Part Three:

Getting up off of the bed, Michael bolted to the door and followed Connie to the stairs. Watching her storm down them he stopped at the top, sighing deeply. "Connie stop… please."

Stopping still in the middle of the staircase Connie spun round to face him. "I've had enough of your digs for one night." She snapped, glaring angrily at him. "And it's not what I need at the moment." Turning her back she began to descend the stairs again, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped, and turned to face Michael, who was standing on the same step as he by now.

"Connie I don't want to fight." He told her, gently. "I want to feel like your husband again rather than some random bloke you happen to live with because it's convenient. I want you to be able to talk to me."

Connie looked up at him sadly, wondering whether she could allow herself to open up to him. He was gazing at her with a concerned expression on his face, waiting for her to say something, to give him some clue as to why she looked so sad. "It's Will's inquest tomorrow." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly. Michael said nothing, but stepped forwards and wordlessly wrapped his arms around her, attempting to give her the comfort she craved. Closing her eyes, Connie buried her face in his chest, holding onto him tightly as she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She felt him rest his chin on the top of her head like he used to, when everything was good between them. "I'm sorry." She whispered, not moving at all.

"So'm I." He whispered back, closing his eyes tightly. Feeling her loosen her grip on him, he let go of her, silently watching as she broke apart from him and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He sat down on the step he stood on, placing his head in his hands.

Connie took a glass from the cupboard and filled it up using a bottle of water from the fridge. Picking it up with wet hands, it slipped through her fingers and smashed at her feet on the floor. "Oh for fuck's sake." She exclaimed, angrily, closing her eyes for a moment, and rubbing her temples with her fingers. Crouching, she began to gather up the broken glass in her hands, hearing Michael's footsteps thundering down the stairs and across the hallway.

"What happened?" He asked, bursting into the kitchen. The sound of the smashing glass and Connie's swearing had bought him out of his contemplative reverie on the sixth step down from the top of the stairs. Connie looked up at him, to see that he was frowning slightly with concern.

"I dropped it." She said, tersely, before looking back down at the floor and scooping up the broken glass. Carrying it over to the sink, she dropped it in, startled to find a trail of red running down her hand. Immediately she put her finger in her mouth, trying to stem the flow. Michael followed her over to the sink and took her finger from her mouth, inspecting the cut.

"You alright?" He asked, rinsing her finger under the tap and then putting a plaster on it, like her mother used to do for her when she was young.

"Hmm." Said Connie, watching him and nodding. "It's only a little cut."

Michael gently held Connie's feminine hand in his own strong one, and using his free hand he drew her face up to meet his. "I didn't mean the cut." He whispered, moving a little closer to her. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed her injured finger lightly. She smiled softly at him, moving closer still. Gently he moved her hand away from his lips, and smiled back.

"I never meant what I…" Connie started, trailing off.

"Never meant what?" Michael asked quietly.

"What I said earlier…it's just…"

"Hard sometimes?" Michael completed her unfinished sentence, kissing her forehead softly as he did. Connie nodded slowly, blinking the sleep and confusion and sadness away from her eyes, allowing herself to be swept away by the first moment of tenderness he'd shown her in years. She looked up into his eyes, almost shaking with anticipation as he leant down and kissed her very gently on the lips. Reaching up, she placed her hand on the back of his head, kissing him back as he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. Connie rose onto her tiptoes slightly to enable herself to reach his soft lips better, completely loosing herself in the moment. He kissed her tenderly, playing with the curls at the nape of her neck between his fingers as he did.

As the kiss ended, Connie stepped backwards, smiling sadly at Michael as he pushed her hair behind her ears. "I do love you yunno…" She whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear.

"I know." He replied, nodding a little bit and smiling at her lovingly. "Are you alright?"

Smiling slightly, she briefly kissed him again. "I will be."

"Good." He replied, a serious smile playing across his lips. "I'm always here for you." He stated, leaving Connie staring at him in astonishment at this unusual admission of his feelings towards her. She grinned as she found herself being picked up and lifted over the broken glass on the floor. As he put her down, she smirked at him naughtily.

"Shall we clean that up in the morning?"

"I think that sounds like a good idea." Michael grinned, before picking her up again, taking her in his arms and carrying her up the stairs, laughing along with the sound Connie's giggly protests. Nevertheless she wrapped her arms around his neck as he did, leaving them there as he laid her down on their bed, pulling him down so that his lips met hers. He leant down on top of her, kissing her tenderly as he did, smiling as her kisses got more eager and she ran her hands up his back, causing his skin to tingle at her touch and began to kiss her more frantically. He ran his hand up the inside of her thigh, causing her to moan with anticipation as he slid his hand higher, moving her underwear aside and doing things to her that caused her to writhe beneath his touch, gasping and moaning as he hit the right spot. She kissed him again, before pushing her hands down between their warm bodies and sliding her knickers off completely. He trailed his kisses away from her lips and down her body, until his lips met the hot sweet place that his fingers had been moments before. He trailed his tongue around her, lightly flicking it over her clitoris causing her to shiver and moan. He put his hands on her hips, holding her still as he teased her with his tongue, moving it back and forth, in and out, tracing a circle over and over, faster and faster until she could not take it any longer and gripping the bed sheets she screamed out with sheer delight.

He moved his kisses back up to her lips, kissing her softly and allowing her to taste herself. Finding this extremely sexy she kissed him back, removing every morsel of herself from his lips. She ran her hands down his chest, stopping at the waistband of his boxers, grinning as she found he was evidently aroused. She pushed them down, her body shaking with the anticipation of him. He ran his hands up her sides, and down again, down to the insides of her thighs, parting her legs and pushing himself inside her, causing her to draw in her breath sharply. He began to thrust rhythmically into her, grinning as he felt her become slowly tenser and tenser inside. He angled his hips slightly so that he would penetrate her deeper, grazing her g-spot every time he thrust into her. Her hips began to shake and her toes curled as she felt herself nearing an ecstatic climax, and he began to pick up speed, thrusting faster and faster into her, moaning himself as the earth seemed to move beneath them and the room began to spin and she screamed his name louder and louder as he got faster and faster and that heavenly feeling overtook them both and shaking and gasping for breath they collapsed down onto the bed, his arm draped over her stomach, her hand gripping his, satisfied smiles on the faces of both of them.

As they recovered they lay there close together, his arm over her, her arm over his, breathing deeply in synchrony, each reliving the ecstasy they had just experienced in their heads. Finally Michael rolled onto his side and kissed Connie's cheek gently. "It's all about you Connie." He whispered. Smiling slightly, she kissed him softly before rolling over into the safety of his arms and cuddling up to him, falling into a satisfied sleep almost immediately. Michael watched her sleep for a while, until his own eyes began to flutter closed and he fell asleep himself. And there they stayed all night, lying in each other's arms, man and wife once more.