Author's notes: Yes, you guessed right, I'm enjoying the teasing and I have so many possible interruptions in my mind, you wouldn't believe it *smugly grins*

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Alone at last - next try

...

Tommy closed the door behind him, turned and favoured Barbara with an adoring look. "Alone at last."

Barbara felt a happy sting in her chest. "Didn't I hear that before? Oh, 'n' I don't think Winnie was distur-"

She let go a very girlish and very happy shriek when Tommy lifted her and threw her over his shoulder.

"Sir!" she cried out with laughter. "What are you doin'?!"

He carried her to the stairs and up.

"I'm taking you to my... office. We'll have a word."

"Sir, I can walk on my own, 'n' this is not the way 'to your office'. You don't have any office in this house, Sir!" She slapped his bottom but laughed anyway.

"Quite the detective, huh? And it's Tommy. T-O-M-M-Y!"

"Why. Yes - why are you carryin' me this way? I-"

"As you might have calculated by how long we both know each other you could've come to the solution that I'm not the youngest anymore. If I'd carry you in my arms in front of my chest I'd probably would break my back."

"You could've let me climb the stairs on my own. Sir!"

"You probably would've started arguing at the bottom of it and get every romantic touch out of the moment."

"It's not very romantic to be picked up like this. Sir!"

They arrived in front of the bedroom they had shared the previous night with Winston sleeping in Tommy's former bedroom and he let her down on her feet.

"Here we are." he said with a low voice and smiled boyish at the little red-faced woman in front of him. She leaned against the frame and smiled up at his beloved face, a huge amount of happiness but also fear and dread sparkling in her eyes.

"Sir..."

Tommy supported himself leaning his left arm above her head and thus came very close without touching her. This alone made her silent.

"Please, Barbara, will you finally call me Tommy? It's getting absurd." he pleaded and gently stroked her cheek with his right hand, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth.

"Tommy." she whispered, blushed deeply and looked at his lips.

"That's so much nicer, ...Havers." he breathed with a smile and winked. He sensed that Barbara still felt fearful. "What are you afraid of, Barbara?"

His hand now rested in the crook between her neck and her shoulder and his thumb gently played with her earlobe and the sensitive spot behind it.

She shrugged. "Everything. I think..." Her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, it's somehow awkward to be carried up the stairs and into the bedroom..."

"It's not quite the bedroom, you know, we still are in the corridor." Tommy just smiled and did not move.

Barbara looked anywhere but in his eyes. This is so awkward. Can't he just take me to... - oh my, dangerous thoughts. Stop thinking, Barbara. Why can't you just let this happen?!

"I'm happy to have you with me." he whispered. "And I'm so happy about our progress."

Barbara just nodded and watched the handrail of the stairs intensely, realising that it stood absolutely still. Her hands grabbed the doorframe in her back to steady her.

"Look at me, Barbara."

She raised her eyes to his. Their bodies still were not touching.

"I want to talk to you tonight." His voice was thick with desire.

Barbara knew what he meant - it had absolutely nothing to do with words. And she wanted the same, of course. Still...

She nodded again.

"What is it?" he asked. "We've been close to it several times before, closer even than we are now, and you weren't nervous at all..."

"Those were different situations. I'm not used to be carried up stairs 'n' let down in front of the bedroom 'n' then even to be given the choice to stop. And normally there's an unhealthy amount of alcohol... And I've never talked so much about... talking."

She blushed again and diverted her eyes to his chest. The steady but deep heaving of his muscles shaped by his tightly fitting T-shirt distracted her. She longed to rake her hands into his shirt and through his chest hair. She closed her eyes for some seconds.

"I actually never had so much ...talking. This whole situation is uncharted territory for me and..."

Tommy waited for her to finish her sentence.

"...and you've had so much more -" Now she did not continue.

"...affairs?" he guessed.

"...experience. So much more than I've had."

"It's not as much as you might think I've had and none was with you." He placed his left hand on her waist.

"Well, I..."

He waited some seconds. "Well what?"

"I'm afraid I'd disappoint you, Tommy." Her voice was hardly audible.

"How could you, Barbara. Nobody disappoints anybody when..." they love each other. He finished his sentence in his mind. He dared not to say it yet.

"When what?"

"You've never disappointed me in any way and I know you will not start just now. Believe me, Barbara." He smiled at her reassuringly and his face was on its way to kiss her when she spoke on.

"You'll never know, Sir. I'm really not very experienced in relationships. Actually I don't mean just the... bedroom things. You've seen how many - or less, that is - boyfriends I've had 'n' where I've picked them up. Y'know how long those 'affairs' lasted. I'm afraid I'd disappoint you in every way concernin' this - like you named it - progress. And we'd have to talk to Hillier 'n' I really don't think your family would approve. There's too much-"

"Havers?"

"What, Sir?"

"Shut up!"

He silenced every other word with his lips on hers.

...