Bobby embraced Alex; the relief of finally having her safe in arms was nearly overwhelming, and he held her as though he would never let go. "I was so worried Alex. I couldn't stay in the city…."

She looked up at him. "It's ok Bobby. Kiss me." She said wrapping her arms up and behind his neck.

Bobby obeyed and leaned down to oblige. He pressed his lips to hers, tenderly kissing her upper lip then capturing her lower lip before letting the tip of his tongue run along her teeth. The sensation was thrilling and Alex reciprocated, her tongue dancing around his, teasing, and tasting. He brought his hands under her coat and moved them over her back then down to her waist pulling her against him. Alex gasped at the feel of him against her. He was so hard already; clearly he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him. He slid his hands back up now and over her shoulders pushing her parka off and letting it fall to the floor.

Alex had let her hands get lost in his curls but now brought one hand down to his chest. She hesitated. She wanted to unbutton his shirt. She wanted to run her hands over the bare skin of his chest…she wanted to make love! But, she didn't want to rush him. She didn't even know if this kind of activity would still be too painful for him. So she simply ran her hand over his shoulder then down the tensed muscles of his arm as she pressed her hips into his. Bobby groaned. He wanted more. He brought his hands down again and took hold of the waist of her sweatshirt pulling it up and over her head. Letting it drop to the floor with the coat and moving his mouth to her neck as he pulled her thermal shirt out of the waistband of her microfiber snow pants. Alex caught her breath at the feel of Bobby's hands on the bare skin of her waist and the hungry way he kissed her neck.

"Your skin is like silk, Alex," he said softly between kisses. "I knew it would be," he continued bringing his mouth back to her lips, kissing her deeply. Leaving his right hand at the small of her back he brought his left hand out from under her shirt and ran his fingers through her hair tangling it at the back of her head.

Alex didn't need any more encouragement. She brought her hands to the front of his shirt again and began to unbutton it, and then like he had done she reached inside and took hold of the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it from the waistband of his pants. How many times while she had dressed his wounds had she wanted to run her hands over his body, now she did just that. Alex brought her hands up his ribs, but kept clear of the healing wound on his right peck.

Bobby moved her slowly toward the bed; slowly partly because his left leg was now supported by a brace, and partly because Alex's warm hands caressing him were distracting. At the edge of the bed he moved his lips from hers, and bending slightly at the waist he brought his left arm down and around behind her thighs and lifted her just enough to lay her back onto the bed as he lay down with her. He gathered her back into his arms and she pulled his head down kissing him with a slow deliberate passion as she pressed her hips into his groin and moved against him.

Bobby caught his breath and moved his lips from hers, "Oh, Alex." he said huskily and kissed her neck, then her ear lobe, then as he felt her hands on his bare skin again he buried his face into her shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "Alex, wait."

She brought one hand up and brushed his hair back, "What is it Bobby, are you in pain?"

"Yes." He said. His voice still muffled. Then he lifted his head and moved away slightly to look at her. Now he brought up a hand to brush her hair back and then gently ran his fingertips over her cheek, then down her jaw line to trail his index finger along the curve of her neck before resting his hand on her shoulder and studying her face in the dimly lit room. "That's not why I stopped though."

Now it was Alex's turn to study his expression. She ran her fingers over his clean-shaven face and smiled. "You finally shaved."

"Just for you." He caressed her neck with his thumb. "You're so beautiful." The words came out unbidden but her shy smile made him glad he'd said it. He loved to see her smile and couldn't help but kiss her in response.

Their kiss grew passionate again and Bobby brought his free hand back under her shirt, this time moving up along her ribs, stopping at her bra line. Alex moved against him again as she brought her own hand to his belt. Bobby sucked in his breath, moved his hand from under her shirt, and moved away again. "Alex." He began.

"Dammit Bobby! Stop STOPPING!" Alex said in understandable frustration.

But Bobby chuckled and said, "I'm sorry." It was a refreshing boost to is ego to know without a doubt now that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her, but that wasn't all he wanted; he also wanted to not disappoint her.

He was smiling at her as she scowled at him, his eyes kind and un-mocking, and she couldn't help but smile back, "You have always been the most frustrating man I know! I guess this shouldn't surprise me. What is it, if not the pain?"

"Alex, I, uh…" He was trying to find just the right words. "Alex I don't want the first time we're together to be a 'hit and run' in a cheap motel."

" 'Hit and run?' " She said moving away from him.

Bobby was reminded of the way she had moved away from him in the car the night they were stranded on Rt. 17 and he knew it was a physical manifestation of her putting an emotional distance between them. So he pulled her back to him and wrapped his arms around her to hold her in place. "Yeah, 'hit and run.' It's 3 am. That gives us maybe three or four hours of sleep before we have to get up." He felt her relaxing against him, resting her head on his shoulder now as she listened. "And if I am going to make love to the woman I love…."

