Here is the final, but not totally planned, chapter. This is totally for Star, who in one of their reviews asked for this scene. I hadn't written it at that point but I hope it finishes the story well. I'd like to thank those who have reviewed and followed, especially Star, who reviewed every chapter knowing that others perhaps wouldn't given the topic of the story. You have really kept me going but because you are only registered as a guest I can't reply to you, so your thanks have to be public. It would be great to hear from anyone about the story. It has been interesting to write and I hope I dealt with the topic sensitively. Thanks for your support.

Chapter 18

Juliet stretched her whole body gently as she lay on the large sofa in the living area of the Nest. She was very grateful that this sofa was huge because it meant she could partake in her current favourite activity – lying beside Thomas. He was asleep at the moment and she was taking the chance to just look at him. He had moved into the main house just before the baby had been born and Juliet enjoyed being a family with him.

She had given birth to Robbie nearly four months ago and found being a mum was a bit of a whirlwind. Their little boy was exactly as she'd pictured in her dreams – he had his father's colouring but, at the moment, had thick, dark blond hair like hers. People told her that that would change but right now she was very happy that in Robbie she could see both of them.

However, their son was not on her mind tonight. At Michelle's suggestion, from week one, Robbie had spent one night with his uncles or Kumu. Juliet had fought in the beginning until Michelle had explained her reasoning.

"You're in a very strange situation, Juliet. It would be very easy for you to get buried in diapers and feeding schedules. I worry that the progress you and Thomas have made will disappear if you end up not taking the time to stay connected."

So, reluctantly, Juliet had watched that first week as Thomas had taken their little boy in his carry seat to the guest house, with a bag complete with expressed milk in bottles, diapers and, well, nearly enough for a two-week stay. She'd known that Rick and TC would take amazing care of the little boy but she hadn't quite managed the whole night the first time. The boys had actually bet on how long Robbie would remain in the guest house. Juliet had survived a nice meal with Thomas, conversation, a good movie – nearly 5 hours – but that had been all. By midnight, and on hearing the baby crying, she'd been out of the main house and on her way to the guest house before Thomas, sleeping in his own room, had realised she was gone. In fact, it had been Zeus and Apollo that had awoken Thomas and helped him be out the house and almost catching her before she let herself into the guest house, walked over to TC, and took the baby from him.

Juliet chose not to notice when Thomas had had to hand over money to both Rick and TC, as he'd obviously lost the bet, and no one made any comment when mother and baby spent the rest of the night together in the main house. But, the second week, she'd managed the whole night and that routine had continued until tonight, their thirteenth date.

Juliet and Thomas had enjoyed a meal together then gone for a walk along the beach with the dogs. Zeus and Apollo appeared to have thawed their attitude to Thomas, at least slightly. They took their protection duties seriously where she or Robbie were concerned but the fact that Juliet allowed Thomas to interact with both of them on quite an intimate level had mellowed the lads towards their former nemesis.

Now Juliet was lying with Thomas on the sofa, simply enjoying watching him, mapping his face in her mind so that she could see this Thomas and not the other one. The work they'd done together with Michelle and the time they'd spent together had made Juliet far calmer around Thomas. She could be close to him when he was awake and now even when he was asleep but there was still one point in time where she still felt nervous. The point where he'd wake up.

'That point between sleep and awake.' Yes, Juliet smiled to herself, that's how Tinkerbell had phrased it in one of her favourite movies – Hook. It was that point that still concerned her, still worried her, wondering about which Thomas would wake up next to her. So, it had taken awhile for her to actually allow herself to lie like this. But she loved it. Tonight, she was considering taking the next step with him. Well, her body was. Her gynaecologist had warned her that a few months after giving birth she would want to have sex and her hormones would get to the point of demanding it. Well, her body was now demanding it. She wasn't taking the step lightly, but she felt it was time. Okay, so her body thought it was time and she just had to keep her mind on that same page and it would be fine – yes.

Juliet sighed and went back to observing Thomas. She was getting a little edgy, though, and knew it was time to wake him up so that the Thomas she knew was there would appear. She was lying on her left side and he was facing her on his right side, and she used her left hand that was on the pillow beside his head to gently run her fingers through his hair. She smiled as he subconsciously acted just as the lads would, pushing his head into her palm to get more attention. Slowly he awoke and he blinked his eyes, smiling at her.

"Hi," he said quietly. "Sorry I fell asleep on you."

"It's fine." Juliet smiled back, the vague nervousness she'd felt had dissipated on seeing his smile and hearing his voice. She leaned in closer to him and gently kissed him. Thomas had continued to treat her well and had never pushed any contact she made, so again he let her set the pace of the kiss. However, given how her hormones were working, she pushed a little further than she had before. She could sense the point where she had gone further as Thomas pulled back a little and ended the kiss.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm good. You okay if we keep going a little more?"

