men… it's always an all or nothing thing with them.

"Yeah, there's no rush, I'm not going anywhere. Well, I mean we are going somewhere… together. Just… don't shut me out, not now." I didn't think I could take it if he pulled away completely after kissing me like that. It was like it was easier to ignore the fact that he didn't want me before when I was younger or he was with Kira, but now that I knew what I was missing… Now that I knew what it felt like to have him look at me like that…I wanted it more than I thought possible.

"I don't want to shut you out, Cass," he shook his head miserably, still torturing himself over it. "It's just you're so…"

I took pity on him, catching up his hand, I gave it a little squeeze. "How about we go back to the compartment and get some rest? It's been a helluva night and we still have another two days at least on the train, right? We don't have to sort everything out tonight."

"That's a good idea," he frowned, still wrestling with trying to figure out how to tell me about his problem, I imagined.

"Come on, how many times have you told me, things will look brighter after a good night's sleep?" I gave him my most winsome smile, relieved when he smiled back with that lopsided grin that made me go weak in the knees. As far as I was concerned, the biggest hurdle was getting him to want me in the first place. If there was a problem with his… little Nick, I could be patient. I'd already been waiting four years for a kiss; the rest would come in time. Now if I could just get the image of him and Kira out of my mind's eye…

~Nick~

Things would look brighter after a good night's sleep. That was assuming of course he'd be able to fall asleep after that scene in the baggage compartment. Maybe if they'd had a room with separate beds he might have stood a chance, but with the cramped quarters they had to share? All he could think about was that kiss, and the way she had felt so right in his arms.

Still, Cassie had been really cool about agreeing to take things slow. He'd expected more of a sulky pout or an argument. Maybe she really had grown up? Didn't they say girls matured faster than boys?

"You're lying there so loud you're keeping me awake," Cassie mumbled in the dark.

"Huh?"

"You keep shifting position and sighing. It's obvious you aren't getting any rest. What's the matter? Are you thinking about your little problem?"

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm keeping you awake," he frowned, wondering what she meant by that 'little problem'. Hadn't they agreed to wait?

"Don't worry about it, but… no wonder you can't get comfortable pressed up against the wall like that. Why don't you scoot over some, are you afraid I'll bite you?"

"I… didn't want to crowd you."

"Stop being such a dumbass and get over here," she patted the mattress.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea…"

"I'm pretty sure I can control myself, Nick." He could practically hear her roll of the eyes in the dark. "Seriously, do you think I'm going to jump you? I said we can take things slow, now come over here," she patted again.

It wasn't her reaction he was nervous about; it was his crumbling resolve wherever she was concerned. But seeing as how he was keeping her from sleeping… Nick moved over a bit, more than a little disconcerted when Cassie immediately inserted herself under his arm, molding her body to his.

"There, that's more comfy, isn't it?" she sighed against his neck and he had to admit, she felt good in his arms. But still, sleep evaded him, he was still far too keyed up despite the late hour. Nick could feel that Cassie was still awake too, her fingers tracing little patterns on his t-shirt over and over again.

"Listen, I'm sorry about…"

"If you say you're sorry one more time I swear to God I'll hit you. For the last time, you are not taking advantage of me, Nick. Just relax, we're gonna get some rest, that's all."

"I'm sor…" Nick caught himself in time, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he felt her fingers fist into his t-shirt for a moment until he stopped the apology. Only her restless fingers didn't stop with the idle patterns on his shirt, they wandered to explore the neckline of his shirt, and then up to trace the sensitive skin behind his ear. Of their own volition, his fingers sank into her soft hair, awash in sensation over that simple touch. The cold tip of her nose brushed against his neck, and he felt her lips follow, the heat of her breath warming his skin.

"Cassie…" he sighed, breathing in the faint perfume of her hair. "We agreed to hold off on the physical stuff."

"Shh, you're having a bad dream, go back to sleep."

Nick felt the sting of her teeth on his earlobe and sucked in a breath. "More like a good dream," he groaned, head falling to one side to give her better access even as he told himself he had to make her stop. "Cassie, I'm serious, I can't…"

Cassie didn't stop the slow exploration of his skin with her delicate fingertips, finding her way up under his shirt to splay across the ridges of his abdomen. "I know. It's okay Nick, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do. We'll just take it slow."

"That's a guy's line, Cass. We both know what it means." If that was taking it slow, he'd have her on her back before the night was over. Or with as much initiative as she was taking, maybe she'd have him on his back… Nick spared a few lingering moments on that fantasy before he gently disengaged himself, rolling onto his side to face her. "When I say slow, I mean slower than this."

"There's nothing to worry about, really. I understand where you're coming from completely. There's other things we can do if you're not, um… ready to…" her eyes dipped, and he thought maybe she wasn't quite getting his point.

