Around six A.M., Alex awoke – beating her alarm.  She looked at Mort and brushed her hand across his cheek.  She hadn't been haunted by the dream that caused her to push him away.  I'm sorry…That was really childish of me.

She got out of bed, careful not to wake Mort, and took her cordless phone out into the hallway.  She called the principal of her school and explained that she had a "family emergency" to attend to and that she would need a substitute teacher for the day.  After hanging up, she checked in on Julia – she was still sound asleep.  She's probably thrilled that I'm not waking her before the sun comes up.  She then returned to her room, trying to be as quiet as she could, but Mort was already awake.

"Am I going to get you in trouble?" he asked, sounding almost timid

Alex got back into bed.  "Not at all," she said, smiling.  "How are you feeling?"

Mort swallowed.  "Better than when I got here."

Moving closer to him, Alex asked, "Are you ready to talk about it?"

"I want to…God knows I think I, I need to, but…"  He looked away.

"But what?"

"I'm afraid that I'll loose…I don't want to be without you."

Alex smiled.  "And I don't want to be without you."  Oh God…that sounded so scripted.  However, to Alex's surprise, Mort looked truly surprised.

"Do you mean that?"  Alex nodded.  "But what if I…"

"Mort, the only thing that could make me not want to be with you is something that I know you'd never do."  She caressed his face.  "If you're not ready to talk…"

"I'll talk to you," he interrupted, his hands beginning to wander her body.  "I promise…"  He kissed her neck.  "Later?"

Alex closed her eyes.  "Later."  She kissed him and let herself get lost.  Lost in her thoughts, lost in her body, lost in his… 

Everything began to blur together…kisses, caresses…lovemaking.  The only thing that pulled the couple from the euphoria they'd created was sound of Julia, now awake and ready for breakfast.