Thanks for reviews people! Sorry I don't have time to thank you all personally I am so busy right now. There are two more chapters which I am going to post before Sunday because I go away for a week and I don't want to leave you all waiting!

CHAPTER 10

Troy woke the next morning to the smell of fresh bread. He walked through to the kitchen and spotted an unevenly sliced loaf on the counter and frowned bemusedly, then picked up the note beside it.

'To the sexy house doctor,

I'm out looking for a new waitressing job/place to stay etc.

Wake me when you come in- even if it's 4am!

G x'

New place to stay? What was she talking about?

He frowned and took two slices of bread and buttered them while he grilled some bacon, enjoying the most delicious sandwich with her handmade bread with a smile.

Maybe she didn't want to live with him now, he wondered. Now that the ruse with Jake was over and they were…what were they? Dating? Anyway, clearly she thought that she needed to get out of his hair and get her own space otherwise she wouldn't be looking.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he went to get ready for work. He wanted her to stay. He had gotten used to their sharing his house and he wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to that yet. Not when he'd just lost Jake, too. He didn't want to be alone for once, even though he had been used to it before.

Long hours and studying commitments left him tired and lacking fun; but having Gabi here had shown him he could have something else, too. A little love. He liked waking up to her and coming home to her- especially when she snuck into his bed, he smirked.

So, he wondered if she really wanted to leave or not. And if she did, then he wouldn't stop her. But if she didn't, well then that would be a whole different story he smiled to himself.

/

"What a day," Gabi rolled her eyes and planted the handful of available apartment pamphlets she had collected on the side in the kitchen as she went to find a soda.

When she opened the fridge a note dropped out and she smiled softly; remembering the note she had left for Troy and presuming this was his responding message.

'Dearest Gabriella,

Thank you for the bread…it was delicious…I kind of ate it all, too, sorry.

Can't wait to hear about your day later- hope I'm not too zombified from the bunker.

The House Doctor x'

Oh, lord, he was so adorable, she smiled to herself. And she didn't mind if he was a zombie when he came home because she just looked forward to seeing him again, after everything that had happened recently to unsettle them.

Finding work had been easy. There were enough bars and café's all over town to apply to so she had passed out her resume and completed application forms for every waitressing job going.

Finding somewhere to live was a little harder. All the single flats were out of her price range and she didn't know if she was quite up to sharing yet- she still felt a little wary of putting herself out there, even to work, so moving in with someone new seemed a bridge too far but she had come home hoping Troy might accept an offer of rent to allow her more time to adjust. Going back to her old flat just seemed impossible now and she had set the wheels in motion to end her tenancy there, leaving her with a few weeks to collect her belongings and move out formally.

By the time it came to bed-time, Gabi had completed her set of self-imposed chores and went to bed from a warm relaxing shower wearing just her favourite jersey- also fresh from laundry today. Wearing Troy was a lovely sensation and she could picture him whizzing around the ice rink with a stick and puck, smaller than the others maybe, but fast and sneaky, too.

She was glad though, that he'd become a doctor. She might never have met him otherwise and that thought made her sad.

"You have really got to give up that jersey."

Speak of the devil…

Gabi rolled over in bed and squinted into the dark at his imposing figure beside the bed, undressing tiredly. How had he known she was awake?

"It helps me sleep," she defended.

"Obviously not if your sighing was anything to go by," he mused.

"I was not-" she paused. Was she?

Troy headed for the shower and she turned onto her back, awaiting his return, but she must have gotten drowsy because when he finally sunk into the mattress, she stirred from sleep.

"Mm, pillow," he rubbed his cheek into her belly and she couldn't help her dry smile.

"So Jake was right then, I need a prop for my huge belly?"

"No, your belly is beautiful," he kissed it through the jersey to indicate how so.

Oh. She swallowed down her sudden desire.

"How was the bunker?" She asked as her fingers gently stroked his hair as he continued to use her stomach for his resting place.

