Title: Picture Perfect

Author:Sabrinasmom3

Rating:PG

Disclaimer:I don't own Joan of Arcadia or the actors, blah, blah blah.

Summary:Luke and Grace do normal, everyday things together that end up meaning much more and that someone else sees as picture perfect.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hope this chapter is long enough to hold you over for a while. I'll be on vacation and computerless (oh the horror) all next week. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Grace laid in the dark trying to sleep. She had been able to take all thoughts of her father's possible decisions and what it might mean for the rest of her life and put them out of her mind. So it wasn't that she couldn't sleep, she just didn't truly want to. Why would she when she was here in his bed surrounded by everything Luke? She tried to close her eyes a couple of times, but it didn't help, not when her other senses were still working. His smell was like a drug for her. It calmed her and excited her at the same time. She loved that smell, but it wasn't because of the cologne he wore. She put a stop to his excessive cologne use at the very beginning. She was gentle though, for Grace. She lied and told him she was allergic. Luke's smell now consisted of his natural scent mixed with laundry detergent and soap. And she couldn't get enough of it. She was pretty sure that he had noticed how she breathed him in when they were together, but he wisely said nothing about it. She wasn't entirely certain whether that was because he was afraid to or because he was just being nice. She tended to think it was the latter. Look at their history. What was the word he used that first night? Gentlemanly. Luke was a gentleman. He walked her home that night when he didn't have to, he kept their secret when he shouldn't have, he knew when to just listen and when she needed to be held and tonight, he insisted that she needed her privacy and that she sleep in his room while he took the couch. How could she sleep when she couldn't stop smiling. But, then again, all these things slowly relaxed Grace and put her at ease. The night in the painting was the only night she had slept so soundly, until tonight. When she finally calmed down and quit grinning like a fool, she was quickly claimed by sleep.

Luke was two floors below on the couch. Awake. It wasn't that the couch was uncomfortable because it wasn't, he just couldn't seem to shut his mind off. Usually it wasn't a problem that his mind was continuously going, because it was habitually running through equations or scientific principles or some other cold hard facts. Tonight, his mind was solely on Grace. Everything that she had been through in the past twelve hours kept replaying over and over in his mind. He was a problem solver, but people couldn't be solved or fixed. He couldn't come up with a logical scientific theorem that could make this all better. He had issues with that, but he was trying to get over them. Then, on the personal side, he was angry. Grace deserved so much better than that. She deserved to be treated with respect and with reverence. Again, that was him and he couldn't control anyone else. He finally had to make a conscious effort to switch gears. He tried instead to think about what this week would be like, having Grace here in his home. He smiled. He had the feeling that this was going to be very interesting.

The next day was Monday and everyone had to get up and get ready for school and for work. Despite all the stress of the day before, Grace uncharacteristically woke up early. She figured it was because she got a very restful sleep. She padded downstairs in her pajamas and helped herself to breakfast before anyone else was up. Then she went back upstairs to shower and get dressed. She was just about to get out of the shower when there was a knock and Luke yelled through the door, "Come on Joan, we all need to get ready!" Grace smiled and yelled back, "I'm not Joan and if you don't quit rushing me I'm going to give you a face to match mine!" Luke stammered an apology and then headed back downstairs to eat. Once she was sure he was out of earshot, she laughed out loud. She loved it when she could get to him like that. She got out, wrapped up in a towel and hurried back up to Luke's room to get ready for school.

Luke got to the kitchen then thought that it would probably be best if he went up and got his clothes out of his room while Grace was busy in the shower. He hurried up the stairs and listened at the bathroom door. The shower was running, so he figured the coast was clear. Which was why he opened his door without knocking and bounded up the stairs, only to face a stark naked and very startled Grace. Luke quickly turned his back to her. "What are you doing up here. You were just in the shower and its still running." Grace didn't answer. "I guess it must be Joan." Still, he got no response from Grace. "Grace, I'm sorry. Are you mad?" He was just about to hurry out of the room when a pillow thwaped him in the back of the head. "Just hurry up and do whatever it was you came in here to do, before the embarrassment wears off and I get angry."

