A/N: Happy Easter/Passover to those who celebrate it. Now, on with our story...

Chapter 14

Cory picked Greg up from Dave's the next day in the new 'Vette and let him drive to his parents house. "This is awesome," he grinned as he peeled out of the driveway while Cory held on for dear life.

"You crash this car, and I will kill you!"

"Would I do that? Besides, if I crashed it, we'd never get a chance to park at Lover's Lane tonight," he winked at her and laughed when her face flushed. "You should've chosen the other car. Red is a nice color on you."

"Shut up."

After having lunch and a visit with Greg's Mom, thankfully without the Colonel, who was away on some training exercise, they went for dinner at the local hangout. "So I never got to ask you, how are things at the FBI?"

Cory shrugged as she sipped her milkshake. "We do a lot of physical training and classroom stuff. They have Hogan's Alley, which is a favourite of mine. I've discovered I'm a total adrenaline junkie. And I'm also a good shot."

Greg smirked. "I'll take your word for it. So do you know what you want to specialize in when your training is over?"

"Missing persons. Kids mostly," she said with such conviction that it amazed him.

"Why that?"

"I want to find missing kids and bring them home alive. To me, that would be the ultimate reward. That, and nailing the people who kidnap them."

"Cool."

"Of course I'll have to do grunt work for awhile before I get anywhere near that point but it's something I want to pursue. And I've always wanted to do a sting operation, surveillance, that kind of thing."

"The FBI does a lot of that kinda stuff, I heard. Ever see the FBI Story? With Jimmy Stewart? Awesome movie."

Cory grinned. "I have, and it was awesome. It's part of the reason I wanted to join the FBI in the first place."

"DEA didn't do it for ya, huh?" he teased.

"Not really, no." Then she gave him a coy, impish smile and reached across the table for his hand. Their fingers interlaced and she felt warm tingles go through her entire body when their fingers touched. "But you do."

Greg returned the smile with one of his own and squeezed her hand. "I missed you," he said softly as he looked down at their hands.

"I missed you too."

"I liked sleeping with you."

"I liked that, too."

"Before you, I'd never woken up in the same bed with anyone. And since, I haven't wanted to unless it was with you."

His admission shook her to the core and she felt her eyes sting with tears. It was a very personal admission, and not one she'd expected to come from him.

"And you have to go back tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I have mid-terms. Maybe you could come out and see me over Thanksgiving. Meet the guys. I have my own room at the house."

"I might just do that. I'd love to see Baltimore. Besides, it'll be my turn to come out there. Are you going to come out at Christmas?"

"I might. Depends what my Mom can bribe me with."

"I'm not enough of a reason?" she pouted.

"Oh man, don't look at me like that," he sighed and then lifted her fingers to his lips.

Cory swallowed hard as she watched him delicately kiss the tip of each finger and then the back of her hand while his eyes never left hers.

"Wanna get outta here?" he asked, his voice suddenly husky.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Greg left some cash on the table and Cory drove them to an abandoned air field, otherwise known as Lovers Lane. It appeared to be quite popular, as they weren't alone.

"Busy place," Greg muttered as he observed the half dozen other cars parked nearby with their windows fogged.

"We don't have to stay," Cory shrugged. "I don't like an audience. And this car doesn't have a back seat like Dave's does."

"Speaking of Dave, his parents are out of town on a cruise."

He didn't need to say another word. Cory started the engine almost immediately and drove out of the lot as Greg laughed. "Eager, aren't you?"

"Greg, we haven't seen each other in two months. Forgive me for wanting some alone time."

"No forgiveness needed. But it was you who brought us to Lovers Lane. I just do as I'm told."

Fifteen minutes later they stumbled through the front door of Dave's parents' house, lips locked, hands everywhere at once as they made their way toward the winding staircase. Then he swiftly hoisted her over his shoulder and took her upstairs to the guest bedroom, both of them laughing all the way until the door was shut and locked behind them.

It was dark in the room but Greg didn't bother looking for the light switch. Cory had pulled her shirt off and so had he, both of them tumbling onto the queen sized bed together.

"Oh!" she squealed when she felt his tongue running across the top of her breasts. "Greg..."

He wrapped his arms around her and unhooked her bra before tossing it aside. As his mouth fastened on one of her nipples, his hand slipped under her skirt.

"Mmm...wet already," he murmured as he shoved the fabric of her panties aside and stroked her wet core.

"Just...thinking about you makes me wet," she whispered as she thrust against his hand.

"Oh yeah? And what do you think about to get wet?" he whispered as he kissed her neck.

"How your hands feel on me...the way you kiss...your gorgeous blue eyes..."

He grabbed her hand and placed it over the bulge in his jeans. "That's what you do to me."

Cory gave it a squeeze and unzipped him so she could slip her hand inside and stroke him properly. For several minutes they just lay there, kissing and touching, getting reacquainted with each others bodies until Greg couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Huh? Nothing."

"You've been quiet all day."

"I have a lot on my mind."

"Tell me..."

His kisses along her neck and throat were making her brain foggy and his hand up her skirt was making her body feel like it was a tightly wound guitar string just waiting to snap. He had a talent for making her forget everything.

"It's just...when my training is over, I could be sent anywhere in the country. That will make things that much harder to see each other."

Greg unhooked the catch at the back of her skirt and pulled it off. Her panties came next and then his jeans and boxers until they were both naked and holding each other as close as possible.

"We'll deal with it," he murmured as he placed kisses down her body.