"We lost this kid tonight- five years old." He sighed. "Playing chicken with the cars in his street…man I wish I could tell these kids not to be so damn stupid…"

"You'll make a great dad one day," she smiled of his vow.

He rubbed her stomach. "We'll see."

"I applied for jobs," she stated with an upbeat tone.

"Hmm," he commented simply, making her puzzle.

"What do you mean 'hmm'?" She smirked.

"Are you sure you want to be working at night again?" He wondered. "I want you to be safe."

"Well this part of town is a little better than mine," she admitted. "Plus I need to earn money. I can't keep living here rent-free and I want to save up for my own place…"

"Yeah, about that," he husked, shifting so that he propped up on an elbow to look into her face in the darkened room.

"It's okay, I have a plan…I have to say, I don't think I'm ready to live with strangers just yet and the flats here are more expensive than mine, so I was thinking if I could just stay here a little longer and pay my way like a lodger then I can look for somewhere once I'm settled at work and feel stronger and have-"

"Gabi," Troy broke into her babble of speech. "Would you maybe think about staying here with me- full time?"

"What?" She breathed, so shocked she lifted her hand to brush his cheek with her thumb.

"I mean it. I'm not saying that we have to share a bed every night or anything like that, I just wondered if you might consider staying," he said again.

Gabi swallowed. "I'm really not sure…"

"I'm not going to make you," he assured softly, then dipped to kiss her mouth. "Just know the offer is there."

"But why?" She struggled to understand. "This is your place- you made it, you own it. I don't belong here," she added poignantly.

"Well, I think you do," he answered softly and lay back down, cuddling her into his arms. He thought she belonged here all along.

Gabi considered his invitation and snuggled into his body. "I'll think about it."

"Good," he kissed her hair. "'Cos I am beat and I can't promise I'd be awake if you took much longer to decide…"

"Go to sleep," she told him gently.

And he did.

/

"What time is it?" Troy groaned, opening one eye to find Gabi laid beside him with a bright smile on her face and she was seemingly dressed in yellow shorts and some kind of athletic crop-top.

"About noon," her smile curled deeper and showcased her dimple.

"Noon?" he startled. "I have to be at work again by two…" he remembered.

"Work, again?" Gabi looked crestfallen.

"I asked for the early shift so we could have dinner together tonight…" he broached and her smile flickered back.

"I believe we have a little time before you have to get ready," she led, maneuvering so that she was straddling his lap and playfully pinned down his wrists to the pillow.

"What, are you trapping me?" He asked bemusedly, secretly feeling his body reacting to her domination of him even in this small, fun way.

"It's called pinning you to the bed," she supplied formally. "To make sure you don't escape before I've had my way with you…"

Troy's face broke into a pained grin and he groaned as he cupped her neck to bring her lips to his for a kiss. It was still like fire; flickering up his body as her tentative lips met his and matched his need for more and they both gave in to the slow arousal their bodies soon experienced as their hands began to wander.

"What are you wearing?" Troy asked breathlessly as he pulled off the little top that covered her small breasts.

"My work out gear," she answered, pulling his boxers down where her eyes lit at the sight of him standing proud already.

"Jesus, Gabi," he complained at her wide-eyed awe and he let his hands cup her hips and work over her curves as she came back into his lap.

When they kissed again, their lips were swollen and blood was pounding around their veins with the erratic beat their hearts made, almost in sync as they touched flesh and enjoyed each other.

Troy's thumbs found her nipples and made her arch and cry out and then he leaned up to suckle them too, driving her insane with need. It didn't take long for her shorts to be discarded and for them to come closer together, just as before, but totally bared to each other's eyes.

"You are so special," Troy thumbed her chin to part her lips so he could kiss her again; then his thumb trailed down between her breasts, over her belly button and finally his fingers tickled her intimately while he pressed his thumb against her nub and watched her face change with pleasure-pain.

She reached down and grasped his wrist, pausing him from his intention.

"I want to come with you," she whispered, her dark, dark eyes meeting his as they panted, in unison, the mid-day sun falling on them in mild yellow behind the curtains.

