Disclaimer: As before

Author's Note: Here's the long awaited final chapter, which is, I'll warn you now, M rated. There will, however, be an epilogue, so I will say all my thank yous then, and now, just get on with the chapter. Oh, and the first chapter of the prequel to this story is now up, Back to the Beginning. Please have a read and leave me a review.

She let him pull her to her feet, and just as she had done herself on the first night she had invited him to share her bed, he led her by the hand to the bedroom. The hand that gripped hers was cool, certain of itself, and she lost herself for a moment in the feeling of his skin. Once he had shut the door behind them, he took her elbows gently and manoeuvred her around to sit her down on the bed, planting himself next to her.

He placed his hand under her chin and brought her face up to meet his gaze. 'Neela, we can take this as slowly as you want. If you don't want to do this yet, then I understand. I said I'm happy to wait, and I am. But I have to tell you, I want you, I want to make love to you. Tonight. Now. I need to make love to you.' His tone was full of concern for her, but he couldn't hide the lust, and love, in his eyes, which were blackened with desire, pupils wide.

In reply, she smiled at him. 'It's okay Ray. I'm ready. I love you and I'm ready for this, for us. I want us to be a real family, I want us to be together.'

His heart turned over in his chest at her words, and he knew he was lost forever. 'And I want to make Lucy all over again with you. I want a dozen Lucys. You and our daughter are the very best things to ever have happened to me, and I'm not ever going to let you go.' He bit his lip uncertainly, afraid to bare his soul so completely.

She smiled at him, and leaned forward to briefly kiss the worry from his face. Before he could return the kiss though, she broke away and stood up. He watched her as she struck a match and made her way around the room, lighting all the candles she had dotted around the place. She blew out the flame just as it was about to reach her fingers, and on her way back to the bed, she turned off the light, leaving the room lit only by the flickering, dancing flames of the candles.

She walked back towards the bed very slowly, and Ray sat back, taking in every inch of her, from those sexy high heels up her stocking clad legs to the narrow waist, exquisite breasts, the tantalising show of skin at the top of her dress right up to her beautiful face. Her figure was a little fuller since she had had the baby, but only a little bit, and the curves were in all the right places. She stopped in front of him, and leant forward to kiss him, offering a generous glimpse of cleavage as the dress fell away from her a bit.

That was it, he couldn't wait a second longer. His arms darted out and grabbed her, all carefulness and concern gone, pulling her to him. 'Neela, God, I love you. I love you so much,' he choked out.

She clung to him, desperately trying to pluck at the hem of his shirt, needing to feel his skin on hers again, at last. 'I love you too Ray. I always have,' she gasped as one of his hands closed over her breast through the material of her dress.

Those were the last words either of them managed for a while. Lips collided fiercely and they allowed the passion to take over. His shirt was the first thing to go, her nimble fingers undoing the small buttons before peeling it off his shoulders and down his arms, exposing pale skin that she was quick to kiss. He groaned deeply in her ear, and she felt the vibration of it move up his throat as her lips moved over his voice box and across to suck and nip at the corner of his collar bone.

He felt her start to arch her back, thrusting her hips up at him, and he pressed back, already beginning the rhythm. He began to run his hand up her leg, under her dress, letting his short nails graze the silk of her stockings. When he reached the skin at the top, he heard her moan quietly, then again louder as he continued to pull his hand upwards until, gently, he laid his palm on the hot, wet lace at the juncture of her legs. She pressed herself against his hand, begging him to touch her, but he declined her request.

'Not yet Neela,' he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her skin. With a wicked smile, he kept his hand there a little longer just to torture her. When she started to whimper in need, he withdrew it and began to search the side and back of her dress for a zip or fastening of some kind. When he couldn't find one, he held himself away from her for a moment, and, tugging at the dress, frowned down at her. 'How…?'

Smiling at his inability to deal with female garments, she helped him. The material of the dress had some elasticity to it, and it wasn't difficult to pull over her head. When it was gone – somewhere into a dark corner of the room, they weren't sure where, although hopefully not too near a candle – Ray had been intending to make the most of new skin now available to him, but he couldn't help but pause for a moment, drinking in the sight of her. She was beautiful beyond words, a thin film of perspiration glistening on her skin from the heat of their passion and her chest rising and falling quickly with ragged breaths. She still had a slightly rounded stomach from the baby, and for some reason he couldn't pinpoint, the sight of it moved him. He moved himself down her body, relishing the feel of her skin against his bare chest and, holding her hips tightly, kissed it, working his lips over the gentle rise.

When he worked his way back up her body to meet her lips again, she lowered her hands to the buckle of his belt, undoing it, and then his jeans, pushing them down over his hips. He stood up for a minute, and finished what she had begun, returning to her quickly.

She couldn't wait any more. Sitting up, she reached behind her back to undo her bra, and when he realised what she was doing, his own hands snaked over her dark caramel skin to give her a helping hand. Then the rest of her underwear joined his boxers on the floor and their moment had arrived.

He hovered above her, holding himself up on his forearms, poised. 'Neela?' He asked permission, and that he could pause, even now, at the height of his passion, to consider her feelings, made her love him even more.

She ran her hands over his back, feeling the muscles playing under his skin, holding him close to her, and nodded her answer. 'Please…' she whispered.

As he slid into her, she cried his name, and he heard his own voice in some sort of strangled sob. As he felt her surround him, he was just … devastated. They had spent so long working towards this, been through so much and now, at last, he was where he wanted to be, and he didn't want it to ever stop. He wished he could make this last, not embarrass himself in his eagerness, but with the first slow thrust, he knew it was fighting a losing battle; it had been too long and he loved her too much.