"But..."

He crashed his lips against hers and playfully held her hands down.

"We'll talk about it later...much later."

Cory nodded and then smiled up at him. "Make love to me, Greg?"

He reached into the nightstand for the condoms he brought but she stopped him. "I'm on the pill."

"Since when?"

"Since you left for school."

Greg chuckled. That explained the new curves and slight weight gain. "Mmm...now I can feel you. Really feel you," he murmured as he nestled himself between her legs and teased her entrance.

"Yesss..." she hissed as she felt him gently slip inside and then she groaned at the skin on skin contact. "Oh! Oh my God..."

It felt better than anything she could ever imagine and she wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly to hold him close.

"I missed this," he murmured against her throat.

"Me too. You feel so...so...oh yes...so good, Greg!"

"So do you," he groaned as she bucked her hips against his. "Cory..."

"Uh-huh?"

"So close..."

"Then go for it..."

Greg needed no further encouragement and began thrusting harder.

"Deeper..." she moaned as she dug her nails into his back. "Harder..."

He began to gyrate his hips as he slammed into her repeatedly, feeling her inner walls contract around his cock. She was writhing underneath him as he thrust a few more times to ride out her orgasm while he reached the peak of his and they both collapsed, sweaty and smiling.

"Wow," was all he could say as they held each other tight, still connected until he went soft and slipped out of her.

"I don't want you to go tomorrow," she said with a heavy sigh.

"I don't want to, but I have to. It's only a few weeks till thanksgiving. You'll survive," he chuckled. "Besides," he said as he propped himself up on his shoulder and looked down at her, his finger gently glided up and down her arm, "if you don't make it, there's always Christmas."

XXX

Thanksgiving was a bust with Cory being sick as a dog with the flu, and then Christmas was even worse when a snow storm in Baltimore prevented Greg from coming home. Cory considered driving out to see him, but her father wouldn't hear of it.

"This is terrible," she cried on the phone to Greg. "Who knows when we'll see each other again. My training is almost over and then I could be sent God knows where."

"Hey," his voice was calm as he tried to soothe her as best he could. "What's with all the tears? I thought you were tougher than that."

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, "I just miss you so much, Greg. Not seeing you on Thanksgiving was bad enough, but not as bad since it had only been a few weeks since we last saw each other. But now, there aren't any more holidays."

"We'll work something out. I gotta go now. I have a study group in ten minutes."

She sniffed again. "Okay. Merry Christmas, Greg. I love you."

His heart literally fluttered in his chest every time she said those words and he cleared his throat. "I love you too, Cory. No more crying, okay?"

"I can't promise that, but okay."

She hung up the phone and sighed. Her first Christmas with her first real boyfriend and they couldn't be together. Life sucked big time.

XXX

Cory opened one eye when she heard the doorbell. She'd been in bed moping around for days since she last talked to Greg and nothing seemed to lift her mood. She would've stayed in bed and ignored whoever was at the door, but nobody else was home.

When the doorbell rang again, she ran downstairs to answer it. Standing there was a delivery boy holding a large box. "Cory Wallace?"

"Yes."

"I have a delivery for you. Sign here, please."

After she signed, he handed her the large oblong box and walked away. Cory put it on the table and opened it. Nestled inside were two dozen long stemmed roses and an envelope. Her heart started beating immediately as she took the card out and read it:

Cory,

Sorry I couldn't make it out for Christmas. I know the roses are a poor substitute but I hope you like them anyway. I wish I could be there to see your face when they arrived.

We'll see each other soon. I promise.

Love,

G.H.

She read the card over three times before she took the roses and put them in water. Then she put them in her bedroom and climbed back into bed with a heavy sigh. Was it possible to miss someone so much? Part of her felt empty inside without him near her. She didn't know what she was going to do when her training was over. She tried not to think about it too much since it just depressed her. All she knew was that time was running out and she needed to see him.

X X X

1885...

"You've looked at my ankle long enough. Is it broken or not?" Nettie snapped.

"It's definitely fractured. We'll need to cast it and you need to stay off your feet for the next several weeks."

"Several weeks? That's so unfair! How am I supposed to tend bar when I'm hobbling around?"

"It's quite simple. You won't be doing anything of the sort. You're going to take it easy and let it heal. If I have to keep you in this hospital in order to do that, I will."

Nettie's eyes narrowed. "You think you're pretty smart, don't you?"

"I don't think. I know," Duke grinned back at her. "I've sent a telegram to your Mother regarding your condition and she's of the opinion to keep you here."

Nettie's jaw dropped. "You telegraphed my Mother? That's so unfair!"

"You say that so often," he sighed as he signed something on her chart. "I wonder what your grounds for comparison are." And with that, he left her room and shut the door.

In the middle of the night, she felt a cool wash cloth against her cheeks and forehead as she awoke in a cold sweat. "What...who's there?" she panicked.

"Shhh," a man's voice whispered. "You have a fever. Just relax."

"A fever? From what?"

"That's yet to be determined. Could be simply you caught a cold being outside in the rain until I found you and it escalated into the flu. No matter, we'll have you on the mend in no time."

She finally recognized his voice as Duke, but it wasn't his usual smart ass attitude. He actually sounded like he cared. He could've easily sent in a nurse to do what he was doing, but he came himself.

"Thank you," she said softly, almost so quiet he could barely hear her.

"What for?"

"For...being here."

"Just doing my job, Miss Nettie," he said as he put the washcloth down and dried his hands off. "All in a day's work."