THURSDAY

Third date, and things were getting serious. They'd swapped stories of past lovers before the movie. He'd told her of his wife. She's told him about Jonas Hansen, Martouf, Nareem (only they became Marty, and Nigel, and human. And she left out the bits where they died.) She didn't mention Jack. There was nothing she could say about him. What could she say?

They held hands during the movie, then he walked her home, still holding hands. She looked up at the stars, realising for once, the sky actually looked familiar. This must be what it was like for normal couples, she felt. Walking home, under the Milky Way, not having to keep an eye out for stray Jaffa.

He stopped on her doorstep, and she turned to face him, unsure.

"Umm..." he said, looking at her door. She suddenly remembered. An invitation to go inside was an invitation to...stay inside. For some reason, the phrase 'going fishing' popped up in her head, but she firmly repressed it, along with the image of a pair of intense brown eyes, watching her hopefully.

So, it was time. Leaning forward, she gently kissed Steven, then pulled him in for a deeper, more passionate kiss. She felt herself respond, and felt Steven respond too, pulling her closer. It was just a kiss. A normal kiss. No fireworks, no shivers of passion, no porch lights exploding (and she almost giggled, thinking of Cassie, then pulled her concentration back to the man she was kissing.)

Then he pulled away.

"Samantha, I'm not sure it's the right time."

"Don't I get to decide that?" she asked.

"It's just so fast." He said. She'd forgotten these things were supposed to take time. She'd lived for so long in a world where emotions were intensified by the fact that they could die any moment, she'd forgotten how to take things slowly.

"Steven, I want you to come inside. And I want you to stay the night. Are you going to say no, or come in?" she asked, opening the door. He hesitated a moment, then stepped through. She closed the door after him, taking a moment to look up at the stars, and not thinking at all of a man, on his roof, looking at the same stars through his telescope.

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Steven left early the next morning.

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