'Neela,' he gasped, and he felt her hands tangled in his hair, nails digging lightly into his scalp, pulling him down to her into a hot, long kiss, and their tongues entwined as their bodies were, as their souls were.

As Neela felt the pleasure rising within her, her dark legs around his pale waist, forcing him deeper into her, she felt something else as well. Her eyes were beginning to burn and she knew tears were sparkling on her lashes. The closer she got to climax, the closer the tears were.

And then she came, and as her body was racked with waves of pleasure, she felt a great sob rising in her throat and the tears leaked from her eyes. She clung to him, her hips still rocking, and carried on kissing him through her tears.

He felt her tighten around him and he was gone. He let go of himself, and when his eyes flickered open, he saw her crying and he broke away from her lips to kiss away her tears. But they were flowing too hard, too fast to stem the flow and he soon found it was impossible to hold back the tears that he had been on the verge of and all of a sudden he was crying as well, and, unable to stop, he dipped his head to mingle his tears with her own.

It was a long time before both their pleasure and their sobs had subsided. They lay there in a tangle of limbs, breathing slowing, heat cooling. He held her gently, an arm around her waist, and the other creeping up her belly, one finger drawing idle circles around her nipple. He was watching it in the candlelight harden beneath his touch. Her dark hair fanned out over his arm, tickling his skin and his heart was bursting with love.

'I'm sorry for crying Ray,' she said eventually.

'Don't be sorry.'

'I just…'

He kissed her hair. 'I know. Me too.' There was a lump in his throat and he had to make the effort to force the words over them.

'I love you.' She turned in his arms as she spoke so she could look at him. The candlelight danced in her dark eyes, and he saw a love in those deep brown depths that he knew that, whatever happened, whatever hand they were dealt, it would always be there. He bent his head to kiss her, a slow, sensual kiss filled with love.

'I love you too Neela.'

Ray felt her gradually drift off to sleep in his arms, but he wasn't tired. He lay there, too happy to sleep. He couldn't believe after all the hurt and pain of the last year, they were now together, living together, sleeping, together, being together, and with a beautiful, intelligent baby daughter to bind them even closer.

He knew that the future might not be as easy as they would like it to be. They both had demanding jobs that took up far more of their time than, now, either of them would like, especially if he went for the Chief Residency next year, which he thought he probably would do. It was between him and Abby, and he suspected, with Joe, Abby wouldn't be too interested in it. And besides work, there was still Neela's parents to tell. Of course, they knew she'd had a baby, but he'd heard her on the phone to them, and she was deliberately vague. He hadn't met them, but he'd got a fair idea of what her father was like over the phone and Abby had and she'd told him to be warned.

But none of that mattered, he was just so, so happy. He'd never had much of a family before. He was an only child, his dad hadn't been much cop, and his mum, well, she tried hard, but she didn't always pull it off. And now, he had a family of his own making, and he couldn't have dreamed of a better one. He said a little prayer, he wasn't sure who exactly to, but he simply asked whatever higher power that was out there, that they could stay as happy as they were right now.

There was one more thing that could add to his happiness. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not, whether it might be too soon, but he thought that now, eventually, they had reached a place where there were no more secrets, no more doubts. He would wait a bit, just to make sure, but in the meantime, he would ask Abby when her next day off was. If he was going ring shopping, he would need her help.

Neela woke to the smell of pancakes, just like she had every morning for these last two months. Except this morning, there was one massive difference. She felt almost drunk with love, her limbs were aching, her lips swollen, and there was a smile on her face that wouldn't fade. She sat up, propping herself up on pillows in preparation for breakfast, pulling the tangled bedcovers up to cover herself.

She looked up to see Ray standing in the doorway, tray in hand, watching her. He wasn't wearing any boxers, but had a sheet wound round his waist, dangerously, tantalisingly low on his hips. 'Don't do that,' he said in response to her tugging the sheet to cover her chest.

She smiled back at him. 'I don't want to get crumbs in the bed.'

He put the breakfast tray on her lap and moved round to his side of the bed, crawling in beside her and yawning.

'Tired?' she asked him archly.

'A little.'

'Have trouble sleeping did you?' She leaned towards him, and kissed him soundly, her teeth teasing his lower lip until he groaned and his eyes slid shut.

'Well, I had better things to be doing,' he murmured distractedly as she trailed a line of delicate kisses along his jawline.

'And what might that have been?' Her lips had reached his throat and she had to use a hand to steady the breakfast tray.

'Not what, who. You.'

She broke away from him for long enough to put the tray on the floor, where it was safe. Then in one quick movement she let the sheet fall away from her and she was straddling him, laughing at the surprised look on his face.

Breakfast was very cold by the time they got round to it.

'Crap, Ray, we're going to be late.'

He caught her round the waist as she rushed past him, and pulled him to her. 'Don't sweat it, it'll be fine.' He nuzzled the crook of her neck, drawn to the mark that his teeth had made there sometime around dawn. At least, he thought it was that time; there had been quite a few.

'Abby said to pick Lucy up before four. It's already quarter past three; we'll never get over there in time.' Her tone was still exasperated, but she wasn't fighting his embrace, and she nestled into his body, a half smile on her face as she felt his fingers start to creep under her shirt.

'Well if we're late,' he growled into her ear, 'it's entirely your fault. I was ready to go an hour ago. It wasn't my fault that you came out of the shower and…'

They both laughed. They'd almost lost count of the number of times they'd tried to leave the house, well, not exactly lost count, this was attempt number four. They were working on the principle Abby wouldn't mind. She had told them to make the most of it after all.

But now, all they really wanted to do, apart from jump back into bed, which, unfortunately, wasn't entirely practical, was to get Lucy and bring her home, and get started on the rest of their lives. Together.