His plan was to try to get his clothes without ever looking directly at Grace, but when he tried, he realized that she was standing right in front of his dresser. She was wrapped in a damp towel that he had never realized was so small before. He kept his eyes down, but he could still see her bare feet and calves, droplets of water still shimmering on them. It was almost too much for him. Then, he remembered something he had heard somewhere and started reciting Newton's Laws to himself to get his mind of her. He scooped up his clothes and ran out of the room without ever looking at or saying another word to Grace.

When he had first turned around, Grace found it amusing, and a little endearing, that he refused to look at her. She couldn't help noticing the way his breath caught when he looked at her feet. Did he have a strange fetish she didn't know about? She looked at him with a puzzled look, like he might be just a little crazy, but he never looked at her. He just got red and started mumbling something under his breath until he practically ran out the door. She shook her head at him. She seemed to be doing that a lot.

Grace sat down for a minute to think about how she felt about him seeing her like that. He'd seen her cry. He'd seen her bruised and bloody. He'd seen her sleeping. She guessed him seeing her naked wasn't any more embarrassing than any of that stuff. Grace got the feeling that he might be more embarrassed than she was. She liked the thought of that.

Now that that was settled, she figured she better get ready. She didn't care about being late herself, but she knew that Luke wouldn't leave without her and she knew he wouldn't want to be late. Suddenly Grace realized that if she was at home right now, she would be rushing out to meet him in the biology closet. Were they going to lose their make out time while she was here? Not a chance! Grace dressed quickly, ran downstairs and grabbed her bag.

She rushed into the kitchen and saw that he was still sitting at the table eating. "Let's go, geek, I've got something I need to do before school." Grace hadn't noticed Joan at the other end of the kitchen until she said, "Let him finish eating. It'll give us a couple minutes to try to do something about your face." Grace started to glare at her before realizing that the bruise on her face must still look horrible.

Joan took Grace upstairs and helped her put on some conceler and powder to cover the now purple and green bruise. Most of the swelling had gone down, but there was still a cut on her lip. Joan made sure Grace put the makeup in her bag, then said, "There. Now just don't forget to touch it up when your finished making out with my brother. Now go, before classes start and you can't get into the biology closet." Grace gave Joan a dirty look, but then smiled and yelled a thank you as she took off back down the stairs.

Luke never thought he would see the day when Grace practically ran to school. "Grace, wait up. Why are you going so fast? Where do you need to go?" Grace stopped and turned to face him. "What kind of genius are you? I'm going the same place I always go this time of day, but if you're going to insist on going so slow, there's really no point in me being there by myself." Luke's jaw dropped open, but when he saw the look in Grace's eyes, he grabbed her hand and took of in a sprint toward the school.

When they got to the biology closet, they were both out of breath. That was usually the case as they were leaving the room, not going into it. The couple leaned against the door and started laughing at themselves. "I thought that after what happened this morning…well, I didn't realize…" Grace interrupted him, "Look, we may be spending all sorts of time together now that I'm staying at your house, but I'm not giving this time up. So you saw me naked. With any luck it won't be the last time. Now get over here before our time's up and I really do get mad."

With that she grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands and yanked him to her. He certainly wasn't about to argue, especially not with the sight of her in that little towel, and out of that little towel, fresh in his mind. He returned her enthusiasm by grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close. When their eyes locked in that moment before their lips met, it was as if he could see the fire he was feeling reflected there. As their kiss deepened and became more and more passionate, Luke started to lose himself. He went just a little too far and playfully, but forcefully bit her bottom lip. Grace winced let out a small gasp snapping Luke back to reality as he remembered that her lip had been gashed and bruised just yesterday. He let her go and jumped back away from her, concern and guilt overwhelming him. Grace looked up and thought she saw tears forming in his eyes. She gave a half laugh and tried to reassure him that she was fine. "Knock it off Girardi. I'm not that fragile. Besides, how do you know I don't like that sort of thing." She tilted her head and gave him a sly, devious smile. He couldn't help but smile back. He still felt bad, but Grace had a way of making things seem less intense. He kissed her gently on the forehead and herded her out the door towards homeroom.