Troy's eyes darkened too at her words and he nodded, reaching for protection to end their blissful punishment. He quickly wrapped himself and flicked shy eyes up to his partner.

"Hold me down again?" He asked with a little blush as she looked to him.

Gabi, however, merely smiled. "My pleasure," she assured, taking his wrists and pushing them into the pillow each side of his head while she positioned herself in his lap.

They didn't need words for what came next. Gabi lowered herself onto his hardness and he breathed out heavily at the heat surrounding him as she did so. She was slick for him and hot and he couldn't have asked for more as she gently bound his wrists and leaned down to kiss him; their kisses becoming impossible as their desire reigned and they became breathless.

"Oh, god," Troy half-sighed, half moaned as he thrust up to fill her as she bore down with steady, gentle rhythm.

"Now," she asked softly, releasing his hand and showing him where she needed him to touch, but he took his own pace and gently thumbed her budded peaks before dragging his hands lazily down her sides and then over her thighs that split to take him deep.

"Lean back," his voice was strangled as he closed his eyes and fought his control to pleasure her and he swallowed as her new angle brought him not only deeper inside her; but brought excited noises to her lips as he hit her G-spot.

He almost grinned at her reaction, wondering if she needed his touch now, but still his fingers trailed down until he lost his fingertip in her dark curls below, deliberately using a very gentle digit to bring her to her peak.

Gabi whimpered at the swirl of blissful sensations abounding her at the mixture of Troy's touches across her body to bring her to a buzzing harmony that crested her wave. And she felt the tell-tale squeeze of her intimate muscles as he thrust gently into her and touched her inside and out to make her cry out with ecstasy.

She worked hard to give him the friction he needed and fought the over-whelming command of her orgasm to try and assist his, but he didn't let her win. She may have started off in control but she let him reign as her pleasure rained down across her body in fizzing shimmering waves.

As she slowly opened her eyes and crawled against Troy's chest for a place of haven; she felt his arms gently band around her and caring hands cup her skin.

She felt him kiss her temple before he sighed and leaned back in the bed.

Gabi dropped a kiss to his chest; rubbing her cheek there and feeling their sticky sweat combine as she wriggled.

"Don't leave me now, angel," he murmured, still dozy from his orgasm.

"I'm not," she assured. "I'm just getting comfortable."

It seemed like that might be a difficult job seeing as she was using his muscle-hardened body for a mattress but he had to smile at having her lay so completely against him.

"I could get used to this," he rubbed his chin against the top of her head, stroking light hands down her back comfortingly.

"I'm glad I waited," she told him randomly, snuggling closer.

"Me, too," he agreed. "And I'm glad I get to share this with you."

"What do you think would have happened if I hadn't kissed you?" She wondered.

Troy smiled and ran a hand over her bare backside. "You're beautiful," he said, not answering her question and deliberately distracting himself with her curves.

She giggled. "That makes no sense!"

"I know," he shrugged. "But what does it matter, now?" He wondered of her question.

"It doesn't," she assured.

"I have to get ready for work," he ran his hand up her spine, then back down, resting in the small of her back.

"Do I have to injure myself just to see you?" She whined sulkily, wrapping her arms around his neck to cling on.

"No, because I'll be back at eight." He reminded her.

"Hmph," she leaned up to kiss him, a few times, on the mouth.

"I know what you're doing," his brow arched.

"And what is that, Doctor?" She smiled felinely.

"Trying to seduce me," he replied, stroking her hair back and letting his fingers thread into the soft strands.

"Is it working?" She rubbed herself against him a little.

He smirked as he felt his skin tingle alive and his sated body react.

"Yes, but it would be incredibly mean for you to turn me on before I have to go to war," he remarked.

She rolled onto her back and touched her own nipples until they peaked.

"You best make it quick, then," she flirted, clearly not willing to give up.

Troy watched her self-love with amazed eyes, not sure if he wanted to indulge in more foreplay or watch her please herself. She smiled at him becomingly, making his decision for him.

Being late for work was becoming an entirely more attractive option…