Mac and Jo arrived at the beach and Jo walked over to some rocks. "I'm going to sunbathe," she said.

Mac sat down on some rocks and stared out across the ocean. "Aren't you coming?" Jo asked.

"No," Mac said. "I'm going to find something else to do."

"Are we going to start going nude?"

Mac scowled. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Mac, we are stranded on a tropical island. Nobody knows we're here. Who knows whether we are the first people to ever set foot on this island? Who's going to know if we walk around nude? What are clothes for? I walk around nude in my bedroom and when Ellie's not there, I walk around nude in the apartment if I want to."

Mac looked at her. "Jo, I have a certain border of decency that I like to stay within."

"You mean you never walk around nude in your apartment? What world are you living in? You never walked around nude in front of your wife?"

"Jo."

"I'm just asking. I sure walked around nude in front of Russ and well…"

"Well, yes, I did but we're not in an apartment now. We're out here…and we're not married either."

"On a deserted island…alone."

"Okay, I get your point but that doesn't mean I'm going to walk around nude."

"Will it bother you if I do?"

Mac almost laughed. "Yes, it will."

Jo smiled. "So, something does bother you."

"Jo, I'm not dead. I'm just…I don't want to go into that."

Mac turned around and sat back down on the rock. He thought about the fun they had had together and how he felt when they kissed. He knew he loved Jo and he knew that he never wanted to be apart from her again. He loved the feeling of her skin touching his. He rubbed his face. "Jo, can I ask you a very personal question?" he asked.

"Sure."

"What do you think about waiting until you're married?"

Jo came out of the rocks and sat down beside him. Mac looked at her. "You think I'm being stupid, don't you?" he asked.

"No, but I do wonder what you're thinking," Jo said. "If that's what you want, it's alright with me."

"I don't know. I just want something different than just a quest for sex."

"So you don't want to make love to me?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Mac stood up and walked away from her. "If I feel like you're trying to seduce me or something, it just kills the mood for me." Mac looked at her. "Do you understand what I'm saying? And besides, I don't want to do this when we're just getting started good anyway."

"Yes, I understand you," Jo said. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way. I thought you wanted to."

"I do but people should not always do everything they 'feel' like doing."

Mac walked away down the beach. "Mac!" Jo called after him but he kept walking. She put her sandals on and grabbed her jeans and went after him. "Mac!"

Mac did not stop. He just kept walking. He did not want to talk about the subject again. Jo finally caught up with him. "Mac Taylor! Will you stop and talk to me!"

"I don't know what else to say."

"You could at least stop walking in a sprint."

Mac stopped and looked at her. "I think I'm going for a run. I think better when I'm running. I need to."

Jo looked at him and then looked around them. "You know, this is the first time I have ever been in a place where I didn't have to look over my shoulder or worry about anything when I'm alone."

Mac looked at her a moment. "Yeah. It's kinda peaceful, isn't it?"

Jo nodded. "How long are you going to be gone?"

"Not long."

"Okay. I'll wait here for you and I'll see if I can find something for our next meal."

Mac caressed her cheek. "I'll be back."

Jo watched Mac run away. She sighed. She thought he must be affected by that situation with Melinda than she had realized. He had talked about it a little but she thought he must have had real issues about that. She went over to the rocks where she had been that morning and looked around for some muscles. There were quite a few there. She looked out across the ocean and thought she could see a boat way out across the water. She stood up and stared at it but it did not get any closer. Jo wondered if any boats ever came this way. They had not seen anything so far.

As Mac was running, he was thinking about Jo. He could remember all the times they had spent together and how they became friends. He had liked her when they first met when they were standing over a dead body. She had just taken her place in the team and had conformed to their way of doing things easily. He thought Jo could probably get along with anyone. He thought about what he loved about her. He loved the way she was always concerned about his well-being. And he liked the way she teased him about things pretending that it did not embarrass her to say it. He liked her assertiveness in situation and she would not back down. He thought there was some apprehension in her about their relationship. He wondered if Jo was ready for this even though she acted like she was. He remembered how she had talked about Russ being gone. Mac thought she had really been in love with him and just refused to admit it because she did not want to admit she was wrong…and he knew that Russ loved her. Mac could tell that by the way he looked at her. However, he was dead now and Jo was trying to move on.

Mac wondered if she just wanted to test the waters with him. Did she really want a relationship right now? She was always telling him that she would give him time and that she was not trying to force him but every time they got close to each other, she tried to take it further. He supposed she wanted an intimate relationship. It had been a long time for both of them. Mac frowned with that thought. He had wanted to break that cycle with Jo, but Melinda had stolen that from him. Now, she was out there somewhere probably laughing at the fact that she had thrown them off that cruise ship and had gotten away with it. She had no idea that they had survived. Mac wondered what she would do when she found out that they were still alive. If he ever got off this island, he would let her know that she was not going to get away with this. What if they did not get off? What if they had to live the rest of their lives here? He stopped with that thought. What was he doing? He turned around and started running back the other way.

Jo was sitting on the rocks. What was Mac so worried about? She could not imagine what he was worried about. She supposed she had just pushed him too hard. She had been trying to seduce him. She had to admit it but she was also trying to see what he would do.

"Jo!"

Jo looked to see Mac running back that way. She stood up and looked at him. She wondered what was going on. He ran over to her. "Mac, what's wrong?" she asked.

Mac looked at her as he put his arms around her. "Nothing," he said. He kissed her. "I love you, Jo."

Jo looked into Mac's eyes. She did not know what to say but she was surprised by his actions and that intense look in his eyes was enough to take her breath away. "I love you too, Mac."

Mac hugged her to him. Jo loved the feeling of his arms around her. She looked at him as his embrace loosened. "Don't give up on me, Jo," he said.

"I won't," Jo replied. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."

Mac shook his head. "There's no need to apologize," he said and kissed her hand. Then he kissed her lips again. "Let's go back to our cave."

Jo looked toward the rocks. "My jeans are over there and I gathered some mussels."

Mac nodded. They gathered up everything and then headed back to the cave. By the time they got there, it was starting to get dark again. "I wonder what winter is like here," Jo remarked.

"Probably like it is in Hawaii," Mac replied.

They climbed up into the cave and put the muscles beside the fire. "I think I'm going to get tired of these one of these days," Jo said.

Mac smiled. "I think I will too but we'll have to switch for each meal and not eat the same old things every time."

Jo put her jeans over with her shirt. She did not want to wear them right now. It was hot and humid and she did not want to feel like she was wet in her clothes. She looked at Mac who was just wearing his white pants. "Aren't those pants hot?" she asked.

"Not really," Mac replied. He looked at Jo. "But I might go without them tomorrow."

"Oh really?"

Mac nodded. "I might just use my underwear as a bathing suit."

"Might as well."

Mac sat down beside Jo and held her hand. He looked into her eyes. Jo swallowed hard as she thought she was starting to feel a little shy now. He had never looked at her this way. She ran her fingers through her hair. Mac took her hands in his. "Stop worrying about your appearance," he said.

"I can't help it," Jo said. "Women worry about things like that. I know I must look a sight. My hair hasn't been combed since we've been here and I have no makeup."

"You don't need it," Mac said. "I'm in love with who you are, not what you look like."

"But you want me to look pretty, don't you?" Jo asked.

Mac put his arm around her. "You're beautiful. If I judged you like that, it would not be love, would it?"

"I don't know if I even know what real love is, Mac."

Mac touched her face. "I do." He kissed her. "It's more than a feeling."

"I know I feel love for you now."

"And we're going to let it grow for a long time."