"Cassie, I didn't just mean I don't want to jump into bed with you. I meant it when I said I'm too old for you."

"I don't care. Doesn't that count for something?"

God, she was making it hard… "I'm trying to do the right thing."

Her bright eyes met his in the darkness, and he felt the heat of her hand lying over his heart. "The right thing for who, Nick? For me? Because I've wanted this for longer than I care to admit to. For you? Because as near as I can tell its killing you not to touch me. For society? I'm pretty sure nobody gives a damn, and it's not like anyone's gonna turn you in to the cops. Like I said, there's plenty of other things we can do. Why won't you let me help you with your problem?"

There she went again. "What problem?" he shook his head in puzzlement.

"It's okay, you can admit it. It's really okay if you've got a problem with your…"

"My…" he waited for her to spell it out, 'cause he sure as hell couldn't guess what she referred to.

"With sex."

"I have a problem with sex?" he blinked, not quite sure he'd heard her correctly.

"See, don't you feel better for having said it out loud?" she smiled encouragingly, but Nick's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What problem do you think I have with sex?"

"The… not being able to have it kind?"

"You think I… you think I can't physically have sex with you?"

"Isn't that what you meant when you said you can't?"

Nick threw his head back and laughed, his whole body shaking with it as he realized they'd been talking about two very different things. Shifting position, he rolled Cassie onto her back, partially covering her with his body, pressing into her thigh with that part of him that left no doubt as to how much he wanted her. "Trust me, I'm more than capable." Gratified to see her eyes widen in surprise, he brushed his thumb across her parted lips. "In fact, it's taking everything I have to keep from doing something we might end up regretting later."

"Is that what you think?" Her head tilted to one side. "I'd never regret being with you."

It was nice to hear, but Nick couldn't quite bring himself to take her at her word just yet. "This is still a little new for me to get used to. That's why it's so important to make sure we don't rush into anything."

"Four years is hardly rushing things…"

"Give me a little bit of a break, will you? It's not like I even thought of you that way when we first met."

"Tell me about it," she sighed, head falling back on the pillow.

"Maybe it's stupid, but I can't get past that number in my head." It made him feel like he had no right to have these feelings for her, not yet.

"Do you seriously think I'm going to drastically change on my eighteenth birthday? That six months from now I'm going to wake up and realize I've been wasting my time on a stupid crush and I want to date guys my own age?"

That was exactly what he was afraid of, and Nick couldn't blame her if it happened. It was natural for her to have a crush on him, but it didn't mean those feelings would last, and he didn't want to take advantage of her inexperience. "It could happen. You might wake up and decide you could do better than an old guy like me."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"See, you're tired of me already," he grinned at her immediate roll of the eyes. "Trust me, it'll be worth the wait. For now, we just take things slow." Not an easy thing to do considering their current position, but Nick resisted the urge to kiss her again. Cassie however had other ideas.

"And if I don't want to wait?" Grinding her slender hips up against him; he bit back a groan at the small bloom of pleasure from that simple movement.

"Jesus, Cassie… you're killing me, you know that?"

"You're the one torturing us both," she smiled sweetly. "You're also the one who's still on top of me."

"Oh, sorry…"

"Not so fast…" Cassie held fast to him when he moved to roll off. "Don't I get a goodnight kiss? That's allowed, even on a first date. What could be more innocent than a goodnight kiss?"

"Somehow I think being in bed together takes some of the innocence out of it."

"Good." Leaning up, she brushed her lips against his, teasing him. Tempting him. Unable to resist, Nick took the offering, kissing her softly, almost reverently. The little sound of satisfaction she made in the back of her throat was almost his undoing, and he had to fight to keep his hands from roaming like they wanted to. Cassie was under no such restriction though, her hands wending their way under his shirt again to skim over the strong planes of his back.

There was a jerk as the train rolled to a stop, hard enough to break the kiss. Nick's head lifted to peer out the window. "That's weird. We're out in the middle of nowhere."

More interested in continuing the kiss, Cassie didn't bother to look. "Stuff gets stuck on the tracks all the time, trust me."

"Spent a lot of time riding the rails have you?" he smiled down at her, imagining the petite blonde perched in an empty box car, sketch book in hand.

"A fair amount, it's safer than driving for me."

"Maybe when this is over we can take a real vacation together? Just you and me, and no one chasing us?"

"Yeah? I think I…" All of a sudden her body went rigid, eyes staring sightlessly ahead as her face contorted with pain.

"Cass? What is it?" he knew without asking, but the question slipped out anyway as he scooted off of her, wishing like hell he could do something to make it easier for her.

"They're here…" she panted, trying to catch her breath. "We have to go, right now!

A/N: I know, another cliffhanger. But at least I didn't leave them in the middle of a heart-wrenching conversation this time, right?

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