The Little Cabin in the Woods

She was watching him again; he could feel her eyes on him. Initially irritated, he remembered the hell she'd been through and the irritation dissolved. She had been frightened. He hadn't forgotten the look in her eyes at the hospital, the look of desperation and fear. So what if her surveillance kicked in every time he made a move… at least he could move. And there were worse things than being watched closely by the woman who has your heart. So he turned to her and smiled. And he was surprised by what he saw in her expression.

Instead of the anxiety that had become her customary expression recently, she was looking at him with fire in her eyes; the kind of fire that used to lead to some interesting activities. As her eyes beckoned, he moved towards her.

"The boys are napping," she said softly.

"Are you suggesting I need a nap?" His eyebrow cocked up with a hint of mischief.

"Do you need a nap?" She looked disappointed.

He felt the grin that grew across his face. "I could lie down…"

"And … sleep?" She played with a button on his shirt coyly.

"Or not," he answered, just as slyly.

"You've been taking it easy since you got out of the hospital," she commented.

"Someone wouldn't let me do otherwise. As I recall, I tried to be more active earlier this week and was told it was too soon."

Her lips twitched. "Well, maybe someone has changed her mind. Maybe she… maybe she needs some activity herself."

He was a man who caught on quickly. Knowing how short his boys' naps were sometimes, he wasted no time. In fact, he didn't even bother with trying to make it to their bedroom. And thankfully, the boys napped longer than usual while on the living room sofa he demonstrated to their mother just how grateful he was that she had not let the forces win. And she re-established just how powerful her hold on him was.

As they cuddled together in the afterglow, assurance flowed through him. He had his life back. She had confirmed it for him in their most intimate act, her fever and vitality flowing through him, renewing him. And as much as he had loved her before, he loved her that much more now.

The next afternoon Dave volunteered to feed the boys and put them down for a nap. Suspicious, Emily eased back into the room while Dave prepared bottles for each infant. Her jaw dropped open as a few drops of Dave's favorite Scotch made it into each bottle.

"What are you doing?" she blurted out.

Dave turned to face her, his expression contrite. "They'll sleep better," he replied.

"They sleep just fine," she admonished.

"Yeah, but after yesterday… I want to enjoy naptime too," he suggested hopefully.

Taking the bottles from him, she laughed. "We can enjoy naptime again today. But the boys do sleep through the night now, you know… all through the night."

Dave followed her into the kitchen and watched as she emptied the bottles and retrieved two more from the refrigerator. "You saying… tonight we could…"

"All night long," she teased in a husky voice. "Think you can make it… all night long?"

He grinned wickedly as he crossed the room to envelope her in his arms. "Baby, I can last as long as you can," he said as he nibbled on her neck.

She pushed him away as one of the babies began to cry. "Then I suggest you take advantage of naptime," she taunted as she walked away. "Because tonight, Stud Muffin, I intend to ride long and hard," she said as she walked out of the room.

"Take advantage of naptime," he mumbled. "As if I could sleep with that image in my head…"