Thomas smiled at her. "Of course. You lead the way." He smiled languidly and let Juliet continue to kiss him. But then he broke the kiss again, as he was trying to work out what to do with his hands. They'd kissed many times before but this seemed different to him, so he wanted to check that he was doing what she wanted. He moved his free hand to the bottom of her top and ran his fingers along the skin above her trousers. "This okay?" he asked when she shivered under his hand.

"Yeah… I want… I want… you!"

Thomas kept his hand where it was but leaned back away from her. "You want to sleep with me?" Thomas had learned the hard way that he had to bluntly ask what she wanted or sometimes he'd get it wrong. He watched as Juliet blushed and averted her eyes.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. I've wanted you for a long time and, if you're now okay with that, it's nothing to run away from."

Juliet smiled. "I love you, and I really want to be with you, but I don't know if it's just the hormones or if I actually want to do this."

"You want to keep... uh… going… here?" Thomas asked.

Juliet shook her head. "No, I want to go to bed." She pecked his lips again and got up. "Are you coming?" she asked as she moved towards the door, laughing as Thomas nearly fell over himself to follow her. She stopped with a groan when she got to the bottom of the stairs, and looked at her top and the tell-tale signs that she really had another task to do before she could let her body do anything else.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked, coming up behind her. Juliet caught his eye and then pointed to her top. Thomas smirked and then held her loosely around the waist. He wasn't embarrassed about the fact that her breasts were leaking. Over the last few weeks, he'd watched her both breast feed and express milk. It was the way she kept their little boy alive and that was amazing, not embarrassing. "How about you go and deal with that while I go check the lads and the doors. You know, be the security consultant I'm supposed to be. And then I'll see you upstairs."

Juliet smiled. For so long in her mind he'd been a bachelor playing the field. But now here he was, making her comfortable even when her body was acting up and pausing their plans. "Okay, come up to my room." She moved out of Thomas' embrace and headed for her bathroom.

Thomas took a deep breath. He hadn't expected this to happen tonight and he really didn't want to screw it up. He'd been sensible and had had independent counselling with Michelle on how to approach this night. He was aware that if their relationship was to be physical, then they had to get through the first time. Michelle had been really helpful and had allowed him to talk through how he might make Juliet comfortable and in control, and to always talk to her. Those conversations with Michelle had been cringeworthy to begin with but, as the sessions had gone by, he'd valued her opinions and hoped that he could allow her advice to stay in his mind as the night wore on. He moved around the ground floor, checked on the lads, and received the customary growl from both of them. He then checked the security system, not because it was needed, but he wanted to give Juliet time and privacy to finish.

Thinking that he'd given Juliet enough time to get ready, Thomas made his way to the upper floor and to her room. Again, it wasn't the first time he'd been in the room. They'd kept Robbie there for a month or two and often one or other of the boys would be there with Juliet and Robbie when they napped.

After knocking on the door but getting no reply, Thomas slowly opened the door and entered the room. Juliet's lack of response was explained when he heard the machine still working in the en suite, and he smirked. He found the machine quite amusing, in particular Rick's reaction to it the first time he'd worked out what it was. He didn't think he'd ever seen Rick run from anything so quickly. It was as if it were an IED and was about to explode. He smiled, remembering Rick's reaction, as he walked around the room and pulled the curtains, lit a few of the candles Juliet had on the shelves, pulled back the covers, and then sat down on the bed, waiting.

He didn't have to wait long. He heard the machine shut off and shortly thereafter Juliet arrived with two bottles and put them in the small fridge she kept beside her bed for just that purpose.

Thomas opened his legs, took Juliet's hand, and pulled her gently towards him. "Before we start, you know you're in charge of this." Juliet nodded. "We do what you want, we start when you want, and we stop when you want. I want this to be the best it can be for you and, if we go all the way, that will be amazing, but it will also be amazing if we just lie here together and go to sleep, okay?"

Juliet smiled. She was so in love with Thomas and he kept saying the right things. Using both her hands she ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you, but I want you to be happy, too. This first time could be awkward and might not be the perfect time we want, but I'm ready to have this experience with you." She leaned down and kissed him sweetly then stood tall again.

"It's not going be awkward, Higgy. It's going to be you and me, and that will be amazing." Thomas pulled Juliet closer. "However, it's going to be a conversation. You need to talk to me, tell me what you want, what you're enjoying, and I'll do the same. You also need to tell me if you're uncomfortable, or if you want to stop. Okay?" When Juliet simply nodded, Thomas pushed her slightly away from him and stood up. "What do you want first?"