"Bobby." She said surprised, and he let her move away so she could look into his eyes.

"I love you Alex, I always have."

"I love you too, Bobby." She said, her eyes misting with emotion.

"I know you showed me this weekend." He pulled her back into his embrace and they kissed for a long time, slowly, sensuously, lovingly, and then they just held one another. "Alex, you should sleep."

"Are you leaving?"

"No I'll stay here with you. But I'll leave before you wake up. I don't want Mike or the Captain to see me leaving your room."

"You have a room here?"

"I'm bunking with Zach."

"And he'll know where you've been when you come in at dawn. That's not a problem?"

"No, he… well, lets just say he understands."

"I don't want to wake up alone." Alex sighed and buried face in the curve of his neck, breathing in the scent of him."

He reached out to grab the bedspread and pulled it up over her. "Sleep now." He said softly as he gently rubbed her back. Alex didn't think she'd be able to but she closed her eyes anyway, and listened to his steady heartbeat and let it and his gentle touch sooth her into the deepest, most contented four hours of sleep she'd ever had.

Bobby lay awake for the next two hours thinking about Alex. He thought about all the years they'd spent together, and tried to decide just when it was his feelings for her had gone from 'respect' to 'like' to 'friendship' to 'love'…the attraction had always been there. At least it had for him; from the first time he saw her smile. And then he tried to decide when she had gone through those stages concerning him. What had he done to make her fall in love with him? Before he knew it, it was time to go. Alex was sleeping so soundly she hardly stirred as he moved away and replaced his body with pillows so she could stay warm and comfortable.

He entered the room he shared with Zach as quietly as possible. It didn't matter. Zach was awake, reading. He looked up at Bobby. "How's Alex?" He asked.

"She's good. Sleeping. Did you sleep?"

"Yeah, pretty much since we got here. I only woke up a little while ago."

Bobby looked at the cover of the book Zach was reading. "I have the same book." He said.

"I know. It is your book. I read a lot, and I did not want to come up here without a good book, so I brought it along. Did you sleep?" Zach asked.

"No. I'll just cat nap now. Wake me when things start to happen alright?"

"Sure. Light going to bother you?"

"Nope." Bobby said as he lay back and put a pillow over his head, resting his arm across it to hold it in place, and fell easily to sleep.

Alex woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. "Just a minute." She said lifting her head off the pillows and looking around. It took her a minute to remember why she was waking up fully dressed. She got up from the bed and ran her hands through her hair as went to the door and pulled it open.

"Good morning." Mike said, smiling genially. "The Captain says to meet him over at the Shoney's when we're ready."

"Ok." Alex said. "I'll be there shortly." After she closed the door she went to her jacket for her cell phone and called Bobby.

"Good morning." Bobby said. "Sleep well?"

"Yes. You?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen Hannah?"

"Yes, Zach talked to him. Meeting at Shoney's right?"

"Yes. Will I see you before then?"

"Definitely. ' Bout 20 minutes?"

"Should I come there?"

"Yeah, Zach should be out by then."

"Ok." Alex said. After saying goodbye she hung up and got into the shower. As she got ready as quickly as possible she tried to remember every detail about last night. One moment was most prominent above all others, and seemed to replay over and over in her mind, 'I love you Alex. I always have.' She couldn't stop thinking about Bobby's words. And she couldn't wait to hear him say it again. So she was very anxious when she knocked on the door and waited for Bobby to answer.

It was Zach that answered though. "He's showering, or shaving or something. Go right in." Zach said and stepped out of the room. Before he walked away Zach put a hand on Alex's shoulder and said, "I am very glad you and Mike are ok. We were all quite worried yesterday."

"Thanks Zach." She said and watched after him a moment before going into the room.

Bobby opened the bathroom door and leaned against the doorframe. He smiled at Alex. She stood up and moved to where he stood. He reached out and took her hand drawing her to him. They kissed. And then just held one another for a moment. Each of them had so much they wanted to say to the other, and both knew this was neither the place nor time. So Bobby broke the silence with a simple request. "Can you help me with my leg brace, Alex?"

"Of course." She said and looked around for it. She helped Bobby to his bed and after he sat down she helped him strap the brace around his leg. Then she stood up and took his hand, "Ready?" She asked.

As he got up he put his arms around Alex and leaned down to brush his lips against hers before kissing her cheek then whispering into her ear, "I love you." When she looked up at him he continued, "I wanted to say it again before we got to the restaurant with the others."

She kissed him. Then looking up said, "I love you too." He smiled down at her, and she moved away saying, "I guess we should go."

"Yes." He agreed, and they headed for the breakfast meeting with Zach, Mike, and Hannah.