Author's Note: Okay! Okay! One more chapter, but then I really have to get some work done! Here you go! Just a taste of what's to come some day :)

OOOOOOOOOOOOo

He blushed, then. A brilliant shade of red that Melony could see even through his beard, and he tried to lower his eyes in embarrassment, but her hand was still holding his chin, and he couldn't.

"I've embarrassed you?" She asked, smiling tenderly. God, he looked cute this way, too. Maybe it was just that she thought he was cute no matter how he looked?

"I wasn't expecting..." he trailed off, his hand coming up to hers, moving hers from his chin and holding it. He had to be able to look down. He couldn't handle the intensity in her gaze. Although he liked it.

"That's my fault, then," she said, squeezing his hand. "I should have said something sooner. I thought I had..."

He shook his head, looking down at their hands, which were resting on her thigh.

"I shouldn't be so insecure that I need you to-"

Melony chuckled, gently, and leaned forward, brushing a kiss against his cheek.

"Carson. I think you're cute. I think you're more than cute, and you might as well know now that I'm attracted to you – because I am."

He felt a warmth flow over him, and let go of her hand so he could put his arms around her, holding her close. It was something he'd done before, but it'd been weeks, and he'd wondered if he'd read more into the touch than she had intended for him to. Now, however, it felt right. And better than that; she was holding him just as willingly.

Melony rested her chin on his shoulder, her cheek just close enough to his that his facial hair was tickling her skin. She brushed her fingers along his back and felt him shiver slightly at the touch.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured softly. "I didn't mean to be so-"

He turned his head, and moved just enough that he could catch her lips with his own, his hand coming to her chin in the same motion she'd used on him to keep his head still. It wasn't a long kiss, and it wasn't a deep kiss, but it was their first real kiss, and she felt a shiver go through her at the contact.

He pulled away, his face only inches from hers, his eyes wide at his own audacity as he gauged her reaction.

"I'm sorry... I had to..."

She smiled.

"I'll get over it..."

They stared at each other for a long moment, each reeling slightly in a jumble of emotions that the embrace – and then the kiss – had generated, but neither moved from the other, and there was still an air of uncertainty in their glance. They both were wondering the same thing, even though neither of them spoke up. Was she ready to move past the hurt that had left her so achingly empty and step up their relationship?

The coffee pot on Mitchell's dresser gurgled noisily, telling her that the coffee was ready, and Melony turned her head from Beckett's gaze to look at it.

"Coffee?" She asked him, her voice just a step above a whisper.

He nodded, letting her go so she could get up, and she surprised him by pressing a gentle kiss of her own against his lips before she moved. He watched as she went over to the dresser, and his tongue tasted her on his lips as he watched her fill two mugs with coffee.

She returned, and handed him one of the cups, sitting down just slightly further from him than she had been. Of course, she probably didn't want to be burned if he dumped his coffee on her, so he couldn't blame her.

"We should talk about this, hmmm?" She asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

He nodded.

"I don't know what you're ready for... or how far you're willing to..."

She smiled and shook her head, but the smile was sad, and the old hurt was there in her eyes, plain to see. It was there most of the time, but usually when she noticed someone was watching her, she'd shake it off and hide it behind some kind of quip or a question that would draw the other person's attention elsewhere. He was the only person she didn't do that with. He was the only one that she let him see her at her most vulnerable. Like just then.

"I don't know, either, Carson," she admitted. "I don't want to do anything that will ruin what you and I could have..." Which was an admission that she had feelings for him, and it made his heart sing. "But it's not fair to you that I make you wait for me to get over-"

"I don't mind waiting for you, Melony," he said, setting his cup aside. He wasn't that much of a coffee drinker – although he liked it, he didn't crave it all the time like he knew she did. "I told you a long time ago that I'd wait for as long as you needed, and I meant that."

"You don't mind?"

He shook his head.

"Not at all," he assured her. "I'm in no hurry, and I'd much rather you were positive about what you want..."

Melony's smile was relieved, and he watched as that familiar pained look left her expression – at least for the moment.

"I know what I want..." she said. "I'm just..."

"You're just not ready," he said, leaning forward and brushing a kiss against her cheek. "But someday you will be, and I'll be here, waiting."

She pressed the palm of her left hand – the hand that wasn't holding the coffee cup – against his chest, feeling his heart beating through his clothing as she held it there. She was ready for some things. More than she had been. She'd known it the moment he'd kissed her the first time. She shifted, slightly, and brushed another kiss against his lips.

"I'm ready for this much," she whispered against his lips.

She needed that much.

He smiled, and pulled her into his arms, carefully to avoid having her coffee spilled on him, and he deepened the kiss just a bit, wanting more but willing to wait and take what she could give him. It'd be worth the wait, he knew.