Juliet, while not someone who was shy in her sexuality, had never been someone who discussed it or asked. She usually just… well... followed. She wasn't sure she could talk all the way through, so started with a little action. She reached for the bottom of Thomas' shirt and slowly pulled it up over his head. She took the time to let her fingers run over his torso, learning what areas were ticklish or caused a reaction in him. She was pleased to get a real reaction when she ran her nails over his nipples.

Thomas practically jumped back from her. "God, Higgy! It's a good job the Taliban didn't have you. I might have given up all my secrets."

Juliet smiled smugly. "Well, you have to remember that I was trained by MI6."

Thomas reached for her shirt. "You okay if I do the same?" Juliet nodded and Thomas kissed her while allowing his hands to roam under her shirt. Within a few minutes he had it off and was trying to work the clasps on her maternity bra. After swearing, which had caused Juliet to start giggling, he threw up his hands. "I give up! It's a torture device designed to stop women getting pregnant again." He quickly pulled his hands away from her when he'd realised what he'd said, and looked in Juliet's eyes. "Jules, I wasn't expecting tonight. I don't have any protection with me."

Juliet smiled and went over to her bedside table and pulled out a small box. "The doctor gave me some at the checkup last week."

"Okay… So, we're really doing this." Thomas's voice gave away his nervousness at the situation.

Juliet turned further towards him, understanding that if this was going to work, she'd actually have to take control of the situation. "Lie down, Thomas." He did what she asked. She moved over to him and kissed him, allowing her hands to move over his body. She could see by his trousers that he was getting more aroused and it made her enjoy herself more, something she hadn't been sure would be her reaction. She reached behind herself to remove the bra that Thomas had struggled with, and encouraged him to touch her.

As time went on, Juliet removed Thomas' clothes and hers, allowing them both to take their time learning how to touch each other. Finally, it was time. Thomas had ensured that she was ready to take him and he was now just seeking clarification that she was still okay to go ahead.

Juliet helped Thomas put on the protection she'd given him, causing him to have to seriously dredge up every ounce of self-control that the Seals had taught him. Juliet had decided she wanted to be side by side with him. Actually, what she craved was for him to be on top of her but she didn't think her mind could cope with the surrender that would be involved in that position, so she had settled for this one. It was a little awkward, but she felt comfortable, so that was enough for Thomas.

"I love you so much," Thomas whispered as he gently entered her. Juliet baulked a little at the intrusion but Thomas stroked her cheek and encouraged her to open her eyes and to relax. "Tell me to stop and I will." He held her gaze.

"I don't want you to stop." Juliet reached around to his back and pulled him towards her.

They worked together, each striving to reach their point of no return. Thomas, keeping an eye on Juliet, made sure she fell over the peak first and then allowed himself to follow her. Panting, he slowly kissed her and pulled out of her. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned at the tears forming at the side of her eyes.

Juliet opened her eyes and smiled a watery smile. "Okay? I'm way better than okay. Thank you for taking care of me." She was starting to shiver a little bit, the sheen of sweat on her was catching the breeze coming through the window.

Thomas got up off the bed to get rid of the condom. He pulled the cover up from the bottom of the bed and made sure she was warm enough, then went to the bathroom. On returning, he was prepared to go to his own room but, as he grabbed his shirt, Juliet grabbed his wrist.

"Stay… please."

Thomas sat down on the bed beside her. "Are you sure? I know sleeping and waking up beside me still makes you nervous."

"It won't go away if I keep running from you."

"You're not running, Jules. You're protecting yourself."

"But, you see, the more I allow my mind to believe I need protection, the less likely I am to let you in. I need to try and we can see how it goes. Stay."

Thomas nodded. This had always been up to Juliet and he'd do whatever she asked. He slid under the covers on the other side of the bed and allowed her to decide their proximity.

Juliet moved slowly towards him and spread his arms so she could lay on his chest. As she closed her eyes, she snuggled into his body and hummed. Then she giggled a little.

"Hey, giggling isn't the reaction I was expecting!" Thomas grumped.

"I'm not giggling at you," Juliet stated lazily. "I'm just wondering which one of our friends has won the bet this week, and how much money they had riding on this result."

"We don't have to say anything," Thomas said quietly.

Juliet giggled again. "I think they might work it out very quickly, don't you?"

"Maybe, we did both keep secrets for a living, though."

"Mmmm," Juliet mumbled. "But I don't want to keep this a secret." She looked up at Thomas and kissed him, then she snuggled down again. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that all her fears had been erased, but they'd taken a major step forward tonight and she was looking forward to their relationship getting stronger. Sharing that with their friends, without any details, of course, would make the situation even more perfect.